In the evening at the Tulip Club, Carmen drank some wine.
He felt it would be a waste not to drink those high-end wines, so he was a little dizzy when he left the club. However, at this time, he was frightened and his back was sweating, and the drunkenness disappeared without a trace. This should not be a gangster, gangsters are not
Will be concerned about whether he has rebelled.
"Who are you?" Carmen asked calmly.
Before he finished speaking, someone slapped him in the face, and the left side of his face swelled up on the spot.
"Mr. Gable, you are a smart man. Tell your accomplices quickly, which will save you from the pain of flesh and blood. If you have a good cooperative attitude, you may be able to walk out of here and resume your normal work and life."
The eagle's hooked nose said coldly.
"What a joke, what kind of accomplice? I don't understand." Carmen said, covering his cheek.
"It seems that our Mr. Gable is unwilling to plead guilty. This is a secret police station. As long as we are keeping an eye on you, you rebellious people will sooner or later confess your crime, no matter how tough you are." He threatened with a hooked nose, "
We have prepared many items for you, so you can enjoy them all at once. Haha.”
Several big men also smiled sinisterly.
Secret police? Carmen was scared in her heart, but still did not lose her calm:
"Then I need to remind you that you cannot torture me without strong evidence. Moreover, confessions obtained through torture do not count. This is all written in the "Imperial Secrets Act."
The hooked nose obviously did not expect Carmen's toughness. He smiled and raised a cowhide-covered notebook in his hand: "Mr. Gable, do you know this?"
Carmen recognized that it was quite similar to his own notebook. He was a guy who loved reading and also liked to write some reading notes. If there was a regret medicine, Carmen would definitely give up this bad habit.
"We can read Mr. Gable's psychological words together." Hawkeye opened the cover and read, "Toby Salaman is my spiritual mentor, although I have no chance to know him. I completely agree with Salaman
Mentor Man’s point of view is that the true financial situation of the empire has become the empire’s biggest secret.
Cabinet ministers always talk about financial difficulties and always find ways to raise taxes, but never make the revenue and expenditure reports public. This is an absolute manifestation of imperial power. This is actually living in darkness and hoping that the people will always remain in a state of ignorance and blind obedience.
, one day this absolute imperial power will come to an end."
"Since there are the first to fifth empires, then there will be the sixth empire. The privileged people live in a dream, and they don't care about the lives of the common people at all. I guess they pretend not to know, and pretend that others don't know either..."
Carmen broke into a cold sweat. Although these private words were not too explicit compared to some liberal figures, they were still a handle.
The eagle-nose closed the notebook and asked: "Mr. Gable, what else do you have to say?"
"I have no comment." Carmen simply pretended to be dead, "If you want to be punished for your words, then come on."
"Mr. Gable, you have been very active recently and have published some attention-grabbing articles. I have to say that your articles are well written, but we have studied your origins and background. Your uncle LeBron Gay
Is Bo a member of the True God Party?"
"This is absolutely nonsense." Carmen said, "Does the empire not allow citizens to have the freedom to believe in the true religion?"
"Who does your uncle work for?" asked the eagle-nose. "A Viscount of Genoa?"
Carmen nodded, but felt even more nervous in her heart: "Don't you think that a nobleman is also treasonous?"
"Don't nobles commit treason?" the eagle hooked his nose and asked, "Can I draw the conclusion that you uncle and nephew are trying to challenge the existing order of the empire under the instruction or hint of the viscount?"
Carmen said angrily: "This is absolutely slander. My uncle works for the Viscount, it is just a purely agency relationship, and his actions do not violate any laws of the empire. As for my publication of articles, it is just my personal work, not just me,
The newspaper I work for has always cared about the voices of the bottom class of society, and this is the purpose of this newspaper."
"But you can't deny that your article set off a wave of public opinion and put pressure on some people. This pressure is even more powerful than money." Ying Qubi pointedly pointed out, "After your uncle was beaten and injured, he
Several employees were detained, who guided you to write those articles and reverse the situation?"
Of course it was the anonymous letter, but Carmen realized that this was a key point. If he took the initiative to confess the anonymous letter, something would happen to him.
If you don't confess this matter, at most you will lose your job or be charged with other crimes - but it will make you as famous as some people. The more serious the crime, the better your reputation will be - but it will not
Let yourself lose your life.
Fortunately, the anonymous letter was burned by herself. So Carmen insisted:
"I thought of it myself. This is my professional instinct."
"It seems that Mr. Gable is dishonest."
The hook-nosed man waved his hand, and several big men brought a large bucket, and then stuffed Carmen's head into the bucket.
Carmen struggled, trying hard to hold his breath. As a person who grew up by the sea, he had good water skills. When he was a boy, he went diving and fished. Because he could hold his breath better, he always gained more than others.
It is not a pleasant thing to have someone hold your head forcibly. Water enters the lungs from the nostrils, causing severe coughing, but he cannot raise his head when he is held down. The water pours into his eardrum and makes a gurgling sound, which makes him
He felt uncomfortable and the danger of death was approaching him.
But Carmen still refused to admit defeat. Severe hypoxia caused him to lose consciousness rapidly, and the world seemed to have become quiet.
In the confusion, the voice still echoed:
"Mr. Gable, don't feel bad. Maybe you remembered something?"
Carmen squirted the water from his mouth to the opposite side, but he was pushed into the water again.
He fell into a coma, and when he woke up, he found himself thrown at the door of his apartment.
This made him suspicious. When did the secret police let people go so easily?
In the next few days, Carmen went to work with a suspicious mood. He felt that everyone around him was suspicious.
Every day when he gets off work, he always feels like he is being followed.
He imagined that the secret police would suddenly come to him again, take him to prison, and execute him for treason.
This made him fall ill quickly.
However, the terrible things he imagined did not happen, which forced him to reflect on his last experience and become suspicious.
"Perhaps a mysterious organization is carrying out a secret activity, and I just happened to attract their attention. When they thought that I had no value, they let me go?" Carmen comforted himself in this way. This method of spiritual victory made his
My spirits lifted a bit.
But this horrific experience made Carmen more cautious, and he did not tell anyone about his experience of being invited by the so-called secret police to go diving.
His pen is still sharp, but not as sharp and aggressive.
As if overnight, Carmen became mature.
At this time, Carmen once again received an invitation from the Tulip Club. After hesitating for a long time, Carmen decided to go for the appointment.
This time it is not a masquerade, but an academic seminar, discussing politics in the name of academic discussion.
Mrs. Bron invited Toby Salaman this time, a figure whom Carmen once regarded as a spiritual mentor in her reading notes.
Contrary to Carmen's imagination, Salaman is a slovenly middle-aged man. He is tall and strong with a beard. He always waves his right arm unconsciously when he speaks.
Salaman is undoubtedly the star and centerpiece of this party. Most people are his fans and admirers, including Mrs. Bron, who is always next to Salaman and pours tea for him personally, with admiration in her eyes.
Affection.
"Your Majesty's only enemy is himself, not his subjects. If your Majesty is willing to go that step, for example, the taxation of property should be proportionally and equally distributed to all subjects of the empire and members of the state, the clergy, the nobility and the third estate
All lands are taxed equally, without distinction... Nothing can be more just."
“Every time I pass by the White House, I cannot but feel inexplicable rage that we must submit to the arbitrary will of these palace servants...Those around His Majesty...arrogant and ignorant, groveling for status, and disrespectful to the people who raised him.
Dismissive…”
In line with the principle of caution, Carmen only listened but did not speak, but every word Salaman said moved him and made him feel excited.
But Salaman is not a man of his word. He is undoubtedly the most dazzling star in this club, and there are always a few people who do not agree with him. For example, the artist Fuchs is such a figure.
Fuchs's view is even more extreme. If Salaman believes that the emperor is good and the bad ones are the people around the emperor, then Fuchs demeans all privileged people as worthless:
"Dear Mr. Salaman, please put away your ridiculous principle of differential treatment. What the people need is not the charity-like mercy of the superiors. What they demand is equality and free breathing. The privileged do not see it this way. They
It is believed that the people's right to breathe freely can only and only be given to them. This is a selfish class. Morally, they cannot become saints and therefore cannot be inclined to the interests of the people. As for the law, it is entirely their will.
The embodiment of..."
The collision of ideas benefited Carmen a lot, but it also made him feel frightened.
He hurriedly left Mrs. Bron's club without saying goodbye. Carmen refused the greeting of the public carriage outside the club and chose to walk home.
It wasn't until he safely returned to his apartment that he calmed down a little bit from his nervous and agitated mood.
When he lit the candle, he suddenly found a mysterious man sitting on the sofa in the living room.