The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1224: Chapter 143: Life After Death_2

I proposed a suitable exchange condition to Mr. Price. I told him that as long as he and his supporters did not join the rally on the Strand, we would not oppose any protests they held elsewhere and would ensure their personal safety during the gatherings. Mr. Price graciously accepted my request, and as a result, the number of demonstrators was already reduced by one-third before the rally on the Strand began.

Two hours before the rally on the Strand started, I had already ordered the police force to strengthen its deployment on all main roads leading to the Strand. Using tactics such as claiming road repairs were underway or traffic accidents had occurred, we aimed to persuade and redirect those demonstrators who intended to attend the rally. However, this method was not an innovation of Scotland Yard. Giuseppe, when you planned to launch an uprising in Genoa, the Italian police used the same tricks.”

Garibaldi leaned over the back of a chair, earnestly inquiring, ”So, are the police actions earlier than we expected? Is it not the protest gathering you are concerned with, but the scale of the gathering?”

”Exactly.”

Arthur spoke: ”A small-scale gathering is unlikely to threaten the government. Even if unexpected situations arise at such gatherings, at most it escalates to a street brawl level, which a small police squad can control. But large-scale gatherings are the nightmare of all governments. Even if the organizers repeatedly promise that this is a peaceful protest, from my standpoint, I cannot trust their words.

Based on historical records and the lessons from a few initial large-scale gatherings in May, I found that the best outcome of these gatherings often led to urban unrest. Even if nine out of ten people in these gatherings are peaceful demonstrators, the damage caused by the remaining one-tenth is unbearable for the police department.

Every time a similar gathering occurs, at a minimum, shop windows are smashed, there are thefts and robberies, and at worst, there are assaults on official residences, church burnings, and prison attacks. The reason I advised the Home Secretary to propose the ’Special Police Bill’ is due to a three-day riot that broke out in Bristol. On that day, nearly one-third of Bristol’s buildings and government institutions were vandalized or set on fire.”

Upon hearing this, Garibaldi spoke dismissively: ”But aren’t these things all experiences one must go through when revolution occurs?”

”Giuseppe, if you think so, then military countermeasures against riots are equally necessary in a revolution.”

Arthur said: ”Since the riot in Bristol, the British Army has deployed over ten thousand soldiers around the London area. Britain did not end up deploying the military on a large scale, not because our government is more lenient than the French Government, but because the situation was already controlled before such a deployment. You can be the one-tenth violent demonstrator, but as a police officer, I have to consider the remaining nine-tenths.”

Upon hearing this, Garibaldi could not help but turn his eyes to the Great Dumas next to him: ”Alexander, it seems my guess was correct. Britain’s situation seems not much different from what we see in Italy, and perhaps Italy is worse, as we can’t even account for one-tenth.”

As someone who personally experienced last year’s riots in London, though the Great Dumas was reluctant to admit it, he uncharacteristically spoke for his old friend under Arthur’s candid attitude.

”Giuseppe, there are indeed some differences. At least Britain genuinely passed the ’Reform Bill.’ Although as a Frenchman, I naturally dislike Wellington, I still have to say his concession at the last minute of last June’s reform was crucial. In military terms, he is a rival to Napoleon. But politically, he is practically the opposite of Robespierre. Although the British Government has done many bastard things, there is always someone who corrects the course at critical junctures. Sometimes you have to admit, the British possess a good fortune that other countries lack.”

Thinking of last year’s situation in London, the Great Dumas couldn’t help but shiver.

Although he participated in the French July Revolution, Britain’s situation was entirely different from that of France. France’s revolutions predominantly erupted in Paris, whereas Britain’s chaos was comprehensive, with an oppressive atmosphere that lasted for over six months, coupled with London’s somber weather, suffocating to remember.

Moreover, in the Great Dumas’ view, Britain’s luck was not just that political figures knew when to concede, but even God favored them.

The riots in British cities were triggered by parliamentary reform, so they rapidly subsided after the Reform Bill was passed. However, the Swin Riots in rural areas resulted from a grain shortage.

The Swin Riots subsided not because the farmers feared the Court, but because Britain experienced an unprecedented grain bountiful harvest this year.

Clearly, various social classes held grievances last year, yet this year, wherever you went, you could see smiling faces, as if everyone had come down with amnesia and forgotten what they were doing at this time last year.

This year’s Britain, few still cared about its own liberties; almost all the political news in newspapers was about supporting Poland’s independence and Italy’s revolution, starting to denounce the authoritarian governments of Prussia and Austria.

Moreover, the publication of a bestselling political pamphlet titled ’Russia’s Future’ made British citizens worry that Russia’s rapid expansion in Central Asia might affect Britain’s tea plantations in India. Concerns about Russia’s expansionist policies and autocratic regime led to the proliferation of the ’Russian threat’ rhetoric in British society.

Compared to British society’s ’international vision,’ the actions of the French July Monarchy Government left the Great Dumas feeling frustrated.

Although this government, created by the July Revolution, verbally supports Poland and Italy, claiming to bring France’s freedom to the land of Europe, they also adhere to the contradictory ’non-intervention policy,’ declaring they will not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

Everyone with a discerning eye can see the July Monarchy Government is utterly a weathervane when it comes to the revolution of freedom. They vocally support freedom because they themselves were created by a revolution.

As for why they do not fully support Poland and Italy, on one hand, they worry about falling out with the Russians and Austrians, and on the other, they fear that if Poland and Italy successfully undergo a revolution, Republicanism would be re-imported from these two regions.

Precisely because they need the skin of revolution without revealing their old content, the policies of the July Monarchy Government are consequently eccentric. Clearly, the British do not bear such historical burdens; from the onset, they opposed the French ideology, rejecting the ’Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ symbolized by the tricolor flag.

To rival French ideology, they even formulated their ideas during the Great Revolution. The British slogan was ’Liberty, Rule of Law, Nation.’

However, although both sets of slogans include liberty, it is clear British liberty and French liberty are not the same.

British liberty emphasizes the rule of law and individual rights, valuing the constitution and parliamentary system.

On the other hand, French liberty tends towards revolutionary spirit, emphasizing collective will, social equality, and institutional changes.

The two uprisings occurring simultaneously in June last year in London and Paris were essentially the real-life manifestations of the two forms of liberty.

Thinking of this, the Great Dumas couldn’t help but sigh. Although Britain made slight progress during that upheaval, in France, after the failed uprising, they halted without progress.

The French failure undoubtedly saddened the Great Dumas, but the British success even more unsettling.

What made the Great Dumas feel indignant was that due to being on the wanted list, the leader of Young Italy, Mazzini, couldn’t remain in France or Switzerland, yet Britain openly welcomed him.

If it weren’t for him hiding in London, Garibaldi and others probably wouldn’t see this dirt on Sir Arthur Hastings.

The July Monarchy Government previously prided themselves on sheltering political prisoners, but after Young Italy’s public appearance, it’s likely that refugees all over Europe realize that staying in Paris is less safe than staying in London.

The Great Dumas was about to vocally criticize the Duchy’s king of France, but before he could speak, the door was burst open by a ’Prussian private.’

Nourri, grabbing Bismarck by the collar with a gun aimed at his back, exclaimed: ”There’s a spy!”