On the endless coastal plains, the grass is verdant, and the gentle breeze blows through the grass, lowering the tall pastures, revealing the clouds of sheep foraging in the pasture fence in the distance.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar in the distance, and the sheep who were still at ease were frightened by the sudden noise and ran in all directions, and with a sharp whistle, the uneasiness of the sheep instantly rose to the highest point.

They stared restlessly at the darkened cavern, from which the terrifying sound of hell had been heard several times a day since last year.

Every sheep who has lived in Liverpool since childhood knows that as long as there is such a sound, it means that it is not far from the arrival of the steel worm.

Sure enough, with the sound of a shrill whistle tearing apart the tranquility, a thick white steam suddenly gushed out from the dark cave.

Immediately afterward, the sheep saw the long, black-covered steel worm burst through the smoke screen like a wild horse, revealing its barrel-like body and countless round-shaped legs.

And in its belly, there are countless Homo erectus slapping its transparent belly in 'horror', as if calling for help from the sheep.

The timid Mr. Sheep crouched on the grass, his faces distorted by fear flying before his eyes, and a series of exclamations close to hoarse sounded in his ears.

As an upright and well-bred English sheep, he really wanted to save the Homo erectus. But reason told it that it would not end well to fight against this steel worm.

Last month, its little wife was so frightened by the sound of the whistle that she couldn't move, and she froze directly on the path of the big long worm, and was torn to pieces by it.

Mr. Sheep could only say silently in his heart: "Dear Homo erectus! Ask for yourselves. I don't have the guts to go up against such a ferocious animal. ”

Mr. Sheep silently watched as the poor little creatures were dragged away by the big worms, and suddenly he found that among the frightened crowd there was a gentleman wearing a big-brimmed hat, holding a newspaper in his hand, and calmly smoking a cigarette.

Seeing this, Mr. Yang just lamented: "Poor little fellow, he must have been scared silly, just like my little wife who was torn apart." Lo and behold, he didn't even have the strength to scream in fear. ”

However, while he was praying for the gentleman's silence, Mr. Sheep suddenly noticed a large red face in front of the car window, which had been crushed to the point of deformation and covered almost the entire window.

It was a guy with horns on his head, and to make matters worse, he was rude.

I saw the red devil pointing at the sheep with a middle finger, his eyes widened and he shouted, "Sheep? I hate sheep! ”

Arthur glanced at the Red Devil, and he took a puff of cigarette and asked, "Hate sheep?" Why? Because Jesus said, "I am the Good Shepherd, and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me?" ”

Agareth turned around and roared, "That's right, these sheep are all shameless fellows. ”

Arthur turned to the next page of the newspaper: "But the Bible is not all good things for sheep. I remember that in some religious stories, didn't it also say that sheep would play reed flutes to lure young boys and girls into their traps? ”

The Red Devil slapped the table and said, "Arthur, you have a clear score. It is the goats that seduce the maiden, but we are talking about the sheep now. Sheep are gentle and obedient, which is why they advocate it. Goats have horns and are grumpy and easy to resist, so they always have a negative image of goats when they appear in mythology. ”

Arthur buckled the ash from his pipe: "So, you're a goat too?" And it's a goat that only stands like a goat in hell. After all, not only do you not deal with God, but even Barr can't pee in the same pot with you. ”

Agareth raised his eyebrows, and his eyes almost went up to the tip of Arthur's nose: "What? Do you have an opinion? ”

Arthur picked up a piece of candy and put it in the teacup and stirred: "Agares, I'm not belittling you, I'm praising you." How can you, devil, be so good at not distinguishing between words? Goats, GOAT, do you know what that means? Greatest Of All Time！ The best devil of all time. Baal is nothing compared to you, you're the most authentic guy in hell. Isn't Hell claimed to be the rebel of Heaven? And you, my friend, you have to resist even hell, can other devils be stronger than you? ”

When Agareth heard this, he slowly lost his breath, he sat on the edge of the window and crossed Erlang's legs and said, "Count you kid as knowledgeable." For the sake of being so sensible, this time I went to Liverpool, I will give you a little advice, do you want to hear it? ”

Arthur replied absentmindedly, he didn't even look at him, "If it's just a small talk between friends, I don't mind listening to more of my friends' advice." But if it's a business, then we'd better make a note. But seriously, Agareth, I hate doing business with friends, and it affects our friendship. ”

When the Red Devil heard this, he just shook his head, pinched his brows and sighed: "Arthur, you little bastard, you don't have to say so beautifully to take advantage of others." As a punishment for your slippery head, I'll just say one thing. You've been reading Hume's books lately, which is good, at least much better than when you read Kant. ”

With that, the Red Devil snapped his fingers and dissipated into the air.

Arthur put down the newspaper in his hand and turned his head to look at the seat where Agares was sitting in the car window: "Hume? ”

He was pondering what Agareth meant when he was tapped on the shoulder.

Arthur turned his head to see that it was Alexandre Dumas walking around the carriage excitedly.

"I've heard that trains are a great new invention, but today it's my turn to get on and realize how amazing this thing is! London to Liverpool, 200 miles, only 5 hours and a half hours to reach the destination. Arthur, do you know what this concept is? This means that if I organize an army of rebels in Marseille, it will only take half a day to enter Paris! Then it would take me another half an hour to throw Louis-Philippe by the neck from the throne of the Tuileries into the Seine. ”

When Louis Bonaparte heard this, he couldn't help adding: "My dear Alexander, if you revolt from Marseille, then I will send troops from Zurich, Switzerland." Based on my estimate of the speed and capacity of the trains, I only needed three locomotives to get hundreds of artillery pieces to Paris in nine hours.

After that, I will organize the citizens of the Champs-Élysées to set up barricades, set up artillery positions, and attack the Hôtel de Ville before you.

Out of my respect for Louis Philippe's early days when he led the French army to thwart the Austrian attack, I will allow him to use one of his favorite solid, shotgun, and grapeball. Again, out of my hatred of his subsequent defection to Austria, I would not allow him to choose the caliber of the shells, which in my opinion would have to eat sixteen pounds. ”

If someone else had said this, Arthur would have laughed and walked away.

But he knows the trajectory of history very well, and he knows quite well that these two French thieves are not just talking.

One of them already has a relevant criminal record, and the other is ready to give himself a criminal record at any time.

Hearing this, Arthur hesitated and thought for a long time, and finally could only shake his head and sigh slightly: "It seems that I have to consider writing a letter to Mr. Vidocq in Paris, and ask him to see if I can persuade the French government to suspend the construction of a passenger railway in the name of endangering the safety of Paris." ”

Heine, who was sitting at the next table watching the scenery, heard this, but waved his hand disdainfully and said, "Arthur, you can't make such a big move." As far as I know, the two of them and I together can't even afford a Colt revolver pinned to your waist, let alone a hundred cannons. ”

"Oh? Running out of money so soon? ”

Arthur raised his teacup and raised his eyebrows: "I can understand that Alexander has no money on hand, after all, he has always spent money lavishly, since "The Count of Monte Cristo" made money, he has always paid double for shoe shine and laundry. Two days ago, he saw that others did not give tips, and deliberately took out an extra gold coin to humiliate others.

As for Louie, I can understand that he has no money, after all, he is now receiving the salary of a second-class patrolman, and if he does not accept his uncle's funding, it is not easy to maintain the usual standard of living of royals.

As for you, Heinrich, why do you have no money? I remember that the day before yesterday, the editorial department just settled the remuneration for the first volume of "Travel Sketches" to you, right? Even in London, twenty pounds is enough for a single decent gentleman to live comfortably for three or five months. ”

When Heine heard this, he hugged his head in annoyance and complained: "If you just live a simple life, twenty pounds is indeed a lot of money." But didn't I believe in Alexander's wickedness? A while ago, the two of us got tired of watching the show, so Alexander took me to a casino to play. And he also told me that someone made a lot of money here in the last two years. I was playing there with him in the dark, and as you might guess, we both went in with our pockets full and came out with our butts bare. ”

When Dumas heard this, he immediately became angry: "Heinrich! It was you who said you were a veteran, and I took you there! If I knew you were playing so badly, I wouldn't have taken you to the casino. There are also many charitable organizations in London, so let's donate money to the casino, or go to the streets to give porridge to beggars! ”

Heine retorted unconvinced: "I didn't lie to you! When I was travelling on the island of Nordney in Saxony, I was a regular in the casino. And don't you see it too? We all won in the beginning! ”

Alexandre Dumas asked rhetorically, "You won money on Nordnay?" ”

"Not really." Heine honestly replied, "I lost 50 quintales in four weeks. Although I was the most learned person in all of Germany, I had to admit that as soon as I entered the casino, I was as stupid as a donkey. On that occasion in Nordnay, I even had to borrow money from a friend to go home. This time in London, I don't think I can afford to go back to Paris until the second volume is paid. ”

Hearing the German gambler's speech, Arthur's brows furrowed, and he suddenly seemed to remember something: "Wait, the casino you two went to shouldn't be the one on St. James Street, right?" ”

Heine was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then said suspiciously: "You sent someone to follow us?" ”

Louie also seemed to remember something, Arthur had sent him to investigate the casino before.

He began: "The only one in London casinos that has won big money in the past two years is the one on St James's Street, and we know who is winning. Heinrich, listen to the persuasion, you can't learn how to win money, for ordinary people, it's better to stop in time and not gamble. ”

Heine asked, "Why, does he have any secret to victory?" Scold! I knew there must be something wrong with the casino. I can't be that bad, there must be someone in them who is out of the woods! ”

When Arthur heard this, he put one hand on his forehead and said, "Heinrich, I wish I hadn't known you. You're a guy who's ruined your image in my heart. ”

Heine heard Arthur's words and replied, "Arthur, I wish I hadn't known you. You guy, you also ruined the image of the police in my heart. If the Prussian police were doing what you did, I wouldn't have had to leave there. ”

When Dumas heard this, he just pursed his lips and widened his eyes, and he shook his head on Heine's shoulders and said, "Heinrich, if you think so, then the dozen or so Barbary pirates who died in his hands will definitely not agree. Our Officer Hastings is a ruthless man through and through, and if you think he's gentle and lazy, it's purely because he doesn't want to deal with you. If you don't believe me, you can ask Louie, whose experiences after arriving in London would be enough to write a short story. ”

When Louis heard this, he hurriedly diverted the subject.

After all, that story was not a wonderful memory for him to savor.

Louis handed the bound papers to Arthur and said, "I have sorted out the relevant situation in Liverpool. It's just that we left too hastily, and some details of the content, it is estimated that we can only go to Liverpool and continue to inquire with the relevant departments. ”

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly remembered Agares's unclear advice just now and the suspicion of Director Rowan in front of the Chancellor's Chamber.

He smiled and looked up at Louis and asked, "Louie, have you read Hume?" ”

"Hume?" Louis nodded: "Although I don't read as much as Voltaire, I have read Hume's books more or less, after all, he is also one of the representatives of the Enlightenment." ”

"Good." Arthur said, "Since you have read Hume, you must know his principle of rogue assumptions, right?" ”

At this time, without waiting for Louis to pick up, over there, the most learned people in Germany had already taken the lead in answering.

Heine held up a finger and recited: "Hume postulated that human nature is evil, and therefore everyone who enters the institutions of power can be a scoundrel." Under this premise, when designing the power mechanism, it is necessary to keep a close eye on the weaknesses of human nature and ensure that the system strictly guards against scoundrels.

Because Hume believed that ambition is a very large part of human nature, it is very difficult to satisfy desire. If a person lives at the bottom of society, such as a thief, then what he pursues is the pinnacle of his own level, that is, to become the king of thieves.

And once he reaches the top and becomes the king of thieves, then he will pursue to leap to the level of his own level, such as becoming a decent gentleman, or to elect a councillor. And he will do everything he can to avoid the constraints imposed on him by the corresponding mechanism, such as destroying his criminal record and spending money to cover up the immoral things he has done. ”

Arthur nodded slightly, and he smiled and said, "That's right, exactly. But Hume also admits that it is clearly wrong to treat everyone as a scoundrel. But when we are designing institutions, we should prepare for the worst, not the best.

Hume also stressed that in designing any system of government and defining a number of checks and controls in that system, it is necessary to conceive of each member as a scoundrel and to assume that all his actions are for his own self-interest and have no other aim.

And I think this set of theories is extremely correct, and it can also be used in our case decision-making process. Of course, we have to refer to the information provided by Liverpool, but its credibility must be put under question. Louie, how credible is the government's information, I believe you have already made a good discovery in the statistics of Scotland Yard on the London Wandering Warbler. ”

"This ......" Louis held the document and thought for a long time, then he stood up and saluted: "Understood, sir." ”

With a long whistle and a series of screeching almost screeching brakes, the tracks burst into glittering sparks as the train slowly pulled into Lyme Street Station in the heart of Liverpool.

The conductor laboriously opened the cast-iron door, but before he could breathe a sigh of relief, two rows of gentlemen with canes and a formal suit waiting to pick up the train in front of the station made him stunned for a long time.

Some of the gentlemen seemed a little familiar to him.

As a veteran conductor who has been on the job for a year, he remembers that when the Manchester-Liverpool railway opened last year, several gentlemen from it were also on the platform of Liverpool station waiting to be received by the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington.

Just as the conductor was hesitating to go up and say hello to a few big people, he suddenly heard a gentle voice behind him: "Sir, can you let me go for trouble?" ”

The conductor turned his head to look at it, it was a young face, the gentleman who had been leaning against the window to read the newspaper had somehow changed into a Scotland Yard uniform, and at this time, he was unhurriedly putting on white gloves.

In the sunlight, the St. Edward's coat of arms on his shoulders and the king's royal court sword hanging from his waist shone brightly.

"When...... Of course, sir. ”

The conductor hurriedly dodged away.

Under the leadership of Arthur, Louis and others, who were carrying large bags and small bags, walked out of the carriage with him.

Arthur let go of his hand holding the hilt of his sword, his gaze first scanning the crowd, and then slowly raising his hand to salute the officials waiting for him in front of the station.

"Introduce myself, Arthur Hastings, Senior Superintendent of Police and Head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Greater London Metropolitan Police, Director of the London Police Intelligence Service, appointed by the Privy Council and the House of Lords, appointed by the Grand Chancery, the Admiralty, the Home Office and the General Customs Service, as the new Commissioner for Anti-Smuggling of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in Liverpool."

(End of chapter)