Nightingale Mansion, a room decorated with heavy red flannel and gold wallpaper.

On the couch by the fire, sat two gentlemen in loose bathrobes, each holding an unfinished beer.

Schneider lifted his glass, only to hear two coo-knocks, and as the Adam's apple stirred, a large glass full of dark brown, malty-scented Port beer disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Hoo ......"

Schneider put down his beer glass and leaned back on the sofa with satisfaction: "Before I discovered the Nightingale Mansion, I never thought that I would be so happy to take a bath after receiving the reception, and then come to such a large glass of cold beer." Arthur, you really don't brag about it, you can't find a better restaurant in all of London. ”

Arthur's beer looks noticeably lighter than Schneider's Black Porter, and he prefers the light, lighter, less bitter and slightly citrus flavor of the Black Porter to the Black Porter, which has a rich malt aroma and a slight bitterness.

Arthur was not in a hurry to reply to Schneider, but savored the aroma of the wine flowing between his teeth.

As an intelligence officer, Schneider could see some clues about this young man just from the two-thirds of the wine glass that was still in Arthur's hand, and the pure British gentleman from Germany said with a smile.

"Arthur, I sometimes wonder if you are really a swineherd from the Yorkshire countryside, as they say?"

"Oh?" Arthur picked up his handkerchief and wiped his mouth: "Auguste, I assure you, you won't find a better pig breeder from Whitehall Street than I am." The old gentleman who hired me to do the work wanted to marry my little daughter to me, and he saw at a sight that I had the ability to manage a thousand pigs, and that I would be able to make a fortune sooner or later. ”

"Hmm......" Schneider picked up a piece of pickled bacon on the plate in front of him and said, "That old gentleman is quite discerning, and his prophecy has really come true." ”

Arthur took the freshly made handmade coffee ice cream from the waiter's tray next to him and casually asked, "But why do you doubt my identity as a farmer?" ”

"Oh, it's easy."

Schneider said with a smile: "You don't look like you are a person who started from the bottom of the society at all, even if you really started from there, you must have at least had a rich life for a while when you were a child." Look at the appearance of the dining, does that look like a hired farmer? You are simply like a nobleman. And not even the nobility of Britain, you are almost like the nobility of Rome. Because not only do you behave elegantly, but you also like to soak in the bath just as much as the Romans. I heard Miss Ivan say that you proposed the small baths of the Nightingale Mansion? ”

Arthur shrugged his shoulders, he picked up the porcelain tray with ice cream and said, "What's so bad about taking a bath?" August, don't you like it too? ”

"Hahaha."

Schneider laughed twice and said, "Arthur, you know how to enjoy, but you'd better not let those moralists hear this." If you are a student of history, then you should know what the historical moralists thought about the Roman bath.

They say that the greed for pleasure, extravagance, corruption, and indulgence represented by the Roman bathing culture were important reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire. The debauchery of male and female bathing led to the loss of combat effectiveness, moral turpitude, and the spread of venereal diseases, which led to a decline in the Roman fertility rate. The love of a broken back in the baths was detrimental to the masculinity of the Roman soldiers.

Combined with several plague epidemics between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, most of London's public baths were closed at that time due to moral condemnation. Fortunately, the council and the church now have many other things to care about, or they would have known that the baths and bathhouses had begun to be restored in London again, and that they would have to jump out and find nothing to do. ”

When Arthur heard this, he said disapprovingly: "In my opinion, the small baths of the Nightingale Mansion are still a little small, and if you want to build a Romanesque bath, then you must at least have a cold pool, a hot pool, and a sauna. But, August, you're right, and it's satisfying to have a pool in London to soak in. ”

Schneider joked as he slipped the bacon with a fork, "That's right, man, take your time." Besides, even if there are no public saunas in London, you can build your own at home. You're a knight now, what's wrong with building a sauna at home? Is it possible that bishops can still come to your home with the Bible for moral discipline? ”

Arthur looked at the bacon on Schneider's plate, and suddenly asked, "Then again, Auguste, is there a public bath in Germany?" ”

"Hmm...... You're asking the right question. ”

Schneider chewed on Bacon and said: "You should know that the German Confederation contains 38 political entities, including empires, kingdoms and principalities, although everyone nominally acts in the name of the Confederacy, with a Confederation Parliament and the Austrian Empire as the chairman of the Confederation, but the organizational form is very loose, and each state maintains complete sovereignty.

Moreover, the Kingdom of Prussia in the Confederation was still waiting for an opportunity to challenge the leadership of the Austrian Empire, so most of the Confederation resolutions were basically just like decorations. Although it is often said that Germany is much more conservative than Britain, in reality, with the exception of Prussia and Austria, most of the other German states were politically divided, with the interests of the aristocracy and merchants in conflict.

In those free states, commerce, trade, and industry were in fact quite good, and the atmosphere was much more open than in Austria and Prussia. Especially when it comes to the minutiae of public baths, they are far less strict than they are in London, and you should find a lot of saunas there.

Moreover, you will be stationed in the Kingdom of Hanover as a second secretary, and you will not have to worry about being blamed for taking a sauna, because this is also part of your job. ”

"Soaking in the sauna is also my job?" Arthur frowned and said, "Auguste, aren't you making fun of me?" I remember that His Majesty the King gave me the task of helping the Kingdom of Hanover to adopt a new liberal constitution, with a special mandate to advise on police reform. Although I am holding the position of second secretary, I am actually doing the work of a police adviser. ”

Schneider asked for another glass of beer, and while savoring it carefully, he replied with a smile: "No, no, no, brother, you don't understand the second secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is a way here." ”

"Where?"

Schneider spoke: "In all aspects. Generally speaking, there are many second secretaries of foreign diplomatic missions in foreign countries, and they are responsible for different aspects of affairs. Some are responsible for the management of overseas Chinese, some are responsible for economic and trade cooperation, and some are responsible for political consultations. ”

Arthur asked, "Which of the above do I belong to?" ”

"None of them belong, you are the most special kind."

Schneider took a sip of beer and squinted his eyes to enjoy: "Your second secretary position is usually used by foreign intelligence officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is specifically responsible for cultural exchanges. ”

Arthur pondered for a while with a spoon of ice cream in his mouth before he spoke, "Exchange cultures? Police culture? ”

Schneider laughed: "Arthur, don't say it so ugly. Although the masses generally dislike the police, whether in Britain or Hanover, or in other parts of the world, they cannot deny that the police are also a part of culture.

And, as I said earlier, if you hold this position and go to a bubble bath and sauna or something, it can be regarded as an exchange of people's life and culture. Don't complain about the low position of second secretary, it's a beautiful difference, and because it's a very special position, you don't have to stay in the legation all day.

If there is one of the most comfortable positions in the package of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is definitely the second secretary who is in charge of cultural exchanges. You can go wherever you want, and the ambassador can't completely control you, because in a way, you are not directly responsible to the ambassador, but directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Moreover, since your appointment was ordered directly by His Majesty the King, you need not even pay too much attention to the Foreign Secretary, Viscount Palmerston, and at most send him a nonsensical report on his work every month. There is no objection to the adoption of the new liberal constitution of the Kingdom of Hanover, you used to take a ride and put an achievement in your own credit book, is there a more beautiful job in the world? ”

Schneider thought with his glass in his hand: "It's only December, and the parliament of the Kingdom of Hanover should still be in recess, and the work on a new constitution can't be promoted." If I were you, I wouldn't rush to Germany, but to Paris, Geneva in Switzerland, Brussels in Belgium and Amsterdam in the Netherlands, before slowly passing through Prussia to Hanover.

After arriving in Hannover, first go to the Lena Palace to visit Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge, the Governor of Hanover, and establish a good relationship with him, and visit the local scenery. After that, His Royal Highness will most likely send you to Göttingen, where you can make some famous friends at the University of Göttingen. ”

Arthur silently recorded what Schneider had said, and he suddenly raised his hand and asked, "August, put aside the matter of play, why do you think His Royal Highness the Prince will send me to Göttingen?" ”

Schneider raised his glass and clinked glasses with Arthur and said: "It is absolutely impossible to leave the drafting of the new constitution to the discretion of the parliamentarians, although His Majesty the King has asked the cabinet of the Kingdom of Hanover to draft a draft, but it needs to be further revised on the basis of the draft before it is submitted to the parliament.

And this kind of academic and legal issues must be left to the hands of knowledgeable professors. The most learned professors of the Kingdom of Hanover are located in the University of Göttingen, founded by King George II, the most outstanding university in the German region, the pearl of German higher education and the stronghold of the German school of historical law. ”

When Arthur heard this, he suddenly laughed and said, "August, your evaluation of the University of Göttingen is different from what I have heard from others. In that man's mouth, the University of Göttingen was a combination of decadence, old-fashionedness and obsolescence. ”

"Huh?" Schneider asked, "Who is that person you are talking about?" ”

Arthur spoke: "Heinrich Heine, when he came to London, I watched him for a while on behalf of Scotland Yard. ”

"Oh, that's the kid."

Schneider scoffed: "An out-and-out German indignant, no matter how outdated and decadent Hanover and Göttingen are, is 10,000 times more enlightened than his hometown of Düsseldorf." A Prussian talking about freedom is like a eunuch in the Ottoman court who goes to visit the Qinglou. If his mouth could be a little more restrained, he might be able to fight for the status of a British citizen, but this kid not only did not restrain himself, but instead went to France to flatter the French, who had always been at odds with Germany, how could he be embarrassed to claim that he was a German? ”

Arthur joked: "It turns out that the Germans don't like the French either?" ”

"Are there good relations between neighboring countries? If relations between neighboring countries are good, it means that most of them are too strong and the other is too weak. It's not just the Germans who hate the French, but also the Spaniards, and of course, the Britons like you and me. ”

Schneider raised his eyebrows and said, "If it weren't for that, where would a mercenary like my father be a soldier in the first place?" Why did he choose to play for Britain? I admit that there was a part of the economic reason for this, because Napoleon usurped our family's land, and his army destroyed our food and savings.

However, Britain provided three times as much as the French in times of crisis, and even spared no expense to supply a full set of new equipment and sufficient supplies for the German Legion belonging to the King of Britain. However, these are all secondary reasons, the most important of which is the Schneider family's hatred of France and their sincerity towards Britain. ”

Speaking of this, Schneider paused, rolled his eyes and continued: "However, I also have to admit that there are always some lowly people in these countries who like to hold France high above the altar. Guys like Heine, of course, can't be missing some admirers of Napoleon Bonaparte with their brains. ”

When Arthur heard this, he roughly understood Schneider's family, this guy was mostly born in the Junker landlord family in Germany, and according to the Junkers' habit of joining the army for generations, it is not difficult to explain why Schneider's father followed the British royal German army to fight the Napoleonic War from beginning to end.

The Junker landowners of Germany liked to join the army, while Britain liked to recruit mercenaries from Germany whenever there was a war because they shared a king with the Kingdom of Hanover. Schneider's father's generation was sent to fight the Napoleonic Wars, and many German soldiers in his grandfather's generation were sent by the British to the North American colonies to fight the hillbillies.

Many of the mercenaries simply stayed in the area after the battle. After all, the land and resource conditions in the United States are much better than those in their homeland in Germany. This is also an important reason why German-Americans are second only to Anglo-Americans among ethnic groups in the United States.

Speaking of this, Schneider seemed to remember something unpleasant, and he digressed the subject: "Although I have not been back to Germany for a long time, it is far from being as good as Britain. But Germany is not entirely useless, at least the food there is much better than that of Britain. ”

Arthur put down his notebook and asked with a smile, "Do you have any recommendations?" ”

Schneider's eyes lit up, and he showed a look of reminiscence: "If you want to say recommendations, that's too much." When you go to Germany, the first thing you need to taste is the roasted salty pork knuckle with a crispy skin, tender inside, crispy outside, juicy, soft and delicious. However, for someone like me, who came from Hesse, the best thing is our local famous dish, sauerkraut stewed pork ribs. Served with a little mashed potatoes, a glass of cider and a neatly cut frankfurter, the dessert is a Black Forest cake with the sourness of cherries, the sweetness of cream, the bitterness of chocolate, and the Nuremberg gingerbread with dried fruit coated with honey, spices, almonds and candied sugar. ”

(End of chapter)