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The preface of "House of Cards" reads: Nothing in the world is eternal. Laughter does not last long, desire does not last long, and life itself will eventually come to an end.

It tells such a story: the protagonist Urquhart, who has made great changes in the political arena, with his hands stained with the blood of his comrades and lovers in the trenches, rises from an unknown party whip to all his agencies, step by step, ascended the throne of Prime Minister.

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Author Michael Dobbs, before becoming a writer, was the former deputy chairman of the British Conservative Party and is well versed in the inside story of politics. "House of Cards" has been made into a TV series twice. The American TV series is a hit all over the world. It is said that even Obama watched it without finishing an episode.

What I watched is the original work, which is still different from the American TV series. So friends who have watched American dramas, please don’t criticize.

Let me first help you outline the relationship between the main characters. In order to facilitate memory, I will only write their first names, not their last names.

Urquhart, male, 61 years old, chief whip.

Mattie, female, 28 years old, is a political reporter for a well-known newspaper.

Mortima, female, 49 years old, Urquhart’s wife.

Henry, the current Prime Minister; Charles, the Prime Minister's twin brother.

Roger, Director of the Publicity Department;

Teddy, Party Chairman, Cabinet Member; Michael, Minister of Environmental Protection, Cabinet Member; Harold, Minister of Education, Cabinet Member; Patrick, member of the cabinet.

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Plot 1: Urquhart, as the chief whip of the party, appears to be loyal to his duties and has made immeasurable contributions to the election of the Prime Minister. However, the prime minister rejected his proposal for a party reorganization and did not accommodate his request to become a cabinet member. Therefore, he felt that his self-esteem was greatly hurt, and the flames of desire began to burn brightly. He vowed to take advantage of this general election to single-handedly kill the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Henry has mediocre political achievements. Although he won a great victory in the first election, his support rate is not high. Henry and his government team were struggling in the electoral tide.

Urquhart, as Chief Whip, should have thought about how to win many seats for the government and keep Henry. However, his ambition drove him not only to kill Henry, but also to make his death look ugly.

He has a famous saying: "One second you were trying to swim to the shore, and the next second you followed the water I used to flush the toilet and ran to the sewer."

The Prime Minister has an unhappy twin brother, Charles, who is an alcoholic. The two brothers have a very good relationship, but their life paths are completely different. Charles was addicted to alcohol and poor.

Urquhart concocted a stock-trading scandal: Charles bought stocks he shouldn't have. The transaction location is clear and the bank statement is clear.

The fact is that Charles could not afford it and never knew about stocks. But what does this matter? As long as the media hypes something, you can’t explain it clearly even with a hundred mouths. What's more, a patient with an unclear mind, clumsy speech, and alcohol addiction lacks the ability to fight back.

Charles hated himself for causing huge trouble to his brother, but what could he do besides cry? Politics always brings a lot of collateral damage, leaving a trail of pain and tormenting the families of politicians to no end.

As soon as the scandal broke out, Henry was unwilling to blame all disasters on his brother, so he chose to retire. When the Prime Minister announced his withdrawal from the election, Urquhart's expression was: dumbfounded. His inner monologue: I did it, I’m so fucking awesome.

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Plot 2: Killing the Prime Minister, Urquhart was half successful. Among those cabinet ministers who covet the throne, who wouldn’t want to take this opportunity to show off their talents?

Urquhart knew that he was just a party whip and was not even qualified to stand for election. Therefore, after the Prime Minister left office, he claimed to everyone that he would not participate in the election.

Urquhart wants to kill those covetous and powerful cabinet members, and finally fulfill himself.

As the chief whip, he is well aware of the scandals of every cabinet member, because he is dedicated to cleaning up their aftermath and wiping their butts. Every cabinet member was in awe of him and tried to maintain a friendly relationship with him. Although, many of them don't like him.

"In the eyes of politicians, high-level positions are to them what the sea is to sailors. This is a great adventure, full of unpredictable tension and excitement. And I believe that they will definitely reach glory. "The other side."

Teddy is a man who drowned inexplicably before he even got into the water. Teddy has always been the Prime Minister's most trusted person. After the Prime Minister stepped down, the new candidate chose the most likely candidate. However, at this critical moment, the opposition party revealed the inside story of the shelved hospital expansion plan, arousing public outrage and using it to attack the current government. How could this highly confidential matter be leaked casually?

As the Prime Minister's strategist, Urquhart was instrumental in helping Charles deal with the aftermath. Urquhart, the Prime Minister's right-hand man and the last straw in times of crisis, quietly directed the Prime Minister's suspicions towards Teddy. Soon Teddy became a target and his future was over.

Urquhart knew that the higher you climb, the deeper you fall.

Environmental Protection Minister Michael is young, full of vitality, and full of confidence. The media reports that he is the most promising candidate. Michael also feels that his future is bright.

Michael was so proud that he forgot to avoid the hidden arrows from behind. Urquhart began to move from behind the scenes to the front. He pointed out the unresolved environmental issues, which not only attracted attention, but also completely stepped on Michael's feet.

Patrick, the Minister of Education, was ready to make a move, but was unexpectedly led into the abyss by a tape recording of his promiscuity.

At the moment, the horn of victory is about to sound. Urquhart, is he really going to take over Westminster and become the new Prime Minister?

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Roger, who took drugs, falsely reported invoices, etc., was tightly held by Urquhart's pigtails and became Urquhart's lackey. Urquhart coerced Roger and helped him complete one ulterior deal after another.

Roger was taken advantage of, but he did not expect that the situation would develop so seriously. He was scared, hesitant, and deeply conscience-stricken. In a short period of time, he went from an energetic man to a self-destructive drug addict. He lost his usefulness and Urquhart killed him.

However, Urquhart thought he was clever, but his lover Mattie, who had always loved him deeply, saw the clues.

Urquhart has been taking advantage of Mattie, an ambitious newspaper reporter who is active in the news media with her acerbic and keen political insights.

Urquhart often revealed inside information to her, intentionally or unintentionally, including major secrets such as poll research for the prime ministerial election.

Mattie intuitively felt that Urquhart was a dangerous person, and she believed that he would run for office and believed that he would win.

But because of love, she became a frog in the well. Mattie knew that someone had rigged the election and suspected many people, but she never thought it was Urquhart.

Faced with Mattie's doubts, Urquhart admitted all the bloody things he had done, and at the same time, he threw Mattie down the stairs without hesitation.

Then, he told the media that because Mattie was unemployed and in a trance, she couldn't ask for help from him. She was so excited that she slipped and fell to her death. ?

Urquhart's final obstacle is finally cleared. He reaches the pinnacle of power and becomes the person he wants to be!

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There is also a very important character, Mortima, Urquhart's wife. She was 12 years younger than Urquhart, elegant and full of vitality.

She is Urquhart's close companion, the only person he trusts and relies on unconditionally. When the couple chose to use Mattie, Urquhart was not confident about it.

Watch the conversation below:

Mortima said: "Too young? Too beautiful? Too capable? Too ambitious? I don't think so, Frances. You do A man can control her."

His smile returned, this time it was warmer, "Mortima, I owe you."

From a short conversation, it can be seen that the two couples are deeply in love, and they are in the same boat. At the same time, we also see that Mortima is no ordinary person. Regardless of whether her motive is to fulfill her husband or to fulfill herself, she is so strong that she trusts her husband absolutely and can withstand humiliation.

A date between Urquhart and Mattie should have been approved by Mortima. Because Urquhart was not sure how much dangerous inside information Mattie knew, he couldn't wait to summon her and let her kiss him.

I thought of that sentence again: Politics will always bring a lot of additional damage, leave traces of pain, and torture the families of politicians endlessly.

Throughout Mortima’s glorious life, how many people truly understand her inner pain?

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Once upon a time, the sea was difficult to overcome, except for Wushan, it was not a cloud. Although power is like fluttering snowflakes, only prosperous for a moment, politicians are still obsessed with it and flock to it.

What attracts me to "House of Cards" is not only its fascinating storyline and lifelike characters, it also shows everyone the swords, swords, and bloodshed in British politics, and it provides a profound analysis of human nature. Dark and complex.

"House of Cards" mentions twice: Jesus earnestly exhorts us to forgive our enemies, but never mentions whether to forgive our friends.

With his hands stained by the blood of his trench comrades, Urquhart completed his lifelong quest to become master of Westminster.

In the dead of night, does he feel a little uneasy in his heart?