shadow of britain

Chapter 446 The truth back then
The sun was setting in an ordinary restaurant in the Saint-Germain district of Paris.

Louis and Arthur found an inconspicuous corner and sat down.

While ordering, they exchanged what they had seen recently, from Vidocq's detective agency to the past events of the Bonaparte family, to Louis-Philippe's true intentions in wanting to meet Louis.

Arthur did not pick up the sensitive topic directly, but first raised his hand to order a glass of whiskey with lemon juice, and asked casually: "So is that Mr. Walewski? I was in London looking for him earlier. After all the hard work, I didn’t expect to meet him so easily in Paris.”

Louis lit the cigarette dullly and took a puff of cigarette. It was obvious that he was confused: "Are you still thinking about Liverpool? I thought you had forgotten it."

Arthur smiled and shook his head: "Louis, you think too much of me. Just ask Tom and Tony. When I was a patrol officer in the East District, any gangster who dared to attack our police district would Once I pluck them from the dark alleys, they will either be exiled to Australia and Canada, or die in Old Ship Prison or Newgate Prison."

Louis took off his pipe and laughed: "It seems that I thought you were too kind before. From this point of view, you are similar to Mr. Vidocq. He told me before that all those who dare to offend and attack him and the security department employees He would try his best to send the prisoners to the guillotine, and he would not even give the prisoners a drop of water a few days before they were sent to the guillotine, so that they would not be able to spit on them on the guillotine. Foaming.”

Arthur stirred the spoon in the porcelain cup: "You think of me too kindly, and you think of Mr. Vidocq too bad. But because his work offended so many people, public opinion in Paris often attacked him. He... Think about it, Mr. Vidoc arrested more than 20,000 people during his tenure at the Paris Police Department. No one among these people would say anything good about him, including fraudsters, thieves, and gangsters. Some colleagues in the Paris Police Department want to kill him."

"The police in Paris also hate Vidocq?" Louis asked: "Why?"

"It's very simple." Arthur said: "His situation is exactly the same as mine at Scotland Yard. But the difference between him and me is that I am a graduate of the University of London, but he started from the streets. So. , when we had a disaster, Whitehall Street could give me the position of second secretary, and he would have to go back and forth from there. "

Louis glanced out the window at the busy street: "You mean, there are people supporting you, but Vidocq doesn't?"

Arthur laughed: "Not only that, my background is also cleaner than his."

"Is it clean?" Louis looked a little confused: "What's the difference between what you two did last year? Except for the different locations, one did it on the Ile de la Cité in Paris, and the other did it under the Tower of London in the East End of London. I I really can’t tell the difference.”

Arthur took the wine glass from the waiter's hand: "Louis, that is your perspective, not the government's perspective. For the government, whether it is the Ile de la Cité or the Tower of London, the only things Vidocq and I have done are Credit, where’s the fault?”

"It's an interesting opinion." Louis raised his eyebrows: "In that case, why are you cleaner than him?"

Arthur leaned back on the chair and sipped the wine leisurely: "For those of us who are not elected, what needs to be considered is how the person who appoints you sees you. And their standard for measuring a person is nothing more than three First, whether your ability and reputation are qualified for this position, so that your work achievements can add luster to his resume. Second, if your ability is strong enough, are you in his position? What about the scope of control? Thirdly, if your ability and reputation are not enough, can appointing you bring him other benefits?”

Louis was not stupid, and he quickly understood what Arthur meant: "You mean, although Mr. Vidocq's ability is strong enough, due to his street background and previous cases, he has been arrested by the authorities. Are you labeled as being difficult to control? And as long as you are a London University graduate, at least Lord Justice Brougham's group will always treat you as one of their own? Oh, by the way, still? There is Viscount Melbourne, you have helped him settle so many things before, he still owes you a little bit. Is this why you landed smoothly? "

At this point, Louis suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly: "In that case, why do you still remember the assassination case in Liverpool? Although we have no conclusive evidence, didn't we already have a conclusion before? Even if that case is not It was done by people within the Whig Party, and it must have been closely related to them.”

Arthur didn't say anything after hearing this, but took out a newspaper from his arms. It was a mediocre "The Times" that he took away from the British Embassy yesterday morning when he was a guest.

The eye-catching newspaper headline described in just one sentence a major event that would affect the entire Far East trade.

The Government of India Act 1833 was passed by Parliament and the East India Company's 20-year charter was renewed.

The bill decided to completely abolish all trade exclusive privileges previously enjoyed by the East India Company, including trade with China, and decided to completely abolish its trading institutions. The Company's military and administrative apparatus would remain in place, and the Company would be entrusted by His Majesty the King and Parliament to continue its colonial rule over India.

"This is……"

Louis held the newspaper in his hands. He frowned for a while, and then suddenly realized: "They attributed the responsibility for the Liverpool assassination to the East India Company? But according to the evidence we have, isn't the company not involved in this case? "

"It doesn't matter whether they were involved or not. What matters is that the council felt they were involved in the assassination."

Arthur looked at the scenery outside the window and said calmly: "The assassination gave the Parliament an excuse, although this excuse may have been made by themselves. After all, it is not the first time that the Parliament has caused trouble on its own in dealing with the East India Company. The last time they deprived the company of its exclusive rights in India, the chairman of the company's board of directors committed suicide, which shows that the parliament's approach is much softer."

Louis put down the newspaper and said: "Before, I thought they put you in Hanover as a sign of leniency. But if you add the Liverpool case, I think a knighthood and the position of second secretary are simply too cheap. Yes. According to the principle of whoever benefits, it’s the free trade guys who do it?”

Arthur was noncommittal about this: "This is just a guess, but things in Britain are much purer than in France. There are not many issues related to philosophy, mainly the position of money. There is no Bonapartist or orthodox dynasty. Republicans or anarchists, mercantilism or free trade, industrial production or international trade, repeal of the Corn Laws or support of the Corn Laws.”

Louis was silent for a moment: "Then...what are you going to do? Remember the Liverpool case, know who they are, and then take the initiative to attack?"

Arthur waved his hand, and he suddenly took the topic in a new direction: "Louis, do you know? I just went to the French Academy of Sciences a few days ago."

"Well, I know, you went there to give Mr. Poisson the award. Did you have a good time?"

"Actually, it wasn't just about playing. I also thought about some scientific theorems there, because I found that many French scientists are engaged in politics, so some theorems can actually be understood not only from the perspective of natural philosophy, but also from the perspective of politics. understand."

"Really?" Louis held the coffee cup blankly. He thought Arthur was making fun of him: "What theorem are you talking about?"

Arthur chuckled: "I'm a Briton, so naturally the first thing that comes to my mind is Sir Isaac Newton's Newton's First Law."

Louis recalled the mechanics he learned at the Swiss Military Academy and repeated word for word: "Any object must maintain uniform linear motion or rest until an external force forces it to change its state of motion." Arthur picked up the wine glass. He nodded slightly and said: "This is my attitude towards the Liverpool case, and it is also what I think is the best solution."

Louis was shocked, as if his vision was gradually clearing: "I..."

Seeing his appearance, Arthur asked casually: "I remember you just said that the reason why Louis Philippe met you was because he wanted to send you to take back Napoleon's coffin?"

Arthur's words fell on Louis' heart, and his restless heart was slowly soothed.

The noble Bonaparte stared at the wine bottle in front of him. The amber liquid was rippling in the bottle: "He is using me. He wants to use my last name and my uncle's body to win over the Bonapartists." Please, win them over from the republicans. This is definitely a difficult problem for me. Arthur, I know your achievements in natural philosophy, so if it were you, what theorem would you recommend me to use. To solve this problem?"

Seeing him taking the initiative to ask questions, Arthur calmly raised his glass and clinked it with Louis.

Only the tinkling sound was heard, followed by Arthur's voice.

"Since it is a question about Napoleon, I naturally recommend you to use Napoleon's theorem to solve the problem. You must still remember the definition given by your uncle: take the three sides of any triangle as sides, and construct three equilateral triangles outward, then these three The center of the circumcircle of an equilateral triangle is exactly the vertex of another equilateral triangle. This equilateral triangle is called a Napoleon triangle."

Arthur looked at Louis' clenched fist, paused, and then said: "Perhaps it is too difficult for you now to build three equilateral triangles outward at once. But it doesn't matter, you can start from the first one Starting from an equilateral triangle, Louis Philippe wants to use you to appease the Bonapartists. This may not be an opportunity for you to introduce yourself to the French people. The death of the King of Rome is extremely sad, at this moment, even if it is not for Louis. Philip's little thought, you should also let them know who is currently shouldering the burden of reviving the Bonaparte family, and who is qualified to return Napoleon's bones to his hometown as a representative of the Bonaparte family. "

When Louis heard this, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "I understand, thank you, Arthur. I have never thought that the answer to the puzzle is actually hidden in the riddle."

Arthur smiled and replied indifferently: "Louis, you are just a fan of the authorities. When you step out and look at the overall situation, with your intelligence, you will soon be able to reveal the true meaning."

Having said this, Louis asked again: "Tomorrow, I will go to see him tomorrow. Arthur, do you want to come with me?"

"I?"

Arthur shook his head and said: "Louis, you have forgotten what I said before. You can't make Louis Philippe feel threatened. The reason why he uses you instead of your father and uncle is because he feels that you are in his It is within the control of Louis Philippe. Although I am only the second secretary in the Kingdom of Hanover, my status as a British diplomat is enough to arouse Louis Philippe's vigilance. Don't forget that he actually has an alternative. You can send to St. Helena your cousin Mr. Valewski, who is Napoleon's son and has no inheritance rights."

Having said this, Arthur stood up, took out a note from his coat pocket and pressed it under the plate: "Louis, you can enjoy it slowly, I have to go first."

"Huh? Are you going back so early? The food hasn't been served yet."

Louis stood up and wanted to save Arthur, but was stopped by Arthur.

The retired Scotland Yard police officer just raised his finger and pointed out the window. Under the plane trees on the side of the street, there were several guys in big-brimmed hats leaning against the tree trunks and smoking cigarettes.

As a police secretary who had experience in the Police Intelligence Bureau, Louis quickly understood what Arthur meant.

Needless to say, it must be the plainclothes policemen sent by the Paris Police to monitor his whereabouts.

Louis laughed dumbly and said: "I was indeed careless. I forgot that France is far more outstanding in this regard than Scotland Yard."

Arthur smiled and patted his shoulder: "But you are still a little behind Prussia. I visited Heine yesterday, and he personally pointed out to me several plainclothesmen sent by Prussia to monitor him behind the curtains of his window. spies."

Louis joked: "So, I'm actually pretty lucky?"

"Perhaps." Arthur took the opportunity to invite: "When you deal with Louis Philippe, you can come to me and Mr. Vidocq, and we can make some money together. Mr. Vidoc and I are currently dealing with a difficult matter. The case may involve some brutal thugs. If these plainclothes policemen go with us, we can save a lot of security costs. "

Louis laughed and said, "Arthur, I really have you."

Arthur walked out of the restaurant, glanced at the plainclothes policemen who were following Louis, and then stopped a taxi.

He boarded the carriage and said to the driver: "Excuse me, go to the Rothschild Bank."

The coachman asked casually: "Sir, are you going to do banking business?"

Arthur waved his hand and took out a letter he had written a long time ago: "No, I just want to go find Rothschild to send a letter."

Agares, who was sitting next to the coachman, saw the letter, covered his mouth and snickered: "Arthur, you little bastard, you just sold the stupid boy from the Bonaparte family? I guess this letter is The delivery address must be the French Legation in London? You don’t want Talleyrand’s francs, but you want his favor.”

Arthur just laughed softly at Agares' sarcasm: "Clever."

(End of this chapter)