Shadow of great britain

The Duke of Wellington took the manuscript from Sir Peel's hand, glanced at it lightly, and quickly turned to the end of the dozen or so pages.

Soon, the field marshal, who was always known for his iron will and seriousness, couldn't help but smile.

"Robert, I think you may have seen everything, but you missed his most important request."

The Duke of Wellington turned the manuscript to Sir Peel and pointed to a line of text that almost filled the entire page.

"I'm afraid that's what he wants most."

Sir Peel looked up.

The text above is very straightforward and concise.

—Even with such extensive revisions, I still find it difficult to recruit qualified police officers at twelve shillings a week, and I therefore ask for a pay rise for all Scotland Yard line patrol officers.

Sir Peel couldn't help laughing when he saw this, and the unhappiness he had felt due to the intra-party struggle was gone.

He asked the Duke of Wellington: "Mr. Duke, what do you think?"

The Duke of Wellington said: "Interesting young man. There are not many people who dare to make such a request from the superiors."

Sir Peel thought for a moment: "Do you think you should not agree to his request?"

The Duke of Wellington shook his head slightly: "No, I didn't mean that. Because I was like him when I was young, even worse than him. He just made some requests, and I directly disobeyed the orders of my superiors. .You know, I never like to be told what to do."

Sir Peel smiled and asked: "I didn't expect you to have such an experience. Can you remind me what the specific incident was?"

The Duke of Wellington waved his hand nonchalantly, as if it was an insignificant matter.

"There's nothing to mention, but if you want to hear it, I'll tell you about it. Do you remember the Battle of Vimeiro that took place in the Iberian Peninsula in 1808?"

"Of course you remember, you were the supreme commander of that battle."

The Duke of Wellington said: "Actually, I shouldn't have been. I remember it was August 1 of that year. I had just led more than 10,000 people to successfully land at Mondego Bay, 100 miles north of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.

But not long after, intelligence was received that the main force of the French army in Portugal led by Napoleon's general "Storm" Jean-Andoche Junod was nearby.

At that time, the Army Staff ordered me to wait where I was, because General Dalrymple was arriving with fifteen thousand reinforcements, preparing to take over the highest command of the entire army from me, and ordered me to cooperate with him in launching an attack on the French army.

But I ignored them, because the fighter plane was fleeting, and instead of waiting, it was better for me to attack directly. "

Sir Peel couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this: "Didn't they send you to a military court after the war for your behavior?"

The Duke of Wellington said: "Of course I gave it away! But it was not because I started the war privately, but because I wanted to hold me accountable for privately accepting the surrender of the French army, agreeing to the safe retreat of the remnants of the French army, and supplying ships to the French army who voluntarily returned to France. The problem."

Sir Peel smiled bitterly and said: "I seem to have remembered that incident, but I remember that your crime was not found guilty by the judge?"

"Of course! Why is it established? I won the battle!"

The Duke of Wellington replied as a matter of course: "Anyone can sign a treaty, how many can win a battle? If the War Department feels that my signature is not good, they can go to fight the French themselves, and then force Napoleon to Sign one that satisfies them!"

Sir Peel nodded thoughtfully: "What do you think of Inspector Arthur's request?"

The Duke of Wellington responded frankly: "Of course it is possible to give Scotland Yard police a raise, but they have to win the war first."

Sir Peel smiled and said: "Since you, the Prime Minister and First Minister of Finance, say so, then I understand how to reply to Inspector Arthur."

…

Metropolitan Police Greenwich Station, London.

Arthur leaned on the seat of the round table in the conference room, looking up at the yellowed chandelier on the ceiling. The lamp oil inside had not been changed for a long time, so even the light emitted was a little dim and could not even cover Arthur's face. .

There was pouring rain outside the window, and thumb-sized raindrops beat like bullets on the streets of London. Occasionally, a bolt of lightning flashed across, illuminating half of Arthur's face near the window.

He looked very calm, expressionless, and showed no joy. The only thing moving in the whole picture was the pen spinning in his hand.

Lightning flashed, thunder sounded, the light in the room dimmed again, and his face once again disappeared into the shadows. In the dim environment, the only thing that could identify his identity was the shining light on his epaulettes. of Bath Star.

Behind him, two workers were installing a frame. Inside the frame was a neat document that had just been retrieved from the printing factory. The content of the document was as simple as its title.

Those are the nine Arthur Hastings principles that have just made their way into the Metropolitan Police's Policing Implementation Manual through new revisions.

On the table in front of Arthur, there was also a letter that arrived almost at the same time as the new version of the police manual. The letter came from the Ministry of Home Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in Whitehall Street.

The content inside is not complicated, there are only a few lines of words, and even people with the most basic education can understand its literal meaning.

——Use a beautiful landing in Lisbon to break Napoleon's 'continental blockade system' against Great Britain in exchange for an overall 25% salary increase at Scotland Yard.

Boom, boom, boom!

There was a cautious knock on the door outside the conference room.

"Enter."

The door to the conference room was pushed open, and four police chiefs carrying three V-shaped epaulets lined up and entered the conference room. They turned at attention and saluted Arthur.

The police chiefs looked at the nine principles hanging on Arthur's back, their Adam's apple twitching slightly.

Of course, they had also received the latest version of the police manual, and they also knew that the twenty-year-old young police inspector in front of them was just like the sun rising over Scotland Yard at eight or nine in the morning.

Arthur waved his hand and motioned for them to sit down.

But before they could sit still, a bright lightning suddenly flashed outside the window, shocking the four police chiefs to stand up again.

It wasn't until they saw Arthur's surprised look that they sat down again embarrassedly.

But then, there was a rumble of thunder, and Arthur suddenly stood up from his chair.

Snapped!

His two strong arms were propped on the table, just like that day when he was standing in the prosecution box of the magistrate's court.

“Although everyone here should already know me, out of courtesy, I feel it is necessary to introduce myself.

Arthur Hastings, Superintendent of Police, Greenwich District, East London District, London Metropolitan Police. From today on, I will be responsible for overall responsibility for all police work in the police district. "

At this point, Arthur paused, and then he asked: "By the way, I heard that there was a police sergeant who took up the new job at the same time as me. I heard that he succeeded my old boss Willocks. I don't know who he was. Who?"

When the young police officer sitting at the bottom heard these words, he quickly stood up and reported: "Braden Jones, transferred from the London Metropolitan Police Headquarters to the Greenwich Police District, salute you!"

Arthur leaned forward and extended his hand to him in a friendly manner: "Mr. Jones, nice to meet you."

The young police officer hurriedly held Arthur with his sweaty hands: "Nice to meet you too."

He couldn't see Arthur's face clearly, and could only find two slightly red eyes in the darkness.

Arthur's gentle and generous voice sounded.

"I have heard about Willocks absconding with public funds and guns in fear of crime. It is really a misfortune for Scotland Yard that this happened. You must take a warning from him."

Jones' body stiffened, and he almost subconsciously stood at attention and saluted: "Yes, sir!"