shadow of britain

Chapter 591 Herzen-Ogarev Group
"Come, let me introduce them to you. From the left, they are Vasily Sokolovsky, Nikolai Ogarev, Nikolai Sagin, Nikolai Kechel and Nikolai Sazonov."

Herzen stood up and enthusiastically introduced Arthur's friends. Although he did not tell them any other useful information, for the head of the secret police, what he saw with his eyes and heard with his ears was enough.

Before Arthur entered the room, he could faintly hear the Russian boys, wearing tricolor scarves and berets, singing Allons enfants de la patrie (Forward! Sons and daughters of the motherland) in French from outside the door.

This refrain was familiar to radicals and secret police alike, for it was the opening line of the French revolutionary song, La Marseillaise.

Now there is Young Italy, there is Young Germany, Mr. Disraeli is preparing for the establishment of Young England, and now...

Arthur leaned back on the sofa, threw his hat on the table, and asked Herzen: "Do you have an organization called Young Russia or something? By the way, there are so many Nicholas among you."

Arthur's political joke was very dangerous, and the atmosphere of dancing on swords made Herzen's smile stiff.

He buried his head and used a corkscrew to open the sparkling wine. The golden wine poured into the goblet, and his sparkling eyes were reflected on the surface of the liquid.

"Organization? We are just a group of students who came to Leipzig to watch a show. If you think traveling together like this can be considered organization, then we'll just reluctantly do it."

Arthur took the glass from Herzen's hand, took out a piece of sugar with tweezers and put it in it as he knew how to do it.

Then, with a crackling sound, Arthur took out a match to light the wine, then used a toothpick to pick up a pineapple slice from the fruit bowl and roasted it over the green and red flame for a while, until small bubbles appeared on the surface of the pineapple and a crackling sound was heard. Then he threw the whole pineapple slice into the wine, blew out the flame, and took a sip with satisfaction.

As the sweet, fruity taste filled his taste buds, Arthur squinted his eyes and sighed, "You don't have an organization. It seems that the student groups at Moscow University are not as active as those in Göttingen."

Bismarck, who was sitting next to Arthur, echoed, "Yes, we are all members of the Gestapo, and the Gestapo is one of the affiliated societies of the All-German Student Association. If you didn't join the society, what did you usually do in your spare time at university?"

Sagin, who came with Herzen, did not know the background of these strangers. He just thought that these people were college students who came to Leipzig for fun like them.

Sagin said, "Moscow University prohibits students from organizing their own clubs, and you should understand that those clubs that are allowed to exist are meaningless. So we didn't join those official clubs, and even if we did, we didn't often attend their activities. But secretly, we still have our own small group, which we call the Herzen-Ogarev Group."

"Herzen-Ogarev Group?" Arthur leaned on the sofa and snapped his fingers. "What a good name! Do you know what I like most about Russians? I like your Russian character the most. The names you gave are so concise and clear. You can tell who is the leader right away!"

After saying that, Arthur's eyes immediately drifted to Mr. Ogarev who had just been introduced to him. He was a thin young man with soft features. He looked like the kind of inconspicuous young man that could be seen everywhere on a university campus.

Arthur would bet the others a shilling that Mr. Ogarev's schoolmates would seldom hear him speak aloud.

During class, he would always sit in the corner of the classroom, listen quietly to every word of the professor, and write down his understanding in a notebook. Apart from a few like-minded classmates, he had almost no other social activities. Only when he met in a pub on weekends, after a few sips, he would boldly start discussing topics such as the country, nation and personal freedom with his friends.

Why is Arthur so sure that Ogarev is such a person?
Naturally, it was because he was once the same kind as Ogarev, but he was luckier than Mr. Ogarev. After graduating from the University of London, he joined Scotland Yard and rose rapidly to become the person he once hated the most - he became a glorious national parasite, and a rare species that has not been discovered by mankind so far.

"So, this is one of your leaders, Mr. Ogarev?" Arthur raised his glass and clinked it with Ogarev's. "Then where is your other boss? Where is dear Mr. Herzen?"

Arthur looked around the room with a smile in his eyes, and his gaze finally stopped on the young man with whom he had a pleasant chat in the smoking room: "No kidding, I felt from the beginning that you have the qualities of a leader. I guess I'm right this time, right, Mr. Herzen?"

Herzen saw that everyone had confessed everything about the group, so there was no need for him to hide anything.

Although he always thought that drinking and bragging with a group of German students was no big deal, for some reason, he always felt empty in the deepest part of his heart, as if he was standing on the edge of a cliff and stepped into empty space.

"Well, sir. Now that we have introduced ourselves, it is your turn to come on stage. Don't say you are a professor at the University of Göttingen anymore. I know that is a lie."

"I'm not lying to you. I'm really a professor in Göttingen, and I'm also the school supervisor and special representative of the country."

"If you insist, I will be the Tsar of Russia."

"If that's the case, then I suggest you go to the third floor, because King Anton I of Saxony and the Duke of Sussex of Britain are both there. You should go up and chat with them."

The students burst into laughter. The Russian students waved their glasses and applauded the good joke. The students from Göttingen also smiled and were unwilling to reveal the truth. Everyone was watching the fun with a relaxed attitude, except Bismarck, who knew the truth and was terrified.

Because only he knew that the villain Arthur Hastings was not a great standard-bearer of liberalism. He stood beside the liberals just to find an opportunity to stab them at any time.

Young Italy has already suffered a heavy blow in northern Italy, but they still don't know who did it.

The stupid students in Germany were obviously even worse. They actually treated this guy as one of their own, completely unaware that even the young leader of Germany, Heinrich Heine, had already succumbed to his money tactics.

Now, he even did not spare those Russians who had nothing to do with him and lived in the snow and ice.

In the past, Bismarck thought that this guy was manipulating conspiracies to satisfy his bottomless desires.

But now it seems that this is completely in his nature. He is just such a born bastard.

No matter whether it has anything to do with him or not, he would kick the dog if he saw it passing by.

What's even more horrifying is that such a person used to be a British diplomat, and he wasn't even the best among them.

Because according to him, there was at least one Mr. August Schneider above him.

In an instant, Bismarck could not help but feel sad for the future of Europe, and even his life prospects became bleak. Herzen, who was toasting with everyone in the box to liven up the atmosphere, noticed this unhappy guest and sat down with concern: "Mr. Bismarck, is our sweet wine not to your taste? Sorry, I didn't know your taste is more mature than ours."

"Mature?" Bismarck raised his head as if waking up from a dream: "No, my taste is too childish."

"Your taste is more childish than sweet wine?" Herzen pinched his chin and pondered: "Then look, do you want me to order you a glass of milk or citrus-flavored sparkling water?"

"Hush!" Bismarck put his arm around Herzen's neck and pulled him to his side: "Sir Arthur Hastings can't stand hearing this. His favorite drink is citrus-flavored sparkling water!"

"Hahaha! Is that so? Arthur actually likes to drink sparkling water." Herzen sat down with Bismarck in high spirits and said, "I thought my taste was childish enough, but I didn't expect that there are people who are better than me. If Arthur..."

Suddenly, Herzen's smile stopped. He recalled what Bismarck had just said: "Sir? You mean, he is a British knight?"

"More than a knight!" Bismarck pretended to be normal and said in a low voice: "You should know that British knights are different from German and Russian knights. Nowadays, British knights are not hereditary. Do you know what this means?"

Herzen took a deep breath and said, "This means that every British knight is a first-generation knight."

Bismarck nodded in agreement: "Aren't you curious about what great things he did in England to make the king confer him a knighthood?"

"What big thing has he done?" Herzen had realized that something was wrong. He tried his best to maintain his composure: "Don't tell me that he is actually..."

Bismarck raised his hand to cover Herzen's ears, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the corner of his eye accidentally met Arthur's half-smile.

Bismarck shuddered, his lips trembled, and he blurted out: "He is Mr. Michael Faraday's assistant! He is also the second most famous electromagnetic scholar in Britain after Faraday!"

Herzen covered his chest and gasped, "Oh my God! Mr. Bismarck, thank you for telling me this fact. I am such a fool, I thought he was lying to me before!"

Bismarck, who still had a conscience, stared at Herzen's sincere face with mixed feelings. He was silent for a long time, but he couldn't suppress the depression in his heart and gently patted Herzen's hand: "Oh! Don't blame me for not reminding you, Mr. Herzen. Don't offend him, because he is very narrow-minded."

Herzen nodded gratefully: "I have already seen this, but I am still very grateful for your advice, sir."

As soon as Herzen finished speaking, the students' voices rang out from behind: "Sasha! Come on! We want to hear your story about the French entering Moscow!"

Herzen wanted to talk more with Bismarck, but when he heard his companions shouting, he turned his head and complained: "Aren't you tired of hearing that story? Besides, I was still a child at that time, and I heard it from my nanny Ardamonovna."

"We've all heard it, but the guests haven't!"

"There's really nothing we can do!" Herzen picked up his glass, pulled Bismarck up and said, "Let's go over there and talk."

Bismarck was about to join the students' party, but the cautious character he had just developed in the past two days made him start looking for the location of the focal person first.

He saw Arthur had gotten rid of the crowd at some point and was standing by the window with a glass of wine in his hand, seemingly observing something from the second floor.

What is he doing?
No, it's none of my business. Stay out of his mess. Aren't the lessons that Young Italy taught you enough?
Bismarck stood there and hesitated for a moment, and his long-standing curiosity and his newly developed cautious temperament began to struggle fiercely.

But old habits always prevail over new habits, and Bismarck didn't know why. It was as if there was a devil in his heart, driving him to keep moving towards Arthur.

"Ahem! Um, sir, what are you looking at by the window? I know that the ladies of Leipzig are indeed prettier than the peasant women of Göttingen, but how can beauty be compared with the temptation of good wine?"

Arthur didn't turn his head to look at him, but raised his palm and gently hooked it, motioning Bismarck to come closer: "Otto, I know you are full of energy at your age, but besides women, can you think of anything else?"

Bismarck couldn't help but complain in his heart when he heard this: "Look at that! Look at that! He made this statement as if he was the patron saint of England! What do you mean a young man of your age? You don't seem to be much older than me, do you? Who do you think you are? A cardinal in the Vatican?"

However, despite his complaints, Bismarck finally moved closer to Arthur quite obediently.

Arthur glanced at the hypocritical young man with sweat all over his forehead, raised his hand and pointed at a tall guest who had just entered the hall downstairs and said, "Look, that person is the Russian secret police."

"Secret police?" Bismarck's heart suddenly rose to his throat.

Of course, he was not worried about Herzen and others, but because he did not forget that his visit to Leipzig was also involved in some illegal activities, such as Young Italy.

"How did you tell that?" Bismarck suddenly remembered that this bastard had once been a policeman. "I almost forgot that you seem to be the best detective in Britain. You probably saw that there was something wrong with him from his clothes, behavior, habits and eyes."

Unexpectedly, Arthur just shook his head in disdain when he heard this: "Otto, your understanding is really too poor. If you only have this level, you can't do the work of the Gestapo well."

"I'm sorry." Bismarck was criticized and immediately scratched his head anxiously: "But can you give me a hint?"

"I know him."

"I know you know him, and you have this ability, but I have only been in this business for a short time. Can you give me some more specific inspiration? For example, how did you know him?"

"Where?" Arthur rolled his eyes at Bismarck. "Of course I met him at the Russian Embassy in the UK. Colonel Shubinsky and I are old acquaintances. We had drinks together several times when we were in London. It was he who told me that the Third Bureau of the Russian Imperial Office was actually the secret police."

(End of this chapter)