Arthur didn't panic as he had expected when he heard Palmerston's words.

Since joining Scotland Yard and patrolling the East End several times at night, Arthur has realized that the difference between people is not as big as he imagined, especially in terms of psychological quality, which can be exercised.

As a seasoned Scotland Yard police officer, he thought it was more straightforward to threaten treason than to have a knife to the neck from an East End thug.

Arthur only smiled lightly, and he spoke, "Of course, Your Excellency, I understand your concern about public opinion in London lately. The townspeople, with a simple sense of morality, want to force the government to do something for the Polish people, but they don't know as much about the real situation in Poland as you do. Therefore, as long as someone has ulterior motives to fan the flames in the media, it is easy to stir up antagonism among the citizens of London. ”

Palmerston smiled with satisfaction when he heard this, he got up and opened the wine cabinet and poured a little for Arthur: "That's right, Arthur, not all citizens have the ability to distinguish between true and false information. The Foreign Office is more specific than they have, and from what we know so far, it is clear that the real situation in Poland is not as exaggerated as the newspapers and magazines say. ”

Arthur stared at the dark red wine that reverberated in the goblet, and smiled and continued, "Of course, that's why I think it's a good thing that these reports about Poland appear in The British." ”

"Huh?" Palmerston suddenly poured the wine, and he laughed, "Arthur, what do you mean by that?" ”

Arthur replied: "As I just told you, I myself have also been serialized in "The British", and because of the love of the citizens, my one is still relatively popular.

As you know, your Excellency, times are not the same as they were before. Nowadays, when everyone evaluates a person's status, in addition to looking at their natural bloodline and power, whether they can make money is also a very important indicator.

As it happens, I'm pretty good at making money for "British." Because of this, I also have a little bit of a say in the editorial office of "British". If the articles about Poland had been published in The Times, I would probably have nothing to do with them.

Because as you know, freedom of the press was an initiative that the Whigs were so desperate for during the Tories administration. Scotland Yard is unlikely to overturn the exploits of today's ruling party, and that is not an issue that the police should be involved in.

Not to mention that with the influence of the Times, today our police officers step into the editorial office, and the next day they have to use seven or eight pages to angrily denounce us as authoritarian gendarmes. But the situation of the British is obviously different, and if the article is published in the British, I, as one of their pillars and shareholders, naturally have the right to propose certain changes and suggestions to the content of each issue.

You have some dissatisfaction with the article published by Prince Chartorysky and Louis Bonaparte in the British, and you can find me to convey the discontent of the Foreign Office to the editorial office of the British.

But if the Brit simply rejects their manuscript and they turn to The Times and the Manchester Guardian, how do we deal with it? While you can continue to put pressure on these two newspapers in other ways, IMHO, in my practical experience over the years at Scotland Yard, sales are the life of the news media.

As long as they can increase sales, there will always be newspapers that will publish their articles, even if the Times and Manchester Guardian are not published, and there will always be a bunch of people in other tabloids who are not afraid of death. Hehe, I don't know if you've heard of William Corbett of Poor People's Political Monthly and Hetherington of The Poor Guardian? Both of them are typical people who are not afraid of death.

The most troubling thing is that I have heard that Mr. Corbett has been actively running for parliament recently, and according to recent opinion polls, he still has a good chance of being elected. Before Mr. Corbett became a member of parliament, he dared to sharply criticize corruption in the government and the army, for which he spent two years in prison. After his release from prison, his attitude not only did not soften, but also became more arrogant.

When he didn't have the status of a councilor, Mr. Corbett was already like that. If he is elected to the Council, then Scotland Yard will be ...... Your Excellency, you must have heard about Bernie Harrison's case some time ago, and the officers still have lingering fears. ”

When Palmerston heard this, he leaned back on the couch and pondered with his glass.

As Arthur said, there have been more newspapers and magazines in London lately criticizing the Polish question, but the identities of several authors of The Economist, the supplement of The British, were so sensitive that Palmerston had his eye on them.

But think about it another way, even if these articles are not published in "The British", other newspapers will publish them. If they do find stinky stones like Corbett and Hetherington at that time, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs really can't do anything about them.

First of all, this is not the first time that these two people have been in prison, and they do not have any public office, so they are not afraid of being arrested at all.

Second, Hetherington's Poor People's Guardian is an illegal tabloid newspaper that does not pay stamp duty, with low prices, high liquidity, and wide dissemination, making it one of the most difficult to ban.

Corbett's Poor People's Political Monthly, a regular magazine, had a great reputation in Britain as not only a well-known political activist and writer, but also a representative of the British petty-bourgeois radicals.

In other words, William Corbett belonged to the Whigs' political allies in the parliamentary reform movement. If he were to be handcuffed, it would be tantamount to openly arguing with the Prime Minister, Earl Grey.

Although Palmerston did not like Corbett, it was too exciting to ask the prime minister to do a cabinet reshuffle and take off his foreign secretary hat for such a trivial matter.

And, as Arthur said, it is almost impossible to get Scotland Yard to ban a very promising candidate for parliament. Director Rowan is not as mindless as Superintendent Clemens is to him, and if it doesn't affect both sides, Rowan and Scotland Yard don't mind selling a favor to the Foreign Office.

But this kind of thing, which could hit the ass of Scotland Yard with a stick, is impossible for Palmerston to carry out. Of course, if Palmerston could directly tell the Home Secretary of State, the Viscount of Melbourne, to give a written order to Scotland Yard, they could do it with their noses pinched.

However, although the Viscount of Melbourne was a little lazy and often slept during parliamentary meetings, this did not mean that he knew nothing.

The Viscount of Melbourne, as a sane politician, a man whose wife has had an extramarital affair with Lord Byron for more than ten years but can still stand still, he will not take the initiative to cause a disturbance for his sister's lover.

That's why Palmerston went straight to Melbourne today and called Arthur in private, he was just planning to get a sniff out from him first.

Seeing that Arthur was not fooled, Palmerston changed his words: "Hmm...... I have to say, Arthur, there is a reason why you can get so much appreciation from big names. Although you have some truth in what you say, even if their articles are not published in the supplement of "British", they can't find many good places, right? Are you sure Corbett or Hetherington are willing to take them? ”

Arthur heard that Palmerstonken's attitude had softened, so he took advantage of the momentum to continue to increase his strength, and he asked, "Your Excellency, do you know Westminster Federation?" ”

Palmerston took a sip of red wine and said, "Of course I know, there are a bunch of gentlemen there. But it would have been nice if they had been more friendly to me. But...... What do you do when you suddenly mention this group of gentlemen? ”

The Westminster Federation that Arthur and Palmerston spoke of was no stranger to everyone in London politics, and even Elder knew something about the organization.

For no other reason than one of the founders of the Westminster Federation, Mr. Jeremy Bentham, the spiritual father of the University of London.

Mr. Hunter, the MP who attacked Palmerston's position on Poland in the House of Commons, and William Corbett, the founder of Palmerston's Politics Monthly, which made Palmerston jealous, also came from this organization.

But Arthur wasn't talking about either of them now.

Arthur spoke: "The reason why 'British' publishes articles about Poland contains many hidden facts. After all, Brit was originally just a fashion magazine, and we didn't really want to have anything to do with politics. But the situation is stronger than people, just like Britain's foreign policy, we always have to choose to adapt to changes in the situation, right? ”

Palmerston put down his glass and smiled, "Arthur, do you have any difficulties?" If you have one, just say it. Wherever I can help, just ask. ”

When the red devil on the side heard this, he couldn't help patting his thigh and laughing: "Arthur, this minotaur is quite interesting, obviously he wants to spy on the news, but when it comes to his mouth, it becomes a worry for you." He has finished saying all the good things, no wonder he can become foreign secretary! ”

Arthur just smiled and replied, "Thank you for your concern, but since this pressure has been borne by The British, it's best not to upset his balance." I'll tell you the truth, you may have also noticed a large number of articles about Polish exiles in the British.

The reason for these articles is that we were approached by Mr. Thomas Campbell, a member of the Westminster Federation. Oh, by the way, you may not know that Mr. Campbell, out of sympathy for the Polish people, founded a literary association of friends of Poland, from which almost all of our Polish writers come from.

Mr. Campbell told us that many of these Polish exiles were struggling to make ends meet because they had lost their source of livelihood. Therefore, he wanted to contact me through the friendship he had at the University of London, hoping that I would agree to let these exiles use their talents to write something to subsidize their families and compatriots.

The editorial department of "British" discussed it and felt that from a literary point of view, as long as the quality of the work is up to standard, no matter what the nationality of the author is, it will not prevent them from earning a manuscript fee from us.

My reasoning is that if I reject Mr. Campbell on behalf of the British, they will eventually approach Mr. Corbett, who is also a member of the Westminster Federation, and ask him for permission to publish the articles in the Poor Man's Political Monthly.

And once the articles are in Corbett's hands, I don't even have the power to suggest changes to them. Surely you can figure this out, sir, and the impact on Cabinet policy would be catastrophic.

Rather than leaving the enemy's weapons in the hands of emotionally unstable madmen, it is better to hide them in your own hands. So, even at the expense of some of the objectivity and impartiality of the British, as well as part of our newly established reputation in the literary world, the editorial office finally reluctantly launched the supplement called The Economist. ”

At this point, Arthur paused for a moment, and then he continued: "Your Excellency, you may think that the things published in The Brit are too radical. But I bet you, if you've read their originals, you'll get straight to the bottom of it. ”

Palmerston's brows furrowed slightly: "You mean, the article in "British" is still revised? ”

"Of course." Arthur nodded earnestly, "That's the third edition, and we've done our best to hide a lot of controversial words. ”

"Hmm......" Palmerston took a deep breath, "So Thomas Campbell was also involved in this?" ”

Thomas Campbell wasn't a particularly difficult role for Palmerston, but his status as a co-founder of the University of London forced Palmerston to think about it, as the other founder of the University of London was sitting in the Chancery's Chamber.

Or rather......

Palmerston glanced up at Arthur's clear gaze, and in those sparkling eyes with a slight redden, he finally sensed that something was wrong.

Palmerston wondered, "Does this itself represent a part of what Bruckham meant?" ”

It was nothing to intimidate an ordinary petty Scottish Yard officer, but Palmerston had not yet made up his mind to intimidate the powerful Lord Chancellor of Britain, nor did he intend to bring the Foreign Office to war with the Chancellor's Hall.

He thought about it for a long time, and finally got up to say goodbye to Arthur and said, "Arthur, your opinion is very insightful. I also think it's far better to keep these Poles in my own hands than to push them to Corbett. Publish these things in British, and there's no doubt that you've made the right choice this time. ”

Arthur also got up with a smile and said, "I heard that you have recently been attacked for not agreeing to grant funds to Polish exiles, and I have a small proposal for this. Provided, of course, if you're willing to listen to it. ”

Palmerston denied it: "Oh, Arthur, don't listen to the unfounded words of those men, for I am equally sympathetic to the Polish people. It's not because I hate them, it's because we're struggling. In case you didn't know, I invited a lot of Poles to dine with me last week, all out of my own pocket. Of course, if you have any suggestions that will help improve the lives of Polish exiles, I would certainly like to hear them. ”

Arthur smiled and said, "I knew you must have a hard time. The tight finances are indeed a very important reason, and the funding of our Scotland Yard is also tight all year round. So like you said, I think if you can't subsidize the exiles directly, you might as well get them paid for their work by doing things like writing manuscripts.

As the saying goes, those who don't work can't eat, this is a truth since ancient times. Although we have limited space for "British", we can still barely squeeze out a little more space for them. Your Excellency, I think it is so unfair to see you being attacked in such a way by the Parliament. If you could recommend three or two more Polish authors to us, not only to reduce their danger, but also to improve your current public opinion environment, why not? ”

Palmerston didn't pay much attention to Arthur's suggestion at first, he thought that the other party was just talking casually, but when he heard this, his mind also came alive.

In any case, he had no intention of allocating funds to Poland from the beginning, and if he could draw two or three lucky Polish winners for a news headline "The Righteous Foreign Minister Personally Resettles Polish Refugees", it seems that it would indeed be a practical bargain.

Palmerston stepped forward with a laugh and patted Arthur on the shoulder affectionately, "Arthur, Britain is really lucky to have a police officer with a sense of justice like you. If the Brit is willing to accept a few Poles, I must thank you for the suffering Polish people. It's just that I think that all the Poles who are capable of writing poetry and painting have been absorbed by the Friends of Poland Literary Association, do you still have a relatively low-end job there? Like a cleaner or a tea lady or something? ”

Arthur smiled and agreed: "Actually, the cleaning work of the editorial department was originally the responsibility of our literary editors. However, if you feel that the Polish people need it, then I will go back and consult with them, and I think in principle that cleaners and tea maidens can also be had. By the way, I've been recruiting domestic maids lately, and if you're so eager to help Poland, I'd like to contribute both of these positions as well. ”

"Look! And voila! Arthur, this is you, always able to share the country's worries! Belgium's problem is yours, and now Poland's problem is also yours. As I said, you were born to be a diplomat. ”

Arthur said modestly: "Your Excellency, you have really won the prize. ”

"This is not an award, my words are from the bottom of my heart."

Palmerston smiled and said, "Of course, although you and the editorial department of "British" are willing to share the worries of the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will definitely take into account your needs. We will do our best to provide you and the Polish people with a satisfactory answer. After all, it is useless to stuff so many cleaners and domestic maids, and from the point of view of helping the Polish people, one more cleaner is certainly not as helpful as one more family. ”

Arthur smiled and nodded: "That's right, from a propaganda point of view, it's the same. ”

Palmerston coughed when he heard this, he took out his pocket watch and looked at it, "If there is still room in my schedule, it looks like I can start working on this in the near future." By the way, Arthur, do you have the address of Prince Chartorysky there? I plan to pay him a visit in the near future, and ask him if there are any young Polish talents that I would recommend to me. ”

When Arthur heard this, he just reached out and took out a palm-sized address book from the inner pocket of his tuxedo, and then he turned a page, tore it off the edge, and pressed it on the coffee table with a smile.

"Your Excellency, then, I wish you a safe journey."

(End of chapter)