The next day.

Palace of Westminster.

In Wardhouse's office, he and Churchill were snorting cigars.

"Whew~"

He let out a sigh of contentment.

Churchill asked, "What?" I think you're in a good mood today. ”

Wardhouse shrugged and didn't reply.

But it is not difficult to see from his relaxed expression that he is indeed in a good mood.

Early this morning, he received news from Sir Stephenson from the soldiers of the Cold Creek Guard, saying that Princess Margarita had finally stopped dwelling on letters from readers at night, and had gone to bed early and got up early, and Edward VII was very happy.

Churchill, though curious, did not ask much with interest.

He digressed from the subject,

"Unexpectedly, Robert actually escaped."

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, leader of the Conservative Party, is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Waldhouse couldn't help but sigh,

Who would have thought that Her Majesty would suddenly sail west?

Just last year, in 1900, everyone felt that the queen's health was worse day by day, and even the award ceremony on her birthday was suspended for an hour and a half because she needed to rest.

The two parties are well prepared for this,

As a result, the Queen's body miraculously recovered, surviving the gloomy, wet, cold winter of London.

For the elderly, winter is the most difficult to carry.

Just when the two parties relaxed their vigilance, the queen's physical condition took a sharp turn for the worse and she died.

This was a surprise to everyone.

Originally, the Liberal Party had the confidence to win more seats by attacking Cecil for his negligence in handling the Royal Navy's budget affairs, and even directly pulled Cecil off the horse, but had to give the other party a chance to breathe because of the Queen's illness.

Wardhouse whispered, "I shouldn't die. ”

Churchill nodded, took a puff on his cigar, and tasted, "It's Indonesian again...... I'm tired of smoking. ”

Ten thousand grass and mud horses galloped through Wardhouse's heart,

!

it!

He said, "Then don't smoke it." ”

With that, he turned around and removed a small lock from his desk and added it to the cigar cabinet.

Churchill smiled,

"Don't ...... either"

Before the words fell, there was a sudden knock on the door outside,

At the same time, someone called the door: "Winston! ”

The movements of the two men in the room froze.

Wardhouse asked silently, "Is it Cecil?" ”

Churchill nodded solemnly,

"I'm going?"

Wardhouse gestured to the door.

Churchill walked over and opened the door,

I saw Cecil standing in the doorway, fiddling with his bowler hat,

Behind him was another Conservative politician, Arthur James Balfour,

The two of them looked inside the room with a lot of amusement in their eyes.

Churchill put on a smiley face,

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, what is this?"

Cecil said with a relaxed face, "Winston, I knew that I was not in the office, and I must have hid from Old John to find a cigar to smoke." You see, people have forced people to lock their cigar cabinets. ”

With that, Cecil nodded to Wardhouse.

The latter stepped forward,

"Robert, what the hell is going on?"

The corners of Cecil's mouth hooked an extremely subtle arc, because of the cover of the beard, it was difficult to even see that he was smiling,

He said, "You don't know yet? ”

This half-spoken way is really annoying, like chasing a broken chapter.

Wardhouse frowned,

"Something to say."

Cecil said: "The Mirror is under siege. ”

Churchill:???

Wardhouse: ???

Both of them were confused, thinking that they had misheard.

"The Mirror" is so popular, why is it being "besieged"?

Moreover, some time ago, the "Mirror" received the attention of the royal family because she ranked Queen Victoria at the top of "The 20 Greatest Britons",

This should be the consensus of the citizens of London.

Who is so?

Unthinkable!

Cecil's face remained the same, but the smile in his heart was even stronger, and he spat out a name: "Emmeline Pankhurst." ”

Churchill: "......"

Wardhouse: "......"

Both of them were speechless, and their hearts said that Pankhurst was indeed an iron-headed baby.

However, with the layout of the "Mirror", which is both genders and people's livelihood, and is on the left side of the spectrum, why did Pankhurst lead people to "besiege" the "Mirror"?

Still puzzled.

Cecil said, "It seems that you don't know yet? Let's go over and see? I have already ordered the carriage to be prepared. ”

To say this is not to give people a chance to refuse,

Wardhouse and Churchill could only agree.

The four of them left together, got into the spacious carriage prepared by Cecil, and headed straight for Fleet Street.

As soon as they turned onto the main road, they heard a noise,

When Waldhouse lifted the curtain, he saw that at the entrance of the newspaper "Mirror", many women were blocked in a large lump, and even the carriage carrying the newspaper was sealed on the periphery, and it was impossible to enter, let alone the bookseller and the newsboy.

In this way, the Mirror will not be able to sell a single copy today.

"Tsk......"

Wardhouse was speechless, looked around, looking for people in Scotland Yard, and it didn't take long to see the figures of several patrol officers.

He said, "I'll ask." ”

After saying that, he jumped out of the carriage.

Watching his back get farther and farther away, Balfour whispered: "As an investor in the Mirror, Sir Wardhouse does have reason to be anxious. ”

It sounds sarcastic.

Churchill didn't pick up and looked at the group of women.

I saw Pankhurst standing in the crowd, shouting: "The Mirror must respect the original work of "Jane Eyre" and must not modify the content at will, otherwise it will be disrespectful to the author, Ms. Charlotte Brontë!" ”

This was immediately echoed by a group of ladies,

Fierce criticism rises on all sides,

"The Mirror is not allowed to revise the original work!"

"Respect to Lady Charlotte Brontë!"

"Respect!"

……

The quarrel turned upside down.

Because it is in Fleet Street, it is the base camp of major print media, so the surrounding area is full of reporters who are not too big to watch the excitement.

Several major newspapers have even set up cameras,

For the Mirror, they don't mind taking the opportunity to step on it.

And those ladies will even adjust their posture slightly, or pose intentionally or unintentionally, to ensure that they are more photogenic and more "advanced" after being photographed.

Churchill couldn't help but want to laugh,

It was a very serious matter, but it looked like a joke.

However, you can't blame Pankhurst,

Her main area of activity is in Manchester, London has no roots, and it is good to be able to find so many people in a hurry.

The quantity is in place, and the quality cannot be forced.

Pankhurst's speech continued: "The first copyright law was passed by the English Parliament in 1709, and its name is directly the name of a woman, the Queen Anna Act, who gave the author the right to her work!" ”

Churchill was a speaker himself, and I have to admit that Pankhurst did have two brushes,

For example, third-person pronouns,

In the inconspicuous transition, Pankhurst uses "she", which is not far-fetched at all, but can well mobilize the emotions of the women present.

Cecil said: "Winston, I don't think the Mirror will sell today. ”

Churchill glanced in the direction of the Mirror,

"It's hard to say."

Cecil raised an eyebrow,

As a result, just as he was about to retort, the door of the carriage was opened,

Wardhouse came in, gasped and said, "I asked just now, but Professor Lu didn't let Scotland Yard interfere." ”

……

"Mirror" newspaper,

Land Time Office.

Margarita looked at the crowd gathering outside, and couldn't help but be full of worry, and at the same time, her face was full of puzzlement.

She turned her head and looked at Lu Shi, wanting to say something.

On the other side, Scott couldn't hold back and asked, "Lu, why?" ”

At this time, Lu Shi was making tea, staring at the tea leaves and dancing in the glass cup.

"What, why?"

Scott said: "The people from Scotland Yard just came and said they could disperse the people who gathered. Moreover, the reasons they gave were reasonable and legitimate, because Pankhurst was really getting in the way of our business. ”

Margarita nodded along,

That's what she wanted to ask.

Lu Shi took a sip of tea, moistened his throat, and then said: "Some things can be hard, but some things can't be hard, otherwise it will only backfire." ”

Pankhurst is very vigorous and has a lot of influence in Manchester.

Moreover, as the wheels of the times rolled forward, the issue of rights and interests became more and more acute and had to be resolved, as can be seen from the slogan of the movement led in the later period, even "to act, not to move, is our eternal motto".

Window smashing, bombing, arson, hunger strike, suicide......

Highlight a truth.

In this case, if you really use tough measures, it will only make the other party more united, but it will not end well.

Scott asked, "So what do we do?" ”

Lu Shi glanced at the sky outside,

"What time is it?"

Scott helplessly,

"You're not taking the trouble in front of you too seriously, are you?"

He took out his pocket watch, looked at it, and said, "It's past twelve o'clock at noon." Up to now, today's "Mirror" has not been shipped, and it is past the prime time to sell newspapers. ”

Lu Shi spreads his hands,

"Well, let's wish the Manchester Guardian a better day."

Scott was speechless,

"You're meow! @*#￥%……”

He shook his head and smiled wryly.

Since the birth of the Mirror, all the big newspapers have been hit indiscriminately, especially the troika of The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Manchester Guardian, which have taken away a lot of market share.

On the contrary, the sales of highly professional newspapers such as the Financial Times have increased instead of falling.

And so, the people of Fleet Street found a new direction,

In the tabloids, they can't roll the "Mirror" that is several positions ahead, but in terms of professionalism, they can roll in various fields.

Scott said, "Don't be sarcastic. ”

Lu Shi smiled,

"It's a nice day."

Alas......

Scott sighed silently, and then asked, "Lu, what the hell do you do?" ”

Lu Shi said: "Wait a little longer, wait until two o'clock." Until then......"

He pulled the address book out of the drawer and flipped through it carefully.

Scott and Margarita were all curious to come up to see if Lu Shi had any back-up, but they found that Lu Shi was looking at the page with the label "restaurant", his face was serious, and he seemed to be carefully choosing.

The two were confused,

It took a while for Margarita to regain her ability to speak.

"Professor Lu, what are you?"

Lu Shi said, "Do you want some fish and chips?" I'll give them a little more sauce. ”

Margarita is incoherent,

"I ...... You ......"

Lu Shi was curious,

"Could it be that Buckingham Palace ...... Forehead...... Haven't you eaten this food? ”

Margarita didn't know what to say, so she decided to give up thinking and said, "I'm going to add mayonnaise with chopped parsley." ”

……

The sun rises higher and higher.

Even in London's pleasant spring, the temperatures are starting to get unbearable.

Not far from the entrance of the newspaper hall, there was a small patrol officer with a pestle.

The patrol captain let go of the button near the neckline and cursed in a low voice: "Fxxk! It's too hot too! The old ladies...... Ahem...... Those 'elegant' ladies are really tolerant, and they don't go back to their respective homes. ”

As he spoke, he waved his hand,

"Is there still water?"

Immediately, a small patrolman came up and said, "Yes, yes! ”

A kettle was handed over.

The captain unscrewed the lid and poured it into his mouth, but found that there was a faint smell of rust in the water, and immediately became angry.

"You're not going to get me water from the Thames, are you? Odoriferous! ”

The little patrolman quickly shook his head,

"Sir, I got the water from the Times headquarters!"

The captain frowned,

"Eighty percent of them have a problem with their kettle."

He threw the kettle back to the little patrolman, then took out the cloth bag he had with him, and tried to roll some tobacco, but considering that the more he smoked, the more thirsty he became, he finally stuffed the cloth bag back.

At this time, the door of the "Mirror" suddenly opened.

The scene was quiet for a while,

Then, hurried footsteps rang out, and Pankhurst led the group of women around.

The captain cursed secretly: "Fxxk! ”

The newspaper hall obviously has a side door and a back door, who is so iron-headed that they have to go through the front door?

The patrolmen stood on tiptoe and looked,

Someone whispered: "It seems to be Mr. Lu, the editor-in-chief of the Mirror." ”

As soon as these words came out, they all knew that they were in trouble.

Someone asked, "Captain, should we call for support!" I'm worried something will go wrong! ”

The captain frowned, weighed for a moment, and always felt the need to observe, so he shook his head and said, "No, don't worry about it first." Unless there is violence...... Anyway, don't be in a hurry to blow the whistle or touch your weapons, you know? ”

The patrol officers should be immediately.

They looked at the crowd.

I saw Lu Shi walk out, holding a pair of fish and chips wrapped in newspaper in his hand, just like a leisurely stroll.

He lifted up his hand,

"Guys, the sun is so hot, do you need water?"

This question was unexpected by everyone.

“……”

“……”

“……”

An eerie silence hit, almost audible of pins dropping.

Lu Shi chuckled: "It seems that no one has objected." ”

As soon as he waved his hand, a dozen clerks walked out of the door of the newspaper office and put buckets full of water on the ground.

Droplets of water slide down the walls of the bucket, and the droplets glisten in the sunlight.

"Goo......

There are quite a few people who are spitting.

The first time Pankhurst encountered someone playing this trick, his brain was confused, and he intuitively judged that Lu Shi should be stopped.

She said, "What are you doing...... In the ......"

Lu Shi finished speaking for her,

"Bribes?"

Pankhurst is full of black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

She didn't expect that Lu Shibi would be on the line than herself.

Lu Shi chuckled,

"Just drink some water, shouldn't it? Besides, I'm ......"

In the middle of his words, he looked at the fish and chips in his hand with parsley and mayonnaise, and with a look of sudden realization, he said, "Mrs. Pankhurst, do you think I'm going to give you fish and chips?" ”

Pankhurst is about to blow up,

Fish and chips?

To say that this thing is a bribe is absolutely pure yin and yang weirdness.

Unexpectedly, Lu Shi did even better,

He scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "I'm sorry, this is my lunch, I only bought one." ”

(End of chapter)