"It's ......"

Louis flipped the title page of the book over and over again.

It was only by this time that he finally understood why Arthur was interested in the history of the Napoleonic family.

"He's friends with that Polish killer?"

Arthur lit his pipe and puffed out smoke rings, looked at the pale Louie and comforted, "Don't worry, Louie, I'm not doubting you. You stayed with me on the day of the attack and almost got a bullet through your head. If you are really the mastermind behind the scenes, then it means that you even risked your own life in order to assassinate me. I think, as a friend, I shouldn't have failed like this, right? ”

"Of course not." Louis flatly denied: "But...... I don't think Mr. Walewski should have a reason to assassinate you. ”

"Sir?" Arthur took a puff of his cigarette: "It seems that the relationship between your two cousins is not particularly close!" ”

Louis took a sip of wine and said, "You can't say it's close, and you can't say it's not close." The main reason is that we haven't been together for too long, and we were too young at the time, so naturally we couldn't cultivate too deep feelings. Besides, not to mention my cousins like Mr. Walewski, even if they were my own brothers, they didn't stay with me all the time. ”

"Huh?" Arthur asked, "What do you mean by that?" ”

Louis had a look of remembrance in his eyes.

"In 1815, after my uncle's defeat at Waterloo, the Bourbon dynasty was restored in France. Not long after they came to power, they announced that they would expel all members of the Bonaparte family.

After receiving the order to deport, my mother hurriedly packed up some valuable belongings and left France overnight with my brother and I for Switzerland. But no sooner had we established ourselves in Geneva than my father, who had settled in Florence, took my brother away from my mother under the law of procedure......

Since then, my brother and I have been separated for seven or eight years. My older brother grew up in Italy with my father. I followed my mother back and forth between Germany and Switzerland, first in Augsburg, Bavaria, and then at the Allenberg Military Engineering School in Switzerland, where I studied artillery command.

I had just graduated from military school when I received a letter from my brother from Italy, inviting me to go to Italy, and the brothers and sisters worked together to do something big. And then the ...... You should know ......"

Alexandre Dumas read: "The revolt of the Charcoal Burners in Rome was suppressed by the combined forces of the Papal States and the troops sent by Austria, and your brother died in the process of fleeing?" ”

"Hmmm......"

Alexandre Dumas comforted: "Louis, relax. To be honest, if it weren't for your experience, I wouldn't have accepted you so quickly. You have proved with practical actions that you and your uncle are not the same kind of people. Your brother, who died in the midst of the uprising, is also a good one. ”

"Huh......" Louis smiled self-deprecatingly, "Alexander, thank you, I feel better." Of course, it would have been better if my mother had thought the same way, she didn't understand our behaviour and at one point wanted to force me back from London to Switzerland. She always thought that I could live with her in the Arenberg estate, drink some wine every day and watch the play with her in the evening, and she said: 'Don't try to slip out of me again unless I breathe'. ”

Arthur asked, "In that case, how did you convince her to let you join Scotland Yard?" ”

Louis replied: "It all depends on my uncle, who talked to my mother for a long time in the Regency Crescent, and my uncle said, 'Otans, I understand your loss of a son. Because it's not just your eldest son who died in Italy, but at the same time, it's my son-in-law and nephew. But it can't be helped, it's a Bonaparte's fate, you have to learn to understand and respect it'. ”

Arthur was stunned when he heard this: "Son-in-law and nephew? It seems to be another case of a complex relationship. ”

Louis sighed: "It's not that complicated, it's just that my brother married my cousin, Charlotte Bonaparte, my uncle's daughter." ”

"Okay."

Arthur, in order to avoid falling into the embarrassment of high school biological genetics, had to divert the topic and said, "Let's talk about your cousin, Mr. Walewski." Hopefully, with him, things won't be too complicated. Louie, can you tell me why you don't think he's going to attack behind his back? ”

It all started with his experience. After the Bourbon Restoration expelled all the members of the House of Bonaparte, Valewski's mother, Madame Marie, finally accepted the marriage proposal of Count de Ornano, who had pursued her for many years, after realizing that my uncle had no hope of returning to Europe.

Walewski then went to Liège, Belgium, with his mother, Madame Marie, and his stepfather, but sadly, Madame Marie died in childbirth the following year. But fortunately, his stepfather treated him well and insisted on raising him.

But the good times were short-lived, and the Russians always regarded me, a half-Polish, half-Bonapartist cousin, as a thorn in their side. As I said before, Wallewski was born out of the desire of the Polish Zionists to enter into a political marriage with the Bonaparte family, thus freeing Poland from the influence of the Russians with the help of the French Empire.

So, growing up, Walewski was surrounded by patriots who wanted to revive Poland using France as a model. The Poles saw him as the destined king of Poland and were eager to lead Poland to a state like the French Empire. Therefore, the Russians feared that if Valewski returned to Poland, the Poles would embrace him as king.

At that time, Belgium was still under the jurisdiction of the Dutch. The Russians then sent a diplomatic document to the Dutch government, in which they demanded that Walewski be called up to serve in the Russian army on the grounds that he was a Pole. The Dutch government did not want to offend the Russians for this, but at the same time it did not want to offend the supporters of the Bonapartes. Therefore, they informed Valewski in advance and told him to pack up and leave Belgium as soon as possible.

So, arranged by his stepfather, Walewski fled to London, where he lived for several years. And after the outbreak of the July Revolution last year, he was allowed to return to Paris by the July Dynasty......"

Arthur raised his eyebrows when he heard this, "You said that the July Dynasty allowed him to return to Paris?" ”

Louis nodded, "That's right." But, Arthur, don't think crookedly. Just because Louis Philippe could tolerate Valewski did not mean that he could accommodate all Bonaparte. Although Valewski was Napoleon's own son, he was an illegitimate child after all, so he was naturally not eligible to inherit the title and claim of the Bonaparte family.

At the same time, his identity is also very interesting, and an important reason why the July Dynasty values him is that he has a Polish component. I heard from my uncle that not long after the Polish uprising last year, Louis Philippe sent him secretly to Warsaw.

The Polish government of the uprising was quick to entrust him with the task of appointing Walewski as a diplomatic envoy and sending him to Paris and London, hoping to seek military allies from Tuileries and Buckingham Palace against Russia. ”

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly remembered the conversation he had had with Talleyrand when he was playing golf before.

He pursed his lips slightly: "It seems that Mr. Talleyrand is hiding a lot of things from me!" If that were the case, I could understand why Viscount Palmerston was so unkind to him. Not only did His Excellency the Viscount take advantage of Madame Levine's luck and win 20,000 pounds at the casino, but it was also because the French government intended to fool the Foreign Office for fools.

In the name of freedom and progress, Britain was invited to join the French in helping the Poles become independent, only to find out that the newly independent Polish government was a pro-French regime. If this is done, the liberals in the country will surely sing the praises.

But alas, it is our Ministry of Foreign Affairs that determines foreign policy. And to make matters worse, now the head of the Foreign Office is the treacherous Viscount Palmerston. Although he also likes a good reputation, he will definitely not do this kind of business with extremely unstable returns.

Having said that, I find that the relationship between Poland and France does seem to be quite close. I have often heard the retired superintendents of Scotland Yard say that the Poles were the best of all the client state armies in France during the Napoleonic Wars. Those Polish regiments made them suffer in all kinds of battles, large and small. ”

Louis joked: "Don't be patronizing and envying France for having Poland to assist, isn't Britain's Royal German Army quite capable of fighting?" Moreover, the Poles were not the most ruthless against the British, they preferred to deal with the Russians. When my uncle went on an expedition to Russia, nearly 100,000 Polish soldiers volunteered to fight. But you're right about one thing, these Polish soldiers were heroic. I even think that the reason why Marshal Davout was able to achieve great success in the war is absolutely inseparable from his long tenure as commander of the Polish Legion. ”

Arthur also smiled: "Maybe next time, the German Legion of the British Royal Family and the Polish Legion of France should be pulled out to fight alone." I think in four weeks at most, the Germans will be able to speed Poland up. ”

Louis pouted: "I don't think so, you underestimate the Poles too much." ”

When Dumas heard this, he was amazed: "But what amazes me most is that there are so many Bonapartists in Poland. But then again, it's not that I can't understand them, after all, compared to the tsar, it seems that it is good to choose Bonaparte as king. At least this Bonaparte still has half Polish blood in his body. ”

Arthur spoke, "Let's go back to Mr. Wallewski." Do you know where he is now? ”

Louis replied, "I really don't know...... The last time I heard from him, he was still fighting in Warsaw. However, after the fall of Warsaw, I have not received information about him for a long time...... That's right, your book. The Polish Assassin, Mr. Kolvacik, had formed a friendship with my cousin during the Warsaw Uprising. ”

Arthur stared at the cover of the book for a long time, then stood up and said, "In a few days, I will go back to London to report on the current situation in Liverpool to the Central Health Commission and the Chancery's Hall. I should probably take this opportunity to speak with Mr. Talleyrand, who I am sure the old man must know the whereabouts of Mr. Valewski. If even he doesn't know, then your brother is probably in the hands of the Russians. ”

Louis also stood up: "Do you need me to come with you?" ”

Arthur shook his head: "No, Louie, your identity is too sensitive. If I had taken a member of the Bonaparte family to the French Embassy, the Foreign Office would probably have thought that the superintendent of Scotland Yard had surrendered to the French Government, and I did not want to cause such a misunderstanding. ”

"This ......" Louis asked with a frown, "You mean to say that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has its own spies?" ”

"Woohoohoo......"

Arthur smiled and raised his eyebrows: "Louie, what kind of illusion makes you think that the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs is above board?" Not only does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have spies, but the Ministry of Finance also has spies, and the Ministry of the Interior also has its own independent system of informants. However, although they are all engaged in domestic intelligence, their division of labor and focus are different. Of course, the Royal Navy and Army also have their own set of things, but most of the military systems are responsible for foreign countries, so I don't have a deep contact with them. ”

"Even the Ministry of Internal Affairs has its own set?" Louis patted his head and said, "Don't they already have Scotland Yard?" ”

Arthur nodded: "Yes, but Scotland Yard is only a new department after all, and the history of the Home Office is much older than that of Scotland Yard." Before the establishment of Scotland Yard, they naturally had to rely on themselves to get intelligence. ”

Louis asked, "Do you still think that Valewski did this?" ”

Arthur shook his head and said, "I don't think he did it." If he was keen on defending Poland, it would have been impossible to send me a shot. And he's an illegitimate child, so it's impossible to get the inheritance of the Bonaparte family if you kill him. However, the fact that he had no motives does not mean that others will not give orders to the Poles in his name.

The Polish killer, Mr. Korvacik, had participated in the Warsaw Uprising, and he was a friend of Mr. Walewski. If we assume that he is a Polish Bonapartist, then perhaps it is the life of Mr. Navalewski who threatens him to make big news in Liverpool.

It can also be seen from the newspaper pages of the past few days that the British liberals, who were inclined to support the Poles, have also become less determined because of this assassination. At present, the Russians are deflated on the question of Belgian independence, and on the other hand, they are busy cleaning up the mess of Poland. They would have been glad if they could do something for Britain at this time, so that the government and parliament would not have time to deal with the Polish question. ”

Dumas pondered for a moment: "It is really a possibility that you say this, the Russians do have every motive to do this." But how can we get evidence of their crimes? ”

Arthur just shook his head and said, "Alexander, this is no longer a simple case of law and order, but a diplomatic and political issue. If the evidence does point to the Russians, it is doubtful that the results of the investigation will be made public. And I don't know what the Cabinet's attitude is on this matter, and I have to look at other possibilities before I can find out what the ministers think. ”

As soon as Louis heard this, he immediately understood what Arthur meant.

"You're saying that even if the Russians did it, you'll still have to prepare a few that you can use to take the blame?"

Arthur corrected when he heard this: "It's not for backing, but for the results of the investigation that meet the expectations of many parties." ”

Alexandre Dumas asked, "Do you have a candidate at hand?" ”

Arthur flipped through the thick stack of case files in front of him, and casually read a few names: "There are a few good options, there are those that the Council may like, there are those that the Viscount of Melbourne may like, of course, there are those that Viscount Palmerston may like, and so on......"

"Who are you referring to?"

Arthur pointed to the name on the file and casually read: "There are too many, Liverpool Society, East India Company, George Norton and Bernie Harrison, etc., ......"

Alexandre Dumas frowned and said, "Are you going to forcibly put on them?" ”

Hearing this, Arthur slowly shook his finger: "Alexander, don't make a mistake. I will investigate all directions, and all possibilities will be presented fairly on the table of the ministers, and it is not up to me to decide which one they choose to announce. ”

Alexandre Dumas asked, "Then listen to you, what you have opened your eyes is going to be revealed?" ”

"No, of course not." Arthur pushed open the door with the papers, stared at Alexandre Dumas and said, "Because, whoever did it...... This beam has been formed in my heart. ”

(End of chapter)