The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1351: Chapter 190: The York Devil Who Holds the Scepter of Dominion

Power is not innate, but rather takes root and grows from human weaknesses. Desire is its soil, fear is its water, and reason is its fragile roots. Once you understand this, you can easily plant seeds in others’ hearts, making them willingly work for you. And once power is fully rooted, words are unnecessary because it has become a natural presence.

—Arthur Hastings

Power possesses a Medusa-like gaze; anyone who looks upon its face cannot look away, falls under its petrification magic, and becomes ensnared by it. Anyone who has tasted the intoxicating pleasure of ruling and commanding people will never willingly abandon it. Scour world history to find examples of voluntarily relinquished power: besides Sulla and Charles V, you will not find a dozen people among thousands who have willingly and consciously given up the fervent desire to manipulate the fate of thousands, almost a sin.

Just as gamblers find it difficult to quit gambling, drunkards find it difficult to quit drinking, poachers cannot resist hunting, Arthur Hastings cannot stay away from politics. Mundane days torment him, and when he cheerfully pretends to be indifferent, playing the ’comedian’ during idle times, his fingers itch, his nerves tremble, and upon realizing no one is watching, he secretly yearns to pick up the cards of politics again. Although he has resigned from Scotland Yard, he willingly continues his police work, practicing his skills, ensuring he is not completely forgotten, sending secret intelligence to London each month.

Intelligence from Paris, Gottingen, Italy is continuously sent to the British Foreign Office and the Privy Council’s meeting table, allowing this conspirator to find amusement, keeping him occupied without restriction, yet it does not truly satisfy him. He seems an outsider, yet is eagerly waiting for the day when he can again hold real power, control people, influence the world’s fate, wield great authority! In Paris, he orchestrates the Italian revolution, covers the transfer of the king-assassinating Juan members, holds the All-European Electromagnetism Conference in Gottingen, helps Mendelssohn compose a historically renowned opera.

White Hall identified many signs of Hastings’ eagerness to emerge, but deliberately ignored them. Hastings was unaware that his former superior at Scotland Yard, Charles Rowan, had reported his ’outstanding work’ during his tenure at the Police Intelligence Department. The Excellencies at White Hall unanimously believed that, although he was extremely intelligent and particularly capable, his private intelligence gathering on parliament members and crossing-the-line work methods were alarming.

Therefore, as long as they could send him away, they would let him sink into oblivion. Since it was found that this man, specializing in underground work, possessed a rebellious force, unless compelled, extremely needed, no one wanted to use Hastings. However, since Lord Brougham and other Whig Party radical representatives supported him, White Hall could not be too ruthless.

On one hand, they showered Hastings with favor, sending him on various missions, expressing gratitude for his excellent intelligence, enriching him with various honors and titles, allowing his ’little means’ of profit-making and wealth-building to pass unnoticed at the Foreign Office, so that he would remain content, channeling his excess energy elsewhere.

When the equally unwelcome ’Radical Jack’ Earl of Dalhousie suggested taking Hastings to Russia, the Foreign Office immediately threw this hot potato along with Earl of Dalhousie into the Russian snowy plains, hoping the ice and snow there would cool their overheated minds.

But White Hall’s plans clearly failed, they evidently underestimated Arthur Hastings’ determination to return to London, furthermore, failed to understand that locking two ’madmen’ in the same room only worsens their conditions. Hastings viewed this trip to Russia’s ’exile journey’ as a valuable forging in life, his close interactions with the Third Bureau bolstered his arrogance and work experience.

His nature of creating trouble where none exists was fully displayed here; first impersonating the Russian Military Police, then planning to bribe insiders within the Third Bureau. Perhaps due to the influence of the bullet lodged in his heart, this fortunate man who strolled to Hell’s door only to turn back found there was little in the earthly world that could frighten him anymore. Hence, he tried all things he could and couldn’t do.

Just as he wrote in correspondence with his close friend Eld—streetlamps and guillotines are no match for the bullets beneath Tower of London; they should not think of scaring me with Hell because I just recently returned from there. Lately, I’ve seen in London newspapers people calling me the ’York Devil who holds reigning power,’ if they must think so, let them. It’s my first time receiving such slander, but I promise, it will not be the last.

—Stephen Zweig: ”Arthur Hastings: The Dilemma of a Rational Prisoner”

”Visa?”

Hutter did not take Arthur’s words to heart.

Although he was the first Briton to join the Russian Constitutional Guard, he was not the first Briton to serve the Russian Government.

Though there were far fewer Britons making a living in Russia compared to Germans, the history of Britons serving Russia is quite lengthy.