shadow of britain

Chapter 652 Do I look like a bad guy?

"Spit in the face and then swallow it? What do you mean?" Herzen did not understand Arthur's cryptic expression: "Are you saying that Prince Golitsyn might ask Polevoy to make some form of concession, such as issuing a statement of repentance and admitting his extreme behavior?"

Arthur smiled and put the teacup back on the table. His tone seemed to be understated: "You know, in the political environment of Russia, refusing to accept a spit in one's face is not just an insult, but a strategy. I think a statement of repentance is far from enough. He must publicly support the existing system. This may be a humiliation for Polevoy, but for those who interrogated him, it is precisely the proof of their victory. His Majesty the Tsar is worried about the influence of Polevoy and the Moscow Telegraph, and Prince Golitsyn wants to prove to the emperor that there are no anti-government publications under his rule. Therefore, I think nothing can destroy Polevoy's reputation and undermine the confidence of liberals better than letting him write a book called "The Russian Strongman Expelled the French." "

"This……"

Herzen took a deep breath. Only at this moment did he finally understand how vicious the methods of the British knight sitting opposite him were.

However, he had to admit that Arthur's idea was probably close to the truth.

What the British police can think of, the Russian police and gendarmes can certainly think of as well.

Why did Prince Golitsyn insist on taking Polevoy back to his residence for interrogation after arresting him instead of taking him directly to the Petrograd Fortress?
He probably wanted Polevoy to give in and write such a book to prove that there was nothing wrong with the ideological tendencies of the Moscow Telegraph and its editor-in-chief.

If Polevoy actually wrote a book like this, he would not only be regarded as a traitor by his liberal colleagues, but would also completely lose his reputation as a progressive newspaper editor.

But in this case, what is the difference between him and Kukolnik, who wrote "The Divine Hand Saves the Motherland"?

While Herzen was lost in thought, Arthur stood up, took his coat from the secretary, and took his leave: "That's all, Mr. Herzen. You are a young man I admire very much. If you really think my words can be of any help, then remember that since you have made up your mind to be a Russian liberal, you should learn more from Mr. Zubkov, the secretary of your governor-general, rather than from Mr. Polevoy, the editor-in-chief of the Moscow Telegraph."

Herzen stood up to see him off: "Why?"

Arthur put on his coat and top hat. "Because we are both liberals, but Mr. Zubkov would never put himself in danger. And Polevoy is a brave man. But he now has only two choices, either to continue to be brave or to become Kukolnik. With all due respect, both of these options look stupid. It is better to be prepared for disasters before they happen, to know and act prudently, and a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall. Zubkov understands this truth, but Polevoy does not. This is the difference between the two of them."

"what did you say?"

Arthur did not explain for him. He waved to the secretary, and Blackwell understood and took out "Mencius" and handed it to him.

Arthur said, "This book was originally given to me by Mr. Pushkin. I have translated it into French. You can read it when you are free."

After saying this, he walked out the door with Blackwell.

His boots rustled as he stepped on the snow. Arthur stood in front of the carriage, started the engine, and slowly let out a sigh of relief.

Blackwell stood beside him and whispered, "Your time is precious. Why do you spend so much time on this stupid little civil servant?"

Arthur glanced at the secretary, who brushed off the snow on his body and said, "Did you forget? Our Captain Huett urgently needs a mission to escort exiles to the Caucasus."

"Then why did you advise him to be careful today?"

Arthur said calmly, "The first half tells him that Polevoy was arrested. This is my purpose. The second half warns him to be careful. This is out of personal friendship. Henry, do you think I'm a bad person? I never hurt anyone, and I will never send anyone to jail without asking why. No matter what happened, it was all chosen by these young people themselves."

He took a puff of his cigarette and continued, "I am fair in my dealings. I am neither biased towards liberalism nor will I take the initiative to oppose His Majesty the Tsar. I just stand in the center of the scale, sometimes exerting my weight on one side and sometimes on the other. To Herzen, I advised him to protect himself. To the Russian government, not only did I not incite the young people, but I advised them to restrain their emotions. Therefore, whether it is Mr. Herzen or the Russian government, I have done my best.

If Mr. Herzen's group still chooses to move forward after all I have said, it is not my problem. Fortunately, even if we consider the worst case scenario, I can at least ask Captain Huette to take care of them on the way to exile. I always admire people with courage, especially young people. This is the courtesy they deserve. "

When Blackwell heard this, he could only sigh that he was inferior.

A swineherd who became an upright knight of Britain at the age of 25. Blackwell always envied Arthur's good luck in the past, but now it seems that good luck alone cannot support such a dirty heart.

However, he still had a question in his mind: "Sir, why are you so sure that those young people will take such risks?"

Arthur stepped on the step of the carriage and looked back at him. "Henry, what do you think youth is? Being young means doing things without considering the consequences! When you have a secret to tell someone, when you need help from someone, it's best to tell a young person and ask for help from a young person. Unless you have to, never ask for help from a middle-aged person, and never ask for help from an old person. There are a lot of bastards among the old people because they lack patience due to the lack of time."

Blackwell got on the carriage right after him, and then asked, "You mean you are one of them?"

But rarely, Arthur did not refute this time. Instead, he looked at him meaningfully.

However, just this one glance made Blackwell's heart suddenly tighten.

Although he often joked with the Jazz, as long as the Jazz retorted, everyone would just laugh it off as a joke.

But if the Jazz doesn't even refute it, it only means that he takes it seriously.

Blackwell quickly tried to make amends: "Sir, that's not what I meant."

"So you're saying that I'm young and unreliable?"

As soon as Arthur said this, Blackwell immediately went from being stubborn to being stubborn.

He then felt extremely annoyed and regretful about why he had played word games with the knight for no reason, especially since he knew very well that he could not beat the old cop from Scotland Yard in this regard.

Fortunately, Arthur did not delve into his fault, he just wanted to teach the boy a lesson.

Henry Blackwell, although this young man has many shortcomings, it does not affect his smart brain.

More importantly, there was no other secretary in the British Embassy in Russia with a lesser background than Blackwell. Of course, if Arthur wanted, he could hire a local private secretary who knew English, but who could guarantee that he would hire a genuine secretary instead of a spy sent by the Third Bureau?

It was precisely because of this distrust that Arthur not only did not look for a private secretary through social recruitment, but also did not hire even a servant locally.

Although this strange behavior attracted the attention of the entire embassy, ​​even Earl Darramore had privately asked about Arthur's personal life and told him that if money was really tight, the Russian mission could reimburse the cost of hiring servants on his behalf.

But Arthur still declined his mentor's kindness and continued to adhere to the old Yorkist tradition of hard work and simplicity.

However, this also made Blackwell suffer.

In all his long stay in St. Petersburg, this was the first time he saw a counselor handing over his spare clothes to his private secretary.

But fortunately, the Jazz gave the money.

Therefore, Blackwell would not have to rub the clothes by hand. He could find a few washerwomen along the Neva River to help him deal with this problem.

Thinking of this, Blackwell couldn't help but become concerned about Arthur's lifelong affairs.

In his opinion, if the knight married a woman, his burden would definitely be much lighter.

Because even if the knight himself is unwilling to hire servants, his wife will urge him to do so, or even he doesn't need to hire servants. According to Russian customs, the lady's family will definitely give a dowry of a lot of money, land, estates and servants.

During his holidays, Blackwell often went hunting in the woods near Petersburg, and he often saw convoys of noble ladies and young ladies on the road.

Once, when he was resting in a village, he saw the hostess of the village come to the farm to check the work of the village chief and restore order.

To be honest, that's what we call style.

The dirt road outside the village was filled with a whole convoy of carriages, including the mistress's sedan, the doctor's covered carriage, the washerwomen's and cleaning women's covered carriages, and the cook's covered carriage with cooking utensils. In addition to these light carriages, there were also several covered carriages carrying clothes and tableware, escorted by the butler.

Before the hostess got off the car, the servants hurriedly hung up clean sheets, laid carpets, set up and arranged the travel table in the house where they had reserved meals and accommodation. Even the maid who accompanied the lady for meals had to wear a short-sleeved dress with flowers.

However, the lady seemed to have a bad temper.

Perhaps because she realized that she had unlimited power over the peasants, she was harsh and overbearing to the point of brutality.

The words Blackwell heard most from her were: I can kill if I want to, and I can pardon if I want to!
Even to her own children, even though this mother loved them, the way she disciplined the young master was no different from training new soldiers.

When the youngest son tearfully asked his mother why she beat him, the lady simply said firmly, "You know better than I do. Guess why."

Why exactly?

Not to mention the children, even Blackwell, an adult, didn't understand it.

Seeing such a lady, the honest farmer stood in front of her with his calves shaking.

The chief of police came to greet him, and he didn't even dare to hang a bell on the carriage for fear of disturbing his lady and being scolded by her.

Although Blackwell is definitely not lucky enough to have such a lady.

But he thought that if Sir Arthur Hastings could marry such an ancestor, it would be really, hey, you know what, amazing!
Everything at home is arranged for you in an orderly manner, the wake-up call is blown on time every day, and if you dare to take the clothes outside to wash, then you probably don’t want to live anymore!
While recalling the lord's "happy life" after marriage, Blackwell chatted with him, "Who impressed you at the party? I remember that Mrs. Maria Hovlina praised you for your humor that day, and Miss Helena and Miss Moldvinova, both of whom stayed with you almost all night."

Arthur thought about it and associated the family backgrounds of these Moscow ladies: "How could I forget? Mrs. Hovlina's brother is the deputy director of the Moscow Police, and Miss Helena's father is the Moscow Inspector of Schools. As for Miss Mordvinova, although this is unfair to others, most of my attention that day was focused on her."

"Oh!" Blackwell asked immediately after hearing that there was a play: "I also think she is the most outstanding one among all of them, especially her..."

Arthur didn't expect that this guy actually shared the same opinion as his hero. He agreed and said, "Especially since her father is Count Benkendorf's deputy, Mr. Mordvinov, the chief of staff of the Third Bureau of the Tsar's Imperial Office."

Blackwell had wanted to talk about Miss Moldvinova's temperament and conversation, but it was not impossible to talk about her father.

After all, the daughter of a spy chief should more or less inherit some of her father's genes.

Blackwell was rummaging through the pile of invitations in his briefcase, and it didn't take long before he came across a ball invitation that included Miss Moldvinova's guest list.

"What do you think of this?"

Arthur looked down at the invitation. For the first time, he was amazed at Blackwell's efficiency. "Henry, have you changed your personality?"

Blackwell did not hide his thoughts, but he had a high-sounding explanation for this: "Sir, in my opinion, as a diplomat, being unmarried is incompetent. In the diplomatic circle, having a capable wife to help you manage social relationships is the most basic. If you don't have a family business, you won't be invited to many occasions."

Arthur flicked his pipe. "Really? I suggest you write this into a report, forward it to No. 15 Downing Street, and hand it directly to our Foreign Secretary, Viscount Palmerston. Henry, I know what you are thinking, but don't fool yourself. Do you think a young girl would consider her love affairs in a diplomatic setting? Don't be silly, what she is thinking about is to gain some benefits for her brother. Of course, if you think this will help your work, I won't refute it, but if it is not handled properly, then she may be harmful."

(End of this chapter)