shadow of britain

Chapter 614: The York Devil in Charge of Domination

Power is not something born, but takes root and sprouts from the weaknesses of human nature. Desire is its soil, fear is its water source, and reason is its fragile root system. When you understand all this, you can easily plant seeds in the hearts of others and let them voluntarily work for you. When power is thoroughly rooted, there is no need to say more, because it has become a natural existence.

—Arthur Hastings

Power has the gaze of Medusa. Whoever sees its face cannot look away, falls under its petrifying spell, is enchanted by it. Whoever has tasted the intoxicating pleasure of ruling and commanding others will never give it up. Look through the history of the world for examples of voluntary renunciation of power: apart from Sulla and Charles V, among the thousands of historical figures, there are not a dozen who have ever contentedly and soberly given up this strong and almost sinful desire to play with the fate of millions of people.

Just as a gambler cannot stop gambling, a drunkard cannot stop drinking, and a poacher cannot stop hunting, Arthur Hastings cannot stop politics. The mediocre days tormented him, and when he was cheerfully and pretending to be indifferent as a "comedian" in his spare time, his fingers were itchy and his nerves were trembling. As soon as he found that no one was paying attention to him, he would sneakily grab the political cards. Although he had resigned from Scotland Yard, he still voluntarily continued his police work. In order to practice writing and not to be completely forgotten, he sent secret information to London every month.

Intelligence from Paris, Göttingen, and Italy was continuously sent to the conference tables of the British Foreign Office and the Privy Council, which entertained this conspirator and gave him something to do without being constrained, but this did not really satisfy him. He seemed to be on the sidelines, but in fact he was eagerly waiting for the day when he could hold real power, control everyone, and influence the fate of the world! He created the Italian Revolution in Paris, covered the transfer of the Juan party who were trying to assassinate the king, convened the European Electromagnetic Conference in Göttingen, and helped Mendelssohn compose an opera that will go down in history.

Whitehall saw many signs that Hastings was eager to come out, but deliberately turned a blind eye. What Hastings didn't know was that his old boss at Scotland Yard, Charles Rowan, reported to his superiors on his "outstanding work" during his tenure at the Police Intelligence Bureau. The lords of Whitehall unanimously agreed that although this man was extremely smart and capable, at the same time, his private collection of intelligence on MPs and his cross-border work methods were also frightening.

Therefore, if he could be sent away, he should be buried. Since people found that this underground worker had an unruly force, no one wanted to use Hastings unless it was absolutely necessary. However, with the support of Lord Brougham, the chief justice, and other radical Whig representatives, Whitehall could not do things too radically.

On the one hand, they favored Hastings, sent him to do various things, expressed gratitude for the excellent intelligence he provided, gave him various honors and titles, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs turned a blind eye to his "little tricks" to make money and get rich, so as to keep him in his place and use his excess energy on other things.

When the "Radical Jack" Earl Durham, who was equally unpopular in the Whig Party, proposed taking Hastings to Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately dumped this hot potato along with Earl Durham to the snowy plains of Russia, hoping that the ice and snow there would cool down the two overheated heads.

But Whitehall's calculations obviously failed. They obviously underestimated Arthur Hastings' determination to return to London, and they did not understand that locking two "mental patients" in the same cell would only aggravate their condition. Hastings regarded this "exile journey" to Russia as a valuable tempering in his life, and the close communication with the Third Bureau contributed to his arrogance and work experience.

His character of creating trouble when there is none was fully demonstrated here, first pretending to be a Russian military police, and then trying to bribe the informant in the third round. I don't know if it was because of the bullet that shot into his heart, but this lucky guy who wandered around the gate of hell and turned back, could not find many things in the world that could scare him. So, he tried everything he could and couldn't do.

As he wrote in a letter to his close friend Elder - street lamps and guillotines are no match for bullets from the Tower of London, and they must not try to frighten me with hell, for I have only just come from there. I have recently read in the London papers that people have called me the 'York Devil in Power', and if they want to think so, they can do so. This is the first time I have been slandered in this way, but I promise it will not be the last time.

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

"visa?"

Hugh didn't take Arthur's words to heart.

Although he was the first Briton to serve in the Russian gendarmerie, he was not the first Briton to serve the Russian government.

Although there are far fewer British people making a living in Russia than Germans, the British have a long history of serving Russia.

In 1554, the English seafaring adventurer Chancellor was appointed by the royal family to sail from the northeast to Arkhangelsk, and then traveled by land to Moscow to meet Tsar Ivan IV, and was allowed to trade with Russia.

The following year, the Moscow Company, founded by adventurers such as Chancellor, received the royal charter from Queen Elizabeth and officially obtained the monopoly right of Britain's trade with Russia.

The establishment of the Moscow Company also marked the official entry of the British into this wild land that was considered to be in urgent need of development.

In order to please the Tsar and maintain the company's trade privileges in Russia, the Moscow Company brought many British craftsmen, doctors, pharmacists and architects to Russia at the request of the Tsar. Although these people did not eventually settle in Russia permanently and left Russia once their service was completed, sending skilled workers to Russia through the Moscow Company became almost a routine since the 16th century.

Although Russia's thirst for British skilled workers has been satisfied by the influx of Germans, there are still nearly a hundred British experts active in fields where the Germans are not good at, such as shipbuilding. Even Tsar Nicholas I's childhood tutor was a Scottish girl.

The reason why the British Embassy was indifferent to Huet's joining the Gendarmerie was that they regarded Huet's choice as the same labor export as skilled workers. In addition, the ruling party in Britain was the Whig Party, which advocated freedom. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs even "encouraged" the retired Royal Navy General Charles Napier to serve as the commander of the Portuguese Navy and intervene in the Portuguese Civil War. Therefore, they had no reason to care about a small shrimp like Huet.

As for Huette, he did not think there was anything wrong with his behavior. The British government has always been very lax in this regard, and there are countless British people serving overseas. He really did not understand why his passport and visa should be blocked because of such a small matter.

"Colonel, you are overthinking this." Huett shook his head slightly and said, "Britain is not as strict as Russia in this regard. You will not be dismissed from public office just because you live abroad or have studied at a foreign university. Nor will they refuse to issue me a passport just because I served as a Russian gendarme. Moreover, the relationship between the two countries is good now. Unless something unexpected happens, such as His Majesty the Tsar suddenly orders the confiscation of the property of British merchants, I don't see any reason for the British government to order the expatriates to return home."

Arthur chuckled and said, "That's hard to say. After all, similar things have happened before."

Hugh was stunned at first, then he immediately realized what Arthur was talking about.

He was probably referring to the old story that in 1570 the Tsar suddenly ordered the withdrawal of the Moscow Company's trade privileges, and in the 16s, on the pretext that Britain was helping Sweden to resist Russia, he openly confiscated the Moscow Company's goods, land and other properties in Novgorod and Vologda and refused to return them.

As the earliest overseas joint-stock company in Britain, the Moscow Company developed slowly and fell behind other trade chartered companies such as the East India Company, the Africa Company, the Hudson's Bay Company and the Levant Company. This was closely related to the multiple trade setbacks it suffered in its early years.

These heavy losses were almost all caused by the tsar's policy changes. For example, in 1642, the Moscow Company was expelled by the tsar.

Soon after, although the company was allowed to do business in Russia again, the Tsar revoked the Moscow Company's trade privileges on the grounds that Britain had sent its own king to the guillotine in 1649.

The Trade Charter promulgated by Peter the Great in 1667 severely restricted the activities of foreign merchants, confiscated their goods and fixed assets, and prohibited them from engaging in the retail industry.

And these actions, without exception, led to the deterioration of British-Russian diplomatic relations.

Because for centuries, Britain has been a mercantilist country, which means that British diplomacy is an extension of commercial trade.

As for whether Russia can continue to maintain good diplomatic relations with Britain, Huette really cannot guarantee this. After all, no one knows what is in the Tsar’s head.

Many times, even if the Tsar himself insisted on an unwavering policy, after his death, the new Tsar would adopt a completely opposite trade policy.

For example, during the reign of Peter the Great, Russia abolished the royal commercial monopoly on grain, liquor, salt and tobacco, resulting in a near-free trade situation in Russia.

However, after Peter's death, the new tsar immediately restored his monopoly on business, causing everything to return to its original state.

Such past experience has not only made Russian businessmen timid, but also made them more inclined to short-term speculation and quick cash-out rather than long-term investment.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

Even the British businessmen of the Moscow Company became reluctant to increase their investment in Russia after suffering several losses.

Huette used to work as a cashier in a Moscow company and now has been training in the gendarmerie system for several years. So after thinking about it carefully, a question arose in his mind.

Although he believes that the relationship between Britain and Russia is in a honeymoon period, what should he do if that one in ten thousand possibility really happens?

Is it to give up the wealth and splendor in Russia and return peacefully to the life of a clerk in Britain?

Or are you willing to risk your life and possible exile to Siberia and simply become a Russian citizen?

Hugh stared at Arthur hesitantly and said, "Do you have any advice?"

"Good idea? Not really." Arthur said with a smile, "I just happen to know Sir Arthur Hastings, the new British Cultural Counselor in Russia. I thought that if something bad really happened, he might help you."

"Sir Arthur Hastings?"

Hearing this name, Huett pondered for a while. "I heard Colonel Shubinsky mention him before. He was the Assistant Chief of Police of Scotland Yard. Do you know Scotland Yard? It is probably equivalent to the St. Petersburg Police Department. I remember Sir Arthur Hastings was the third-ranked person in Scotland Yard. If he was in Russia, he should have been a brigadier general. Unfortunately, the ranks of British police are relatively low. Even the highest officer of Scotland Yard is just a retired army colonel. He was transferred to Russia as the Cultural Counselor this time, which is a promotion."

Arthur saw that Hugh was being tricked, so he nodded slightly and said, "It doesn't matter whether he gets promoted or not. What matters is whether you want to get to know him?"

"To get acquainted with the lord?" Huett laughed. "Colonel, why do you think such a great man would be interested in a captain of the gendarmes? It would certainly be good for me to get acquainted with him, but what good would it be for him to get acquainted with me?"

Arthur crossed his legs and lit his pipe. "Under normal circumstances, he really shouldn't be interested. But you are lucky. He is currently facing a difficult problem and needs the help of a captain of the military police. If you can handle the matter properly, I think he will not only find an opportunity to speak well of you in the court, but even if you don't want to stay in Russia one day, he will find a good job for you in Scotland Yard."

"This..." Huett stared at the strange-looking colonel, feeling that he was either a traitor or a thief. "This... If he wants to find someone to help, wouldn't it be more appropriate for him to find someone of your status? Why did he have to come to me?"

"There is certainly something hidden in this."

Arthur said, "Let's take an analogy. Sir Arthur Hastings entered Russia two weeks ago. He had a great time traveling along the way. However, as the saying goes, there is a truth in this world that happiness turns to sorrow. The Sir was busy enjoying the scenery of Russia, but he didn't expect that his documents and property were stolen. Fortunately, he had a travel document provided by a friend, so he was finally able to enter the city. However, as luck would have it, he encountered heavy snow that blocked the mountain. He was trapped in the snow for several days and nights, and his money was about to run out."

The more Hugh listened, the more he felt something was wrong. At first, he was still trying to figure out the underlying meaning of the words, but the more he listened, the wider his eyes widened, until his copper-bell-like eyes were completely locked on Arthur: "You mean... you..."

Arthur did not dare to make his words too clear so as to give people an excuse. He just coughed and said, "Captain Hugh, whether my friendship with Sir Arthur Hastings is true or not, you will know when you return to Moscow and ask Colonel Shubinsky. There is only one thing I want to tell you today. The Sir is still short of a second-class secretary. If you are interested, you can try your best to get the job."

(End of this chapter)