The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1818 - 109: All About the Jianghu, All About Grievances (Part 3)

In Napoleon’s view, capturing La Haye Sainte was tantamount to severing Wellington’s jugular vein, so he dispatched his most elite Imperial Guard to advance on La Haye Sainte.

At the same time, Sir Adam Henry also received orders from the Duke of Wellington to strike the enemy on the flank.

The Adam’s Brigade, which had been on standby since the beginning of the battle, quickly unfolded upon receiving the order. At that time, the 52nd Regiment advanced in a diagonal formation and executed a highly precise volley, flanking the advancing French Imperial Guard, thereby causing the Imperial Guard’s first public retreat.

The 52nd Regiment thus became the only unit in history to rout the Napoleonic Imperial Guard head-on as a single infantry regiment. For this, they received the Waterloo Battle Banner symbolizing victory from the Duke of Wellington and were honored by having ’Waterloo’ embroidered on their regimental flag and the title of ’The Legion Breaking the Empire’s Glory’ inscribed in their regimental history.

Minister Rowan himself was one of the witnesses of this legendary battle; he personally faced the French Imperial Guard’s assault as a lieutenant in the 52nd Regiment and was severely injured in combat.

The reason he so despises the Guard Cavalry is that he witnessed the poor performance of the British cavalry at La Haye Sainte with his own eyes.

Under the leadership of Lord Ponsonby, the British combined cavalry brigade launched a brave yet reckless attack on the First French Corps near La Haye Sainte that day; although they managed to rout several French infantry battalions and captured several French banners.

This unit, composed of the Royal Guard Cavalry, Scottish Grey Dragoon Cavalry, and Ireland Dragon Cavalry, thundered from the right wing like a divine force, disrupting the French assault. However, the cavalry charged too far forward, and their silhouette soon vanished in the smoke of battle. When news of the cavalry finally came again, it was the death of the cavalry commander, Lord Ponsonby, and the major defeat of the combined cavalry brigade.

Back when Rowan was injured and fell at La Haye Sainte, the British cavalry that was supposed to come for cover galloped past, and not only did no one from the Guard Cavalry come down to assist, but Rowan, lying on the ground, was directly trodden on his injured calf by a passing Guard Cavalryman.

Although many years have passed and the wound has long healed, Rowan’s injury still throbs painfully whenever it rains. And as everyone knows, London has plenty of rainy days, so it’s hard to blame him for holding a grudge against the Guard Cavalry.

Even after joining Scotland Yard, Rowan’s grievances with the Guard Cavalry were far from resolved.

Though everyone was an officer retired from the army, whether you were from the infantry or the cavalry was still a distinct divide.

Upon closer inspection, which regiment you were from and which battalion you served in also created varying degrees of closeness.

But regardless, the cavalry looked down on the infantry, and the infantry reciprocated that disdain toward the cavalry. This much was always the same.

At least in Rowan’s view, the title ’British Cavalry’ alone already exuded a foolish manner; if the prefix ’Guard’ was added, the person was utterly beyond help, for such a person was not only foolish but also lacked self-awareness.

Of course, this cannot truly be blamed on Rowan’s stereotype, because Arthur’s rise in Scotland Yard was largely thanks to three policemen from the cavalry.

The first was Arthur’s superior in Greenwich—Chief of Police Wilcox Roberts.

The second was Wilcox’s backer at Scotland Yard—Chief Inspector Clemens.

As for the third, it was none other than the smuggling king of underground London, Fred, whom Arthur threw into the sea.

Thinking of this, Rowan’s face grew darker, and he took two forceful drags from his cigarette: "Apart from this, do you have any other opinions?"