shadow of britain

Chapter 163 The Royal Gossip and the Little Boy
The old man with a cane was walking unsteadily, and suddenly he looked up and found Elder in front of him.

The old man raised his hand indifferently and said hello: "Good afternoon, Elder! How is your uncle doing?"

Elder took off his hat and said with a stiff smile: "Thanks to your care, he has been doing well recently. It's just that the timing is not coincidental. He was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet for rotation last month, otherwise today's banquet He will be able to see you."

The old man nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Arthur who was aside: "Who is this?"

Elder hurriedly introduced him: "This is my friend and the scientist General Codrington invited to be a guest today, Superintendent Arthur Hastings of Scotland Yard."

"Police?" The old man curled his lips in dissatisfaction: "I hate police."

After saying that, the old man leaned on his cane and walked past the two of them indifferently. Not long after, they heard a sound like chickens flying and dogs jumping in the lounge.

"General Smith, why are you here?"

"What? Can't I come?"

"That's not what I meant. I just heard from my colleagues in the Admiralty that you have moved to Paris, so I thought you wouldn't be in London."

"Don't you guys know that there is a revolution in Paris? It's not peaceful there recently, and I, an old man, can't stand the trouble, so I go back to London to be quiet and quiet. When will it stop there, when will I go back. Um... who is this? Yo , Kirkland?! Didn’t you swear that you would never return to Britain in your life? Why, looking at you like this, are you giving in to the Navy Department?”

"It's all in the past, General Smith. You see, because I supported you and General Pillau in the parliament to block the port of Toulon, you old man should be more merciful."

"The Port of Toulon? You fucking dare to mention the Port of Toulon?! Was it you who proposed to the Admiralty to use a fleet of ships filled with explosives to carry out a suicide attack on the Port of Toulon? Co-authored and led the fleet outside It's not you boy, look what fucking shit advice you're giving.

Fortunately, the Admiralty had a rare brain and didn't listen to you.Or use the boat for suicide attacks, are you going to let me command the sardines? "

"That is indeed what I mentioned, but you must consider the rationality of this suggestion. I used the fireship offensive to successfully defeat the French Brest fleet led by Alleman in the Battle of the Basque Waterways.

If it hadn't been for that son of a bitch Gambier who forced me to retreat, I could have wiped out 11 French battleships and achieved a victory comparable to that of Trafalgar, or at least the battle of the mouth of the Nile. victory.

But, Gambier, that bastard Gambier!Before starting the war, he rejected my suggestion of fire attack, and accused me of saying that "fire attack is a cruel act of war that violates Christian morality". And asked the fleet to retreat immediately.

The most ridiculous thing is that after the war he sent me to a court-martial, tell me, is he a bastard with a donkey day! "

"Okay ok, calm down, it was 20 years ago. But I agree with you, Gambier is indeed a son of a bitch. On this, you, me and Eliab General Harvey's opinion is basically the same. James Gambier does not have the military literacy and basic ability to be a fleet commander at all.

That guy has mixed qualifications. He relied on himself to have joined the Royal Navy in 1768. After completing his internship at sea, he happened to catch up with the spring breeze of the North American War of Independence in 1775, so he passed the examination of the Ministry of the Navy and was picked up smoothly. Arrived at a captain's position.

But even if he fought every day at that time, it took him almost 20 years. It was not until 1794 that he was promoted from frigate captain to battle captain, and then he was promoted to the rank of major general by his mother's seniority.Then, this dog was transferred to the Navy headquarters to sit in the office.

You should also know the following things. Our honest and loyal General Gambier suddenly seemed to be blessed by God. It only took ten years to complete the leap from major general to lieutenant general to general.

By the way, I heard from Codrington before that Gambier was promoted to Admiral of the Royal Navy together with Williams-Freeman and Charles Poll this year. Is the Admiralty's brain flooded again? "

"Then what can be done? Who made our Marshal Gambier have a good relationship with the current His Majesty the King? You should also know that our Majesty the King served in North America for 12 years..."

Elder turned his head to look at the lounge, with a ghostly expression on his face.

Not long after, he found that the three navy colonels who were originally staying in the lounge also came out sweating profusely.

When Arthur saw the three of them, he couldn't help smiling and asked, "Don't you three have any matches?"

The three naval captains looked at each other and smiled wryly.

Colonel Fitzroy said: "Compared to staying in the lounge, maybe buying matches can be regarded as a good job."

Franklin complained: "Why hasn't General Codlington come? Only when he comes can those two restrain themselves."

After hearing this, Sir Elliot was helpless: "Let's forget it. Although General Thomas Cochrane is a junior, he didn't even reject the orders of Marshal Gambier. He was sent to a court-martial later. , and directly scolded Marshal Gambier for being cowardly and indecisive in court, and later criticized the Admiralty for corruption and incompetence and rigid management in Parliament.

As for General Sidney Smith, he was older than General Codrington and retired as an admiral.

The most important thing is that when he was in the Mediterranean, he didn't even look down on General Nelson. His squadron went wherever he wanted, and he never applied to General Nelson, the commander of Egyptian waters, to enter and exit Egyptian waters.Later, he crossed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs several times and signed an armistice agreement with the French army privately.You can ask General Codrington to deal with the Ottomans, but he can't handle these two. "

Elder couldn't help muttering: "Is this what General Smith is most famous for? I heard that when he was young, didn't he seem to have made Queen Caroline's belly bigger?"

When Colonel Fitzroy heard this, he quickly stared and warned: "Don't mention this matter. It is still unclear how this matter happened. General Smith was only involved in it, and the other objects did not include Sir Thomas Lawrence. With Sir George Canning?"

Elder was shocked when he heard this: "What! They did it too?"

Arthur heard this, and hurriedly pulled Elder out, and he apologized to the colonels behind him apologetically as he walked: "Sorry, excuse me first, Elder and I have to go to replace General Kirkland I bought matches."

After saying that, he took Elder out of Codrington's mansion quickly, and Arthur's pace slowed down only when he saw the west slanting sun and the passing traffic.

The two stood by the red wall beside the road, Arthur pulled out his pipe and matchbox, and took a sharp sip.

As the smoke rose, Arthur threw the matchbox to Elder.

Elder was about to light a cigarette, but before he could do so, he heard Arthur ask, "About Queen Caroline..."

When Elder heard the name, the match nearly burned his hands.

He spat and said, "You want to hear it so much, why did you drag me out just now?"

Arthur shrugged: "Isn't the person sitting inside? I'm worried that if he hears it, it will affect your great future in the future."

Elder didn't care when he heard the words, he replied.

"Actually, it's nothing. When our old King George IV was still the Prince of Wales, he had a feud with the Crown Princess Caroline. Not long after Caroline gave birth to Princess Charlotte, the two of them officially married. Separated. And when George IV later became king, he wanted to kick her away.

As you know, Queen Caroline has been fighting a lawsuit for a long time over this title issue.Under the condition of both spiritual and physical emptiness, wouldn't Queen Caroline have to get some comfort from the arms of others? "

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but squeezed his chin and nodded: "It seems to make sense, continue."

Elder was affirmed by Arthur, and immediately talked about the gossip he collected from various channels with joy.

"As you heard just now, Queen Caroline has three rumored partners.

Among them, Sir George Canning was the most prominent politician in Britain at that time,

Sir Thomas Lawrence was recognized as the best portrait painter in England at the time,

General Sidney Smith is the shining general star who complements Nelson and the well-known weirdo of the Admiralty.

Although these rumors may not be true, after all, these three people have many enemies because of their personalities and achievements.Perhaps these messages were released by their political enemies to attack them.

However, it is certain that Queen Caroline had a big belly during the days of separation from His Majesty the King, and that the Queen had close contacts with these three people during that period.

As for whether it was the three of them who did it, it is unclear.But according to my personal opinion, the most likely of these three people may really be General Sidney Smith. "

Upon hearing this, Arthur leaned against the red wall and blew out a smoke ring: "How can you see that?"

Elder continued to analyze with a look of pride: "Arthur, think about it! It was about 1802 when the news that Queen Caroline had a big belly was reported. At that time, Sir Canning had just married not long ago, and He is busy attacking the cabinet of Viscount Sidmus in the parliament every day so that William Pitt Jr. can regain power. With Viscount Sidmus' insidious personality, it is entirely possible to release such news to attack Sir Canning .

And in the following years, these scandals did not affect Sir Canning's political career. He not only served as foreign secretary, but also served as a prime minister.You know, he's just an actress' kid, with no background other than a banker uncle.If he really had an affair with the queen, how could he land smoothly?

As for Sir Thomas Lawrence, although he is very influential in the art world, this scandal did not affect his subsequent development.The Duke of Wellington, the Marchioness of Londonderry, the Earl of Aberdeen, Pius VII, and even His Majesty the King himself asked him to paint portraits as usual, and he was knighted and made him the president of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.So, he will have no problem.

But General Sidney Smith was the only one who was thrown out of Britain when the gossip spread.At that time, he had already been ordered to retire by the Royal Navy because of disobedience to the command, but because the rumors spread more and more, in the end the Admiralty could only pinch his nose to revive him, and then kicked him to the Atlantic Ocean to let him blow The sea breeze is calm and calm. "

When Arthur heard this, he looked at Elder with a little more respect: "Elder, I seem to have finally discovered your ability. If you don't engage in intelligence work in this life, it will be a waste of your life." The spirit of assiduous study and the ability to tirelessly pursue the ultimate details!"

Elder was taken aback by him: "What? Are you suggesting that I join the Department of Geographical Surveying, Mapping and Topological Information Statistics of the Ministry of the Navy after returning from a global voyage? They are engaged in maritime intelligence. But I heard , the requirements there are stricter, and I don’t know if it’s okay with my free and undisciplined temperament.”

"Okay, why not?" Arthur replied with a smile, "Listen to me, can I still lie to you?"

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, suddenly, he felt his waist hit by someone.

He turned around abruptly, only to see a little boy standing behind him with his hands clasped, wearing a tattered felt hat, and a dirty face. He should be about ten years old.

The little boy blinked, and spoke intermittently with a Scottish accent that was different from the London accent: "First... sir, trouble... please have pity on me, I haven't eaten for two days."

Arthur first looked up at the crowd around him, and after making sure that there were no police nearby, he took out a coin from his pocket and put it in his hand.

"Boy, if you come to the West End to beg in the future, you'd better not be on this street. The frequency of police patrols here is very dense. If they find you, although you won't be thrown into jail, you will inevitably be hit with a few sticks." Or be sent to a workhouse."

The little boy stared blankly at the silver coin in his hand, he couldn't believe his luck today.

It was half a crown, worth two and a half shillings.

"This... is this really for me? First... Sir, I have never seen you so grand."

Arthur just smiled when he heard the words, and he raised his head at Elder next to him: "I am arrogant? No, you think I am arrogant because you don't know the gentleman next to me, let him call you See and see what is the real atmosphere."

Elder wanted to rub the soles of his feet with oil, but as soon as Arthur said this, and from the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of several ladies and wives who were getting off the carriage and looking here and smiling.

At this time, our Mr. Elder could only put his trembling hand into his pocket, took out a silver coin bigger than Arthur and put it in the boy's palm.

"Take this, a crown, for my grateful heart, my boy, and take it to something good."

Seeing this, the little boy couldn't help showing a happy smile. He took off his hat and bowed: "Thank you, kind sir."

Just when he was about to take these things and eat a good meal happily, he suddenly heard Elder's yelling behind him.

"Wait a minute! Child!"

Elder rushed in front of the little boy. He glanced at the ladies and wives who had gone away, and took back the half-crown silver coin Arthur gave back from the boy's hand in embarrassment: "Young man, you forgot to give I give change."

(End of this chapter)