shadow of britain

Chapter 667 What is the most important thing in the th century? Talent!

1834, Arthur Hastings, or rather - The Reverend Arthur Hastings, KM.B.C. of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Honorary Order of Saint Anne of the Russian Empire.

Although these titles were already quite important, Arthur Hastings at that time was still far from being the Secretary General of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom and the Chief Clerk of the Imperial Conference, who was powerful and feared by Europe, and whose sneeze could silence Bismarck, make Napoleon III suspicious, and cause serious illness in Whitehall Street.

In a letter Queen Victoria wrote to her eldest daughter, she could not hide her excitement and joy in expressing her love for Arthur Hastings: Sir Arthur Hastings was elected Cabinet Secretary, and Mr. Disraeli became the new Prime Minister! What a proud thing this is for two people who have risen among the people!
For a country boy who grew up in an agricultural area in York, his father and grandfather were farmers, so it goes without saying that he should also be an honest farmer. He has all the conditions to be a qualified farmer, with a strong physique, an upright posture, and inexhaustible strength. Although there are disadvantages such as the early death of his parents, the villagers have never worried about the future of little Hastings.

He would become an excellent farmer. With his strength like that of a plowing ox, he could save some money in his early twenties, marry a strong and fertile country girl, give birth to four, five, six, seven or eight lively little kids, and then live a good life that everyone in the country envied, day after day and year after year.

But Hastings was obviously more ambitious than his fellow villagers imagined. The childless old squire used up his last bit of strength to send this little nephew with whom he had a suspicious blood relationship to London, so that he could sit in the university classroom and receive the teachings of the utilitarian school.

Hastings had made outstanding achievements in college. According to the fantasy of the old squire, after Hastings graduated, they would naturally be happy to let him stay in school as a history and literature teacher, and even think about the positions of dean and principal in the future.

But the sudden economic crisis shattered all his fantasies. The shrinking job market left this "trust" student who monopolized the gold medal of the University of London with no way out, and he ended up appearing on the streets of London as a policeman. Fortunately, God mercifully took away Hastings's sponsor first, and the old squire could go to heaven with his nephew's dream of a successful career.

And what about Hastings? Hastings, who was new to the world and had no support, soon showed a characteristic trait of his nature. That was his reluctance to tie himself completely and irrevocably to any person or thing. This was typical of Arthur Hastings. He wore police uniform, had a nightstick on his waist, and lived the life of an ascetic like any other policeman. During his three years at Scotland Yard, the new Fouché looked and felt like a policeman.

However, as an integral part of the violent machine that maintained order and stability in the capital of England, he always had reservations about the Home Office and his superiors, and never made a clear statement between the Tories and the Whigs. No matter what the circumstances, he always left himself a way out and the possibility of changing with the wind. His joining Wellington's cabinet was only a temporary measure, not a complete loyalty.

Arthur Hastings, this cunning farmer refused to pledge his lifelong loyalty to God, and was restless even in his coffin, let alone an ordinary person. However, in his long and short life, there were always some annoying people who thought he was special in Hastings' eyes, and he could easily control people that others could not control.

A Fouché-like police expert, a Faraday-like European scholar, a Richelieu-like political conspirator, a musical genius on par with Liszt... this series of fascinating titles overwhelmed their heads, and every ruler who longed to achieve something in the world was vying for Arthur Hastings.

Napoleon III suffered a great loss at the hands of Arthur Hastings, and Queen Victoria was unwilling to believe that her young teacher had ever deceived her on important political issues. However, compared to the iron will of the man from the North, Arthur Hastings was obviously much gentler in his treatment of Napoleon III and Queen Victoria.

Nicholas I hoped to control this Yorkshire pig with imperial power, but he didn't leave even a hair. He awarded Arthur Hastings a second-class Order of St. Anna, but what he got in return was a declaration of war from the British Foreign Office in 1853 and... Crimea.

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

The long table in the Kremlin was covered with snow-white linen embroidered with double-headed eagle patterns, and the silver tableware shone coldly in the candlelight.

It was a typical Russian breakfast: black caviar, pancakes with sour cream, pickled herring and a steaming samovar.

The nutrition was balanced and, by breakfast standards, it could be considered rich. The only drawback was that Arthur wasn't really used to it.

When the servant brought him oatmeal drizzled with honey, Arthur finally found a meal he liked.

However, just as he put a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth, he found that the Tsar at the other end of the table was frowning.

Nicholas I noticed that Arthur was looking at him, and his frown gradually relaxed: "I thought the English didn't eat oatmeal. My nanny when I was a child was a Scottish girl. I remember she once complained to me that the English often made fun of the Scots for eating oatmeal."

Arthur wiped his mouth with a napkin. "She didn't lie to you. In England, oats are generally used to feed horses. I still remember that during the cholera period in London, I went to the workhouse to inspect the epidemic prevention work. Due to the lack of supplies, the breakfast prepared for the poor in the workhouse was oatmeal porridge. At that time, several girls and children burst into tears as soon as they saw the oats in the bowl. Before long, only low sobbing could be heard in the workhouse. Mr. Richards, a member of the Poor Relief Committee who went with me, was so angry that his face turned blue. He called the deacon of the workhouse over and scolded him, saying that even if there was a real lack of supplies, such things should not be used to insult the poor."

The Tsar heard this anecdote and chuckled: "It seems that English oats and Russian potatoes have the same effect. Civilized people know its benefits, but uncivilized people treat it as poison. Unfortunately, I thought the British people would be more civilized than the Russian people. After all, everyone talks about the advanced aspects of Britain, such as British looms, steam engines and railways, but these things are rarely seen in Russia. Even if they are occasionally seen, most of them are imported from Britain."

As for which country is more civilized, Russia or Britain, even if this question is asked in Russia, 90% of Russians will answer Britain.

After all, most people have only one standard for measuring civilization - that is the wealth of the city.

In this respect, there is indeed no country that can catch up with Britain.

But if we change the perspective, from a rural perspective, Arthur, who entered Russia by land, did discover many new and interesting places.

Because, if we compare the living standards in rural areas, we will come to a rather bizarre and paradoxical conclusion.

The living standards of farmers in different parts of the UK are generally not much different, but there is a large gap in the living standards of farmers in Russia.

Farmers in remote and less-accessible areas have a decent standard of living because local grain prices cannot keep up with those in urban areas and they can do some handicrafts to supplement their family income during the slack season.

The agricultural areas near the cities were hit particularly hard. Not only did the local food prices rise sharply, but even family handicrafts could not operate normally. In order to make money, they had to run to other places to help out during the slack season.

If we start from this perspective, then there is nothing wrong with Pushkin's previous article "The living standard of Russian peasants is better than that of British peasants", except that he had to add the adjective "peasants in remote areas of Russia" in front of it. Of course, this may not be fair to Russian liberals who admire Britain and France.

Because, as they say - although Russian peasants live in many ways more comfortably than some British peasants, in reality, the gap between the two is still immeasurable. To put it simply: British peasants have rights, while Russian peasants have nothing!
To put it more plainly: Russian peasants were forbidden to bring lawsuits against their landlords and were not allowed to testify in court. If the landlord wanted, he could always exile his peasants to Siberia or send them to serve in the army for 20 years.

Moreover, the Russian peasants seemed to have become numb to the status quo. Compared with a series of violent incidents such as the "Swain Riots" among British peasants, the resistance of Russian peasants seemed much more peaceful. Many things in Russia that were characterized as peasant riots could only be called disobedience and strikes at most in Britain.

Even in the Pugachev Uprising, which had a widespread impact in Russia, the peasants who participated in the uprising never opposed the authority of the Tsar, because their leader Pugachev claimed that he was the real Tsar and the purpose of the uprising was to take back the throne from the usurper.

As for the "Swain Riots" in Britain, the main target of the British peasants was not the king. Perhaps some of it was directed at the government that was at odds with them, but what they did most was smashing all the machines and hanging the factory owners who stole their jobs and even some factory workers who were willing to act as running dogs for the factory owners on street lamps.

Which of these two behaviors is more civilized?
Jazz found it difficult to comment from the perspective of the police.

But as a genuine countryman, Arthur, who came from a peasant family, could clearly realize that the poor living environment made most farmers realists at heart, so realistic that they were almost cruel, which was particularly serious in the freezing cold Russia.

Worry about yourself, not others.

Other people's tears are water.

As long as you get enough to eat, what's the harm in lying?

These proverbs were what he heard most often from Russian peasants.

If you think a farmer is dumb just because he looks honest, you will be the one who suffers the most.

Arthur's understanding of the peasants also made him realize how ridiculous Uvarov's official theory of people-orientedness was. Putting aside the Tsar and the state, Orthodoxy could not be explained in the first place.

These Russian peasants, who are full of realism in their bones, are indeed very superstitious. For minor illnesses or disasters, they can pray in the church for several days in a row.

But once they recover from their illness, you will see that they can say mass and call on the name of God while scratching some part of their body.

Russia's Minister of Education Uvarov either confused superstition and religious belief, or he pretended to be ignorant.

In Arthur's view, the foundation of religion is piety and fear of God, but this is rarely seen among Russian peasants. Even France, which has experienced the baptism of the Great Revolution, has more devout believers than Russia.

Arthur tactfully told the Tsar his views on civilization, and then spoke attentively about the problems he had observed in rural areas.

The Tsar initially treated this as a topic of casual conversation, but the more he listened, the more solemn his expression became.

Nicholas I's brows gradually furrowed. Arthur's statement always reminded him of the "Report on Serfdom Reform" submitted to him by Count Benkendorf, Director of the Third Bureau, and Kiselev, Minister of State Lands.

"Rather than saying that Orthodoxy is Russia's faith, it's better to say that fatalism is the true religion that Russia believes in. Because I find that most people rarely attribute anything, especially unfortunate things, to their own lack of willpower and ability. Even if the problem is obviously their own, they will think it is God's will."

When the Tsar heard this, he could not help but put down the knife and fork in his hand. Although he wanted to criticize Arthur's remarks, he changed his mind and thought that Arthur's words seemed to be being verified in Moscow.

Standing on the windowsill and looking out, you can also see a large crowd of Moscow fifth-rank officials outside the red walls of the Kremlin.

Just flip through the various reports on the Moscow fire that they handed in overnight, and pick out any one at random. No matter what language it uses to describe it or how gorgeous the words it uses, the main point of the article is nothing more than this - the fault is not mine, but I am unlucky, which caused the disaster.

When Nicholas I thought of this, he felt a surge of anger in his heart.

He picked up the napkin and gently wiped the corners of his mouth, then calmly instructed the servant beside him: "Breakfast is over, bring them in."

"Understood, Your Majesty." The attendant bowed slightly and turned to Arthur: "Sir, we will send someone to deliver it..."

"No need." Upon hearing this, the Tsar raised his hand and said, "Sir Arthur, stay. I want them to see what a dedicated official looks like."

(End of this chapter)