Shadow of great britain

Cooking a good meal equals doing one good deed every day. Eat not just to live, but to enjoy life.

——Alexandre Dumas

On a cold autumn night, the sun had already set, and gas lamps were lit on the streets, casting dim light on the cobblestones.

In an elegant two-story building at No. 76 Weinde Street, warm light shines through the windows, revealing the warmth of home.

The layout of the house is quite characteristic of a German middle-class family, with some landscape paintings hanging on the walls and a piano placed in the corner. There is also a bookshelf placed directly opposite the dining table, which is filled with a dazzling array of books collected by various owners, including historical records, literary scripts, and monographs on natural philosophy. However, the most conspicuous place on the bookshelf is undoubtedly the various fashion novels published by "The British".

Not far from the living room is the kitchen, which is emitting a warm yellow light. The stove in the kitchen was burning brightly, the fire was crackling, the charcoal in the oven was emitting a faint smoke, and the air was filled with the alluring aroma of stewed meat and spices.

A variety of spices and pickled products hang in a corner of the kitchen, such as sun-dried sausages, sun-dried tomatoes and homemade pickles. These are all part of a home stockpile, ensuring delicious ingredients are available even in winter.

The fussy fat French chef is wearing a white chef's uniform and a tall chef's hat.

His movements were quick and skillful, with one hand methodically stirring the rich beef stew in the pot with a large spoon, and occasionally taking out a small spoon to taste it.

As for his other hand, he directed his other chefs to check the potatoes boiling in another small pot on the stove next to him.

As the water bubbled, the small pot made a gurgling sound. When the lid was opened, white steam came out, and a mouth-watering aroma suddenly filled the kitchen.

Several young maids, also from Paris, were also busy in the kitchen.

The maids were dressed in simple gray dresses and white scarves, with a look of concentration on their faces.

Their task is to prepare vegetables, and some are concentrating on peeling carrots and then cutting them into uniform small pieces. Others are washing fresh green leafy vegetables just picked from the garden, gently separating the leaves one by one and carefully checking for bugs or impurities.

The beautiful lady with one-eighth German ancestry, one-eighth French ancestry and three-quarters Russian ancestry has also joined this busy battle. As a Russian woman, even a Russian woman who has emigrated abroad, can Whether you can make a delicious pot of borscht is still an important criterion for measuring your virtuousness.

Fiona put on a simple house dress from the market to protect her delicate clothes from getting stained. Then he solemnly rolled up his sleeves and ordered the maids to take out fresh beetroots, carrots, onions and a few potatoes. Then he skillfully washed, peeled and cut the beetroots into thin strips, and the carrots and potatoes were also cut into small pieces. block spare.

When all the vegetables are ready, Fiona gently adds them to the boiling stock, along with some tomato paste to add sourness, one of the distinctive flavors of borscht. After the soup was stirred evenly and bursts of aroma came out, she sprinkled in a handful of fresh bay leaves and a few grains of black pepper to add a rich layer of flavor to the soup.

And if you want to make a delicious borscht, every Russian family has its own tricks. The secret of Ivan’s family is a few special ingredients: chopped fresh parsley, sour cream and a small dish of minced garlic.

Fiona knew that later, when the guests gathered around the table, everyone could add these ingredients to suit their own tastes.

The position next to the Russian female cook belongs to the Italians.

In most Italian families, the mother is the heart and soul of the kitchen. But unfortunately, there are no mothers in the Italian kitchen in Göttingen. Today it is their sons who always make a mess.

After a long period of fussing and dancing, these sailor's sons, each of whom was well-off in the Italian states, finally reached a consensus that, at least in their family, fresh herbs, olive oil, pasta and dry Cheese is a must.

Garibaldi pounded fresh tomatoes hard and concentrated on making his favorite Italian classic family tomato sauce.

Several young Italian boys were also busy cleaning green leafy spinach, bright purple eggplant and emerald green zucchini.

Others are complaining about a large piece of cheese that is not produced in Parmesan. The Italians insist that the quality of German cheese is not as good as that of Italy.

With a click, the door opened, and the dusty Arthur had just returned from the office.

He took off his heavy coat and hung it on the coat rack in the hall. When he walked into the restaurant, he saw that the dining table had been covered with a clean linen tablecloth, the silver tableware was neatly arranged, and the glass wine glasses were crystal clear.

He walked into the kitchen and put the fresh bread he had just bought from the market on the table. He asked the cook and the cooks if they needed help, but he was obviously even more unpopular in the kitchen than under the Tower of London.

The aggressive girls in Paris bluntly said that he had better not get in the way. Fiona told him that dinner would be ready soon. The Italian boys were also afraid that the addition of the British would ruin the feng shui of the kitchen. Only Alexandre Dumas threw it away all the way away. Give him a washed cucumber so that he can take two bites of Dianba Dianba when he is hungry.

Arthur left the kitchen angrily, wandered around the living room, and then went straight to the study.

But what he didn't expect was that the atmosphere in the study was actually more tense than in the kitchen.

Two Jewish boys occupied the north and south corners of the study respectively. Each of them had a mortar. Judging from the smell in the room, they were assigned tasks such as grinding basil, oregano and rosemary, which are commonly used in the kitchen. of spices.

Although these two gentlemen would certainly not admit it, in Arthur's opinion, they both belonged to the same type of people.

First of all, they both had great ambitions. One longed to be the Caesar of Britain, and the other longed to be the Moses who pointed the way for Germany to cross the sea.

Secondly, they both have a strong desire to win and self-esteem. One dared to ridicule all the members who looked down on him when he first took the stage in the House of Commons, and the other is an authority in the field of German anorectal.

In the end, while taking into account their ideals, they were both willing to accept the reality, for example: they were both proselytizers.

However, two people who are so similar are incompatible with each other. This can indeed be called a strange thing in the world.

"Good evening, Arthur. If it weren't for you, I would have thought I was in a madhouse."

"Thank you for bringing a little fresh air into the study, and look what I discovered today? Something stinkers than the Thames!"

"Oh, I understand you, Mr. Disraeli. He who smells too much hemorrhoids cannot smell the sweet scent of freedom."

"Oh, I understand you too, Dr. Heine. In the eyes of madmen, normal people are crazy. I recommend you to go to Bethlem Royal Hospital for medical treatment. There are many of your kind there."

Arthur dragged a chair and sat down: "Okay, gentlemen, be quiet. This is not the hall of the Palace of Westminster, and you are not hooligans who like to quarrel there."

Heine took advantage of the opportunity and said: "I'm sorry, Arthur, I don't mean to criticize your memory. But I must clarify for Mr. Disraeli that he is indeed a member of that national-level criminal gang, although he himself may Arguing that he was kidnapped."

Disraeli fired back dismissively: "Only villains are interested in trivial matters. People with dead brains complain about fate, while people with lively brains believe in opportunities and attack decisively. And this is me. The biggest difference between people like Arthur and you.”

"I agree with this." Heine countered: "It's just that I would rather organize a happy family with a small cup of truth, goodness and beauty than a boring family with several large pieces of boat furniture. Smart people launch new products Thoughts, fools spread it widely. I never choose easy things to do, and this is the biggest difference between me and people like Arthur."

"I also agree with your point of view." Disraeli refuted: "But wise people know that things we predict rarely happen, but things we least expect often happen. Arthur and I We all hope for the best, but we also prepare for the worst.”

"You are right." Heine mocked: "Stars like you are very smart. They have reason to stay away from our world and hang high on the sky, like the lights of the world, always safe. And I and I Although meteors like Arthur will eventually fall to the ground, we will not be discouraged by the shining moment."

Arthur originally didn't want to talk to them, but Heine and Disraeli insisted on taking him along with them. This made the spy chief who neither liked being hung in the sky nor falling on the ground very dissatisfied.

"Allow me to be presumptuous, but don't you both agree with the other's point of view? In that case, what other reason do you have to quarrel?"

"Agree? This is really ridiculous. It sounds like Mr. Carter's three-volume novel. It cannot be discussed on the table at all."

"Arthur, I thought you were a poetic person, but now it seems that you still lack understanding."

Both of them were very dissatisfied with Arthur's views. Disraeli and Heine, who were bound to compete today, asked Arthur to take sides.

"Come on, tell me, is it better to be a star that watches over the world, or is it better to be a shooting star that eats mud and leaves a big hole in the ground?"

"I think Arthur has already given the answer with his actual actions. He fell into the mud and it was a meteor."

"That's nonsense! He fell to the ground, but that doesn't stop him from rising again. If you open the window and open your eyes, he's hanging fine in the sky in Hanover!"

After saying this, Disraeli opened the window with a roar, pointed to the brightest star in the sky outside the window and asked: "Come on, Arthur, tell him, what star is that?"

Arthur glanced out the window, shook his head secretly and said: "That's not one star, but seven stars. The Ursa Major constellation is also called the Big Dipper in the east. Benjamin, if I hadn't learned a skill from Mr. Gauss at the observatory during this period, It might really make you wonder."

"Did you hear that?" Disraeli, who felt he had the upper hand, exclaimed, "Look up and see the Big Dipper!"

Arthur sighed and turned to Heine: "Forget it, let's talk about railway investment first."

"Railway investment?" Disraeli suddenly caught the key word. Although it was important to compete with Heine, railway investment was obviously more important.

The Great Western Railway shares that he and Arthur and others bought last year have skyrocketed this year, but even so, Disraeli still has no intention of selling it, because according to the calculations of professionals in the City of Finance, after the Great Western Railway is opened to traffic, the annual dividend is likely to be as high as 20%.

With such a high return on investment, the railway industry today is simply the East India Company of the new era.

Those who took the opportunity to cash out railway stocks are simply the most amateur investors in the world and the stupidest people in the world.

If there is a chance, Disraeli will not only not sell, but will continue to increase his holdings.

After the three-volume novel "The Young Duke" was sold in London and Paris this year, Mr. Disraeli still has some spare money.

As for Heine, this guy is obviously more swift than Disraeli.

Although his life was once in a state of hardship after his uncle cut off his funding, fortunately he still had the English copyrights of several books that had not been sold, so he mortgaged the distribution rights of these books to Arthur early, exchanged for 600 pounds in cash, and invested in Lister's railway project.

As for where the 600 pounds in cash Heine exchanged came from, it must not be difficult to guess.

However, as a traitor poet publicly accused by the German Confederation, it seems not surprising that Heine has a connection with the Italian Revolution. If he has no connection with that group of people, it would be surprising.

As for Mr. Disraeli, although Arthur did not clearly tell him who those Italians were.

But with his intelligence and Garibaldi's straightforward character, he should have known part of the truth of the matter.

Compared with the Germans' fear of being associated with the young Italy, when Disraeli discovered the true identity of Garibaldi and others, he was simply overjoyed. After all, in Britain, although the government had different views on the Italian and Polish revolutions, public opinion was overwhelmingly on the side of Italy and Poland.

At this point, the citizens of Paris and London rarely stood in the same trench, and they also supported the freedom fighters of the two countries to overthrow their tyrants.

However, due to the political control of the French government, most French politicians would hardly express radical views on the Italian and Polish issues.

But it was different in Britain. There were many people in the parliament who firmly supported and opposed the revolutions in the two places.

Although Disraeli disdained some of the programs that Mazzini had established for this organization, Mazzini had stirred up such a big commotion in Italy with just a pen, which still made this young politician who aspired to become Caesar find something desirable.

Disraeli once vaguely revealed his thoughts to Arthur. This guy felt that he was weak in the Tory Party with his own strength. Therefore, he also planned to organize a force loyal to him personally, just like the Huskisson faction, the Peel faction, the Canning faction and the Royalist faction in the Tory Party.

And the name of this organization is suspected to be riding on the popularity of Young Italy.

Disraeli called it-Young England.

As for why Disraeli chose Mazzini's route, according to Disraeli himself, it was entirely because young people were easy to fool.

This applies not only to young people in cities and villages, but also to young nobles.

Mazzini can do this with his pen, so there is no reason why Mr. Disraeli, the Tory Party's literary leader, cannot replicate his success.

Ding Ding Dong Dong.

The maid Miss Clara opened the door.

Bismarck, dressed in formal clothes, stood in front of the door with a few good friends and spoke a little nervously.

"Please tell Professor Hastings that we are here for tutoring."