Shadow of great britain

How to spell Arthur Hastings? A,S,S,H,O,L,E. What? No, I didn't make a typo.

——Charles Wheatstone

As the sun sets in the west, the sky over Göttingen is filled with burning clouds.

After the day's classes, the college students in Göttingen ran like wild donkeys to entertainment venues located all over the city. There were more and more guests in the Black Bear Tavern.

After bidding farewell to Ohm, who was in high spirits, and Siemens, who was in crisis of dropping out of school, Arthur finally had time to entertain two old friends who came all the way from London.

Fiona asked the servant to take out the black tea leaves and silver teapot brought from London, and asked the tavern owner to boil hot water and make a pot. Wheatstone was huddled in the corner of the dining table. There was no noble temperament at all in this richest man in the British scientific community who made a fortune from the gramophone.

If others didn't tell him, they would probably think that he was some poor relative of the British lady across the table.

Arthur's seat was right next to Wheatstone, and he deliberately sat at the exit in case the guy suddenly jumped up and ran away.

Others may not be able to do such nonsensical things, but Arthur knows the temperament of his old friend. After all, dear Mr. Wheatstone is a guy who can break doors and climb walls to avoid giving a speech at the Royal Society.

The daily lectures of the Royal Society can push him to that point. The upcoming European Electromagnetics Conference at the University of Göttingen will undoubtedly be a more severe test for Wheatstone.

Since Arthur sponsored the Royal Society's special lecture, and he had a close personal relationship with Faraday, and also maintained a good personal relationship with the President of the Royal Society, the Duke of Sussex, the Royal Society was very interested in the conference convened by Arthur. The European Electromagnetics Conference responded very positively.

The list of the Royal Society delegation has been sent to the University of Göttingen by email a few days ago. The Duke of Sussex, President of the Royal Society, made it clear that whether it is for the purpose of helping the Kingdom of Hanover stabilize the situation or for scientific exchanges For all the considerations, he should be present at the meeting in person.

The Royal Society scientists who attended with him also included: Michael Faraday, Peter Barlow, William Sturgeon, Charles Babbage, etc.

As for the French Academy of Sciences, they may be thanking Arthur for going to Paris this year to award the Copley Medal to Poisson, so Mr. François Arago, the lifelong secretary of the Academy of Sciences, also enthusiastically expressed in his reply that he would The delegation of the French Academy of Sciences will be led by Simon Poisson, Andre-Marie Ampère, Jean-Baptiste Biot, Felix Savard and other France's most outstanding electromagnetic researchers. A luxurious lineup.

As for the three Nordic countries, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, their delegations will be led by their country's most outstanding electromagneticians and electrochemists Hans Oersted, Johann Berzelius and Christian Bohr respectively. .

As for Germany itself, Gauss successfully invited his friends through his personal connections: Alexander von Humboldt, the president of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, and many electromagnetic researchers in Prussia.

Weber contacted Mr. John Schweiger, his supervisor at the University of Halle, the inventor of the galvanometer, and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Chemistry and Physics who had published a paper on Ohm's error.

Look at this long list. Arthur's calves are trembling when he sees these names piled together, let alone a guy like Wheatstone who doesn't live up to expectations.

"Charles, you must be very happy to meet so many outstanding electromagnetic researchers at one time, right?"

Wheatstone didn't accept Arthur's behavior of not opening or lifting any pot at all, and he protested sternly.

"Do you know how I came to Göttingen? I was kidnapped by a group of thugs! You damn East District gangster, you actually instigated them to break open the door of my house and carry me with my quilt. Get on the carriage! Damn it, Scotland Yard, the largest gangster gang in London, turned a deaf ear to my kidnapping! I originally moved to Regent Crescent House because it was quiet and safe. If I had known that the police didn't care about that place, I would have Might as well sleep in the sewers of Greenwich!”

"Oh, the sewers in Greenwich?" Fiona picked up the teapot and filled them with tea one after another: "If you lived there, I wouldn't even have to pick the lock. Mr. Wheatstone, next time you When you talk, you should at least ask what the name of the police inspector in charge of Greenwich is now."

Wheatstone asked alertly: "What's it called?"

Fiona pushed the tea cup in front of him: "Tony Eckhart."

"Damn! Tony is now a police inspector?" Whetstone slapped his face: "Arthur, you bastard, you Scotland Yard are really a nest of snakes and rats!"

Arthur picked up the tea cup and took a sip. The taste of Twinings black tea was still so familiar and familiar: "Charles, you can't do this. I also know that Scotland Yard is a den of snakes and rats. But the reason why His Majesty the King specially added extra water to Scotland Yard I got the royal title just to prevent everyone from saying that.”

Whetstone looked at Arthur's appearance as an old god, and his teeth itched with anger: "Yes! Yes! It's all my fault. I thought you retired from Scotland Yard because you were a good person, but now it seems that you are a good person in Scotland Yard." At that time, the most you could do was to take advantage of legal loopholes, but since you left there, you don't even bother to take advantage of legal loopholes! Wait, when I return to London, I will spend a lot of money to hire the best lawyer in the country to sue in court. You! I can’t believe that there is no fairness and justice in the great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland!”

Fiona heard this and tried to persuade her: "Mr. Wheatstone, if there was fairness and justice in the UK, would you still be guilty of spending a lot of money on a lawyer?"

Wheatstone was choked back by Fiona's words before he could even utter a series of curse words. He blushed and held it in for a long time. Finally, he couldn't stand the cruel reality and suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

"If I could go back in time, I shouldn't be coveting the economic benefits of inventing the phonograph. In that case, I wouldn't have too many interactions with you. If I didn't have so many interactions with you, I wouldn't I will not be forced to attend academic lectures of the Royal Society, nor will I be kidnapped and come to Germany. I can run my small musical instrument shop with peace of mind, and live a simple life that is happy, simple and noble even though it is not rich... …”

"Simple and noble?" Arthur stretched out his hand to block Fiona's move to add tea to him: "I don't think that a simple and noble person would hide in his own small house all day long to decipher the nasty code words published by lovers in newspapers."

Wheatstone was exposed by Arthur, and suddenly his face turned red and thick-necked. Wheatstone, who usually couldn't hold back a fart in front of everyone for a long time, attacked like a barrage: "That...that's better than you!" Arthur Hastings, you dirty gutter rat, look what you have done! You peddled beer and harmed the believers, you collected black money to keep your mistress, you harbored and condoned criminal gangs, you ordered the shooting of demonstrators, You misappropriated the government's public budget, and you bribed foreign countries!"

Wheatstone's sudden sharp words made Arthur stunned for a moment, but in an instant, his face darkened visibly to the naked eye: "Charles, if you take back what you just said right away, then we You can still be friends. Apart from anything else, don’t you still know how much money the Police Intelligence Bureau spent on you?”

But Wheatstone doesn't care about that. He has been kidnapped to Göttingen, and he is very likely to be embarrassed at the European Electromagnetics Conference. At least before social death, he must take revenge severely. Arthur Hastings will never bow to such evil forces.

Even if there is no way to punish him legally or physically, it would still be good to just give him some pleasure.

He had to let this guy understand that he, Charles Whetstone, was also a member of the Greenwich community back then, and he was not a mastermind once his pants were taken off!

Wheatstone was full of fire and said: "Arthur, what the hell..."

Seeing that the situation was not good, Fiona quickly picked up the bread on the table and stuffed it directly into Wheatstone's open mouth.

Wheatstone was blocked from breathing out halfway, and almost rolled his eyes on the spot.

Fiona unfolded the delicate ivory-handled silk embroidered folding fan to cover her mouth to hide her embarrassment and said: "Mr. Wheatstone, if you have so much distress in your heart, you can come to my place and sit down with me when you return to London another day. If you feel If you are shy, we also have a prayer room similar to that in the church. You can talk to the girls through the small window. They all like to listen to the stories told by such a cultivated and profound gentleman like you. By the way, you don't. Can you decipher the code words in newspapers? You can also communicate in code words by passing small notes to each other. This method of communication is guaranteed to be incomprehensible to others. "

Wheatstone finally managed to catch his breath, and he smashed the chewed bread into pieces with a sharp movement of his upper and lower jaws.

He put his hands on the table and chewed the bread. He sulked silently for a while, then swallowed the bread and asked abruptly: "Do the ladies over there know anything about cryptography?"

Fiona's heart finally fell when she heard this, and she said with a smile: "Can't you teach them if they don't know how? Who can be born with a doctorate degree?"

Wheatstone thought for a moment: "It makes sense."

When the Red Devil, who had been watching the theater for a long time, heard this, he put his hand on Wheatstone's shoulder and laughed loudly: "That makes sense? I think you just want to go but are too embarrassed to go."

Arthur calmly said to Wheatstone: "Charles, I did not think well enough to bring you to Göttingen without prior notice. But looking at Europe, there is no one better than you in building telegraph equipment." It’s more professional. I know what you are worried about. Don’t worry, I won’t force you to speak at the European Electromagnetic Conference. If you mind, you can also choose to watch the ceremony backstage in the lecture hall.”

"Really?" Wheatstone raised his eyebrows with disbelief on his face: "You are not trying to trick me again, are you?"

Arthur smiled, holding the back of the seat with one hand and holding the tea cup with the other: "Charles, we are all past that young and frivolous age. Why would I want to play tricks on you?"

"Okay... okay, then I will believe you again."

"I don't want to tease you." Arthur took a sip of tea and said, "I just want to slap you now."

"Ah?!" Wheatstone stood up quickly in shock: "You robber really wants to use force!"

"Don't get excited, Charles, it's just a joke."

Arthur took out a pen and paper from his coat pocket, signed a small note, and handed it to the servant standing next to Fiona: "Take this and take Mr. Wheatstone to the Observatory of the University of Göttingen. Let him get familiar with the environment. If he is lucky, he might even meet two professors, Gauss and Weber, who are obsessed with studying telegraph equipment during this period."

If Wheatstone were asked to go to a strange place to meet strangers under normal circumstances, he would probably not be happy.

But if you tell him that if he continues to stay at the Black Bear Tavern at this time, he is likely to be attacked by force, then Wheatstone feels that meeting one or two strangers is not so unacceptable.

He hurriedly got out of his seat as if to avoid the plague, put on his hat again, looked at the more and more guests in the tavern, and shivered.

Whetstone pushed up his collar to try to cover half of his face, and then whispered to Arthur: "I hope you can keep your promise, if you really treat me as a friend."

Arthur nodded slightly and said: "Of course, if you think you need it, I can also set up a prayer room for you in the observatory. You can stay there and work alone, while Gauss and Weber will stay outside. The three of you can Communicate through a small window.”

Whetstone imagined the scene and couldn't help but shudder. He cursed: "What do you think of me? I'm not a monkey!"

After saying this, Wheatstone followed the servant away, cursing in a low voice.

Arthur watched his good friend leave the tavern and looked at Fiona: "I said..."

"Huh?" Fiona waited expectantly.

Arthur took a sip of tea and said: "If Charles really goes to your place when he returns to London, you have to find an experienced person to serve him well and control the strength."

Fiona thought he was going to say something important. When she heard that he was planning to take revenge on Wheatstone, she couldn't help but smile and said, "If you want to slap him so much, why don't you do it yourself?"

Arthur shook his head slightly and said: "This is the most unfair place in the world. Because if I do it, then this is a violent crime and a street fight. And if it is done by ladies, everyone will say it is a violent crime and a street fight. A spice in life. I don’t want to offend Charles. He is a rich man now. Didn’t you hear what he said just now? He can afford the best lawyers in the country to deal with me at any time.”

"So what?" Fiona replied: "Everyone knows that you are the best prosecutor in Britain. It's not certain who will win or lose in court."

"That's all old history." Arthur joked: "I am not a policeman now, but a university professor. But compared to teaching, I am better at teaching students to fight, but there is no way, in the current situation, the school You can’t advocate this.”

"are you sure?"

Fiona smiled and stirred the tea cup to dissolve the sugar cubes: "I see that there are quite a few scars on the faces of the students in this tavern. They are probably from private duels. I have heard about Germany before. Duels are a common thing in my school, and I’m thinking about recruiting some thugs here.”

"What's the matter? Didn't Tom and Tony make things easier for you in London?"

"No, they are still as generous as ever, but I usually don't cause trouble for them. Now we are different from before. We have a license and are doing a decent business. We don't need to use knives or guns in alleys. . Even if someone comes to make trouble occasionally, we can just tie them up and hand them over to the police station, and we don’t have to worry about the rest.”

"Sounds like business is good?"

Upon hearing this, Fiona winked at him playfully and showed off the emerald ring she wore on her right index finger to Arthur.

"This is all down to Mr. Schneider, who has introduced us to many good clients. Among them are not only his colleagues in Whitehall Street, but also officials in government departments, but also many people with knighthoods. And These people spread the word and introduced more people. Among these introduced customers, one or two even had royal blood. If it weren't for opening this store, I wouldn't have known about them. It turns out that the upright big shots in the Palace of Westminster are like this in private.”

Arthur glanced at the ring and laughed: "The index finger is often used to wear family signet rings or noble rings, symbolizing power and status. It seems that you not only made money from this, but also learned a lot or useful things. Or useless knowledge. Fiona, you are indeed no longer the street girl who can't live without a couple of laudanum a day."

"Isn't it the same for you?" Fiona pursed her lips and said: "A pigherder can become a Royal Superintendent when he puts on a police uniform, and becomes a university professor when he puts on a robe. Writing a letter can get the great scholars of the Royal Society to help. . So, what is your next role? Tell me early so that I can familiarize myself with the script and strive for early progress."

"Everything in the world is unpredictable. Who can say clearly how we will live tomorrow?"

Arthur put on his hat and said: "But it's always good to get to know more friends, and the same goes for you in London. If a pigherd mixes into a group of princes, then he is a prince. A low-class girl mixes into a group of noble ladies, Then she is a lady."

Fiona stood up and asked: "Are you going home? Where do you live now?"

"Well, I..."

Arthur nodded, but then he seemed to think of something else. It seemed that at the moment he ignored a possible trouble.

There are several women living in his house, all of whom are girls brought from Paris who are involved with the royalists.

"Well..." Arthur stood still, and after thinking carefully, he suddenly turned around and smiled, bowed slightly, and stretched out his hand to Fiona, saying: "It's my fault for not considering it carefully. At this time, I should escort the lady back to her residence first."

Fiona's slightly angry mood was immediately calmed down after hearing this. She put her hand on Arthur's palm: "I came all the way from London to help you kidnap someone. At least you still have a conscience."