shadow of britain

Chapter 513: The Royalists and Young Italy

Mr. Dubrese's house was very different from the judge's mansion Arthur had seen before.

Whether in London or Paris, the residences of judges usually shine with an ancient luxury, and their residences themselves are even worthy of being called antiques.

Everywhere there were crystal chandeliers carved into leaf shapes, Damascus silks, satins produced in the south of China, Ottoman and Persian-style carpets, gold-painted furniture, and everything was done with servants in ancient livery.

Although the tableware they use may not be as shiny as the furniture, and most people's tableware may even look a bit ugly, in the eyes of those who know the business, it is also a manifestation of status. Because only those long-standing family heirloom silverware can emit a dark luster.

In the middle of the dining table is a large glass cup for holding fruits, surrounded by exquisite porcelain produced in Sussex. Although the dishes carefully prepared by the chef may not taste to the guests' taste, the appearance of the dishes is definitely exquisite.

But there was no such arrangement in Dubrese's home. The walls and ceiling of the master bedroom were whitewashed with lime. There was a large bed for sleeping, a crude wardrobe, a walnut desk, and an armchair.

The bookcase in the room looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a long time, so there was a lot of dust on the top, but the bookcase was filled with various neatly stacked documents, including diaries, court documents, food purchase invoices, etc.

The reception room outside the bedroom was even more simple. Apart from a table and a few small wooden stools that could only be found in schools, there was nothing else.

Although there were no outstanding houses in an area like Foa Street, Dubris's room would not have been so shabby a few years ago.

At that time, his wife had not passed away yet, and the frugal Mrs. Dubrese always kept the place tidy.

After his wife passed away, Mr. Dubrese did not choose to remarry, so now he and a male servant who had followed him for many years are the only ones left here.

And this may be the biggest reason why Mr. Dublis, after working diligently for a lifetime, finally decided to take the risk and swing the iron fist of revenge on the world.

Arthur had to work hard to convince the nervous court judge of his diplomatic credentials.

As for Louis, he did not expose himself in front of Dubris. On the contrary, the young man who claimed to be the new leader of the Bonapartists was hiding himself as much as possible. He had no special liking or disgust for the royalists, but he was very happy to understand what these people were thinking.

After Dublis told Arthur and Louis about his experience, he took a long breath and drank the warm coffee in the cup.

These days, he has been keeping these words in his heart. Although for an intelligence officer like Arthur, keeping secrets alone is only basic training, for an honest man who has never been engaged in intelligence work, every minute and every second of keeping such a dangerous secret in his heart is extremely difficult.

Dubris finished his coffee and was silent for a long time before he spoke: "You said you were a British diplomat and had connections with the royalists, so I can assume that you wanted to bribe me to work for the British?"

Arthur said nothing, but took out the cigar box and handed it to Dubris, indicating that he could take one.

DuBris didn't smoke, but he stared at the cigar box for a long time and finally took a cigarette from it.

Louis struck a match skillfully, lit a cigar for himself and took a puff, then handed the burning cigar to Arthur and Dublis, asking them to borrow a light.

Arthur exhaled a long puff of smoke and said, "Mr. Dubris, why do you think that British diplomats must work for Britain?"

Dublis was choked by the cigar and coughed repeatedly. His tears flowed out. "Cough cough cough... Could it be... that you are a spy from another country staying in the UK?"

"Spy?" Arthur squinted his eyes and smoked: "Not for now, but if necessary, I can be one."

"What do you mean by that?" Dublis did not quite understand Arthur's words: "You neither serve your country nor the enemy? Are you just hanging around in the British Foreign Office?"

Arthur shook his head and said, "You are an upright judge, so you probably can't understand the thoughts of people like me. But I am not complicated. I can even be said to be simple enough to be seen through at a glance. I can be the most loyal diplomat of the British government, or I can be a spy sent by the French government to the British Foreign Office. In the final analysis, I neither serve my motherland nor the enemy country. I serve myself."

DuBris was somewhat disgusted by Arthur's remarks: "You sound a bit like a jerk."

Arthur did not deny it. He just responded lightly: "I agree with your point of view, but I have to add that I have always been fair. I once died heroically for the British government, so I don't owe them anything. On the contrary, they owe me a life. Moreover, I said that I don't owe anything to the government, not that I don't owe anything to Britain. After all, I lived there for many years. Even the most ruthless person will have some local feelings."

Although Dubrese didn't know what the so-called "owe me a life" meant, he could barely understand Arthur's metaphor. Because he also believed that the French government owed him a fair apology, so he wanted to take revenge on the rulers of this country.

Dubris asked curiously, "So you are doing this for revenge? Contacting the royalists in France can help you take revenge on Britain?"

"No, no, no." Arthur shook his finger again: "I'm not a revenge-seeker. I love peace and I don't support terrorist attacks. The reason I got involved in this matter is entirely because I want to make some achievements."

"Hmm..." Dubrese thought for a moment while holding his coffee cup. "To blow up the King of France is indeed a remarkable achievement for a British person. But I think you guys acted a little late. If you had killed Louis Philippe when he was in exile in England, it would have been much easier than it is now."

Arthur deliberately avoided talking about the assassination, but used vague words to blur the attitude of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and led the topic to another direction: "Knowing in advance is worth a lot of money, but Mr. Dubrese, you should also know that both you and those royalists are in a very dangerous situation now. Assassinating the king is an extremely serious crime, and the process of going to the guillotine is irreversible. In order not to expose the connection between you and the royalists, the easiest way is to transfer them all out of France."

Dubris said self-deprecatingly: "That's true, but it's not that easy to get out across the border. Because the government has frequently accepted political refugees from various countries in recent years, we now spend more than three million francs a year on resettling foreign exiles. In order to alleviate this problem, the border inspection standards are now as strict as they can be. Whether you want to enter or leave the French border, it's not that easy."

Louis couldn't help but interrupt when he heard this. "Could it be more difficult than going to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies? When I tried to enter the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies before, I was searched fourteen times. And when I finally arrived at the customs in Naples after going through so many hardships, they actually asked me to hand over all the books I had with me."

Dubris was surprised and asked, "You can't even bring books into the Two Sicilies?"

"It's not just books." Louis said, "Any printed material published outside the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies will be detained at the customs. When the customs officials in Naples found that I was carrying books with me, they immediately slammed the table and spit at me in anger. Judging from their attitude, it was as if I had committed a serious crime and should be hanged tomorrow."

Dubris weighed the standards of both sides, then hesitantly shook his head and said, "Although the current situation in France is not optimistic, we have not yet reached the level of the Italians. However, I still need to remind you that even if I issue fake identity documents for you, they are still likely to be intercepted when crossing the border."

Arthur had expected Dubris to give him such an answer, and he did not want this honest judge to risk his head to save other people's lives. On the one hand, sacrificing the lives of others to save another group of people is extremely immoral.

On the other hand, a living judge is always more valuable than a dead one.

"What if I say that I'm not here to ask you to forge an ID, but to add a few inconspicuous names to the deportation order that's about to be issued?"

"Deportation order?"

"Yes."

Arthur took out a thin document from his jacket pocket and pushed it across the table. "According to the intelligence we have learned, due to the financial pressure brought by the political refugees you just mentioned, as well as protests from countries such as Austria, the French government is planning to expel some political refugees and underground organizations from Italy. The expulsion list should include members of organizations such as the Carbonari and Young Italy. Although the specific content of the list is still unknown, the only thing that can be confirmed is that the list should include hundreds of people. I think it's normal to have a few new members who suddenly decide to join in such a long expulsion list, right?"

When Dublis heard this, his eyes lit up.

Why didn't he think of this good idea?
But in an instant, Dubris began to doubt again: "Young Italy? I remember this organization. Aren't they the same group as the Carbonari in Italy? Moreover, both organizations received aid from the July Monarchy government. These people are a group of republicans, and they are extremists among the republicans. The two sides are simply incompatible in terms of ideology. According to the previous expulsion practice, all the expellees will be put on carriages at the same location and escorted out of the country. If they identify our infiltrated members as strangers on the spot, won't they be exposed on the spot?"

"I don't think you need to worry about this."

Arthur comforted him, "Compared to the Carbonari, Young Italy is slightly stronger. Unlike the Carbonari and other groups, the Young Italy has no rituals, ceremonies, or oaths, nor cloaks, daggers, or blood cups. I happen to have some friendship with their leader, Mr. Mazzini. As far as I know, Mazzini called the Young Italy an apostolic organization, and their doctrines are completely different from those of the Carbonari.

In their propaganda, the suffering Italy is a martyr like Christ, and the mission of Young Italy is to restore the glory of the Roman Empire and give Italy a new life. The barbaric Austrians are the persecutors of the Roman Empire, and their barbaric rule has indeed created countless martyrs for this sacred cause. You see, the members of Young Italy are devout believers in God, just like the royalists.

It's just that you two have different missions, so you are given different names. However, from my perspective as a Catholic believer, the French royalists and the Young Italy are simply a pair of brothers made in heaven. At least at this critical moment, you must unite to deal with the current crisis. This is not only the best option at the moment, but also what God wants to see most at this time. "

Dublis always felt that the reason given by Arthur was a bit far-fetched, and he retorted: "But..."

Arthur shook his head slightly and said, "The previous words were spoken to my French peasant brothers. The next words are for you."

"Me?" Dublis was confused by Arthur, but then he remembered that this was a diplomat who "served himself", so he decided to listen to what else he had to say.

This time, Arthur didn't look at Dubris, but turned to look at Louis.

Seeing that Louis still didn't understand, he took out a small notebook and a pen from his pocket and pushed them in front of him.

Louis suddenly woke up: Arthur was following the teaching procedure of the Greater London Police, and new police officers should take notes carefully when receiving training.

Arthur turned his gaze to Dublis: "Mr. Dublis, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." DuBris nodded.

Arthur stirred the spoon in his coffee cup. "Are you for Louis XVI?"

"of course not."

"why?"

"Because he messed up the country, I rarely heard any praise for him when I was a child."

Arthur nodded slightly: "Do you support Louis XVII?"

DuBris shook his head again: "No."

"why?"

"Because there are simply too many Louis XVII on the market. There are at least 10 to 20 people in Europe who claim to be Louis XVII, but I bet that none of them are genuine."

"Very good." Arthur smiled. "Then do you support Louis XVIII and are you willing to sacrifice your life for his royal family?"

DuBris thought about it for a moment, and still gave a negative answer: "No."

"why?"

"Louis XVIII is a good king, but that's all. I won't oppose him, but I won't be so devoted to him."

"And you are for Charles X?"

"That's even more impossible. He is simply a tyrant!"

Arthur picked up the coffee cup and blew away the white steam. "In that case, are you a royalist?"

"I..." Dublis half opened his mouth, staring at Arthur, unable to utter a single word. He hesitated for a long time, and could only helplessly ask, "I'm not a royalist, but I can't be a republican, right?"

(End of this chapter)