The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1115: Chapter 104: Beer Hall Riot (Part 2)

Even, in most cases, the effect of the latter is more apparent than the former.

However, although it is said so, based on Arthur’s observations during his travels within the Germanic Region in recent days, he has reached a rather counter-intuitive conclusion.

In the Germanic Region, especially in Prussia where compulsory education has been implemented since 1797, the density of schools, whether universities, secondary schools, or primary schools, combined with the literacy rate of the populace, is far higher than in Britain.

But corresponding to the high literacy rate is Prussia’s economic level, which is far less prosperous than Britain.

Even many Junker landlords live rather ordinary lives of poverty, not to mention the Prussian farmers who work for these landlords.

Moreover, in terms of education, Britain’s investment is not only less than Prussia’s but also inferior to that of France across the strait.

This year, under Gizo’s guidance, France has just passed the ”Education Reform Bill,” while Britain’s efforts in this regard are almost nil.

Although at the civil level, quite a few insightful people are actively establishing educational institutions like the University of London, compared to the government-led education revolutions in the Germanic Region and France, the British Government seems unwilling to vigorously promote basic education.

In British traditional concept, the word education is synonymous with classical education, and classical education is the private reserve of the nobility, a noble undertaking.

Consequently, traditional universities such as Oxford University and Cambridge University are extremely hostile to the University of London, which holds a different educational philosophy from theirs.

However, what is more surprising is that this is not only the view of the nobility but also the view of the British public.

Most Brits believe that whether or not they have received an education does not affect their work in factories, nor does it affect their ability to till the fields with a hoe. And in fact, it seems this is indeed the case.

The lack of emphasis on universal education in Britain has thus led to quite an odd, paradoxical phenomenon.

On the European Continent, whether in France or the Germanic Region, students are the vanguard of free reform, and in every large-scale protest and uprising, the figures of these young people can be seen.

In Britain, however, it seems that movements organized by farmers, workers, and citizens are commonplace, but there is no news of any student-led movement. Because before the establishment of the University of London, only classical church universities existed in Britain, and even the number of such classical church universities was extremely scarce, so students could hardly stir up any waves.

So, even in the 19th century, when revolutionary movements were emerging one after another, it was only today that Arthur observed up close how students play a role in these movements.

Yet, before he could carefully delve into the students’ mental activities and basic demands.

Suddenly, with a bang, the tavern’s door was violently kicked open.

The tavern, which had just been bustling and noisy, was immediately plunged into silence.

Then, the crisp sound of hard riding boots stepping on the floor was heard, followed by a man wearing hard high-top riding boots, draped in a knee-length double-breasted dark black coat, wearing dark straight pants, and donning the iconic military cap of the Germanic Region ’Pickelhaube’, walked into the tavern with his hands behind his back.

”German steel-helmet military cap Pickelhaube”

His hat also bore a metal emblem, unfamiliar to the British it was not.

It was a shield emblem with two standing golden lions embracing a bright red crown, the coat of arms of the Hanover Family, the reigning family of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Hanover.

And the motto of the Kingdom of Hanover written on the ribbon below the emblem—Gott mit uns (God with us), and the badge sparkling on his chest indicated this gentleman’s identity.

He was a police officer of the Kingdom of Hanover, and also a police chief.

He raised his right arm high, and with a gentle twist of his white glove, a group of Göttingen police wielding batons flooded in like sharks smelling blood, tightly encircling the students in the tavern.

The chief did not speak, he merely paced lightly on the wooden floor of the tavern, in the nearly frozen air only the clatter of riding boots on the floor could be heard.

His eyes, sharp as an eagle’s, swept the whole room, and every student who met his gaze involuntarily lowered their heads under immense pressure, completely bereft of their previous ardent demeanor.

The chief noticed this, and a faint smile appeared on his lips, this is precisely the effect he wanted.

To deal with these brazen young people, it was necessary to overpower them from the beginning, otherwise, the trouble would only increase.

The chief strolled toward the small stage in the center of the tavern, the patrons unconsciously split into two, making way for him.

He stepped up the three-tiered platform and then bent down to closely examine the black, red, and gold tricolor flag clutched in the hands of the student leader.

Afterward, he gently patted the flag with the back of his hand, turned around and asked the audience: ”Can someone explain to me what this is?”

The audience was silent, some hung their heads in frustration, others pretended not to hear, minding their own by drinking a glass of beer.

”No one knows?” The police chief nodded with satisfaction: ”Then I shall treat it as garbage and dispose of it. Sergeant Halle!”

”Present!”

”Hand this flag to you, take it outside and burn it!”

”Yes, sir!”

Having said that, the police chief pulled out pen and paper and turned to the student leader holding the flag: ”Your college, name, year, and guiding professor.”

The student leader glared fiercely at the police chief, gritting his teeth: ”Do you intend to have the Punitive Student Council lock me in the detention room?”

”Detention room?” The police chief slightly lifted his hat, and said in a low voice: ”Sir, I’m afraid the outcome is worse than that. When you displayed the tricolor flag, you should have realized this will lead to your expulsion from school.”

”Go to hell, you autocratic lackey!”

The student swung a punch at the police chief’s face with great force, knocking him down instantly, rolling him down the steps.

His sudden outburst ignited the emotions of the students on the scene, the students who were just silent found a wave of hot blood rushing from their chests to their brains.

One student, taking advantage of the police officer in front of him being distracted, kicked him in the groin.

Others desperately wrested the batons from the police, while the smarter ones picked up beer mugs and smashed them hard onto the heads of the officers.

”Classmates! Run quickly!”

Someone shouted; immediately, everyone was fighting as they surged to the tavern’s door.

Arthur’s beer and sausage had just been served, he originally intended to enjoy this hard-won meal, but even if he didn’t want to leave, the university students who pushed him like a tidal wave forced him out.

It was not until this moment that Arthur finally realized how arduous Eld must be at sea, for he fought against such waves day and night.

Though Arthur exerted all his efforts not to spill the beer in his cup, in such circumstances, it was not an easy task.

He was pushed backward and outward by the students, grabbing any chance to gulp down a swig.

With two gulps, the ’British Royal Barrel,’ a drink approved by Liverpool’s churchmen, was consumed without a drop left in his cup.

He then casually tossed the beer cup into the air, unintentionally hitting the police chief who had just gotten up.

The humiliated and furious chief frenziedly drew his baton and charged at Arthur, sensing the danger, Arthur took the Göttingen sausage from the left-holding tray, praised by both Schneider and Heine, and flung it at the chief.

Arthur’s actions immediately drew a burst of cheers from the students and provoked a storm of anger from the Göttingen police.

As Arthur was pushed out of the tavern by the throng, he realized that these students were celebrating too soon.

Outside the tavern, the Göttingen Police Station’s forces had already surrounded them, the military police rushed forward; some wielded whips, others clubs, quickly beating the students who cried and screamed for mercy, even the staunchest resistors were held down by a group of officers.

The Göttingen townsmen passing by couldn’t help but stop, whether the farm girls fetching milk or the drovers herding gray livestock, exclaiming: ”My God! What have the students done this time?”