The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 741 - 355 Britain’s Crisis_2

This situation couldn’t help but remind Arthur of a casual conversation he had once had with the Duke of Wellington.

"Although I don’t want to express disdain for others, I still have to say that I detest the news media, especially ’The Times’."

"Is it because they often slander you?"

"If they could slander me consistently for decades, just like Byron, perhaps I wouldn’t hate them so much. What I hate most about them is the rampant fake news, creating topics with false information and then harvesting even more sales with a completely opposite truth. Such behavior, apart from benefiting themselves and satisfying the curiosity of the citizens, is simply harmful to everyone else. Especially for us soldiers, they could literally take our lives."

"Are you referring to the time you were taken to the military court?"

"No. ’The Times’ went even further than that; they reported that I was dead, killed in battle on the Iberian Peninsula, and that Britain’s army was completely annihilated by Napoleon’s forces."

"Hmm... that is indeed an irresponsible report, which could cause widespread panic in the country."

"Compared to pride, panic is not that scary. Because ’The Times’ had previously reported on the Battle of Austerlitz; they said Napoleon was severely defeated by the coalition of Russia and Austria, fleeing in such a desperate state that he could only take fifty of his personal cavalry guards, and didn’t even have time to take his mistress Josephine with him."

"That’s utter nonsense, wasn’t Josephine not there?"

"Young man, your focus is always quite unique. However, at the time, the Army and the Foreign Office were more concerned with another factual error in the news report. Because of that report, we mistook the main force of the French army as having been annihilated and almost made a strategic misjudgment. If such disastrous consequences had really happened, I swear I would go to Fleet Street myself and strangle those journalists who write news with their eyes closed."

At that time, Arthur couldn’t understand why the Duke of Wellington harbored such great hostility towards ’The Times,’ and now, he not only understood but also entertained the same thought of strangling those reporters.

But what’s frustrating was that given the sheer expediency of ’The Times,’ they were unlikely to give him the chance to act.

And when it came to dealing with ’The Times,’ the Duke of Wellington’s method of execution would certainly not work, after all, Britain was not Prussia.

In this splintered, unrestrained, yet conservatively archaic little island, he could only refer to the method used by Viscount Palmerston, who supported ’The Morning Post’ as a means of making himself heard, taking ’The British’ as a base to spar with ’The Times.’

Isn’t it just big news?

As long as the Police Intelligence Department wants to do it, there are plenty of events like MP Harrison investing in Poland everywhere.

From now on, any such events are strictly off-limits for ’The Times’ to participate in.

Arthur, looking at the protesters scattering in all directions, suddenly heard Louis’s voice.

Indeed, this member of the Bonaparte Family was the field Commander of this riot suppression operation.

In this rapidly evolving situation in London, perhaps even Louis himself did not expect that the command skills he never got to exhibit during the uprisings of the carbonari in Italy would find a use on British soil.

Moreover, according to Arthur’s observations, although the opponents were not strong, Louis’s ability to quickly control the situation in the chaos on several occasions was enough to prove that what he learned at the Swiss military academy was not just for show.

His command skills may not be exceptionally strong, but he had more than enough talent to assume the role of a mid-range school-level Commander, and not a complete waste as the rumors suggested.

Or perhaps, even if it was a step back, he at least inherited his uncle Napoleon Bonaparte’s ability to suppress unrest.

Louis patted the mud-spattered trouser leg and lit a pipe, exhaling a long breath: "The mission is successfully completed once again. The ringleader was just identified by our detective, a provocateur from the National Workers’ Union of Britain, who is a textile worker by profession."

Arthur borrowed a light from Louis: "Textile worker? Don’t they have to work at this hour?"

Louis waved his hand: "No, Arthur, you’ve misunderstood. He’s a craftsman and owns his own small family workshop, not someone who works in a factory. And it’s not just him, most members of this so-called National Workers’ Union are indeed craftsmen."

Upon hearing this, Arthur instantly understood the situation.

After developing doubts about the frequent disturbances in London, he started assigning detectives from the Police Intelligence Department to infiltrate major protest organizations in London.

And after the undercover investigations by these detectives, the social identity of most of the rioters was basically clarified.

Just as Louis had stated, in fact, the people causing trouble on the streets of London were mostly artisan weavers, not the factory operatives, who were very few in number.

These weavers operated as family units, traditionally working for generations using classic looms to produce consumer goods like cotton cloth and handmade socks.

However, after the textile revolution, the emergence of large-scale textile factories swiftly monopolized their ecological niche in society.

The products of the large factories were not only of better quality than theirs, had brighter colors than theirs, but even their selling price could be lowered to a fraction of theirs.