The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 790: Chapter 371: The Return of Waterloo Story (6K)_4

“You’re joking, there’s no certainty of coming out unscathed on the battlefield. Did the Duke himself know before Waterloo that he would defeat Napoleon? Just like Officer Bonaparte said, Napoleon belittled the Duke to steady his troops’ resolve. You giving me this same sort of nonsense, it’s also meant to comfort me,”

Plunkett stood up with his pipe in his mouth, not realizing until he rose just how much taller and larger he was compared to Arthur: “However, although you’re treating me like a naive kid, I must admit, I do like your spirit. Do you know why?”

Arthur raised an eyebrow: “Why?”

Plunkett laughed heartily: “On the battlefield, soldiers typically categorize officers into two kinds. One type shouts, ‘Follow me!’ The other issues commands, ‘Charge for me!’ Sir, personally, I don’t think ‘Charge for me’ suits a leader. Meanwhile, I’m pleased that you belong to the former category. I don’t need any papers, because the words you just spoke are enough for me and the brothers of the 95th. I now truly believe all that talk about you in the hall was nonsense, and I will convey your attitude to every member of the Phantom Squad. I trust they’ll be very pleased.”

Arthur asked with a smile, “Are you sure? The task I assigned you includes not only the Duke of Wellington but also that assistant undersecretary from the Foreign Office, the one from Germany.”

“Oh, he’s Deutsch?” Plunkett, twirling the stubble on his chin and smiling, said: “Please don’t tell me he used to serve in the Brunswick regiment.”

Louis flipped through Schneider’s file and replied, “Schneider didn’t serve in the Brunswick regiment, but his father was indeed a Brunswick cavalryman at the Battle of Waterloo, commanded by the Duke of Brunswick, Friedrich Wilhelm.”

“Heh!” Plunkett slapped the holster on his hip: “He’d better be well-behaved, otherwise he’ll have to atone for the sins his father committed.”

Upon hearing this, Arthur took out another bottle of wine from the cabinet and handed it to Plunkett: “Does the 95th have a grudge against the Brunswick cavalry?”

“No big vendetta,” Plunkett took a puff from his pipe: “We simply despise them for eating dog meat.”

Louis, looking puzzled, said, “What’s their eating dog got to do with the 95th?”

Plunkett emptied his pipe into the ashtray: “Originally, their eating dog had nothing to do with us. But one day, we discovered that our regiment’s little dog ‘Repeater’ had suddenly gone missing. This poor pup was picked up from the side of the road, and it survived many battles with us, often running around barking to express its joy, bringing us some comfort amidst the brutal war. So when ‘Repeater’ disappeared, we spent an entire afternoon searching for it. Now, guess where we finally found it?”

Arthur and Louis exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of mischief in the other’s eyes.

Spitting forcefully on the ground, Plunkett rolled up his sleeves and cursed: “Those damned Brunswick bastards! I’ve been wanting to give them a taste of our bullets for some time. He’d better not slip up, or I’ll stew him in a pot!”