Shadow of great britain

If someone lies, I can’t tell the truth.

——Russian proverb

In the corner of Vitebsk Province, Russia, there is a remote small city called Druisk.

There are no majestic buildings here, and there are no grand gardens like those in ancient Babylon. Walking along the dirt streets without tiles, there is not even a house above four floors. The small church in the square is also low and dilapidated. When the wind blows in winter, the windows creak, which sounds like God appearing.

Even if the standard of luxury is lowered from a four-story building to a three-story building, it is still extremely rare to call it a luxury three-story building here.

The few luxurious houses are the mansions of the mayor, the postmaster and the police chief.

Yes, mansions!

Although most people living in this city don’t even know what this word means, perhaps only a few teachers with secondary and higher education experience in the school understand that this word actually means someone’s house.

But in this city, the more obscure and difficult words are, the more they can highlight a person's identity.

How to describe the first impression of an ambitious outsider entering this small town?

Sitting in a carriage and looking at the flying snow, it seems that the snowflakes are not falling on the muddy streets, but falling on your heart.

That feeling is cold and chilly, as if a lifetime of fame and fortune has ended here, and both life and career have been put into the cold palace.

For the rest of your life, you can only smell the cool snowflakes and chew and savor those memories.

This damn place doesn't even have a road leading to the outside world, as if this is the end of the world. Standing on the street, no matter which side of the city you look, you can only see wilderness, forests and grasslands.

But even in such a place, there are still many things that should be there.

Prisons, charity hospitals, churches, city halls, police stations and local courts, the "Sloboda" (market) that makes the city lively every now and then, bureaucrats, landlords, priests, serfs, merchants are all available.

Oh, yes!

Don't forget that in the only hotel in the city, there is a British diplomat who was trapped by heavy snow for five days and five nights, and was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, but he had no way to deal with General Winter. He could only stay in the hotel bed all day and curse "Russian cities look like Jerusalem from the outside, but look like Bethlehem punished by God from the inside"!

However, what made Arthur most angry was not General Winter, but the difficulty of entering Russia.

In the 19th century, the entry and exit management of various countries was very backward, so that wanted criminals sentenced to death like Garibaldi could roam around in broad daylight, and as long as they avoided the inspection of the border posts, they could enter most European countries unimpeded.

Even France, the most centralized country in Europe, often missed two-thirds of the exiles from the Young Italy.

If these people were going to the UK, it would not be the visa that would stump them, but the money they needed to buy a boat ticket to the UK.

Yes! There was no visa system in the UK at all these years. All you had to do was show the customs your boat ticket to prove that you had come to Britain via a legal route.

Of course, in order to combat smuggling, you also had to declare the goods, valuables, books or any other items that might be taxed when you submitted your boat ticket.

But Russia, this hellhole is different!

If you are an ordinary Russian who is not a noble or an official and wants to go abroad, I advise you to give up this fantasy.

Because not only do you have to apply for a passport from the provincial police, but you also have to go to St. Petersburg to apply for an exit permit from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and declare your property. In addition, you must also attach a detailed travel plan and the expected use of funds and accommodation arrangements abroad.

These legal procedures can take you several years, and when you are ready to embark on the journey, you will have to undergo strict inspection at the border checkpoint like a spy. If you want to cross the border smoothly, you must not only prepare the money in advance, but also contact the person who collects the money in advance.

Although the entry of foreigners is not as strict as that of local people, Sir Arthur Hastings, who has been spoiled by the lax customs of Western European countries, is still very angry about the attitude of the Russian government towards him.

In order to enter Russia, he must carry including but not limited to:

1. A diplomatic passport issued by the British government to prove his diplomatic status.

2. A diplomatic letter of appointment and diplomatic letters from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explain the purpose of going to Russia and Arthur's position and identity.

3. The entry permit and domestic pass obtained by the British Embassy in Russia from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs after consultation with the Russian government.

3. Because there are still sporadic cases of cholera on the European continent, Arthur was also forced to be quarantined for seven days upon entry, and after the quarantine, he obtained a health certificate issued by the hospital to prove that he did not carry any infectious diseases.

4. The declaration form obtained at the border customs, which states Arthur's declared personal belongings and ensures that everything is in compliance.

5. The registration document obtained from the local government of Grodno Province, Russia after completing entry at the border checkpoint.

6. The reception document provided to Arthur by the Russian Embassy in the Kingdom of Hanover before departure, which is intended to ensure Arthur's diplomatic treatment in Russia.

…

Arthur started working on these shitty documents in mid-December last year, but he still hadn't gotten everything done until mid-January this year.

As the date of taking office was getting closer, Arthur had no choice but to write a letter to Moscow and find Colonel Shubinsky, who worked in the gendarmerie under the Third Bureau of the Imperial Office.

Colonel Shubinsky is worthy of being Arthur's good friend who has only known him for a few years and a lifelong brother.

Shubinsky not only sincerely regards his friendship with Arthur, but also has a big picture that ordinary Russian officials cannot achieve.

Shubinsky seriously believes that if Arthur cannot take office on schedule, it may affect the diplomatic relations between Britain and Russia, thus seriously damaging the invaluable friendship between the two friendly countries.

Therefore, Shubinsky directly helped Arthur speed up the approval of entry and exit documents through private channels, and what is more surprising is that along with these documents, a false domestic travel certificate issued through official legal channels was sent to Arthur.

What is a domestic travel certificate?

In short, not only is it difficult for Russians to go abroad, but they must also apply for travel certificates even when traveling domestically. Leaving the territory without a travel certificate is considered a crime.

Merchants who want to trade across regions need a merchant pass.

People with devout religious beliefs who want to make a pilgrimage to a distant monastery or holy place need a pilgrimage certificate.

Craftsmen or migrant workers need to carry a migrant worker certificate when looking for work.

Soldiers or veterans who need to be transferred across regions need to carry a military permit. If they are going to sensitive areas such as borders, they must also apply for an additional border area permit.

As for the travel permit that Shubinsky got for Arthur, it is the most relaxed one, and generally only officials and nobles can apply for it.

This passport does not need to strictly indicate the travel route, but only the starting and end points of the journey, and the purpose of the trip.

The military police colonel obviously did not forget Arthur's desire to travel around Russia last year. If Arthur only had a diplomat's pass in his hand, he could only pass through a fixed route.

Therefore, in order to let Arthur travel more, Shubinsky specially made him a fake identity document and a travel permit that matched the fake identity.

Of course, this travel permit does not allow him to go everywhere. At least Arthur cannot approach those sensitive areas. He just has a few more routes to enter St. Petersburg.

However, it is always good to go to more places.

Arthur still remembered the kindness of Colonel Shubinsky.

However, when he thought it would be a pleasant journey, an unexpected snowstorm directly ruined his good mood.

When the carriage he was riding finally arrived in Druisk after thousands of difficulties and dangers, Arthur suddenly found that the pile of diplomatic passports, entry permits and reception documents that made him hate were all missing!

Also disappeared with his suitcase containing 5,000 rubles!

Relying on the intuition of the old cop in Scotland Yard, Arthur immediately suspected the Russian youth who got off in Vilna with him.

"You damned thief! How dare you steal the money of Italian revolutionaries! Agares, you saw it clearly, didn't you? You treacherous devil, you didn't even want to remind me once!"

But even if Arthur cursed to death and cursed his paternal and maternal relatives, it would not change the fact that he was now only left with 200 rubles in his wallet, a beautiful tailcoat, shirt, scarf, and top hat.

However, this was not the worst. The worst thing was that the rubles in Arthur's wallet were not silver rubles, but paper rubles.

Although both were rubles, the total circulation of paper rubles was higher than that of silver rubles due to the Russian government's mandatory promotion of paper money, which led to a depreciation of paper money in actual purchasing power.

Therefore, 1 paper ruble can usually only be used as 0.75-0.8 silver rubles.

According to the price of gold and silver, 1 pound is equivalent to about 9.5 silver rubles, which is equivalent to about 12 paper rubles.

That is to say, Sir Arthur Hastings had less than 17 pounds of property left at this time.

Since the Sir left the front-line team of Scotland Yard, he finally returned to the ranks of poor and lower-middle peasants in January 1834.

Fortunately, although the Sir had no money and lost all his diplomatic documents, he had to show his domestic travel permit and domestic passport when passing through various cities and checkpoints along the way, so Arthur always carried and kept the fake identity document that Shubinsky had handled for him.

Because of this, there was no Sir Arthur Hastings in this small hotel in Druisk.

The only person here was Mr. Artur Agaresovich Hastingov.

Arthur sat on the bed in the small hotel, and the cold wind blew on his face through the broken window like an ice knife.

He looked at the passport with the double-headed eagle pattern of the Russian Empire in his hand with mixed feelings. He was so hungry and cold that he didn't even want to argue with the red devil who was patting his belly and laughing wildly.

Russian Empire domestic passport

Personal information

Name: Artur Agaresovich Hestingov

Place of birth: Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire

Date of birth: January 17, 1809

Nationality: Russian Empire

Occupation: Civil servant

Appearance description

Age: 25

Height: 2.6 Arshin

Eye color: black

Hair color: black

Special mark: There is a slight scar at the corner of the left eye

Issuing authority information

Issuing authority: Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire

Date of issue: January 19, 1834

Validity period: 5 years

Passport number: 2323451

Travel Permit Section

Travel destinations: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Minsk, Kyiv

Purpose of trip: to perform official duties

Note: According to this passport, travel within the territory of the Russian Empire is permitted for the performance of official duties.

"Oh my God!"

Arthur looked out the window at the snowy sky, and couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness in his heart.

If the storm doesn't stop, he doesn't know when his letter for help to Moscow will be sent.

Some people may ask, why didn’t Arthur ask the city government for help when something happened?

This is the most haunted place in the city of Druisk!

Arthur has been going to the two-story building of the city hall almost every day these days and asking to see the mayor. However, the doorman always replies that the mayor has gone hunting.

In this blizzard weather, anyone who heard this knew that this answer was perfunctory to Arthur.

Arthur finally had no choice but to reveal his identity to the guard, but then he thought that if he revealed his identity at this time, it would be difficult to explain the forged domestic travel permit he was carrying. .

If the city government brought this matter to light, the kind-hearted Colonel Shubinsky would not be able to live without it. Arthur had created such a big mess for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before he took office. Even with Count Durham protecting him, his Life may not be any easier.

Therefore, even if he hits a wall every time, Arthur can only use the stupidest method, wandering in front of the city hall every day, hoping that one day he will be lucky enough to meet the mayor who comes to work on a whim.

Agares saw Arthur deflated, and the Red Devil, who had been holding back for more than half a year, felt a happy feeling of revenge: "I escaped the bullet under the Tower of London, but I didn't escape the Russian pickpocket. Arthur, the sewer How does it feel to capsize? How many days can your two hundred rubles last? Why don't you listen to me, take the knife that Garibaldi gave you, lie down in the snow on the road, and let's go."

Arthur glared at Agares fiercely. He was about to curse the Red Devil, but the biting cold wind soon taught him a truth - instead of spending all his energy on talking nonsense, it would be better to wait. Erxue is young, so go to the city hall early to try your luck.

Arthur snorted, shivering and wrapped himself in layer after layer of hotel quilts, wrapping himself like a caterpillar. Then he opened the closet door and hid inside: "Stop wearing this set. What a calamity, I swore an oath under the banner of St. George to do things in a chivalrous spirit!"

In the same city, some people were shivering in their closets in the freezing cold wind, while others were sitting in the warm city hall warming themselves by the fire.

The fire was crackling in the fireplace. The mayor, who was wearing a deerskin coat and bearskin hat, was sitting at the main seat of the big round table, looking at the people waiting in front of him. He suddenly stood up and said, "Are you all here?"

"We're all here."

The mayor nodded slightly, with a serious expression on his face that everyone might not see once in several years, and solemnly announced: "Everyone, I invite you here today to announce a very bad news. News. According to reliable information, an imperial envoy from Petersburg will arrive in this city soon. What’s even more embarrassing is that he is likely to visit incognito!”