what do you think sherlock

Chapter 35 Special Invitation

Dear Ms. Mary Hudson:

We sincerely invite you to come to the charity party held in the special exhibition hall of the British Museum at 7:[-] pm tomorrow. We will auction a batch of precious collections preserved in the Crimean War, and the funds raised this time will be used for Guarantee and compensate London citizens who were harmed by Russian espionage incident some time ago.

If you are willing to attend, please take this letter to the venue as a voucher, and you can also bring up to three companions to the venue.

We are looking forward to your arrival.
-
best wishes,

British Museum Administrative Office
……

Mrs. Hudson finished reading, put the letter on the table, and remained silent.

She was a little absent-minded.

"It's really unexpected, you were invited to the British Museum's charity gala." Sherlock said with some surprise.

Di Renjie has been well integrated into life in London recently, so he can immediately understand what surprised Sherlock.

To compare this feeling, it is as if an old lady who collects rent in Dongshi is suddenly invited to a banquet held by the Ministry of Rites. The twist and contrast are a bit surprising.

"It should be related to the auction items. My husband was once a member of the Crimean Expeditionary Force." Mrs. Hudson replied.

"It seems that you have some difficulties. It seems that you have never heard him." Di Renjie chose his words carefully, for fear of offending this kind old lady who is good at cooking.

"He..." Mrs. Hudson was silent for a moment before continuing: "Perhaps you've heard of the 'Charge of the Hussars' battle?"

The death charge of the hussars, one of the most invaluable battles in the history of British warfare, is forever remembered for the bravery of the soldiers and the incompetence of the generals.

During the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War on October 1854, 10, Baron Raglan, the commander-in-chief of the British army, sent light cavalry to capture the retreating Russian cannons, but the messengers miscommunicated his orders and only equipped The light cavalry with sabers rushed to the well-prepared Russian army head-on on the terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.Under heavy fire, the cavalry managed to charge into the artillery positions, but were forced to retreat due to heavy casualties.In the battle, the British army paid a heavy price. The proud light cavalry regiment was almost wiped out but failed to exchange for any strategic benefits.

This incident caused an uproar in Britain at that time, so both Di Renjie and Sherlock knew about the course of this battle, especially Di Renjie, when his predecessor John was still on the battlefield in Afghanistan, he heard this story a lot .

Obviously it has become a learning material for British soldiers, or the negative kind.

So they both nodded to Mrs. Hudson, and if Mrs. Hudson's late husband had been a member of the Hussars, it was only reasonable that she should be invited.

However, then they heard Mrs. Hudson say something that made them all look at each other in dismay:
"My husband, Nolan Hudson, is the signalman."

*
At this time, London is still in the morning, but St. Petersburg is already in the afternoon. Russia is still so cold in February. Even though all the fireplaces in the luxurious summer palace have been lit, there is still an indelible chill in the palace.

"Osia," although he was an old man in his sixties, Alexander II's voice was still so thick, as if his strong body was not afraid of the severe cold in Northern Europe.

There is no doubt that this iron-fisted tsar with a code in one hand and a sharp knife in the other still has enough energy to rule this huge land for decades.

And this "liberator" who single-handedly brought the empire out of the quagmire of serfdom has no doubt that the empire will once again become the overlord of the European continent in his hands, just like his ancestor, the founder of the Romanov dynasty Or, like the great Peter the Great.

After the empire successfully completes its bourgeois reforms, whether it is going west, going south, or setting its sights on Central Asia, it will have sufficient strength.

But before these distant fantasies could be realized, the aspiring tsar now had one more worry to attend to:
"Osya, I am very disappointed by the operation of the Secret Service this time. The manpower we arranged in London is almost lost."

"It was my dereliction of duty, Your Majesty." The young Osya, the tsar's personal guard, immediately knelt down on one knee.

"I don't mean to blame you. I sent you to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to watch, and I didn't give you real power." Alexander II rubbed his hands, and then put them on the stove to warm them up. Wondering what you think of the Secret Service and Antdorf."

Antdorf Sergey, the current Minister of Internal Affairs of the Empire, is currently the highest person in charge of the Empire's intelligence agency. Osya knows that if he speaks ill of the other party here, then at most half an hour later, the other party will be able to Know.

It was an offending job, but if he didn't tell the truth, His Majesty the Tsar was at hand.

"I think the training system of our Secret Service has fallen behind, Your Majesty, it is far inferior to the British and French, and even inferior to the Germans." Osya said tactfully, and he pointed the finger at the training system instead of Antedo. The husband himself, which can leave some leeway between the two.

"Ah, an unexpected and reasonable answer, Osia." Alexander II said with some jokes and some warnings.

"I am absolutely loyal to you, my lord." Osya said sincerely.

"Okay, I won't embarrass you anymore," Alexander II withdrew his warming hands, and walked to the window. Through the glass window, he could see the white snow in the summer palace garden:
"It's not just that the Secret Service is not as good as the British Secret Service, but Antdorf is not as good as Disraeli. I should have guessed from the beginning that the opponent will definitely not be a member of Gladstone's government."

"You mean?" Osya looked at the Tsar in surprise.

"Don't you understand? Osia, I heard that Disraeli is seriously ill, and I'm afraid he might not be able to survive this year." Alexander II sneered, "The Gladstone cabinet is not hostile to us, he I am worried that after his death, we will usher in a good opportunity for development and break the balance of power on the European continent."

"So he had to force Gladstone's cabinet to fight against us before he died, forcing them to draw a line with us, forcing Gladstone to do everything possible to fight against us, because if Gladstone doesn't Do so, and any future success we may achieve will be Gladstone's guilt."

"Only a forged letter?" Osia said incredulously.

"Only relying on a letter, this is his brilliance, Osia." Alexander II quietly stared out of the window, as if he could see the awe-inspiring and inspiring place in the far west through the layers of wind and snow. The old man he loathes.

*
It was a rare good weather in the afternoon in Britain, which made the Hughendon Manor look extraordinarily fresh and bright at this time.

"Monty, thank the merciful Lord for your safe return." Disraeli hugged Lord Lawton who had just been discharged from the hospital.

"Thank you for your concern, teacher." Luo Dun carefully hugged the old man in front of him, as if the other party was the one who was injured and needed to pay more attention to his body than him.

Lawton's chest injury was almost healed, but a bandage was still tied to fix it and avoid secondary injuries.

"How is your recovery?" Disraeli smiled and patted Lord Lawton on the shoulder.

"Thanks to you, it's not bad." Lawton also smiled.

"I'm going to give you a long vacation recently, you go and recuperate." Disraeli said suddenly.

"Actually, I can still..." Lawton quickly refused.

"Don't worry about me, I've called Jonathan back from India. If you leave early, you might be able to meet him in Egypt." Disraeli blinked and said.

Lawton was stunned for a moment, and then reacted instantly: "You mean, I need to go to Egypt for vacation next?"

"Sorry, the old man is just forgetful. In fact, I wanted to recommend Algeria at first," Disraeli spread his hands and said.

"Ah, speaking of it, Algeria is indeed a good place. I have long thought of traveling there." Lawton understood:

"Then when should I leave?"

"The boat is ready, but it depends on the weather. The weather in London is always like this. It is not easy to find a suitable day for travel." Disraeli said meaningfully:

"We have to wait for the day when the wind blows."

(End of this chapter)