Louis stood in front of the window and watched Becky Sharp disappear into the traffic of the street with her skirt and umbrella in her hand, and when he came back to his senses, he looked back to see Arthur crouching in front of his desk writing and drawing.

Louis leaned in to take a look, and saw that the manuscript was not the latest issue of Hastings Detective Books, nor the electrical treatise that Faraday had urged Arthur to submit, but a sword book with drawings and text descriptions.

Louis smiled and leaned against the wall and quipped, "Arthur, look, what do I see?" An encyclopedic scholar, a contemporary Aristotle! Are you now content not only with leaving a monograph in the world of literature and science, but even in the field of sword fighting? Are you overly knowledgeable? ”

Louie's joke didn't stop Arthur, and he even had the power to explain why he finished the swordsmanship instruction.

Although I don't think I can be compared to Aristotle, it doesn't stop me from quoting his famous saying: People think I'm smart, but I know that I don't know anything. I did it not because of how clever I was, but because of the order of His Majesty the King.

On that day at the theatre, the Duke of Wellington, in order to amuse His Majesty, urged him to carry forward the martial spirit of his early years in the Royal Navy, and to make full use of the resources at his disposal to revise and compile the basic training of the Royal Navy, Army and Police Force. Originally, the Angelo brothers, the two British swordsmanship masters, were in the box, and I couldn't say anything about this kind of thing.

But perhaps it was because we released too much liquid carbon dioxide in the theater that day, so it fascinated His Majesty's mind. Or maybe it was because he valued my service at Scotland Yard and felt that an active police officer like me was more experienced in street fighting. All in all, I am now one of the drafters of the "Basic Training of Swordsmanship in the Police Force". ”

"So, that's why you can't take a break even if you sign up for sick leave?"

Louis Bonaparte couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard this, and he joked: "The king's order? If you really don't want to do this job, why don't you just find a reason to refuse? Anyway, Britain is the final word in Parliament, and we little policemen don't need the king's approval to take office like judges, so we just don't offend the Home Secretary. ”

When Arthur heard this, he put down his pen and stretched his waist and said: "Maybe the king of England is indeed not as powerful as France, and it is impossible for him to be as arbitrary as the Tsar of Russia, but if you really don't take His Majesty seriously, then you will soon be punished." Louie, you can't take anything written in the newspapers of other European countries seriously.

The people who tout Britain don't really know much about the island, and most of them are just venting their frustration with their own country by touting other countries. Mr. Heine, whom we met earlier, is a typical example of this. You've been reading his books for a while, how many of his praises about France do you think are genuine? ”

When Louis heard this, he thought back to some of Heine's classic sentences a little, and couldn't help frowning slightly.

Heine's praise of France, Louis, as a descendant of the Napoleonic family, was certainly very useful.

But what made him unbearable was that Heine not only praised Napoleonic France, but also often sang praises for the July Dynasty in present-day France.

Heine even referred to his decision to move from Düsseldorf to Paris after the July Revolution in France as 'leaving the muddy marshes and getting some fresh air in the woodlands'.

In order to vividly show his attitude towards this pilgrimage migration, Heine also told Arthur and Louis a little story about his move.

As Heine walked to a small seaside town in the northwest of France, he suddenly saw a number of peasant carriages moving slowly on the main road, with many women and children and old people sitting on them, and men walking slowly with them, and to his surprise, these people were actually speaking German.

Heine claimed: "It was at this time that I felt a sharp spasm that I had never felt in my life. The blood in the whole body suddenly rose to the ventricles and hit the ribs, as if the blood was about to rush out of the chest, as if the blood had to rush out quickly. Breathing was suppressed in my throat. Yes, what I encountered was my country itself. ”

When he was in Germany, Heine often angrily scolded Germans for their innate mediocrity and spinelessness in newspapers and magazines. He also came to France to get away from his old homeland.

But when he met the group of men who spoke the same language as him in a foreign land, and saw that they were covered with ashes, and that more than a dozen of them could only share the belly of black bread weighing less than a pound, he said: "This scene touched me with pain. Exiled abroad, experiencing hardships, and seeing the country in a difficult situation, all these memories disappeared from my mind. Even its shortcomings suddenly made me feel respectable and lovely. I even reconciled its shallow and narrow political views. I shook hands with it, with every peasant from Germany, as if I were shaking hands with the motherland itself, as if I were reuniting. ”

Heine asked, "Why did you leave Germany?" ”

They replied: "The land is good, and we would love to stay there." ”

"But we can't stay any longer."

Of course, these honest peasants who fled from Germany did not have the flowery rhetoric of Heine, but they only told Heine about the hardships of living in Germany and the deeds of the German rulers in plain language.

An eighty-year-old man explained to Heine that the reason why they left their homeland was for the sake of their children, who are still young and can adapt to life abroad more easily, and who may find happiness abroad in the future: "What else would we do? Call us for a revolution? ”

Their words and lamentations made Heine feel like his heart was about to be torn apart, and he felt angry and pathetic.

As he writes in his forthcoming Sketches of Travel: "I dare bet before all the gods of heaven and earth that the tenth of the suffering of these peasants in Germany would have caused thirty-six revolutions in France, and deprived thirty-six kings of their thrones and heads." Sadly, however, not even a single such revolution took place in all the thirty-six states of Germany. ”

When Louis thought of this, he always felt a little panicked in his heart.

On the one hand, he empathizes with Heine's words, but he and Heine are clearly thinking in different directions.

As a young man with liberal views, Louis could understand Heine's feelings. But as a proud Bonaparte, he had some difficulty agreeing with Heine's clamor for the king's head to be cut off.

Louis shook his head and said, "I don't hate Mr. Heine, though. But it seems to me that he is asking too much, and he thinks that Germany needs not only an atmosphere of openness like Paris, but also a parliamentary system like London. And all this, in my opinion, is almost impossible. ”

When Arthur heard this, he didn't deny it. He is less willing to disclose his views to others, and he prefers to listen rather than state himself.

Moreover...... For his own secretary to the Emperor, Arthur has always maintained a fairly high priority of observation.

Arthur just smiled and asked, "Then what do you think Germany needs?" ”

Louis pressed his hands on the windowsill, he looked at the cold rain outside the window, and replied categorically: "I think this question is very simple, what Germany needs most at this time should be Frederick the Great." ”

"Oh......" Arthur prolonged, as if deliberately teasing Louis's emotions: "You are talking about the tyrant from Prussia?" ”

Louis did not deny the nickname given to Frederick the Great by Arthur, but only defended Frederick by quoting Voltaire: "As Voltaire said, the democracy of a thousand mice is not as arbitrary as the arbitrariness of a lion." The death of Socrates also shows that the so-called democracy of all is nothing but a terrible folly.

Therefore, from the ancient Greek period of Plato and Aristotle, until the Renaissance, people have been pursuing the existence of philosopher-kings. Religious tolerance, reform of education and the rule of law, rationalization of administration, and improvement of the living standards of the people would be a philosopher-king in the interests of the people, as Frederick the Great certainly did in Prussia.

Although he was unable to abolish serfdom throughout Prussia due to the obstruction of the aristocracy, he succeeded in doing so, at least in his immediate domains. It is true that he set strict military rules, waged many wars, and acted as a tyrant, but we must not forget that he was the first enlightened tyrant in Europe to grant limited freedom to the press. ”

Seeing that he was so resolute, Arthur was not interested in engaging in a heated debate with him on the subject.

He did have a slight disagreement with Louis on the issue, but he wasn't going to make a big deal about it.

As another of Arthur's good friends, Mr. Disraeli, said – if you want to win someone's heart, whether it's friendship or love, the easiest way is to allow them to refute you.

Arthur nodded slightly, "Frederick the Great does have a lot to offer in him, and in my opinion, at least he did much better than his father. After all, his father spent 70% of his financial revenue on expanding the army, and what was even more unbearable was that he not only liked to kidnap able-bodied young men all over Europe to join the army in Prussia, but also often kidnapped tall women in the same way to breed them, in order to create an elite army that he thought was as invincible as the cyclops in ancient Greek mythology. ”

When Louis heard this, the emotions that had just risen were instantly suppressed, and he looked strange, looking like he wanted to laugh but felt that he shouldn't laugh.

Louis asked, "Is history education at the University of London just teaching you these obscure and strange knowledge?" ”

Arthur shrugged his shoulders and said, "No, Louie, this knowledge is not unpopular. I haven't mentioned the strange ones to you yet. ”

"Huh?" Louis was curious: "Is there anything more bizarre?" ”

Arthur took a sip of tea: "Because of my relationship with the Royal Society, I can borrow some of their unknown collections. I happened to come across some of the articles against Mr. Leibniz that Sir Isaac Newton had ordered his men to write when he was president. There is an incident mentioned in it, that when Frederick the Great's father, Frederick I, was in power, he called Leibniz before him and reprimanded him severely, saying: 'He is such a waste that he can't even stand guard.' ’”

Louis thought that Arthur would tell some shocking secret, but this sudden turn of events directly made him unable to hold back, and he burst out laughing directly: "I thought that the collection of jokes about my uncle in your stomach was rich enough, but I didn't expect that you not only like to collect anecdotes about the French emperor, but you also don't plan to let go of the king of Prussia?" ”

Arthur looked innocent and said, "Who knows? Maybe in the future, I will include the Tsar of Russia in my collection of stories? But then again, whether it's a king or an emperor, when it comes to it, they are all human beings, and I have always felt that everyone has one nose and two eyes, and there should be no difference. Louie, maybe you can be emperor in the future. Although you may not be able to catch up with Frederick the Great, I think you are at least better as emperor than Frederick I. After all, as long as he is a normal person, it is impossible to interrupt the pastor's prayer when he is dying. ”

"Interrupt the pastor's prayers? So what's going on? ”

Arthur spoke, "At that time, Frederick I was about to die. The court priest chanted beside him: 'I have come into this world naked, and I have gone naked.' When Frederick I heard this, he struggled to get up from his bed, and he said: 'No! Can't let me go to God completely naked, go and get my uniform! ’”

When Louis heard this, he smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed, and he leaned against the window and folded his hands and said, "Arthur, you obviously don't take these emperors and kings seriously at all. In that case, why do you reluctantly carry out the orders of the King of Britain and write that basic police swordsmanship? Obviously, whether it is the emperor of France or the king of Prussia, they have more power than the king of Britain. ”

Arthur took a sip of tea, put down the teacup and said lightly: "Louie, you have been in Scotland Yard for a long time, do you have a detailed understanding of the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829?" ”

"This ......"

When Louie heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "I have memorized all the regulations governing Scotland Yard, but I really don't know as much as the Metropolitan Police Act." ”

Arthur just smiled when he heard this: "It's okay, I'll recite it to you." Article 1 of the Metropolitan Police Act: His Majesty has the power to establish new police bodies for the purpose of maintaining the security of the City of London and the surrounding areas, and His Majesty may appoint two persons to be the heads of the police and to carry out the management of the police under the direct supervision of a government minister. ”

"Hmm......" Louis frowned, "Is there anything special about this?" ”

Arthur just shook his head when he heard this, he stood up and patted Louis on the shoulder: "This article is not special, but it makes a clear truth, and it is also logically stipulated in the general outline of the Regulations of the Metropolitan Police of Greater London." Legally, the Metropolitan Police and its subordinate London Metropolitan Police Force swear allegiance to the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and are not under the direct authority of the Government.

As for the Home Secretary, he was able to administer Scotland Yard because he had been appointed by His Majesty the King to temporarily serve as the Chief Executive of the Metropolitan Police Department in Greater London. Therefore, the fact that I followed the orders of His Majesty the King and compiled the "Police Force Basic Sword Training Manual" has nothing to do with whether I take anyone into account or not, because I am only responsible to the source of my power in carrying out my mission. ”

When Louis heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he pinched his chin thoughtfully, he thought for a while, and suddenly showed a smile: "Interesting." ”

Arthur also smiled and replied, "There are many interesting things in this world, and this is just one of them. As I said earlier, even His Majesty the King of Britain is nowhere near as weak as you think. However, in Britain, His Majesty the King and our Cabinet have developed a delicate balance over the course of nearly half a century, so that they are for the most part reluctant to use their powers. ”

Louis opened the window and took a deep breath: "Arthur, every time I talk to you, I always get something." But let's not talk about that, on the side of the Royal Society, when you went to Mr. Faraday to borrow the performance equipment, didn't you promise him that you would submit a paper? How's that thing going? I'm going to go there today, why don't I pick it up for you? ”

(End of chapter)