"Mr. Hastings, His Excellency the Duke is resting inside."

Led by the butler, Arthur made his way through the vestibule and gallery to the study on the second floor.

As soon as he opened the door, Arthur saw the old duke lying in a marching hammock hanging between two pillars, with a hat over his face to shield himself from the sun.

Seeing this, Arthur nodded in the direction of the duke, and asked the butler in a low voice, "Is the duke asleep?" ”

"Uh......" the butler whispered, "I beg your pardon." Why don't you go to the lobby and have a cup of tea? His Excellency the Duke has not slept very well lately, and his sleep has been intermittent, and he should wake up after a while. ”

As soon as the butler finished speaking, he heard the duke's rather tired voice coming from the marching bed: "Sean, pour me some wine, my throat is a little dry." ”

When the butler heard this, he pressed one hand on his chest and bowed slightly, "Obey, Your Excellency." Mr. Hastings has come to visit you, would you like to receive you? ”

"Oh? The lad is here? ”

Wellington took off the hat that covered his face, and as he lay down in the hammock, he saw Arthur's polite smile.

Arthur asked, "Your Excellency, you look tired, why don't you rest first, and I'll come back another day." ”

Instead of responding to Arthur's request, Wellington raised two fingers at the butler: "Two glasses of wine." A glass of Martell brandy, a glass of Guinness dry stouts. Well...... I think you like beer, boy, right? ”

Arthur was stunned, he didn't know where Wellington had come up with the answer.

He had never shown his preference for alcohol in front of Wellington, and the only time he was invited to a banquet at Wellington Mansion, he drank whatever he had.

Besides, he doesn't like to drink beer.

It was only when he went out to the theater with Elder in college that he would smack a few large glasses in the tavern of the small theater.

After all, the plays that Elder takes to watch are always inevitably dry.

The Duke of Wellington saw the puzzled look on Arthur's face, and then smiled and said, "It seems that after the Times, Liverpool's newspapers can't be trusted. They said you were a Royal Beer barrel rolled in from London, and I believed it. ”

Arthur also smiled and replied, "It's a joy to see that you are in such a good mood, and can even joke so humorously. But are you sure you don't have to go back to your bedroom to rest? Lying on the camp bed is not as comfortable as the queen bed in the bedroom. ”

The Duke of Wellington rolled over and said, "For an old soldier like me, the marching bed is much more comfortable than the large bed in the bedroom. Every time I couldn't sleep, I would come here and lie down and read the army's military report for a while, and it wouldn't take long for me to fall asleep, just like I did in Iberia. ”

"In that case, maybe I should try buying a bed like this."

Arthur walked into the study and said, "I've not been sleeping well lately. ”

Speaking of this, Arthur suddenly noticed that the Duke of Wellington's arm was wrapped in a black veil, and his steps paused, pointing to his arm and asking, "......What is this?"

"Ah......" the old duke's eyelids lifted slightly, "My lady, dear Catherine, she died not long ago. ”

When Arthur heard this, the face of the amiable old lady immediately appeared in his mind.

He remembered that whenever the couple attended social occasions together, the old lady with a smile on her lips was almost inseparable from the duke.

Every time she chatted with her, she would always turn to her husband, and she liked to brag to everyone about what a great man the Duke of Wellington was.

She cherished her husband's honors, perhaps better than the Duke himself.

It was a strange feeling, so much so that in Arthur's view, she was not only the wife of the Duke, but also an ardent admirer of His Excellency.

But unlike the other admirers, she was suspicious of the Duke at every turn, and instead of having an innumerable number of lovers like other noble ladies, she devoted almost all her extra energy to guarding her husband.

She hated it when others got their hands on her loot, and even went so far as to plan several large-scale defensive battles for it. From this point of view, she and her husband's fighting style are quite consistent.

Unfortunately, the Duke of Wellington was able to mobilize the entire British military force when he was fighting.

And for Catherine, the ladies of London as a whole are her potential rivals.

But in any case, Arthur had a good impression of the old lady, because just sitting there obediently and listening to her tell her about the old duke's glorious history could win her favor. Compared with other difficult ladies, the old lady's favor came too easily.

Arthur lowered his head slightly, and comforted softly: "By the way." May I venture to ask, when did she die? ”

"That's when you go to Liverpool."

The Duke of Wellington shook his head slightly: "She has not been in good health since the beginning of last year. I thought that with more time with her, she would get better slowly, but she eventually left. She lay on the bed, not even able to speak, but with the last of her strength, she put a finger into my sleeve. ”

"Sticking into your sleeve?"

The Duke of Wellington nodded, and said helplessly: "She wants to see if I still wear the armband she gave me." ”

Arthur hesitated, he wanted to know the answer, but he was afraid that the outcome would disappoint him.

He was silent for a while, and finally couldn't help asking, "Then did she find it?" ”

"Of course she did." The Duke of Wellington's smile looked a little complicated: "Like at any time in the last twenty years, if she wants to look for it, I've always been there." How strange! People can live together for half a lifetime, but only at the end can they understand each other. ”

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly remembered the gossip he had heard from various dinner parties.

He remembered that Catherine, the wife of the Duke of Wellington, was the daughter of the old Earl of Longford, and as early as 1793, when he was still a young man, the Duke of Wellington fell in love with this cheerful and attractive girl, and proposed to her.

However, his proposal was rejected by Catherine's eldest brother, Thomas Parknam, now Earl of Longford.

Because he thought that the Duke of Wellington was too young and in debt at that time, and he was a young son with no inheritance, and the future did not look promising.

And this refusal directly caused the angry Duke of Wellington to burn his favorite violin, and he was determined to go to the army to do a great job.

And when the Duke of Wellington made a success in India in 1806 and led the LinkedIn army to win the Maratha War, the Earl of Longford's family cheekily came to the door and asked him if he still wanted to marry his daughter.

Although the Duke of Wellington agreed to the marriage contract, when he saw Catherine again, he couldn't help but bury his head and mutter, "She's ugly." ”

Privately, everyone said that this was the reason why Catherine had not been so confident in front of the Duke of Wellington.

If she had married the then penniless Duke of Wellington 13 years ago, perhaps her marriage would have been happier.

But she can't be blamed for this, more of the blame has to be placed on her family. The Earl of Longford wanted to sell his beautiful daughter for a high price, and the result of the sale was that he was married at the age of 30.

But fortunately, they were lucky enough to run into the Duke of Wellington.

Thomas Parknam, who had rejected the marriage proposal, was also taken care of by this sister-in-law after becoming the eldest brother of the Duke of Wellington, and he was called up in the Peninsular War, commanded the Third Division, and participated in the Battle of Salamanca, the Duke of Wellington's masterpiece.

If Arthur didn't understand the Duke of Wellington's words in the past, he now has some understanding.

He couldn't help but sigh: "Yes! Humans are really a strange species, they get along with each other day and night, but if they want to understand a person, they have to wait until the end of their lives. ”

The Duke of Wellington got up from his hammock and put on his coat: "Young man, are you troubled?" At your age, you shouldn't have this kind of feeling. You've never been married, maybe you haven't had a woman yet, so what can bother you so much? ”

Arthur smiled: "It's nothing, seeing you so calm, I don't think my troubles should be nothing." ”

"Hmmm......"

The Duke of Wellington poured a cup of tea: "You're talking about the Whigs?" Did they make it difficult for you? In my opinion, at least Broughham still values you. After all, you were his student, and I remember that Bentham used to praise you in the newspapers, right? In a sense, although it was Earl Grey who sat in the prime minister's seat, Bentham was the spiritual leader of the Whigs who supported the reforms. ”

Arthur didn't hide it, he said, "I'm a police officer, so I don't have a position on matters in the council. I just don't think it's going to do anyone in Britain any good if things continue like this. ”

The Duke of Wellington took a sip from his teacup: "Were you sent by Broughham to be a lobbyist?" ”

"Your Excellency, why do you think so?"

Arthur laughed and replied, "I just happened to pass by your doorstep and arrested a couple of thugs who smashed your window glass. ”

"Huh?" The Duke of Wellington turned his head to look at the smashed iron windows in the study, and suddenly realized: "So you are here to do this." ”

Arthur quipped, "Your Excellency, I am not trying to persuade you to back down from your position. But since you are not the leader of the opposition now, why don't you go back to the country to hunt? If you really don't think parliamentary reform is good, then I think it would be better for you to be the leader of the opposition than Sir Peel at such a moment, because you are very prestigious in this country. ”

When the Duke of Wellington heard this, his face suddenly became gloomy: "Leader of the opposition? I knew the gang wanted to put me in this position. But I would say to them that I have served my country for 40 years, 20 years in command of its army and 10 years in the cabinet. I have the utmost unwavering loyalty to this country, and whether I like it or not, I will never oppose His Majesty's government, let alone make myself the leader of any opposition party, because it sounds like a revolutionary. ”

The Duke of Wellington was stunned when he heard this.

It took a while for Arthur to understand why the Duke of Wellington was so resistant to the name of the leader of the opposition.

In the final analysis, it was he and the Duke of Wellington who had different understandings of the position.

When the Duke of Wellington was growing up, the title of opposition leader was not a good word, it was almost synonymous with troublemaker. For a pure royalist like the Duke, it was his natural duty to support the king and embrace him.

Perhaps sometimes the king behaves in a way that is out of tune, like George IV, who was nicknamed 'the best comedian in Europe' by the English aristocracy.

But when the king made a mistake, the Duke of Wellington never criticized his policies and performance in public, but pointed it out in private meetings, and at most ridiculed at the banquet.

To let such a stereotyped old man accept the title of leader of the opposition is like deliberately tarnishing his book of honor.

With this in mind, Arthur finally understood the Duke's recent twisting behavior.

No wonder he never criticized the government in the newspapers like the Whigs, and since leaving the prime minister, the news about him has been almost exclusively sideways.

The Duke of Wellington spoke: "My seat in Parliament allows me to approve when I support and oppose when I disagree. But I would never agree to be the leader of any opposition party.

And I voted against it not not because I was hindering any so-called progress, but because I suspected that there was a terrible conspiracy behind it, just as it happened in Britain during the French Revolution.

I think it's all the British who are engaged in the conspiracy in this country, but their roots are in Paris. There was a revolution in France, a revolution in Belgium, a charcoal uprising in Italy, a Warsaw uprising in Poland, and now a riot in Portugal.

The gold of the French makes those preachers come and go. I blame myself a little now, if I hadn't lifted the ban on publications, and hadn't allowed the news media to rattle and cause chaos, maybe things wouldn't have gotten as bad as they are now. ”

He looked a little discouraged: "Did you see what they said in the newspaper?" I assure you that these gentlemen who are now in power are privately connected with the revolution and that they welcome everything in Paris and Brussels. I once said to His Majesty that if he could inflict punishment on horseback, there would be no revolution. But it was clear that despite his hard work, he still couldn't master such a superb ride. ”

Arthur asked softly, "Do you suspect that there is something wrong with our Prime Minister, Earl Grey?" ”

"No, I don't doubt Gray. I've known him for a long time, and he's been like that since more than twenty years ago. ”

Wellington said self-deprecatingly, "And I have found that in this Cabinet, the authority of the Prime Minister over his followers is significantly lower than the authority of the field commander over the army. And this trend spread from the Whigs to the Tories, and everyone but myself was doing what he liked.

There are no commanders in the parties, or everyone is a commander, but there are no troops. No one obeys me except myself, and no one even intends to listen to anyone else's opinion. But if everything doesn't go well, the responsibility lies with me. ”

Arthur asked, "Didn't Sir Peel support you?" ”

"Peel ......"

The Duke of Wellington paused: "He is a very capable man and a man of noble sentiments, but there is a flaw in his character, because he has not been trained in the army, so he cannot be as resolute as me." We worked well together most of the time, but now his attitude is a bit erratic. Being able to listen to other people's opinions is both his strength and his disadvantage. ”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but think back to the conversation with Disraeli.

He remembers that it seemed that Disraeli had made a similar judgment about Peel, and more importantly, that the boy who liked to wear fashionable clothes made a bold prediction: "I suspect that Peel's people may betray us at the next vote on parliamentary reform, and his recent position has been so ambiguous that the party is now divided." ”

Arthur didn't care which side Sir Peel would be on in parliamentary reform, but he was concerned about the aftermath if the next parliamentary vote passed in the House of Commons.

Arthur pondered for a moment, and boldly asked, "Your Excellency, I don't care about politics, but as I have stated earlier, I am concerned about the recent turmoil in the security situation. Some of this is caused by cholera, and some of this is due to parliamentary reform. So, I would like to ask you for some advice, and an insightful old gentleman like you can always give valuable advice to young people. ”

"Suggestions?"

The Duke of Wellington looked at Arthur's sincere face, and he was not sure why the young man had suddenly asked such a question.

What's more, it's not two years ago, and this Arthur Hastings is not the little Scottish Yard police officer he met when he first met, but the number three in the Metropolitan Police Department of Greater London, who wields considerable power.

The Duke of Wellington pondered for a moment, and finally spoke slowly, "If you must ask me for advice, then, young man, I will pass on to you the creed of my life. No matter what happens, do what you have to do, and you have to be worthy of the honor that this country has bestowed on you, and give back your loyalty. I haven't been a police officer, but I think the toughest test for a great police commander is to maintain order. ”

Hearing this, Arthur nodded slightly, he blinked and smiled and asked, "So, what is the most severe test for a great general?" ”

The Duke of Wellington almost blurted out this question because Lord Stanep had asked him this question in person some time ago when he was writing the documents on the Peninsular War.

"The toughest test for a general is to know when to retreat and dare to retreat."

As soon as the Duke of Wellington said this, he realized that something was wrong.

He stared at Arthur for a few moments before he raised his teacup and touched him, "You kid." I'm not a news outlet, so I don't tamper with what I've ever said. But it's too early for me to retreat. ”

(End of chapter)