Shadow of great britain

"Allan Pinkerton?"

Arthur stared at the stubborn kid in front of him and seemed to think of something. He asked half-jokingly: "It's a good name, but I thought people named Pinkerton might prefer arresting criminals rather than becoming criminals. "

Unexpectedly, when Pinkerton heard this, his eyes widened in surprise. Perhaps because he had been blown by the cold wind at night for too long, his lips turned a little white: "Do you know my dad?"

"Your father?" Arthur thought about this sentence for a moment and asked, "Is your father a policeman or a robber?"

Pinkerton nodded: "He's a Glasgow policeman."

When Arthur heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "That's easy to handle. Originally, I was still thinking about how to deal with you in the future. After all, you are a helpless immigrant. If you deal with it in accordance with the regulations, even if I don't You are taken to the magistrates' court, and you have to be handed over to the workhouse.

But even if it is a workhouse, in this state, you will probably have to be sent out of the country as a gift. After all, the workhouses in various London parishes are already overloaded, and local residents are unwilling to pay even a new franc more for poor tax.

Now that you know that your father is a police officer with a serious job, the rest of the matter will be easier to handle. Constable Pinkerton from Glasgow, right? I'll find a way to contact someone. "

Pinkerton heard that Arthur was about to send him back, and was about to say something.

But before he could speak, the door of the tavern was pushed open again.

There was only a sound of jingling bells, and two familiar faces walked in from outside.

That was the reporter Dickens who applied to Scotland Yard for a half-day investigative interview in Tower Hamlets and the officer Tom who was responsible for accompanying and protecting him.

When Arthur saw them, he smiled and raised his hand to say hello: "Charles, Tom, how are you doing today?"

When Tom saw Arthur, he asked in surprise: "Arthur, what are you doing here so late?"

Arthur just leaned on the counter and tilted his head at Pinkerton: "For a kid who traveled from Scotland to London on his own. Let's get to know him, the son of Police Officer Pinkerton of Glasgow. He just came to my house a while ago. Elder’s wallet was taken away under his nose.”

When Tom heard this, a trace of fatigue appeared on his face: "So, are you going to throw him into prison?"

Arthur took a sip of coffee: "You know, I am a graduate of the University of London. From a utilitarian law enforcement perspective, the reason why we throw people into prison is not because of personal hobbies, but So that they won't make the same mistake again in the future.

This kid's situation is a bit special. I think if I want him to stop working in London, the best way is to send him back to his father. Tom, you're going on a business trip tomorrow, and you haven't taken a vacation for a long time. Take your wife and Adam with you, and take this kid with you to Glasgow and hand him over to Officer Pinkerton yourself. When you come back, remember to go to the bureau to reimburse your travel expenses. "

When Tom heard this, he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled and replied, "Okay, then I'll take him back first, and I'll take him out early tomorrow morning."

Arthur nodded and said: "I knew it would be right to leave it to you to deal with this kind of thing."

After saying that, he saw Officer Tom walking up to Pinkerton and saying something. At first, Pinkerton was hesitant and unwilling to leave, but under Tom's hard work, he finally had no choice but to reluctantly leave. Yuan and Officer Tom left the tavern together.

Dickens watched the two of them leave the tavern, and then found a seat next to Arthur.

He lowered his head and held the cup. After hesitating for a long time, he finally plucked up the courage and asked: "Arthur, I... I have actually always wanted to ask you some questions. Of course, if you feel inconvenient, you can Choose not to answer.”

Seeing his appearance, Arthur just smiled: "What you want to ask about is probably about Hyde Park, right?"

When Dickens heard this place name, he couldn't help but turn his head and look at him: "You...how do you know?"

Arthur just pinched his chin: "Because this is probably the only thing that has happened to me that makes it so difficult for you to talk."

Dickens smiled bitterly and nodded: "I originally thought you would be very taboo about this kind of thing."

"It's really taboo, but if you do it, you just do it. Isn't it worse if you cover your eyes and pretend nothing happened? After all, the former at least leaves a chance to explain. I can't think of the second option except guilty conscience. The reason. But it’s you, Charles, if you are willing to listen to me talk about the reason, this is because we are familiar with each other. Generally speaking, other people are too lazy to listen to my explanation, so I am too lazy to explain. "

When Dickens heard this, he felt that the heavy air became a lot lighter.

He exhaled, and there was a smile on his face: "That's right. It's because we know each other and I know who you are, so I know there must be some reason. At least you are definitely not taking the initiative. I Is your guess correct?"

When Arthur heard this, he just shook his head: "You are really wrong about this. I took the initiative to bring it up to the boss. I'm worried that if things continue to evolve, I'm afraid that the Guards Cavalry will be dispatched again in the end. It's better to eat the cavalry's saber. , I think it would be more cost-effective to let them receive two sticks or spend a few days in jail."

"This..." Dickens hesitated: "But what do you think of parliamentary reform? Don't you support it?"

"Parliamentary reform?" Arthur raised his eyebrows: "Are you referring to the parliamentary reform that allows the middle class to obtain the right to vote, but will cost the workers their lives?"

"The middle class has the right to vote?" Dickens said in astonishment: "No! Isn't the purpose of parliamentary reform universal suffrage?"

Arthur just smiled: "Do you think it's possible? Universal suffrage? If the Communist Party were defeated, neither the Tories nor the Whigs would be able to elect anyone, and the last person in power would definitely be Thomas A. The Birmingham Political Alliance led by John Twood may also be the Capital Political Alliance in London.

So, the Whigs spent so much effort to promote parliamentary reform, but their ultimate goal was to lose themselves? Charles, do you think this is possible? You are an authentic British person and have been doing parliamentary reporting for a period of time. Then you must know that compromise is an important part of British politics.

In order to pass motion A, we usually propose motion B, which is even more unacceptable to the parliament. However, motion B was not actually considered from the beginning. It exists just to make the opposition parties pinch their noses and agree to pass A. "

Dickens frowned slightly. He didn't seem to agree with Arthur's opinion very much: "This..."

Arthur just held the coffee cup, feeling the temperature coming from the cup, and said: "Perhaps there are some people in the Whig Party who really want to achieve universal suffrage, but as long as it expands to the entire Whig Party, then that A handful is negligible. Do you know why I think the Duke of Wellington and Sir Peel are fine?"

Dickens asked, "Why?"

Arthur took a sip of coffee: "Because they are rare politicians who dare to go against the mainstream opinions of the party. I still can't believe the "Catholic Emancipation Act". The Duke of Wellington, a man known as a die-hard How could a Tory politician be able to make such a bold decision.

From the moment he signed the bill, his political career almost came to an end, but he still chose to sign that thing. This is not something ordinary people have the courage to do.

I admire him very much, and I have indeed benefited from the bill, so in order to reciprocate, I at least cannot let others continue to smash the windows of his house. This does no good to either the person who smashed the glass or the one who was hit.

Charles, you know, deserves retribution for his ingratitude to his first early benefactor, the author of life's good fortune. To me, both Sir Peel and the Duke of Wellington are the makers of good fortune. "

When Dickens heard this, he couldn't help but his eyes lit up: "You are ungrateful to your first benefactor in your early years, the creator of luck in life, and you should be punished... This sentence sounds pretty good, and this is Marco O A famous quote from Reliu?”

Arthur just laughed and said, "No, it's yours."

"Mine?" Dickens said blankly: "Do you mean I can write this into the book?"

"Of course, anytime, anywhere." Arthur raised his coffee cup and clinked it with him: "Charles, I wish you a great future."

Arthur asked: "Speaking of which, have you finished reading Marcus Aurelius's Meditations?"

Dickens smiled sheepishly and said, "I've read half of it, but I've recently become obsessed with other books."

"Oh? What book?"

Dickens smiled and took out a wrinkled book from his bag: "This is it, Sir Thomas More's "Utopia". Have you read this book? This is a very interesting work."

Arthur nodded: "Not only is the book interesting, Sir More is also very interesting. When our King Henry VIII wanted a divorce, he asked all the nobles across the country to jointly write a letter to the Pope, but Sir More, the chief justice, wanted to divorce. But they are unwilling to sign the joint letter.

Later, Henry VIII passed the "Act of Supremacy" and designated himself as the supreme head of the state religion. Sir More was unwilling to swear faith to the king.

As a result, the angry king threw him into the Tower of London and sent a group of people to give perjury and convicted him of treason. As a sign of mercy, Henry VIII hypocritically changed the method of execution from dismemberment to beheading.

But Sir More's first reaction when he learned of this was to jokingly say, "Please God protect my relatives and friends from such mercy." And when he stepped onto the guillotine, he actually had the nerve to joke with the executioner and said, "Please help me get up. As for how to get down, I have already arranged it myself." "

Dickens couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "Sir More is indeed a very interesting man, but what does this have to do with the book "Utopia"?"

Arthur pointed to the title of the book and said: "Didn't you realize that the title of "Utopia" was also a joke made by Sir More?"

"This...how do you say this?"

Arthur said: "Charles, as a future literary giant, maybe you should catch up on your Greek. Utopia is actually a compound word composed of two words in Greek. They are 'ou' which represents 'nothing'. and 'topos' represent 'place', so the actual meaning of utopia is 'no such place exists'.

This book is not the same as Plato's "The Republic". If you read this book with a serious attitude, you will not only fail to see its true essence, but you will also be fooled by Sir More. But it's not really a big deal. Maybe Sir Moore was just trying to make fun of us readers when he wrote this book. "

"Yes...really?" Dickens frowned and touched the cover of the book: "But...but I think the utopia in this book is quite good. Isn't it the world in the book that everyone hopes for?"

Unexpectedly, when Arthur heard this, he just raised his eyebrows: "I thought so too at first, but after experiencing so many things happening around me, the people I came into contact with, and a certain ancient friend of mine, After talking to friends, my views have changed a bit now.”

Dickens couldn't help but ask: "Isn't it Utopia that people are pursuing?"

"of course not."

Arthur leaned back in his chair: "Well, what should I tell you? For most people, what they want is very complicated. They want anarchic personal freedom, utopian social welfare, chauvinism Socialist national policy, militaristic international exchanges, capitalist commodity economy, nihilistic work attitude, and feudalist views on marriage and love. Oh, by the way, the most important thing is that there must be the sexual openness of primitive society."

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, the red devil sitting on the counter couldn't help patting his thighs and raising his head and laughing wildly. His tongue almost came out: "Arthur! You finally see something!"

When Dickens heard this, his expression suddenly became strange: "Then if all of this comes true, what will it be like?"

"I don't know." Arthur shrugged: "Anyway, I think even God can't satisfy them with this thing. But if they can become the king of Great Britain, and they can promise to the Parliament to give up interfering in domestic and foreign policies, then the cabinet will Maybe we can reluctantly agree to their request. But Charles, you know, there are 20 million people in Great Britain, but there is only one king, so our biggest problem now is how to find 40 trillion subjects for our 20 million kings. "

Dickens listened and wondered: "Then if they can't become kings, won't these things be changed?"

"Change, of course it must be changed." Arthur said: "But if they don't give up some of their demands, all the above demands will not be realized. You also know that Britain is a cesspool, and now someone in the cesspool is telling them that as long as they take If they get the right to vote, all their demands can be met, but in fact they have no intention of actually giving them the right to vote.

Workers are being scammed all the time and enjoying it, which is not a good sign. I think they should be fighting for something like factory legislation now. After all, in the eyes of the Whigs, this is when they are at their highest value. There are some things that you don’t ask for now, but they are expired. "

When Dickens heard this, he lowered his head and was silent for a while, then sighed suddenly.

He took out a notebook from the canvas bag he carried with him and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about these depressing things. Arthur, you also know that I have been doing parliamentary interviews recently about the list of cabinet members prepared by the Whig Party. I have some news here from the mouths of congressmen, are you interested in this?"

Arthur blinked when he heard this: "If you don't mind telling me, of course I am willing to listen."

Dickens opened the book, rubbed his temples, and read: "If nothing else happens, once the Tories step down and the Whigs come to power. Then, as one of the three major cabinet seats, the Home Secretary may be Viscount Palmerston, Viscount Melbourne, Duke of Bedford, and his brother Lord John Russell..."