The Greenwich Police Station, a place that is usually shunned by Londoners, has become a mecca for journalists.

There is a reason why they can be so crazy.

That's when they heard that the Frenchman, who had been rescued from the high seas by the Royal Navy, was now being protected here.

Nearly 100 reporters from newspapers of all sizes blocked the place, and their enthusiasm for interviews was so high that Arthur had to order the cancellation of some patrol duties and temporarily transfer them back to maintain order at the scene.

And in his office, Arthur also had to give him a certain level of temporary training before letting the fat French man out for an interview.

He looked at Alexandre Dumas, who was dressed in loose casual clothes and a torn felt hat on his head, and couldn't help but shake his head and said, "Mr. Dumas, what is that on your head?" That can also be considered a hat? ”

When Alexandre Dumas heard this, he immediately retorted and said, "Oh! Mr. Hastings, what's that under your hat? That can also be considered a brain? ”

As soon as Alexandre Dumas said this, it immediately caused the red devils watching the excitement next to him to laugh.

Arthur shrugged his shoulders helplessly, and he said seriously: "Mr. Dumas, I'm not here to fight with you today. I'm just stating the fact that you can't go out for an interview with a hat like that. Otherwise, those reporters will see it, and they will have to make up stories that we are abusing you. ”

Alexandre Dumas reached out and knocked on the table, and the fat man asked, "Didn't you abuse me?" ”

Arthur pinched his chin and thought back to the collection of French jokes he had told these days, and couldn't help but smile awkwardly: "Those are all mental, at least we didn't physically abuse you." ”

But Dumas did not intend to reconcile when he heard this, and he solemnly demanded: "You must apologize to me for your previous actions, on behalf of the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Navy!" ”

When Arthur heard this, his face was a little tangled: "With all due respect, Mr. Dumas, there is indeed no precedent for Scotland Yard and the Royal Navy to surrender to France. But if you really need an apology urgently, I suggest you go to our Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington. Although it has been a long time, after all, the army did surrender guns to the French. You should remember that Yorktown, Virginia, in the eastern part of the United States, is in the last century, 1781. ”

Dumas took a deep breath when he heard this, and he glanced at the young man who was a few years younger than him, and suddenly had the feeling that he was meeting an opponent.

This is the first guy he has met in his life who can bargain with him on the lips.

He took off his tattered felt hat and said, "Okay, then I'll listen to you." Actually, it's okay if I don't wear a hat, only you British people like to wear hats, after all, most British people just take off their hats, and their shiny heads can almost blind other people's eyes. ”

Arthur nodded approvingly: "You are worthy of being a great playwright, and your words are always so brilliant. ”

Alexandre Dumas was stunned: "How do you know that I am a playwright?" ”

Arthur pretended to be embarrassed and said, "Mr. Dumas, I forgot to tell you that I actually admire your talent very much. I happened to have seen your amazing work, Henry III and His Court. This play is not only very popular in Paris, but also in London in the past two years, and I have seen it many times in the old Vic theater, but each one is still fresh in my memory. ”

Arthur praised Alexandre Dumas so much, he was embarrassed to change Alexandre Dumas this time, he coughed twice, raised his head proudly and said, "Actually, it's nothing, it's just a mediocre play." But I also really appreciate your support for me, and it's really nice to have a fan on a small island across the channel. ”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but change his words: "But I actually have a French playwright that I like better." ”

"Who?" Alexandre Dumas raised an eyebrow: "Voltaire? Diderot? Or was it Rousseau? ”

Arthur shook his head slightly: "No, no, no, they are all too old for me. I'm talking about a writer your age, Victor Hugo. ”

"Do you like Victor?" Alexandre Dumas thought for a moment and nodded, "But that's reasonable." After all, he wrote Cromwell, and I've long heard that he was quite popular in England. ”

Arthur was surprised: "Do you know him?" ”

"Of course!" Alexandre Dumas said, "I've had dinner with him, we're ordinary friends, but we don't know each other very well." ”

When Arthur heard this, he quietly picked up a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his head.

When Dumas talked about literature, his aggression became noticeably lower, and he asked with interest: "Which of Victor's works do you like the most?" ”

Alexandre Dumas could be regarded as stopping Arthur at this time, he had not read Hugo's masterpiece "Cromwell" in Alexandre Dumas's mouth, but he was not sure whether "Notre Dame de Paris" and other famous works were written at this time.

Therefore, he could only answer ambiguously: "It is not so much that I like any of Mr. Hugo's works, but that I like some of his witty sentences." I have always believed that Mr. Hugo's talent for comedy is beyond the reach of ordinary people. ”

When Alexandre Dumas heard this, he immediately furrowed his eyebrows: "You can't be talking about it, are you?" Victor writes all historical dramas, when did he write comedies? ”

Arthur shook his head: "You don't understand, different words will have different effects in the eyes of different people. You should know that Shakespeare once said that there are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people. In the eyes of the French, Monsieur Hugo wrote dramas and tragedies. But in the eyes of the British, Mr. Hugo's words have a comic effect. ”

"For example?" Alexandre Dumas nodded slightly, as if he had thought of some kind of writing technique.

Arthur spoke: "For example, the sentence - all Europe is attacking France, and the French are attacking Paris. What could be more tragic than this? This is an epic tragedy!

The French thought it was a tragedy, and the British were all laughing at it. ”

When Dumas heard this, he couldn't help but hug his sore and aching head, and he hissed and inhaled, wanting to refute, but feeling that any refutation was pale in the face of the facts.

He sighed and said, "Forget it, I don't care about you." Which book is this sentence from Victor? I'll have to look for it later. ”

Arthur didn't answer, but said, "You'd better go out and finish the interview first." If you don't go out again, I'm afraid these reporters may be ready to smash the police station. ”

Alexandre Dumas is like a frosted eggplant, and even the puffy head that was once haughty has drooped down.

He asked, "Is there anything I should pay attention to during the interview?" ”

Arthur couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this: "Why are you suddenly so cooperative?" ”

Alexandre Dumas glared angrily: "Otherwise? If I say the wrong thing, won't I have to be sent back to France? ”

Arthur quipped, "Are you afraid that the current king, Louis Philippe, will give you your head?" ”

Alexandre Dumas looked at the light rain outside the window with mixed feelings, and he held it for a long time before he confided the truth in his heart.

"Humph! I'm not afraid of him, he's just a tyrant. I'm just afraid that when I go back, I'll start to incite the great French people to attack Paris again! ”

Arthur also smiled and sighed: "That's it, I'll just accompany you to attend the interview." I'm also worried that with your fiery temper, if you get angry under the pressure of a reporter and say something that you shouldn't say, it will be a big problem.

By the way, I would like to inform you that, in accordance with the orders issued by the Home Office and the Scotland Yard Headquarters, you are not allowed to stay out of sight of Greenwich Police District for the time being, at least not from my sight. ”

"Why is that?" Dazhong immediately glanced down at Arthur: "You British police also play Lancy's tricks?" Oh, but it's understandable, after all, these things are all learned from us. ”

Arthur said: "It's not that you can't learn, I have to be honest with you to tell you that the reason why we went to such great lengths to save your life is not because of how determined the Home Office and Scotland Yard are to fight crime."

It's that the bigwigs think that even if you want to die, you can't die at the hands of the French, and if you were an ordinary slave trader this time, we probably wouldn't chase you to the high seas, let alone move the Royal Navy.

So, although I will continue to monitor and protect you in the future, the content of the surveillance will be limited to not letting you fall into the hands of your people. If you are involved in other crimes, we can still give you the greatest freedom of choice. ”

Speaking of this, Arthur paused for a moment, then asked with a smile: "If you look at it this way, do the police in our Scotland Yard still look like French military police?" ”

Alexandre Dumas's eyelids jumped: "To be honest, in some ways, maybe you are not as good as the French military police. Either ignore it or manage it all, what kind of devilish act is this kind of half-piped management? ”

Arthur stood up from his chair and patted Dumas on the shoulder, "Come on, Mr. Dumas." This is the characteristic national character of Great Britain, which you will gradually become familiar with later, and this is the difference between the British and the French. Let's go, let's go for an interview. ”

(End of chapter)