The Shadow of Great Britain

Ledley didn’t lie this time. As the Chief Police Officer responsible for the West District, his stress levels have recently been through the roof.

London’s Charter Party’s main gathering places, aside from Shoreditch in the East District, are almost all in Ledley’s West District.

Previously, Ledley thought Arthur had him oversee the West District and Westminster as a ”conscience-lifting” gesture. After following him for so long, he thought he could finally get a big advantage.

After all, the West District is the safest area in all of London, a place where nobles and wealthy merchants gather. Being the Chief Police Officer in such a place was bound to be far superior to the East District.

But once Ledley took office, he immediately realized things were not as simple as he had thought.

Although the crime rate in the West District is much lower than in the East District, because the East District is poorly secured, when certain cases occur there, people tend to think it’s expected. Although this does not prevent the public from morally condemning East District officers, most of the time the condemnation is just that. As long as the case is eventually solved, people are generally able to forgive and support them.

However, if the same cases occur in the West District, the nature of the matter becomes different.

Especially when a case occurs in Mayfair, where the nobility is densely congregated, the police face not just moral condemnation but real blows.

Even if no case breaks out in Mayfair, if one occurs in other areas of the West District, Ledley still feels immense pressure.

The reason is simple: although the middle class in the West District doesn’t have the power of Parliament lords, their noise is far more daunting when raised.

Of course, if the task was just about handling cases and strengthening patrols, Ledley would reluctantly accept it. After all, this is what police work entails.

But the damnable thing is, the current focus in the West District isn’t about security but the Charter Party!

Who the hell knows why this group of middle-class folks enjoys mingling with the Radical Party? The Parliamentary reforms were passed in 1832, Arthur Hastings nearly got himself shot into a legendary figure at Scotland Yard, yet this bunch still demands more?

The Whig Party is who you elected, now both secret ballots and male suffrage bills have been vetoed. If you want to blame someone, blame the Whig Party!

Why trouble a mere Chief Police Officer at Scotland Yard?

Ledley now feels more and more that Arthur Hastings must have made preliminary calculations to move him to the West District. After all, before the new ”Police Bill” was even rolled out, there were already early signs of the Charter Party’s movements.

It’s well known that the meeting locations and outcomes of the Charter Party are often published in the ”North Star,” and that bastard Arthur Hastings has an obsessive attitude towards newspapers and statistics, so there’s no way he wouldn’t know the West District is a primary gathering spot for the Charter Party.

Every time Ledley recalls how excited he was when he received the West District appointment, he wishes he could smack his own face. Clearly, he was pushed onto the front lines by that scoundrel Hastings, and yet he was thanking him!

Sigh...

But what can be done?

As a young agent with no money, power, background, or lineage, if there’s a task with no risk yet offers credit, it’s unlikely to fall on him.

Though the situation in the West District is a bit complicated now, high risk does come with high reward.

After all, I am now at the rank of Chief Police Officer.

Upon reflection, Sir Arthur may have originally transferred me here to prepare for Her Majesty the Queen’s coronation ceremony.

After all, among his men, Tom is too soft-hearted for frontline law enforcement, Tony is doing so-so in Greenwich as his police management abilities are clearly limited to there, as for the remaining ones, Field is excellent at solving cases but rigid in his approach, Plunkett is a sharpshooter but for this kind of event, he has no role...

And Ledley’s old superior, Brayden Jones...

Ledley admits that when Jones acts, he does so with heartless precision, but his old superior lacks Ledley’s astuteness.

Aside from these, although Scotland Yard has several promising members from Hastings’s camp, even disregarding capability, these young men’s credentials wouldn’t match the rank of Chief Police Officer, dreaming of wearing the uniform? Don’t strain your back!

The most important thing is if Sir Arthur insists on using those young rookies, it would significantly violate Scotland Yard’s promotion procedures.

After hearing Ledley’s report, Arthur pondered for a moment: ”So, let’s return to the most critical issue.”

Ledley reflexively straightened his back.

”Based on the intelligence you currently have...” Arthur looked at him: ”Does the Charter Party, or those operating under the Charter Party banner, have clear intentions to cause disturbances during Her Majesty the Queen’s coronation?”

”If you only consider the currently verified content...” Ledley finally spoke, his tone noticeably tightened: ”No.”

Arthur didn’t show any sign of relaxation, instead, he gently raised an eyebrow: ”Continue.”

”At least, no developed plans organized by the Charter Party have been found.” Ledley added, ”No definite timetable, no designated location, and no so-called ’action plan.’ Internally, they continue to emphasize petitions, moral pressure, and media momentum, especially since the ’People’s Charter’ was recently published, most core figures know that any incident at a coronation would end the whole movement.”

At this point, he paused slightly before changing his tone: ”However.”

Arthur’s gaze sharpened.

”However...” Ledley repeated, ”We’ve noticed that some non-core figures are privately discussing another possibility.”

”What kind?”

”Not quite to the level of disrupting the coronation.” Ledley carefully chose his words: ”According to their claims, it’s about showing the country how much the people’s voices are being ignored. For example, whether they could create chaos or disturbances along the parade route peripheries on coronation day, if they could initiate some symbolic events without approaching the Royal Family or breaching police perimeters, to ensure newspapers mention ’not everyone was celebrating.’ Such as sudden disputes in the crowd, tossing objects at mounted police, overturning a few carriages away from the central areas, these are under consideration.”

After finishing, Ledley added: ”Of course, I don’t rule out some more radical opinions, like launching a nationwide protest march on coronation day, or worse, initiating a general strike. However, these ideas have few followers and currently lack the value for focused observation.”

A gust of wind blew through the alley, lifting some waste papers to swirl in the corner.

After hearing this, Arthur did not immediately comment but instead asked: ”These people, and those faces repeatedly seen and purposefully directing discussions, are they the same group?”

”High overlap.” Ledley responded promptly, ”Furthermore, one detail is worth noting, these individuals have a far better understanding of the police deployment for the coronation than typical radicals.”

”To what extent?”

”To the extent that they know which routes are primarily controlled by mounted police and which sections rely more on foot patrols. They know where creating chaos would most likely force us to redeploy police forces.” Ledley said worriedly, ”Sir, with your permission, these specific measures don’t seem to be mere rumors among workers, which is precisely why I wanted confirmation from you today.”