shadow of britain

Chapter 289 Extraordinary and extremely confident (5K8)

In the tavern on the street, Arthur and Louis Bonaparte tasted the beer in the cup. The drink with pure white beer foam tasted slightly bitter, so Arthur took out a colorfully wrapped candy from his pocket. , peeled off its coat and put it into his mouth.

Heine, who was drinking heavily at the side, saw Arthur's action. He couldn't help frowning and asked: "Are you afraid of hardship?"

Arthur smiled and shook his head: "I'm not afraid, but I still prefer the sweet taste. If you can eat candy, why should you ask for trouble?"

Louis heard the implication in Arthur's words, and knowing the purpose of his trip, he calmly caught the conversation: "You're right, but the problem is that you can't taste sweet candies all the time. Under normal circumstances , endure hardship because they have no choice. Look at Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they tasted the forbidden fruit as soon as they got the chance, and even God’s advice to them was thrown out of the window.”

Agares on the side rolled his eyes when he heard this. The witness at the scene couldn't help but cursed: "God, that old boy is just looking for trouble, isn't he just eating two rotten apples? What's the big deal! If he If we don't grow apples there, there won't be so much shit later. Maybe I should have killed the snake that Samael turned into with a fork. It's also my fault that those fucking guys in Lucifer insisted on betting on Samael. Can we seduce these two idiots, Adam and Eve? Now, we all lost our jobs in the end. If not for this, I might still be here..."

Agares suddenly stopped talking when he said this. He turned his eyes and met Arthur's floating gaze.

The red devil glared and cursed: "What are you looking at? I didn't seduce you to eat apples! Don't you need to pay to listen to the story? Arthur, you little bastard must understand that not everyone is willing to let you prostitute for free, at least Here with the devil, if you don’t pay something, there is no negotiation in our business!”

Arthur looked at the furious look of the red devil and knew that he had probably been reminded of some unbearable memory.

His eyes turned back to Heine, and Arthur asked knowingly: "So Mr. Heine, judging from your accent, it seems that you are not British?"

Heine did not shy away from answering this question. He said, "What? You actually heard it. I thought my English accent had improved a lot after living in London for so long."

When Louis heard this, he couldn't help but look at Arthur in surprise.

Arthur also understood what he was wondering about. If a guy like Heine had a long history of living in London and Scotland Yard didn't have any information about him, then this should be considered a dereliction of duty.

Judging from the files and documents inherited by the Police Intelligence Bureau from Scotland Yard, it seems that they have indeed failed in their duties. Scotland Yard's records on Heine are almost completely blank, as if they did not know this person at all.

But fortunately, Scotland Yard has enough failings, and Heine's case doesn't seem to be a big deal.

If Rothschild hadn't approached Arthur a while ago, Scotland Yard's records on Heine might have remained blank for several more years.

Arthur spoke calmly: "Have you lived in London before?"

Heine nodded and said: "Not only have I lived there, I have lived in London for two years."

Arthur raised his hand to ask for a cup of black tea, and then asked: "Two years? This is not a short time. Are you coming to Britain for a study trip? Or do you just want to come to London to experience the exotic customs?"

"good question!"

Heine snorted: "As for why I stayed in London for two years, it's a long story. First, I have to introduce my identity. According to the current territorial division, my The motherland should be the Kingdom of Prussia. But privately, I still identify myself more as a citizen of the Kingdom of Westphalia, even though this country is now destroyed.

do you know?I even saw Napoleon in person when I was a kid.I was riding on my father's shoulders, watching Napoleon lead his army into the city on his tall horse. It was incredible to me at that time, because horses were not allowed in the city, and everyone who rode on the streets had to accept a fine.However, I didn't see anyone arrest the guy, nor did I see him pay the fine.From that moment on, I knew he was definitely not an ordinary person.

Not long after, the Kingdom of Westphalia was proclaimed, and six years later, it fell again.Although this country has a short history, I still miss it.Of course, if you find it difficult to understand my identity, you should not stick to which German country I come from. Anyway, most of the German countries have the same appearance, so you can simply regard me as... As a German, I have no objection to you calling me that. "

Louis Bonaparte on the side couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

From the first time he met Heine, he felt that the way this guy spoke really deserved a beating. If it weren't for the fact that this guy claimed to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Westphalia, a servant of the French Empire, Louis would have I feel like I deserve to have a duel with him.

He turned to look at Arthur beside him, only to find that he still maintained a polite smile on his face.While marveling at Arthur's good personal qualities, Louis also had to secretly make up his mind to improve his posture level in terms of expression management and learn more from the young commander next to him.

Heine continued: "To be honest, when I left Prussia, I didn't expect to stay in London for so long. After all, while traveling, I was still looking for local publishers to publish my collection of poems. I have good luck, and my poetry level has been recognized by readers from all over Europe. Wherever I go, the publishers I work with always make money. But when I want to prepare to end my trip to London and go to Austria for a visit , but I found that I didn’t seem to be welcome there.”

"You're not welcome?" Arthur asked, "Why is that?"

Heine took a sip of beer and said, "Maybe it's because I like to use a series of gorgeous adjectives when describing Metternich? But you should know that I am a poet, and the language of poets has always been gorgeous. .”

Louis asked: "What adjectives did you use for Metternich?"

Heine cut the sausage carefully: "I just repeated the words of Russian Tsar Alexander I."

Arthur raised his eyebrows and said, "So what exactly did you say?"

Heine put down his fork and said impatiently: "I said he is simply lower than a dog."

Arthur asked: "Is that all?"

Heine scratched his cheek and continued to add: "I also praised the Austrian police."

Louis asked: "How did you praise me?"

"Nothing, just some old-fashioned blessings."

Louis said reluctantly: "So, what exactly is it?"

Heine picked up the knife and fork again and ate the sausage and said: "I said: I gave the Austrian police all the abdominal pain. They were like pliers holding the intestines. By the way, I gave them the tricky Prussian hemorrhoids and difficulty in urination."

After hearing this, even Louis, who had just made up his mind to exercise self-restraint, couldn't help but slap his forehead. He exclaimed: "How can you say this?"

Heine held his head in his hand and chewed: "I originally just wanted to give them a try, but what I didn't expect was that Metternich and the Austrian police officers actually readily admitted these things."

"They admitted it?"

"Well, they admitted it very readily."

Heine took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth: "Those guys banned all the "Collected Poems" I published in Austria. The speed and efficiency were really high. If they were so diligent, they wouldn't have hemorrhoids. At that time I had almost spent my royalties, and I thought I could make another fortune in Austria, but I didn't expect that they would be merciless to the publications with my signature.

This really made the Tsar right, Metternich was indeed worse than a dog.Uh... I'm sorry, I usually don't speak so vulgarly, but for this guy Metternich, I really can't hide what I'm saying. Louis' brows jumped when he heard this. He suddenly raised his elbow and hit Arthur: "Maybe we should let Alexander meet him. Maybe they will get along." "

Arthur just kept smoking: "Let's wait for the monkey to come back from South America. I suddenly felt that if we train the monkey, he might have a bright future."

Arthur and Louis were talking, and suddenly he noticed that Heine was looking around nervously out of the glass window of the tavern, as if he was looking for something.

Arthur asked: "What's wrong with you?"

Heine leaned on the chair and said: "Austria does not welcome me, and my home country Prussia is the same. They are afraid of me and afraid that I will tell them that they have hemorrhoids. Therefore, when I lived in my hometown, I can often find a few familiar faces outside my apartment. They stay there almost every day. They follow me wherever I go. Although they think they are well disguised, they cannot fool me. I know that they They were sent by the authorities to follow and monitor me, they are a bunch of lackeys of the Prussian government."

Having said this, Heine pulled down the blinds covering the glass window again. He dug out a small slit that could only accommodate two eyes and looked out: "And I found that these bastards have really gotten worse recently. I'm getting more and more arrogant. When I was in Prussia, they would monitor me, and when I arrived in London, someone was still monitoring me. It seems that I have become a serious problem in Prussia now."

Of course, it was impossible for Prussia to cross the ocean and go to London to monitor Heine. As for where the bastards Heine said were monitoring him in London came from, Arthur certainly knew.

He just snapped his fingers lightly and turned to look at Louis again.

Louis Bonaparte took out a small notebook from his pocket with understanding and accurately added a sentence on it - this person has strong anti-reconnaissance ability and is also a narcissist.

After writing this paragraph, Louis did not forget to hold out the notebook in front of Arthur and asked: "What do you think?"

Arthur gently shook his finger at the 'narcissist' on the notebook and pointed: "It's really rude to say that. Although we are not poets, we should try to be more elegant in our words. What do you think of Naxi?" What about the Sothists?”

"Narcissus? The guy in ancient Greek mythology who fell in love with his own reflection in the water?" Louis pinched his chin and thought: "Arthur, don't say it, this word is quite appropriate, I will just remember it. .”

Heine let go of the blinds, turned around and asked, "What are you two talking about?"

Arthur smiled and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Heine. If the Prussian government really dares to send someone to monitor you in London, we will definitely make them suffer. You also know that Louis and I are from Scotland Yard. Police, just last year we solved a French kidnapping case on the high seas. On the issue of sovereignty, Britain will not give in to anyone. As long as your feet stand on the soil of London, the Prussians cannot do anything to you. Sample."

Heine pouted: "I don't think they can do anything to me. I came to London this time to publish "Travel Sketches", which is a travel diary of my travels to various countries on the European continent. I don't have anything in it." How to mention things about Prussia. Most of the articles that criticized Prussia were left in my apartment in Paris. Most of the "Travel Sketches" were about criticizing Britain and France. Of course, I also mentioned a little bit about Prussia."

Arthur saw that the preparations were almost done, so he said: "Mr. Heine, although I think creation is a relatively private matter, outsiders have no right to tell you how to write articles. But I speak out from the perspective of a friend. If you need royalties to make a living, you may be able to be more flexible in your creative skills. You cannot criticize Prussia when you are in Prussia, criticize France when you are in France, and then criticize Britain when you come to Britain.

It was because Lord Byron's "Don Juan" violated this taboo that he scolded all the ministers in the cabinet. Therefore, the road to publication became full of twists and turns, and it was not until recent years that it was able to obtain publication permission.And what happened in Austria should have given you a taste of Lord Byron's depression, right? "

"Huh?" Heine frowned when he heard this: "But I heard that the press is not free in Britain now?"

Arthur nodded slightly and said: "Newspapers and magazines do not need to be censored now. Newspaper companies only need to obtain a publishing license, and they can publish newspapers at will during the license period. Although the distribution of general publications on the surface is also free, , but if your work makes you unhappy, even if they can't ask for modifications or directly refuse you to publish your work, they can give you a hard time."

"This..." Heine was a little shaken for a moment when he heard this. He thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, then I might as well publish only the first three volumes of "Travel Sketches" in Britain. The fourth volume of "British Fragments" will be suppressed for now until I finish revising it. Although I don't want to bow to these conservative authoritarian forces, in order to allow readers to see my work as soon as possible, I can still make some minor adjustments. Acceptable. The revised version will be included in the first edition, and the original version will be included in the second edition. Anyway, this is not the first time I have done this."

Arthur originally thought that Heine, with such a bad temper, would be unhappy because of his words, but what he didn't expect was that this great poet with an addictive tongue was actually a flexible and habitual criminal.It seems that the ban incident in Austria not only gave Metternich an extra hemorrhoid, but also gave Heine an extra thought.

But if you think about it carefully, this seems quite reasonable. After all, people have to eat, and poets are certainly no exception.

In a sense, Arthur was even happy about this, at least it made his job less difficult.

But the purpose of Arthur's trip was not completely achieved. Of course, he did not forget what Lionel asked him to do.

He racked his brains to think about the information about Heine he had collected these days, and asked with a smile: "It would be great if you could figure these things out. I believe your book will definitely sell well. But Before that, you'd better make sure again whether there is any content about the Kingdom of Hanover in your "Travel Sketches". As you know, in addition to wearing the crown of Britain, our king also has a Hanoverian sitting under his butt. Where is the throne."

"The Kingdom of Hanover?" Heine held his chin and thought for a moment: "You didn't mention it, but I forgot about it. But you guessed it right, I did write something about the Kingdom of Hanover, in the first volume. In "Travel to the Harz Mountains", after all, it is also a part of the German Confederation, and I also studied at the University of Göttingen in Hanover, so it would be really difficult for me not to mention it."

Arthur pretended to be surprised: "Did you graduate from the University of Göttingen?"

Heinepi smiled and said: "Yes! Graduation from Göttingen University! Graduation!"

Louis also asked curiously: "How is this place in Göttingen? I have always heard that the quality of education there is very high. After all, it is a university established by George II of Britain after the model of Oxford and Cambridge. Many people say it is It is the best among German universities and has a better environment and conditions. Compared with other universities in the German region, Göttingen is not subject to interference from the government and the church, and the academic atmosphere is very free."

"Modeled after the model of Oxford and Cambridge?" Arthur picked up the black tea cup and took a sip: "Then I guess their education is not much better."

Heine felt as if he had found a confidant when he heard this. He shouted: "That's right! You're right! It turns out that the British know Göttingen best! I have nothing to say about the city of Göttingen. , when I first arrived there I guessed that the history of this city must be very long.

What do you think?Because I still remember that when I registered there seven years ago and was suspended from school soon after, she already looked that old and sophisticated.It was a place full of night watchmen, poodles, theses, dancing tea parties, washerwomen, syllabuses, roasted pigeons, Guelphic medals, doctorates' carriages, cigarette pots, privy councilors, judicial advisers, expulsions. Committee members, professors and other stuff.

free?Göttingen actually has the nerve to claim to be free!Let me just say that the composition of the residents of Göttingen is quite simple. It can generally be divided into four clearly defined classes: philistines, university students, professors and beasts.Of course, speaking only of my personal opinion, I think the role played by the Brutes in Göttingen was probably the most important.

Of course, professors are not completely useless, and at some point, I even have to defend them.Do you know why German professors always make their writing obscure and difficult to understand, as if they are afraid that others will understand it?I can tell you the reason here, because they are afraid that if their judgments are understood by the beasts, their lives may be in danger. "

When Arthur heard this, he smiled and continued: "This is also what worries me about you."

Heine, who was already filled with excitement, heard this and directly held Arthur's hand and shook it: "Then you are really quite a friend. But you compare me with professors, which is too derogatory to me." ”

Arthur rubbed his temples in distress: "Mr. Heine, I completely agree with you. But the problem still has to be solved, right? If you made sharp criticism of the Kingdom of Hanover in the first volume of the book, I'm afraid it would be difficult to Make a good impression on your Lordships, especially His Majesty the King of Britain.”

Heine was also at a loss for ideas: "But if Göttingen was deleted from the first volume, I wouldn't have anything special to say. And my journey started there. I can't tell readers that my journey started there. It started in Paris, right?”

When Arthur heard this, he pretended to ponder for a moment. He pretended to have an idea and said: "Yes. Mr. Heine, in my opinion, you should not publish "Travel Sketches" as a whole. Maybe you can try to divide it into parts. Chapter publishing, such as serialization in a magazine or something. Newspaper companies do not need to wait for permission, and publishing in chapters, you can continue to test the extent to which your Excellencies in Britain will accept it. In this way, it will not delay you What do you think about expressing your thoughts to the maximum extent?"

"Serialization?" Heine was stunned for a moment: "This... I seem to have heard that this method is indeed quite fashionable, but I don't know anyone from the British newspaper!"

Louis on the side heard this and looked at each other with Arthur. He just picked up the wine glass and smiled: "You are lucky today. I know the editor of "The British". You know "The British", right? They are here Britannia can’t be considered a small magazine. The sales volume of each issue is quite high. And their layout content is also quite inclusive and diverse in my opinion.”

(End of this chapter)