The Sensory Animals of Ston Hill

Grace's birthday was in November, but it wasn't until December that he received gifts from William and Ellen from the front.

William wrote him a text, wishing him a happy birthday and reminding him to rest and pay more attention to his health.William's gift to him was a woolen shawl, without any pattern and workmanship.

Allen mentioned the shawl in his letter, and asked Grace to forgive William for being a poor gift, saying: "He is not perfunctory, nor does he not think that you do not lack these things now, but there are too few things that can be bought here. He has been picking out such a warm shawl for a long time. He always said that this winter is too cold. When he said this, he probably remembered that you always wear very little. For you, you may remember to wear it often. He is just afraid that you will be cold."

Alan's gift was a necklace.The chain was old, the one Grace had seen on Ellen, the one he used to fasten his snuffbox.The pendant of the necklace was a spent cartridge case, the base distorted by blows when fired, and black from the burnt powder.

"This is a bullet casing I dug out of the enemy's heart, and I punched it in myself." Allen wrote in the letter.

In her reply, Grace said that she liked the two gifts very much, and assured William that as long as she left the warm room, she would remember to wear the warm shawl.He also wishes them to be safe and wish them well.

After sealing the envelope, Grace couldn't help crying on the table for a while.He knew that if the conditions were not too difficult, William would not have given him such a poorly made shawl, and Ellen would not have used an old chain to make him a necklace.If it weren't for the situation being out of control, they certainly wouldn't have made his birthday present so late.

But ministers around the table take their present victory for granted.They didn't take the Germans seriously, thinking that they were still as vulnerable as they were in Napoleon's time; they also forgot how difficult the enemy country was once, and how Alan gambled his life for that lucky victory.

They despise real enemies, but are hostile to the citizens of the capital.There are still three months before the national conference, and civilian representatives have already arrived from all over the country.None of these representatives were rich, but most worked as lawyers, journalists, or publications, which meant they were well-educated.They met with the speakers in the capital and led people all day to discuss the issue that the nobles should pay taxes, but the nobles were still unwilling to compromise.

This year's harvest is not good, and the income of the nobles is not good, which makes them hold their pockets tighter.But it was known that there was war at the front, that there was famine in the provinces, and that the financial crisis of the country was still unresolved, which undoubtedly filled people with anger.

A minister staunchly opposed to making the nobility pay taxes was attacked and slit in the head on his way home.His squire was more unlucky, being stabbed in the stomach and killed instantly.

The ministers of the Royal Council regarded this as a top priority and were determined to ban those "dangerous propaganda". discuss."

Grace disagreed, because these freedoms were given by them themselves, and they were used to deal with the church at that time.Now these freedoms of speech are not good for them, and they will take it back.

"It's broken promises," Grace said against them all alone, "and it's not even as good as not giving these powers in the first place. What is hand-given has to be taken back, and people will feel cheated, and there will be strong Dissatisfaction!"

But the grown-ups believed that all discontent was fanned by smooth-talking propagandists.They put pressure on Grace and spread dirty caricatures featuring the queen on the conference table.

In some paintings, Grace is painted as a red-haired woman to allude to his Irish ancestry; the face is painted more cutely, close to his own, but with a loose expression, and the clothes are all open, revealing melon-sized breasts and The organ between his legs that he didn't have.In other paintings, he is neatly dressed, wearing a crown, with a solemn expression, but two men's shoes are exposed under the skirt; there is a man without trousers standing next to him, but he can be recognized from the medal on his coat. General Cromwell.

Although Grace said that she didn't care about these things, when these paintings were spread out in front of his eyes suddenly, it still made his face burn like being scratched by sandpaper.

An adult told him seriously: "Nowadays, these cartoons are no longer pornography in one or two tabloids, but have become a kind of propaganda, printed in large numbers. There are too many enemies, maybe the Germans, maybe The church, it may be an enemy country, it may be a conservative aristocrat, or it may be a representative of the common people... There are too many people who want to slander the royal family, and we can't find the source. Your Majesty, do you want to continue to condone this kind of propaganda? "

Grace tried to keep her composure as she piled these dirty cartoons together.There is also a picture in which even the king is painted: the queen is making out with a reformist minister, and the king stands naked and looks on sadly, his lower body parts are so small that they are almost invisible.Grace hurriedly put the caricature on the bottom.

He tried to use a steady voice and said to these adults: "First of all, civilian representatives are not the enemy. The real enemy is outside the border. You have seen these cartoons. This is a signal that the joy of the wedding can no longer be concealed." The haze of war and famine. These newspapers sell well to warn us how angry people are, and tell us that we can no longer ignore their reasonable demands. Please don't forget that we are at war, and there are two The nation is against us, and they outnumber us twice! We haven't lost yet, not because we're stronger than them, but because our soldiers are risking our lives on the front lines! We need the support of our people!"

The ministers didn't expect him to be so tough after seeing these cartoons, and they all looked at the king.

The King leaned over to take the cartoons from Grace, looked at them one by one until he saw the last one, stared at it for a while, and finally announced: "Reset the censorship of publications; clubs and lectures may remain , but no discussion of kings and queens is allowed. That's it."

The king made a final decision and was about to stand up and leave the seat, but Grace stood up faster, kicked the chair hard, made a harsh noise, and strode away from here.

He left the palace in a carriage, just wandering aimlessly.Everywhere there are assembled crowds, discussing wars and national conferences.He heard the "Ston twins" on the lips of a speaker, and told the coachman to rein in the horse.

The speaker was telling people about the achievements of Brigadier General and Colonel Stonen, using the bravery of William and Allen to call on people to join the army, "Men, take up arms! This is our country! She needs you!"

Grace was excited, but immediately heard someone in the crowd retort: ​​"This is not our country! This is the country of kings and nobles, and they should be responsible for this war!"

No one answered the speaker's call to enlist.

Grace felt gloomy and urged the coachman to continue on his way.

"It would be great if Brigadier General Ston or Colonel Ston were here. They will surely persuade many brave young people to join the army." A palace guard standing behind the car escorting suddenly said with emotion.

"Lieutenant, do you admire them too?" Grace asked back.

"Of course, every soldier would admire them."

"...But your tone sounds a little lost."

The palace guard was silent for a while, and said: "I am ashamed of myself, Your Majesty. I am also a soldier, but I stay far away from the battlefield. While enjoying the comfort, I am always ready to point my gun at the unarmed citizens. shame."

After hearing this, Grace lowered her eyes, reached under the shawl, and held the bullet casing hanging around her neck.He never blamed William for leaving him, because he knew that William had always been like that; but he always blamed Alan in his heart.

He doesn't blame him now.