The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1479: Chapter 238: MI5’s Strength (2)

In other words, his interrogation of Herzen did not begin now, but had commenced since the premiere of “Turandot” in Leipzig last year.

So far, the interrogation has been very smooth; Sir has already extracted everything he wanted to know, and today’s visit to the police station is merely to maintain relations with both parties for future collaboration.

Before entering the office, Arthur did not forget to make a request to the police chief, taking the opportunity to enhance his professional image: “Do you have background materials on the detainee? I need to understand his family background and upbringing.”

The police chief did not know what kind of game Arthur was playing, but it did not affect the high image of this British police officer in his mind: “Of course we have, but I can’t guarantee that’s everything. However, might I ask what you need those materials for?”

“Naturally, it’s for interrogation purposes.” Arthur buckled his hat and stood up: “Usually, I categorize interrogation subjects into nine types, each corresponding to different personalities, and the best way to understand a person’s character is through reading his background information.”

Upon hearing this, the police chief hurriedly signaled his officers to fetch the documents, and besides that, he didn’t forget to follow Arthur, adding a few of his own insights.

“He’s an illegitimate child of the Yakovlev family. You know the Yakovlev family of Moscow, right? Back when Russia was still called the Moscow Grand Duchy, the Emperor’s last name was Rurik and not Romanov; they were already part of the nobility. When Vasily III united the Rus Land, it was inseparable from the Yakovlev family’s complete contribution of their land and wealth to him. You know Vasily III, right? The one who annexed the Pskov Principality and the Liang Zan Duchy, reclaimed Smolensk from Lithuania, and made the Kazan Khanate bow to Russia…”

Although Arthur had long heard of Herzen’s prestigious family background, back then, he thought Herzen’s ancestors were at most annexed noble princes of Ancient Russia, but now listening to the police chief, Arthur realized Herzen’s ancestors had indeed rendered meritorious service to Russia.

From a practical perspective, the Herzen family holds far more importance to Russia than families like Orlov and Golitsyn.

After all, the Herzen family’s support genuinely exchanged for Russia over a million square kilometers of land, which sounds a bit like the Russian Lv Buwei.

This is indeed a case of new generations replacing the old; if Russia were still under the Rurik Dynasty, it’s inconceivable for such a founding family member like Herzen to be apprehended by the Constitutional Soldiers.

Hearing this, Arthur subtly inquired: “With such an illustrious background, how did you still manage to capture him? Didn’t his elders exert pressure on the authorities?”

“Oh dear.” The police chief waved it off: “His family does indeed have influence, but it depends on the situation, doesn’t it? If it were just an ordinary offence, with his father who holds the ‘court attendant’ title and once served as a diplomat in Paris, and his uncle who was a former envoy to Sweden and now a Council of State member, we surely wouldn’t bother with him. But alas, this time it was an order from the Emperor himself.”

Arthur remarked sarcastically: “Seems like General Volkov is wielding authority like a pretentious fool.”

Upon hearing this, the police chief neither dared admit Arthur was right nor incorrect, choosing instead to smile obsequiously: “Anyway, it was by his command, as he is after all Moscow’s Constitutional Soldier Commander, and we are just the subordinate busybodies.”

Before entering the room, Arthur stopped deliberately: “What’s his name?”

“Alexander Ivanovich Herzen.”

“Herzen?” Arthur feigned surprise: “Hmm… the Herzen you mentioned, might he be the Herzen I know? The young man working at the Moscow Lands Bureau?”

The police chief was also greatly astonished: “You… you know that young fellow?”

Feigning silence, Arthur pondered for a moment before advising: “In a while, do it like this…”

After hearing Arthur’s plan, the police chief couldn’t help but admire him greatly: “This… well, I’ll leave it to you!”

He led Arthur into the office, and when Herzen heard the door open, he instinctively lifted his head to look over.

But before he could utter a word, Arthur introduced himself: “Hello, Mr. Herzen.”

Herzen did not expect to see Arthur here, leaving him momentarily bewildered: “You… hello.”

The first thought that appeared in his mind was — Have I been betrayed?

But in an instant, he dismissed this idea.

Because he couldn’t possibly believe that a British diplomat would betray him to the Tsarist Russia Government, and then appear in front of him so smugly after doing so.

Such a scenario did not make logical sense.

Therefore, he quickly embraced a second notion.

Arthur was either there to visit him or strategize his escape.

Upon this realization, Herzen’s spirits lifted somewhat.

Arthur glanced at the police chief, following the plan agreed before entering, instructed him: “Sir, please give me some private time, I’d like to have a brief word with my friend.”

“Alright, Sir.” The police chief pretended to hesitate, taking out his pocket watch to check the time: “But please mind the time, twenty minutes at most, as our chief will be back from the meeting soon.”

Arthur removed his hat and thanked him, then watched as the police chief left the room.

Seeing the police chief leave, Herzen quickly asked: “Why have you come?”

Arthur certainly couldn’t speak the truth to Herzen, since the police chief was listening next door.

Arthur gently placed his hat on the oak office desk, the sound of metal chains colliding with the wooden surface emitting a crisp echo.

“Truly lamentable, I remember a few days ago you were with me lamenting the unpredictable world, your good friend was arrested by the police, and now today you yourself are in the detention center.”

Herzen chuckled bitterly: “Who would say otherwise? Ogarev spent three weeks in jail for this case, but no one can figure out why. I ran around for him and now look, I’ve ended up here too.”

Arthur slowly retrieved a small notebook from his coat pocket, using his torso as cover to pretend he was about to smoke: “To be honest, I didn’t expect our next meeting would be in a police station.”

Herzen looked down at the writing in the notebook and immediately understood the current situation; he spontaneously concocted: “Since you can come in to visit, does that mean my father and mother can come see me too?”

Arthur smiled as he took out a silver cigarette case, letting the mirror inside the lid reflect the view outside the window as he handed a cigarette.

Through this angle, Herzen caught a glimpse of a police uniform’s corner in the corridor — as suspected, someone was surveilling.

Arthur bit down on a cigar and lit it: “Possibly, I just heard them say, they brought you here just for questioning, the charges aren’t heavy, otherwise they wouldn’t let me come in to visit. They seem mainly focused on your friend, if you know any information, it might be better to be upfront with them, it could even lead to an early release.”

Herzen naturally wouldn’t believe it, having already seen from Arthur’s notebook that the Constitutional Soldiers had seized forbidden books like the “December Party Collection” and “Social Contract Theory” from his home.

If they were to escalate matters, even on this alone they could convict him with charges of ‘promoting liberal ideas.’

As for the solution, Arthur’s notebook clearly laid it out.

You know nothing, and if you do, you don’t; that’s my advice to you. You’re young and in high spirits, you want to speak up; that’s the worst thing. Remember, you know nothing, and under the circumstances, that’s the only path to salvation.

Confess for leniency, resist for severity — that’s for fools; if you take it seriously, you deserve to be exiled to the Caucasus and Siberia.

The issue of forbidden books is already established; on their end, they’ll have to find ways to minimize the impact.

What Herzen needs to do is say nothing, reveal no information.

He hasn’t participated in any secret groups, nor does he know about any Herzen-Ogarev circle; besides working from nine to five daily, he has nothing else going on.