Chapter 658 The Dreyfus Case

In addition to the disagreement in values, Gao Fei declined the first commission for another more important reason, which was to free up his energy to prepare for the second commission.

In fact, Paul Porter introduced him to a business for a reason that was not convenient to state, which was that he hoped that he could take over Mr. Y's commission and use it as an excuse to decline the second commission, so that they would not even be friends in the future.

Why did the second commission make many nobles, including Paul, feel uneasy?

The client was a lady named Dreyfus, a former officer of the Intelligence Department of the Kingdom of Feizhen, and the wife of Captain Isaiah Dreyfus.

Just two months ago, a team of military police broke into Isaiah Dreyfus' office and arrested him.

The charge was collusion with the New World rebels and collecting military intelligence for them, suspected of two deadly crimes of espionage and treason.

Later, news came out that the person who reported Dreyfus for treason was his old colleague Major Henry Frame.

The evidence provided by Major Frame included letters between Dreyfus and his friends, which implicitly mentioned that the war in the New World was not going well, revealing a pessimistic mood.

However, judging from the text of this letter alone, apart from those intentional misinterpretations, it can be seen at most that Dreyfus was inclined to negotiate with the Fern authorities and the independence faction in the New World to put an end to the war as soon as possible.

Cross-sea expeditions are costly and laborious. The longer the battle line is dragged on, the more difficult it will be for the Fern troops to win.

At that time, this was a well-known view. Except for a few war advocates, all sectors of society were generally pessimistic about the prospects of suppressing the colonial independence movement.

Even in Parliament, there were several backbenchers who advocated peace talks.

The views expressed by Dreyfus in the letter, not to mention suspected of treason, even as a topic of conversation after dinner, seemed old-fashioned and boring.

In this case, why did the military court accept Major Frame's report and lock up Captain Dreyfus as a spy?

There are two main factors.

First, the object of his correspondence is more sensitive.

Former dean of the Offa College of Midgard University in the New World, a famous scholar and great wizard, and a social celebrity, this is just Albert Franklin's public identity.

In terms of political stance, Franklin belongs to the moderate faction of the "independence faction" in the colonies. He not only participated in signing the Declaration of Independence, but also participated in drafting a petition to King George III of Feizhen to exempt the colonies from heavy taxes and levies. He pioneered the slogan of "opposing parliament, not opposing the king".

So, is old man Franklin a traitor?

If you think that parliament is higher than the king, this old man is a hardcore traitor, no problem!

If you think that the king is higher than parliament, you can't say he is a traitor.

In the constitutional monarchy of Feizhen, everyone knows that parliament holds the actual power of the country, but everyone pretends that the king is still the head of state who holds the highest power. When the two conflict, it will make everyone very embarrassed.

The right-wing Order Party, which is in power in the Kingdom of Feizhen, holds a majority of seats in parliament and supports the use of force to suppress the independence movement in the New World. Of course, there is reason to regard old Franklin as a spy.

Captain Dreyfus is a friend of old Franklin. Not only do they frequently correspond with each other, but he also reveals his pessimistic attitude towards the prospects of the war in the New World in his letters. Isn't this treason?

Most members of the Hellfire Club, including Paul Porter, also hold this position.

On the other hand, His Majesty the King himself has entertained old Franklin and respected this great scholar as a guest of honor. Is His Majesty the King also a traitor?

In Feizhen, there is also a left-wing opposition party with a broad public support base - the Fair Party.

Because voters must own a certain amount of land and property, coupled with clever constituency division and the prevalence of bribery, the representatives of the Fair Party have a high public opinion, but rarely have the opportunity to come to power.

As an opposition party, it is their duty to make things difficult for the ruling party.

The ruling party supported the increase of troops to suppress the colonial rebellion, while the opposition party called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and characterized the war as a fratricidal civil war.

The ruling party controlled the parliament and the army, while the opposition party had a powerful weapon of public opinion.

The cultural elites in society, university teachers and the students they trained, mostly belonged to the left-wing camp. These intellectuals mastered the pen and exposed the corruption and incompetence of the ruling party and the top military leaders in the newspapers and media, describing the suffering of the lower-level soldiers and colonial people on the front line, and guiding the people to reflect on this unjust war.

The Dreyfus family happened to be the big money of the Feizhen Newspaper Group. In order to rescue Isaiah Dreyfus, they certainly had to rely on the power of public opinion.

If the dispute between the two sides was just this, then the Dreyfus case would not have become a big deal.

The final result is likely to be that the board was raised high and fell lightly, and Captain Dreyfus was transferred to another position.

However, when the time came to the end of September, an explosive news from the front line of the New World added fuel to the fire of the Dreyfus case.

On September 22, the Canaan Air Force arrived at Delin Town, a military stronghold in the southern part of the New World, and assisted the Continental Army led by George Vasa in the name of volunteers to fight against the Feizhen Expeditionary Force that was about to attack Delin Town.

On September 26, the turning point of the New World War of Independence - the Battle of Delin Town - broke out!

Two days later, shocking news was sent back to Avalon, the capital of Feizhen.

The expeditionary force, which had been invincible before, was defeated in Delin Town!

No one would believe, or rather, would not want to believe, that the Continental Army, which was poorly equipped, poorly clothed, and beggar-like, could defeat the regular army of the sovereign country by its own strength.

The reason why the Feizhen Expeditionary Force lost so badly in the battle of Delin Town was obviously because the rebels received strong support from foreign forces.

The Canaan Kingdom, which provided the rebels with a complete air force, immediately became the public enemy of Feizhen!

The king and the parliament have issued a solemn protest to the Canaan authorities.

All 37 Canaan diplomats stationed in Avalon have been expelled.

If the war situation in the New World continues to escalate, the diplomatic dispute between the two powers is very likely to escalate into a military conflict.

What does this have to do with the Dreyfus case?

Unfortunately, "Dreyfus" is a standard Canaan surname. The Dreyfus family originated from the Canaan Kingdom. It has only been two generations since they immigrated to the Feizhen Kingdom. There are still many relatives and friends in their hometown. It is said that they have maintained a good relationship with the Canaan royal family.

This is a big trouble!

Canaan has been regarded as a "quasi-enemy country" by the Feizhen authorities. Incited by hostile sentiment, a trend of boycotting the Canaanites has swept through all walks of life in Avalon.