shadow of britain

Chapter 631 Double Happiness
The British Embassy on the Moika River in St. Petersburg, Russia, not far from the Winter Palace.

Arthur sat in the office chair with his pipe in his mouth and his arms folded, his eyes fixed on the velvet-decorated box on the table.

A gold second-class Order of Saint Anna inlaid with red enamel lies quietly in it. The golden sword-shaped decoration and ribbon add a bit of solemnity and glory to its already gorgeous appearance.

As soon as he saw the medal, Arthur couldn't help but replay the scene of the Tsar awarding him the medal last night in his mind.

The Tsar, wearing a black military uniform with gold embroidery, appeared on stage to the sound of music. He could stop the music by simply raising his hand, attracting everyone's attention.

The Tsar took the medal from the golden tray and personally put it on Arthur's chest. His movements were so delicate that it seemed as if he was afraid of wrinkling Arthur's fine clothes. Such a gentle attitude and action could make people forget that his nickname was actually "Stick".

And after the previous unpleasant diplomatic negotiations, the Tsar's words when awarding him the medal sounded even more ironic.

"In recognition of Sir Arthur Hastings' talent and wisdom in science, art and culture, and in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the maintenance of world order, as well as his profound understanding and contribution to the relationship between Britain and Russia, I, Nicholas I, Emperor of the Russian Empire, hereby award him this medal of honor and trust - the Order of St. Anna, Second Class."

At the end, after the awarding ceremony, the Tsar even patted him on the shoulder in a very intimate manner for the first time, and encouraged him, saying: "This is not only a reward for you, but also an expectation for your future."

Rewards...

Arthur did receive it, the Order of St. Anna, Second Class, in a very ornate fashion.

The ribbon that hangs diagonally from the right shoulder to the left waist and is paired with a wide red ribbon is also very beautiful.

Moreover, the Order of St. Anne awarded to Arthur by the Tsar was a military version of the Order with Swords, so he also received a Russian court ceremonial sword for symbolic decoration.

But what future expectations did the Tsar refer to?

Arthur was puzzled.

Should I continue to fight against him?
If it was for this, then Arthur felt that the Tsar did not need to give such a big gift, because he had planned to do so anyway.

But if we think about it from another perspective, perhaps the Tsar was using the awarding ceremony to demonstrate his magnanimity to the British delegation and to highlight the tolerance that a leader of a major country should have?
Arthur thought about it and felt that this possibility was indeed very high.

After all, many leaders know how to use this way of doing things. After all, for them, their subordinates will naturally help them to play the good guy.

Even if we ignore the diplomatic impact, it is too ugly to be seen in public that the Tsar was glaring at the cultural counselor.

Arthur took out the Order of Saint Anna and weighed it gently in his hand. It was heavy, weighing at least 50 to 60 grams. You know, the main body of the medal is made of pure gold, even if you ignore the enamel decoration on it, the gold content is at least 30 to 40 grams.

Although this gold is only worth four or five pounds when converted into monetary value, it is obviously much more comfortable to hold such a large piece of gold in your hand than to hold a few pieces of paper money.

Boom boom boom!
"Please come in."

Private Secretary Blackwell pushed the door open and said, "Sir, I just received news that the Russians have withdrawn their troops from Moldavia and Wallachia."

Arthur couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard the news: "Withdrawal? Are you sure?"

"Yes, official news." Blackwell smiled and placed the document in front of Arthur. "I heard about what happened in the Winter Palace yesterday from Colonel Stuart. You really showed your abilities this time. At least half of the credit for the Russian withdrawal should be attributed to you. This is your first appearance at an important diplomatic occasion, and you have made such a great contribution to Britain. I believe that His Majesty the King and Viscount Palmerston will look at you with new eyes."

Hearing the good news, Arthur was not happy at all. Instead, he took a puff of his cigarette and frowned even more tightly.

Blackwell asked puzzledly: "What's wrong with you?"

Arthur stood up, put his hands behind his back and looked out the window at the busy traffic on Nevsky Avenue: "What ability, what merit, what admiration, Henry, how deep is the water in the Volga River, do you know?"

Blackwell was confused by what Arthur said: "The water of the Volga River? Have you measured it?"

"I haven't measured it. But I know that no matter how shallow the water in the Volga River is, it's enough to drown me." Arthur muttered, "I don't have any great abilities, and sometimes I like to make mistakes, but after suffering a lot, even a stupid person can understand some simple common sense issues."

"Common sense?" Blackwell pondered for a long time while holding the document. "Are you saying that most people don't even understand common sense?"

"if not?"

Arthur paced distractedly, flipping through several Chinese classics that Pushkin had sent him this morning. "The most basic common sense is to know yourself. I don't think that a few words from me can make the Tsar order the withdrawal of troops. If I really had this ability, I wouldn't have been kicked from London to St. Petersburg by others."

Agares nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, Arthur, your evaluation is very pertinent. I just like frank villains like you. You drowned someone in the Thames River Swimming Competition. If you hadn't been rescued in time, you would have sunk to the bottom now."

Arthur glared at Agares fiercely, but before he could give the red devil the middle finger, a half-smiley cough came to his ear.

Blackwell obviously knew Arthur's dark history. When he first heard that the knight had crawled out of the coffin, he was so happy that he couldn't even straighten his back.

What Arthur didn't know was that some British jokes about his resurrection were circulating privately among the embassy's staff.

What is like:
The heart was pierced, but the person was not pierced, the people were resentful, and fate was ugly. Sir Arthur climbed out of the coffin and said that there were more people to take care of.

What does the story of Sir Arthur Hastings's return from the dead tell us? It tells us that even God gives diligent civil servants three days off!
The most fashionable billboard of London Coffin Shop this year - Sir Arthur Hastings also used our coffin. Although he crawled out after three days, he said it was the most comfortable one he had ever slept in!
Of course, Blackwell would never tell Arthur these jokes.

As for Agares, although he knew the jokes, he was not the devil who cared about other people's business.

The Red Devil has always loved talent, and his hobby is collecting jokes rather than collecting joke tellers.

Blackwell tried his best to recall the kind smile of his deceased grandmother and suppressed the upturned corners of his mouth as much as possible: "Then what do you think was the reason why the Tsar withdrew his troops?"

"Then I don't know. This question is not a question of common sense."

Blackwell's mind was full of Arthur jokes, and the British's innate love of testing the edge of danger pushed him forward: "Well, this might be an Arthur moment."

"Arthur Moment?" Arthur couldn't help but frown when he heard this new term. "Is this some trendy new word?"

"No, this is my personal invention."

"What does it mean?"

Blackwell said seriously: "It is mainly used to describe an event that seems to be over, but in fact it will return to the public eye in a stronger way. It sounds like your life experience of ups and downs. When you were fired from Scotland Yard, everyone thought you were finished, but now you have become our cultural counselor."

Arthur waved his hand and said, "Henry, don't flatter me. I don't like this rhetoric."

"I promise I didn't, ser."

Arthur was thinking about what Blackwell had called the 'Arthur Moment'. His mind was so focused on guessing the Tsar's intentions that he didn't even notice the unnatural trembling of his subordinate's mouth.

"But what you said does make sense. The Tsar is not someone who compromises easily. If he retreats here, he will definitely make big demands in other places. I can even speculate that the Tsar may have considered withdrawing his troops from Moldavia and Wallachia. After all, Austria is not the only country that is dissatisfied with this. But if he takes the initiative to retreat, he can't use the withdrawal as a bargaining chip... Maybe he has been waiting for us to protest to the Winter Palace. In this case, his withdrawal from the Danube River basin would seem to be respecting Britain's opinion."

When Blackwell heard this, he seemed to remember something. He took out another document and placed it in front of Arthur: "This... is really possible. The Tsar's actions seem to be showing goodwill to us, the Austrians and the Ottomans. This morning, when the Winter Palace announced the withdrawal of troops, it also announced that it would give up the compensation that the Ottoman Empire had to pay to Russia as stipulated in the Treaty of Adrianople. And the Tsar just summoned the Austrian envoy and reiterated Russia's willingness to work with Austria to maintain the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire."

Arthur was relieved to hear this, but he stood up again the moment he sat down on the stool. "What about the secret agreement between Russia and the Ottoman Empire? Did the Tsar give up the right to ask the Ottoman Empire to block the Dardanelles and the Bosporus in wartime?" Blackwell flipped through the documents and shook his head regretfully. "It seems that your suspicion is justified. His Majesty the Tsar's concessions should be to retain this power that we cannot tolerate the most. However, compared to not giving in, at least the Russians gave Britain a way out. The fact that Foreign Secretary Viscount Palmerston did not hand in a blank paper to His Majesty the King and Fleet Street on this issue is also a merit for our embassy in Russia. It will take time to get the Russians to give in on the right to blockade the straits."

Arthur held his forehead, sat up and poured a cup of tea: "As expected... It seems that I am lucky. The withdrawal of troops was planned by the Tsar long ago, and I just happened to run into his plan..."

Agares sneered and said, "Really? Then you are really lucky! My dear Arthur."

When Arthur heard the Red Devil's sarcastic tone, his action of pouring tea froze for a moment.

For some reason, his ears suddenly rang with what Talleyrand had said to him - I never shy away from the fact that I am a capable statesman, but I also never overestimate my role. In any case, a wind vane should not be used as a compass, and a compass should not be used as a revolving door. Everyone is useful, but no one is indispensable. If I seem indispensable, it is not because I really contributed to something, but because everyone likes me. So, if the credit must be given to someone, they are willing to give it to me.

The Tsar likes me?
Arthur thought the inference sounded absurd.

Although the old French cripple rarely said anything wrong in his life and never did anything wrong, and he always came out on top in the political game of choosing sides.

However, being superstitious about him is not a good thing.

Because apart from exact science, nothing can block the way of speech, and people can express different opinions on anything.

Oh! Damn it!

He also said this!

Arthur, who was trapped in Talleyrand's labyrinth, finally understood what Napoleon felt back then. As a proud man, it is really hard for you not to want to kill this cripple.

But you absolutely cannot do this, because you always have to carefully consider whether what Talleyrand said is right, and in most cases, the cripple is always right.

However, although this inference is absurd, it is better to treat it as a hypothesis first.

Although Arthur is only a novice in diplomacy, he has not lost his old skills in investigating cases.

Investigating a case is the art of eliminating various possibilities and ultimately leaving the one that is closest to the truth.

Arthur sat back in his chair, tapping his fingers unconsciously on the table. "Henry, go make a list for me. It should include officials in the Winter Palace who have had close contact with the Tsar recently, especially those who have expressed their opinions on Ottoman affairs."

"all?"

“You don’t have to provide all of it.”

"Understood, sir."

"The premise is that you don't care about your promotion speed."

"Uh……"

When Blackwell heard this order, he suddenly felt that it would be better for the bastard to go back to his coffin and lie there for another three days.

He had originally planned to attend a cultural salon in St. Petersburg that evening which would be attended by many socialites. For this purpose, he specially bought a beautiful evening dress and also ordered a new pocket watch.

But a word from the knight made all his good wishes come to naught.

Arthur saw Blackwell's sad look and couldn't help but lecture him, "Henry, I always tell you to read more books, but you don't take it seriously and say that the various manuals of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are enough."

He took out the Tao Te Ching that Pushkin had given him and pushed it in front of Blackwell: "Now let me ask you, as the personal secretary of the cultural counselor, can you understand what is written on it?"

Blackwell beat around the bush to defend himself: "Diplomats should indeed master multiple foreign languages. Although I don't know many, but... Latin, Greek, Russian, and French should be enough, right?"

"So you don't understand?"

Blackwell thought Arthur was just showing off his authority. He glanced at the Chinese characters on the book and was sure that Arthur couldn't understand it. So he pretended to ask for advice and teased him, "If you don't mind, can you explain it to me?"

"Hmph!" Arthur saw through his thoughts and said deliberately, "I always have three treasures, and I always keep them: one is kindness, two is frugality, and three is not daring to be the first in the world! Henry, you really broke all three of them."

"You really understand it?" Blackwell was stunned. "You didn't make it up, did you?"

Arthur saw that this kid was stubborn and not even half as smart as Radley, so he was about to give him a good beating.

Unexpectedly, a young attendant stumbled in from outside the door and reported to Arthur: "Sir, there is a translator from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs outside. His name is Yakinev Bichulin. He said he was introduced by Pushkin."

"Bichurin?"

Arthur still remembered this name. This was the atheist priest mentioned by Pushkin, and he seemed to be translating many classics brought back from China recently.

Arthur left his secretary behind, stood up and straightened his collar: "Did Mr. Bi Chulin tell me what he was here for today?"

"No, but he gave me a newspaper as a proof, and said if you don't believe it, I'll give it to you."

"newspaper?"

Arthur took the newspaper from the attendant and was greeted by densely packed Chinese characters.

The first article in the newspaper was "A Brief History of the Restoration of France"

During those 26 years, there were many famous traitors and military officers, but there was one whose name was so great that few could compare to it from ancient times to the present day. His name was Napoleon, or Napoleon Li Weng. The two names could be used alone or in combination, as in Napoleon Li Weng Napoleon Li. He called himself the Great Emperor - Napoleon Li Weng.

During the 26th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, Napoleon was born in a coastal state in the Central Plains. His name was Gorse. His father was a lawyer, and some said his mother had an affair with a military officer and gave birth to him. When Napoleon was young, he went to the capital of France to study martial arts. When he was a teenager, he worked as a cannon guard...

When Arthur saw this, he couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Needless to say, the author was able to come up with such a faithful and elegant Chinese translation for Napoleon as "納波漓翁破納霸地", and also made up a story about Napoleon's background. It is obvious that this article was written by a British person.

Sure enough, the author column clearly read: Morrison.

The name Morrison may seem unfamiliar at first glance, but if you mention the name Robert Morrison, many people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will definitely know who he is.

He was the secretary and translator of Lord William Napier, the new Director of Trade in China and cousin of General Charles Napier, who was doing very well in Portugal.

Since Bi Chu Lincoln took out such a good thing, Arthur naturally had to meet him no matter what.

If nothing else, at least he has to finish reading this review of Napoleon's destruction of Napoleon, right?
If he had enough time, he even planned to translate the article into French and send a copy to Louis.

(End of this chapter)