Shadow of great britain

In the editorial office of "The Englishman", Arthur was discussing the distribution of illegal publications with Alexandre Dumas and Tennyson.

After long discussions and research, this group of arrogant but incompetent literary creators finally had to choose to re-activate the line built by Mr. Elder Carter, the head of the sales department of "The Englishman" in South America. The early underground distribution network for The Brit.

To be more precise, I went to the old man who would appear on time every Wednesday in the alley of Christmas Road in Greenwich District to help find a sales agent.

After all, for matters like illegal publishing, you still have to find an expert to solve the problem.

As for how Arthur should explain to his superiors, it was also very simple.

Scotland Yard was busy cracking down on prostitutes a while ago...

Oh no, Oriole.

And these days, we are busy dealing with the raging cholera epidemic and implementing quarantine controls.

Therefore, in this special period, it is of course necessary to distinguish major issues from minor issues and prioritize matters. We at the Metropolitan Police cannot grasp everything with both hands, let alone be tough with both hands.

However, there are exceptions. If the Treasury is willing to significantly increase Scotland Yard's budget for the next fiscal year, and Parliament is willing to continue to expand the powers of the police department, then the issue of seizing illegal publications is not out of the question.

Of course, in Arthur's view, asking the Ministry of Finance to approve funding is a fantasy, and asking Parliament to expand police powers is even more nonsense.

After all, members of Parliament are shouting every day that we must defend the free rights belonging to the people. Britain cannot become an authoritarian regime like France or Prussia, let alone a police state.

The first principle that cannot become a police state is that it cannot give excessive power to government departments through laws.

To put it more bluntly, it is that before the Parliament wants the government to do anything, it is best to go through it and vote it before it can be implemented.

However, since Parliament cannot handle everything, and members cannot be on call at the Palace of Westminster 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, they decided to leave some trivial executive matters to the discretion of government departments.

But in Arthur's opinion, if the congressmen are willing to work hard, it is not impossible to let them control everything.

After all, there was indeed a long parliament in British history that lasted for 3,322 days from November 1640 to April 1653.

Moreover, they did accomplish many great things during this long session. Of course, the most important thing was the adoption of the "Great Protest" which listed the crimes of King Charles I, criticized reactionary religious policies, denounced the illegal behavior of high-ranking officials, demanded freedom of industrial and commercial activities, established a system of ministers' responsibility to parliament and limited the power of bishops. 》.

Not only that, the congressmen also took time out to do some private work after the meeting, executing the king's favorites Stratford and Archbishop Laud, and incidentally also fought a civil war with the king's army.

If a guy named Cromwell hadn't popped up later and forcibly dissolved the Long-term Parliament by force, this Parliament, which had lasted for thirteen years, would have been almost perfect.

The fact that MPs are not willing to hold meetings for a long time just shows that they are not that anxious yet.

Since they are not in a hurry, it shouldn't be a problem to put away illegal publications for a while.

After all, as a Scotland Yard superintendent, Arthur absolutely supported Parliament's call to safeguard individual freedoms and crack down on illegal publications that affected social morals.

Therefore, he decided to give full play to his subjective initiative and organically combine the two initiatives.

Is there anything wrong with this?

Of course there's nothing wrong with it.

Parliament's intentions are all good, but Scotland Yard's execution was crooked before, and now Arthur is just correcting it.

And this is Arthur's best feedback to the noble gentlemen for allowing him to save his life from Liverpool.

Arthur, Alexandre Dumas and others hit it off immediately. Seeing the sun going down, they were about to pack up their things and go have a drink when they suddenly heard a fierce quarrel coming from outside the editorial office door.

From the arrogant tones and words of both parties, it was not difficult to tell which two Jews were quarreling.

Naturally, it’s the shrill-voiced Mr. Disraeli and the German angry Heine.

"Mr. Heine, please forgive me for not being able to call you by your name affectionately now. I must state again that I think your insult to the entire Jewish nation is unfair. You will never be able to find a better Jew from all over Europe." An even older nation. You have noble blood flowing in your body, but you insulted it yourself. You know that the entire nation is suffering, but apart from complaining, what have you done for your compatriots? ?”

Heine's tone sounded calm, but there seemed to be a hint of sarcasm mixed in.

"So Mr. Disraeli, what did you do for them? Let me think about it, what you did for them was to give up your Jewish faith and become a Protestant Anglican? Or, you mean Are you joining the Tories, which have always disdained equal rights for Jews?

I have read about the good things you have done in the Monthly Review, the Tory organ. The Tories are clapping their hands and applauding you. You have created a history, a new record. You are probably the first Jewish MP ever to join the Tory Party, right?

I have to admit, this is a very impressive statement. You'd better immediately dissociate yourself from your fellow Jews and dissociate yourself from me. I may have complained a few words about the scum among the Jews. To put it more bluntly, I am complaining about scum like you.

You use your Jewish ancestry to flatter the Tories and sing praises for their counter-reformation stance. From this point of view, you have indeed inherited the Jewish blood of Judah perfectly, and you have mastered the backstabbing trick. If you are told that you are not a descendant of Judah, who will believe it? "

"Heine! You shameless bastard, you will never understand the plan of a truly great man. A truly great man will not stick to these small details. This is the difference between you and me, I will realize my plan , and you..."

"Oh! So great men rise to power by betraying their compatriots? If so, I would rather be crucified. Come on, Mr. Disraeli, do it, the Tory silver coins have arrived OK, so where is your nail?"

"you!"

Disraeli blushed and threw the hat on his head to the ground. He yelled and wanted to pounce on Heine and have a good fight with him.

Arthur and others who came after hearing the news quickly pushed open the door of the editing room and pushed him down on the sofa in the living room.

Tennyson repeatedly advised: "Benjamin, calm down!"

"How can you tell me to calm down! This kid can't do anything but show off his words! However, such a mediocre person is shamelessly ridiculing me, a person who does practical things!"

"Oh! Listen to what this is called?"

Heine looked at Disraeli, who was pressed down on the sofa, and just raised his eyebrows and improvised his little poem.

He stretched out one hand towards Disraeli, put the other on his chest, and said with compassion on his face.

“You crawl to the cross—

That cross you despise,

Just a few weeks ago,

You still want to step on it!

Oh, the books of Schlegel, Harrell, and Buerke,

I think you have fallen into the wrong path,

You were a hero yesterday,

Today I became an evil slave! "

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Disraeli suddenly seemed to remember something. He laughed angrily and said, "Are you mocking me for converting? If I remember correctly, didn't you also convert? For Integrating into the upper class society, in order to be accepted by this era. If I were Judas, then you are worse than me, and you actually became my follower."

Heine, who was still full of sarcasm, immediately blushed when he heard this.

He widened his eyes and reprimanded: "You...I...Germany and England are different! I once insisted, but...but except for the Christian baptism certificate, it is impossible for me to obtain European culture through other means. Ticket. Without that damn document, I wouldn't be able to lecture at the university, have any possibility of holding a public office, or work in many of the professions that a normal German can do. You, a Jew born in England, don't know anything about German Jewry How much oppression have I been subjected to? When it comes to the suffering of the entire nation, I have experienced far more than you!"

However, when Disraeli saw that the other party was so angry, he seemed to have grasped the magic weapon for victory. He mocked one after another: "Admit it, Heinrich, you are a cowardly clown. Aren't you like You claim to be the liberator of the entire German nation, a strong and unyielding freedom fighter. I have never seen any soldier surrender to the enemy before the war begins, let alone change his or her appearance in order to gain recognition from the other party. Faith! You always say that you look down on the philistine nature of the Germans, but what you write about is clearly yourself!"

When Heine heard this, it was as if someone had broken his heart. This great poet who always wanted to show off his elegant image finally couldn't help but tear off his coat and planned to fight Disraeli for real. A touch of it.

He grabbed the frilly hem of his shirt and shouted provocatively at Disraeli: "The German philistine Jews are better than you, the English Jewish narcissist! And the things I have done for the entire German nation, you... The vulgar will never know! The long lists of banned books I left in Prussia and Austria prove it!"

Disraeli wanted to stand up like a carp, but his strength could not compete with the French artillery.

Unable to exert any energy, he could only roar: "You are just making excuses. With your philistine nature, if you knew that your book would be banned early in the morning, you would not have written it!"

Heine just sneered when he heard this: "To tell you the truth, Mr. Disraeli, the "Travel Sketches" I gave to "The Englishman", as early as when the second part was written, I suspected that it would be good. It was banned, and the results confirmed my suspicion that it was indeed banned by the authorities.”

Arthur, who had been standing nearby and trying to stop Heine, finally got the chance to speak. He followed the conversation, hoping to divert the attention of the two friends and relieve their anger.

"Then why did you insist on writing it out?"

Heine looked at Arthur and replied word for word: "Because I know my Germans. Although they will be surprised and think after reading this book, they will not take any action. Although this book The book will definitely be banned, but it is still very necessary to write this book.

In this shallow and servile era, I must do something. By writing this book, I am doing my part. I feel ashamed of my hard-hearted friends in Germany, who once wanted to do something big but now keep silent.

If they gather together and form a neat team, even the most timid recruits will be courageous. However, it is always the one who can show true bravery at critical moments. "

When Alexandre Dumas heard this, he was immediately moved by Heine's heroic spirit: "Heinrich, I saw you right. You are indeed a respectable warrior."

Unexpectedly, when Disraeli heard this, he slapped Dumas on the head.

"Alexander, don't be deceived by this kid! A while ago, Mr. Korda, a large German publisher who represents the works of Goethe and Schiller, came to London to talk to me about publishing the anthology of "The Englishman" in Germany.

At that time, I happened to mention Heine to him. As a result, Mr. Korda told me that a few years ago, in order to obtain a decent public position from Bavaria, Heine asked Mr. Korda to present his works to King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

Moreover, he also said in his letter to Mr. Korda: 'If you would like to suggest to him that this writer's attitude is much gentler and kinder than that shown in his previous works, perhaps it has now completely become On the other hand, it might be of great benefit to me. I think the king is wise enough to judge the value of a sword based on whether it has been used to do good or evil. "

"this……"

When Alexandre Dumas heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched. He couldn't believe that Heine could do such a thing: "Benjamin, are you sure you didn't make this story up?"

Disraeli just snorted: "Can you just ask Mr. Heine for details?"

Alexandre Dumas turned to look at Heine, only to see a face that could not be whiter.

The confident smile was gone, and the mocking tone of the past was gone. All that was left was the trembling of shoulders and continuous deep breathing.

When Alexandre Dumas saw this situation, he seemed hesitant to speak.

He already knows the answer. At this time, there is no need to mention it again and cause secondary harm to the person involved.

Heine lowered his proud head, and the previous vigor disappeared from his body, as if he was not the Jewish boy Heinrich that everyone knew.

He laughed, not sure whether he was laughing at himself or at Disraeli.

He suddenly raised his hand to push back the hair hanging in front of his forehead, raised his head to face the rain outside the window and said.

"Alexander, it doesn't matter. If you want to laugh at me, then laugh at me. I did do that. And not only that, when I was in Bavaria, I also maintained a relationship with the infamous political adventurer Werther von Doering.

You should also know that Werther is a bastard. If I had the power, I would definitely hang him. But he was also a very amiable person in personal dealings, which often made me forget his despicable character. All in all, I always had a lot of fun staying with him.

Perhaps it is precisely because the whole world is against him that sometimes I defend him, which makes many people unhappy. But in Germany, most people still cannot understand that a person who wants to use his words and deeds to promote a noble cause can often make some small mistakes, whether it is because of joking or self-interest, as long as these unnoble behaviors do not damage the Just the great ideas he lived for.

They fail to understand that these small faults can even be said to be praiseworthy if they serve us better to serve the great ideals of our lives. In Machiavelli's time, and now in Paris, people understood this truth most profoundly.

This is my defense for those trivial mistakes, and perhaps I am still interested in continuing to make such mistakes in this life. "

Arthur finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.

He lifted the tea cup to his mouth and took a sip. As the warm, slightly sweet black tea washed down his stomach, Arthur just praised with satisfaction: "Good tea!"

Immediately, he put down the tea cup and said: "Since you and Benjamin agree that people can make some trivial mistakes, what are you arguing about?"

Heine just leaned against the window sill and clicked his tongue disdainfully.

"I didn't want to accuse Mr. Disraeli at all, but he suddenly talked to me about the glorious tradition of the Jewish nation and Judaism. However, it is still my fault. I clearly saw it for the first time a few years ago. When I came to London, I knew I shouldn’t discuss religion with an Englishman.”

Tennyson asked in confusion: "Why?"

Heine commented: "Because, even if you talk about politics with the stupidest Englishman, this person will always come up with some truth. But when the topic turns to religion, then even the smartest Englishman will say nothing. Silly words. What’s even more regrettable is that the Germans are almost the opposite.”

When Arthur heard this, he just coughed lightly, stepped on Heinrich's feet, and whispered: "Heinrich, do you want to continue to expand the matter? I forgot to remind you, Alfred was a true believer."