shadow of britain

Chapter 82 Cabinet Meeting (please subscribe!)
In the conference room at 10 Downing Street, an emergency cabinet meeting is being held.

The gentlemen lined up in front of the conference table are enough to shock the whole of Britain, and they can get extremely courteous treatment when they visit any European country.

However, these big figures who usually only appear in the newspapers are silent at the conference table at this time.

Each of them had a thick stack of documents at hand, and the thickest stack was in front of the Duke of Wellington.

The Duke of Wellington threw the documents in his hand on the table, rubbed his sore eyes, and said.

"Everyone should have heard about what happened in France. I won't go into details here. I just want to know what they want to do. Judging from the information we have at hand, the French incident this time Whether the revolution will bring us uncertain risks. Of course, I also have to know what attitudes Austria and Russia have towards this revolution."

When Wellington said this, he suddenly turned his head and looked at the middle-aged gentleman in a black woolen coat sitting on Sir Peel's left.

Wellington said, "George, has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs got any new news?"

The Foreign Secretary, George Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen, smiled bitterly as he was called on by name.

"Prime Minister, I have passed on all the information obtained by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to your case. The speed of the French revolution is too fast.

On July 7, Charles X issued a decree, announcing the banning of publications, restricting the freedom of the press, dissolving the newly elected parliament, and reducing the scale of elections.

As a result, in the afternoon of that day, major French newspapers began to publish letters of protest and instigate revolution.

On the 26th, a small-scale riot broke out in Paris, and on the 27th, it evolved into a large-scale riot in which thousands of workers clashed with the police.

At dawn on the 28th, thousands of barricades were set up. Workers, students, and businessmen all took to the streets to participate in the riots. Before nightfall, Paris City Hall fell.

At that time, some moderates planned to negotiate with Charles X to solve the problem, but Charles X and Prime Minister Polignac rejected the negotiation request.

As soon as the news came out, the whole of Paris fell on the 29th.

What we can be sure of at present is that Charles X is still alive for the time being, but we cannot be sure whether the new government will kill him.

Now no one is sure where France will go next, maybe even the French themselves, let alone us outsiders, I suggest to continue to observe for a while, and wait for the latest news. "

The Duke of Wellington frowned and asked: "It took only a few days to make this happen. What is going on? Is there a revolutionary party in the French army?"

The Minister of War, Viscount Henry Harding, said: "According to the information I have learned, the reason for the rapid progress of the French Revolution this time is mainly because when Charles X issued the edict, he planned to cut through the mess and forcefully pass the edict, so all preparations It's all kept secret.

The result also verified this point, his secrecy work was indeed well done.

Therefore, when the edict was suddenly issued, not only the French people were surprised and angry, but even the French army and police were caught off guard by this, and they were not prepared to deal with the riots.

And most importantly, the main force of the French army is still in Algeria. They just completed the conquest of that area last month, so they cannot be transferred back to the country to counter the rebellion in a short time.

Therefore, the rapid fall of Paris should be understandable from a military point of view. "

The Duke of Wellington supported his forehead and said: "This Charles X is really out of his mind! Does he still feel that he is quite popular?

Look at the prime minister he appointed!How on earth did he figure out how to lift Polignac into that position?

Didn't he know that there were persistent rumors that Polignac was having an affair with Louis XVI's queen, Marie Antoinette?

This approach is simply provoking the domestic opposition face to face.In the past 100 years or so, why has France always produced such a mediocre but extremely confident king?
Is it because there was a Napoleon in France, so God felt that it was unfair to other countries, so he just gave them a balance? "

Sir Peel, the Minister of the Interior, said: "In any case, the revolution in France is not a good thing for Britain. The French Revolution caused turmoil in our country, and madmen who wanted to emulate Robespierre emerged in the country one after another. .

And now because of the "Catholic Emancipation Act" and the problem of corrupt constituencies, the domestic people's resistance has been very high. We must try our best to moderate this over-excited emotion and handle diplomatic issues involving France carefully. "

"Ugh……"

The Duke of Wellington sighed, "Robert, that's what I'm worried about. Originally, we took advantage of the death of His Majesty the King to temporarily suppress public opinion, and as a result, there was another revolution in France.

Isn't His Majesty the King's death in vain now?The old man managed to do a good deed in his life, we can't let his hard work go to waste. "

After finishing speaking, he directed the Earl of Aberdeen, the foreign minister, to order: "George, you will send someone to the City of London to find Nathan in a while, and tell him to come to Downing Street to see me immediately.

Their postal service is the best in Europe, and nobody is better informed.

If I remember correctly, the information from Paris to London can be delivered to him in only three days.At this time, we need them to provide messenger help. "

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Speaking of this, the Duke of Wellington turned his attention to Sir Peel again: "Robert, how is your contact with Huskisson? We also need his support very much now."

Sir Peel said with a smile: "William said he would like to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Manchester-Liverpool railway, but he has not yet made up his mind on whether to express his support for you.

However, he also frankly admitted that he was extremely shocked by your boldness in promoting the "Catholic Emancipation Act", which changed his conservative image of you to a certain extent, so he is very willing to discuss other reform matters with you.

If you and he can agree, he wouldn't mind taking the 30-odd Huskisson MPs back to the Tories. "

The Duke of Wellington nodded slightly: "I believe that he and I will have a good start."

"By the way." Sir Peel added: "I have also arranged for the security work on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The security work on the scene is led by Inspector Hastings of Scotland Yard. You should have no objections, right? "

"Of course not. He is an outstanding young man. It will be no problem to leave it to him."

The Duke of Wellington pondered for a while, then suddenly spoke.

"By the way, the homicide case has been completed so well, and it's time to honor the salary increase promised to Scotland Yard last time. After all, this is a sensitive period, and it's time to give some comfort to our respectable police officers. .

Their job is not easy. I heard that there are more than a dozen large-scale public speeches in London every day. The police are running around to monitor and maintain order in the venue.It is indeed unreasonable not to give them a raise. "

Upon hearing this, Sir Peel said with a smile: "Since you mentioned this on your own initiative, I also want to report to you a new progress in police work. You should know that due to the notorious reputation of the French police, the police in Great Britain The public's prejudice against the new Scotland Yard has been very strong.

This kind of prejudice and confrontational psychology is particularly intense in the speech venue.In recent days, I have received several reports of police officers being beaten near the venue.

Therefore, in response to the increasingly chaotic situation, I intend to temporarily authorize some police officers to perform plainclothes duties when necessary.In this case, not only can the personal safety of the police officers on duty be guaranteed, but also the necessary intelligence can be collected for us. What do you think of this decision? "

Wellington's eyes lit up when he heard this.

"Robert, you mean, undercover?"

(End of this chapter)