British writer.

Chapter 18 Churchill

the next day,
Friday.

Sure enough, the salon on Fleet Street occupied the front pages of the major newspapers.

Each newspaper has a different focus,

"The Times" made a preview of "The Hound of Baskervilles", which is regarded as the official announcement of the return of Sherlock Holmes,

This heavy news and Doyle's interview almost occupied [-]% of the article, while Lu, the mysterious author of "There Were None" was squeezed into a very marginal corner;
In contrast, the "Manchester Guardian" exaggerated Lu so much that he was like something in the sky and nothing on earth, and Doyle became a foil instead.

These two newspapers often fight, but mostly because of their differences in political stances,
This time it involves the field of literature, which is quite rare, and it inevitably arouses the curiosity of London citizens.
Even the gentlemen of the Palace of Westminster and Whitehall would let the coachman wait while they went to work, and buy a newspaper with a political leaning against their own party, and join in the fun.

Among these politicians, there is one very special person. As a member of the Conservative Party, the Times, the Daily Telegraph, and the Manchester Guardian take it all, regardless of their leanings.

The paperman knocks on the office door,
"Mr. Churchill, the papers are delivered."

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill,

It's a very long name.

But his career history and resume is longer,

Politician, writer, historian, speaker, journalist, and, 61st and 63rd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Of course, at this moment Churchill is still just a small member of parliament. Although he has already occupied a place in the Palace of Westminster, he is only in the back row.

He opened the door for the newspaperman,
"give it to me."

His voice was deeper than usual, as if he was covering up something.

The newspaper deliveryman glanced at the door subconsciously, and found that there was another gentleman sitting, so he quickly looked away,

"Your newspaper, sir."

Three newspapers were handed in through the crack of the door.

Churchill waved his hand,

"Go ahead."

The newspaper delivery boy hurried away.

Churchill closed the door, returned to his desk, lined up three newspapers, and read the front page with his eyes squinted.

The person opposite him said: "Winston, every time I see you reading the newspaper like this, I feel miraculous."

His name is John Wodehouse, [-]st Earl of Kimberley,

At the same time, he is also a leader of the Liberal Party.

Churchill didn't even look up.
"Dear Sir, are you still there? I thought you were gone~ If you have nothing to do, go out quickly, I'm afraid my comrades will misunderstand, and then there will be no way to argue~"

Misunderstood a hammer!
Churchill was now an outlier in the Conservative Party.

Wodehouse satirized the other party: "It's quite indisputable. Look at your current office. It's so small that you've been squeezed out, right?"

As he spoke, he didn't forget to look around and make a "tsk tsk tsk" sound.

Indeed, this office is very shabby. After a desk is placed, the distance from the front of the desk to the door is only a little more than three meters. The only decorations are a pot of ornamental plants that seem to be dying and a pot of ornamental plants that are already dead.

Churchill doesn't care.
"It doesn't matter, anyway, the councilors are ants here, how many of them don't even have their own territory."

Ostensibly, he was talking about offices, since the vast majority of MPs do not have a permanent office at the Palace of Westminster,

But in fact, this is undoubtedly a pun.

Wodehouse smiled,

"Do you have the ambition to expand the territory?"

This is also a pun.

Churchill didn't want to answer this question, got up to make black tea for himself,

At this time, he was not the potbellied image in the photos of later generations, because he had just returned from the Yingbo battlefield.

Wodehouse did not expect Churchill to answer directly,

He changed the topic: "Finish? What do you think?"

As he spoke, he nodded in the direction of the newspaper.

Churchill said: "Well, it's quite interesting, especially the attitude of the "Daily Telegraph", which is rare and impartial. No, it can't be said that the "Daily Telegraph" compares Dr. Doyle with Lu, and it is a bit high on the former."

Wodehouse couldn't help being stunned,

"I look up to the former? The former you said is Dr. Doyle, right?"

He even thought he had heard wrong.

Churchill explained: "Don't get me wrong. I'm talking about the current Dr. Doyle. It's hard for him to be innovative. And "There Were None" is the exact opposite. Nursery rhyme predictions and island killings are groundbreaking."

Wodehouse nodded,

On this point, he also felt the same way.

He said: "So you think that Holmes' return this time will be full of resistance?"

Churchill laughed,
"How is that possible? That's Sherlock Holmes! Everyone in England loves Sherlock Holmes!"

Wodehouse was speechless for a while.

Churchill happily took a sip of black tea and said, "Actually, what really interests me is Philip Lombard, a character in And There Were None."

Wodehouse asked: "The soldier?"

Churchill nodded,
"That's right. I always feel that the description of him in the book is weird. It doesn't look like he was on the British-Boer battlefield. Instead, he seems to have served in East Africa, India and other regions. If my guess is correct, Lu probably changed his background."

Wodehouse narrowed his eyes,

Churchill is a hero who returned from the Anglo-Boer War, his judgment should be correct,

As for the reason why Lu changed the background of the characters in the book, just think about which newspaper "None Survived" was serialized.

But the problem is...

Will there be liberals among the Chinese with braids and feudalism?

No matter how you think about it, this conclusion is outrageous.

Churchill touched his nose lightly and said, "I specifically inquired about some specific plots in the salon. This Lu may not be as simple as imagined."

Wodehouse shook his head,
"You're worrying too much."

Churchill did not pick up on this, but continued: "I also heard some interesting news from a noble lady. Lu has a very special view on the rise of the United States, and believes that germs are also an important factor."

Germs?

For the second time today, Wodehouse thought he had heard wrong again.

He didn't speak, waiting for the other party to explain.

Churchill really followed the topic just now and said: "He believed that when Europeans set foot on the American continent, they brought not only science, but also smallpox, mumps, measles, cholera, gonorrhea and yellow fever. These germs killed the original 'landlords' on the American continent and completed a thorough land reform."

This point of view is quite new.

Wodehouse pondered for a moment, and said: "It seems reasonable, but it is outrageous. There is no need to kill the British Empire, because it can colonize."

Churchill shook his head,
"Colonization? So do you think our colonization of Japan has succeeded or failed? Is the colonization of North America successful or failed? Taking a step back, if colonization is really effective, will our army still fight bad battles in South Africa?"

He has clearly realized that the control of the empire on which the sun never sets cannot last forever.

Wodehouse thought otherwise,
"I think you've been made a little irrational by the experience of being a prisoner. This Lu is certainly an amazing Chinese kid, but China... hehe..."

Speaking of China, Wodehouse shook his head.

Churchill held a different view, believing that Britain could not colonize China for a long time.
But he didn't bother to refute, and said, "I reserve my point of view. Actually, I'm quite interested in Lu himself. Maybe I should meet up if I have the chance."

(End of this chapter)