shadow of britain

Chapter 301 Meeting the King
Astley Theatre.

Under the guidance of the royal attendant, Arthur arrived at the door of the royal box on the third floor.

After Arthur handed over the police officer's knife and pistol to the guard in front of the door for safekeeping, the attendant finally gently knocked on the box door.

The person who opened the door was Sir George Elliot, the Royal Attaché and captain of the flagship HMS Victory at the Royal Naval Base in Portsmouth, who had met Arthur once before at General Codrington's banquet.

He smiled and invited Arthur into the box, took Arthur and saluted: "Your Majesty, Arthur Hastings has been summoned as you ordered."

Arthur put his left hand in front of him and his right hand behind his back, bowed slightly and said: "Your Majesty."

William IV's cheeks were rosy from drinking at this time, but instead of making him sleepy and sluggish, this drink made him, an old sailor, feel even more energetic.

He raised his glass and asked Arthur: "Young man, I just heard from the Duke of Wellington that you are not only a master of swordsmanship, but also a young man with great talent and mobility. You are currently serving as He is the head of the criminal investigation department of the Metropolitan Police and also built the basic structure of the London Police Intelligence Bureau?"

Arthur smiled softly and replied: "It's an honor to be praised like this by you, but I have only completed the duties assigned by you."

William IV laughed and asked: "Quite modestly, how long have you been working at Scotland Yard?"

Arthur replied: "Joined Scotland Yard in September 1829 and has served for more than 9 years now."

William IV looked at the St. Edward's crown badge on his shoulder. Although he could not figure out the Scotland Yard police rank system, he could still judge from the epaulette that Arthur should be at the same level as an army major, and then contacted the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Charles Rowan's rank as Colonel in the Army, and he soon understood Arthur's approximate rank at Scotland Yard.

The 66-year-old old king couldn't help but sigh: "Have you reached this position in more than two years? Your promotion speed is comparable to that of my time in the Royal Navy! How old are you this year?"

Arthur replied softly: "21 years old."

"21 years old?" William IV laughed and said: "That's still a little slower than me. I joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13, and completed training at the Royal Naval Academy in Greenwich at the age of 15 and went to North America as a trainee cadet. At the age of 20, he completed his trainee period and returned to the Admiralty to pass the final examination to become a full officer of the Royal Navy. At the age of 21, he was promoted to captain of the Navy, obtained the qualification to command frigates, and was sent to serve in the West India Fleet in North America again. "

Arthur heard the old king talk about his glorious past and understood what he wanted to hear.

Arthur smiled and replied: "I know your experience. I have a good friend who is serving in the Royal Navy. He is an enthusiastic supporter of Horatio Nelson. Not only does he know the stories of General Nelson by heart, but also you The resumes of General Nelson's close comrades-in-arms were also recorded in his book. If I remember correctly, you should have commanded the frigate 'Andromeda' in the West India Fleet? Later, you were promoted to Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy and changed to ' Captain of the battleship Valiant?"

William IV was surprised to hear that Arthur actually knew his past. The king, who had been ignored for many years before taking the throne, was somewhat surprised.

He asked: "Do you know the Andromeda and the Valiant?"

Arthur chuckled and said: "I know a little about the Brave. It was a famous ship of the Royal Navy. It participated in the Battle of the Nile Estuary that made General Nelson famous in Europe. If I remember correctly, at that time In order to prevent Napoleon's plan to expedition to Egypt, General Nelson led his thirteen battleships to line up in Aboukir Bay, southeast of Alexandria, Egypt, for a decisive battle with the French Navy.

A series of famous Royal Navy ships such as Goliath, Zealot, Orion, Theseus, etc. all participated in this battle, and the Valorant you commanded was naturally one of them.The Brave performed extremely bravely in this battle. He relied on his powerful firepower and proper tactical command to defeat the French battleship Conquest in one fell swoop.

After this battle, General Nelson also successfully relied on this battle to annihilate 0 French battleships with 11 ship losses, establishing his unshakable position in the Royal Navy.Only 218 Royal Navy soldiers were killed, while the French Empire suffered 6000 wounded, killed, and captured soldiers. This was indeed a respectable and outstanding victory. "

When Talleyrand heard this, he just leaned on the table and swung his wine glass and joked: "Mr. Hastings, when you say this, you have to consider the emotions of an old man like me, right? But you You are right, this victory is indeed worthy of respect. In a battle at the mouth of the Nile and a naval battle at Trafalgar, Nelson beat our naval coach Villeneuve like a fool.

Even Napoleon himself was helpless against Nelson. After the Battle of the Nile Mouth, he was in a daze holding the battle report, and couldn't stop mumbling: 'Is my navy finished like this?Is it destined to be destroyed in Egypt? '

When the Battle of Trafalgar ended, perhaps due to the feeling of heroes cherishing heroes, Napoleon was saddened by the fatal blow to the French navy, but he also ordered all Imperial Navy ships to hang Nelson's portrait as a tribute to this man. While the opponent paid tribute, it was also to encourage the Imperial Navy to learn from Nelson's heroic spirit. "

When the Duke of Wellington heard this, he took a sip of wine and said: "I think it's unfair to Villeneuve that he did this. Napoleon's doing this is almost equivalent to publicly humiliating Villeneuve."

Talleyrand shrugged his shoulders and said: "There is no way, he just has this temper. He is a very outstanding general who has many characteristics of a legendary figure. I have never denied that he was the most unique and charming of that era. A character, but he is by no means perfect. In fact, his shortcomings are almost as many as his advantages. Regarding this point, Bernadotte summed it up very well: 'He is greater than all of us. But God The reason why he was punished was because he only believed in his own intelligence and used his huge war machine to the extreme. However, everything must be reversed, and there is no exception in ancient and modern times.

Most of Napoleon's admirers have not had direct contact with him, but anyone who has had contact with Napoleon will not like him.He is that kind of unique person. When you hold a book and read about his experiences, you will feel your blood boiling and you just want to work for him.But only after getting to know him in depth, you will understand that he is an extremely conceited person, a person who does not take anyone seriously for the sake of fame.

As he said himself: 'The scabbard belongs to France, and the blade belongs to me'.And the reason why I did so many things against him was just to tell him that it was wrong for him to think that way. "

Arthur silently listened to the grievances and grievances of the great figures of the past era. After pondering for a long time, he finally felt that it might not be appropriate to share the Napoleon's sexual habits that he learned from abnormal channels on this occasion.

When William IV heard these words, he couldn't help but sigh: "Speaking of that era, it was really a century of great changes. The biggest regret in my life is that I failed to follow Nelson in the Napoleonic Wars. If God is willing to give me For such an opportunity, I can even throw away my crown, and I will be willing to die on the battlefield."

When the Duke of Wellington heard this, he quickly dissuaded him: "Your Majesty, please stop talking nonsense. It is always better not to fight. If you asked me to choose, I would rather not have fought so many battles. I swear to you, every day The first time I set foot on the battlefield, I wished that the war would be over in the next second. In the season of gunfire, no one is happy."

William IV laughed loudly after hearing this and said: "Wellington, don't be nervous, I was just making an analogy. Moreover, as soon as the anti-French war started, I strongly requested to return to active service in the navy. I have been mentioning it since 1793 In 1814, it was mentioned almost every year, but never once was it approved by Parliament and the Admiralty. If not for this, I would not have devoted myself to the House of Lords, quarreling and bickering with others all day long. A man should originally be I have made great achievements, and if the council doesn’t let me deal with my enemies, then I will have to deal with the council.”

When the Duke of Wellington heard this, he also knew that the king should be implicitly indicating his dissatisfaction with the House of Lords.

As the king said, he has been fighting in the House of Lords since he was a prince.At that time, many nobles couldn't stand his bohemian lifestyle in his youth and his lack of classical cultural literacy due to his long-term service in the Royal Navy, so they often went toe-to-toe with William IV in the House of Lords.

When William IV ascended the throne last year, he had trouble with many people over the coronation ceremony, so even now there are still many people in the House of Lords who ignore the king.

William IV was also extremely angry about this phenomenon, but perhaps because he was older and more mature, the former profligate prince did not choose to lose his temper, but suppressed his dissatisfaction, at least on the surface. Maintain harmonious relations with Parliament.

As a noble in the House of Lords and the representative of the Tory party in the House of Lords, the Duke of Wellington has naturally done his best to maintain the fragile and sensitive relationship between the king and the nobles.

After all, William IV is still a king after all. Although the king today is less likely to interfere with Parliament like he did during the time of George III, this kind of non-interference is just a tacit agreement between Parliament and the king that is similar to an unspoken rule. The king is still It retains the power to dissolve parliament and hold new elections.

However, for Britain, William IV's current almost half-lying management mode can be considered a blessing.

Just like that folk joke goes.

Queen Elizabeth showed everyone how to run Britain.

George I showed everyone how not to govern Britain.

George III showed everyone that anyone could run Britain.

George IV showed everyone that Britain didn't need anyone to run it.

Today, William IV is taking this road that does not require management longer and further than his brother George IV, and this is naturally what Parliament is happy to see.

But telling the king directly: Britain does not need you to manage it is obviously extremely impolite and inappropriate. The nobles' own legal principles and power come from the king, so denying him is also denying themselves.

And how to find some harmless and fulfilling work for the king is an art worth learning.

The Duke of Wellington promptly changed the subject and said: "Your Majesty, I remember you mentioned before that since the army and the Royal Navy both have basic swordsmanship training, can the Scotland Yard police force also add similar training programs and training manuals? ?Since Mr. Hastings is here today, why don't you ask for his opinion? Don't look at him as young, his professional qualities in this area are definitely expert level."

(End of this chapter)