Holy Roman Empire

The survivors of the guards, who had escaped by chance, realized it at this time - they were assassinated again.

Unlike the previous assassinations, this assassination was obviously carefully prepared, from the initial blockade to the subsequent suicide attack in one go.

murderer?

If the guy who rushed up with the bomb on his back counted, then now there are only scattered rotten meat left.

Without high-tech identification technology, who knows who the real culprit is?

Even if the identity of the murderer is calculated by luck, it will not have any effect, the dead will not speak.

After receiving the news, King Amir fainted directly. He really couldn't bear the blow.

At this moment, Redmond has already embarked on his way home, and has facilitated the Russia-Arab alliance. His task on the surface has been completed, and the rest has nothing to do with Austria.

……

Governor Lytton, who had just stepped into his office in the Calcutta government building, received this news, which he did not know whether it was good or bad.

Considered from the point of view of the Governor of India, the assassination came very timely, providing Britain with an excuse to invade Afghanistan.

It is a pity that Britain is engaged in an arms race with France and Austria, and now is not a good time to start a war.

There was a loud "bang", and hot coffee splashed out.Although Waters was sent by him to do things, as an envoy, he also represented the face of Britain.

Now that he was killed, it was difficult for Litton to restrain his emotions. He immediately reprimanded: "This is a provocation to Britain. I order the Afghan government to hand over the murderer within a week, or you will bear the consequences."

As the governor of India, Lytton's power is enormous, including launching wars abroad.

In fact, most of the territory of British India today was expanded by the colonial governors themselves.If everything is waiting for the London government to decide, then nothing can be done.

Big picture?

If he is not in his position, he will not seek his own government.Considering the overall situation of the country is the job of the prime minister and the cabinet. The Governor of India only needs to consider the "big picture of the Indian region".

After a pause, Governor Lytton ordered again: "Order all troops to prepare for battle. The humiliation inflicted on Britain by the enemy can only be baptized with blood!"

What the truth is is not important now, anyway, Governor Lytton has recognized the Afghan government.

……

In London, it was already evening when the news of the assassination came.

After receiving this bad news, Prime Minister Gladstone could no longer take a break.The conscience of heaven and earth, he really didn't want to do things in Central Asia at this time.

Gladstone knew nothing about sending a mission to Afghanistan.

It's not that Prime Minister Gladstone is lazy, it's mainly because of such trivial matters that the Prime Minister doesn't need to ask at all.

It's just sending a mission. If Walters hadn't been assassinated and killed and slapped Britain in the face, no one would report the news to him now.

Prime Minister Gladstone asked: "Has the murderer been found?"

Prime Minister Gladstone had no interest in knowing who the murderer was.As a qualified politician, his first concern is what Britain can gain from this matter.

Asking about the murderer is more like a routine.Generally speaking, how can Britain's interests be maximized, and the final culprit will be pointed out as needed.

Foreign Minister George shook his head: "It is suspected to be related to the local religious extremist organization, who did it specifically, and there are too few clues left at the scene, it will be difficult to find out in a while."

It is not the answer to the answer. It is not an extremist organization that can send dead soldiers carrying bombs on their backs, but also an extremist organization.

Even if ordinary people want to play assassination, they will not have the courage to launch a suicide attack with a bomb on their backs.

Whether to take advantage of the situation and take the opportunity to invade Afghanistan has become Prime Minister Gladstone's biggest problem right now.

The arms race has just begun, and taking action against Afghanistan now will undoubtedly increase the financial pressure on the government.

But it is not reconciled to give up this opportunity.After all, such a convincing excuse for war is not easy to find, and if you miss it, you will miss it forever.

The assassination of the mission involved the bottom line jointly maintained by the great powers, and using this as an excuse to make use of it, no one in the world could say anything.

Even if the Russians want to intervene, it can only be done secretly, and it is impossible to show up in the open.

Chapter 1 A pen, a cup of coffee...

Late at night, in the office building of The Times, the editor-in-chief of Kangles put down his work and stretched out tiredly.

There is no way. To ensure the timeliness of news, overtime is the norm in the newspaper industry.

By the time the news collected from various places has been sorted out, typed, and verified, it is already late at night.After the overnight printing was completed, it was almost dawn.

Generally speaking, the time when news editors get off work is when ordinary people go to work.

Kangles has worked in this industry for more than ten years before becoming a news editor from a low-level checker.

Time is not forgiving, and the long-term reversal of day and night has successfully made Kangles a member of the bald army.

The most important thing is that my body is gradually unable to keep up, and I feel tired after only two or three hours of work.

I made myself a cup of strong coffee, and when I was about to enjoy it, a familiar voice sounded.

"Mr. Conless, just received a big news."

Looking at the young man with a happy face, Kangles seemed to see himself in his youth, full of youthful vitality.

"Go ahead, Rodman. What do you gain?"

Frankly speaking, Kangles doesn't like big news at this time.Today's typesetting work has been completed, and now it is undergoing the final round of verification, and it will be printed soon.

Receiving big news at this time means that the previous work is in vain, and all must be overthrown and restarted.

The Times is already the top newspaper in Britain, and it is very difficult to increase sales. Unless it is a particularly big news, it is difficult to increase sales.

Everyone's income is linked to the sales of newspapers. If the sales of newspapers cannot be increased, everyone's income will not increase because of receiving big news.

Rodman said happily: "A major event happened in Central Asia. The mission we sent to Afghanistan was attacked by locals. Three staff members, including Head Waters, died and two staff members were injured."

Hearing this news, Kang Lesi's face changed greatly. This is not an ordinary big news, and it may even trigger a war.

Kang Lesi hurriedly asked: "Where did you get the news, have you confirmed the authenticity?"

The Times is not a street tabloid. It can publish any news. This kind of political news must be verified to avoid affecting its reputation.

Rodman said confidently: "Don't worry, Mr. Conles, this is news from the telegraph office.

Just now, Sir George, the Foreign Secretary, went to the prime minister's residence overnight, which was in line with the news. "

It is not the reason why The Times can become the leader in the newspaper industry. It is definitely the best in the industry in terms of well-informed information.

Although they have not developed to the point of monitoring cabinet meetings, they have long been aware of the whereabouts of high-level government officials.

The Telegraph Bureau, a place of contention in the news world, was infiltrated early on. Unless it was special news that had to be kept secret, general news had no secrets at all to them.

Without any hesitation, Kang Lesi said decisively: "Everyone stop their work, and the newspaper will be re-typeset tomorrow morning."

After a pause, I looked at my watch and it was already 03:30 in the morning, and it was too late for the revision time.

Kangles immediately denied: "Forget it, there is no need to revise it. I will do a separate special news, and now I will start to divide the work:

Tom, you are in charge of writing Walters' personal resume, and you can beautify it appropriately;

Allen, you are in charge of writing the story of the assassination, remember to be more sensational;

Michael, you write about international relations..."

As the editor-in-chief of the news, Kangles is still very powerful.This has something to do with the audience of The Times, which is mainly social elites who pay attention to news and current events.

These customers have relatively deep pockets, and they don't care about ordering an extra newspaper, but care more about the sense of reading experience and whether the news content interests them.

In this regard, The Times has done a very good job.

They were not the only ones who received the news of Walters' assassination. If it was just a simple introduction, there would be no way to stand out from the crowd of competitors.

Kangles, who has been in the industry for many years, naturally knows it, so he suddenly decided to do a special news issue alone. Anyway, readers like the inside story of these events the most.

……

Cats have cat ways, mice have rat ways.Big newspapers can get news directly from the telegraph office, and small newspapers also have their own snooping channels.

The British Empire Times, which is not lurking in the alley, also received the news, but Ender, who is also the editor-in-chief of the news, did not have the time to verify the authenticity.

Seeing the article sent by his subordinates, Endli immediately vetoed it: "All the previous content is invalid, everyone should work hard to get as much content out as possible.

Remember our core, we must highlight new ideas, and the content must be tense. "

The young man wondered: "But the editor-in-chief, we only know that Walters was assassinated, and we don't know the details!"

The person who asked the question was Karina, an intern. In order to reduce operating costs, the British Empire Times likes to recruit newcomers the most.

Of course, since he is a newcomer, he naturally has various problems.Because of the salary, generally speaking, you will leave within a few months.

But this is not a problem. Whether a street tabloid like the Times of British Empire can survive for a few months is a problem.

Endli, the boss and editor-in-chief, frowned, and when he considered that he was not losing his temper, he patiently explained: "I don't know, just make it up yourself!

Don't forget, your job is called an editor, and the core of your work is all in the word "editor".

If everything is clear, what do you need?

Using exaggeration, it focuses on depicting the bravery of our slain heroes, who would rather die than betray the interests of Britain, highlighting the cruelty and evil of the enemy..."

the truth?

What is that, can I eat it?

For an unpopular newspaper like the Times of British Empire, finding ways to attract the public's attention and increasing sales is the number one priority.

Word of mouth, reputation, these luxuries in the press are not something they can expect.

"Dong dong dong..."

The knock on the door interrupted everyone's work, Enderi frowned, and as a newcomer, Karina got up first and went to open the door.

"Sir, you are so late, who are you looking for?"

The man in gray said slowly, "Is Mr. Endery here? I want to discuss a business with him."

Hearing that the business was coming, Enderina's unhappiness about being disturbed disappeared in an instant.

You must know that street tabloids such as the Times of the British Empire do not have much advertising revenue, and they rely entirely on the profits from selling newspapers.

The biggest extra income is this kind of secret business.For Enderi, there is no news that is afraid to publish as long as someone pays.

This can be seen from the fact that he changed his vest many times.Today it is the Times of England, tomorrow it will be the Times of England, and the day after tomorrow it will be...

He answered first: "Yes!"

Before the voice fell, Endli had already greeted him with a full smile: "Long time no see, old friend, please come inside."

"Karina, make me two cups of the best coffee ever."

……

The two had just cooperated, and there was no friendship, and even Ender didn't know the name of the man in gray.

However, this does not affect the cooperation between the two. Endli has always regarded himself as the bottom line of a journalist, and has always only asked for money, not the identity of the employer.

This is also the reason why he has been in the industry for many years and has published many secret news, but has not been silenced.

The man in gray took out an article with this check and handed it over, and said slowly: "Publish the contents in the shortest possible time, and the fifty pounds will be yours."

Endli did not rush to answer, but read carefully.There are rules in any industry, and tabloids are no exception. Different news releases also have different prices.

Generally speaking, the more sensitive the content, the higher the price, and of course the greater the risk you need to bear.

On the contrary, ordinary content is almost like an advertisement.In a street tabloid like the Times of British Empire, which sells only a few thousand copies, advertising is worthless.

After a while, Ender frowned and replied: "The content is not considered sensitive and can be published, but the title is too much, right?

In "The Prelude to the Russian Invasion of India", your Excellency is just an assassination case without any substantive evidence. It is a bit too far to go so far.

Publishing in this way will affect the reputation of our newspaper, and it must be revised, for example: "Beware of Russian Invasion of India", or "Russian Conspiracy".

Anyway, the result is the same, and the suspicion of assassinating Waters will point to the Russians. "

The gray-clothed man ignored Ender's request, and only said coldly: "55 pounds!"

Ender was very upset about the indifference of the man in gray, but he couldn't be arrogant in the face of the benefactor.

The purchasing power of the pound is strong enough these days that one pound can buy 100 pounds of brown bread in London. (about 45 kg)

55 pounds, which is equivalent to two months of profits from running the newspaper, which is enough to lower his bottom line.

After hesitating for a moment, Endli tentatively said: "60 pounds, I must be responsible to the newspaper."

The man in gray smiled slightly, and readily took out 10 pounds and handed it over.Without waiting for Endri to continue speaking, he turned and left.