shadow of britain

Chapter 529 was the first to be caught
Sir Arthur Hastings was the first to be arrested. He had just got off the train in Göttingen. His companion, Sir August Schneider, suggested that they go for a beer. The two of them walked into the beer hall excitedly and happened to run into the Göttingen students who were holding a liberal rally there.

Arthur felt that something was not right, but he did not care. When he finished ordering sausages and beer, the Göttingen police who were responsible for monitoring the activities of college students filed in.

Sir Arthur Hastings was horrified when the Göttingen police grabbed him outside the pub, shouting, "I'm here for a beer, what do you want?" as he fought back with punches and kicks.

He roared, broke free from the police's grasp, and pounced on the police chief who was five or six steps away.

Arthur used to be a policeman and practiced martial arts. He was a Fiore-style swordsman. He once killed more than a dozen Barbary pirates on the sea by himself. He was a rival of Francois Bertrand, the Napoleon of Foil. If he rushed over and injured the police chief, what would happen?
At this critical moment, five or six policemen nearby reacted quickly, rushed over to knock him down, held him down tightly, and handcuffed him. During the arrest of the college students in the beer hall riot, Arthur was the only one who was handcuffed. After his arrest, he was also subject to the strictest supervision.

-- Elder Carter, Arthur Hastings and the Liberal Constitutional Reform of the Kingdom of Hanover

In the interrogation room of the police station, the police chief with panda eyes sat at one side of the interrogation table with a serious face, looking at Arthur who was sitting opposite him with displeasure.

During the Beer Hall Operation, the Göttingen Police Department suffered heavy losses, and many police officers were injured, and a considerable proportion of them were caused by the guy in front of him.

What is even more infuriating is that while he was resisting, he was still shouting things like, "Let me go! Are you going against the King's Great Seal?" and "This is outrageous! I think the police reform in the Kingdom of Hanover is imperative!"

The more the police chief looked at this guy, the angrier he got. Originally, the maximum punishment for student riots was just a few days in jail or expulsion from school. But since this guy was so stubborn, he had to be punished no matter what. If he was charged with conspiracy to start an uprising, where would the Göttingen Police Department put its reputation in the future?
His Majesty the King was already dissatisfied with the police work in the Kingdom of Hanover, and he even sent a police adviser, Sir Arthur Hastings, to Hanover to oversee police reforms.

If the news of the Göttingen police's poor performance reached Sir Arthur Hastings, according to the custom of a new official making three major moves upon taking office, his Pickelhaube helmet would be in vain.

Thinking of this, the police chief immediately stepped up the interrogation of Arthur.

He slammed the table, trying to overwhelm the young man opposite him with his momentum.

"Tell me! Who are your accomplices, you traitor? Who instructed you to lead the students to cause trouble in Göttingen?"

Arthur was also very angry at this time. He never expected that his first day in office in Göttingen would be so miserable.

He had just had a meal in a beer hall, but was involved in the riots without knowing why, and was inexplicably handcuffed and taken to the police station. And I don't know if it was because he didn't speak standard German, but no matter how he explained, the Hanover police wouldn't listen and insisted that he was the student leader who organized the riot.

Arthur looked at the chief of police and felt sick to his stomach.

You know, back in London, he was the one sitting across the interrogation table.

Arthur took a deep breath and replied as calmly as possible: "Mr. Director, I think there must be some misunderstanding between us?"

"Misunderstanding?" The police chief's attitude became even tougher after hearing Arthur's soft words. He knocked on the table with his knuckles: "How can there be a misunderstanding in a beer hall riot? If you confess everything, I might consider giving you a lighter sentence. But if your attitude is still as stubborn as before and you don't confess your accomplices and the mastermind, I guarantee that by this time tomorrow, you will have been dragged out for target practice!"

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but kick the interrogation table and cursed.

"I am not a hero, nor am I anyone's accomplice! I am a knight of William IV for three years, a student of Mr. Bentham, Lord Brougham and Earl Daramore. If you want to talk about mentors, the British legal authority, the Royal Chief Justice and the Ambassador to Russia are my mentors! Four years ago, I served as a patrol detective in the Royal Metropolitan Police Department. Later, I was promoted to Greenwich Inspector, then Executive Superintendent of the London Metropolitan Districts, and then Assistant Superintendent in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department and the Police Intelligence Bureau. Until I was transferred to the Chancellor of the University of Göttingen half a month ago, every step was promoted by His Majesty the King. If you want to talk about backers, His Majesty the King is my backer. If you want to talk about accomplices, I am just an accomplice of His Majesty the King!"

But the police chief apparently took Arthur's words as a bluff.

Those who have been police officers know that many prisoners will get angry when they are interrogated because their psychological defenses collapse. However, their anger is just a cover-up for their fear. As long as the interrogator remains calm, the prisoner's anger will soon subside, and they will reveal all their secrets like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube.

"Your Majesty is your backer?" The police chief put his feet on the interrogation table and wrote a report without raising his head. "You mean, your Majesty is the mastermind of the riot? Oh, it seems that you should be charged with insulting the royal family. I have to say that you are lucky. If I were the judge, this charge alone would be enough to sentence you to lifelong hard labor..."

Before the police chief could finish his words, there was a knock on the door of the interrogation room.

"Enter."

A young policeman who looked about the same age as Arthur pushed open the door of the interrogation room, ran to the police chief in a hurry and saluted, "Sir, there is a diplomat holding the badge of the British Foreign Office outside the police station and wants to see you."

Upon hearing this, the police chief stood up and straightened his collar. "It seems that Sir Arthur Hastings has arrived. Yesterday, someone from the Ministry of the Interior said that Sir Arthur Hastings was accompanied by Mr. August Schneider of the British Foreign Office to Göttingen to take up his post."

At this point, he asked the police officer, "Is there anyone else next to the diplomat?"

"There's another tall guy next to him."

"That's right. That's Sir Arthur Hastings. I heard that he is very tall and as strong as a dragoon. He is probably a middle-aged man with a seal beard, a sword at his waist, and a serious expression, right?"

"No! Sir, the tall man next to Mr. Schneider is Professor Johann Herbart, the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Göttingen."

"Where is the Jazzman?"

When the young police officer heard this, he didn't dare to answer, but just kept signaling the police chief with his eyes.

The police chief didn't realize how big a mess he had made. He lowered his head and straightened his wrinkled white gloves. He put them on slowly and said, "Pick out a few of the tallest and strongest men in the police station and come with me to visit the knight at his hotel. I want to report to him in person. Thanks to the powerful actions of the Göttingen Police Department, we have just thwarted a student riot funded and instigated by forces outside France."

The young police officer was sweating profusely. He racked his brains to help the chief make amends and said, "Sir, this is not good, right? We haven't found out who organized this operation yet. How is it related to the French government?"

"Who else could it be but the French government? They have been at odds with Britain and our Kingdom of Hanover for a long time. The Excellencies of the Kingdom's Cabinet will be satisfied with this answer, and the knight will surely highly recognize our work."

"But..." The young police officer felt as if his heart was being grasped by someone: "Sir, this is not good after all... We don't have any evidence yet."

The chief frowned slightly when he heard this. He glanced at the young police officer and said, "Be smart. Being a policeman requires not only the ability to use a stick, but also the ability to use your brain. Have you forgotten how the college students in the beer hall gave a speech? They regarded Heinrich Heine as a hero, and Heine had just received official funding from the French government some time ago. We have every reason to suspect that this riot was led by the French government behind Heine."

At this point, the director suddenly had an idea. He turned his head and looked at Arthur: "Did you get help from Heine?" Arthur replied angrily: "I got help from Heine? He got help from me!"

"Oh..." Hearing this, the director nodded to Arthur with appreciation: "If you had cooperated earlier, wouldn't there be so many problems?"

The chief of police then turned to the young officer and said, "Look, it's been admitted that Heine was the one who instigated the riot. Go and draw up a report of the investigation and send it to my desk before you leave work. I will give it to Sir Arthur Hastings in the evening for his review."

When the young police officer heard this, he held his head in despair and shouted, "Chief! Why can't you understand?"

"What do you understand?" The police chief scratched his head.

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of Arthur knocking the handcuffs on the interrogation table: "Once the report is written, you don't have to send it to the hotel. If it's not too much trouble, you can just bring it here and let me review it."

The police chief was stunned when he heard this, then he looked at the young police officer who was about to faint, and then turned his head to look at the "student leader" who was sitting upright behind him.

An inexplicable feeling rose up from his abdomen. Even though there was no sunlight in the interrogation room, it did not affect the buzzing of his head.

The police chief couldn't help but exclaimed: "No wonder I feel the weather is so hot today, it turns out there is an Apollo sitting here!"

……

Half an hour later.

Outside the small Göttingen Police Station, the backbone members of the Göttingen Police Department were all present.

The police officers were divided into two teams and arranged in order of height.

The released college students walked out of the police station and were shocked to see this scene. They thought that the police had changed their mind and wanted to take them back to jail.

They hesitated for a moment, and finally, a few brave students walked down the stairs first. Only after they confirmed that the police had no intention of re-arresting them did they feel at ease and told their classmates to return to school.

But they didn't feel happy for long. Suddenly, they heard a command coming from the police station: "Salute!"

The police officers lined up in order, raising their flintlock rifles like machines.

Then, the students saw the gentleman who had caused great trouble in the pub riot and who was from an unknown college, walking out of the police station accompanied by the police chief.

Schneider and Professor Johann Herbart, Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Göttingen, who were standing at the door of the police station, could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

They murmured privately: "Fortunately, we arrived in time and did not cause any big trouble."

Arthur put on his white gloves as he walked, and the police chief was beside him, diligently leading the way.

"Sir, come this way. Are you free tonight? I would like to invite you to my home. The celebrities in Göttingen knew a few days ago that you would be arriving here to give guidance. They also said that they hope I can take the lead in hosting a dance tea party for you. I wonder if you can come and make me feel welcome?"

Arthur knew what he was worried about. As he walked, he said, "Director Schmidt, don't worry. I have always been fair. As the Kingdom's constitutional reform consultant and the academic supervisor of the University of Göttingen, the most important thing is to be fair and to fulfill my duties conscientiously with a heart that is not mixed with any selfish desires."

"Of course, of course."

Police Chief Schmidt complimented him, "Everyone knows that you are a knight of William IV for three years, and you have sworn an oath under the banner of St. George to act in the spirit of chivalry. His Majesty the King has a keen eye. If you did not have the character of a knight, how could you be valued by him? However, it is precisely because you are such a brilliant person that everyone wants to make friends with you. It's just that most of the gentlemen in Göttingen don't have the courage to make this request, so I have to be shameless and invite you to the tea party."

Arthur was annoyed by him, and he knew that if he didn't go to the tea party, Schmidt would not be able to sleep well during this period. Although this guy arrested him indiscriminately, which was really stupid, he would inevitably need this guy's help during his tenure in Göttingen.

Now that Arthur has the evidence against him through the arrest, Schmidt probably won't dare to refuse if he needs help in the future.

Just like when Arthur asked for the students to be released just now, Schmidt did it without saying a word, which is a clear proof.

Arthur thought about it and finally suppressed his dissatisfaction and agreed: "Okay, Schmidt, you decide the time. As long as it does not affect the next work, I will be there."

Schmidt heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and saluted, "Of course, sir, I will definitely choose a time that is convenient for you."

After Arthur finished instructing Schmidt, he walked forward alone. He saw the students gathered outside the police station, and suddenly an idea came to his mind.

Although being taken to the police station is not very decent, but on second thought, this seems to be a good opportunity to get closer to the students.

Just like when Victor was investigating a case, he often pretended to be an accomplice of a criminal and was arrested together with him, and through the experience of being in prison, he built up the trust of the criminal organization. Arthur seemed to be able to use this opportunity to establish himself as a progressive fighter in the eyes of the students.

When he thought of this, Arthur couldn't help but smile.

Before walking out of the police station lobby, he ruffled his hair and then unbuttoned his coat, trying to make himself look less miserable.

Only after he was sure that everything was ready did he limp out of the police station lobby. Standing on the steps, he coughed with a forced smile, attracting everyone's attention.

"I had hoped to have a more formal meeting, but now is the day. Since all the students are here, I might as well introduce myself to you. Dear students, I, Arthur Hastings, the new academic supervisor of the University of Göttingen, would like to pay tribute to you."

(End of this chapter)