Shadow of great britain

After Auschwitz, even writing poetry was barbaric.

——Theodor Adorno

"August, you look good. So, your mission in Munich should have been a success? Did you get the information you wanted?"

In a small private room in the underground wine cellar of Göttingen City Hall, Arthur raised his beer glass and touched it lightly with Schneider.

Schneider took a sip of beer, then carefully cut the pork knuckle on the dinner plate with a knife and fork, picked up a fat and thick piece and put it in his mouth.

Looking at the way he was eating, it was clear that this capable man of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was very hungry.

Schneider ate several slices of pork knuckle, then wiped his greasy lips with a napkin and said, "I have heard a lot of news, but it may not be what Viscount Palmerston wants."

When Arthur heard the news, he couldn't help but picked up Viscount Palmerston's nickname in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and joked: "Then you are probably finished. How many whips are you going to get from the overseer?"

"That doesn't sound too bad. It's better to get a few whippings from the minister than to be around a bunch of Bavarians."

"Okay, no more joking." Arthur restrained his smile and said: "Although it is not polite to ask for information so straightforwardly, please understand that as the special national representative of the University of Göttingen, I really want to know about the Confederacy. No new resolutions were introduced that would affect my work tasks.”

Schneider took a sip of wine, put one hand on the back of the chair and breathed a long sigh of relief: "Of course I will not forget my old friend. I did get some interesting information in Munich, including Göttingen There are indeed many related ones.”

"For example?"

"For example..." Schneider raised his eyebrows and squinted his eyes: "My dear Arthur, you'd better pay more attention to the two university sextons under you."

"The sexton of the university? You mean Mr. Dolles and Mr. Schaefer?"

University sexton is a unique position among German universities. This position has not been established for too long. Speaking of which, they are also related to Arthur's current position as a national special representative.

Because the position of university sexton was established by the "Carlsbad Resolution" passed by the German Confederation Congress in 1819, and the national special representative was established by the "Carlsbad Resolution Amendment" passed by the Confederation Congress some time ago.

Analyzing from the organizational structure of the university, the president of the university manages professors, lecturers and students by leading the academic committee, and is responsible for formulating daily work plans such as teaching and research. After the plan is formulated, the institution responsible for implementing the established plan and reporting to the principal is the Academic Affairs Office.

Unlike principals who focus on teaching tasks, special national representatives focus on political work. Therefore, all departments involved in ideology and punishment are required to report to the national special representative. This means that departments such as the Student Disciplinary Committee, the University Tribunal and the University Press are all under his jurisdiction.

However, since these departments usually have their own work to deal with, as a special representative of the country who is as important as the president, he naturally has a set of administrative staff directly under him, which is the university sexton.

The duties of the sextons were simple: first, they had to keep a close eye on the students and prohibit them from dueling in the Place Povedon. Secondly, one must be ever vigilant that new ideas that have been kept away for decades by the quarantine station in Göttingen are not allowed to be smuggled in from elsewhere by some speculative private lecturer.

But it is a pity that the good results achieved by the two distinguished sextons of the University of Göttingen, Messrs. Schaefer and Dolles, who have worked for several years, were completely destroyed by their superiors in one month.

First of all, Superintendent Hastings took the lead in the duel in Poveden Square. Secondly, although he did not smuggle private lecturers with new ideas from elsewhere, judging from the current situation, he himself is a guy with new ideas, and He also approved the induction of a new private instructor directly, bypassing the two sextons.

From an ideological point of view, both sextons believed that Superintendent Hastings was definitely a liberal. But from the perspective of means, his method of bypassing the resolution was too authoritarian.

Schneider muttered while eating: "Don't blame me for not reminding you, there are several small reports about you in the intelligence department of the German Confederation. Some people say that the new proctor of the University of Göttingen is an authoritarian liberal."

Arthur took a sip of red wine, savoring the slightly sweet taste of country wine lingering on his lips and teeth: "It doesn't sound too bad. This title is better than liberal authoritarian."

"Really?" Schneider asked seriously: "Is there any difference between the two?"

"The difference is huge."

Arthur explains: “Autocratic liberals may believe in the value of individual liberty, democratic principles, and market mechanisms, but they believe that specific historical conditions require strong measures, even authoritarian means, to achieve these goals As for liberal authoritarians, they are those who recognize the importance of a certain degree of open freedom to social stability and economic development, and therefore may allow limited freedom of speech, religion, or freedom of speech. Other forms of individual freedom as part of their governing strategy, the former emphasizes freedom and equality in the end result, while the latter may focus more on stability and efficiency in the process.”

"Hmm..." Schneider chewed the pork knuckle, thinking, and slowly swallowed the food down his throat: "Then which one are you?"

"Despotic liberals..." Arthur responded decisively, but after taking a sip of wine, he thought again: "Or liberal authoritarians."

After hearing this, Schneider smiled and waved his napkin at Arthur and said: "After you finish this mess in Göttingen, you'd better go back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and help me share the whip. This is what Viscount Palmerston likes like you. Talent.”

Having said this, Schneider seemed to be interested. He opened the door mysteriously and took a look outside. Then he returned to his seat and sat down. He buried his head and said in a low voice: "I also got a lot of interesting people in Munich." "Pu Bagua, do you want to hear it?"

"Who is it related to?"

"Austria Prime Minister Metternich!"

"Mrs. Leven finally abandoned Viscount Palmerston and completely fell into the arms of Metternich?"

"Oh..." Schneider smiled mischievously: "I don't ask for such dirty gossip. The news I heard was about Metternich and the former Prussian Foreign Minister Benstorff."

"Um?"

Arthur couldn't help but make a bold guess after hearing this, but after guessing for a while, he still felt that his guess was too bold: "It seems that this gossip is indeed unreliable."

Schneider continued with a smile: "It's really unreliable, because who would believe that the Prussian foreign minister would be dismissed because of a small trick played by Metternich?"

Disappointed, Arthur shook his head slightly and said: "Is Benstov's resignation related to Metternich? Even if we don't take into account the poor diplomatic relations between Prussia and Austria, how can the Austrian Prime Minister influence Prussia's personnel appointments?"

Schneider laughed and said: "This is the ridiculous part. Prussian Foreign Minister Benstorff and Metternich have always been at odds with each other in dealing with the liberal revolution. Benstorff believed that Brunswick, Hanover and other German states The local troubles had little to do with France and revolutionary ideas, but rather poverty, hunger, impetuousness of individual officials and leaders, and ill-advised administration that were more to blame.

Benstov felt that if the army was sent to suppress the excusable rebellion of the already destitute poor, it would not only lead to the soldiers being contaminated by foreign revolutionary ideas, but also cause the army to suffer from low morale, so he refused to consider any military intervention. For the same reason, he also opposed Metternich's formation of a pan-German military force to resist a possible French invasion at any time and to intervene in France at the appropriate time.

Because of Benstorff's attitude, when the July Revolution broke out in France, he adopted the advice of the Prussian ambassador to Paris, Heinrich von Witte, and immediately recognized Louis-Philippe and supported the new government in Paris. to prevent the situation from developing into a worse direction.

Metternich was diametrically opposed to Benstorf's view. Although Austria also recognized the new French government, he believed that the July Revolution was just a rebirth of the 1789 revolution, and that the wrong and bad principle of popular sovereignty had already declared itself. victory. At this Munich Conference, Metternich denounced the representatives of the German states. He claimed that this victory was aided and abetted by various countries, especially Britain and Prussia, which showed weakness by recognizing the change of French dynasty.

Metternich also believed that our independent solution to the Belgian crisis was simply appalling and disgusting because on the one hand it encouraged the rebels and on the other hand it undermined the Vienna system established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. "

Arthur picked up a napkin and wiped his hands: "It sounds like Lord Metternich is quite angry. In that case, why doesn't he let Austria recruit enough soldiers to resist the French?"

Schneider blinked at Arthur, and he smiled evilly: "Come on, Arthur, you know Metternich can't do it. The Habsburg royal family is almost bankrupt, if they don't mind letting the Austrian public debt become If it’s rubbish, you can continue to expand your army.”

"Is that why he wants to win over the Prussians and the Russians? The Tsar may have the same aspirations as him, but there is Benstov on the Prussian side, so Metternich deliberately wants to get rid of the Prussian foreign minister? "

"That's right." Schneider said, "I didn't expect that our small fortune in Italy would lead to such a big turmoil."

"Huh? What does this have to do with us?"

Schneider replied: "You should know that since the July Revolution, hundreds of political pamphlets have been published in various German states, and all of Germany is in a state of boiling. Belgian independence, the Polish Uprising and last year The riots in Paris and London contributed to the situation. Societies and associations that supported freedom of the press and called for the implementation of constitutional government sprung up.

These men rejoiced in the Polish resistance to Russian oppression and, in defiance of the authorities, openly sang poems praising the freedom fighters of Paris and Poland. I heard that in the past two years, the Mainz Intelligence Office's files recording the activities of secret societies have increased by 80,000 pages. Based on this, Metternich warned Wittgenstein, the de facto Prime Minister of Prussia, that the revolution was approaching us at a speed of one mile per step.

At the Munich Conference, he dismissed Benstorff's view that there was no real revolution in Germany as unappetizing nonsense. Benstorf originally planned to debate him the next day, but that night, Benstorf was suddenly recalled to the country by a transfer order from Prussia. Later we learned that a letter from the Austrian Emperor to the Prussian King Frederick William III had been found in Benstorf's office. Benstorff was accused of opening the king's private letters without permission, and was dismissed from his post by the furious king. "

"This..." Arthur felt quite guilty when he heard this topic.

Not for anything else, but because when he was at Scotland Yard, he had done a lot of privately opening letters.

But when I thought about it, the incident of Benstorf's dismissal was obviously different from the activities he had done, especially the time when the incident occurred was such a coincidence.

Arthur asked: "Could the gossip you are talking about mean that the opened letter was actually placed in Benstorff's office by someone sent by Metternich?"

"That's it." Schneider chuckled: "In Germany, where absolutism is prevalent, there is nothing more cunning in the political arena than this. Isn't it just opening a letter? You know, Viscount Palmerston..."

"Um?"

"Oh..." Schneider covered his mouth in surprise: "Look what stupid thing I said."

Arthur could tell at a glance that this guy was acting, and he acted so poorly on purpose.

Opening the king's letter and leaving it privately is not a small crime anywhere. If we insist that doing so in Britain is a lighter crime than in Germany, it is simply because the monarch here still holds great power, so he is more sensitive.

As for Palmerston's interception of the letter, even if Schneider didn't mention it, Arthur still vaguely knew about it.

Because when he went to the Royal Mail to 'pick up' letters, he often met fellow travelers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At that time, Arthur was still lamenting that the efficiency of the Royal Mail was so low that even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to come to pick up the parcel. But looking back now, it turns out that this is just human nature.

Schneider deliberately leaked the information, simply because he wanted to show Arthur that he knew many secrets. And for diplomats, the secret is money and power.

Arthur lightly exposed the dirty work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked: "After Benstov was dismissed, did anyone follow Metternich's initiative?"

Schneider shook his head: "If you are talking about the establishment of a pan-German armed force, no one responds to this aspect. The German states are not stupid. They cannot provide money and effort, and then hand over the command of the army to the German Confederation. Because Everyone knows that the Confederation is actually controlled by Austria. However, due to the news of the Italian Revolution during the meeting, the states still agreed to strengthen cooperation in other aspects."

"For example?"

"Things like illegal immigration and border controls."

Schneider said: "You should know that the failure of the Polish uprising last year sparked riots in Paris. Parisians strongly demanded that the government send troops to support Poland. In Germany, demonstrations against the Czar broke out almost across the country. And Since Germany borders Poland, most of the Polish soldiers who failed in the uprising fled across the border to Germany, and these people received warm hospitality wherever they went.

Everyone, whether they were citizens or peasants, brought Polish soldiers to beer halls or their own houses and treated them to drinks and meals. A Prussian officer of my acquaintance told me that he was then stationed in Mainz. The citizens there believe that it would be unusual if a Pole was not knocked down in their city. At least when I went out on the streets, I never saw a Pole who was sober.

He also joked with me that these fugitives were especially popular with women, so much so that many scoundrels specially obtained a Polish military uniform and deliberately spoke broken German on the streets. In those early months, the Polish military uniform was even more effective than the pass obtained from the police chief, allowing all criminals to pass through any area of ​​Germany unimpeded.

In order to prevent the spillover of the Italian Revolution and to strictly guard against the flow of refugees similar to the Polish Uprising, as well as the new ideas and revolutionary enthusiasm they brought with them. Nearly all Confederate members agreed to greater cooperation in policing, intelligence and other areas. They also set up a Central Police Intelligence Committee of the German Confederation. "

At this point, Schneider sighed with some gloating: "I must say that all the professors and students at the University of Göttingen must be grateful that the Kingdom of Hanover and Britain formed a monarchy. Otherwise, according to the work intensity of this committee, , They have been in bad luck these days.”

"What happened these days?"

"What happened?" Schneider exclaimed: "They created dossiers for every university lecturer and professor in the kingdom!"

Arthur didn't seem surprised at all. He ate his meal quietly: "It does sound too much."

“And Professor Bell of the University of Würzburg was sentenced to 15 years in prison, Professor Jordan of the University of Marburg was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and five professors were prosecuted for treason and sentenced to go to military fortresses. Serve."

When Arthur heard this, he stood up and said, "Then this is indeed too much. What did they say?"

"It was nothing more than words that made the king and the Confederate representatives feel threatened."

Schneider smiled: "But what is even more ridiculous is the news from the University of Tübingen. A group of students broke the window of the president's office because their president was a conservative member of the Württemberg Parliament. At this juncture, University administration is not easy to do. If you sing about freedom, you will go to jail, and if you support the Confederacy resolution, you will be attacked by students. Therefore, smart people usually choose to hold a European electromagnetics conference at this time."

Arthur talked to him carelessly: "That's just casual, but if possible, I would still like to talk to you about border control and illegal immigration."

Schneider had no idea of ​​Arthur's intentions. He just thought that Arthur just didn't want to talk about his little thoughts: "What? Now you want to get some Polish military uniforms and show the charm of freedom to the ladies in Göttingen?" "

Arthur cut off a piece of elbow with a knife and fork and put it on Schneider's plate: "Polish military uniforms have long been out of season, but I can get a few Italian military uniforms. August, are you interested in this matter?"