Shadow of great britain

Nightingale Mansion, a room decorated with thick red velvet and gold wallpaper.

Sitting on the sofa next to the fire were two gentlemen in loose bathrobes, each holding an unfinished glass of beer.

Schneider raised the wine glass and heard only two gurgles. As his Adam's apple twitched, a large glass full of dark brown porter beer with a malty aroma disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

"call……"

Schneider put down the beer glass and leaned back on the sofa with satisfaction: "Before I discovered Nightingale Mansion, I never thought that after receiving the reception, I would take a bath and then have such a full glass. Cold beer can be so satisfying. Arthur, you are not bragging. There is no better restaurant in London than here."

The color of the beer Arthur ordered seemed to be significantly lighter than Schneider's dark porter. Compared to the dark porter, which has a strong malty aroma and a slight bitter taste, he still preferred the refreshing taste, lighter bitterness and light citrus. A fragrant pale ale.

Arthur was not in a hurry to reply to Schneider, but savored the aroma of the wine flowing through his teeth.

As an intelligence officer, Schneider could see some clues about this young man just from the two-thirds of the wine glass left in Arthur's hand. This pure British gentleman from Germany smiled and said.

"Arthur, sometimes I really wonder, are you really a swineherd from the Yorkshire countryside, as everyone says?"

"Oh?" Arthur picked up the handkerchief and wiped his mouth: "August, I promise you, you will never find a better pig farmer in Whitehall Street than me. You hired me to work back then. The old gentleman who lived with me once wanted to marry his youngest daughter to me. He could tell at a glance that I had the ability to manage a thousand pigs and would become rich sooner or later. "

"Well..." Schneider forked a piece of bacon on the plate in front of him and said, "That old gentleman is quite discerning, and his prediction really came true."

Arthur took the freshly made handmade coffee ice cream from the tray of the waiter beside him and asked casually: "But why do you doubt my identity as a farmhand?"

"Oh, it's very simple."

Schneider smiled and said: "The way you eat and drink doesn't look like someone who made a fortune from the bottom of society. Even if you really started there, you must have lived a wealthy life for at least a while when you were a child. Look at the way you eat, Is that like a farmhand? You are almost like a nobleman, and you are not a British nobleman, because you are not only elegant, but you also like taking baths like the Romans. Miss Fan said, you were the one who proposed to build the small bathhouse in Nightingale Mansion?"

Arthur shrugged, he picked up the porcelain plate with ice cream and said, "What's wrong with taking a bath? August, don't you also like it?"

"Hahaha."

Schneider laughed twice and said: "Arthur, you know how to enjoy it, but it's best not to let those moralists hear your words. You are a student of history, so you should know how those historical moralists view Rome. It’s about people taking a bath.

They said that the pursuit of pleasure, arrogance, corruption, and excessive indulgence represented by the Roman bathing culture were important reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire. The debauchery of men and women bathing together caused the Roman soldiers to lose their combat effectiveness, become morally corrupt, and spread sexually transmitted diseases, which caused the fertility rate in Rome to drop. Broken-back love in the baths, something that detracts from the masculinity of Roman soldiers.

Coupled with several plague epidemics from the 15th to 17th centuries, most of London's public baths were closed at that time due to moral condemnation. Fortunately, Parliament and the Church now have many other things to care about. Otherwise, if they knew that bathhouses and bathhouses were beginning to be restored in London, they would have to step out and make trouble again. "

When Arthur heard this, he said indifferently: "In my opinion, the size of the small bathhouse in Nightingale Mansion is still a bit small. If you want to build a Roman-style bathhouse, then there must be at least one cold pool and one hot pool. And a sauna. However, August, you are not wrong, it is very satisfying to have a pool to bathe in London."

Schneider cut the bacon with a fork and joked: "That's right, brother, take your time. Besides, even if there is no public sauna in London, you can build one at home. You are now a knight. , what’s wrong with building a sauna at home? Is it possible that the bishops can still come to your home with the Bible to give moral instruction?”

Arthur looked at the bacon on Schneider's plate and suddenly asked: "By the way, August, are there public baths in Germany?"

"Well...you really asked the right person."

Schneider chewed bacon and said: "You should know that the German Confederation includes 38 political entities, including empires, kingdoms and principalities. Although everyone nominally acts in the name of the Confederation, there is a Confederation Parliament, under the authority of the Austrian Empire. He is the chairman of the confederation, but its organizational form is very loose, and each state maintains complete sovereignty.

Moreover, the Kingdom of Prussia in the Confederation has been waiting for an opportunity to challenge the leadership of the Austrian Empire, so most of the Confederation resolutions are basically just decorations. Although everyone often says that the atmosphere in Germany is much more conservative than that in Britain, in fact, except for Prussia and Austria, most of the other German states are in a state of political division and fierce conflicts of interest between nobles and merchants.

In those Free States, the development of commerce, trade and industry was actually pretty good, and the atmosphere was far more open than in Austria and Prussia. Especially when it comes to trivial matters like public baths, they are far less strict than London. You should be able to find quite a few saunas you need there.

Moreover, you are stationed in the Kingdom of Hanover as the second secretary this time, so you don’t have to worry about being criticized for taking a sauna, because this is also part of your job. "

"Is it my job to take a sauna?" Arthur frowned and said, "August, are you making fun of me? I remember that the job His Majesty the King assigned me was to help the Kingdom of Hanover pass a liberal law. The new constitution is specifically responsible for providing suggestions on police reform. Although I hold the position of second secretary, I actually work as a police adviser."

Schneider ordered another glass of beer, sipping it carefully, and replied with a smile: "No, no, no, brother, you don't understand the second secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There is a way here."

"Which aspect?"

Schneider said: "In all aspects. Generally speaking, there are many second secretaries in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' embassies abroad, and they are responsible for affairs in different directions. Some are responsible for overseas Chinese management, some are responsible for economic and trade cooperation, and some are responsible for Responsible for political consultation.”

Arthur asked: "Which of the above do I belong to?"

"I don't belong to any of them. You are the most special kind."

Schneider took a sip of beer, squinted his eyes and said, "Your position as second secretary is usually used by foreign intelligence officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is specifically responsible for cultural exchanges."

Arthur thought about it for a long time with the ice cream spoon in his mouth, and then said: "Exchange culture? Police culture?"

Schneider laughed loudly: "Arthur, don't say it so harshly. Although people generally don't like the police in Britain, Hanover, or other parts of the world, they cannot deny that the police are also a part of culture. kind.

Moreover, as I just said, if you take this job and go to a bath or a sauna, you can also exchange the life and culture of citizens. Don't complain about the low position of Second Secretary. This is a good job. Because this position is very special, you basically don't have to stay in the legation all day.

If there is any position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that is the most comfortable, then it is definitely the second secretary who is responsible for cultural exchanges. You can go wherever you want, and the ambassador cannot completely control you, because to a certain extent, you are not directly responsible to the ambassador, but directly serve the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Moreover, since your appointment was directly ordered by His Majesty the King, you don't even need to pay too much attention to the Foreign Secretary, Viscount Palmerston. At most, you can send him an insignificant work report every month. There is no objection to the adoption of the new liberal constitution of the Kingdom of Hanover. You just took a ride and put an achievement on your credit book. Is there any more beautiful job in the world? "

Schneider held the wine glass and thought: "It's only December now. The Parliament of the Kingdom of Hanover should still be in recess, and the work on the new constitution cannot be advanced. If I were you, I would not rush to Germany first, but first When going to Paris, you can also visit Geneva in Switzerland, Brussels in Belgium and Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and then slowly and leisurely pass through Prussia to Hannover.

After arriving in Hanover, first go to the Lenner Palace to visit the Governor of Hanover, Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge, establish a good relationship with him, and travel around the local scenery. After that, His Royal Highness will most likely send you to Göttingen, where you can make friends with some celebrities at the University of Göttingen. "

Arthur silently recorded what Schneider had said. He suddenly raised his hand and asked: "August, leaving aside the fun things for now, why do you think His Highness the Prince will send me to Göttingen?"

Schneider raised his glass and clinked it with Arthur and said: "It is absolutely impossible to leave all the drafting of the new constitution to the members of parliament. Although His Majesty the King has asked the cabinet of the Kingdom of Hanover to draft a draft, it still needs to be submitted to the parliament. Make further revisions based on the manuscript.

Such academic and legal issues must be left to knowledgeable professors. The most knowledgeable professors in the Kingdom of Hanover are gathered in the most outstanding institution in Germany, the pearl of German higher education, the stronghold of the German Historical School of Law, the University of Göttingen founded by the late King George II. "

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly smiled and said: "August, your evaluation of the University of Göttingen is different from what I heard from others. In that person's mouth, the University of Göttingen is simply A combination of decay, old-fashioned and outdated.”

"Huh?" Schneider asked, "Who is the person you are talking about?"

Arthur said: "Heinrich Heine, when he came to London, I monitored him for a period of time on behalf of Scotland Yard."

"Oh, it's that kid."

Schneider ridiculed: "An out-and-out German angry youth. No matter how outdated and decadent Hanover and Göttingen are, they are still 10,000 times more enlightened than his hometown of Dusseldorf. A Prussian talking about freedom is like someone in the Ottoman court. The eunuch went to visit a brothel. If he could restrain his mouth a little, he might be able to win the status of a British citizen. But instead of restraining himself, this kid went to France to flatter the French who came to fight against Germany. How did he do it? Are you embarrassed to call yourself a German?"

Arthur joked: "So the Germans don't like the French either?"

"Are the relations between neighboring countries good? If the relations between neighboring countries are good, it means that one of them is probably too strong and the other is too weak. It is not only the Germans who hate the French, but also the Spanish. Of course, not less For Britons like you and me.”

Schneider raised his eyebrows and said: "If this were not the case, where would a mercenary like my father be? Why did he choose to serve Britain? I admit that there are some economic reasons, because Napoleon invaded us Our land, his army destroyed our food and savings.

However, Britain provided three times as much military pay as the French in times of crisis, and even spared no expense to provide a full set of new equipment and sufficient supplies for the British German Army. But these are all secondary reasons. The most important thing is the Schneider family's hatred for France and their sincere heart for Britain. "

Having said this, Schneider paused, rolled his eyes and continued: "However, I have to admit that there are always some bastards in these countries who like to hold France up on the altar. For example, Hainan Of course, there must be some insane admirers of Napoleon Bonaparte among them."

When Arthur heard this, he had a general understanding of Schneider's family. This guy was probably from a German Junker landowner family. According to the Junkers' habit of joining the army for generations, it is not difficult to explain why Schneider's father followed the British King of Germany. The Legion fought through the Napoleonic Wars from beginning to end.

The Junker landowners in Germany like to join the army, and because Britain shares the king with the Kingdom of Hanover, it likes to recruit mercenaries from Germany in every war. Schneider's father's generation was sent to fight in the Napoleonic Wars, while many German soldiers of his grandfather's generation were sent to the North American colonies by the British to fight against those country bumpkins.

Many mercenaries simply stayed in the area after fighting. After all, the land and resource conditions in the United States are much better than those in their German homeland. This is also an important reason why German-Americans are second only to British-Americans among ethnic groups in the United States.

At this point, Schneider seemed to have thought of something unpleasant. He changed the subject and said: "Although I haven't been back to Germany for a long time, it is far inferior to Britain. But Germany is not completely useless, at least there. The food here is much better than in Britain.”

Arthur put down his notebook and asked with a smile: "Do you have any recommendations?"

Schneider's eyes lit up, and he showed a look of reminiscence: "If I want to recommend it, there are too many. When you go to Deutschland, the first thing you have to taste is that the grilled skin is crispy on the outside, tender on the outside and crispy on the outside, and the meat is juicy, soft and delicious. However, for a Hessian guy like me, the most delicious thing is our local famous dish, braised pork ribs with sauerkraut, served with some mashed potatoes, and a glass of apple cider. The frankfurters are neatly arranged, and for dessert, it is recommended to pair them with the Black Forest cake, which combines the sourness of cherries, the sweetness of cream, and the bitterness of chocolate, and the Nuremberg gingerbread wrapped with honey, spices, almonds and candied dried fruits. "