The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1341: Chapter 186: Addicted to Acting (Part 2)

The lot of you Westernizers in Russia, if you don’t know what’s good for you, don’t blame me for siding with the Slavists.

But Arthur, reconsidering, thought that these articles might not have been written by Pushkin himself, but rather the result of Shubinsky and others from the Third Bureau taking the liberty to help ’polish’ them.

The Third Bureau of the Tsar’s Imperial Office and the Secret Intelligence Service of the Royal Greater London Police Department, both organizations like stones in the latrine, even with everyone appearing in blue uniforms and white gloves, still insist on stabbing each other in the back to compare who’s stinkier or tougher—it’s absurd!

Arthur, being the toughest and stinkiest stone of Britain, and coming from a pigsty, naturally had reasons to be angry.

However, anger is anger, as the saying goes, when under someone else’s roof, you have to keep your head down.

Currently trapped in Druiysk and having lost his identification papers, he had to write a letter to be sent to St. Petersburg, asking Shubinsky to seriously handle this British-Russian diplomatic crisis for him.

The officials in Druiysk originally wanted to join Arthur in criticizing Pushkin a bit, but upon hearing that Pushkin’s works were personally reviewed by the Tsar, they all pulled back from the brink and ceased their comments.

It’s common for officials to privately complain about their superiors; it’s nothing unusual.

But anyone who dares say a word against the Emperor clearly believes their living situation is too comfortable and their official position too secure.

Especially since, in front of them, is Hestingov, an officer of the Constitutional Soldiers.

Everyone knows that the reports by the Constitutional Soldiers can go directly to the Emperor’s desk.

Moreover, quite a few among them do believe they hold their positions well and that Russia is stronger than France and Britain.

If Russia wasn’t stronger than France, then why, during the Napoleonic Wars, did France fail to capture St. Petersburg while Russia reached Paris?

If Russia wasn’t stronger than Britain, then why did the British keep insisting on having Russians as allies during the Anti-France War?

The Inspector nodded, saying, ”In Russia, no one lacks a private house. Even beggars wandering away from home leave behind their wooden houses. This situation doesn’t exist in other countries. In Europe, having cows is a sign of wealth, while in Russia, not having cows is a terrifying sign of poverty. Moreover, our peasants have a habit and rule of cleanliness, bathing every Saturday and washing their faces several times a day. Even the poorest peasants in Druiysk are much cleaner than workers in London and Paris. And with the spread of education, this situation will continue to improve.”

Arthur took a sip of tea: ”It seems Aleksey Portnovich is very confident in the work of schools, so let’s start the inspection with the schools.”

Upon Arthur’s words, the Inspector immediately shut his mouth, although Druiysk’s schools had been inspected by the provincial inspector in the past, that was years ago.

Moreover, the national education department had just completed education reform, severing the continuity from elementary textbooks to those of middle and higher education.

Several old teachers with bad tempers at the schools were cursing this matter every day, claiming it had been planned for a long time, and now that textbooks lack continuity, children from ordinary families shouldn’t even think about going to middle or higher education in the future.

Although there is no fault in this logic, if such words reached the ears of an imperial envoy, there’d be big trouble.

He quickly wanted to drag the judge next to him into the mess to help him parry a blow and buy him some time to make arrangements: ”Aleksey Portnovich, how are things set up over there at your court?”

The judge saw through his thoughts at once: ”Over there with us? Of course there’s no problem, if the Colonel is interested in cases like women squabbling, brothers splitting up, or a father-in-law being too affectionate with his daughter-in-law causing the son to be displeased, the City Court is always ready for inspection.”

Arthur tapped the table with his pipe: ”Gentlemen, I’ve made myself quite clear. Coming to the local place, if it’s a strict inspection, who can guarantee they’ve never made any mistakes in their work? If indeed there are no mistakes, it only means you haven’t done any work, not that you are particularly incorruptible. Anyone can talk the talk, but the actual work needs to be done by someone. If you dare not offend people locally, insisting on acting like a nice guy, it only shows the Emperor has chosen the wrong person.”

Arthur took a piece of paper from his small bag: ”Come now, gentlemen, don’t make it difficult for me. If I arrive at the place and can’t find a single mistake, wouldn’t that be like proudly declaring before the Emperor and Count Benkendorf: ’I, Hestingov, am just a worthless fool!’ Gentlemen, I’m not making it hard for you, so please don’t make it hard for me, I have things I need to take back to report.”

Arthur pointed to the mayor and said, ”Come, Mr. Mayor. Your card-playing skills are quite good, so I think your character ought to be fine as well. Give me some examples that can be written down on paper and don’t try to fool me too much.”

”Me?” Bakarjin hesitated for a moment, then said with a self-deprecating smile: ”I’m hardly a virtuous person, but if you think we spend every day dealing with this filth, you are greatly mistaken. We are over-educated, we’ve learned all sorts of knowledge, and we have always dreamt that our country would one day become a land of purity. We hold very orthodox views toward the administrative authorities...”