The rain outside the window was getting heavier and heavier, and if Dumas were to describe the pouring rain in the words of Alexandre Dumas, it would be as if God had drunk too much wine last night.

But Dumas, who has always been fond of witty jokes, is not in the mood to joke now.

As soon as he got his hands on the manuscript of The Red and the Black, he understood why it had been banned just a year after it had been published in France.

Not because the book is too fake, but because the book is too true.

Although Alexandre Dumas was born with his father marginalized by Napoleon, he also had a glimpse of the decadence and luxury of French high society at a young age.

And when he was growing up, he witnessed the emergence of all kinds of ghosts in the lower and middle classes of France.

And after he finished reading "The Red and the Black", he was also convinced that the author of this book, Mr. Stendhal, must have had a similar life experience as himself, otherwise it would not have been possible to portray the social ugliness of France in the past ten years so vividly.

And in the letterhead sent to him by Hugo, this is basically confirmed.

Mr. Stendhal was much older than him and Hugo, well educated, had experienced the Revolution in his youth, and had enthusiastically participated in it.

However, unlike the German girl that Heine often complained about, Monsieur Stendhal was a real dragoon. And not only dragoons, but also an honorable second lieutenant in the 6th Dragoon Regiment of the French Empire.

Due to his high level of management, Stendhal was entrusted with the important task of quartermaster of the 6th Dragoon Regiment during Napoleon's expedition to Tsarist Russia.

But that was the end of his illustrious life, as after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, a desperate Stendhal moved from Paris to Rome with the words 'We have nothing to gain but humiliation'.

It was at this time that he began to pick up his pen, intending to relieve his depression from the defeat of the revolution in another way.

Unfortunately, this peaceful life did not last long.

Although Napoleon fell, his army not only filled the European continent with war, but also made the European people see a new idea.

Now that they have felt the wind of freedom, they naturally cannot stand the absolutist tyrant riding on their heads.

And this is also the direct reason why European countries burst out in large numbers of German indignation like Heine, and why the Warsaw Uprising broke out in Poland.

In Italy, the cry was the charcoal revolt that had brought Monsieur Louis Bonaparte to London by accident.

It's just that when it comes to supporting the charcoal uprising, Stendhal is definitely a more senior veteran than Louis. He had been expelled from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1821 for his support of the Charcoal Party.

Having lost his place in Italy, but being under the suspicion of the current July Dynasty of France because of his former Napoleonic supporters, and possibly even under the long-term surveillance of the Grand Paris Police Department, Stendhal was unable to find a decent and stable job in Paris.

In the long run, it is almost inevitable that he will fall into the current embarrassment of financial constraints and diseases.

In normal times, life was difficult, and when cholera swept through Paris, it is not difficult to understand that Hugo and the other members of the Paris Second Bundescart wrote directly to Alexandre Dumas about Stendhal.

Hugo their mood, Alexandre Dumas can understand.

"Red and Black" is indeed a masterpiece worthy of publication.

However, as a fat French man who often cared about politics, Alexandre Dumas also understood the sensitivity of the book.

There are two issues that must be addressed if the book is to be published, and these are the two main reasons why "The Red and the Black" was banned in Paris.

The first is the extreme tendency to worship Napoleon, which is revealed in the book.

Although the July Dynasty in France generously recognized Napoleon's contribution to France in order to reconcile the contradictions between the various political factions, in reality Louis Philippe's government was always careful to guard against the power of the Bonaperates.

In Alexandre Dumas's view, this clown who took advantage of the gap between the forces of all parties to steal the fruits of the July Revolution was in fear every day and every night.

The slightest stir could stir his nerves, and he feared that if there were too many books like The Red and the Black, he would be ousted from the throne tomorrow by the upright French citizens who were infected by these literary works.

As for London, although they were not as afraid of Napoleon as the July Dynasty in France, they were relatively tolerant of all kinds of literature involving Napoleon.

However, due to the influence of the Napoleonic Wars, conservative forces within both parties, whether Whigs or Tories, have been trying to portray Napoleon as a cannibal. Even within the Englishman, Disraeli had a disagreement with Arthur when he decided to publish Louis's masterpiece, The Napoleonic Thought.

At that time, Arthur insisted that the publication of Napoleonic Thought could divert the readership of liberal radical publications such as The Westminster Review, and thus open up a larger readership, which eventually convinced Disraeli.

However, as a concession, "Napoleonic Thought" was also forever locked in the supplement "The Economist", so as to ensure that if something went wrong, it could abandon the car at any time and not affect the main business of fashion literature of "British".

A copy of "Napoleonic Ideas" has already divided the "British", and if "Red and Black", which must be classified in the main journal, God knows whether Mr. Disraeli, who is proudly acting as the vanguard of the counter-reform in Parliament, will agree.

After all, the Tories only know that Disraeli is the majority shareholder and prominent writer of The British, but they do not know that The Economist is actually published by the editorial board of The British.

But if "Red and Black" appeared on the main page, then Disraeli would have jumped directly into the River Thames.

Although Mr. Disraeli often said in private conversations with Arthur, "I will not write anything that is not conducive to the overall measures of reform." ”

And before he decided to join the Tory, he even went to a campaign for activists in Hewwickombe.

However, when the nimble Disraeli met John Crock, the extremist Tory magnate and former Secretary of the Admiralty, at a banquet, Disraeli immediately published an anti-French and anti-Whig pamphlet entitled "Britain and France: Or the Cabinet's Cure for Francophilia", and warmly invited Crocker to help him straighten things up.

And after the pamphlet was published, he also cheekily helped Crocker put an editor's name on the pamphlet.

This also opened the door for Disraeli to a Tory seat, and with Crocker's help, he was often invited to Tories meetings at the White Club, where he met Mrs. Sykes, who later joined the Earl of Lindhurst.

Of course, everyone in "The British" knew that Disraeli was just a showman, so he began to stage his best half-truths and half-truths in the Tory Party.

However, Disraeli is currently happy to perform on stage, if at this time "British" brings out a copy of "Red and Black" to expose his true colors.

Nadisraeli must have to go through another round of social death.

It's just that, unlike the last round when he anonymously published "Vivian Gray" to attack his ex-partner, which led to his own social death in the British literary world, if Disraeli died in the political society, no one thought that he would have a chance to get up in a short time.

After all, the fate of the last traitor, Bernie Harrison, is still fresh in my mind.

Although Disraeli's offense was not that serious, it was certainly essential to be swept away by the Tories.

So, if you want to publish "Red and Black", it will be difficult enough to get it here at Disraeli in the first place.

Second, if "The Red and the Black" were merely a hype of Napoleon, in the eyes of the current Gray Cabinet, it would at best sound a little harsh.

However, the bad thing is that "Red and Black" also depicts many of the dirty deals of high society.

Although it tells the story of France, for most countries around the world, these dirty stories are almost universally applicable as long as you change the skin.

For example, when Yu Lian was the tutor of the mayor's children, in order to realize his ambitions, he deliberately hooked up with the mayor's wife and had a relationship with her.

Isn't that the story of Mr. Disraeli and Mrs. Sykes?

So, when the big guys find that reading a book is looking in the mirror, it's really hard not to remind them of their humble selves. No one wants to relive their past despicable deeds, and at the same time, they don't want others to see them.

Because it would ruin their image of greatness and glory, and let the ordinary people they usually look down on know that the big guys were nothing more than a bunch of high-level hooligans.

Alexandre Dumas is wandering the world.

Suddenly, he heard Arthur let out a sigh.

"No matter how many times I read it, this book is still as wonderful as the first time I read it. It's just that the first time I watched it, I just thought it was full of stories. But now that I look back, I find that this can be called a work of non-fiction literature. Stendhal is a pioneer of critical realism. ”

Alexandre Dumas held his glass, leaned on the side of the table and said, "Critical realism, this new word is quite incisive. If "The Red and the Black" is to be published, you should probably write a separate literary review on critical realism. ”

Alexandre Dumas looked like he didn't care, but Arthur could tell from his half-full glass that the fat man was actually quite worried.

Arthur spoke: "Alexander, don't hide it, it's not like you. If you don't maintain this character, but you want to learn what kind of melancholy, I will pack a ticket with you, and you will never be able to write such a work as "The Count of Monte Cristo" again. ”

Alexandre Dumas just rolled his eyes and finished his glass of red wine: "If I could write 'The Red and the Black,' I'd be glad to change my temper." ”

Arthur was frank and honest: "You should also know the difficulty of publishing this book, it has almost ripped off the bottoms of the entire upper class. What's even more embarrassing is that if we publish it publicly, it will be tantamount to letting them swagger through the market like this. ”

"What's so bad?" Alexandre Dumas spoke: "Not wanting to show people only shows that they are not confident in their size." ”

Arthur smiled and nodded, "Alexander, you can always reveal secrets. I thought you were past the age to tell the truth. ”

"Didn't you tell me that?" Alexandre Dumas pouted: "And I have to emphasize that I'm only 29 years old this year. ”

When Tennyson heard this, he also walked over with the Mickiewicz poem in his hand: "Arthur, I know this request may be difficult for you to do, especially since you also let the Poles shoot in Liverpool. However, Mr. Mickiewicz's "Sacrifice of the Ancestors" really should not be buried in the mound of his homeland by political prejudice. ”

Arthur saw the two of them coming around one by one, and just said, "What are you two anxious about?" I didn't say I wanted to bury it. ”

"Huh?"

Alexandre Dumas raised his eyebrows, his eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a smile.

He clapped his hands on Arthur's shoulders and said with an excited expression, "Arthur! My good boy! I knew it! Street fights, intimidation and threats, financial insiders, and collecting black money, although these are all you, you can still be a good cop after all! ”

When Arthur heard this, he just replied nonchalantly: "Alexander, are you complimenting me?" ”

"Of course. However, although the "Sacrifice of the Ancestors" is still a little easier to solve, how are you going to explain to Benjamin that we plan to publish this "Red and Black"? ”

"Why discuss with Benjamin?"

"Huh?" Tennyson wondered, "Is this ...... Are you planning to bypass Benjamin? This...... This is not very good, he is also our major shareholder, and he is also one of our pillars! ”

"No, Alfred, we're not going to be releasing it directly from 'British' this time."

"That'...... So how are you going to publish it? ”

Arthur only chuckled softly when he heard this, and he stood up and announced.

"My dear friends, you may not know a thing yet. The Home Office is currently considering amending the Police Act 1829. ”

Tennyson was puzzled, "Does this have anything to do with us?" ”

Dumas, on the other hand, was more astute than Tennyson, his eyes rolled, and he suddenly took a deep breath: "I seem to have heard Officer Tom talk about this before, and it seems that Scotland Yard may also be reorganized because of this, and the powers of the senior police officers will also be redivided...... Since you have mentioned this matter to us, should your new authority include......"

Arthur smiled and nodded slightly: "That's right. Following the reorganisation of Scotland Yard, I will be directly responsible for the control of all illegal publications in the London metropolitan area. ”

(End of chapter)