Shadow of great britain

Cold wind, heavy rain, lightning, thunder.

Rainwater flows between the bricks on the street, forming a flowing stream.

Louis Bonaparte stood in the shade of the tree holding a black cloth umbrella. He raised his head slightly and looked at the leafy camphor tree above his head, covered with raindrops. Through the gaps in the leaves, he could see the building not far away that directly overlooked Hyde Park. Apartments in Speakers' Corner.

The window of the small building was open, and there stood a man holding a white porcelain tea cup, tasting the biscuits in his hand against the rain in the evening in London.

Although his hand was wrapped with bandages, which looked like he was seriously injured, it didn't seem to affect his appetite.

Louis shook his wet hair and walked to the attic on riding boots. He walked directly through the garden full of onions, garlic and other seasonings, walked into the apartment, and walked along the stairs to the second floor. building.

The door to Arthur's room was ajar, leaving it specially for Louis.

Louis walked into the room and saw that this small room only contained a bed, a table, a tea set, a rotating gramophone and a few books.

Arthur looked at Louis, who had raindrops on his shoulders, and asked with a smile: "How does it feel to be in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department on your first day?"

Louis smiled bitterly: "This job is more difficult than I thought. There are various forms of documents, case investigation reports, and countless chores. In the past, you said that it was okay to tie a dog in this position. I You believed it to be true. Looking back now, were you being modest?"

Arthur poured a cup of tea and handed it to him while pacing: "You will find it difficult to do it, but you are not familiar with this process yet. Just do as I say, and I guarantee that you will do it when I am absent due to injury." It was a relaxing and enjoyable week at work.”

"I knew there must be some skill." Louis put down the teacup and took out a pen and paper from his pocket to record: "Arthur, tell me?"

Arthur leaned on the table and crossed his arms: "If you want to do this job well, you mainly need to know how to choose the right people to do the right things. As for the investigation of the case, leave it to Sheriff Charles Field, who is proficient in chemistry. With his on-the-spot investigation, quick mind and careful mind, in the detective business, even if you look at the whole of Scotland Yard, there is no one better than him.

As for those compliance process matters that clearly need to be strictly implemented, such as the arrest of suspects who can be clearly convicted after Field's confirmation and the detention of indicted debtors, these must be left to Tom.

As for those tasks that just deal with the formalities and get passed carelessly, or those cases that are ambiguous and the consequences are still unknown, such as the recent campaign to rectify the custom industry in the hall, Tony should be left to do it.

Of course, since most criminal cases come out of the East District, we occasionally need to coordinate with local police districts to assist with investigations.

As we all know, there are many bastards in the East District, including some who are responsible for the security of the East District. And with you as acting minister, I bet they won't take you seriously.

So before you do that, you need to say hello to Inspector Jones in Tower Hamlets and tell him that I need his full assistance because I don't want to come back in a week and find a backlog of work. Piles piled up.

Of course, sometimes the department or other superintendents need our help to do some dirty work in the East District that cannot be openly mentioned. If it's not too much, you can accept it. But for this kind of work, you have to find someone who is smart, flexible and action-oriented to help you do it. At the Whitechapel Police Station in Tower Hamlets, there is a young man named Laidley. He is a progressive young man. Leave the job to him and you will soon receive a satisfactory answer. "

Having said this, Arthur took a sip of tea: "The Criminal Investigation Department is roughly responsible for these matters. If there is any special situation beyond their capabilities, you can just come to me directly."

Louis Bonaparte bit his pen cap, frowned and raised his head: "Then is there anything I have to do?"

"What is there to do?" Arthur heard this and put his arm around Louis Bonaparte's shoulders affectionately and asked him to sit down: "Of course! Louis, your work is so important, you are more important than all of them put together. It’s all important!”

Louis asked: "Really? What do I want to do?"

Arthur cleared his throat and said: "You should know that this year is coming to an end. By next spring, the Parliament will review the public budgets of various departments. Therefore, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will formulate the departments before the opening of Parliament next year. Budget. As a subordinate department of the Home Office, Scotland Yard needs to submit our needs before the Home Office formulates the budget.

To be precise, Scotland Yard will finalize the budget request report by mid-December. So, Louis, you're going to have a lot of meetings this week. What you have to do is easy to say but difficult to do. I want you to cry out for your poverty at various meetings, cry out for your poverty to Director Luowan at the internal meeting, and cry for your poverty to the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the high-level police meeting held by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

You have to tell them what major things we have done this year and how many cases we have solved. You have to tell them that without the Criminal Investigation Department, London would be reduced to a sea of ​​blood and corpses, and the city and beyond would be filled with pyromaniacs and murderers. We need better equipment, more manpower, and higher quality training. In the final analysis, we need more funding, that is, money. "

After hearing this, Louis took off his hat, scratched his head, and asked: "But, is this too exaggerated? The Criminal Investigation Department has indeed solved many cases this year, but the one with great social impact... Former Congressman Harrison That one?"

"No, don't mention Harrison. He screwed us up, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs won't like this statement. And now that Mr. Harrison is under investigation, the incident has been suppressed with great difficulty, so there is no need to bring it up again."

Arthur took a sip of tea and said: "Louis, I think you can mention more about yourself. Well... I mean, while the Criminal Investigation Department was solving the case this year, it also took the initiative to discover some people like you through the case. Such talent.”

When Louis heard this, he looked strange and said, "Would the Ministry of Internal Affairs like this statement?"

"I don't know. Whether they like it or not, you can create this atmosphere for the department first."

Arthur pretended to be confused and said: "But I think they will be interested in your last name, Louis. You know, sometimes the amount of funds depends on the thoughts of those lazy ass in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Apart from not caring about work, , those lazy butts have quite a wide range of interests and hobbies. Whether it is the boudoir gossip of ladies and ladies, various bizarre street secrets, or the latest serial novel of "The British", they like it all. Louis, You have been in several issues of The Times this year, so you can be more confident in this regard."

When Louis heard this, he could only rub his temples helplessly: "Okay...if this can really make the Ministry of Internal Affairs mercifully donate more money, for example, to replace the Colt revolver for us, I'm quite willing to try it. Arthur, by the way, is your gun available on the market?"

Arthur said: "There will definitely be no sales on the market for the time being. But if Scotland Yard's application for a collective replacement of Colt revolvers is approved by the Ministry of the Interior, then at the beginning of the next fiscal year, Samuel Colt Mr. Walter will have the money to build his first production line. By then, you will be able to see that gun on the market."

Louis shook his head and said, "No, I'm not talking about the mass-produced model. I'm talking about what if I want to ask Mr. Colt to make a customized model like yours?"

Arthur replied: "Then you may need to queue up. Although Samuel has been working overtime, since the duel ended, he has been reluctant to accept custom orders. But seeing as you are so willing to sacrifice yourself for the department, In order to request funds from Scotland Yard and the Home Office, I can make a request to Samuel, such as letting you join the queue or something."

When Louis heard this, he just widened his eyes and took a breath: "Arthur."

Arthur picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea: "What's wrong?"

Louis put one hand on the table to support his head: "Mr. Wheatstone is really right, you are really bad sometimes. But compared with France's Fouche, your badness makes you look a little cute." . How do you do bad things without being as annoying as Fouche?"

"It's very simple." Arthur put down the tea cup and said: "As long as you play within the limits allowed by the rules. In Britain, it is normal to take advantage of loopholes, and no one will hold you accountable for your behavior in this regard, and even some loopholes are not allowed. It is specially set aside for others to take advantage of. As for the harm caused by taking advantage of loopholes, it can be predicted in advance, so everyone can just curse when they see this kind of person. But if someone like Fouche does not play according to the routine, If you do something like flipping the table, it won't end with just a few curses."

"Okay." Louis took out a few recorded records from his briefcase and put them on the table: "I brought all the loopholes you pointed out today. Mr. Wheatstone worked day and night to make them. I hope The equipment we have set up in the Astley Theater box in advance will help with next year's grant application, or... at least help us add a few more projects to the report."

Arthur saw a few records, and the smile on his face became a little thicker.

In the duel at the Astley Theater, he was neither concerned about the outcome of the duel nor worried about the success of Chopin's London premiere. As for the sword given by the king, it was completely unplanned.

What he missed most was the records in his hands.

The result of the overwhelming publicity before the duel was the influx of big shots. Although Arthur didn't know what they talked about, even if it was just some ordinary parents, it would be of great help to enrich the archives of the Police Intelligence Bureau.

After all, Arthur has always hoped to increase his 'understanding' with this group of big figures who can influence various British policies, although unfortunately, this understanding is usually only one-way.

Louis stood up and stretched. He leaned on the window and looked out: "Speaking of which, Arthur, why did you use your funds to rent this house as a contact point? The rent in Mayfair is not cheap. I spent a lot of money to get such a small room, is this price-performance ratio a bit low?”

Arthur jumped off the gramophone needle and put the record on the turntable: "If you mean living comfort, then yes, this price/performance ratio is indeed very low. But the Police Intelligence Bureau did not rent this house for living in the first place. Well, didn't you notice what you can see through the window? Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, that's what the Bureau rented it for.

The Criminal Investigation Department makes its living by investigating cases, while the Police Intelligence Bureau makes its living by producing intelligence. I certainly couldn't submit the record to the Ministry of Internal Affairs as a credit to the Police Intelligence Service, so I had to have something to show them. You’ve been living in London for a while, so you should know who usually gathers at Speakers’ Corner, right? "

Louis sat at the window and read: "I heard something. I heard that this place looks different every moment. Maybe you are singing praises for the government in the morning, but you have already begun to cynicize it at noon, and by the afternoon you are simply hating it." You cannot hold up a torch and set the Palace of Westminster on fire."

"It's more than that. If you stay here for a long time, you will definitely suffer from schizophrenia."

"how to say?"

Arthur said: "The business representatives from the east said that our government is controlled by greedy nobles and corrupt priests. This is a shameful representative of feudal and backward country.

The workers' representatives in Xitou also said that the government was in the hands of the Financial City and factory owners. It was an evil country that represented the interests of big bankers and businessmen.

Representatives of small citizens in the south hold Malthusian population theory and attack the government's decision to make concessions to slackers who try to get something for nothing. Britain's annual poor tax of up to 8.6 million pounds to relieve those slackers will only create more poor people. , discourages decent people who take pride in having a job.

The priests in the north insisted that the low moral character of society was the source of all the troubles. They called on people to return to the church and insist on praying, confessing and chanting the Bible every day. At this time, only mercy can save Britain. of God. "

Louis looked up and looked out: "It seems that today is an unlucky day. It is raining and there is no audience. So even the representatives from the east, west, south, and north are all absent from work."

Arthur shook his head and said: "Not all of them are absent from work. Night representatives usually come rain or shine, and their fans are more determined than the listeners from the east, west, north and south. Regardless of wind or rain, as long as they wait until dusk and sunset, When the moon climbs over the branches, it always becomes lively here.”

Louis asked curiously: "What are you talking about?"

Arthur leaned against the window with a teacup in hand: "What else could it be? Of course it's the Orioles, and Hyde Park is also a key area for their business. All parks in London are basically like this, and because of the recent Scotland Yard We are rectifying the atmosphere, so there are not many places where the girls can go, so the flow of people near Hyde Park has been several times greater than usual recently."

"Ah..." Louis suddenly realized: "But... since we all know this, why not list Hyde Park as a key surveillance area?"

Arthur raised his eyebrows and said: "It's very simple, because Hyde Park is in the West End, and it is a prosperous area in the West End. From the perspective of an upright gentleman, although Scotland Yard wants to rectify the atmosphere, we cannot completely control the girls' behavior. The way to survive is blocked, and there is no way London will suddenly create tens of thousands more jobs. After all, they also need to eat.

If we say it from a less honest perspective, there are many people who are important to British politics living near Hyde Park. Many of these people are old and crooked. We have to leave a little room for them. We really want to destroy all places. All blocked. Scotland Yard is not determined enough to cause trouble for these guys unless they ask for it.

We are prepared to make peace with them, at least until next fiscal year's budget is approved by Parliament. After all, it was the clergy who were dissatisfied with the situation. Although they also had significant social influence, whether the bill was passed or not was mainly determined by the nobles and businessmen who occupied the majority in the parliament. "

Louis smiled and asked: "So, do you think you agree with the view that Britain is a country that represents the evil interests of big bankers and businessmen?"

Arthur shrugged: "I don't know. I only know who can make policies and who they represent. And the members of the British Parliament can change at any time, so who knows?"

As Arthur was saying this, suddenly, there was a knock on the door in the room.

Louis opened the door, and standing outside was a lady he had never seen before, wearing a floral white dress.

"Please...please, is Mr. Arthur Hastings here? I...I'm here to apply for a job as a domestic maid."