Shadow of great britain

There is a small independent room at the back entrance of the Gresham College lecture hall.

Arthur was led to the door by his servants. Before he could enter, he saw the door open by itself, revealing a strong, silver-haired old man with a mustache and a black eyepatch on his left eye.

Although this old man is old, his back is as straight as a precipitous cliff. He is leaning on a cane and wearing a neat and serious black suit without any dust on it. Even from a few feet away, you can feel the strength on his body. A strong and oppressive aura.

boom!

The old man had a gloomy face and fiercely opened the door in front of him. The door hit the wall, and it seemed as if the earth was shaking.

When he saw Arthur standing in front of the door in a police uniform, he was startled for a moment, and then used his remaining right eye, which was as sharp as an eagle, to scan every corner of Arthur's body.

After watching for a while, before Arthur could ask, the old man stepped forward and patted Arthur heavily on the shoulder.

The old man said: "Pierre told me that you are talented, ambitious, and still so young. But if you can abide by the tradition and convert to the state religion, you will obviously have a better future.

Young man, you still have a long way to go. Don't get involved with those liberals, otherwise sooner or later, you will be eaten up by them. "

After the old man in rich clothes said this, he left the scene with a walking stick and a quick stride.

Behind him were a group of attendants guarding him with swords. The attendants chased him while shouting: "Your Highness, please slow down and wait for us."

Seeing this, Arthur couldn't help but frown and asked the servant who was leading him: "Is this the Duke of Sussex just now?"

Unexpectedly, without waiting for the servant to reply, a middle-aged gentleman wearing a white shirt and a lavender dress, with a head full of wavy brown hair, walked out of the hut.

The appearance of this gentleman looks somewhat similar to that of the one who just left. Even his livid complexion has a slightly different meaning.

He said: "Mr. Hastings, don't pay attention to that rude person.

I think his brain was damaged when he served in the Hanoverian army in his early years. He has a German stubbornness all over his body! "

Seeing this situation, the servant asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, your talks with the Duke of Cumberland have broken down again?"

The middle-aged gentleman had an angry look on his face: "I shouldn't have invited my brother to see Mr. Faraday's latest invention! Napoleon's army can blow up his eyes, but they can't blow through his mind, which is as unchanging as steel!"

The servant saw something was wrong, so he quickly changed the subject and introduced Arthur: "Mr. Hastings, this is His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex."

In fact, Arthur had already heard of the Duke of Sussex.

He is the sixth brother of the current King George IV, so he can also be called Prince Augustus.

As for the one who just ran away from the door, it was his brother, the fifth brother of the current British King George IV, Prince Ernst, Duke of Cumberland.

There have been rumors that the two princes have a bad relationship. Prince Ernst, Duke of Cumberland, is a die-hard Tory extremist. He was born in the military and participated in many anti-French wars as a mid-level officer and the commander-in-chief of the Army of the Kingdom of Hanover.

His long career in the military also cultivated his violent and stubborn temper. He advocated force in everything, resolutely opposed domestic reforms, advocated the supremacy of royal power, and insisted on the purity of state religion.

Some time ago, because the Duke of Wellington forced the King and the House of Lords to pass the Catholic Emancipation Act, the Duke of Cumberland even launched a fierce attack on Wellington's cabinet in the House of Lords.

As for Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex, he is the perfect mirror image of his older brother.

Since his youth, he had not cared much about military affairs, so he did not serve in the navy or army like his older brothers. Instead, he spent his time studying science and art and traveling around the European continent.

During his travels on the European continent, he also fell in love with an ordinary noble girl from Scotland and married her without the king's permission.

For this matter, his father George III was so angry that he even used the Royal Marriage Act to declare the marriage invalid and never recognized the duchess's title, in order to force his youngest son to divorce.

But Sussex obviously didn't take this matter to heart. Not only that, he also opposed his father and his brother George IV in the House of Lords all day long.

His proposals over the years include, but are not limited to, reforming parliament, reforming the church, abolition of the slave trade, and elimination of discriminatory treatment against Jews and people with different political opinions and beliefs.

In short, in the eyes of the Duke of Sussex, everything in the country was distasteful to him, and everything had to be changed.

Even in the movement to amend the Bloody Act some time ago, the Duke of Sussex also made great efforts.

Almost at the same time that reports about Arthur were flying all over London, the Duke of Sussex took advantage of the east wind and submitted the 800 signatures of the jurors collected early in the morning to the House of Commons, urging them to advance the revision of the bill as soon as possible. .

The Duke of Sussex gritted his teeth and glared hard at the direction his brother was leaving. After finally calming down, he put on a smile and spoke to Arthur.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Hastings. To be honest, I've been wanting to meet you for a long time."

Arthur put his right hand on his chest and his left hand behind his back, bowed slightly, and gave him a royal audience ceremony.

"Nice to meet you too, Your Highness the Duke."

The Duke of Sussex extended his hand to him in a friendly manner: "I thought you were just an upright and courageous police officer, but I didn't expect you to be interested in science."

Arthur held the other person's hand: "Science is also part of police work. You may not know that the security situation in London is not optimistic.

According to data retained by Scotland Yard and the Ministry of Home Affairs, the population of the London area has increased by nearly 50% in the past thirty years, while the crime rate has soared by 300%, with various vicious crimes emerging in endlessly.

In order to be able to solve those confusing murders, we must introduce new science and technology to assist in solving the cases. Only through continuous learning and progress can we inject new vitality into Scotland Yard's security forces. "

When the Duke of Sussex heard this, his eyes couldn't help but light up. He smiled and said: "I knew it! Even if everyone in Scotland Yard is untrustworthy, I can believe you!"

You are indeed the best policeman in Great Britain. If I entrust you with the investigation of St. Giles Parish, I will be able to complete it smoothly. "

"Investigative work in St. Giles Parish?"

Arthur had a bad feeling in his heart. Just from the name of this area, he had already sensed a dangerous atmosphere.

The Duke of Sussex nodded: "That's right. Although I was just elected president of the Royal Society this year, I have not left behind the work I was doing before.

You may not know that I have spent many years investigating criminal gangs and the living conditions of local street children in St Giles Parish.

I have been doing this for five or six years, but not long ago, I discovered a strange phenomenon. "

"What phenomenon?"

The Duke of Sussex said: "The private detective I hired told me that some of the street children they had been in contact with for a long time disappeared strangely after being imprisoned.

Moreover, some homeless people who had been begging in St. Giles Parish all year round also disappeared at the same time.

My private investigators found neither their bodies nor any trace of their departure.

Because after we inquired and visited their temporary residence, we found that they didn't even take away the few remaining possessions they had.

This is not a normal phenomenon, and I suspect there may be something fishy going on here. "

Arthur frowned, realizing the seriousness of the problem: "How many approximate number of missing homeless people are there? Have you counted them?"

The Duke of Sussex replied without thinking: "There are probably more than 20 people who have disappeared after being released from prison. The number of beggars disappearing on the streets should be about the same."

"Did you report the crime to Scotland Yard?"

The Duke of Sussex became angry when he said this. He replied: "Of course I reported it! But after investigation, those Scotland Yard policemen came to the conclusion that this was just a normal movement of homeless people. They These people have no fixed abode and can go wherever they want, so there is nothing noteworthy about them.

When I asked them to further intervene in the investigation, they told me that Scotland Yard was extremely short of security forces and might not be able to allocate enough manpower to conduct a large-scale investigation of this case in a short period of time. "

Arthur thought about it for a while after hearing this. He always felt that something was wrong.

After thinking for a while, he replied: "Actually, they are right. Scotland Yard's security force is indeed extremely short. If you want to investigate this kind of case, you may need to set up a special investigation team to conduct a long visit, and you will also need professionals for a long time. Follow up and collect evidence. Judging from the current situation, Scotland Yard may indeed have no time to take care of it."

When the Duke of Sussex heard this, his disappointment was palpable.

"So, even you are not willing to take on this case?"

While Arthur wanted to refuse, he remembered the reply letter Sir Peel gave him.

At present, it is probably impossible to track down Fred.

If the Duke of Sussex's case can be solved, it is not that it cannot be regarded as a feat.

He hesitated for a long time and finally said: "I can take this case. But you must agree to one condition."

The Duke of Sussex was overjoyed and asked hurriedly: "Please tell me."

“First of all, St. Giles Parish does not belong to my jurisdiction, so until the case is solved, I cannot accept your report application in the name of Greenwich Police District.

Instead, I will conduct a private investigation in my own name.

If the truth is discovered, I will submit the relevant evidence to the Metropolitan Police, and you will then submit it to Scotland Yard for direct acceptance. "

The Duke of Sussex nodded: "That's no problem."

Arthur spoke again: "To be honest, our Greenwich Police District also has a shortage of police resources.

Therefore, if the Greenwich Police District encounters a difficult case during this period, I need the Royal Society to send relevant professionals to assist us in the investigation.

In this way, we can free up part of our manpower to investigate St. Giles Parish. "

Hearing this, the Duke of Sussex nodded again: "Although I may not be able to convince those top scientists, we also have many scientific apprentices here.

Although they are not as knowledgeable as scientists, they have mastered a lot of basic practical knowledge because they often work in the laboratory.

I could try to convince them to offer them part of the reward to help the Greenwich Police District solve the case. "

Seeing that the Duke of Sussex had agreed to his two requests so easily, Arthur was at a loss for a moment.

At this moment, the red devil suddenly appeared. He stood behind Arthur and whispered.

"Arthur, why do you think Scotland Yard didn't investigate this case? Listen to me, don't touch it, otherwise you may fall to pieces if you are not careful.

Some things are better not to know than to know. Your life is pretty good now, there is no need to wade into this muddy water. "

Arthur glanced at the red devil and murmured in a low voice: "Agares, you want to do this with me again? Deliberately provoke me? Ha..."

"You don't want to do this?"

Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly: "No, I just follow this trick. From your tone, this response should harvest a lot of souls, right?"

Hearing this, the red devil grinned and revealed his saw-like teeth: "Oh! My dear Arthur, now do you understand why I chose you to be my contractor?

I...I just like this about you!

Clean and neat, if you don't take action, you can give me hell as soon as you take action! Hey hey hey hahaha! ! ! "

The red devil's scarlet saliva dripped on Arthur's riding boots. Countless howling and dim souls could be vaguely seen on the reflective and shiny shoes. They roared and cried in pain, seeming to want to pull all visible people into the endless world. A sea of ​​blood and abyss.

Arthur took off his hat and held the hand of the Duke of Sussex without hesitation: "Your Highness, I, Arthur Hastings, here represent the Greenwich Police of the East London Region of the London Metropolitan Police. The district has formally reached a secret investigation entrustment agreement with you."