The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 905: Chapter 21: The 1st Step of the Emperor of France_2

He wanted to establish a great nation comparable to Greece or Rome. To this end, he had already built many towering neoclassical arches, like the Triumphal Arch. He had constructed numerous public works projects, such as the new docks and canals on the Seine River, as well as slaughterhouses, markets, and warehouses. However, he no longer had any extra time left.

At this point, Louis turned to look at his cousin beside him, and upon seeing the features of his face—so similar to Napoleon’s in their outline, forehead, and mouth—Louis couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

But it was only a small pang of jealousy, for he knew that although the other was Napoleon’s biological son, he was ultimately just an illegitimate child, and Napoleon’s initial promise to him was merely to make him the King of Poland, not the Emperor of France.

Charles-Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte was the true Bonaparte, while Alexander Kolonna Walewski, though closer by blood to Napoleon, could never be considered part of the core circle of the Bonaparte Family.

Walewski also seemed a bit touched by the memory of the scenery. He was only five years old when Napoleon was exiled, and the year after Napoleon’s downfall, his mother also passed away.

Walewski was cared for by his stepfather, growing up in Belgium until he was 14. Those exiles from Poland dedicated to national restoration regarded him as their leader and hoped that at the right moment, Walewski, this Napoleon-designated King of Poland, would take up the banner of Polish restoration.

Tsarist Russia, fearing Walewski’s influence among the Poles, conscripted the Polish citizen Walewski into the Russian army when he was 14.

Walewski refused to accept Tsarist Russia’s conscription, and with his stepfather’s help, he fled to Paris via London.

Two years ago, when Poland erupted in rebellion, Walewski, under the secret orders of the King of France, Louis Philippe, set off for Warsaw and joined the newly formed Polish revolutionary government.

As soon as Walewski returned to Warsaw, he was warmly welcomed by the Poles, and the revolutionary government immediately appointed him as a diplomatic envoy for a secret mission to London to seek aid.

Unfortunately, for various unspeakable reasons, Walewski’s trip to London was not successful, and he was unable to obtain any substantial help from the British Foreign Secretary, Palmerston, not even a word of encouragement.

What was worse, a Scotland Yard officer who should have been unrelated to the matter encountered an attempted assassination in Liverpool related to this mission, resulting in a permanent distinctive feature in his eye.

Walewski took a deep breath: ”Louis, my cousin, I know, as you do, that these years have been very difficult for us. Your brother died in the Carbonari uprising in Italy, the King of Rome died of tuberculosis at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, and the newly rising light in Warsaw was extinguished by the fierce winds from St. Petersburg. But we must look ahead; our spines will not be bent by temporary difficulties.”

Louis replied with a smile: ”You’re right, Alexander, that’s also why I’ve returned to Paris. There’s no point in running away, sooner or later I have to face it all. Why should the men of the Bonaparte Family fear standing on the land of Paris? This is clearly the land that nurtured us. You realized this much earlier than I did; if I remember correctly, you’ve been living in Paris for seven or eight years now?”

Walewski nodded: ”This is the ninth year, but I didn’t realize it earlier than you did, I was forced to. At the time, Russians demanded my extradition from almost all the countries I lived in, but only the French Government explicitly refused this unreasonable request. Whether it was the previous restored Bourbon Dynasty or the current Louis Philippe, they were unwilling to hand me over as an important pawn to the Russians. Everyone knows that as long as they hold me, they hold the key to controlling the Russians.”

Louis, hearing this, opened his mouth with some helplessness: ”It seems that your years in Paris weren’t by choice either.”

Walewski laughed broadly: ”Louis, you can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs, remember this saying? I remember Uncle Joseph often repeating this back in the day.”

Louis leaned against the carriage and replied with a smile: ”It’s the same now, if you go to the Regency Crescent in London to find him, you’ll hear him spouting those words every few days. Earlier, when I wanted to be a policeman at Scotland Yard and my mother disagreed, he used that phrase to convince her: ’You can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs. You want Louis to become an outstanding young man but are unwilling to let him undergo the necessary experiences, how can that work?’”

Walewski asked curiously: ”Did you work at Scotland Yard? In what capacity?”

Louis joked: ”I mainly helped out, did some clerical work. Last year when you went to London, did you see the name Arthur Hastings in the newspapers? He’s the Assistant Police Director of the Greater London Police Department, oh no, it should be called the Royal Greater London Police Department now.”

”Arthur Hastings...” Walewski recalled: ”I seem to have some impression, but I remember it wasn’t from the newspapers, it was on a sign at the theater entrance, there was a pianist also named Arthur Hastings.”