shadow of britain

Chapter 118 The pie in the sky

In the lobby of the Greenwich Police Station, Arthur and Alexandre Dumas sat on the speech platform made up of two desks on the left and one on the right, while those sitting under the stage were carefully screened and left behind. news reporter.

As for how to define formality and irregularity, Arthur has adopted the consistent standards of the Ministry of the Interior and Scotland Yard. Any newspaper office that pays stamp duty according to laws and regulations and has a fixed office address can be counted as a regular newspaper office.

As for which newspaper reporters to ask questions, Arthur has another set of criteria. All newspapers whose headquarters are within the jurisdiction of Scotland Yard, or more specifically, only news media whose newspapers are headquartered on Fleet Street in London can conduct interviews. interview.

It’s not that Arthur discriminates against the various tabloids on the streets of London. He believes from the bottom of his heart that the tabloids are the soul of London’s newspaper industry, but he also clearly understands what embarrassing news tabloid reporters will propose in order to gain circulation. The problem.

On this kind of diplomatic incident, only by inviting those newspapers with huge circulation and relatively long-term business goals to conduct interviews, so as not to cause any moths that Scotland Yard and the Ministry of the Interior do not want to see.

Seeing that everything was ready, Arthur smiled and said, "It seems that the reporters can't wait any longer. I know that time is life for journalism. Then, let's start."

His eyes swept across the audience and every reporter present.

In the end, his eyes stopped following the steps of Police Officer Tom, and he pointed to the reporter beside Tom with a smile and said, "Please ask this gentleman to ask questions."

When the reporter was called by name, he couldn't wait to stand up and said, "Good morning, Inspector Hastings, Mr. Dumas, I am a special correspondent from The Times.

As we all know, the kidnapping of Mr. Dumas in London this time has aroused widespread concern from all walks of life in Britain.The public is shocked and angry at the French government's behavior of ignoring the sovereignty of other countries and arbitrarily hiring criminals on other countries' land to violate the lives and safety of others.

What I want to know is what Mr. Dumas thinks about the differences in government between Britain and France?Is the new king of France, Louis-Philippe, really a king who advocates a constitutional monarchy and can represent the interests of the French people, as he boasted? "

When Arthur heard this, he just knocked on the table twice seemingly inadvertently.

Alexandre Dumas also comprehended what he meant. This was the secret signal he had agreed with Arthur before.

The meaning of knocking on the table twice is to let him say a few good things about the British, if you don't mind, it's better to say a few words about the Tory cabinet.

Of course, it would be difficult for Dumas to praise the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon.

But if it was just to praise Scotland Yard, he could barely bear it.

Alexandre Dumas almost pinched his nose and said against his will: "First of all, I would like to thank the British police for their efforts and the British public for their concern for me. It is precisely because of the long-standing justice in the hearts of the general public that inspired me to fight against the French tyrant Louis Philippe Determination.

Whether it is the French people or the British people, we are all fighting for our rights, no matter how much we have to pay for this right..."

When Arthur heard this, he sensed that something was wrong.

It’s not that there is anything wrong with Alexandre Dumas’s impassioned statement, but that such words cannot be mentioned now. The reason why Sir Peel agreed with him to rescue Alexandre Dumas is to use this “diplomatic victory over France” to divert the British public from “Parliament.” reform movement' attention.

If Alexandre Dumas is allowed to speak so carelessly, it will not only fail to divert attention, but will also arouse the empathy between the British public and the July Revolution in France.

In this case, wouldn't the attention be shifted in vain?

Arthur coughed quickly, and said, "Mr. Dumas, time is limited, let's move on to the next topic."

After speaking, his eyes fell on Officer Tony again.

I saw Tony walking up to a reporter, glanced at the reporter's notebook quietly, and then nodded slightly.

Arthur took advantage of the situation and said by name: "Please ask this gentleman to speak and ask questions."

"Hi, I'm a reporter from the Observer and my question is..."

The time of the press conference passed bit by bit. Under the cover of Arthur, Tom, Tony and others, Alexandre Dumas finally passed the trial without any danger.

Arthur lowered his head and glanced at the transcript of his speeches, a bit of flattery used to please the British public, a bit of affirmation used to increase the support rate of the Tory Party, plus a bit of repeated, meaningless talk about the relationship between France and Britain. the empty talk of democratic differences among them.

Arthur closed the notebook with satisfaction. For him, this was a perfect press conference.

But Alexandre Dumas next to him was obviously not satisfied.

After sending away the well-received reporters, the fat French man said displeasedly: "I really don't understand the thinking of you British guys. You claim to have the most advanced, democratic, and free system in the world, and the result is Don't you think it's ironic to look up and see that there is a king on his head?"

While sorting out the documents on the desktop, Arthur said, "Mr. Dumas, I have told you many times. A constitutional monarchy and a monarchy are two different things."

"But wouldn't it be possible to build a more perfect constitutional state without a monarch?"

Arthur heard this, put down the document in his hand and shook his finger at Alexandre Dumas: "Sir, if there is no king in Britain, it will not be a constitutional country, but four! They are England, Scotland, and Ireland. and Wales.

I know the French have been thinking of breaking up Great Britain, but you can talk about that without obscurity.Anyway, we will not arrest you for this reason, because your idea is not unusual even among English people.

Many English people, even Scots, wanted to kick Ireland out, and the Irish themselves were not happy to stay under the British system.If it weren't for the Duke of Wellington and other big figures who have been struggling to maintain it, it is estimated that we would have separated long ago. "

Dumas also took a deep breath when he heard the words. He shook his head and said, "To be honest, sometimes I really don't understand you british guys. If it's true, you are the first place in Europe to realize religious tolerance, and also the last place. The place where the slave trade was first abolished is sometimes called the star of Europe. But you always appear petty in some inexplicable places, for example, your attitude towards Ireland is very typical."

Arthur raised his brows and said, "As I said before, this is the difference between Britain and France. Britain has always advocated individualism. Even if a father and son are put together, they will divide their respective properties quite clearly. You may not know that the most complete and ancient law in Britain is the "Property Law" system on the separation of father and son, and there are so many items that can drive you crazy.

If the British treat their children and brothers like this, how can you expect them to accept the Irish so quickly?After all, Scotland and England have been united for so many years, and the hostility between the two sides has only been slightly reduced so far.Therefore, even if some outstanding politicians can see the value of Ireland, it will not be overnight to reverse the inherent perception of the public. "

At this point, Arthur's words suddenly stopped.

He saw Elder standing outside the police station with a smile, holding a check between two fingers and dangling at him.

Arthur frowned, and was about to go out to ask him, but before he could go out, Elder came in first.

Elder glanced around and found that no one was paying attention to them, and then quickly stuffed the check into Arthur's pocket.

"Take this, a small thank you from Colonel Fitzroy."

(End of this chapter)