The Shadow of Great Britain

243: Chapter 164: Meeting in London?

243: Chapter 164: Meeting in London?

Arthur invited Chief Field into the room, but before he even had a chance to settle into his seat, he suddenly heard Great Dumas, who was reading the newspaper while eating candy, slap the table and exclaim, “Damn it all!

I bet you Brits are up to no good again.”

“What’s happened?”

Arthur took the newspaper from Great Dumas’s hands, and with just a glance at the headlines, a meaningful expression crossed his face.

“The new Prime Minister, Earl Charles Grey, delivers a speech in the House of Commons adjusting foreign policy and officially announces the new Cabinet”

——Earl Grey: The July Revolution in France is yet another great victory for the progressive forces of Europe; Britain will stand as a steadfast ally beside our old friend France.

“The newly appointed Foreign Secretary Viscount Palmerston delivers an impassioned speech on the day he takes office”

——Viscount Palmerston: In this moment of peril, the people of Paris have once again defended the French values of liberty and democracy, and I sincerely wish them even greater achievements in the future.

“Dutch troops and Belgian independence forces clash in the Antwerp area, with the Belgian War of Independence entering its third month”

“The Kingdom of Prussia plans to send reinforcements to its brother nation, the Netherlands, to help quickly suppress the Belgian rebellion”

“Tsar Nicholas I of Russia intends to intervene in the Dutch-Belgian civil war; if Prussia sends troops to attack Belgium, Russia will provide strong support”

“The Kingdom of the Netherlands issues a declaration: The Netherlands cannot tolerate Belgian separatists acting wildly and unchecked”

“France issues a stern statement: If Prussian troops attack Belgium from the east, France will send troops from the west”

“The French Army officially entered Belgium last week to assist in combat; King Louis Philippe of France: We have no intention of interfering with Belgian independence, but France will absolutely not allow other powers to meddle in Belgian internal affairs”

“King William I of the Netherlands: The Netherlands is willing to accept British intervention and mediation under certain conditions, and strongly demands a conference to resolve the Belgian issue as soon as possible”

“The Belgian Parliament’s vote results are in; independent Belgium will establish a monarchy and has invited Prince Nemours, son of King Louis Philippe of France, to become the King of Belgium”

“Foreign Secretary Viscount Palmerston delivers an urgent speech in the House of Commons: Prince Nemours accepting the Belgian throne could lead to war in Europe”

“Prince Nemours of France, after deep reflection, declines the Belgian throne; Prince Nemours: I am grateful for the love of the Belgian people, but my heart belongs to France”

“The new Continental Coordination Conference will convene next week in London, with representatives from Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, and France openly discussing the Belgian issue”

“Age is no barrier to ambition!

The new French ambassador to Britain is announced; the sixty-year-old Talleyrand returns to the fray”

——Former Chairman of the Ministerial Council and Foreign Secretary, the distinguished French diplomat and politician Talleyrand-Perigord, has recently arrived in London and is believed to be the new Ambassador of the Kingdom of France to Britain.

——Once, Talleyrand was commissioned to draft the infamous Continental System which Napoleon’s government imposed against Britain, but now, Talleyrand, having come into the light, will bring peace to both sides of the English Channel.

“Breaking!

His Grace the Duke of Wellington meets in secret with French Ambassador Talleyrand at his private residence; former Prime Minister on the fast track to reemployment?”

——French Ambassador to Britain Mr.

Talleyrand and the disheartened Duke of Wellington reminisce at Apsley House, where both gentlemen held an in-depth exchange of views on the issue of Belgian independence and shared their opinions with each other.

——According to reliable sources, the meeting overall was relaxed, positive, constructive, and heartening.

Both gentlemen believe that the Belgian issue will be properly resolved, but before that happens, Britain and France must resolve some minor and insignificant differences.

After reading one report after another, Arthur simply shook his head slightly and ironically quipped, “God himself thought these two groups of people needed the English Channel to stay apart, so why force them together?”

Great Dumas stretched lazily, leaned back on his chair, and said, “Right?

I told you, whenever the Brits come over on their own initiative, it’s never for anything good.

The absolute hypocrites in this world are you people.”

To this, Eld, who was nearby, responded disdainfully, “Alexander, you should know that hypocrisy is the most important reason why Britain was able to build an empire on which the sun never sets.”

“Hmm?” Great Dumas crossed his arms, ready to hear the young man’s grand theory, “How so?”

Eld tilted his head back, his nostrils flaring as he declared, “The reason Britain is known as the empire on which the sun never sets is that God does not trust any Englishman in the dark.”

As soon as he said this, all the British in the room burst into uproarious laughter, even the usually reticent Wheatstone and the tense Chief of Police Field, unsettled by his reassignment orders, relaxed a bit.

Arthur, raising an eyebrow, patted Eld on the shoulder and said, “Becoming the empire on which the sun never sets isn’t solely the work of God; Britain’s Alfred the Great also played an instrumental role.”

“Oh!” Upon hearing Arthur mention Alfred, Eld immediately understood what he was getting at, “Are you referring to his famous saying?

‘The laws of the ancestors should be documented and enforced’?

This saying indeed could be considered the beginning of British rule of law.”

Arthur shrugged, “No, Eld, you’re just quoting the first half.

But I forgive you since history isn’t your field of study; you studied classical literature.”

Great Dumas asked, “Then what’s the latter half of the saying?”

Arthur pointed at the newspaper quote from Viscount Palmerston and began, “I thought you might have guessed it, it’s quite clear on the newspaper.”

Hearing this, Great Dumas turned the newspaper over and over again, reading it repeatedly, but he could not find a single word about Alfred the Great.

Seeing his lack of understanding, Arthur had no choice but to spell it out, “What Alfred the Great actually said was: ‘The laws of the ancestors should be documented and enforced, I mean, those that I favor.’”

At this, Great Dumas’s eyes widened as he exclaimed, “Then what about those you don’t favor?”

Flicking a coin with his fingertips, the former ambitious student of the University of London, now a disheartened young man, spoke up.

“We don’t have any we don’t favor, not liking them was something of Alfred the Great’s era.

These days, we only have some unimportant documents that have been lost due to age or poor preservation.

Of course, I’m not talking about all of them, but that’s usually how the Navy Department explains it.

Alexander, as Arthur often says, ‘times are progressing’, so at least everything else should seem to be progressing on the surface.”

Eld had hardly finished speaking when Disraeli, sitting behind him, suddenly slammed his hand on the table and rose.

“Exactly!

Damn it, that’s precisely why we publish magazines and newspapers—to prevent these things from being lost too easily.

Blackwood’s editor must be blind as a bat to reject such good submissions!

Whether it’s ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ or ‘The Pickwick Papers’, in my view, both are works of genius!

If you put these two books alongside ‘Young Duke’ that I’m writing, the three would form a triumvirate like the one in the Roman Empire.

We would be the fashion novel industry’s Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus!”

Hearing this, he couldn’t help but excitedly shout to Arthur, “Arthur, you’ve made the right choice in asking me to run your magazine.

I assure you, this magazine is bound to be an instant hit!

Now that we have the manuscripts and I have the equipment in stock, next, we just need the publication license from the British Literary Association and some fundraising, and we’ll be on our way very soon.”

Leaning on the edge of the table, Arthur said, “I might think of a way to get the publication license; as for the funding, I have shares worth a thousand pounds on hand, and if we pledge them to Rothschild Bank, getting a few hundred pounds wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Besides, Mr.

Rothschild might be interested in investing in our business too.”

Disraeli spoke with excitement, “Isn’t that perfect?

You can contribute a few hundred pounds, and although I’ve lost seven thousand pounds recently, I’ve got a little spare cash to put in.

If we can secure Rothschild’s investment, our magazine will be easily sustainable for three to five years.

Within that time, we should have achieved what we set out to do.”

Shifting the conversation, Arthur said, “Let’s not talk about success just yet, but there’s one thing I must clarify.

According to Scotland Yard’s internal regulations, I can hold shares, but I’m not permitted to be directly involved in the business.”

“What’s the big deal with that?” Great Dumas asked, arching an eyebrow, “Didn’t you just say: if you don’t like them, they’re not laws?”

Bowing his head with a smile, Arthur said, “Alexander, I’m no Alfred the Great, I’m just a police inspector at Scotland Yard.

The laws and regulations aren’t for me to decide, at best, I can only make suggestions.”

With that, Arthur turned back to Field and asked, “Has the person in charge of security for the upcoming Six-Nation London Conference been decided yet?”

Field was taken aback by the question and then shook his head, “You…

you know, for an event like this, everyone would normally be scrambling for the job.

But ever since the unfortunate accident of Mr.

Hesketh being killed by a train, people have started to see this as a hot potato.

Moreover, I’ve heard that the Duke of Wellington is our representative for the upcoming London Conference.

If he were still Prime Minister, protecting him would certainly be a prestigious task, but now things are uncertain…

You know, since the Whig Party came into power, the chiefs of the police stations don’t want to appear too close to the leading figures of the Tory Party…”

Upon hearing this, Arthur reached for his hat on the coat rack, opened the door, and beckoned Field with a wave, “Let’s go.”

Field, puzzled, asked, “It’s late, where are you going?”

With a smile, Arthur replied, “Didn’t you analyze it quite well?

Since it’s a tough job, the inspectors are mostly too busy to take it on, so such a ‘heavy burden’ can only fall on my shoulders.

So, since it’s definitely me, why not go take a look at the conference venue to get familiarized?”