The several people sitting by the dock fell silent at once.
Jagger often traveled to South Germany and knew that, after its defeat, Austria was deeply hostile toward France. It certainly would not allow the Swiss Federation to join the Stuttgart Trade Agreement.
After quite a while, a merchant who ran a warehouse gritted his teeth and said, "Which bastard decided to join the Swiss Federation?!"
"The gentlemen of Parliament can't sell us out for the sake of their Holy Roman Emperor!"
Someone stood up. "That's right! Let's go to the market square and demand that Parliament revoke—"
The market square was where the "Red House," the Basel Council building, stood.
The man who had called for a protest at Parliament received no response. He soon wilted as well.
They had all personally experienced what had happened a month and a half ago. Hundreds of soldiers had suddenly appeared, surrounded the protesters, and opened fire to disperse them.
Before that, however, all of Bern Canton had fewer than two hundred military police officers. The troops that had come to suppress them had clearly been newly assembled by Parliament.
How could merchants and sailors like them stand against Parliament's claws and fangs...
Just then, a capable-looking middle-aged man in a dark gray flax coat came up beside Jagger. After studying him for a moment, he removed his black felt hat and said, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Niels Jagger?"
Jagger glanced at him and waved dismissively. "I'm not interested in the Steamship Association. As you can see, I don't have the money to pay the membership fee either."
"You misunderstand..."
"And I don't need a captain."
The man in gray stepped closer. "I have some business that requires your help."
Jagger frowned and waved him off. "Sorry."
He knew perfectly well