Shadow of great britain

In Paris, there are ears on the steps, mouths on the doors, eyes on the windows, and the most dangerous thing is talking at the door. The last words spoken to each other before leaving were like postscripts in letters, revealing secrets that were as dangerous to those who heard them as to those who spoke them.

——Balzac

If you want to rise to high places, there are two ways to achieve it, that is, you must be an eagle or a reptile. Of course, there are very few people who can climb to the highest point through the third way, such as Sir Arthur Hastings. This guy across the channel looks like an eagle, but that's just because he crawls on his own. The posture is called flying.

What is even more surprising is that neither Queen Victoria, Viscount Palmerston, Lord Russell, Gladstone, Disraeli or other big figures in British politics had any objections to this. Moreover, the praise of Sir Arthur Hastings was not limited to Britain, but even in France.

In order to reward his pioneering crawling flying skills, and to reward the several complicated and incomprehensible formulas he wrote in Paris in his early years, our Emperor decided to honor the new King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the French Empire made an exception and awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, which symbolizes the highest glory of France.

And if the resistance is not too great, he seems to be considering electing Sir Arthur Hastings as the first foreign academician in French history and granting him the honor of 'Immortal'. Ah! I have to say that this is really the biggest unsolved mystery of this century (this is true for the public, but I actually know a little bit about it).

——"Selected Works of Balzac"

According to reliable sources, the British Ambassador Sir Arthur Hastings, after careful consideration, declined the kindness of His Majesty the Emperor to elect him a member of the French Academy.

Sir Arthur Hastings said bluntly: "It is true that I have made some insignificant contributions in the scientific and literary circles, but if the French Academy must break precedent and elect a British member as an academician, then Mr. Dickens and Mr. Faraday are both higher choices than me, and if we do not consider breaking precedent, then Joseph Liouville and Léon Foucault are naturally the ones who should be elected in terms of scientific contributions, and first in terms of literary contributions. Alexandre Dumas and Honoré Balzac.”

——"Le Figaro" January 16, 1853

"The French Academy announced the new list of "Immortals", Alexandre Dumas, Honoré Balzac and others are among the list"

Balzac: This is a supreme honor. I don’t know whether I am worthy of this honor, but I still have to be grateful to Sir Arthur Hastings for his broad mind and selfless spirit. Recommended boldly and without reservation in front of all members of the Academician Election Committee.

——"Le Figaro" March 22, 1853

In Paris, in the Petit Chateau Hotel, Arthur and Vidocq smoked cigarettes face to face.

This was their second day on the surveillance mission.

Although yesterday afternoon, the truth that Winnie was under surveillance was already revealed to the world.

However, the two detectives were unable to write a decent and reasonable case investigation report, so they have not closed the case until now.

Victor is a world-famous leader in the French literary world, a flawless great writer, a playwright who can make the managers of major theaters in Paris crazy about his works, and is regarded as the successor of Chateaubriand, the leader of romantic literature. Hugo actually has such a unique hobby.

Although Pooh and Hugo have a good relationship, judging from Arthur's brief contact with Pooh, even if this guy wants to keep Hugo's secret, with his big mouth, he will spread the matter within two days. The whole city knows about it.

Hugo's reputation was originally none of Arthur's business, but as a native of Paris, Vidocq had to take this into consideration.

Since Vidocq showed his prowess in the Republican uprising that broke out on June 6 last year, Vidocq was quickly attacked by double firepower from the "Constitution" and "La Repubblica". This caused the detective, who was once regarded as a god by Parisians, to be reduced from a crime nemesis to a sewer rat in the sewer.

If Pooh casually said that Hugo's eccentricities were discovered by Vidocq, then most of Hugo's admirers would not think that there was something wrong with their idol, but would instead target the investigation, which has a very bad reputation in society. Vidocq.

The citizens will definitely think that this is a conspiracy concocted by Vidocq to attack Hugo.

After all, the Paris police have a history of doing this.

Although Vidocq has been retired, who knows whether he continues to work for the police in private?

Although this kind of baseless and vicious speculation cannot withstand scrutiny at all, based on Vidocq's understanding of the Parisians, things will definitely lead to this result.

What's worse is that Vidocq does not want to stand on the opposite side of Hugo's supporters. After all, there are many wealthy gentlemen and ladies among the admirers of this great writer, and these people are also the Breaux Detective Agency. Customers who want to grow.

However, if Hugo keeps his little privacy, how should Vidocq explain it to Pooh?

In fact, no one is following you at all. Do you think someone is spying on you? Is this completely unreasonable?

Due to the professionalism of a detective and the professional ethics of collecting money to do things, Vidocq felt that he could not do that.

Besides, it wouldn't matter if he was alone, but there was a British colleague beside him.

If you are so conciliatory, won't it mean that Scotland Yard will look down on the security department?

In such a tangled mood, Vidocq spent the morning calmly.

In fact, the adjective "calm" is not accurate, because except for the room they were in, the situation in other rooms was completely different from "calm" just by listening to it. It was simply a fierce battlefield, with gunfire flying. The Battle of Austerlitz!

The Battle of Austerlitz brought together French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Russian Emperor Alexander I and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II.

Although there may not necessarily be three people in the next few rooms, Arthur is sure that the soldiers commanded by the three emperors may not be as many as the gentlemen and ladies in other rooms. The scene of the battle between the 73,000-strong French army and the 86,000-strong Russian and Austrian allied forces may not be as exciting as the scenes in the next few rooms.

Arthur supported his chin with one hand, took a puff of cigarette, and suddenly asked: "Mr. Vidocq, what stage do you think the battle has reached."

Vidocq closed his ears and listened carefully, and there seemed to be a contented breath and exhausted exhale coming from the next door: "It's snowing lightly, and Napoleon is riding his horse to inspect the battlefield. This Battle of Austerlitz, with France's glorious victory came to an end. Afterwards, Austria and France should sign the Peace of Pressburg. Francis II announced his withdrawal from the anti-French alliance and gave up his title of 'Holy Roman Emperor'."

Arthur turned his pipe upside down to clean the ashes: "I have different opinions from you. In my opinion, this time should be the victory of Alexander I and Francis II. Of course, I am not questioning Napoleon's ability, but after all, it is difficult to fight with two fists." As you know, this is already the fourth time this morning. No matter how powerful Mr. Hugo is, he must have some restraint."

Vidocq heard this and took a sip of coffee: "When I heard Mr. Hugo bragging about nine times on his wedding night at a gathering of Parisian literati, I just thought he was bragging, but now it seems that I must I apologize for my arrogance at the time. What I experienced this morning made me understand that some people cannot speak lightly.”

Arthur put a sugar cube into the tea cup: "I just think that Mr. Hugo's behavior of telling others that he would write in the hotel in the morning is really too cunning. In just one morning, four different women came to him The secret cabin. I now seriously doubt that Mr. Hugo and his wife Adele have reached this point because his needs in this area are too strong, so his wife is tired of it.”

Vidocq did not comment, he just turned around and asked: "Arthur, tell me the truth, when you were conducting 'raid inspections' in London, did you ever meet anyone who was comparable to Mr. Hugo?" ?”

Arthur picked up the tea cup and thought for a while: "There may not be anything comparable, but I know there is a reverse Hugo. That is our former member of the House of Commons - Senator Bernie Harrison. If you use the "Times" If I were to introduce it with a news headline, it would be "Bernie Harrison's targeted funding of Poland only lasts three to five minutes at a time."

After hearing this, Vidocq almost choked on the scalding coffee. He covered his mouth and laughed: "It seems that the citizens are really right. These politicians only have three minutes to do things."

Arthur drank the black tea, shook his head slightly and said, "Mr. Harrison hasn't even had the heat for three minutes now. He is already completely cold."

"Huh?" Vidocq heard the implication of Arthur's words: "You mean? He died on a woman's belly?"

Arthur raised his eyebrows and glanced at Vidocq: "The result was correct, but the process was not as outrageous as you thought. If they had asked me before taking action, I might have considered arranging such a romantic death for him. Even if he can't die under the skirt of a noble lady, I will let him drink a bottle of perfume, with a slightly red blush on his face, and die with the fragrance. "

Vidocq laughed playfully: "Is this some new murder method that I haven't heard of before?"

Arthur chuckled and said, "Mr. Vidocq, perfume is poisonous. Do you want some?"

Vidocq did not check whether the perfume was poisonous, because before he could say anything, the sound of the bed board shaking came from the wall at the other end of the room.

Vidocq slapped himself on the forehead and cursed in a low voice: "Damn it! That guy Balzac woke up!"

Arthur took out his pocket watch and took a look: "Don't worry, Mr. Vidocq, look at the time, it should not be far from the final Waterloo. When the time comes, all these Napoleons will have to be exiled to St. Helena Island."

Vidocq leaned over the small hole and glanced at the next door: "Don't be sarcastic. I see that Hugo and his female companion are both dressed. We must seize the opportunity to prevent him from starting the next war." , France can no longer afford another war."

Arthur put on his hat, picked up his cane and pushed open the door: "Now I finally understand why Napoleon hates Mr. Talleyrand so much, because he always opposes Napoleon's continued war."

Vidocq also put on his hat and walked out: "You'd better pray that Mr. Talleyrand doesn't know this. As far as I know, his mind is actually very small."

"So what?" Arthur knocked on Hugo's door nonchalantly: "I just made one hundred thousand francs for him."

Under Vidocq's dumbfounded eyes, Hugo's door was opened. The person who opened the door was a pretty lady who knew at a glance that a spring rain had just arrived.

She bowed politely to Arthur and Vidocq, and then passed directly between them.

Hugo, who was arranging his vest in the room, didn't seem to take this matter to heart. He saw Vidocq, smiled warmly and raised his hand to greet him: "Mr. Vidoc, are you Are you here to borrow a room? I won’t be here in the afternoon or evening, so you can use it as you like.”

Knowing the inside story, how could Victor dare to take advantage of Hugo? The old Parisian fox philistine responded: "Victor, you are still as generous as ever, willing to help old friends who are in deep financial difficulties. But please allow me to refuse. "I am a dignified and proud person. Although I left the security department, I will soon find a career that suits me."

Hugo laughed and invited the two of them into the room: "In my opinion, you are suitable to be an actor. You have experience, emotions, and endless legendary experiences. If you are willing, I can write a story for you right away. This play will tell the story of your years in the security department. When the theater manager chooses the role, I promise to recommend you to play the male lead. "

Vidocq did not refuse directly when he heard this, but reminded Hugo in a way that did not break the window paper: "I am not good at acting, and I prefer watching theater to acting. But if, I mean If the female lead is played by Mrs. Dorval, the lover of Mr. Vinnie, I think I would still be willing to take on the role. After all, who can refuse to stand on the same stage as the most popular actress in Paris?"

Hugo didn't seem to hear the implication of Vidocq's words. He sat carelessly on the chair next to the writing desk and joked: "François, I advise you not to have any thoughts about Dorval. Pooh thinks very much of her." Tight. Didn't Alexander send Doval to London before for a kiss? Winnie was furious because of this incident. He not only criticized Alexander's drama in the newspaper, but even planned to find him for a duel. "

Arthur heard this and continued with a smile: "Mr. Hugo, you don't know something, but their duel is actually over."

Hugo turned to look at Arthur. He patted his head and said, "I almost forgot about you just now. Are you a friend of Mr. Vidocq?"

Arthur smiled and replied: "I am not only a friend of Mr. Vidocq, but also a friend of Alexander. If you are willing, I also hope to make friends with you."

"Who are you?" Hugo seemed to have guessed something.

Arthur stretched out his hand and said: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hugo. I am Arthur Hastings from London, one of the reviewers of "The Englishman". We had previously published "Red" by Mr. Stendhal. We had exchanges with Hei in the letter.”