Chapter 780: Chapter 368 The Final Ultimatum_3
The small shops selling goods on the streets naturally closed down, and although a man in the tavern was selling newspapers, he was imdiately arrested. However, very soon, so boys and ordinary citizens promptly took over his role, but within minutes, everything seed to return to calm.
The Royal Palace Hotel and all the shops closed their doors, which wasn’t unusual for Paris, but if it had happened in London, it would have been big news. The houses of all the ministers also filled with ard personnel, prompting widespread discussion among the people.
After the parliantary eting concluded, they declared themselves the sole and true representatives of the people, stating that without their approval, everything was illegal. This ant that after January 1, all actions taken by the ministers were illegal, and the people no longer needed to pay taxes to the king.
Of course, these were only the views of the opposition. They believed that they would again witness a very severe situation, but in the king’s camp, governnt supporters fully controlled the military. They believed that with ard force, anything was feasible.
The difference in opinions naturally led to fighting on the streets of Paris, where in two days, over 800 protesters and more than 200 soldiers died. Subsequently, the white flag symbolizing the Bourbon Dynasty fell, and the tricolor began to fly over every public building in Paris.
Regarding this revolution, Uncle Jas and I felt relieved that the outco was much better than anticipated without triggering a large-scale civil war, otherwise the French public debt would not have stayed at 79 points but would have plumted to 39 points.
To prove he was truly pleased, Uncle Jas imdiately expressed his support for the revolution. He not only dressed my three-year-old cousin Alphonse in a miniature uniform of the National Guard but also generously donated 15,000 Francs at once to aid innocent civilians injured in the street battles.
“Speaking of which,” Lionel smiled, “Arthur, if you don’t believe what I’m saying, you can perfectly well write a letter to Paris and ask that annoying Heinrich Heine. He has been closely watching every move of Rothschild in Paris. He describes the relationship between Uncle Jas and the King of France, Louis Philippe, as if they were lovers, inseparable. Rothschild wouldn’t oppose the governnt; we only support the governnt, no matter what governnt it is, as long as they hold power, we support them. As for civil war, the cost is simply too great for us.”
Arthur nodded slightly, “And it’s not just civil war. I suppose in the Financial City there are quite a few who oppose even foreign wars?”
Lionel looked into Arthur’s eyes, rather apologetically, “Arthur, although I am more inford than most, I’m not omnipotent like God. Your experiences in Liverpool are extrely complex, but I assure you, Rothschild wasn’t involved, we have no stake in import-export trade.”
“Of course, Lionel, I absolutely trust you on that. Otherwise, I would not have discussed the funding sources of the protest groups so openly with you.”
Arthur asked, “I just want to understand, if it wasn’t the bankers, how then did the money flow out of the Financial City?”
Lionel put down his coffee cup, “I only ant, bankers like Rothschild of this magnitude are unlikely to engage in extres, but that doesn’t an smaller players won’t take risks. We’re satisfied with our current position, but not everyone is content with theirs. For so, civil war might be seen as an opportunity, a chance for them to replace Rothschild, to replace Barings. There’s no shortage of ambitious people in any era.”
Arthur asked, “If Scotland Yard were to send an official docunt to the Financial City Corporation asking the Financial City police to arrest these individuals, is there a chance of success?”
“Minuscule.”
Lionel sighed, “Arthur, you surely understand that it’s not just about individuals, but a group. They also hold seats within the Financial City Corporation, even more so than Rothschild and Barings combined. Perhaps singled out, they are nothing, but now, these people are united under the banner of parliantary reform. And as your friend, I advise you to drop this idea quickly. You work in the governnt, so you should understand that if the Cabinet really wanted to eradicate them, why would Scotland Yard be prompted to act against the Financial City? The Financial City has its own police, and their resources are even more abundant than those of Scotland Yard’s jurisdiction. If there were a real intention to act, they would have done it themselves.”
“Arthur, although London is not Liverpool, in so aspects, London is just an enlarged Liverpool. We all can only operate within the small circles God has drawn for us, no one can overstep those boundaries. You might manage to arrest those who conspired to assassinate Duke Wellington and bring them to justice, but beyond that, you can’t do much more.”
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