The Fox of France

"Sir, the other factories have followed suit. Look, these are the new contracts from the Anderson Textile Factory, and these are from the Rodé Textile Factory. They've all followed suit," an assistant placed several documents in front of Rayne.

"Well, isn't this quite normal?" Rayne glanced at the documents, saying, "Do these terms differ significantly from ours?"

"Mr. Rayne, they're almost identical to ours, with just a few different words. But the meaning remains the same, especially in legal terms. It's entirely consistent," the assistant replied.

"Very well, Henry. These folks always want to gain an advantage without taking the first step. They wait for us to lead, then follow suit to seize the advantage. Haha..."

"Also, Mr. Rayne, our operations manager, Sinclair, hasn't shown up for work for two days. His wife came by, saying he left for work early yesterday..."

"Oh. Absent for two days? Then dismiss him and find someone else to replace him," Rayne nonchalantly replied.

"By the way, instruct the police department to act swiftly. The 'Bourse Fair' is imminent. We can't let those rascals and paupers ruin our big event! They need to expedite their actions; after all, we give them so much money each year. Are we feeding dogs?" Rayne added.

The police action that day received unanimous praise from almost all British newspapers, lauding the London police for decisively and effectively countering those intending to disrupt the stability and economic progress of the British Empire. They reinstated England's sacred order.

As for the "Seven-Penny Alliance," they received somewhat sympathetic coverage in some less prominent places, but with minimal attention. In contrast, French newspapers extensively covered the event, aiming to remind French workers to appreciate their current prosperity.

For now, France's textile industry remained limited in scale and scope, primarily involved in lace and similar items. Hence, for the time being, the French weren't inclined to strongly oppose Britain's textile industry.

"If the strike involved Britain's steel, machinery, or shipbuilding sectors, we could lend a hand. But regarding textile workers, well, we can only express sympathy. Remember, in our reporting, exhibiting goodwill and sympathy suffices; we don't need to offer assistance. After all, we must respect Britain's internal affairs."

Supposedly, this was Napoleon's directive when discussing the situation in England with Foreign Minister Talleyrand. If the English had heard this, they would likely mock Napoleon's hypocrisy. Wasn't Ireland also a matter of England's internal affairs?

Fekin also contacted Jacques Gallant, who informed him that France currently preferred to avoid conflicts with England, so he could only offer limited assistance within his capacity.

"Sorry, I can't help much. Because people like us don't actually hold real power in France. And Francia isn't truly a nation for the working people. I can only provide you with some advice. You know, in about half a month, the Bourse Fair is set to convene. It's incredibly crucial for the textile industry. Last year, almost half of Europe's textile export contracts with the UK were finalized at the Bourse Fair. This year, Rayne and his people are switching contracts now to further reduce costs and secure more orders at the Fair. So..."

"So, if we could orchestrate a massive strike across London's textile industry before the Fair, we could certainly force concessions from them," Fekin remarked.

"Yes, Fekin. But there's more to it than that. They'll surely be aware of this too. So, during this time, they'll become more ruthless and frantic. Fekin, the adversary you're facing this time is stronger than any you've encountered before. Frankly, Fekin, previously, London's police haven't done much against you because they didn't exert much effort on your group. Once they consider you a real threat, your situation will become perilous."

"Jacques, we've been aware of this. We don't plan things with such hesitation..." Fekin dismissed.

"No, Fekin, when you were in Toulon, you must have learned about 'preserving oneself and eliminating the enemy.' We aim to eliminate the enemy while preserving ourselves."

"Only by eliminating the enemy can we effectively preserve ourselves," Fekin replied.

"However, self-preservation is a necessary condition for eliminating the enemy, and it's the purpose of eliminating the enemy," Jacques responded. "Fekin, you know, there are some clandestine activities in England by Francia—indeed, all countries engage in such covert actions in other nations. To ensure the safety of those involved in covert activities, following the principle that a cunning rabbit has at least three holes, we have several safe houses within London. I can now disclose a few safe houses I know of, prepared for my operations. If things get extremely dangerous, you can hide there. If, I say if, it gets exceedingly perilous, you can come directly to me."

"Safe houses? That's acceptable," Fekin smiled, patting Jacques' shoulder. "However, no matter when, I won't come directly to you. I'm a criminal; it'd be tricky for you if I showed up. I understand all of that. But I intend to send Oliver to you; he's stubborn, much like I was in my youth. Jacques, you must protect him. Ideally, arrange for him to go to France immediately, alright?"

Jacques gazed at his old friend, taking a moment before replying, "Rest assured, that's no issue. I'll arrange for him to go to France promptly. He'll receive a good education and become genuinely beneficial to the people!"

"Then I'm reassured. I'll have Oliver sent to you shortly," Fekin said.

With those words, Fekin grabbed his hat, nodded at Jacques, preparing to depart.

"Boss, take care. I'm still waiting to have a drink with you, but...," Jacques couldn't help but interject. Even though he knew, at this moment, saying such things seemed a bit ominous. Indeed, those in their line of work had plenty of superstitions. Avoiding ill omens in speech was one of them. However, Jacques inadvertently uttered these somewhat foreboding words.

Fekin smiled at him and made a cross gesture over his chest, saying, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

These were the words spoken by the apostle Paul before his martyrdom. By saying this now, Fekin's intention was quite clear. He knew, just like Jacques mentioned earlier, before this, London's police hadn't really bothered them not because they couldn't handle them but because they hadn't truly considered them a primary threat. But now, the circumstances were different. Even after his training in Toulon and Ireland, although Fekin felt much more formidable than before, he wasn't optimistic about the outcome after this "good fight."

Returning to Petticoat Lane, Fekin gathered a few of his brothers, handed

them the locations and keys to the safe houses, instructing them to move there first. He also arranged for the butcher to take Oliver to Jacques.

"Boss, what about you?" the butcher inquired.

"Me? I have my own place," Fekin replied. "But first, we need to ignite this fire. We must organize the major strike before the 'Bourse Fair.'"

"Understood, boss. Also, boss, there've been many strange people around here lately."

"How so?" Fekin asked.

"They wear tattered clothes but don't seem like country folk. I think they might be police. Be cautious," the butcher warned.

"I got it," Fekin nodded.

After arranging these matters, Fekin left Petticoat Lane for another worker-inhabited area, where many Rodé Textile Factory workers resided. Fekin intended to discuss organizing the strike with them.

After walking a while from Petticoat Lane, Fekin noticed two people surreptitiously trailing him.

These two individuals had obviously undergone some tracking training. If they were tailing an ordinary person, they might not have been detected. But Fekin was an old hand, having undergone some training in Toulon. Even though it wasn't extensive, unlike an average person, Fekin had abundant practical experience, albeit not elevated to theoretical understanding. So, once someone explained theories to him from a higher perspective, he could truly apply theory to guide practice. Thus, despite the brief training, Fekin's improvement surprised even himself.

Hence, these two somewhat experienced plainclothes officers couldn't deceive Fekin.

Purposely, Fekin walked towards a more secluded area, mostly where workers lived, and most had already left for work.

Seeing there were few people around, the two undercover officers drew closer. Furthermore, one of them discreetly slid a butterfly knife from their sleeve to their hand—these plainclothes officers' mission wasn't to track or arrest anyone; their task was straightforward—eliminate those who appeared to be representatives of the workers!

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