In the office, Arthur looked at Disraeli, who was lying on the sofa panting, and calmly took a sip of tea.

He put down his teacup and said, "What's wrong with you?" Isn't it just moral persuasion? When others look at you like this, they don't know and think that you have been taking care of the ladies for a month in a row. ”

Disraeli looked up at the sky and muttered, "For a month? Arthur, you can afford me. If I really want to do that, I'd rather pay the money directly, and the follow-up service is still omitted. After all, dealing with Mrs. Sykes alone was exhausting. ”

"Huh?"

Arthur picked up a small biscuit from the snack box on the table: "It seems that Mrs. Sykes's purpose for approaching you is really not pure......"

Disraeli brushed his collar when he heard this, and he said with a straight face, "Arthur, Mrs. Sykes and I have not progressed to the extent you think. ”

Arthur put the biscuit in his mouth, put one arm on the back of his chair and said, "Benjamin, don't get me wrong, I'm just complimenting you on your charm." ”

Disraeli smiled slyly, "Arthur, it's not just me who is attractive, you're the same. As we all know, good men always attract the attention of ladies. I've heard your name a lot from ladies at banquets. ”

"Oh? Is it? Arthur asked, "Why do you have to discuss my affairs with the ladies when you are at the banquet?" As far as I know, this behavior is not logical. ”

Disraeli asked, "What common sense?" ”

Arthur took out a handkerchief and wiped the cookie crumbs on his hands: "As far as I know, when dealing with sexual relations, men usually think with their lower bodies. Benjamin, we're good friends, but I don't believe you can think of working for your friends when you're thinking with your lower body. Of course, if you do remember it, then I think I'd better stay away from you. ”

Disraeli retorted, "Damn! Arthur, what did you think of me! I'm not Held, and as much as I love my friendship with Mrs. Sykes, I'm not down to the level you say. When I was in a relationship with her, my mind was very clear! ”

"Really?" Arthur took a sip of tea and said, "Then I think Mrs. Sykes is probably about to fall into your hands." ”

Disraeli frowned, "Why do you say that?" ”

Arthur spoke, "Madame Sykes has a crush on you, and your relationship is very close, but your mind remains unusually clear. This shows that the love you gave her was actually faked. A friend of Alexander's once said: In fact, fake love is more perfect than real love, which is why many women are deceived. That's why I'm sure Mrs. Sykes will fall into your hands. No wonder she would recommend you so much to Earl Lindhurst, Benjamin, she's smitten with you. ”

Disraeli asked, "Why don't you just say that you said that sentence?" And what did Alexander's friend say to me. Arthur, you don't have to beat around the bush if you want to tease me. ”

Arthur shrugged innocently and said, "Benjamin, that sentence really wasn't what I said. ”

"Who said that?"

"Honoré de Balzac. Having said that, his "Human Comedy" is quite good. If you want to borrow it, you can go to Alexander, who has a copy in French. You can borrow that book and share it with Mrs. Sykes, and let her teach you French, which is usually spoken well by the ladies of high society, and which is much safer than learning Polish. ”

"Polish?" Disraeli grinned, "That's too risky, but learning Polish also has its advantages, that is, being able to get on The Times, which is something that many politicians can't ask for!" ”

Arthur picked up the spoon and stirred the black teacup: "Then do you want me to arrange it for you?" ”

"Thank you for your kindness, but I don't think there's any need to make a big deal about foreign language learning." Disraeli wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and said, "Besides, as I said, just dealing with Mrs. Sykes is enough to make me tired." ”

"What do you usually do with her?"

"Oh, that's a long story."

Disraeli counted his fingers and said, "Mrs. Sykes has a wide range of interests, and she has a curiosity about everything, especially new things that have not been around for a long time. Whenever she has free time, she asks me out to go out and find excitement in various places. For nearly a month, I accompanied her to the Royal Society to attend lectures, and I also accompanied her to the bottom of the Tower of London. Having accompanied her to buy a lot of gadgets of unknown purpose in the luxury stores of Regent Street, Arthur, you know, there is always something new to find in Regent Street. ”

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly remembered what happened to him and Disraeli when they went to Regent Street to investigate the perfume shop, and he said, "I hope Mrs. Sykes hasn't bought lipstick on Regent Street lately, otherwise she will get into trouble." ”

Disraeli asked, "What's wrong?" Have St. Jerome's followers been repeating their old story lately? Wearing lipstick is an act against God because it changes a woman's appearance? Come on, I'm almost tired of hearing this. ”

Arthur shook his head and said sarcastically, "No, it's neither. That's because last week the Westminster Magistrate's Court almost closed a case with the Lipstick Act of 1770. ”

Disraeli recalled: "The Lipstick Act? I think I've heard of this, but it doesn't seem to be a ban on lipstick sales, right? ”

"The Lipstick Act is much worse than banning the sale of lipstick."

Arthur pulled one out of the pile of papers on his desk, opened it and pointed to one of its lines and read: "The Act provides that all women, regardless of age, rank, occupation or education, whether virgins, maids or widows, shall compel, induce and betray any of his subjects to marry by means of fragrances, paints, and cosmetics from the date of the enactment of the Act. Witchcraft and similar misdemeanours should be punished under the laws in force, and their marriages are null and void if convicted. ”

Speaking of this, Arthur closed the file and threw it aside, and said, "If you want to say that Judge Norton is enough, he has turned over the bills more than sixty years ago." Fortunately, it was not the Middle Ages now, otherwise with this "Lipstick Act", he would have been able to bring a witchcraft accusation along with it, and by the way, he would have set the prisoner on the firewood and burn it. Not only that, but he also turned out the laws of the ancient Greek period in court, saying that at that time, only Greek prostitutes would wear lipstick as a identification mark, which was a manifestation of moral turpitude, and he also wanted to use the topic to continue to give the defendant more sentences. If you want me to say, he is simply going crazy for his political achievements, and he really wants to make any move. ”

Disraeli waved his hand when he heard this, "Who should I be, it turns out to be Norton's idiot." Didn't I tell you? When he was a classmate of me at Lincoln's Bar, he was like this, with no one in his eyes, no revenge, no grace, and he could sell his parents and brothers for a little profit. A criminal who has nothing to do with him, of course, there is no psychological pressure when he breaks the case. ”

Disraeli only thinks that Arthur is angry because Norton is out of character, but he doesn't know the specifics.

Arthur had to confront Judge Norton and the Westminster court in this case, partly because he felt that the sentence was too heavy, and partly because the defendant in this case was Mr. Bernie Harrison's Polish 'teacher' and Fiona's little sister Defina.

Although Bernie Harrison had to resign from the council due to the prostitution scandal, Defina was also sued by the Westminster Magistrate's Court, which somehow found several of Defina's former benefactors, who accused Defina of stealing their belongings, lashing them, and deliberately seducing them into marriage.

However, it is clear that Scotland Yard could not have watched this beautiful lady who had just made a name for herself in the Greater London Metropolitan Police in such an embarrassing situation.

In order to be able to help Defina win the case in court, Scotland Yard used special funds to privately hire an experienced and well-known London lawyer for her as a defender, coupled with the continuous fermentation of the Harrison incident at that time, public opinion was also on Defina's side, and the various laws cited by Judge Norton were too outrageous, so the jury finally ruled that Defina was acquitted.

However, although the court let the people go, the beam between Scotland Yard and the Magistrate's Court is settled.

Or more accurately, Mr. Norton and the Scotland Yard tie were married. Because Arthur knew with his ass that there was no way for the Westminster Magistrates' Court to get Defina out of the courtroom, it was most likely the idea of Judge George Norton, a good friend of Mr. Bernie Harrison.

This guy who climbed to the judge's position by relying on his wife's nepotism, after assisting Bernie Harrison in framing Scotland Yard, I don't know if it was because of anger or fear, and before Scotland Yard found him, he took the lead in attacking Miss Defina who put Harrison in a quagmire.

However, from this incident, it can also be seen that Norton has been a little sick and rushed to the doctor, and there must be something in his case with Harrison. Therefore, Arthur was not in a hurry to find trouble with him, and Norton's temper would most likely make something happen on his own.

Arthur was pondering this when he suddenly heard Disraeli, who was sitting across from him, say, "Arthur, when I was out at dinner with Lionel last night, he talked to me about that sword match between you and Bertrand. ”

"Huh?" Arthur leaned back in his chair and asked, "What did Lionel say?" ”

Disraeli replied: "Lionel doesn't think it's a problem to include a concert in a fencing tournament, and even if you don't mention it, he's going to add some extra programming before the tournament to set the stage for it. After all, almost all theatres in London only accept full-day charters, and the sword competition can be finished in just over ten minutes at most, and it would be uneconomical to waste the remaining five hours of night performance.

And considering the particularity of the sword competition, Lionel planned to arrange this competition in the Astley Amphitheater on the south bank of the Thames, you should know there, it is a circus performance and war drama performance-based theater, in order to better present the war and encirclement scenes, they built the theater into a circular semi-open-air style, just like the ancient Roman arena. As you might have guessed, Lionel was going to wrap you and Bertrand together, and we'd have a whole Rome-themed duel, like Spartacus. ”

Arthur couldn't help frowning three times when he heard this: "What do you mean?" Are you going to have us deal with two crocodiles or lions before Bertrand and I fight? ”

Disraeli laughed and said, "There's no need to be so realistic. After all, if everything is true, we will not only have to release a few lions, but also show the scene of the two of you being summoned by the noblewoman, and the little ticket money paid by the audience should not be worthy of the Juggernaut of Paris and Wellington of Scotland Yard. The two of you shouting 'We are free' to make the audience enjoy it should be about the same. ”

Arthur frowned and leaned back in his chair and asked, "Benjamin, is Bertrand and I fighting a sword fight or WWE?" ”

“WWE？” Disraeli wondered, "What's that?" ”

Arthur replied, "It's to put two young and strong lads in the octagonal cage and act." ”

"Octagonal cage?" Disraeli pondered for a moment, "Arthur, don't really say it, this might be a good idea." ”

Arthur asked, "Are you still going to have some props for the two of us?" ”

Disraeli said nonchalantly, "Aren't you ready even if I don't mention it?" ”

Arthur took a sip of tea: "Benjamin, this is top secret. In addition, I think that if there is a cage as a block, it may affect the trajectory of the bullets flying out of the audience. ”

Disraeli stood up and pressed the coffee table, arguing, "Arthur, do you not trust Alexander's marksmanship?" He's a fucking French artilleryman! ”

Arthur shook his head lightly and said, "I don't believe Alexander, I don't believe you." Have you forgotten your shocking shooting practice yesterday? A gunshot rang out, the target was fine, and an eagle fell from the sky. Let's hope you don't hit Jesus or God on race day, or it's not something that can be explained by a 'We are free'. ”

Agares, who was leaning on the couch, heard this and only yawned: "Hit Jesus? How do Jews do this all the time? But times have changed, and it seems reasonable for a nail to turn into a bullet. ”

Disraeli still didn't give up and said, "Arthur, seriously, you think about it. Isn't it enough that you dare to arrange the piano debut of Monsieur Chopin after the fencing competition? I don't believe you're determined to fight Mr. Bertrand to the death, and you must have some secret weapon I don't know about, am I right? ”

Seeing that he was so persistent, Arthur just stretched out his hand and rubbed his fingers at Mr. Prime Minister.

Seeing his posture, Disraeli gritted his teeth and shouted bitterly: "Okay, add money, can't you add money!" I'll go back and discuss the sharing ratio with Lionel, although Lionel and I are the organizers and funders of the competition, but you are also risking your life, I have to fight for half of the ticket revenue for my old buddy. ”

When Arthur heard this, he nodded slightly and said, "Since you have said so, it is my stinginess to continue to disagree with the cage." However, I don't think it's enough to just put on a cage, and for the audience, this kind of sensory stimulation is still far from enough. ”

"So your lower limit can be lower?" Disraeli's handkerchief wiping sweat beads suddenly stopped, and he slammed the handkerchief on the coffee table: "Fuck, I knew you guys were going to win this time." ”

Arthur said, "Do you want to make this tournament more successful?" ”

"Of course I do." Disraeli asked, "Arthur, what do you think about it?" Anyway, Lionel has already invested a lot in this competition, and he shouldn't care about any more expenses. ”

Arthur took out a copy of the Proceedings of the Royal Society from his desk drawer and said, "As you know, I am a researcher in the field of electromagnetism. So, I think it makes sense to add a little electromagnetism to the duel. Especially in the starry night of London, a few electric lights and thick smoke are released, and the stage performance effect is absolutely outstanding. ”

When Disraeli heard this, he was also a little shocked by Arthur, he was stunned for a moment, and asked, "So your trick is to kill Bertrand with lightning?" But I have to say, your idea does sound good, but the crux of the matter is, how do we convince Zeus and Odin? Are you familiar with them? ”

Hearing this, Agares, who was yawning, scratched his chin and said, "I have a bit of a way, but the success rate is not high, and I'm afraid you can't afford it." But on second thought, it's not a big deal, Arthur, isn't there another Jew? If they don't want to, you'll have your good friend Benjamin nail them to the Octagon. ”

Arthur glanced at the Red Devil and said, "Benjamin, there is no need to invite Zeus and Odin. It's just a few bolts of lightning, and let's go and ask Mr. Faraday to do it. He has a lot of cutting-edge discharge poles and hand-cranked generators, and on the day of the game, you can get a few big iron rods and combine them to create a brilliant stage effect, and I promise to surprise the audience. ”

"Is it really that amazing?"

Disraeli was skeptical of Arthur's words, but he did not directly disagree with it, after all, Arthur was the authority when it came to electromagnetism.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the office door.

Louis Bonaparte pushed the door open, and behind him stood an American boy with a sailor's red cheek.

"Sir, Mr. Colt said he had something to look for you."

Colt walked into the office, the American guy didn't talk nonsense, he straightened his hat, and simply took out a leather holster from the shoulder bag on his waist and slapped it on Arthur's desk: "Mr. Hastings, although the performance of this gun has not yet reached my ideal state, but since you are in a hurry to use it, let's make do with it first." Although this is only a trial work, I guarantee that, even if it is not technically mature for the time being, it has surpassed or at least equaled the effective range and convenience of Mr. Dumas's Collier flintlock revolver. ”

Arthur picked up the brown and yellow cowhide holster and took out the pistol inside, the wood grain of the mahogany butt looked as smooth as milk poured into a coffee cup, and the silver drum that clinged to the butt was intimately engraved with the St. Edward's Crown badge on Arthur's epaulettes. As for the hammer of the firearm, Colt finally chose the perfume bottle design agreed with Arthur, but the style of the perfume bottle hammer is also very fancy, perhaps because it was specially ordered from the factory, this part was made by him into the image of a Scottish yard police officer with a police knife in his hand.

Arthur leaned back in his office chair and pointed the gun at the sunlight outside the window, the shine shining, his reddish eyes and face imprinted on the silver-white gun drum.

Arthur couldn't help but sigh: "What a masterpiece, Samuel, you not only brought me good news, but also brought me a surprise." ”

Disraeli was also fascinated by the beautiful firearm: "This gun is much cooler than Alexander's. His long-cherished thirteenth year of the republic may not be as good as it. Mr. Colt, what's the name of this gun? ”

When Colt heard the flattery of the two, he just proudly held his head high and said: "Gentlemen, please allow me to solemnly introduce to you the latest masterpiece of gunsmith Samuel Colt, the 55 caliber M1831 Hastings special type revolver fire pistol!" ”

(End of chapter)