The Shadow of Great Britain

I immediately signaled to the lads, asking them to follow me back to the police headquarters.

However, what no one expected was that this disturbance would escalate into a rebellion to seize power in a short time.

On the night of June 5th, barricades filled the streets and alleys of Paris, and everyone was armed. Around 8 PM, roadblocks on the main streets of the city were also set up.

The rebels, holding various types of guns, fired at us fiercely. With my intimate knowledge of Paris’ street network, I led the lads to launch some surprise attacks on the barricades in the old city, capturing some armed men and rebels holding provocative banners.

Hmph! I’m not bragging, but every secret path, alleyway, and nook of Paris’s map is engraved in my Francois Vidocq’s heart.

Honestly speaking, Paris’s atrocious streets should be renovated at an opportunity. Most streets are very narrow, and it would only take stones and wooden stakes to set up a blockade; seven or eight good marksmen could easily block the advance of an entire company.

Everyone knows that charging barricades in these conditions is certain death. Soldiers are unwilling to give their lives away needlessly, so they wanted the citizen volunteers from the National Guard to lead the charge, but no one is a fool; these volunteers too did not want to be cannon fodder plugging gun holes.

The situation in the entire city was extremely complicated. I saw some isolated outposts surrender to the rebels after long delays in reinforcement.

On the road, I encountered my old friend, the Earl of the Seine district, Bondi, who was being chased around by the rebels along with a few servants. The journey to his City Hall office was far too long for him.

But luckily, just then a hired carriage happened to pass by, I thrust him into the carriage and dispatched Vakul to ensure his safety. Although Vakul did not perform well in last year’s London mission, this time he completed the task excellently, living up to my expectations. Hmm… perhaps I should consider recommending him for a commendation.

I led the rest of the lads as we fought our way back to headquarters, and as soon as we entered, we ran into Chief Jusco.

It was clear that he was somewhat panicked.

Although he had never admitted the political commentators’ predictions about the inevitable downfall of the July Monarchy, the sight of smoke billowing from all over Paris forced him to acknowledge it.

He planned to go to the Tuileries Palace to discuss countermeasures with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet but was rather worried about the street firefights. I knew this was my chance to shine.

I escorted him, personally scouting the route ahead. As we passed a government army outpost, the soldiers insisted on checking the chief’s credentials and refused to let us through otherwise. Fortunately, they recognized me, and in light of fifty francs and my loud reputation, they eventually let us through.

We had just arrived at the Tuileries Palace when we learned that His Majesty the King, Louis Philippe, upon hearing news of the situation in Paris, had rushed back to Paris from the Compiegne castle with the Queen and Princess Adelaide. If not for this uprising, he was supposed to be at Compiegne receiving the King of Belgium, Leopold I.

Though His Majesty looked quite pitiful, lacking any kingly aura, I still applauded him for personally riding back from Neuilly to command operations in the capital. This at least showed his responsibility as a king.

I was glad that I had once served in the same unit as the King in my youth, and even after all these years, he had not lost the courage to face difficulties directly due to a life of comfort and high status.

Marshal Robeau received us at the Tuileries Palace and issued clear and vigorous instructions to the Great Paris Police Hall.

However, within the hour we spent traveling between the court and the police headquarters, our headquarters on Jerusalem Street had come under attack by the rebels. Fortunately, our stationed officers held their ground.

I hardly had time to catch my breath before I led my men to circle around from Île de la Cité to the right bank of the Seine River. From what I knew, the center of the disturbance was in the Saint-Merri district. The streets here were very narrow, allowing only single-file passage, making the cavalry suffer heavy casualties here.

When I arrived, I found that some of the rebels had started drinking and celebrating. The streets and alleys were filled with drunks. Of course, not everyone was like that; some of them were still guarding the barricades.

After several hours of fighting, my lads and I were all tattered and filthy. Yet, a keen-eyed person among the rebels recognized me. Instantly, their rifles were all aimed at us.

God! At that moment I was scared out of my wits!

I heard bullets whizzing over our heads, chilling my scalp.

Like street rats, we were hounded and fled confusedly. We managed to return to headquarters disheveled and demanded enhanced firepower from the chief. I assured him that if he fully armed my Security Department, I could quickly quell the riot.

But Jusco evidently doubted me, as even the Great Paris Police Hall headquarters had just been surrounded by those rebels. Seeing his reluctance to approve guns and ammunition for me, I had no choice but to take my men back to the Security Department.