Shadow of great britain

If Londoners were asked to name which areas represent the residences of London's powerful and prominent businessmen, then Marylebone and Mayfair would definitely be at the top of the list. At the junction of Marylebone and Mayfair, lies It is Marylebone’s brightest architectural star.

Close to the bustling commercial street Oxford Street and the royal garden Regent's Park, there is such a new residential area - Regent Crescent.

Royal architect Sir John Nash planned and designed many well-known architectural projects during his lifetime, such as the renovation of Buckingham Palace, the garden design of Regent's Park and Marylebone Park, and the construction of Trafalgar Square, St. James's Park and the Highmark Theater .

But this does not prevent the Regency Crescent Building from becoming the most outstanding work in his life.

Since the completion of the Regency Crescent Building in 1820, members of the royal family, dignitaries, and wealthy businessmen have all flocked here, and the courtesans who aim to establish relationships with them regard this place as the highest palace for social banquets.

The completion of the Regency Crescent has naturally led to a rapid increase in housing prices nearby, and countless luxury stores and large commercial districts have been built nearby.

Arthur once had the opportunity to buy a small apartment here. At that time, he only had a vague idea of ​​the price of houses here. It was not until he learned about it later that he was quite glad that he had not bought it from Lionel Rothschild. Take this place with your hands, otherwise this favor will seem too heavy.

But thinking back, it's a pity not to win this place. After all, apart from Buckingham Palace, there should be no other place like the Regent's Crescent. After getting up in the morning, you can see so many famous figures in Europe. .

But it's a pity. Fortunately, one of Arthur's friends happened to be moving to a new home recently, and his new home was right here.

In the early morning in London, the fog had not yet dissipated, and there was a thin layer of water vapor. The wheels slowly stopped in front of the Regency Crescent Building.

A black riding boot stepped on the rough gray brick road, and smoke rings blew out from under his big-brimmed hat. Arthur raised his head and glanced at the ivory-white buildings with a winding beauty like the moon, and behind him was It is the most proud masterpiece of the late King George IV - the incredible beauty of Regent's Park.

With just this movement, his figure was captured by the guards guarding the entrances of Crescent Tower.

The guard stepped in front of him, looked at his clothes up and down, and then asked: "Sir, who are you looking for?"

Arthur just replied: "Mr. Charles Wheatstone, I have made an appointment with him."

The guard suddenly realized: "Then you must be Mr. Hastings, right? Mr. Wheatstone already greeted us last night. Just go up when you arrive. House number is 2-1B. Let me show you the way." .”

Arthur nodded slightly. Under the leadership of the guard, Arthur quickly arrived at the door with a black iron and gold-edged door number.

The guard gently rang the bell, and with a few jingles, the door was opened shortly after, and the face that appeared behind the door was none other than Mr. Wheatstone with thick dark circles under his eyes.

He wore a nightcap on his head, yawned and stretched: "Arthur, is it so early?"

Arthur glanced at his appearance and just asked: "Did you just fall asleep?"

Whetstone let him into the house, poured a cup of coffee, and nestled on the sofa next to the fireplace in the living room: "I just moved to a new house. I'm a little too excited. I can't fall asleep tossing and turning in bed."

Arthur looked at the six-bedroom room with two floors, and put the gift in his hand on the coffee table: "It looks good, it shouldn't be cheap here."

Wheatstone sank into the sofa with satisfaction, squinting his eyes and feeling as if his head was dizzy as if he were stepping on clouds: "It's really not cheap, a total of four thousand pounds. If it were in Greenwich, this money would be enough for me to buy it." It’s a street.”

Arthur raised his eyebrows: "No wonder you were unwilling to get the perfume yesterday and insisted on asking me to pay in cash. It turned out to be because of this house. Mr. Eitel is really right. Women can just coax. A bottle of perfume can do that." You can do it, but most men can’t.”

Whetstone sipped his coffee and asked, "Who is Mr. Eitel?"

Arthur took off his hat and hung it on the coat rack: "He is a painter and a professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. If you are interested in having him paint a portrait, I still have his business card here. But by the way, the price is not cheap." "

Wheatstone thought for a while and finally said: "It will take a while. This house has almost paid for the money I paid for selling the gramophone. I also plan to open a branch on Regent Street. The remaining money will be temporarily spent." You can't move around. But then again, why did you come here so early today? You can't be here just to give me a gift, right? "

When Wheatstone said this, he suddenly asked again: "By the way, is the perfume you bought yesterday, Rimmel, really expensive?"

Arthur picked up the coffee cup: "It depends on how you define it. If it is two hundred pounds a bottle, it is definitely not worth it. But for those upper-class ladies, let them spend a few pounds or even ten pounds. I believe someone will be willing to make an appointment at the price. You have never met Mr. Ruimei, so you probably don’t know that he is actually quite experienced in handling ladies. Hungry marketing, private customization, if it weren’t for me Seeing it with my own eyes, I didn’t know anyone had mastered this in the 19th century.”

Wheatstone savored it carefully: "Then... maybe I should invest in him before he starts doing it. Is Mr. Rimmel interested in opening a store on Regent Street? Wait until I buy a store there. In his store, maybe consider setting aside half of the area for him to sell perfume.”

Arthur just smiled and threw the business card in his pocket in front of Wheatstone: "Go and talk to him yourself. I think Mr. Rimmel won't want to see me again in the short term. He seems to be very annoying." Police. But I can understand it. This is a common problem among French people."

Whetstone shook his finger and said: "That's different, Arthur, he hates the police because he thinks you want to rip him off, but if you can help him make money, then his attitude will soon change. You see, take me as an example. I hate dealing with other people, but the two of us get along pretty well now, because I made such a nice house by selling records and gramophones to you, so those things are in the past. "

Arthur took out a pen and paper from his coat pocket and recorded: "Charles, it seems that your social phobia is almost gone. In this case, are you interested in giving a lecture to everyone on stage at the Royal Society next month? Mr. Faraday's side It’s not a problem that I’ve been putting it off. By the way, I have some gossip here. Because of the invention of the phonograph, the Royal Society seems to be planning to set up an acoustics laboratory and let you be the subject director. I wonder if you are interested?”

When Whetstone heard this, his whole body froze: "Forget about giving lectures, you also specialize in doing laboratories? How did they come up with it? It's fine for me to stay at home and do it myself. I'm not interested in the laboratory."

Arthur asked: "You won't go even if you have special funds and job salary?"

Wheatstone shook his head and said: "Arthur, you worked at Scotland Yard, so you have no idea how low the treatment at the Royal Society is. Didn't you see that Mr. Faraday's tuxedo for speeches was washed and washed again?" , Have you been reluctant to replace it with a new one for several years? My life now is much more comfortable than staying at the Royal Society. If you ask me to be the director of the laboratory, I might as well go back and open my musical instrument shop."

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly thought: "Then tell me, if I persuade Mr. Faraday to come out and do it, is there any possibility of success?"

Wheatstone only thought he was joking: "Come out to do it? Then Mr. Faraday is probably not happy. He doesn't care about money, he just wants to do his own experiments quietly. It's not like no company has wanted to invite him out before. , but he rejected them all. I would say that although Mr. Faraday is already highly respected, his status is still underestimated.

People say that Sir Newton was the man closest to God, as it is written on his tombstone in Westminster Abbey - Nature and the laws of nature are hidden in the darkness. God said: Let Newton go! Then everything turned into light.

In my opinion, Mr. Faraday is the closest person to Sir Isaac Newton. The mysteries of electricity and magnetism are also in ignorance and darkness. It was Mr. Faraday who pointed out the direction for us.

However, such an outstanding figure suffered from poverty because he was too single-minded. If Mr. Faraday was half as good as Sir Newton in running a business, he would be rich or noble by now. "

Arthur raised his eyebrows and asked: "Trading? Are you referring to the time when Sir Newton used calculus to calculate stocks and ended up losing ten years of salary in the South Sea Company case?"

Wheatstone argued: "People always make mistakes, and Sir Isaac Newton is no exception. And didn't he also admit his mistakes? He said: I can predict the movement of the planets, but I cannot predict the movements of crazy people. . Besides, Sir Newton has unlimited tax-free rights granted by the king, so losing a little money is nothing to him. If Mr. Faraday can learn some tricks from Sir Newton, his life will definitely be much better than now. ”

When Arthur heard this, he just shook his head: "I think it is a blessing that Mr. Faraday is not like Newton. Charles, you are so lucky that you don't know how lucky you are. A while ago, I went to a store on Regent Street about Newton. It’s Jazz’s specialty store, so I happen to know some things.”

Wheatstone asked curiously: "For example?"

Arthur tasted the slightly bitter coffee in the cup and said: "For example, Sir Newton's famous saying: If I have seen further than others, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants. Many people think this It was Sir Newton's self-effacing words, but in fact it had nothing to do with humility. He was just blaming his rival, Mr. Hooke.

It's just that most people don't know much about Mr. Hooke because Sir Newton ordered all portraits of him to be burned after Mr. Hooke's death. I only emphasize one point here. Mr. Hooke is a famous dwarf, so now you understand what Sir Newton meant by that sentence, right? "

When Whetstone heard this, he couldn't help laughing: "Are you telling the truth? I didn't know he had done this before."

Arthur said: "So now you understand how happy it is that the Royal Society is handed over to Mr. Faraday to lead, right? If Mr. Faraday is replaced by Sir Newton, we guys who dare to compete with him in the same scientific research field , sooner or later he will be tied up and thrown into the Thames."

"Hahaha, that's true."

Arthur saw Wheatstone smiling so happily, and suddenly, the smile on his face also brightened.

Wheatstone was shocked by what he saw, and asked tremblingly: "What...what's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

Arthur leaned on the sofa: "Nothing, I just suddenly thought of something. It is true that Sir Newton is a very great scientist, but his reputation can be so prominent that it even exceeds his actual achievements, and he is in the hearts of the public His status is far superior to that of the equally great Mr. Faraday, Charles, have you ever thought about the reason?"

"Arthur, you?" Wheatstone frowned slightly, thinking of something.

Arthur pointed at the luxurious decorations in the room and the guards patrolling outside the window all day, and said.

"Charles, look at you. You are just a gramophone. Now you have become one of the richest scientists in Britain and even Europe. Worldly success is indeed a joy for you, but I know that people like you For those of you who are obsessed with science, you must have a more noble pursuit in your heart.

This may be a simple but worthy epitaph, or he may be buried in Westminster Abbey. Or it could be a simple scientific theorem, such as the Newton-Leibniz formula or something. But don't you think it's strange? Obviously the Newton-Leibniz formula contains Leibniz symbols, so why does Newton rank before Leibniz? "

Wheatstone swallowed. He completely understood what Arthur said: "You mean, you suggest that I accept the Royal Society's invitation?"

"Whether you accept it or not is entirely up to you." Arthur replied with a smile: "I am just a friend, giving you some reasonable ideas and suggestions."

"But..." Wheatstone thought for a long time and struggled to pull out a paper from under the coffee table: "Arthur, I have already written this paper on the principle of residual magnetism. Although I made the tape recorder, this Are you really not going to co-sign a paper on principles that is the basis of recording? After all, from a practical point of view, you actually discovered this thing. I can't thank you enough for the matter of the gramophone and the record. I’ve earned the money, but are you planning on giving up the scientific honors?”

Arthur took a sip of coffee and said: "Charles, as you said, I am a Scotland Yard policeman. I am usually busy with my work and I really have no time to distract from the affairs of the Royal Society."

"Arthur, you..."

"Of course, I'm not giving this up without asking for anything." Arthur knocked on the coffee table: "Charles, do you know who lives next door to your house?"

"who?"

Arthur smiled and took out a document from his arms and placed it on the coffee table: "Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, the former King of Spain. Your house is so big, so the vents must be very spacious, right?"

Wheatstone was shocked: "Arthur, what are you planning to do?"

Arthur smiled and said, "I want you to set up the tape recorder in the duct of the vent."

"This...of course I can do it, but in what name is this done?"

Arthur smiled: "Of course in the name of national security, do you think the Frenchman is worthy of trust? Alexander is always under my nose, but for this restless member of the Napoleon family, I I can only rely on you."

"Really?" Wheatstone looked doubtful.

Arthur leaned on the sofa: "Believe it or not, but I must emphasize one point, Charles. If you want to gain something, you must accept loss. You want to leave a name in history, you want formulas and theorems, and you want the position of president of the Royal Society. , it is not easy to be Isaac Newton. You have to understand that great men are almost always bad men, of course, you can also choose to bet that you are an exception."

After saying that, Arthur took out his pocket watch and took a look: "Goodbye, Charles, I have to go to work. You have half a day to consider now. According to the information provided by Fiona, Joseph Bonaparte will be at his house tonight. There is a party at the house, and I am very interested in several of the guests. I hope that early tomorrow morning I will be able to hear the recording I want in the offices at Scotland Yard.

It doesn't matter if you can't hear me. You can also come to me to drink some wine and talk about friendship. There is exactly half a bottle of Lysaluna left last time that the Duke of Wellington gave me. It was a good time for us to get rid of all the good wine we had before I left there. "

After saying this, Arthur stood up and left Wheatstone's mansion.

Stepping on the stone road in front of the Regency Crescent Building, the red devil wandered around Arthur.

Agares smiled and said: "Arthur, are you sure he will bring the recording tomorrow?"

When Arthur heard this, he just blew out smoke rings: "Of course I'm not sure."

"Then what are you doing?" The red devil rubbed his hands and said with a smirk, "One-half probability, gambler's mentality?"

Arthur glanced at him: "Agares, I am different from you. I am not a devil. I cannot see through people's hearts, so I need some ways to judge how to get along with a person and what method to use. Especially for the work I am doing now that cannot be done openly, I have to be even more careful. In addition, I have to remind you that it was you who asked me to stay at Scotland Yard. To get to where I am now, many things have changed. I can’t help myself anymore. But maybe this is what you want to see?”

Hearing this, the red devil just smiled: "Oh! My dear Arthur, don't always think of me as such a bad person. This is all your own choice. Who put you in this society and you have to be that person? Where's the leader? But, think on the bright side, don't you feel happy now?

In London now, there are a lot of people who depend on you to survive. The fat man who escaped wanted, Tom and Tony, and the two brats, the magazine "British", Fiona and his small group, or the new rich man we just met. Arthur, you must not fall. If you fall, they will all be destroyed soon. "

Arthur didn't answer, he just put on his hat again, and his figure gradually disappeared into the morning fog in London.

The red devil watched his figure disappear little by little, and the malice on his face became more intense: "Do you think they will thank you? Arthur, you are too naive, they will only think that everything is just what they deserve. If you live a good life, you should attribute it to yourself. If you live a bad life, it is all the fault of others. This is human nature. Boy, if you do this, you will die without a burial place sooner or later. I hope that by then, your You can still be as hard-tempered as you are now, the devil's deal has always been timeless, even though I admire you very much."