Shadow of great britain

In the lobby of the Greenwich Police Station, Arthur and Alexandre Dumas were sitting on the podium made up of two desks, while sitting under the stage were a group of people who had been carefully screened and left behind. news reporter.

As for how to define formality and irregularity, Arthur adopted the consistent standards of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Scotland Yard. Any newspaper office that pays stamp duty in accordance with the law and has a fixed office address can be regarded as a regular newspaper office.

As for which newspaper reporters should be selected to ask questions, Arthur has another set of criteria. All newspapers whose headquarters are within the jurisdiction of Scotland Yard, or more specifically, only news media whose headquarters are in Fleet Street, London, can do so. interview.

This is not because Arthur is discriminating against the various tabloids on the streets of London. He sincerely believes that the various tabloids are the soul of the London newspaper industry, but he is also clearly aware of the embarrassing things tabloid reporters will come up with in order to gain circulation. The problem.

In this kind of diplomatic incident, only by inviting newspapers with large circulations and relatively long-term business goals to conduct interviews can they avoid causing trouble that Scotland Yard and the Ministry of the Interior do not want to see.

Seeing that everything was ready, Arthur smiled and said: "It seems that all journalists can't wait any longer. I know that for journalism, time is life. So let's get started."

His eyes swept across the audience and passed over every reporter present.

Finally, his eyes stopped following the pace of Officer Tom. He smiled and pointed to the reporter beside Tom and said: "Please ask this gentleman to ask a question."

When the reporter's name was called, he stood up impatiently and said: "Good morning, Inspector Hastings, Mr. Dumas, I am the special correspondent from The Times.

As we all know, the kidnapping of Mr. Dumas in London has attracted widespread attention from all walks of life in Britain. The public is shocked and angry that the French government ignores the sovereignty of other countries and hires criminals on other countries' soil to invade other people's lives and safety.

What I want to know is, what is Mr. Dumas' view on the differences in government between Britain and France? Is France's new King Louis-Philippe really, as he boasts, a king who advocates constitutional monarchy and can represent the interests of the French people? "

When Arthur heard this, he just knocked on the table twice seemingly casually.

Alexandre Dumas also understood what he meant. This was the secret code he had agreed with Arthur before.

The meaning of knocking on the table twice is to ask him to say a few good words about the British. If you don't mind, it is best to praise the Tory cabinet.

Of course, it would be difficult for Alexandre Dumas to praise the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon.

But if it was just to praise Scotland Yard, then he could barely bear it.

Alexandre Dumas almost pinched his nose and said something against his will: "First of all, I would like to thank the British police for their efforts and the British public's concern for me. It is precisely because of the justice that persists in the hearts of the general public that inspired me to fight against the French tyrant Louis Philippe Determination.

Whether we are the French people or the British people, we are fighting for our rights, no matter how high the price we have to pay for this right..."

When Arthur heard this, he immediately realized something was wrong.

It's not that there's anything wrong with Alexandre Dumas's impassioned speech, but it's just that we can't mention it now. The reason why Sir Peel agreed to rescue Alexandre Dumas was to use this "diplomatic victory over France" to divert the British public's attention from Parliament. Reform movement's attention.

If Alexandre Dumas were to continue talking so carelessly, not only would he fail to achieve the purpose of diverting attention, but he would also cause the British public to sympathize with the French July Revolution.

In this case, wouldn't the attention be diverted in vain?

Arthur coughed quickly and said, "Mr. Dumas, time is limited, let's move on to the next topic quickly."

After saying this, his eyes fell on Officer Tony again.

I saw Tony walking up to a reporter, quietly looking at the reporter's notebook, and then nodded slightly.

Arthur took advantage of the situation and said: "Please give this gentleman the floor to ask questions."

"Hello, I am a reporter from the Observer. My question is..."

The press conference time passed bit by bit. Under the cover of Arthur, Tom, Tony and others, Dumas finally passed the trial without any danger.

Arthur lowered his head and glanced at the speech record he had written down. A little bit of flattery to please the British public, a little bit of affirmation to increase the support of the Tory Party, plus a little bit of repeated, meaningless talk about the relationship between France and Britain. empty talk about democratic differences between countries.

Arthur closed the notebook with satisfaction. For him, this was a perfect press conference.

But Alexandre Dumas beside him was obviously not satisfied.

After seeing off the reporters who had gained a lot, the fat French man said unhappily: "I really don't understand the thinking of you British guys. You claim to have the most advanced, democratic, and free system in the world, but in the end When you raise your head and look, there is actually a king above you, don’t you think this is ironic?”

While sorting the documents on the table, Arthur said: "Mr. Dumas, I have told you many times. Constitutional monarchy and monarchy are two different things."

“But if there is no monarch, wouldn’t it be possible to build a more perfect constitutional country?”

When Arthur heard this, he put down the document in his hand and shook his finger at Alexandre Dumas: "Sir, if there is no king in the UK, it will not be a constitutional country, but four! They are England, Scotland, and Ireland. and Wales.

I know the French have always wanted to break up Great Britain, but you can just say that without beating around the bush. Anyway, we will not arrest you for this reason, because your idea is just ordinary even among British people.

Many English and even Scots want to kick Ireland out, and the Irish themselves are not happy to stay under the British system. If it hadn't been for the Duke of Wellington and other important figures who had been struggling to maintain it, we would have separated long ago. "

Alexandre Dumas also took a deep breath when he heard this. He shook his head and said: "To be honest, sometimes I really can't understand you British guys. If we take it seriously, you are the first place in Europe to achieve religious tolerance, and also the last. The places that abolished the slave trade first can indeed be called European stars in some cases. But you always appear to be petty in some inexplicable places. For example, your attitude towards Ireland is very typical."

Hearing this, Arthur raised his eyebrows and said: "I said before, this is the difference between Britain and France. Britain has always advocated individualism. Even if a father and son are put together, they will divide their property quite clearly. . You may not know that the most complete and ancient law in the UK is the "Property Law" system regarding the separation of fathers, sons and brothers. There are so many articles in it that it can drive you crazy.

If the British treat their children and brothers like this, how can you expect them to accept the Irish so quickly? After all, Scotland and England have been united for so many years, and so far the hostility between the two sides has only been slightly reduced. So, even if some outstanding politicians can see the value of Ireland, changing the public's inherent perception will not happen overnight. "

At this point, Arthur's words suddenly stopped.

He saw Elder standing outside the police station with a smile, holding a check between two fingers and waving it at him.

Arthur frowned and was about to go out to ask him. Unexpectedly, before he could go out, Elder had already walked in first.

Elder glanced around and found that no one was paying attention to them, and then quickly stuffed the check into Arthur's pocket.

"Take this, a small token of appreciation from Colonel Fitzroy."