The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1294: Chapter 169: Both Policemen, Yet Worlds Apart (3)

Bismarck couldn’t help but ask, “Did those two girls succeed?”

Shubinsky looked at Bismarck sadly, not saying a word, but his silence was already the best answer.

Arthur stirred the newly served cup of tea, “Otto, why bother asking for trouble? Haven’t you read the newspapers? Tsar Nicholas I is different from his gentle brother the ‘Holy King’; he is an iron-willed emperor born to achieve great things. It’s best not to trouble him with such trifles.”

Shubinsky, with a mournful expression, said, “Artie, you must help me. I can’t find anyone else to turn to.”

Arthur didn’t believe Shubinsky’s nonsense, just as Shubinsky wouldn’t believe him either.

Yet he maintained a look of sympathy for Shubinsky, “Sergei, I understand you, but I still think you’re being a bit paranoid. On such an occasion today, with the King of Saxon, our Duke of Sussex, and a bunch of high officials and nobles of the Saxon Kingdom present, how could the Polish possibly mix in? This is Leipzig, not Liverpool.”

Bismarck followed Arthur’s words, “Sir, I think the same. We didn’t see any Polish people there. If not for Sir seeing his old friend and insisting on going downstairs to catch up, perhaps we would be happily drinking with those students by now.”

Shubinsky persisted, “What… what did you talk about over drinks? Did they mention anyone called Sungurov?”

“Sungurov?” Bismarck recalled, “Not Sungurov, but I remember there was someone named Ogarov in the room.”

“Ogarov?!” Shubinsky exclaimed as if grabbing a lifeline, “Yes! That’s right, Ogarov is one of the leaders!”

Bismarck saw Shubinsky’s reaction and immediately had a sense of trouble.

Although he disliked liberals, he also disliked being an informant. Such behavior didn’t align with his concept of the German nobility spirit.

Even if he acted as a Gestapo under Arthur, Bismarck’s actions of leaking information were still restrained. He hated his middle-class classmates but preferred defeating them in the dueling arena over having the police arrest them.

He was still young and had not witnessed many sordid political deals, and his young, somewhat ethereal sense of morality did not permit him to do too base things.

One major reason Bismarck bowed to Arthur in the Gestapo was that, based on his observations over the past few months, this secret police chief from Britain was incredibly eccentric; it was hard to say why he gathered intelligence on student activities. He never acted on this information to make arrests, nor did he condemn any student for assembly crimes.

His relentless gathering of information everywhere seemed more like a hobby, like a sewer rat collecting, or a cockroach slipping into any crack.

But this Russian secret police in front of him was different. Despite the sugar-coated words, the underlying intent to put people to death was unmistakably clear.

Bismarck hesitated, not knowing whether to betray his newly met Russian friend.

Fortunately, Arthur did not put him in a difficult position. Shubinsky’s pitiful act not only failed to win Arthur’s sympathy but also allowed Arthur to seize his weakness.

“Since Ogarov is the student leader of a conspiracy to rebel, you should have arrested him when you were in Moscow. Sergei, how could you let him get to Leipzig? If he escapes, you deserve to be held responsible.”

Shubinsky, seeing through his ruse, quickly reorganized his words to try to fill the gap, “Sorry, I didn’t make it clear earlier. Although Ogarov is associated with Sungurov, we currently have no evidence proving he joined the secret society organized by Sungurov.”

Arthur pressed on, swearing not to let Shubinsky leave without answers, “What is Sungurov’s society?”

Shubinsky frowned, disliking Arthur’s forcefulness, “Arthur, I can’t say much about that part.”

“Alright, if you insist, Sergei.” Arthur removed his gloves and threw them on the table, “When I transfer to the Russian Embassy, it’s no big deal; I’ll investigate myself.”

“Transfer to the Russian Embassy?” Shubinsky was taken aback, “Aren’t you the Academic Director at the University of Gottingen?”

“I am now, but I can’t stay in education forever.” Arthur smiled helplessly, “Do you know who the new British Ambassador to Russia is?”

“The Earl of Dalmo.”

“That’s right, he’s like a mentor to me.”

Arthur sipped his tea, “Lord Brougham and the Earl of Dalmo were among the main sponsors when the University of London was founded. I was quite good at Russian history during my university days, so the Earl of Dalmo feels I might be quite useful under his command. Once the constitutional reform in the Kingdom of Hanover is complete, my appointment should come through. Cultural Counselor at the British Embassy in Russia, Sergei, we will surely have plenty of opportunities to interact in the future. As a Cultural Counselor, I will certainly have to go to Moscow University for cultural exchanges between the two countries.”

Hearing this, Shubinsky’s forehead was immediately beaded with sweat.

He had originally thought Arthur had nothing to do with Russia, so he had boldly shared some Russian affairs with him.

But if Arthur was about to work in Russia, then…

The sensitive topics he talked about today were numerous, and some even sounded like dissatisfaction with the Tsar…

It’s over!

Shubinsky was drenched in sweat, beginning to ramble, “Arthur, congratulations, congratulations, I suppose this counts as a promotion for you? Haha, I thought I would be advancing further, but it turns out you’ve moved one step faster this time. By the way, those Polish people, Liverpool, Sungurov and his group are really damned! Did you know? The group organized by Sungurov considers themselves successors to the Decembrists, these damned traitors even have links with the Poles; for their so-called freedom, they’re willing to sell out their country’s interests, heading to align with foreign forces. Of course, Arthur, I don’t mean you by ‘foreign forces.’ Come, another drink, to the friendship between Russia and Britain…”

Arthur stared at Shubinsky for a long time, until he saw the sweat trickling from his temples, and then he chuckled softly, raising his glass to clink with Shubinsky’s.

Just as Shubinsky was about to drink it all to show respect, Arthur’s words startled him so much that he almost dropped the glass.

“Sergei, are there pretty Polish girls in Moscow? I’m quite interested in learning Polish.”