shadow of britain

Chapter 343 Things in Iberia are always so bad

In the temporary conference room of the Golden Lion Hotel, two unexpected visitors sat around a round table with Arthur and others.

As soon as his butt settled down, Napier looked at Louis and Alexandre Dumas sitting next to Arthur.

The distinguished Royal Navy admiral asked: "Mr. Hastings, are these two of your men reliable? Before we discuss specific issues, you'd better confirm that they are not spies sent by the French. "

Arthur picked up the cup and took a sip of tea: "General Napier, you don't have to worry about this. They are not French spies, because the fat gentleman next to me holds genuine French nationality. Under normal circumstances , he is all out to collect information, there is no need to be an undercover agent. By the way, he is also a French artilleryman."

Dumas nodded helpfully after hearing this: "Yes, I have received strict training in artillery."

Napier laughed happily when he heard this: "You are indeed a young man who knows a good sense of humor. However, if this fat gentleman is a French artilleryman, then what is the origin of the thin police officer next to you?"

Arthur raised his eyebrows: "You ask Louis? He is worse. This guy is a relative of the emperor. If I remember correctly, he is second in the current succession of the Bonaparte family."

Louis also took off his hat and said: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Napier."

When Napier saw this battle, he couldn't help but joke: "Really or not? Mr. Hastings, has it been possible that you have rehearsed this scene before? The lines are so neatly correct, no wonder those who were imprisoned Prisoners who enter Scotland Yard can be stunned into silence."

Seeing that he didn't believe it, Arthur didn't want to continue explaining, but the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who came with him couldn't help but clarify to Napier.

"General, Mr. Hastings is telling the truth."

"truth?"

Napier was stunned for a long time, and then he blinked at Arthur: "Young man, are you serious? A crime like treason must be sent to the House of Lords for a public trial."

Arthur heard this and said with equal humor: "If having a good relationship with the French is treason, then you should probably worry about the Duke of Wellington first. He has maintained a friendship with the French Ambassador Mr. Talleyrand for more than ten years."

Napier laughed and said: "Let the House of Lords try the Duke of Wellington? You can even think of it. When the Duke of Wellington was young and did not have so much honor, he went to the military court without any hesitation. If the House of Lords really dares to arrest him and put him on trial, I guess the Duke of Wellington will just pick up his eight marshal's sticks and slap the Speaker of the House of Lords on the butt."

After hearing this, Arthur just coughed slightly: "General Napier, although I don't mean to criticize, it is always not in line with social etiquette to ridicule the teacher in front of the students."

When Napier heard this, he suddenly remembered that the Speaker of the House of Lords was Lord Justice Brougham.

He scratched the side of his face and quickly went back to make amends: "It's just a joke, don't take it to heart. I was finally reinstated by the Admiralty this time, but I can't just because of a joke... You should know, Royal Navy Well, joking to relieve boredom on board is normal behavior.”

Arthur smiled and said: "As you said, the Royal Navy, I understand. They have already let me see it when I participated in the pursuit on the Beagle."

When Alexandre Dumas heard this, he frowned suddenly, which reminded him of some unpleasant experiences.

Napier scanned the two Frenchmen back and forth, and suddenly asked the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs beside him: "Is it really okay for these two to be here?"

The secretary also smiled and replied: "Whether these two gentlemen have any problems depends mainly on who is in power in France. Judging from the situation in France, the security level of the two of them is likely to be higher than that of many Britons, even higher. Average for the British Foreign Office.”

He does not mean that.

Alexandre Dumas and Louis were a little absent-minded at first, but when they heard this, they immediately smelled a hint of the imminent victory of the revolution.

Alexandre Dumas asked: "You finally can't stand the rule of the tyrant Louis Philippe across the Channel?"

Louis was also a little unable to suppress the excitement in his heart, and his voice sounded a little trembling: "I knew that Talleyrand must have had no good intentions when he came to London. The reward he got for betraying the July Dynasty this time should not be low. Bar?"

Napier was stunned by the reaction of the two Frenchmen for a while, and then he suddenly came to his senses.

"Oh...it's been a long time, and it turns out that one is a political prisoner in France, and the other is always thinking about restoring Napoleon's glory in Paris!"

Arthur took a sip of tea and said in a neutral tone: "General Napier, how could you tell the truth? If one day the French government issues a document criticizing Scotland Yard for having become a base for dissidents in Paris, what will you do? The one who bears half the responsibility.”

Napier patted his thigh with joy and said with a smile: "Only half of the responsibility, young man, it seems that you are more generous than the Admiralty, and you are actually willing to shoulder the other half yourself."

"No, General Napier, you have got it wrong."

Arthur poured some milk into the black tea cup: "The other half of the responsibility belongs to Director Rowan. He is the leader of Scotland Yard."

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

When Napier heard this, he couldn't help but look at Arthur: "Young man, remember what I said. Based on what you just said, if you go to work in the Admiralty in the future, you will be able to become the Deputy Secretary of the Admiralty."

"Who knows what's going to happen in the future?"

Arthur shrugged: "Perhaps the Undersecretary of the Navy is floating in some sea near South America at the moment."

Dumas heard this and added: "If you measure the Under Secretary of the Navy from this dimension, Mr. Carter has indeed met the standard. After all, these days, there are not many monkeys who can speak English and can swim."

Arthur glanced at Alexandre Dumas: "Yes, on this small island, all the monkeys who can speak French have been hanged on the beach as spies."

Alexandre Dumas' brows twitched: "I have to say, Arthur, your memory is really good. Do you still remember that case report?"

Arthur just shook his head: "I can't help it. Most of the things I encountered about France are quite bizarre and bizarre, so I can't forget them if they leave a deep impression."

Napier couldn't understand what the two were talking about, so he simply changed the topic back.

"Since there are no problems with the people here, I will follow the orders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I need a merchant ship to Portugal now. The sooner the departure time, the better."

"You need a boat too?"

Arthur touched his forehead and thought this was ridiculous: "It seems that London's port quarantine policy has been implemented too vigorously. To tell you the truth, you are not the first person to come to Liverpool to buy a ship ticket from me. The American company The embassy is not heavy enough to arrange a ship to the United States in London. But how dare the port management company even disobey the order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Is it that difficult to arrange a ship from London for you? "

The secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs waved his hand and said: "Mr. Hastings, please don't get me wrong. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is certainly capable of arranging ships to depart from London, but the situation at hand is quite special. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not want the news of General Napier's trip to Portugal to be spread to too many people. Yes. Moreover, in order to keep confidentiality, the Admiralty did not formally reinstate Mr. Napier's active duty status, but temporarily returned his uniform and epaulettes to him."

"This……"

Arthur originally thought that Napier was sent to command the Liverpool anti-smuggling fleet, but when he heard this series of news, he immediately realized that the matter was not that simple.

The ones who reacted faster than Arthur were two French young men.

They keenly captured the two key words "informal" and "Portuguese". Combined with Napier's previous concerns about their French identity and the changes in the European situation in recent years, it was almost obvious what Napier was going to do.

Louis asked softly: "Does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs want to intervene in the Portuguese Civil War?"

The secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coughed slightly when he heard this.

"Officer Bonaparte, please pay attention to your wording. This has nothing to do with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has never officially announced its involvement in the Miguel War. And as I mentioned before, Mr. Napier does not have an official title in the Royal Navy." , he is now a free person.

Wherever he wants to go, what career he wants to pursue, and how much money he wants to make are all his freedom. Britain is a free country and we have no right to interfere in personal matters. Of course, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also advocates and encourages citizens across the country to do their best and use their skills to realize their personal value in life, and is willing to provide them with help. "

The secretary had already said this, and Arthur naturally understood what he meant.

Just like Viscount Palmerston, the Foreign Secretary, previously said in the House of Commons on the Polish issue: "Just because we signed the Treaty of Vienna does not mean that we will ensure that the Russians abide by this treaty."

If this principle is applied, if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not officially announce its intervention, it does not mean that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will really not intervene.

Just like during the Greek War of Independence, although Britain has been reluctant to formally declare war on the Ottoman Empire, this does not prevent them from sending a Royal Navy officer corps headed by the "bomb ship madman" General Thomas Cochrane to help Greece Train the navy.

Because of this, the series of standards used by the Greek Navy are almost all British, and the Greek naval force has therefore become the stronghold of pro-British forces.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Greek Navy, General Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, was the deputy of General Cochrane at that time. After the assassination of the President, as the leader of the pro-British faction, he was elected as a member of the Supreme Council of Greece. one.

Because of the successful experience in Greece, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs most likely had the idea of ​​repeating the same trick in Portugal.

As a friendly country that has had an alliance with Portugal for more than 14 years, Britain has maintained a very good relationship since the th century.

However, because "things in Spain have always been so bad" in recent years, Britain no longer regards this former maritime overlord as its main competitor. Correspondingly, Portugal, an ally that was originally regarded by the British government as an unsinkable fortress on the Iberian Peninsula, was also ignored.

Of course, this cannot entirely be blamed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ ruthlessness. It's because Portugal, apart from its location in Western Europe, does not look like a Western European country in terms of population, economy or natural conditions.

They did not have as fertile land as France, nor were they as full of good harbors as Britain, let alone the coal and iron resources necessary for the Industrial Revolution. Of course, Portugal does not have everything. They are quite rich in resources in terms of poor mountains, bad water, and unruly people.

The Iberian Peninsula left its best sunshine to Spain, and at the same time, it also gave Portugal its worst natural conditions.

But having said that, the harsh mountains, plateaus and other terrain in Portugal do not always play a negative role. At least it is very popular with military enthusiasts.

These mountains not only helped Portugal fend off the Spaniards who had been thinking about annexing it, but also provided a lot of help to the Duke of Wellington who led the British army to land in Portugal during the Peninsular War.

Wellington, who had always been good at defensive warfare, made full use of these favorable terrains to recapture most of the Iberian Peninsula that had fallen into Napoleon's hands.

Moreover, the harsh natural conditions also forced the Portuguese to become "the first crabs to go to the sea to make a living." It was from this barren land that the Age of Discovery began.

However, the glory of the great voyage has now become a thing of the past. Today, Portugal not only does not receive much attention from other European countries, but even their own royal family does not look down upon this land.

In 1817, because they could not bear their poor family, the Portuguese colony of Brazil launched an independent revolution and declared the establishment of the Brazilian Republic.

Although this republic only lasted a short 76 days, it still dealt a heavy blow to Portugal, which had been trying to maintain it, and it also allowed the opposition in Portugal to see another possibility.

In 1820, the Portuguese, who were deeply influenced by the liberalism brought by the French Revolution, launched a revolution, and King Joao VI of Portugal had to go into exile in Brazil.

Finally, after a year of wrangling between the two sides, Joao VI and the Constituent Assembly finally reached an agreement to end their exile and return to the country on the premise of abolishing autocratic rule and establishing a constitutional monarchy. However, Prince Pedro, Joao VI's successor, was He stayed in Brazil and was responsible for managing the local area.

When the members of the Constituent Assembly discovered this situation, they immediately reported to the king and said some strange words like "The prince is the body of a real dragon and should not live in the land of Fanyi for a long time." They asked the king to put the prince away. Recall domestically.

Not only that, this group of congressmen who looked down on Brazil from the bottom of their hearts also passed a bill to downgrade Brazil, which had been upgraded to a kingdom, to an overseas province of Portugal, that is, a colony.

Such behavior naturally aroused strong dissatisfaction among Brazilians, and the call for independence once again resounded in the streets of Brazil.

At this time, Prince Pedro, who was left by the king to manage Brazil, resolutely chose to stay in Brazil and took the initiative to shoulder the important task of being the leader of the Brazilian independence faction.

This prince, who has been in exile in Brazil with his father since the Napoleonic Wars, has a very strong affection for this land. In order to prevent Brazil from returning to colonial status, Prince Pedro even issued a statement that was very intrusive even in the eyes of his father. A black comment.

As soon as Prince Pedro heard the news, he shouted angrily: "Even if there is to be a merger, Portugal, a fourth-rate country and poor country, should be merged into Brazil, a first-rate country, and not the other way around!"

Afterwards, Prince Pedro also officially issued a statement: "For the benefit of everyone and for the well-being of the entire nation, I decided to tell everyone that I will continue to stay in Brazil."

He then formally announced his refusal to comply with the demands of the Portuguese Constituent Assembly.

When the Constituent Assembly learned of the news, it also directly declared the Brazilian government illegal and issued a war threat to Brazil based on the principle of one step.

Prince Pedro, who had just finished training with the cavalry and was resting on his horse by the Ipiranka River, his first reaction after hearing the news was to step on the official letter into the mud with his riding boots.

He got on his horse and announced to the soldiers: "It's time! Be independent or die! We have broken with Portugal!"

Upon hearing the news, the Constituent Assembly immediately dispatched counterinsurgency troops to Brazil.

Just before the Portuguese arrived in Brazil on October 10, Pedro I ascended the throne in Rio de Janeiro and was crowned 'Emperor and Eternal Protector of Brazil'.

After several years of fighting between Portugal and Brazil, the Portuguese could not defeat the Brazilian navy trained by General Cochran, the 'bomb ship madman' who was expelled from the Royal Navy.

King Joao VI of Portugal saw that his son was so promising. While he was sad that he had become a constitutional king, he was also quite pleased that his son had become the emperor of Brazil.

Therefore, in the end, Joao VI made Portugal recognize Brazil's independent status.

Prince Pedro dared to fight with his old father, and his younger brother was also a hero who did not give in too much.

In line with the principle of beating Lao Tzu to death, while the eldest son Prince Pedro led Brazil to carry out the "Teach Dad a Lesson" campaign, the second son Prince Miguel also became the leader of the Portuguese authoritarian elements and took advantage of the opportunity. When Dad was in a hurry and couldn't take action, he decisively launched his 'Operation to Kill Dad'.

In 1823, the absolutists, led by Prince Miguel, suddenly launched an uprising, directing their troops towards Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, demanding the dissolution of parliament and the abolition of the constitution.

King Joao VI, who had two filial sons, could not deal with two sons at the same time, so he had to make concessions to the rebels and granted the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Army to Prince Miguel.

The old king originally thought that his son would have calmed down by now, but he didn't expect that Prince Miguel would attack again the next year. But this time, Joao VI, who had been prepared for it, gave him a good experience of what 'your father is after all'. Your dad'.

The rebels suffered an unprecedented defeat and Prince Miguel was arrested. Subsequently, King Joao VI declared Prince Miguel persona non grata and ordered him to be deported. Therefore, Miguel could only run to Austria in despair to hug Metternich's lap.

And in 1826, King Joao VI accidentally choked himself to death while eating.

Although this method of death sounds as unreliable as the Tsar's stroke, the pragmatic Portuguese quickly accepted this fact.

The unexpected death of the king also brought about a new problem, that is, the king did not clearly designate an heir before his death.

As a result, Portugal has once again launched a "heated discussion" around the issue of succession to the throne. Liberals support João VI's eldest son, Brazilian Emperor Pedro I, to succeed to the Portuguese throne, while absolutists support his second son, Prince Miguel. .

In the process of fighting for the throne, the liberals who controlled the government took the lead and declared Pedro the legal heir of the Kingdom of Portugal.

The absolutists claimed that the liberals were unconstitutional, arguing that Prince Pedro could not simultaneously inherit the Portuguese throne while being emperor of Brazil.

Seeing that the two groups were about to quarrel with each other on the outskirts of Lisbon, Pedro, eager to solve the problem, quickly promulgated a Magna Carta in 1826 to replace the constitution formulated in 1822.

In order to bridge the conflict between the two factions, Pedro also declared that he would not inherit the throne of Portugal, but would hand the title to his seven-year-old daughter Maria. As for his brother Prince Miguel, the leader of the authoritarian faction, Will marry this seven-year-old niece.

On Pedro's initiative, Prince Miguel became regent until Queen Maria came of age.

After Maria came of age, Portugal was ruled by the couple.

I call you brother, and you call me dad. We were originally a family, and now we are even more intimate. We can live together, so how can we be divorced?

However, although Pedro I had very good thoughts, Prince Miguel obviously had different ideas from his brother.

Prince Miguel, who didn't love lolita, didn't love his niece, and had no plans to move down the hierarchy, and who was very Catholic in his thinking, ostensibly agreed to his brother's suggestion. However, as soon as he returned to the country in 1828, things began to turn into civil war. fast lane.

After Prince Miguel took power, he immediately fell out with his brother.

He refused to accept the Magna Carta, declared the restoration of the absolute monarchy, convened a meeting of the three estates attended by clergy, nobles and commoners according to the ancient system, and proclaimed himself King of Portugal.

Not only that, he also gained recognition from the United States, Russia, Spain and the Holy See early on, and was ready to have a good fight with his eldest brother.

The Portuguese Civil War began in 1829 and officially started.

Originally, the British government had always looked away from the Portuguese Civil War, because Britain had never been very interested in such trivial household affairs.

However, when the July Revolution occurred in France in 1830, the subsequent issues of Belgian independence and the Polish uprising finally made the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alert.

Although the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not the aunt of the neighborhood committee, let alone the Inquisition, if this household matter that is constantly being sorted out and messed up continues to be ignored...

If the Portuguese liberals win, they are likely to defect to France, while if the absolutists win, they are likely to defect to Austria or Tsarist Russia.

When Arthur thought of this, he finally had a clear understanding of General Napier's sudden visit.

It seems that it is impossible not to handle this matter for him.

Arthur sighed: "Okay, I understand. I will arrange for the ship to be found as soon as possible. However... the Ministry of Foreign Affairs still has the energy to care about Iberia. It seems that people are saying that Viscount Palmerston He is full of energy and his words are truly true.”

The secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was relieved to hear that the problem was resolved.

He put his hands on the table and said: "Who says it's not the case? Everyone has given him a hard time, and His Excellency the Viscount is just treating us like asses. However, Mr. Hastings, I haven't seen you for so long. How about you?" It's not easy! Do you remember me? We met at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

When Arthur heard this, he looked at the other person again, then patted his head and said: "Ah! Are you the affairs officer who came from the Principality of Hesse in Germany?"

(End of this chapter)