Shadow of great britain

London, Westminster, Whitehall Street, Foreign Secretary's Residence.

As soon as Arthur stepped into the door of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he immediately felt the busy atmosphere here.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came and went, and many of them even trotted forward. Arthur was about to go upstairs when he suddenly heard the whispers of two affairs officers, one old and one young, passing by him.

"Is the minister crazy? Why should we continue to help the Russians bear the loan to Hope Company? At the end of the Napoleonic War, we stipulated in the Vienna Peace Treaty that if the Russians violated the provisions of the treaty, this amount would be Economic subsidies to Russia will be suspended immediately. Now that the Russians are using force against Poland, this has obviously violated the Treaty of Vienna. And now, the minister actually wants to sign a supplementary agreement with the Russians to continue to provide economic assistance to Russia? This If our actions are known to the parliament, how should we respond at that time?"

"This is the ingenuity of Viscount Palmerston's use of power. Have you forgotten? The Parliament is about to be dissolved. During this time, the members are busy with the election campaign, and the new Parliament has not yet It was not convened, so he urged us to draft a plan as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the parliament gets the news, it will..."

The red devil put his tail on the ground, leaned back slightly, and put his body weight on it.

He lowered his head and cut his nails with a smile, and said: "Oh, my dear Arthur, did you take me to the labyrinth on the island of Crete? Why is everything here full of mysterious and shady atmosphere? So, next, are you going to meet the terrifying Minotaur?"

Arthur glanced at him, then glanced at the busy and extremely depressing hall of the official residence, and he said: "I don't know whether your Excellency the Viscount is the Minotaur. But I have heard some superintendents from Scotland Yard say so. However, when Viscount Palmerston was the Secretary of State for War, he had a nickname, and they called him a brutal overseer. Now it seems that he must have brought this habit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

Arthur took out his pocket watch from his pocket and took a look at it. Then he couldn't help shaking his head and said, "It's already tea time, but I didn't see any smiles on the faces of these people. What's even more incredible is that , these people standing in front of me are still old bureaucrats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It seems that Viscount Palmerston has only been in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more than half a year, and he has already given them a taste of the "dipped whip" that even the Army can't stand. .”

Agares took out a file and sharpened his little finger, then raised his hand and pointed it at the oil lamp hanging in the hall, admiring his masterpiece with satisfaction: "Isn't it? My dear Arthur, if you have such a person You won’t be able to stand a boss who is energetic, hard-working, and can spare a lot of time to enjoy all kinds of martial arts and enjoy the joys of life with Mrs. Cowper.”

"Eighteen kinds of martial arts, huh..." Arthur pinched his chin and looked at the red devil and said, "Agares, I didn't expect you know a lot!"

Agares put away the file with a playful smile, put on a doctor's hat, and asked: "Arthur, I can teach you the first nine for free, but you have to pay for the last nine." Just give up your soul, but your whole life will be much more wonderful."

Arthur smoothed his white gloves and said, "Well...it sounds like a pretty good deal."

"Are you moved?" Agares said happily: "Oh, Arthur, because you are so eager to learn, I can even allow you to publish this paragraph in "The British" this time. No famous author is needed , or if you like, you can also choose to put it on Elder’s head.”

Arthur just smiled and shook his head and said: "I'm sorry, Agares, although I am very interested, but since I don't have anyone to practice with at the moment, I don't plan to buy a piece of useless stuff and collect it home."

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, he heard a rush of footsteps behind him.

Arthur turned his head and looked, and saw a gentleman who was well-dressed and neatly dressed, with a bit of fatigue in his eyebrows, quickly walked down the steps and walked towards him with long strides: "Superintendent Hastings, I'm sorry to keep you waiting for so long. Viscount Palmerston has just received several representatives of citizen groups, and he is now free to see you."

Arthur took off his hat and responded politely: "Then I would like to ask you to lead the way. This is my first time coming to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so I am not familiar with the layout of the office."

"Of course, please follow me."

The clerk led Arthur towards the second floor, not forgetting to joke with Arthur on the way: "How is it? Do you feel that Scotland Yard is usually as busy as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

Arthur just smiled and said: "In terms of work intensity, the two sides may be similar, but after all, our work content is still different."

The affairs officer smiled and shook his head: "No, in my opinion, the nature of Scotland Yard's work is exactly the same as that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and our business scope is even wider."

"how to say?"

The affairs officer said: "As we all know, police officers face thieves, liars, robbers, prostitutes and drunkards all day long, while the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has to deal with the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Russia, Spain, and even Bavaria."

Arthur joked: "Have you forgotten France? And if you put the Kingdom of Bavaria on the same important level as big countries like Austria and Russia, will you elevate them a bit?"

"The French have become much more peaceful in recent years than they did during the Napoleonic period. As for Bavaria, I admit that I have a little traditional family prejudice against them. You may not know that my father is an immigrant from Hesse, Germany, so... "

Arthur smiled and asked: "So what do the Hessians think of Bavaria?"

The diplomat smiled and said: "My father often said: Bavarians are a transitional species between Austrians and humans."

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but make a joke: "In that case, maybe one of my friends happens to be an authentic Bavarian."

The diplomat stopped and pretended to mourn: "Oh, Superintendent Hastings, that's so unfortunate to hear."

Arthur smiled and shook his head and said: "It's okay. I'm used to it anyway. It's not a big deal to be friends with Bavarians. Thinking about it on the bright side, it's better than getting along with Austrians."

The diplomat laughed loudly. He pointed at Arthur and said: "Maybe you shouldn't be a policeman. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also very lacking in talents like you. If you are sent to Bavaria as an ambassador, I believe you will do it. Pretty good."

Arthur responded humorously: "This is a good job. At least it is better than the London Zoo that I was assigned to manage."

The diplomat said with a serious face: "Mr. Hastings, I have to politely remind you that the election of the House of Commons is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

Arthur also responded seriously: "I understand. I had already walked around the hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before you came. I didn't see the little hammer here that can shut up the baboons."

After saying that, the two looked at each other, and then they couldn't help laughing.

The clerk led Arthur to the door of the minister's office, and the smile on his face faded a lot: "Okay, Mr. Hastings, I will take you here. It is really pleasant to chat with you, For the sake of rescuing me from the boring working environment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I take the liberty of giving you a heads up.

Although Viscount Palmerston is not directly in charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs, you should be aware of his relationship with the Minister of Home Affairs, Viscount Melbourne. Viscount Melbourne's sister, Mrs. Cowper, well... I'm afraid it would be impolite to say more. Therefore, when you are talking to His Excellency the Viscount, it is best to be as sincere as possible.

He despises those who are not as smart as he is, and at the same time is afraid of those who are smarter than him. Be careful with his compliments and strict with his reprimands. All in all, it's not easy to get along with him. You are so funny and I don't want to not hear your jokes when I visit Scotland Yard in the future. "

Arthur raised the brim of his hat with his fingertips and nodded slightly: "Thank you for the reminder."

The clerk knocked on the door of the office and asked loudly: "Sir, Superintendent Hastings is here."

"He's here so soon? The afternoon tea I planned to treat him to is not ready yet. Go to the restaurant on the corner and ask them to deliver the food as soon as possible. I'll have a chat with Mr. Hastings first. .”

Arthur was invited into the room. As soon as he entered the door, he saw the impressive pile of files in front of the Palmerston case.

Palmerston took off his glasses, stood up holding the tea cup with a smile on his face and said: "How have you been lately? Scotland Yard is very busy, but when the London District Attorney's Office is established, the burden on you will be small. It’s heavier. But I think the young man who can be favored by Lord Brougham will definitely not be too bad. Come on, take a seat first.”

Arthur followed Palmerston to the sofa and sat down. He took off his wet hat and put it on the table. Before he could speak, he heard Palmerston rambling again.

Palmerston put down the white porcelain cup and said: "This is the damn weather in London. It's a pity that I am now a minister. Otherwise, according to my habit when I was a backbench member, during this kind of closing period of Parliament, I should go to Cornwall If you go further, maybe go back to France or the Apennines, the sunshine there is not comparable to England. By the way, Arthur, where did you go on your study tour after graduating from college? "

The red devil leaned on the sofa and smiled evilly: "Oh, Arthur, look! The Minotaur has started to trick you. Does he want to eat you in one bite? Let me see, what are you planning to do? How to get out of this maze? Do you want to give yourself the wings of Icarus? But IMHO, the sun is too close to you at this time. If you do this, your wings will definitely melt, and then like It was Elder who fell into the sea like that.”

Arthur just chuckled softly after hearing this: "Your Excellency, the cost of the mainland study tour is still too high for me. Although this is a tradition in the British education community, a trip that lasts for two years costs every year. The expenditure of more than five hundred pounds is really not a small sum for me."

When Palmerston heard this, he just smiled and shook his head and said: "No, Arthur, this is simply because you are not happy. You may think that I am a noble, so I must be very rich. If you are interested in me now That's true. But if you knew what I was like when I first graduated from Cambridge, you would have laughed at me for being a poor boy."

Arthur asked: "Did you encounter any changes at that time?"

"That's right." Palmerston sipped his tea: "My father passed away when I just graduated from Cambridge. He did leave me a large inheritance, up to 75,000 pounds, but with At the same time, he also gave me a debt of 90,000 pounds. I took that money to invest and soon earned close to 20,000 pounds. But when I increased my investment, my The partners absconded with the money.

At this time, I started my study tour in Europe. Haha, although I said I was studying abroad, you know, I was actually going to avoid debt. It can be seen that even if you don’t have much money or even have debts, you can still carry out study tours. It's just a matter of having fewer servants, eating more plainly, taking care of your own hands, and not getting involved in those art auctions. After all, even among nobles, not everyone is as wealthy as the Earl of Oxford.

You must have heard of his appalling study tour expenses, right? He spent 4,500 pounds in 4 months. You know, that was at the end of the 16th century! At that time, the national fiscal revenue was only 350,000 pounds. He spent 1.3% of the country's income in four months. To this day, there is probably no nobleman in Britain who is more prodigal than him. "

Arthur asked: "So, when you started your study tour, you chose a completely different route from the Earl of Oxford?"

Palmerston nodded and said: "Yes, but according to our British tradition, we must go to France. But you also know that when I graduated, there was a revolution in France, and there was no peace in Western Europe, Central Europe, or Southern Europe. . So I chose to go east. You know, when I arrived in Poland, the people there welcomed me very warmly. Everyone lived happily under the protection of Russia, until the man-eating devil from Corsica Breaking this peace and tranquility. Arthur, do you know Poland?"

Seeing that Palmerston had finally come to the topic, Arthur smiled and said: "I don't know much about Poland. I have never even set foot outside of Britain in my life, so how can I know about such a far away land? But I know a lot about it." I like reading newspapers, and haven’t there been a lot of talk about Poland in the newspapers recently? The Russians occupied Warsaw and committed many war atrocities there.”

When Palmerston heard this, he just waved his hands and said: "Of course what the newspaper said has its own truth, but those reporters who sit in small rooms and write articles don't understand anything. They just don't understand anything. They would secretly speculate and imagine what happened in the far east. Such as war atrocities and so on, but there are no undead people in any war? They have never thought about this problem with their atrophied cerebellum. "

Arthur asked: "So you are saying that the reporters made up everything they said in the newspapers?"

"Whether it's made up or not, wouldn't it be obvious just by looking at whether they have been to Poland?"

Palmerston said firmly: "Arthur, I bet you that none of these newspaper reporters have been there personally. And the people who have actually been to Poland are sitting in front of you right now. Although I support British publishing freedom, but we also strongly oppose these people's disregard of facts and spreading false news. Although the formulation of the free press policy is correct, but if it is suddenly relaxed to this extent, does it allow the freedom of the news media to go too far?"

Arthur nodded: "Of course, Scotland Yard is also committed to maintaining freedom of the press, but we are occasionally responsible for censoring and banning some illegal publications, such as those that do not strictly enforce stamp duties, or those depraved erotic literature .”

Palmerston nodded and said: "Yes, Scotland Yard has always done a good job in this regard. But I think those articles that contain factual errors and are not conducive to social harmony should also be included in Scotland Yard's implementation. Having said that, , Arthur, do you know the magazine "British"? This magazine is quite popular in London during this time. The popular stories in it are full of fun. It is indeed a great tool for citizens to kill boring time. "

When Arthur heard Palmerston take the initiative to mention "The Englishman", he suddenly felt confident. But before giving a positive response, he still planned to play two more games with Palmerston.

Arthur replied: "Of course I know "The British". Sir, you may not know that I also serialized a novel in "The British". I don't know if you have read "Hastings" ?"

"Of course! I don't miss every issue!"

Palmerston smiled and pointed at Arthur: "I knew this novel must have something to do with you. They are both Hastings, and both are legendary police detectives from Scotland Yard. Even if this novel was not written by you, , it should also be based on you. In other words, you should at least know its author."

Agares pushed up his glasses when he heard this and said, "Yes, he does know each other. We are quite familiar with each other."

Arthur glanced at Agares and continued to smile: "So, are you dissatisfied with "The British"?"

"There's no question of dissatisfaction." Palmerston advised with a smile: "However, since you are the author of "The Englishman", I hope you can have a good talk with their editorial department, for example, remind them to make corrections Check out the factual errors in their magazine. The Brit is indeed a good magazine, but their latest supplement, The Economist, is...

Arthur, have you ever read The Economist? There are some Polish comments on there that are just too imaginative. Moreover, how could they put the Polish article together with the propaganda of the Bonaparte family? Although I don't want to make random guesses, I think, maybe, they received sponsorship from the French? Haha, Arthur, please forgive me for using such horrific words. But what you may not know is that if someone has suspicious contact with the French, in the eyes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this will be preliminarily deemed to be treason. "