Shadow of great britain

The rickety carriage drove along the Seine River, and the warm sunshine shone through the window on the novel in Arthur's hand.

The mottled light and shadow are like scraps of paper, dividing the eloquent text into isolated islands one after another.

Arthur had read Balzac's novels a long time ago, but compared to the first time when he came into contact with them purely for entertainment, this time he read them very seriously and found more interesting things.

Only now did he finally understand why later generations would regard Balzac's works as a walking encyclopedia of 19th-century France.

His book not only reflects the life style of Paris, but many of the characters in the story also look particularly familiar.

The guy named Fu Tuoleng in the novel reveals the shadow of Vidocq everywhere, but perhaps because of the impression of the fan filter, Balzac wrote Fu Tuoleng as much more handsome and cold than Vidocq himself.

Rastignac is now Thiers, the high-ranking dean of French counselors. He went from being a middle-class student who had very little money for food and clothing when he first arrived in Paris, to climbing a high tree to hook up with the baroness, and joining a literary group to make his first pot of gold. , and then accidentally fell in love with a marquise.

And it's not just Vidocq and Thiers, Arthur also discovered Hugo in "Petro Goriot". The leader of the literary clique, Artez, is obviously based on Hugo.

After reading several Balzac novels, from the owner of the car dealership in the east of the city, to the vendors in the vegetable market, to the poor artists, to the two widows living in the apartment on Massarina Street behind the French Institute, they are all in Arthur's book. There was a call in my mind.

In just a few hours, Arthur changed from a young man who was provincial in the eyes of a coachman to a young man who grew up with the roots of Paris.

He knew life in Paris as if he had actually witnessed the Directory, the Empire and the Restoration in Paris.

The carriage stopped in front of the Breaux Detective Agency, and Arthur paid the fare and was about to go upstairs.

Suddenly he saw a young lady coming downstairs wearing a white cashmere cotton button-down pink knot dresser. She smelled of fragrance and her eyes were watery. Although she didn't touch it, Arthur just took a look at it. I felt that this lady's hands were extremely delicate, and her slightly open dressing gown sometimes revealed a little bit of her pale pink breasts.

Based on the intuitive judgment of men and detectives, Arthur believed that this lady should have just taken a shower.

He then thought again, the upper floor of Brayock Detective Agency was an apartment with board and lodging, this lady must have come down from there, right?

The person who came downstairs with the young lady was a short man about 1.5 meters tall, and his appearance looked very familiar.

That was none other than Mr. Thiers, the president of the French Council of Ministers.

The lady didn't notice the car coming downstairs. Her attention was all on Thiers, and she just said angrily: "Oh, Adolphe, are you leaving?"

"My dear, I also want to stay a little longer. But the dinner at the Cai Daosai Mansion will start soon, and I have to go and check everything that has been arranged before His Majesty arrives. Although Appel is currently in Paris The best banquet organizer, but he has never arranged such a large-scale banquet before. Celebrities from the political, business, and cultural circles will be present, and there are also many guests from the UK. I can't let His Majesty do it in front of outsiders. Losing face."

The young lady did not speak, but the submissive expression on her face had unintentionally betrayed a woman's entire heart.

Thiers walked down the steps and bumped into Arthur. He was stunned for a moment. It always makes a person feel uncomfortable when his personal affairs are revealed, especially because his height of 1.5 meters made him stand out from the unsmiling Arthur. In front of me, I always feel an invisible sense of oppression.

Thiers didn't even notice. He couldn't help but stepped back a step, and then politely took off his hat and said hello: "I didn't expect to meet you here. Are you visiting Paris?"

Arthur also took off his hat: "Yeah, but it's not just a tour, I also took on some private work in Paris. My friend Mr. Vidocq invited me to be a detective assistant in his detective agency. He just He has resigned from the Paris Metropolitan Police and has to start his career from scratch at the age of over 50, so I have to give him a helping hand.”

Upon hearing this, Thiers smiled kindly: "To put it in the words of a small citizen, Arthur, you seem to be a very loyal person, not like a nobleman at all."

Arthur took off his white gloves and patted the dust on them: "Thanks to His Majesty the King, I am now a knight. According to the usual British standards, a knight cannot be called an orthodox noble. At best, he is a citizen, and there is a gap between him and a small citizen. It’s really not that far away.”

Thiers smiled and politely replied: "Long live the citizen, Mr. Hastings, then we will see you tonight at the Chateausay Mansion."

Arthur said goodbye to Thiers and watched the rising star of Parisian politics board his carriage and disappear into the bustling streets. He turned his head and was about to go to the office to sit down, but found that the escalator was also there. The young lady who went out has not left yet.

She was looking at Arthur with a scrutinizing look, and the emotion in her big black eyes was called curiosity.

"Are you a knight?"

Arthur nodded slightly. He was afraid that the other party would misunderstand, so he added specifically: "Yes, not from Ireland, nor from England, Scotland, or Great Britain, but from the knights of the United Kingdom."

The young lady seemed to be very interested in this. She asked, "Is there any difference between them?"

This is a topic related to heraldry. Although Arthur did not know much about heraldry, based on his historical knowledge, he could still respond quite easily.

And judging from the fact that this lady knew nothing about the difference in titles, she should not be from a noble family. Perhaps she is a lady from a banker or a big trader's family?

Arthur explained, "If we judge by the current situation, there is no difference between them, because whether it is Scotland, Ireland or England, their king titles belong to the same person. However, if one day they split, then according to the oaths sworn by the knights, the Scottish knights will follow the King of Scotland, the English knights will follow the King of England, and so on. A knight of the United Kingdom like me will swear allegiance to the guy who holds the title of King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland."

"Ah! You want to swear?" The lady looked a little surprised. She asked, "So... By the way, do you have a seat in the British House of Lords? Even if you don't, your father must have one, right? You will definitely inherit him in the near future. "Arthur didn't know why the lady was so obsessed with her noble status, but because of the good smell of her perfume, Arthur patiently explained: "I don't have a seat in the House of Lords, and as for my father, I haven't even met him. Maybe he has a seat in the House of Lords, but I can't be sure. The only thing I am sure of is that he definitely has a seat in the church cemetery in our village. I almost inherited this seat more than half a year ago, but the middle There was a small mistake, so you see, I am standing here today with a knight's title on my head. "

When the lady heard this, she just laughed twice: "You really like to joke. The British lords I met before were all serious and serious. I didn't expect you to be different from them and be so approachable. "

Arthur took off his hat and joked politely: "Madam, then you must have met a hypocrite. May I ask who the British lord you met before was?"

The lady said bluntly: "It was a man named Henry Peter Brougham, but he was not yet He has been knighted. I just heard recently that he was knighted as a baron in England and became a chief justice. "

"Ahem..." Arthur was choked by saliva when he heard the name. He took off his hat and said goodbye: "Madam, let's talk again when we have a chance. I have to go to Mr. Vidocq. He has an urgent case."

The young lady wanted to talk to Arthur for a few more words, but she saw that he had lost interest and let him go in a reasonable way: "Then I wish you good luck."

Arthur got rid of the lady and went up to the second floor with his cane. As soon as he opened the door of the office, he was attracted by the noise inside.

"Mr. Vidocq, are you planning to take even this kind of case? It's obvious that this is a commission from the Austrian government! Or, to be more precise, this is definitely Metternich's instruction."

"Metternich? Is his hemorrhoids acting up again?"

"Alexander, Heinrich, it's just an investigation commission, why are you two so excited? In addition, how did you link it to the Austrian government?"

Arthur closed the door and saw Heine sitting on the sofa leisurely drinking coffee, and Dumas arguing with Vidocq, and asked: "It's just a We didn't meet at noon, but the firm got a big job? If it was really an order from the Austrian government, the reward must be high, right? After all, the French government wanted to capture Alexander from London and offered a high price of 30,000 to 40,000 francs. "

Victor threw the documents in his hand on the table: "I think so too. But the actual situation is that the price of this order is not that high at all. The client offered us a thousand francs to check the information of several people. This price is basically the same as checking extramarital affairs. "

Arthur poured himself a cup of coffee: "One thousand francs? This price is not bad for Austrian dissidents. , it is indeed too low. Alexander, are you too nervous? "

Heine did not take the commissioned investigation seriously, but turned to Arthur and asked: "Arthur, have you thought about the piano duel with Liszt? The promotional articles I wrote for you have been sent out. I heard that Liszt's supporters are looking for you all over the street. "

Arthur glanced at Heine: "Heinrich, this is something you caused, you'd better solve it yourself. "

Seeing that Arthur was not interested in this, Heine stood up and advised: "Arthur, do you know what you will win in Paris if you beat Liszt? Flowers and applause in the entire theater, screams and faintings from ladies, and active friendships from celebrities. What Napoleon dispatched tens of thousands of soldiers to accomplish, you can now achieve with just your little finger. "Arthur took a sip of coffee: "Heinrich, you make it sound easy. If this is so easy, why don't you compete with Liszt?" Heine listened and said indifferently: "Arthur, you have to know that I am a poet. I don't care about these vulgar things. I have a more elegant taste. As a friend, I am willing to give you all these worldly successes. "

Arthur sipped the slightly astringent and bitter coffee: "Heinrich, I am really lucky to be friends with you."

"It's okay." Heine took out a bill from his pocket and said, "If you don't mind, you can sign this."

Arthur glanced at the dazzling numbers on the bill, raised his hand and gently blocked it back: "Heinrich, of course I am very happy to help you clear the bill, but the premise of all this is that you must quickly finish "On Romance" recently. Send the manuscript of "Pie" to London."

Although Arthur did not pay the bill directly, he still gave Heine hope of clearing the bill. For the sake of the British pound and the strong credibility of Arthur, a long-term financial backer, Heine reluctantly agreed to this 'loss-making business'.

"The deadline for "On the Romantics" is coming soon. Don't worry, I will definitely help "The British" give "Blackwood" a big slap this time. Isn't it just literary criticism and literary criticism? I am doing this comparison You still need to be good at writing poetry.”

Alexandre Dumas ignored the conversation between Heine and Arthur, but emphasized to Vidoc: "Mr. Vidoc, I assure you that this commission is definitely related to the Austrian government. Because I found out that several of the people under investigation are Almost all of them are members of Young Italy."

As soon as Arthur heard the name 'Young Italy', his attention was immediately attracted.

He casually picked up the documents on Vidocq's desk, glanced at it casually, and found a famous name written on the first page of the investigation commission - Giuseppe Mazzini.

Arthur turned another page casually, and the name on the second page was also quite gratifying. It was also a familiar name - Giuseppe Garibaldi.

While flipping through the documents, Arthur pretended to be casual and asked, "How do you know these people are related to Young Italy?"

“I didn’t know this organization at first, but when I was in London, I once talked with Louis about his participation in the Carbonari uprising in Italy. At that time, Louis told me that the leader of the Italian Carbonari was Giuseppe. ·Mazzini. Two days ago, I met him in person at a gathering of a literary group.

He told me that after the failure of the Carbonari uprising, he went into exile in Paris and actively gathered those Carbonari members who had suffered the same persecution as him and were living in exile in France. I also talked with him about Louis, and he said that he was very happy to see their revolutionary comrade Mr. Louis Bonaparte still standing strong on the earth. "

Arthur felt uncomfortable listening to these words.

Revolutionary comrade M. Louis Bonaparte?

Although Mazzini was mostly sincerely praising Louis, this title fell to Arthur's ears, and it was as full of irony as "The Times" calling him "Friend of the People".

But putting this aside for the moment, what Arthur is most concerned about at the moment is whether there is still a connection between Louis and the Italian Carbonari Party.

For this young man who aspired to challenge the leader of the Bonaparte family, there were not many opportunities to show his face in front of the French people. Although French King Louis Philippe may not like Austria very much, even if he wants to support the Italian Carbonari Party, he will not allow Louis to replace him in raising the banner of freedom.

Arthur threw the document on the table: "As for Mr. Mazzini and Garibaldi, if they are really the leaders of 'Young Italy', then even if the Breaux Detective Agency does not accept the order, Austria People will also find ways to check them out. There are 8,000 Polish refugees in the suburbs of Paris alone. In addition, there are also Italians, Germans, and Spaniards. Who knows how many spies are among them? Look, Alexander, if you are really thinking about Young Italy, then Mr. Vidocq should take this order. He has far more bottom lines than those spies. "

Vidocq glanced at Arthur and then at Alexandre Dumas. The old detective put his legs on the desk and smiled: "Yes, Alexander, not to mention I have to eat. And when it comes to eating, we are Isn’t it time to rush to the banquet held at the Kaido Sai Mansion?”