Chapter 396 Your Name, Britain and France

The editorial office of "The British" was more lively than ever.

The visitor from Paris rescued the editors from the dull review work. The various big events that popped out of his mouth made everyone scream in surprise.

Due to the cholera epidemic currently raging in Europe, port controls in France are increasingly tightened. News that used to reach Britain in a few days may now be delayed by several weeks.

And some horrifying rumors that happened in many cities in inland France were unknown to Alexandre Dumas and others in London.

Dumas held the coffee pot and hurriedly added a little more for the guest, but before he could put the pot back, the fat man impatiently asked: "How is the situation in Lyon? At the end of last year, I heard that Lyon Textile workers revolted but were later suppressed? "

The guest who was questioned by Dumas was wearing an old and faded dark coat. Judging from the material, this coat should be made of wool or woolen. However, due to wear and tear and repeated repairs, it has now lost its original luster and luster. texture.

Although the shirt underneath was clean, it was made of cotton and linen blended fabric, and the color looked pale and dull due to repeated washing.

His collar is higher, but the only flaw is that he couldn't replace the new collar stay in time and it looked a little loose.

As for the most important clothing accessories for a French gentleman, he could only find a simple silver cufflink and what looked like an ancestral ring on his left index finger.

The guest was holding a coffee cup to warm his hands. His deep voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone present.

"Well... the textile workers in Lyon began to riot in October last year. At that time, they had not thought about an uprising, but only demanded a wage increase.

They complained: 'We silk weavers work fourteen to five hours a day, sometimes even eighteen hours, but we are all so poor that we are naked. And those who are high-ranking officials wear fine coats and brocade breastbands. We weave these, but even if we starve to death, we will not have a piece of cloth to cover ourselves with. ’”

The lady who came to submit the manuscript couldn't help but be moved when she heard this. This situation reminded her of something.

She chanted:

"Why should people in England give

Trampling your gentlemen's fields?

Why should we work hard and spin continuously?

Use brocade to decorate the bodies of tyrants?

Why, from the cradle to the grave,

Provide food and clothing, defend with life

That bunch of ungrateful parasites,

They are squeezing your sweat and drinking your blood!

…

You sow the seeds, others will reap;

When you find wealth, it belongs to others;

You weave clothes and put them on others;

You forge weapons and hold them in other people's hands. "

When the guest heard this poem, he couldn't help but smile and asked: "Is it Shelley's "Song to England"? I also like this work very much."

The lady couldn't help crying when she heard this: "Thank you for your support. It is because of supporters like you that I will continue to compile and publish Percy's legacy."

When the guest heard this, he couldn't help but asked: "Who are you?"

Tennyson on the side glanced at the lady unbearably and introduced the guest in a low voice: "Mr. Stendhal, this is Mr. Shelley's wife, Mrs. Mary Shelley."

When Stendhal heard this, he quickly took off his hat and stood up and said: "Madam, I'm sorry, I really didn't know it was you. I didn't mean to mention your sadness, but your husband is indeed a very outstanding person. , not just a great poet.”

Seeing this situation, Alexandre Dumas quickly winked at Tennyson.

Tennyson also understood and helped Mrs. Shelley to stand up and said: "Madam, the air here is too stuffy, why don't I go out with you to relax? You have been under too much pressure at work recently, and there is no rush to sort out the works. , It doesn’t matter if you take your time. Whether it’s me, Charles, or Alexander, we can help you share some of it.”

Alexandre Dumas also smiled and said: "Although I may not be as good at organizing poems as Alfred, I am good at adapting scripts. It just so happens that my new work "Antony" has been deadlined recently. Madam, if you can trust me If so, you can leave the subsequent script adaptation of your "Frankenstein" to me."

Dickens, who had been listening to the story quietly on the side, also raised his hand: "I have recently accumulated some experience in scripts. Although I can't do it as well as Alexander, I can still help out."

Mrs. Shelley raised her handkerchief to wipe her tears and replied with a smile: "Thank you very much for the help of you enthusiastic gentlemen, but I am no longer the weak woman beside Percy. If you really want to help me, then Don't interfere, "The British" has done enough for me and Percy. Although I have to reiterate my gratitude to the editorial department every time, this kind of gratitude is endless. "When will Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Hastings be in the editorial office? I would also like to thank them in person."

"The two of them..."

Dumas scratched his cheek: "They are a bit difficult to deal with. Although we promised you before, we will find an opportunity for everyone to sit down and talk. But you also know that Benjamin is now a member of parliament, and with the recent situation, he is so busy with the party that he can't get away. Not to mention coming to the editorial office, he has been having difficulty in producing new works.

However, you are not without the opportunity to meet him. He is still very active in various social dances. In addition to sorting out the posthumous works, you can also attend more social occasions. You may bump into him one night."

Dickens on the side said immediately: "Arthur is in a similar situation. He has just been promoted to assistant superintendent of police. Scotland Yard needs him to preside over the work, and also needs to build a new police agency. Close, and even have to go to the streets to do some front-line work. Not to mention you, even we haven't met him for a while. "

"Is that so..."

Mrs. Shelley could not hide her disappointment, but she finally expressed her understanding: "Mr. Benjamin is not in a hurry, but Mr. Hastings, I boasted to one of his enthusiastic supporters that I would definitely help her meet Mr. Hastings..."

"She? Enthusiastic supporter?"

Dickens, who was new to the playwriting circle, heard this and couldn't help teasing Dumas: "Madam, if it was Alexander, she would have gotten what she wanted long ago. But Arthur... can only wait and see."

Dumas glared at Dickens and secretly gave him a middle finger behind his back.

But he really couldn't refute the other party, after all, the news of his illegitimate child had spread throughout the editorial department of "The Brit".

Even Blackwood, the competitor of "The Brit", didn't know where to get the gossip from. These guys wrote several columns on the page to criticize Dumas for playing with hidden rules, saying that the fat man brought bad French style to the London drama circle and left a stain on the glorious resume of British drama since Shakespeare.

In order to prevent everyone from shifting the focus of attention to himself, Dumas quickly turned the topic back to France.

He asked Stendhal: "Let's talk about the workers in Lyon."

Stendhal nodded and told everything he heard: "The workers demanded a wage increase, but the authorities responded quite toughly. Senior official Bouvier Dumora refused any negotiations and said: "It's wishful thinking for me to ask employers to increase wages and reduce working hours." The workers saw that the government and factory owners would not give in, so they planned to organize a riot.

The two sides dragged on for a month, and finally the authorities and factory owners could not stand the pressure and finally decided to sit at the negotiation table to see the situation. But they didn't actually want to solve the problem, but regarded the negotiation as a delaying tactic. But what they didn't expect was that on the day of the negotiation, 6,000 textile workers went on strike. He They gathered outside the negotiation venue and sang the Marseillaise.

The government and factory owners' negotiators were scared, so they were forced to accept the negotiation agreement. At that time, everyone thought that the workers had won, but the situation took a sharp turn for the worse in the next few days. Those factory owners sent people directly to Paris to intercept the messenger who delivered the message, and also jointly wrote to the Prime Minister of the Cabinet to oppose the implementation of the wage agreement that had just been negotiated. "

When Dumas heard this, he immediately sneered: "Needless to say, Louis Philippe's government must have chosen to support the factory owners, am I right? He does not represent those hereditary nobles, but behind him are those bankers and factory owners, those millionaires. "

Stendhal did not answer Dumas' question, he narrated calmly.

"I only know that General Roquet said: 'If the workers dare to revolt, I will make their bellies explode.' Not only that, he also sent his adjutant to Paris to ask Louis Philippe to send reinforcements to Lyon. But before his reinforcements arrived, the textile workers in Lyon launched an uprising.

In just three days, Lyon's city hall, police station and streets were all controlled by the rebels. Roquet tried to organize a counterattack, but after a night of fighting, he only had a cavalry squad left, the arsenal was occupied, and the logistics transport team was ambushed.

Seeing this, Roquet could only lead this cavalry squad to break out in the direction of Paris under the cover of night. At that time, the Parisian literary world was celebrating, whether it was a republican like you or a Bonapartist like me. We all thought that a new round of revolution was inevitable.

But it turned out that we were too optimistic about the situation. Louis Philippe's government was not as fragile as we thought. There were still many people in France who were loyal to him, and the workers' committee in Lyon was too stupid and naive.

They didn't want to make things too awkward with the government, so they released the captured senior official Bouvier Dumora, and reinstated most of the city government and police department, and even invited the police chief to participate in their legislative discussions.

They should have thought that in France, you either don't revolt or you have to revolt to the end. The enemy will not be grateful to you because you are kind and magnanimous. They will only smile at you while waiting for an opportunity to retaliate behind your back.

Sure enough, as soon as the news that Lyon was occupied by the rebels arrived in Paris, Louis Philippe immediately ordered troops in Paris. The newly formed French Foreign Legion was used in this suppression of Lyon workers. In addition, he also summoned Six infantry regiments, a cavalry regiment and an artillery regiment, with a total of 60,000 people engaged in this battle.

As for the person who was ordered to command this army, besides his son, the Duke of Orleans, there was another person you would never think of. "

Alexandre Dumas asked: "Who?"

There was a rare fluctuation on Stendhal's face: "Iron Hand, Marshal Jean-de-Dieux Soult."

When Alexandre Dumas heard this, he felt as if a fish bone was stuck in his throat. He paused with his mouth half open for a long time before speaking out: "Six infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and one artillery regiment, sixty thousand "Iron Hand" Soult is still leading the army. If you didn't tell me what he was doing, I would have thought that Louis Philippe was planning to have a fight with the anti-French alliance army led by the Duke of Wellington in the suburbs. "

Stendhal was silent for a long time and said: "Mr. Dumas, this is why I don't agree with your return to Paris now. The atmosphere in Paris is really tense now. Whether it is the Bonapartists or the Republicans, everyone's heads are tense. There was a ragtag riot in Paris just before I came to London."

"Scavenger riot? What's that about?"

Stendhal said: "I don't know if the authorities really want to manage public health or to monitor the restless crowd. In short, they contracted the entire garbage cleaning business in Paris to Saravit Company, and the Grand Paris Police Department also issued a document It reaffirmed its monopoly on the capital's trash, banning rural residents and those outside sanitation companies from picking up trash or other items on Paris's public roads.

For the Paris Police and the sanitation company, this is certainly a happy ending. The Grand Paris Police Department will not only reduce the financial burden, but also hope to improve the sanitary conditions in Paris and take the opportunity to eliminate the smelly urban waste pickers that affect the city's appearance.

In addition to obtaining the established contracting fees, Saravit Sanitation Company can also earn at least 500,000 francs in additional profits every year by virtue of its monopoly rights on garbage collection and sorting. But the problem is that the interests of both groups have been hit hard by this announcement.

One group is the owners of old garbage trucks, and The National puts their number at around 300. Regardless of the profit from selling garbage, each old carriage can earn 15 francs per day in rental fees. Although their numbers were small, their opposition was particularly fierce because of their huge losses.

Another group is Paris's urban waste pickers, who may number between 8,000 and 10,000 people. Cases of cholera had just appeared in Paris. In addition to asking all localities to promptly treat patients and report the epidemic in the "Legend", the French Central Committee also issued a decree requiring special cleaning and removal of urban garbage.

Under the urging of the government, Saravit Company quickly put their new garbage trucks into use for cleaning. But as soon as the news spread, waste pickers and owners of old garbage trucks became angry. They gathered together to attack sanitation vehicles, beat the truck drivers, and set the Saravit company's office on fire.

While the scavengers caused commotion, the Republicans also took the opportunity to launch an attack. On the same night, they targeted the Saint-Pélagé prison in Paris, where political prisoners were detained, the same prison where Galois was imprisoned. The prisoners launched a riot on the pretext that cholera threatened their survival, and more than 200 republicans launched an attack from outside. "

As a typical French republican, Alexandre Dumas was excited when he heard the news. He asked excitedly: "Have they succeeded?"

Stendhal shook his head and said: "It's a pity, Mr. Dumas. The police soon received the news of the prison riot. I guess it was mostly Vidocq's fault. After all, arranging informants in prison is his specialty. Saint Not long after the riot in Perage Prison, the National Guard and the Mounted Police of the Grand Paris Police Department arrived for reinforcements. They shot and wounded many prisoners and republicans. But the good news is that there was only one unlucky one. He was beaten to death. And some people escaped during the riot, but Galois was not among them."

Hearing this, Alexandre Dumas sighed: "If I were there... things would definitely not turn out like this. Damn it! Now I feel more and more that I should go back to Paris instead of staying in London to write some damn drama!"

"That's not okay."

Click.

The door to the editorial office was pushed open. Arthur held a pipe in his mouth and raised his hand to touch the brim of his hat: "Alexander, if you want to return to Paris, you must first apply to your boss."