The University of London's newly completed lecture hall is packed with current affairs reporters from London's newspapers, large and small.

Arthur, dressed in the uniform of a senior police officer at Scotland Yard, sat on the stage, reached out and took the pen from Louie's hand, and signed the document in front of him.

Although his signing posture is as chic as ever, if you look closely, you can still see what makes Arthur different today.

If it were to be expressed in artistic terms, it would be that Mr. Hastings had a heavier burden on his shoulders.

To put it in simpler terms, it is that in addition to the St. Edward's coat of arms, his epaulettes have an extra baton.

Of course, with the addition of this baton, his business card has been updated accordingly.

Assistant Superintendent of Police, London Metropolitan Police,

Director of the London Police Intelligence Department under the Greater London Metropolitan Police,

Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the London Police School, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,

and Mr. Arthur Hastings, who is proposed to be the first Rector.

The ink on the business card has not yet dried completely, and you can still feel a little warmth when you wipe it with your fingers.

It didn't take much time to sign, but Arthur enjoyed the process.

Because this is probably the easiest job he's ever done in the last few months, and even in the months to come.

Arthur smiled and stood up, exchanging agreements with Principal Horner, who was sitting at the head of him, before holding the former teacher's arm tightly and shaking it vigorously.

"Mr Horner, we are delighted that Scotland Yard has entered into a departmental partnership agreement with the University of London. I have no doubt that the University of London will provide adequate training to the mid-level backbone of Scotland Yard, and that they will use what they have learned here to give back to the people of London. I am confident that with our concerted efforts, all the vicious criminals in London will be left uncovered. ”

Although Principal Horner tried his best to hide his excitement, the corners of his mouth could not help but betray his true feelings.

"I must admit that if the most important breakthrough of the University of London in 1831 was the granting of a royal charter for teaching, then in 1832 our headline was the agreement with Scotland Yard. Believe me, Arthur, choosing the University of London as your partner is the best decision you've ever made in your life. ”

Arthur just laughed and joked, "Mr. Headmaster, I don't think so. I think the best decision in my life was to choose to be a student here, so the partnership between Scotland Yard and the University of London was the second most correct place to go. ”

Horner laughed and said, "The second right is also true, it's much better than going to some church university and making a bad decision." It's not that I'm boasting about the school, but as our outstanding graduate, you should know that the University of London has a talent pool in chemistry, geology, medicine, and other natural philosophy. ”

"Of course." Arthur replied with a smile: "After all, Scotland Yard does not expect police officers to weaken the power of criminals by reciting poetry, what we need is more scientific theories, more advanced and professional training, which is the most important reason why we chose the University of London." ”

The old and the young on the stage were enjoying themselves, while the reporters in the audience couldn't wait to ask questions.

For the sake of being in a good mood today, Arthur was also happy to answer their questions.

It's just that all he can say is repeat what he has just said countless times.

Arthur certainly won't tell the real reason why he had facilitated, and could have facilitated, Scotland Yard's choice to cooperate with the University of London, rather than the obnoxious King's College next door, which also offered many subjects in the field of natural philosophy.

Actually, the real reason is not that complicated, just a glance at King's College board list can provide an insight.

Following the death of the previous King, King George IV, the Duke of Wellington is currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of King's College.

Oxford and Cambridge were the strongholds of the clergy, and the King's College next door was the training ground for the Tory conservative new force.

Therefore, it was not too difficult for Arthur to convince the Home Office to accept cooperation with the University of London.

And for the Treasury, which is responsible for preparing the annual budget for Scotland Yard, the University of London is also a pretty good choice.

The reason is that their tuition fees are really cheap compared to classical church universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.

The location in London also frees the Treasury from having to reimburse police officers for their high commuter costs.

Not to mention, Arthur also convinced them that the quality of education at the University of London was indeed excellent.

Even if the University of London is not as prestigious and recognized as Oxford and Cambridge, it is at least ranked third in England.

Although there are only four universities in England for the time being, we are not the last one anyway, are we?

At least in Arthur's opinion, if a university can educate even a guy like Elder else, then what else can't they educate?

It was cheap, efficient, could provide a relatively high-quality education, and was also a Whig stronghold.

Even if you turn England upside down, you will never find a better university to train key police officers than the University of London.

Therefore, this matter naturally passed the approval without too much resistance.

With the help of the University of London, Scotland Yard was able to build the framework of a police school in a short period of time, and the University of London also reaped the training income of the government departments during floods and droughts, which was indeed a win-win deal.

Principal Horner, who was so happy that he couldn't keep his mouth shut, even made a lot of bold remarks in an interview with reporters.

He said that the University of London would take advantage of the opportunity to explore the path of opening up a new discipline of criminal offense, and he also boldly imagined that the University of London might consider opening a dedicated police academy at the university in the future.

The purpose of the school is not only to help Scotland Yard train outstanding police officers on the job, but it is also likely that in the future, it will be committed to educating specialised forensic and toxicological personnel and sending them to work in various departments within Scotland Yard, so as to provide a more secure and safer social environment for Londoners.

And when journalists ask whether Britain's history, where there has never been a school for training police, is such an act a sign that the government is tightening its grip on the British people.

Arthur, who had expected them to ask such a thing, took out the words he had prepared earlier.

"I understand your concerns, but before we do that, take a look at what the police have achieved. The case files of the various magistrates' courts in London show that in the more than two years since the establishment of Scotland Yard, the annual property losses suffered by Londoners due to theft, robbery and other criminal acts have dropped from 760,000 pounds in 1828 to 330,000 pounds.

In the docklands along the River Thames, the frequency of thefts has dropped particularly significantly, and several criminal gangs that used to be rampant in the London area have been targeted and eliminated. As an Assistant Superintendent of Police at Scotland Yard, I can promise the public that the police academy will become more effective and effective in combating crime.

In addition, the original intention of the establishment of the Police School at Scotland Yard was to find a way to continuously improve the quality of service without a large-scale increase in the number of police officers. Back in the days of Scotland Yard's founding, we repeatedly stated that Britain would not become a police nation like France. Now, we have confirmed this on a factual level.

The social reputation of the Greater London Police is recognised not only by the citizens of London, but also by the public in the rest of England. From what I've been told so far, the concern of the public is not that there are more police officers in Scotland Yard, but that we may have fewer and fewer police.

Since last year, we've been receiving invitations from private policing associations in Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol. These wealthy gentlemen, who did not trust the local security forces and feared that their property would be robbed and stolen by mobs, raised funds spontaneously in the hope of hiring some experienced and capable police officers from Scotland Yard to serve as security officers in the local area.

What I say is all true, and there is no falsehood. For example, many of you would have read in the newspapers about the brutal murder and robbery that took place in the Stowe area. Just yesterday, we received an invitation for help from the Stowe Mountain Private Security Association.

These gentlemen were willing to pay three times the normal salary of a Scottish Yard constable to hire two competent officers from us to take charge of the policing of the three-mile area around Stowe.

The main tasks include: focusing on patrols at night, searching and supervising suspects, inspecting taverns and rental houses where vagrants live. When a case occurs, the two officers are also responsible for prosecuting the suspects they arrest, collecting evidence, organizing testimony and presenting the case to the magistrate's court.

Truth be told, it's pretty much the same as what we do at Scotland Yard, but those two good guys only need to be responsible for three miles of land and get paid three times as much. Having said that, gentlemen, do you know how much each of the officers in Scotland Yard patrols per day? ”

When the reporters heard Arthur ask, they first looked at each other, and then someone raised his hand and asked, "Six miles?" ”

Arthur joked, "Although you guessed wrong, I still want to thank you for your blessings, sir." The average police officer at Scotland Yard patrols ten miles a day. And that's after the expansion of Scotland Yard. When I joined Scotland Yard more than two years ago, I was exercising fifteen miles a day, and worst of all, my wages hadn't gone up yet.

So, if you are worried that Britain will become a police state, you should first talk to the gentlemen of the Stowe Mountain Private Security Society, where the progress of building a police state is much faster than that of London. As for Scotland Yard, you don't have to worry at all.

For as far as I know, there are more than 300 such organisations as the Stowe Mountain Private Policing Society in Britain, and if each of them poachs two men from Scotland Yard, there will soon be no police left in London. ”

Arthur made a joke that immediately made the reporters in the audience laugh.

Some reporters even joked with him: "Mr. Hastings, if I want to hire you as a private security guard at our newspaper, how much will you pay?" ”

Arthur smiled and asked, "Which newspaper are you a reporter for?" ”

The Manchester Guardian.

"So it's to Manchester?"

"Of course."

"I won't go as much as I want."

"Why?" The reporter smiled and asked: "Do you want to say that you deliberately want to get along with the money, so you have to stay in Scotland Yard and dedicate yourself to the citizens?" ”

"No, sir, I'm not that noble."

Arthur smiled and replied, "I'm just worried that I can't beat you Manchester dock hooligans, even if it's a native of London, and I'll be able to deal with it enough." You see, didn't I get a shot last time I went to Liverpool? Liverpool is like this, I'm afraid I'll take my life when I go to Manchester. ”

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, there was another burst of laughter in the lecture hall.

Principal Horner took out his pocket watch and glanced at it, stood up with a smile and announced, "Gentlemen, the time is almost up, let's stop here for the interview, your work has been successful enough today." ”

"Goodbye, Mr. Horner, it was indeed a successful interview today, and I am sure we will write a good manuscript."

The reporters dispersed, and Horner saw that the people were almost gone, so he turned to Arthur and smiled and said, "Arthur, my good boy, when I awarded you a scholarship a few years ago, I knew that you would have a good future." I thought that maybe one day you would give back to your alma mater, but I really didn't expect that day would come so soon. ”

Arthur replied with a smile as he got up and sorted out his papers: "Mr. Chancellor, it's not that I give back to my alma mater, but in my opinion, the University of London is the best choice at the moment. You use the word "feedback" too much. If I really have the ability to give back to the school, then I will not bring the Scotland Yard agreement today, but the East India Company. ”

"Hahaha! Do you remember that? ”

Horner exclaimed, "The first group of students of you was the most envious of Bullioll College in Oxford, or rather, the students of all Britain envied them. After all, Belleol is currently the only place in Britain where you can enter the civil service system of the East India Company through the normal recruitment process, and if you graduate from other schools, you will have to have some means to go to the East Indias. ”

Speaking of this, Horner suddenly changed his words and said: "However, during this time, Lord William Bentinck, the Viceroy of India, seems to have pushed for reforms within the East India Company, and even Indians have been allowed to enter the company to hold positions. If this trend continues, one day our students will be able to enter the East Indies in the open. ”

"I've seen it all in the newspapers." Arthur quipped, "But I'm more concerned about the ban on the Indian funeral system than Lord Bentinck's reform in the selection and employment of people." The words of General Charles Napier, commander of the Indian Army, to the Indians are indeed very interesting. ”

"What did he say?"

Arthur recalled: "General Napier said to the Indians: 'You say it is your custom to burn widows, and that's all right. But we Britons also have our customs! In England, when men burned a living woman, we would tie a rope around their necks and hang them alive. Go and build your pyre, but beside the pyre my carpenters will build you a gallows. You go according to your customs, and we will do according to our customs! ’”

Hearing this, Horner sighed with emotion: "Maybe General Napier's management style is a little rougher, but the purpose he wants to achieve is indeed noble, and we can't blame him too much for his behavior." But...... Then again, why have you suddenly become concerned about India lately? Could it be that you also want to work for the East India Company? ”

Arthur smiled and shook his head: "I'm past the age of looking for a job. I didn't particularly care about India either, but I just got a little interested in General Napier. Because when I was in Liverpool a while ago, I happened to meet his brother, Admiral Charlie Napier of the Royal Navy. Oh...... Maybe I shouldn't have called it that, because he hasn't actually returned to active duty. ”

"Charlie Napier?" Horner asked: "What is he doing at Liverpool?" Cholera is so rampant there, isn't it a good place for a vacation? ”

Arthur replied with a smile: "But he can go out to sea in a boat and find a sunny resort." ”

"These retired generals are really comfortable! After all, they have a retirement annuity. ”

Horner sighed, and then said to Arthur: "Don't talk about this, Mr. Chopin is practicing in the music room, didn't you say that you have something to do with him?" ”

Arthur nodded, "Okay, then you will lead the way." After all, when I was studying, there was no music room in the school. ”

Horner smiled lightly, "Maybe you should take some time to walk around the school, we've built so much more than we used to since we got our teaching permits." ”

(End of chapter)