Shadow of great britain

So you are a spy?

Uh... No, sir... I am actually a thief, not a patriot, nor a great hero. At best, the government just used my professional skills to do things.

——Michael Ondaatje, "The English Patient"

I authorize you to reorganize Abwehr. Germany needs to establish an agency like the British Secret Intelligence Service as soon as possible - a group of people united and working with enthusiasm.

——Adolf Hitler, head of the German Third Reich (in 1933, he appointed Wilhelm Canaris as the first director of the German Intelligence Service under the German High Command)

We monitor everyone equally and without fail, in the spirit of impartiality and in the proud tradition established by Sir Arthur Hastings when he established the national security system in 1832.

——Herbert Morrison, Home Secretary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (answering a reporter's question in February 1941)

Arthur looked at Fiona, who was holding the brothel license in her hand with a look of joy as if she had received valuable jewelry, and just calmly picked up the teapot and filled the teacup.

As Fiona showed, this license is undoubtedly the most precious gift she has received in her twenty-four years of life.

But expensive gifts often come with a small price to pay.

So, Fiona, what's the price?

Although Fiona is a prostitute, she is a prostitute who thinks highly of herself. This can be seen from the price she put on herself when she was not yet successful.

However, she is also a cool-headed and ruthless woman, and she knows very well that her skin cannot afford such a high price.

Even when the annoying Bishops of the House of Lords did not issue a thorough investigation into the epidemic in London, such a license could easily be sold for hundreds or even thousands of pounds on the market.

And the prerequisite for being able to close a deal with so much money is that your personal relationship must be relatively strong.

Fiona didn't have any strong personal connections, and the toughest person she knew was the York guy in front of her, so she couldn't give Arthur any help in terms of connections.

As for money?

Do not make jokes.

From the day Fiona started working for Arthur, she had already understood a truth.

Mr. Hastings and the London Police Intelligence Bureau under his jurisdiction are not interested in money, and they have never worried about money matters, let alone the worries of financial audits.

Perhaps some employees in the organization occasionally worry about money matters, but Mr. Hastings, as one of the very few people who control the organization's financial power, never asks for vouchers or invoices, nor does he even have the bad habit of showing payment details. '.

In other words, they are as opaque as they want to be secretive.

She knew what Arthur wanted, just as Arthur knew what she wanted.

But Fiona didn't plan to speak first, because she thought that as a woman, she, as a woman, should be more reserved in matters where men must be cautious.

Arthur stirred the teacup and watched the sugar melt into the dark red tea.

He suddenly asked: "Do you like it?"

"Well..." Fiona nodded cautiously: "This is simply a surprise."

"Don't worry about the surprise, madam." Arthur crossed his legs and took a sip of tea: "Because there will be more surprises later."

"For example?"

"For example, I plan to put some capable new employees in your beautiful new store. The recent cholera has caused panic in London and the economy has become depressed as a result, so I hope you can help me solve some of the misfortunes The issue of re-employment of police officers who have been made redundant by Scotland Yard.”

Arthur smiled and stood up holding the tea cup, walked to Fiona's side, leaned down and said in her ear.

"I can assure you that they are much better than those second-rate gangsters you hire from the streets. With them on the job, no one will dare to act wild in your store. And the only thing you have to consider is how to get you Make your store bigger and stronger, spread your banner in London, and attract as many high-end people in London as possible.

As far as I know, successful people generally have very strong needs in other areas. Mr. Harrison, who unfortunately passed away some time ago, is an outstanding representative among them. A poor guy like Annie's boyfriend can't afford the high prices you charge for the girls. Think about it, if all the people who hang out in your store are wealthy people like Mr. Harrison, my dear Fiona, you will soon be rich. "

When Fiona heard this, she didn't smell the smell of getting rich, but she did smell the smell of corpses.

She felt like she was sweating all over her body, maybe it was Arthur's breath that was too hot on her face, or maybe it was God's call that made her spine shiver.

She suddenly regretted coming to Martin's tavern today. But she knew in her heart that even if she didn't come today, Arthur, the evil spirit, would probably take advantage of the night to knock on the iron window of her house.

Fiona held her slightly hot forehead, her cheeks were flushed, as if she had just drank two glasses of sherry: "Dear... dear, I... I feel a little unwell..."

Regarding Fiona's little trick, Arthur just smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. If you don't feel well, you can sleep here. The night is still long tonight. If you can't sleep, I can give you some Tell some stories from the Bible to help you sleep. Didn’t the bishops say that the Bible can prevent cholera? Listening to this will be good for your health."

Fiona smiled reluctantly: "My dear, you are still so considerate."

Arthur casually opened the thick Bible on the table and read slowly: "At that moment, Joshua secretly found two people from Shiting to be spies, and told them: 'Go and spy on the land and the land. The situation in Jericho.’ So they went and stayed at the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and they lay down there.”

When the red devil who was watching the show heard this, he couldn't help but laughed evilly and showed his sharp and terrifying fangs: "Oh, the story of Rahab? Arthur, you are quite good at choosing! For this lovely For young ladies, there is nothing more suitable for bedtime reading than this story."

But on the other side, Fiona had already changed her color.

Although she did not receive a complete education, she still knew this passage in the Bible.

Once upon a time, God planned to attack Canaan, so he said to the prophet Moses: “Send your men to spy on the land of Canaan.”

Ten years after Moses’ spies penetrated into Canaan, Joshua finally decided to lead an army to attack Jericho.

Before the attack, Joshua decided to send two spies to the city to gather intelligence, thus leading to the beginning of the story told by Arthur.

The king of Jericho discovered the true identities of the two spies and sent guards to arrest them. But Rahab the prostitute hid them and told the guards that the two spies had escaped.

In return for protecting the spies, Rahab demanded: "When your army breaks the city, you cannot kill my parents, brothers and sisters, nor plunder their property."

After Joshua's army broke the city, they also kept their promise to Rahab. They first sent her and her relatives out of the city, and then massacred Jericho.

As a bedtime read, this story is a definite failure.

But its refreshing effect is what Arthur wants.

In Fiona's view, although Arthur does not have the ability to play Joshua's army, and the Scotland Yard police officer's usual behavior does not include the option of massacre.

But if this Scotland Yard spy doesn't go and put in a nice word for her in front of those high-ranking 'Joshuas'...

In the past six months, the butcher knife that Scotland Yard had raised against her colleagues would soon hit her head.

In response, Fiona could only say resentfully: "Dear, I am also a prostitute, why do I have to be Rahab instead of Mary Magdalene?"

"Sorry, Fiona, it's my fault."

Arthur responded with a smile: "I am not Jesus or the savior, so naturally you cannot be like Mary Magdalene and anoint me to be saved."

When the red devil heard this, he just said: "Arthur, this is not auspicious words. Are you ready to be crucified?"

After saying this, he picked up his straight monocle, took out the "Gospel of Mark" that had been there for who knows how many years, and read out in a serious manner.

"When Jesus was taken to trial, the disciples all left Him and ran away. When the Lord was crucified, the environment was extremely bad. Only she followed Jesus to the foot of the cross to see the Lord suffer, die, and be buried.

This shows that she has pure faith and the determination to follow the Lord to the end, so she has the courage to get close to the Lord in front of the enemy. The Lord will say: Whoever acknowledges me before men, him will I also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. "

Arthur ignored Agares' threats. Since the Liverpool case, he has just realized a very simple truth - since he is already in this game, if he does not have the ability to open the chessboard, then at least he must Find a way to blend in with the chessboard.

Only by letting that group of people discover that the chessboard was unable to play if a corner was missing, then he would not have to passively grab news headlines from London's major newspapers every now and then.

Although these things are very shameful and dangerous to do, at least you can find a clear cause of death for yourself.

Corresponding to Arthur's active preparations, there is the contemptuous attitude of many British government officials.

He did not consult with anyone about the layout of the brothel.

Because officials at the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that it was difficult for them to imagine that an officer who was fooling around with a prostitute would suddenly talk about the caliber and speed of a howitzer. How could a diplomat who indulged in bed pleasure reveal the relevant terms of a secret agreement without warning?

In other words, it is precisely because gentlemen think this is an inefficient job that no one bothers to do it. Most people still insist that gentlemen should not exchange private messages with each other. The ultimate result of doing these things is nothing more than being spurned by the public. , so the important task of intelligence work can fall into the hands of York pigherders like Arthur.

Just like Fouche's fortune in France, and Mr. Schneider who is currently in charge of intelligence work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these intelligence personnel in the 19th century all have a common characteristic - they were born in humble origins and had a very low starting point.

As revenge for the Liverpool case, Arthur's biggest wish at present is nothing more than two. He wants to find out what the Whigs and Tories are doing.

Although the newspapers seem to have clearly stated the basic demands of the two parties, regarding the Liverpool case, the voices within their parties do not seem to be unified.

In 1832, when cholera was raging, even the smallest contradictions would be amplified by the fear and suspicion caused by the disease.

Even though Arthur has euphemistically put forward his suggestions to the Central Health Commission, according to British tradition, I am afraid that he will only consider using unprecedented cruel methods to solve the disease until the summer, when the cholera virus is most active.

This can be seen from the recent relaxation of quarantine restrictions by the Cabinet. The Cabinet seems to have mistakenly regarded the decrease in virus activity caused by the drop in winter temperatures as proof of a good situation in the fight against the epidemic.

Parliamentary reform has become the main theme now. There is still a lot of news discussing cholera, but it is not as overwhelming as before.

What’s even funnier is that judging from the letters sent from Vidocq to Arthur, the French seem to think so too.

In just a few weeks, Britain and France emerged from the haze of cholera.

The legitimacy of Louis Philippe was being debated in Paris, the army was being dismantled in Britain, and Mr Hastings was training his police operatives in London.

Fiona just sighed sadly: "Dear, you know, your charm is irresistible to me. But, with all due respect, those beauties who can maintain long-term relationships with dignitaries are usually unwilling to come to the entertainment venue. They are alive. They have their own channels and only serve a few or even a certain person."

Arthur lit his pipe: "That doesn't matter. If you know such ladies, you can ask them to contact me alone. As for your place, even if you can't attract those real distinguished guests, you can attract some ordinary officers or lower-level affairs officers. enough."

Fiona pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes as she asked, "It sounds like you didn't have high hopes for me from the beginning."

"No, Fiona, you are much more important to me than those three or two kittens."

Arthur replied: "Although those at the middle and lower levels cannot understand the overall situation, if you piece together what they see, the final picture will usually be more realistic and detailed than what is seen at the top."

"You are always so good at pleasing me."

Fiona smiled close to Arthur's face and asked: "Tell me the truth, you have laid the foundation for so much, your real purpose is not just to ask me for the contact addresses of those beauties, right? You are used to living a hard life. , also planning to have a taste of the upper class? I have seen many such men.

But... let me advise you, none of them are that easy to get along with. They are all women who are blinded by money. They don't recognize anything except money. Don't expect them to be like me, who can get things done for you just by saying a few nice words. "

Arthur just smiled when he heard this: "Fiona, maybe you are right. But for the Police Intelligence Bureau, what we are most worried about is relationships. If everyone can clearly mark the price, then things will be easier. A lot."

At this point, Arthur held a check and waved it in front of Fiona's eyes: "As you can see, madam, 1,000 pounds, this money almost killed me, and now I put it Give it to you as a deposit."