shadow of britain

Chapter 615 Sound Man
No amount of explanation will help someone who doesn't understand a glance, because such a person is not naturally suited to politics.

—Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Great examples can always make a whole generation fall or rise. If a man like Napoleon Bonaparte appears in an era, then all those around him face a choice: either they will be ashamed of themselves in front of him, be intimidated by his greatness and disappear from the world, or they will follow his example and exert their power to the fullest, reaching the point of indulgence. Those around Napoleon can only become his slaves or his opponents. Such a great man who is superior to others will not tolerate mediocrity in the long run. In this respect, Arthur Hastings is like Napoleon, except that he usually calls his slaves: my friends.

According to his own account, in his early years of interaction with Talleyrand, there were a few words that benefited him for life - the so-called ambition of a person refers to fully demonstrating his intelligence. There are usually two ways to improve one's status in the world, the first is through one's own ability, and the second is to take advantage of other people's stupidity. The status of a noble is like a high cliff, only eagles and geckos can climb up.

So is he an eagle or a gecko? Perhaps neither, or perhaps both.

The heart of an eagle was trapped in the body of a gecko, ultimately creating this strange species that even Darwin could not easily conclude.

——Stefan Zweig, Arthur Hastings: A Prisoner of the Mind Driven by Ambition

At the moment Arthur finished speaking, the air in the room seemed to freeze suddenly, as if time was frozen by some invisible force. There was only the faint flickering of candlelight and the ticking of the clock in the room. Hugh stood there quietly, his eyes slightly lowered, but his heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

He took a deep breath, and slowly loosened his slightly tightened fingers, as if trying to suppress the inner desire back into his heart.

Then, he nodded slowly, his voice calm as if there was no emotion: "Although I don't know where you got this information from, I think you are a trustworthy person. However, an important position like the second secretary of the embassy in Russia must have many requirements for the person who takes up the position, right?"

Arthur didn't look at Hugh, but smiled and poured him a cup of black tea. "Of course, this is an important position. Although Sir Arthur Hastings is a kind and amiable person, he always has high standards and strict requirements for his work. For example, this person must be proficient in Russian and English. And because of the close connection between the embassy and the Moscow company, he must be familiar with the Moscow company and British business in Russia."

Hugh agreed and said, "Of course, there can be no ambiguity about this."

Arthur sat comfortably by the fire and took a sip of his teacup: "Also, you must be flexible in your approach to work."

Hugh nodded repeatedly: "That's right, gentleness, friendliness, and sophistication are all indispensable."

Arthur held up a finger. "Especially reliable."

"Reliable?" Huett was stunned at first, then he sat up straight and said, "Yes, it must be reliable."

When Arthur saw that Hugh not only agreed with him, but even started to make demands on himself, the old British spy instantly realized that the other party must have completely understood his subtext.

Arthur put down his teacup, crossed his legs and said, "Yes, just as you said, as the British Cultural Counselor to Russia, I have the obligation and responsibility to recommend a second-class secretary who fully meets these conditions to the British Ambassador to Russia, Earl Darramore."

"No, Colonel!" Huete suddenly interrupted Arthur.

Arthur frowned slightly: "What's wrong?"

Hugh said seriously, "I don't mean to blame you, but based on my rigorous character, I must correct a trivial error in your words just now - it is not your responsibility to recommend a second-class secretary to the ambassador, but Sir Arthur Hastings's responsibility to recommend a second-class secretary to the ambassador."

"Oh..." Arthur smiled apologetically, "It's indeed my fault, Richard. I must say, you seem to be a very reliable person."

Huette raised his hand and saluted. "You know, Colonel, that's how we do it in the military police."

After that, Huett continued, "However, I am still very grateful for your praise of me. But may I ask, among all the people you have met in your life, how reliable am I?"

Arthur did not answer Huett's question directly. Instead, he stood up, turned his back to Huett, and warmed his hands by the fire. "You see, Richard, the essence of our business is not to find the right answer, but to find the right question. Sometimes, if you find the right question, you don't need to give an answer. For example, if the emperor asks you to arrest a few Poles, if you really just arrest a few Poles, then you haven't done your job well. Because the emperor is not deliberately trying to make things difficult for the Poles, but is worried that someone is plotting to overthrow his government. If you know where the problem is in advance, you naturally don't need to do the hard work of running errands."

Upon hearing this, Huet rubbed his face, took a deep breath, then raised his head and drank the tea in the cup.

"By the way, Colonel, let's change the subject." Huett smiled and said, "How many days do you plan to stay in Druisk?"

When Arthur heard this question, he straightened his back, squinted his eyes and nodded slightly: "Well, very good question. Richard, very good question!"

Huett said, "I know you may still have a lot of work to do here. After all, you are carrying the emperor's secret decree and are the imperial envoy. But if I may be frank, a small place like Druisk is not worthy of delaying your journey for several weeks. You should be sitting in the British clubs in St. Petersburg and Moscow, enjoying Bordeaux red wine and being praised by everyone."

Arthur sat back on the sofa and said, "Richard, I have to say that I do think so. Of course, I am not planning to leave Druisk because I am shirking my responsibilities, but because I know that the emperor will send an imperial envoy to take over my job soon. I never steal the limelight from others just to show off my abilities."

Huett took out a notebook from his jacket pocket, picked up the feather pen on the desk and wrote down his thoughts: "You are right. Although I have only known you for a short time, I can already feel your rigorous style. Besides, you are responsible for the routine local inspection of the Third Bureau, not the special inspection like the next imperial envoy, so there is no need to control the details too strictly. I will explain this to everyone clearly."

Arthur nodded slightly. "Of course. I just mentioned Sir Arthur Hastings to you. The thorny problem he is facing has not been solved yet. During the long journey, his diplomatic passport and various identity documents all fell into the hands of thieves. Even the tens of thousands of rubles he carried with him were lost. This matter is..."

The Red Devil squatting on the side of the road heard this and couldn't help laughing: "Oh, my dear Arthur, didn't you only lose 5,000 rubles? Could it be that you didn't lose the money, but lent it to the thief at high interest, and it more than doubled in just a few days?"

Huette said seriously, "This is a serious diplomatic incident. I am not able to resolve it with my authority. But please tell the lord to rest assured that I will report this matter to the headquarters of the Third Bureau in St. Petersburg through special channels. I believe that Count Benkendorf will deal with it seriously. In the end, even if we cannot recover your losses, we will definitely find ways to compensate you for part of it. After all, although the weather in Russia is cold, people's hearts are always warm. We must not let our guests who come from afar feel cold." At this point, Huette paused again: "However, diplomatic passports and identity documents... The Third Bureau does not have the authority to reissue them."

Arthur knew what Hugh's words meant.

The Third Bureau might not have the authority to help with the reissue, but even if they did, Huett would not take the initiative to ask the Bureau for this, because the premise for his willingness to help was that Arthur was really Sir Arthur Hastings.

If Arthur fails to take up the post of Cultural Counselor in Russia, all the deals reached between the two will be invalid.

Moreover, not only would the deal be void, Huette might even escort him and the group of Poles to Siberia. After all, there would be a price to pay for deceiving a Russian gendarme.

However, this problem has never been a problem for Arthur.

If the new cultural counselor to Russia is not Arthur Hastings, but someone else, such as Elder Carter, then without the documents it would be impossible to confirm his identity.

At this moment, the importance of the first graduate of the University of London, the gold medal in three years of academic study and the top graduate in the history department, immediately becomes apparent.

Even if Arthur came to the gate of the British Embassy in Russia naked, leaning on a stick and carrying a bowl, as long as he was willing to kneel in front of the door and shout "mentor" three times, Earl Darramore would immediately send someone to open the door for him and reward him with a hot meal.

After all, who on the campus of the University of London didn't know this favorite student of Mr. Jeremy Bentham?
Not to mention anything else, even the former Russian Emperor Alexander I once wrote to Mr. Bentham, asking for advice on how to maintain national stability and seek advice on the art of governing a country.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

If we really want to talk about it, it would be an exaggeration to say that the knighthood in Russia was granted by the Tsar, but isn't it realistic to grant him the same ancestry as the Tsar?
Moreover, Arthur was given the first place among those of the same descent as the Tsar. According to the convention of the imperial examination, it was only natural for him to be called the Yellow Armored One.

Arthur did not reveal Hugh's thoughts, but said calmly: "You don't have to worry about the lord's affairs. He is a student and former official of Earl Daramore. Even if he has lost his diplomatic passport, it will be no problem for him to take office with just a face."

Hearing this, Hugh stood up immediately and said, "How can this be possible? Even if we can't find the diplomatic documents, we must at least protect the Sir's property."

Arthur lightly turned the page on this unpleasant episode and continued, "Besides that, there is another matter. If this matter were disclosed, it would likely cause unnecessary misunderstanding."

Hearing that the conversation was not going well, Huett became alert and asked, "What's going on?"

Arthur said, "After losing his diplomatic credentials, the lord used another identity document to enter the city to avoid the snowstorm in order to avoid freezing to death and causing a serious diplomatic incident between Britain and Russia. Regarding this identity document, in fact, you know, in an administrative environment like ours, many things often require a flexible and reasonable approach. To be honest, many times, this is not the ideal way we expect, but we have to admit that in some cases, this is indeed a more appropriate solution.

The process of applying for this identity document is not as complicated as the conventional procedure. This document fully complies with the existing administrative requirements and is completely within the framework of compliance, but the details are somewhat blurred. Just like those upper-level documents, we often find that their legitimacy does not come entirely from the real information, but through a subtle means to show their relative legitimacy. As for the name, place, and even the history on the document, you can understand it as a "practical need", or a "necessary amendment" in accordance with the spirit of justice, or it is more like a "adaptive adjustment".

As for the person in charge at the time, he was a colleague who understood the actual situation very well. In some subtle administrative backgrounds, we don't even need too much textual explanation. He was fully aware that although some steps seemed cumbersome, they were actually just formalities. Without such formalities, it would seem that it did not meet the needs of society.

So, although it seems a little unconventional on the surface, from a practical point of view, everything is reasonable and completely impeccable. After all, you know, in a complex administrative system, many things must be implemented in a certain way, which we can call a "reasonable curve". In short, those "minor changes" on the documents are just to make the whole process smoother and complete the necessary administrative functions without deviation. "

Hugh stood opposite Arthur, his body straight, but his eyes were fixed on him. His mind was blank, a trace of confusion appeared on his face unconsciously, and his brows were slightly furrowed, as if every word he heard became extremely unfamiliar.

He couldn't help but shook his head slightly, and a barely perceptible confusion flashed in his eyes.

Yes, that sounded reasonable, even more "reasonable" than he had imagined.

However, Arthur's eloquent explanation made him feel an indescribable confusion, like a fog that prevented him from seeing the truth through the surface.

He opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth, but he didn't seem to know how to respond. Arthur smiled slightly, not seeming to be eager to wait for an answer. Hugh's eyebrows were tightly knitted, and the corners of his mouth twitched unconsciously. He seemed to be struggling to digest every word of Arthur.

However, as time went by, that state of ignorance gradually changed subtly. Hugh's eyes began to focus, and the chains of his thoughts were suddenly broken by some force, and a sudden realization broke through the fog in his heart. His eyes stayed on Arthur for a moment, and suddenly, as if something had lit up, the whole person seemed to wake up all of a sudden.

His eyes opened wider, and suddenly, as if he was hit on the head by a huge rock, all his previous confusion and hesitation were thrown behind him.

He came to a conclusion—a conclusion that was much simpler than he had imagined.

"You mean, fake... forged?"

Arthur took a sip of tea. He didn't seem to care about it at all. "You know, this kind of thing can't be simply regarded as 'forgery'. It's just a formal adjustment, which is reasonable and necessary."

(End of this chapter)