shadow of britain

Chapter 557: There is no secret police in Göttingen (6K6)

I offer neither wages, nor shelter, nor food. I offer hunger, thirst, fighting, death, and endless forced marches. Those who love their country in their hearts, and not just in words, follow my steps and march with me!

—Giuseppe Garibaldi
In September, Göttingen has already shown the beginnings of autumn, with the air filled with the fragrance of leaves and the scent of freshly harvested rice.

The sunlight penetrated the mist and shone on the door of the ancient inn, giving the entire town a warm golden glow.

In this cramped little room separated by a door from the corridor, the chairs around the table, the bed and the wardrobe were crowded with people.

No one said a word, and only thick smoke could be seen rising occasionally in the house.

Garibaldi was sitting by the window, and through the clear glass he could see the tranquil scene outside.

Compared to the high spirits he had shown in Paris a few months ago, Garibaldi now looked much older. His eyes were sunken, bloodshot and tired, and the stubble at the corners of his mouth was extremely rough, forming a sharp contrast with his usual neat image.

Garibaldi's clothes made him look quite strange. His shirt was damaged after many days of escaping. The corners of the shirt were frayed and there were holes in the pockets. The originally gorgeous dark blue sailor's coat was gone, replaced by a long skirt like a country woman, covered with dust and mud spots. The lining sweater was also a little damaged, and the fur collar on the edge had become fluffy and dirty due to long-term wind and rain.

The leather gloves were worn to the point where they had lost almost all their original luster, and the fingers, covered with calluses, were curled stiffly. The sailor sword on his waist was also hanging crookedly, and from the scratches and dirt on the hilt, it could be seen that it had obviously been urgently pulled out and inserted many times.

The black trousers he was wearing were covered with mottled stains, and the fabric at the edges of the trouser legs was torn and stained with dirt.

Just then, a gentle knock on the door woke the deep sleeping air.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the door. Dumas, Nouri and Garibaldi looked at each other. The fat Frenchman nodded slightly at them, then lifted his coat to reveal his favorite gun on his belt - the French Republic XIII that he had shown off to Arthur.

Dumas put one hand on his holster, walked to the door, put his shoulder against the door, and asked in a low voice: "Who is it?"

The reply came quickly from outside the door: "The police."

In an instant, heavy breathing sounds were heard in the room, and both Nuri and Garibaldi put their hands on their holsters.

Seeing this, Dumas quickly lowered his hands to signal them not to be nervous.

Dumas lowered his voice and asked again: "What kind of note?"

The voice outside the door also replied in a bass voice: "The kind used to suppress the parade."

Click.

Dumara opened the door handle and couldn't help cursing: "Arthur, you bastard, can't you answer the questions normally? If I didn't persuade you, Adolfo and Giuseppe would have shot you to death by now."

Arthur, who was standing outside the door, put one hand on his waist and leaned one arm against the door and said, "Isn't that great? Haven't you wanted to do this for a long time?"

After saying this, Arthur smiled and waved to Garibaldi and the others: "Giuseppe, how are you? Oh, Heinrich and Mr. Noori are here too."

Dumas was about to burst out with a French curse, but he saw a lady following Arthur from the corner of his eye. The fat Frenchman slammed on the brakes and stopped greeting his old friend after a long absence: "Ah... Miss Ivan is here too!"

Fiona bowed her head slightly, then gently bent her knees and greeted Dumas: "How have you been recently, Mr. Dumas?"

"I'm doing OK. I opened a theater and I'm the manager." Dumas replied with a smile, "If you need any scripts, you can always come to me."

"Oh?" Fiona raised her eyebrows slightly and asked with a playful smile, "Can you still write that kind of script?"

Dumas laughed and said, "Of course. I am proficient in both literature and martial arts. I can write historical dramas, and I am even better at popular dramas."

Heine, who was unaware of the inside story, thought they were discussing some big business. The German poet, who was short of money recently, also expressed his opinion: "If you need it, I can also participate. Do you accept poetry and drama?"

Fiona was too embarrassed to say it directly, so she could only decline politely, "This form of performance may be too novel for a small venue like ours. The plays we stage are all quite old, and the guests are all old-fashioned. They don't like anything too new."

"Really?" Heine, who was eager to make money, pressed on. "I think old-fashioned is only relative. No matter how old-fashioned you are, you can't be as old-fashioned as the priest in the church, right? The guests can't be so incapable of reading anything other than the Bible, right?"

Arthur took off his white gloves and walked into the room. "Heinrich, I think you should apply for a job at Scotland Yard. You're much better than Mr. Vidocq and I in figuring out the truth from just one clue."

Heine was not modest when he heard this: "I think this may be related to my early experiences. After all, when I was in my hometown of Düsseldorf, I was always fighting wits and courage with the Prussian secret police."

"Don't worry." Arthur pulled the stool aside and sat down, raising his hand to signal Dumas to close the door: "There is no Prussian secret police in Göttingen. At most, we have some student organizations here."

"Student organizations?" Heine was stunned for a long time, and suddenly exclaimed: "Have you really ordered the relaxation of control over student associations at the University of Göttingen?"

"Of course." Arthur poured himself a glass of water. "Heinrich, Alexander, you know that I am a pioneer of liberalism. To hell with the Carlsbad Resolution, let Metternich continue to have hemorrhoids. At the University of Göttingen, I have the final say."

Heine couldn't help feeling a little ashamed when he heard this. Only then did he suddenly realize that he had misunderstood his friend.

Before this, he only regarded Arthur's friendship as an economic relationship, but now he realized that they were so close in thought.

When Heine thought of this, he suddenly grabbed the collar of his coat and fumbled in his inner pocket for something.

Arthur couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Heine said as he took out his wallet, "I want to return the money I paid for the article 'Liberalism in Germany' to you."

Arthur just waved his hand and said, "Forget it, Heinrich. It's only natural to get paid for writing articles. Although we are good friends, you don't have to be so polite to me."

"Look! Look! That's the difference between you and Franz Liszt!"

Heine exclaimed: "Liszt has no talent at all, yet he accepted my praise with a clear conscience and thought it was what he deserved. And you, my dear Arthur, your every word and action reveals the nobility of a liberal, yet you still refuse to accept free flowers and applause."

Arthur took a sip of water, savored it carefully, and then said, "Heinrich..."

"what happened?"

"Do I need to pay for what I just said?"

"No, no, that's not necessary. I'm just as fair as you are."

Garibaldi, who was exhausted and hadn't smiled for a long time, was also amused by their conversation. The Italian sailor regained his usual hearty smile: "It's really interesting. I didn't know that the literary and artistic circles were actually like this. I thought you cultural people should talk like lines in a drama: Good morning! Beautiful world, beautiful people!"

Dumas closed the door and walked up to Garibaldi and said, "If you can accept that others treat you as a fool, Giuseppe, you can just talk like you did just now."

Garibaldi held the hot teacup in his hand, staring at the yellow tea, and smiled and whispered: "Actually, I know a fool like this, but I don't know if he is still alive at this time. I didn't go with him. I went to Genoa first, and he was supposed to follow Mazzini and others to march from Switzerland to Piedmont according to the plan."

Nuri, who had been leaning against the window with his arms folded to look at the scenery, turned his head and asked, "You are talking about Joseph, right?" Garibaldi nodded slightly and sighed, "Yes, it's that little fool. I wonder if he has escaped from Italy."

Nouri just shook his head slightly when he heard this: "Giuseppe, Joseph is not stupid. He is much smarter than you think. I don't know whether he escaped from Italy, but I know that he slipped away on the way to Piedmont."

As soon as Nuli said this, the atmosphere that had just become lively became frozen again.

Garibaldi widened his eyes and looked at Nouri in disbelief: "Sorry, did I hear wrong?"

Nuri took out a letter from his bosom and threw it on the table: "Before arriving in Göttingen, I didn't tell you this news because I was worried that it would affect everyone's mood, but now that everyone is temporarily safe, I have nothing to hide. Giuseppe, do you know why I rushed to the place to rescue you so promptly? It's all because Mazzini sent me a letter. You are not doing well in Genoa, and Mazzini and his people are even worse off than you!

According to the original plan, the two columns led by Mazzini and Ramorino would first cross the border into Italy armed, and then you who were lying in ambush in Genoa, Naples, Marchese Cape and Abruzzi would respond with an uprising. But in fact, until the date of the march approached, Mazzini and Ramorino were still arguing.

Ramorino believed that the column was not well armed and asked to postpone the date of the troop movement, but Mazzini insisted on carrying out the original plan. Ramorino accused Mazzini of being too frivolous, while Mazzini said that Ramorino must have been bribed by the French government, so he repeatedly postponed the date to make the riot fail.

Ramorino was angered by Mazzini, and he said bluntly that if Mazzini was not satisfied with him, he could immediately replace the commander. Mazzini also intended to directly dismiss him, but our allies in the uprising in Savoy said that if they did not see Ramorino, they would refuse to cooperate. Buonarroti and other people who had been skeptical of the plan from the beginning immediately jumped out to attack Mazzini, and they tried their best to discredit him within the organization.

However, Mazzini and Ramorino finally reached a reconciliation. Ramorino marched according to the original plan, and Mazzini stopped interfering with Ramorino's military arrangements. But what was unexpected was that just as they reached a reconciliation, the Swiss government sent people to disperse our volunteers.

Ramorino and Mazzini took great pains to find some of the people back. The team originally planned to have 800 people was now reduced to 400. But what's even more ridiculous is that the expeditionary force had 400 people when it set out, but half of them ran away before leaving Switzerland, and when it reached the Italian border, there were less than 200 people left.

Mazzini wrote to Ramorino at this time, hoping that he would continue the march, but Ramorino believed that with the current number of troops, failure was absolutely inevitable. Therefore, he disbanded the troops at St. Julian's on the border. As for the few people who were unwilling to leave, Ramorino led them to form a commando team and rushed into the Kingdom of Sardinia like a headless fly. After wandering in the Kingdom of Sardinia for three days, Ramorino quickly disbanded the commando team without firing a shot.

After Nuli finished speaking, he felt a dull pain in his chest due to anger.

All the people present, whether they were involved like Garibaldi and Dumas, or just watching the fun like Mendelssohn, all stared with their eyes wide open, not knowing what to say.

Even Arthur couldn't help but mutter under his breath: "What an amateur."

Arthur was originally worried that giving too much support to Mazzini and others would allow them to cause great waves in Italy, but he did not expect that he really overestimated the professionalism of these people.

Judging from the situation described by Noori, if Arthur led the Scotland Yard police officers to launch an uprising, they would have done much better than Young Italy. At least Scotland Yard would never have not fired a single shot. After all, even at the bottom of the Tower of London, they fired a volley of shots.

At the same time, Arthur couldn't help but feel relieved for his previous correct decision.

Fortunately, he did not give the entire amount of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs aid to Young Italy, otherwise the money might have fallen into the hands of some corrupt insurgents.

The money fell into the hands of Sir Arthur Hastings, and at least 500 pounds was actually given to Garibaldi.

Garibaldi was stunned for a long time before he remembered his anger.

But it was not his fault. Garibaldi had thought of the possibility of the uprising failing, and even prepared himself to sacrifice his life for Italy. But no matter how imaginative he was, he did not expect the uprising to fail in this way.

Garibaldi grabbed his tattered felt hat and threw it to the ground. "You mean they all ran away without firing a shot? I thought I had failed enough in Genoa, but I didn't expect there would be someone else to make up for me!"

Nuli held his forehead and said sadly: "Forget it, it's no use talking about this now."

Garibaldi danced excitedly and said: "Adolfo, I know they are patriots like me, but I still have to complain about the way they did things! You know how hard I worked in Genoa! I accepted their arrangement and joined the navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia in Genoa. Every night I would treat the navy brothers to dinner in various restaurants in Genoa and spread revolutionary ideas to them.

Every night in the London Café in Genoa, I could hear my passionate speeches. Not only my navy brothers, but even the homeless people in Genoa would come to listen to my speeches. When I shouted "Down with the old emperor" on the stage, even the puppy raised by my navy friend Skonjo would habitually stand up and stretch out its two front legs to show its approval. On the Euridici where I served, more than half of the sailors were recruited by me to become members of the Young Italy Party. Even Captain Cristini, the quartermaster of the Genoa artillery corps..."

Arthur heard this and raised his hand to interrupt Garibaldi: "Wait, Giuseppe, if I heard correctly, you are saying that you go to the cafe every night and shout slogans like 'Down with the old emperor'?"

The Prussian Heine took a sip of coffee slowly. "Forgive him, Arthur, he has never lived in Prussia. The sunshine of the Apennine Peninsula has made these Italians too naive. I strongly suggest that the leaders of Young Italy should first have more than three years of living experience in Germany before leading the organization."

Although Dumas did not have the heart to criticize Garibaldi, he could not help but suggest: "Giuseppe, you have lived in London for a while. Although the cops in Scotland Yard are among the gentlest in Europe, I think it should be enough to let them teach you a lesson."

Garibaldi did not insist. He was also very frustrated. "I do lack some experience, because I did not expect Captain Christini and the others to betray me. I thought our relationship was strong enough. I paid for all their meals and drinks during that time. I also told them how bright their future would be when the uprising succeeded and the republican system came into being, but..."

Heine commented coldly: "Mr. Garibaldi, although it is inappropriate to say this. But if it were me, I would also betray you. Because the success of the uprising is unknown, and whether there will be a good future after success is also unknown. But if the uprising fails, they will definitely lose their jobs and be wanted, and the gains from reporting you to the superiors are also certain. The risks and benefits are too unequal. Moreover, based on the fact that you go to the cafe every day to shout anti-monarchy slogans, I think even if they don't betray you, the Genoa police must have been targeting you a long time ago."

Garibaldi sighed and said, "It's all my fault. I wish I had thought of all this at the time. I just wanted to get as many people as possible to support the uprising, so I didn't think too much about it. And according to our original plan, as long as I shouted those slogans in Genoa, the people of Genoa, who were living under the oppression of the monarchy, would definitely respond positively. The police would definitely not dare to do anything to me amid their cheers."

Dumas said, "Oh! That's because you haven't lived in London. If you've lived in London, you'll know that even when facing armed civilians, the police have the courage to shoot."

Fiona, who had been listening quietly nearby, couldn't help but say, "But a London policeman was also shot."

Dumas shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I forgot about that. Giuseppe, go on, what happened next?"

"later?"

Garibaldi sighed, "According to the original plan, I ordered Bonfilio to lead the men into the San Paolo district the night before the uprising, and Captain Cristini was to open the door of the army's armory. I told them everything I could. For example, there are 300 insurgents, and our weapons are simple, with only pistols and 40 rifles. During the uprising, the team will be divided into five teams, bravely attacking the gendarmerie barracks in Piazza Sarzana, and use all the manpower to try to capture Genoa Governor Paolucci and other military and political leaders in one fell swoop."

Fiona covered her mouth in surprise when she heard this: "300 people died?"

"No ma'am, although we are bad, we are not that bad."

Garibaldi said self-deprecatingly: "In order to distinguish between friends and enemies in secret, we insurgents had to tie a colorful luminous mark on the buttonhole of our coats. On the day of the uprising, everything was ready. However, when we began to gather, the army and the police also went out. I came to the White Pigeon Hotel as planned, but found that there were only a dozen people waiting for me there.

I saw that there were only so few people present, and I was immediately worried. I kept running to the door to look around, thinking that they had all gone to bed. As time went by, the number of people did not increase. I didn't understand why no one else showed up. As the day gradually darkened, I finally couldn't sit still anymore, so I decided to go out with Mutlu to see what was going on.

But fortunately! We were blessed! As soon as we left, a group of police rushed into the hotel and arrested three people. The others fled. This raid on the hotel also meant that our uprising ended before it even began.

I later learned that the enemy had deployed a large number of troops and police to guard the armory, the gendarmerie barracks and the city government that day, which objectively told our people that something was not right and the situation was not good. Therefore, most people did not go to the gathering as planned, and they all scattered and hid. As for the three unlucky guys who were arrested, they were released by the police station the next day because there was no solid evidence. "

Dumas' eyes widened, and the fat black man didn't know whether to cry or laugh: "Fools are lucky. So what did you do later that day?"

Garibaldi said with some embarrassment: "Once the tense atmosphere in the city ended, everything returned to its original state. At that time, Mutlu and I, who didn't know the truth, walked around the streets of the city without any unusual changes. When the street lights came on, we walked into a dance hall we often went to and found that many people were dancing to their heart's content. Moreover, many of these people were the ones who were supposed to start the uprising with us.

This made both of us feel puzzled, but secretly we also guessed that there must be something fishy going on. We played in the dance hall for a while and then went back to the hotel to sleep. Mutlu fell asleep quickly, but I was not sleepy at all. Before dawn, I put on my clothes and went to the scheduled meeting place. I always felt that they might have remembered the date wrong, so I came here to see what was going on.

However, just like the first day, there was no one there. What should I do? I guessed that my identity was probably exposed and I would be arrested if I went back to the warship. So I turned back to the hotel and planned to inform Mutlu to run away together. Before I got to the hotel, I saw the waiter in the hotel running to me breathlessly. He told me that Mutlu had been arrested and the hotel was surrounded by police, and asked me to run away quickly.

So I had to go to my girlfriend Natalina, who owned a fruit shop in Piazza Sarzana, Genoa. If everything went according to plan, there would have been a fierce battle there. But on that day, nothing happened in Piazza Sarzana. I stayed in the fruit shop until the evening, and after dark I went back to the hotel to find my other girlfriend, Teresina. She took advantage of the night to send me to Caterina's house, which had a cellar, a relatively safe hiding place.

Later, some people also came to hide in Catherine's house. We stayed there for five days. On the sixth day, Catherine asked us to change into her old clothes, stuff our pockets with bread and cheese, and flee the city overnight dressed as peasant women. We followed the country road all the way, intending to take a shortcut back to my hometown of Nice. As a result, we met Mr. Nouri on the road after walking for a few days.

(End of this chapter)