Arthur didn't refute Plunkitt's words when he heard him, he smiled and nodded.

"Thomas, I'm glad I was able to reach a consensus with you. You may not believe it, but I think exactly as you do. The Duke of Wellington is not only the flag of the army, but also the flag of the country, he cannot fall, let alone be taken away by others. If someone dares to do such a thing, not only you, but I will also fight with him. ”

He stood up and filled Louie's glass, and was about to give Plunkitt some as well, when the out-of-shape sharpshooter grinned and said, "Sir, just pour it for yourself, and give me the rest of the wine, along with the bottle." Although your goblet here is quite high-class, a guy like me, who was born as a big soldier, still feels like blowing on the bottle. ”

Arthur smiled dumbly, "Are you sure? The degree of this brandy is not low. ”

"Don't you know, when our soldiers are on the battlefield, they all live on this sip of wine."

Plunkitt took the bottle from Arthur's hand, tilted his head and took a sip, raised his sleeve and wiped his mouth, perhaps because of the alcohol in his brain, and he talked more.

Plunkitt's eyes flashed with remembrance: "I remember the night before the Battle of Waterloo, on the night of June 17, 1815, when the rain was so heavy that the wind poured down my collar and into my body, it was like someone was scraping my bones with a blunt knife.

We had just suffered a great deal of losses in the Battle of the Four Arms, and I found that many Prussians seemed to be pessimistic about their eventual victory. However, I did not take it to heart at the time, and it was not until the end of the Battle of Waterloo that I learned that the chief of staff of the Prussian Field Marshal Blucher, Gneisenau, was persuading him to lead the Prussian army to retreat eastward.

Gneisenau did not believe in the fighting power of our British Army, and thought that the Duke of Wellington might retreat in front of Napoleon. He told Marshal Blucher that the Duke of Wellington might pretend to hold on and then slip away, leaving the Prussian army at a disadvantage. Napoleon would then be able to attack Blucher's army, giving Wellington enough time to save his own men.

What a ridiculous idea that he should think that His Excellency the Duke would be afraid of Napoleon. And it was not only Gneisenau who thought so, but most of the Prussian staff officers. When I got up that night to pee, I met a Prussian staff officer, Major Carl von Clausewitz, who joked with me: 'Even though it's only been one night, I feel like my hair is graying.' ’”

When Louis heard this, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and he continued: "It's a pleasure to hear from you the inside of the anti-French alliance army, do you want to know what kind of mood is in Napoleon's staff on our side?" ”

"Uh......" Plunkitt laughed with a pat on the head, "I almost forgot about you, you were Napoleon's nephew." Well...... Actually, I was really interested, did you really think you had a chance to win at that time? ”

Louis shook his head lightly and said, "On the contrary, you and the Prussians are afraid of Napoleon, and many people in the French staff have been warning my uncle about the danger from the Duke of Wellington. Unlike the Prussians, the generals of France had a high opinion of the British Army.

Field Marshal Sirte admonished my uncle: 'Your Majesty, in a head-to-head confrontation, the British infantry is the devil. ’

General Reye, for his part, made a gloomy comment: 'The English infantry, which occupies good terrain, is unshakable and invincible. ’

But you also know what a confident man my uncle was, and he was very upset with the generals' evaluation, and he was furious at them: 'You have suffered defeat under Wellington, and you think he is a good general!' I tell you now that Wellington is a bad general, and the British are bad soldiers. And the battle will be over before lunch today! ’

Of course, I don't think my uncle would be arrogant enough to be arrogant, for he later said: 'The Duke of Wellington is as good as I am, and he has the advantage of being more cautious.' ’

He knew that our generals were afraid of His Excellency the Duke, so I was more inclined to think that he was trying to boost morale by belittling his opponents. ”

Plunkitt just wanted to fight back for the Duke when he heard it in front, but heard his ass sink back into his chair smoothly in the back, and the sharpshooter touched the back of his head and laughed.

Actually, Napoleon was not wrong. If our commander is not the Duke, but the Marquis of Anglesey or something, we will probably be crushed at the touch of a button. You may not know that Napoleon's name alone can scare the crowd into fleeing, we were still fighting on the front line, but the citizens of Brussels in the rear saw the wounded being brought back from the front line, and thought that our army had been defeated by Napoleon.

I heard from a brother of the 95th Regiment who had been sent to the rear to treat his wounds that Brussels was full of rumors of the Duke of Wellington's defeat at the village of Four Arms. Everyone was in a panic, and everyone shouted that the enemy was coming. In the forests of Soienne, he saw the servants drop their luggage on the ground, then hop on their own animals and run desperately to the rear. The peasants, who were carrying supplies in carts, hurriedly cut the ropes of their harnesses, dropped their carts, and fled on their oxen.

In the cities it was even worse, where masters and servants, grooms, maids, coachmen and gentlemen quarreled over horses and vehicles leaving the locality, and they all blamed each other, hurled insults at each other in French, English and Flemish, and quarreled followed by hands. Nearly half of the Belgian coachmen, who were responsible for transporting grain and grass, refused to leave or let their cattle go. They prayed to God with many gestures, called upon all the saints and angels of heaven to appear to witness, and swore that they would never go out, even to rescue their crown prince, Prince Orange.

Everyone was running around in a daze, shouting: 'Napoleon is here with the French!' It's a very strange thing, the front line is orderly and calm, but the rear is already running around. What's even more ridiculous is that many people who don't know the inside story of the Battle of Waterloo usually think that the situation is the opposite. But in fact, whether it was the French soldiers or us Allied soldiers, although the big guys were afraid, they still did their best to carry out the orders from above, and we did not lose order like the small citizens. ”

Speaking of this, Plunkett couldn't help but boast to Arthur with some pride: "Sir, don't worry, although London has been in turmoil lately, I will not be intimidated, we veterans who have been on the battlefield have all seen the world." The eve of the Battle of Waterloo was a bitter nightmare of storms and mud.

With no shelter from the elements, no tiles or leaves on our heads, we had to settle down as much as we could in the mud and filth in the torrential rain, and most of us didn't even have a stutter on our bodies. Lucky people with provisions, like me, got a little smoked salt-cured beef strip that morning, put it in my pants for a whole day, and only dared to eat it secretly at night when I couldn't see my fingers. Even better, I still have a little bit of brandy left in my bottle, so I'm in a better position than most.

I looked around for a dry place to lie down and have a good meal. Unfortunately, there was mud everywhere, and all I could find was straw and branches to cushion myself on, and with these and a dead tree, I could barely withstand the all-night rainstorm. When it was time to go to bed at night, we all wrapped ourselves in cloaks, and we all huddled together, and just lay down in the mud and closed our eyes, like a bunch of half-drowned, hungry mice. ”

When Louis heard this, he couldn't help but ask: "You have lived like this, haven't you taken the local peasants captive?" ”

"Uh...... Well...... this."

Plunkitt looked a little embarrassed: "I don't deny that there is such a situation, at least I know that the brigade of General Frederick Adam of the 2nd Division was allowed to loot three farmhouses. However, most of the troops commanded by the Duke of Wellington knew the temper of His Excellency, and he was firmly opposed to the abduction of civilians, and severely punished soldiers who stole civilian property.

Although it was normal to fight and loot, the Duke of Wellington had always believed that burning, killing and looting was not conducive to maintaining the discipline of the army, and it would also make enemies unnecessarily. He believed that when we were in Spain, the French attracted the hatred of almost all the Spaniards because of their wanton plunder, so during the Peninsular War, wherever our troops went, those Spaniards were happy to assist us in attacking the French army.

Although this rule seems to me to be excessive, since His Excellency the Duke has been able to arrange our logistics and supplies in most cases, we will never die of hunger. Therefore, although some soldiers have a lot of complaints about not being able to rob, they will not directly attack and abuse the old nose because of this. The most important thing is that the military rules set by the old nose are also very suitable, stealing will only be confined, robbery will be whipped, and only if you kill someone will you be hanged, so everyone can accept it, and they also think that he is very fair. ”

Speaking of this, Plunkitt also said with some envy: "But to be honest, on the eve of Waterloo, if our commander allowed us to rob, I would definitely do it." Because the weather was so damn good, you don't know how much I wanted to get some combustibles like tables, chairs, benches, sofas, cradles, barrels, etc., and throw them into the fire to make it crackle and warm my frozen body.

There was thunder that night, and the thunder rolled and rumbled through the night sky, with the occasional lightning bolt. I lay in the ditch by the tree, using my backpack as a pillow. It rained so hard all night that the rain soaked the ground and knocked down the crops. I don't know how my friends slept, but I saw that they all lay still and quietly for a long time.

For example, those of us who fought in the Korean Peninsula War did not bother to complain in front of the new recruits who had just tasted the flames of war. The little recruits did not dare to complain, lest they be scolded. They understand that if they dare to complain, they will immediately be ridiculed by the veterans.

'God bless your poor delicate body!' Look at your pink ass, maybe we should send you to the kiln in London to be served. What can you do in the Pyrenees? ’

Or, 'Oh, my little baby!' Do you need Dad to hum you a lullaby? Can't bear this bit of bitterness? Hum! Compared to when we were in Spain, it was child's play! ’”

Plunkitt couldn't help but laugh out loud when he said this.

Because of this, those who could not sleep pretended to sleep, and all endured these ordeals with admirable heroism. By the next morning, I could see that everyone was tired, and I was sure that no one in the group had fallen asleep, because not even a tough guy like me had fallen asleep.

We were supposed to go to battle exhausted like this, but our useless quartermaster finally did a little bit of a job by getting a little milk and sugar from the next regiment. We boiled a large pot of water, poured sugar and milk, and tea leaves from our backpacks into the pot, and the officers in the neighborhood saw the smoke coming from our place, so they all ran to ask for a cup of tea. I assure you, this is the first time I have seen so many bigwigs in the army, three or four generals alone.

One of the recruits in our regiment was an idiot, and he hated the taste of tea, so he poured a little black powder into his cup, and I asked him how it tasted, and he told me that it was the worst thing he had ever tasted in his life. Haha, I joked with him at the time, saying that if there were not enough shells for a while, I would put him in the chamber and shoot him out. ”

When Plunkitt said this, he pursed his lips with some unfinished meaning: "Although the memories of that day are not good, I don't know why, after so many years, I can still remember every minute and every second of that day, every bit that happened." If, I mean, sir, you intend to order me as Old Nose led us to war with the French at Waterloo, I will not frown even if I be told to sleep in the trench again, and drink tea that tastes neither sweet nor milky, or even black powder. ”

Arthur didn't answer Plunkitt's question directly, but instead said, "Thomas, I can't be as good as His Excellency the Duke. But the only thing I can assure you is that the flag you are guarding will not fall. And this time, I'm going to hand over the task of holding the flag to you. Your task is simple and complex, and many unexpected things are sure to happen in London in the coming period.

I would like you to dedicate some of your men to the monitoring of the Assistant Under-Secretary for the Foreign Office, Mr. August Schneider, who, I have reason to suspect, was in touch with the forces of the City during the time when Viscount Palmerston was in charge of the Foreign Office. So, if you find something unexpected there, you can do it cheaply.

In addition, I have already explored the route of the Duke's travel in the next few days, and I want you and your brothers to deploy along the Duke's travel route. If you find anyone who dares to attack the Duke, I grant you the right to fire on the spot. ”

"Fire on the spot?"

Although Plunkitt had expected it, it was still a bit unexpected for him to shoot and kill people in the street, after all, this is not a time of war, and if there is a miscalculation, he will be sentenced to death by hanging in the criminal court. What's more, Scotland Yard has no criminal immunity, and Arthur's authorisation sounds like a trap.

Arthur also understood Plunkitt's concern, and he nodded slightly at Louis on the side.

Seeing this, Louis immediately handed the minutes of the meeting in duplicate to Arthur.

Arthur took the document, stamped it with his seal without thinking, and then stood up and handed it to Plunkit.

His figure blocked out the sunlight outside the window, and lightning flashed outside the window, illuminating the St. Edward's coat of arms on his shoulder. Plunkitt looked up at the young man's face, half illuminated, half submerged in darkness, and all that could be seen in the darkness was the reddish glow of his eyes and the upturned corners of his mouth.

The humidity and cold air, the lightning, the thunder, and the oppressive atmosphere make it hard not to remind Plunkitt of the rainy night before the Battle of Waterloo.

"Thomas, this is the transcript of the conversation you and I had today, you check carefully, there is no discrepancy between the two documents. If there are no discrepancies, one document will remain in your possession and the other will remain sealed in the archives of Scotland Yard. If something misfortune happens in the future, you can use this document to prove your innocence. No matter what happens, all the responsibility lies with me, and this is my personal dereliction of duty and ultra vires, and it has nothing to do with you. ”

When Plunkitt heard this, he was inevitably intimidated by Arthur's momentum.

He was stunned for a long time, then he took a deep breath, and his disobedient fingers felt in his pocket, and Plunkitt took out his pipe and struck the match, and smacked it.

The sharpshooter from the 95th Regiment puffed out two puffs of smoke from his nose, he hung his head and shook his head, and suddenly laughed: "Sir, what do you think of me?" I'm not a chick, I've fought the Korean War and I've fought Waterloo. Documents or something, I can't read a rough person like me, but I understand your attitude. ”

Arthur tilted his head slightly, one hand propped up on the desk: "Thomas, this is not a trivial matter. Take this document and it will save your life at a critical moment. You don't have to worry about me, I have my way, and I will definitely be able to get out in the end. ”

"You're kidding, there's nothing on the battlefield that can get away with it. Did His Excellency the Duke know before Waterloo that he could defeat Napoleon? As Officer Bonaparte said, Napoleon belittled His Excellency the Duke in order to calm the hearts of the army, and you used these to lie to me in order to reassure me. ”

Plunkitt stood up with his pipe in his mouth, but he didn't know if he didn't stand up, and when he stood up, he realized that the large sharpshooter was obviously bigger than Arthur: "But, although you make fun of me for a stupid boy." But I have to say, I appreciate your temper. Do you know why? ”

Arthur raised an eyebrow: "Why?" ”

Plunkitt laughed and said, "On the battlefield, soldiers usually divide the officers into two categories, one shouting: 'Follow me!'" ’。 The other group calls the shots and says, 'Rush me!' 'Sir, I personally don't think the phrase 'rush me' is not appropriate for a leader. At the same time, I'm glad that you're the former. I don't need documents or anything, because with what you just said, it will be enough for me and our brothers in the 95th regiment. I now truly believe that all the talk about you in the hall is nonsense, and I will convey your attitude to me today to everyone in the Spectre team, and I am sure they will be pleased. ”

Arthur smiled and asked, "Are you sure?" The task I have given you is not only the Duke of Wellington, but also the Assistant Under-Secretary from Germany at the Foreign Office. ”

"Oh, is he German?" Plunkitt pinched the stubble on his chin and picked the corners of his mouth and smiled, "Don't tell me he once served in the Brunswick Regiment." ”

Louis opened Schneider's papers and replied: "Schneider did not serve in the Brunswick Regiment, but his father was indeed a Brunswick cavalryman at the Battle of Waterloo, and Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Braunschweig, who commanded them at the time. ”

"Huh!" Plunkitt patted the pistol holster on his waist: "He'd better be a good baby, or he'll have to pay for his father's sins." ”

Hearing this, Arthur took out another bottle of wine from the wine cabinet and stuffed it into Plunkitt's hand: "Does the 95th Regiment have any grudge against the Brunswick cavalry?" ”

"It's not a big feud." Plunkitt took a puff of his cigarette: "We just hate that they eat dog meat." ”

Louis said with a puzzled face: "What does it have to do with the 95th regiment when they eat dogs?" ”

Plunkitt put his pipe upside down in the ashtray: "Originally, they ate dogs because it had nothing to do with us. But one day, we found out that our puppy 'Rifle' had suddenly disappeared, this poor puppy was picked up by us on the side of the road, and with us survived many battles, it often ran around barking in battle, expressing its joy, and in the cruel war, only it could bring us a little comfort. So, when the rifle went missing, we spent a whole afternoon looking for it. So, guess where we found it in the end? ”

Arthur and Louis glanced at each other, and both of them saw something strange in each other's eyes.

Plunkitt spat at the ground, rolled up his sleeves and scolded, "Damn Braunschweig! I've long wanted to give them a taste of guns. He'd better not get caught by me, or I'll have to put him in the pot and boil him!" ”

(End of chapter)