Shadow of great britain

"Is there anything special about this Arthur Hastings?"

"Um……"

Emily held the outdated business card and glanced at the dazzling titles on it. She couldn't tell what she felt in her heart.

Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolitan Police, Principal of the London Police School, Deputy Chief Inspector of Police at the London District Attorney's Office, Executive Commissioner of the British Book Publishing Board, Conductor of the Second Band of the London Philharmonic Society, Secretary of the University of London Alumni Association...

Arthur had indeed not lied to her. The elegant gentleman from England had indeed served in the police force for a long time.

But according to Emily's superficial understanding from "The Hastings Detective Collection", the British police obviously do not have as high a status as the French police.

Compared with the long-established French police, the British police not only have much less power, but their high-level positions do not seem to be held by prominent figures in the political arena.

During the Republic and Empire periods, the French police department once had to be managed by a full-time police minister or police minister.

Those who could hold this position were all the most capable and capable people in France at that time or the most trusted figures by the rulers.

For example, Joseph Fouche, who had a close friendship with Talleyrand and personally built a domestic spy network in France.

After Fouche conspired to overthrow Napoleon, the man who succeeded Fouche as Minister of Police was Savary, a loyalist who was deeply trusted by Napoleon.

After the Bourbon Restoration, Louis XVIII appointed Eli de Coigner and Charles X appointed Jules de Polignac.

This group of people are not only nobles, but also powerful figures. More importantly, their relationship with the king is often closer than that of the prime minister and the king.

Therefore, the French police have never been subordinate to any department, but are on the same level as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and other departments, and they even have vague power over several other departments.

Compared with these French counterparts, Scotland Yard, established in 1829, obviously had a much rougher life.

First of all, they are an administrative agency subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so they are one step short at the administrative level.

The top officers of Scotland Yard, Chief Charles Rowan and Deputy Chief Richard Mayne, are both retired colonels from the army. This level of pomp is obviously not comparable to that of the French Minister of Police, who is often commanded by dukes and princes. High standards of treatment.

Not to mention in terms of actual power.

In "The Hastings Detective Collection", it takes a lot of effort to win over a member of the parliament, and a member of Parliament's level of performance is at the bottom of the French police's "honorary list".

Will the British aristocracy let their children become police officers?

Emily felt that it would be difficult for serious people to make such a decision about the future arrangements of their children and grandchildren.

But the content on the business card obviously conflicted with her inner suspicion. She asked hesitantly: "Is he a commoner? My dear uncle, in my opinion, his behavior at the banquet Undoubtedly noble.”

"Oh, the party..."

Just one word made the old uncle understand what happened. The old man laughed and said: "My dear Emily, who behaved not noblely at the banquet? Even if you let a swineherd wear well-fitting clothes and sit there , surrounded by some upper-class gentlemen and beautiful ladies, he can also look like a prince."

"No, uncle." Emily replied categorically: "Not everyone has the appearance and behavior developed by upper-class people in social situations. He seems to often go to similar places. His words Very decent and well-spoken. I'll bet you he's a nobleman."

The old uncle teased his niece and granddaughter: "Maybe it's because you don't have enough time to observe him carefully."

Emily retorted: "You were not there at the time. I chatted with him for a long time, and finally we took the car home together."

"Oh, let's take a car home together?"

Emily blushed, her old uncle made her embarrassed for several minutes, and then she said with a smile.

"Emily, you know that I love you as my own child, because you are the only one in our Draisaitl family who has the proud temperament of a noble birth. God knows! My niece and granddaughter, you are How did you become such a princess? Well, since you are so interested in Mr. Hastings, why not let me serve as your adviser? To be honest, I do know some interesting stories about him in London."

"What do you know?" Emily's gray-blue eyes lit up.

"Sir Arthur Hastings is indeed a trend-setting figure in London, and everyone talks about his experience. It is not because of the ancient family he comes from or how noble his bloodline is, but because of his background. As clean and soft as a blank sheet of paper. Just like Paris, Londoners are not interested in big names from aristocratic backgrounds. Instead, they like stories of people who made their fortune from the bourgeoisie.”

The old uncle recounted some of the things that Arthur had caused a sensation in London over the years. Emily felt sometimes worried and sometimes excited. Her hands pinched the hem of her skirt tightly, as if she wanted to tear them away. The luxurious clothes that had just been ordered were wrinkled.

But after hearing the end, Emily couldn't help but let out a breath, with a little regret and disappointment in her eyes: "He is indeed an outstanding person. He is not from a noble family, but he has done many things that aristocrats can't do. But..."

After hearing what his niece's granddaughter said, the old uncle just held up the wine glass and leaned on the sofa: "Dear, he is indeed not a noble, but he has the title of knight through his own efforts. But the lack of aristocratic emblem does not mean that he doesn't have blue blood flowing in his veins."

"This..." Emily asked: "Do you mean he will be knighted in the future?"

The old uncle shook his head, put down the wine glass and held Emily's hand.

"Silly boy, I know that there are many legends about poor boys becoming rich overnight in the streets and alleys of London and Paris. Some of them can't even be considered legends, but some processed true stories. For example, our Draisait family, we were just some ordinary citizens, doing the most ordinary and lowly jobs, but we encountered opportunities and luckily seized them, and then we transformed ourselves into wealthy people with a small fortune.

Though it is not uncommon to see people like our Draisait family, they are not rare in France or Britain. The most typical representatives are the Baring family and the Rothschild family in London. They have been in business for two or three generations. One is a middleman who resells cotton and linen products between Germany and Britain, and the other is a reseller. A mobile vendor of medieval antiques in Teng.

However, although there are many civilian families who have made their fortunes in the business world, there are only a few who can really start from scratch and make it in the political world in one or two generations. In the UK, there are indeed civilians who have become MPs through their own efforts, and the typical example is Robert Peel and his son.

But it is worth noting that Robert Peel Sr. was already a large textile factory owner with 2,000 employees before he entered politics. And after the preparation of Robert Peel Sr.'s generation, and the fact that Sir Robert Peel Jr. was indeed a brilliant figure, he was able to become a cabinet minister and served as the deputy of the Duke of Wellington, and his position was very important in the Tory Party.

Dear, do you see the connection? In British politics, property and family background are indispensable. Of these two, if you have one of them, you can enter this circle. If you want to occupy a core position in the circle, you must have both, otherwise you will always be an outsider. "

"What do you mean?"

The uncle said openly: "In fact, the suspicion about Arthur Hastings's background did not start from me. There has been a group of people in London who have been suspicious of his family background. He still has the surname of Hastings. It is really hard not to suspect whether this young man is the illegitimate son of the Hastings family. "

"Hastings family?"

The uncle said: "This family is a marquis family. Although their history of inheriting the marquis is not particularly long, the first generation of Hastings Marquis has a heavy weight in British politics. "

"Why is that?"

"Why? My dear, this is because he was the first Governor-General of India when the colonial plan was adjusted in 1813!"

As a well-known figure in the City of London, the old uncle knew all these British aristocrats: "I once met this gentleman in my early years. He is a standard product of British aristocratic education. He graduated from Harrow School and was a top student at Balliol College, Oxford University. When I first met him, he was still a major general in the army and had just returned from serving in the American War of Independence.

Everyone had a very high evaluation of his performance in the war. Before he went to North America, he was just a second lieutenant in the 15th Infantry Regiment "Gnawing Fish". But he performed exceptionally well in the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Battle of Long Island and the Battle of White Plains, and later won a great victory in the Battle of Hobbs Hill with fewer troops.

In addition, he had a good relationship with George IV, who was still a prince at the time, and the Duke of York, so with these achievements, he was not only successfully promoted to major general in the army, but also became the director of ordnance. When the Colonial Affairs Department adjusted the division of India, he, as a close confidant of the Regent George IV, naturally became the first Governor-General of India. "

Emily blinked and asked, "Did he do well there?"

"More than well, he did an excellent job!"

The uncle said, "He conquered Nepal, recruited the locals, and established an infantry regiment composed of Nepalese Gurkhas. Later, he conquered the Malassas Islands and led the acquisition of Singapore."

Emily was puzzled and said, "From what you said, the Hastings family seems to be no worse than other old British nobles. But why can't we hear their voices in British politics recently? When you open a British newspaper, you will see the Marlborough family, the Wellington family, the Newcastle family, or the Russell family. "

"Ahem..."

The old uncle took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth: "This is because the Marquis of Hastings was unlucky. He has been the governor-general of India for nearly 10 years. Of course, it will make people jealous if he always occupies such a good position. So. Later, he was involved in a corruption case of the East India Company. Parliament investigated him back and forth for several years. In his later years, he had to go to court to defend himself almost every once in a while. Until his death, This case has not been completely concluded. Although the corruption case was finally settled, the Hastings family probably knew that they were too popular, so they acted much more low-key than before. "

"If that's the case, why do those people think that Sir Hastings is a member of the Hastings family?" Emily was confused and said: "From your introduction just now, Sir Hastings is in London. It seems like there’s no shortage of limelight.”

The old uncle showed a sly smile: "Oh, my dear little Emily, there are many things you don't understand. I forgot to tell you that the Marquis of Hastings was born in Ireland, and Arthur Hastings was a Catholic who came to Scotland Yard because of the Catholic Emancipation Act that appeased Ireland.

If your memory is not bad, then you should still remember that I just said that the Marquis of Hastings and the Duke of York have a very good relationship, and the young man Arthur Hastings was mentioned in the official introduction. He's from York. So, if we use reasonable logic to surmise, a true Yorkist farmhand would not have climbed to such a position.

And if he climbed up, he would probably have some noble blood, and at least have a prominent father figure, but this young man did not have that. If it doesn't exist on the surface, then it can only be said that it exists secretly, which means he must be an illegitimate child. As for whose illegitimate child it is, I think the illegitimate child of the Hastings family is currently the most reasonable.

They can't take any big actions on the surface right now, lest their political enemies get their hands on them. In this case, it is quite reasonable for an illegitimate son who does not seem to have much to do with them to serve in a marginalized police department. Scotland Yard is staffed by retired Army officers, and the first Marquess of Hastings is an Army Major General. Their family is definitely capable of doing this. "

When Emily heard this, she was stunned for a moment, and then thought for a long time. She felt that her heart was about to burst out: "The illegitimate son of the Marquis?"

The old uncle smiled and held her arm: "My dear! I see that you are not uninterested in this man. But we have to find out first. Hush! If we sail under the wrong flag, the family will You certainly know what your uncle means when he laughs at us. So let me help you, my dear niece. We will keep it a secret, and I promise you that if he is in Paris, I can bring him to us. Come into the living room, let’s take a closer look at him.”