## Chapter 200: The London Conference?
Arthur invited Field, the Chief Inspector, into the house. Before he could even settle down, Alexandre Dumas, who was reading a newspaper while munching on sweets, slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, “Bloody hell! You Brits are up to no good again, I’m sure of it!”
“What’s the matter?”
Arthur took the newspaper from Dumas’ hand. He simply glanced at the headline, and a knowing expression appeared on his face.
“New Prime Minister Charles Grey, Earl Grey, delivers a speech in the House of Commons, adjusting foreign policy and officially announcing the new cabinet.”
—Earl Grey: “The July Revolution in France is another major victory for the forces of progress in Europe. Britain will stand by our old friend, France, as a steadfast ally.”
“New Foreign Secretary Viscount Palmerston makes a generous statement on his first day in office.”
—Viscount Palmerston: “In this time of crisis, the people of Paris have once again defended the liberty and democracy of France. I sincerely hope they will continue to strive for greater achievements.”
“The Dutch army and the Belgian independence army clash in the Antwerp region. The Belgian War of Independence enters its third month.”
“The Kingdom of Prussia plans to send troops to its brother nation, the Netherlands, to help them quickly suppress the Belgian rebellion.”
“The Tsar of Russia, Nicholas I, is considering intervening in the civil war between the Netherlands and Belgium. If Prussia sends troops to attack Belgium, Russia will lend its full support.”
“The Kingdom of the Netherlands issued a statement: The Netherlands cannot tolerate the arbitrary actions of Belgian separatists.”
“France issued a solemn statement: If the Prussian army attacks Belgium from the east, France will advance from the west.”
“The French army officially entered Belgium last week to assist in combat. King Louis-Philippe of France: We have no intention of interfering in Belgian independence, but France will not allow any other power to intervene in Belgian internal affairs.”
“King William I of the Netherlands: The Netherlands is willing to accept British mediation under certain conditions and strongly demands that a conference be convened as soon as possible to discuss a solution to the Belgian issue.”
“The results of the Belgian parliamentary vote are out. An independent Belgium will establish a monarchical system and invite Prince Nemours, the son of King Louis-Philippe of France, to become King of the Kingdom of Belgium.”
“Foreign Secretary Viscount Palmerston delivers an urgent speech in the House of Commons: Prince Nemours’ acceptance of the Belgian throne could lead to a European war.”
“After careful consideration, Prince Nemours of France declines the Belgian throne. Prince Nemours: Thank you for the love of the Belgian people, but my heart belongs to France.”
“The new Continental Coordination Conference will be held in London next week. Representatives from six countries, including England, Russia, Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, and France, will publicly discuss the Belgian issue at the conference.”
“Ambition knows no age! The appointment of the French ambassador to Britain is announced, and the sixty-year-old Talleyrand returns to the scene.”
—Talleyrand-Périgord, former President of the French Council of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs, a prominent French diplomat and politician, arrived in London recently. It is believed that Mr. Talleyrand will serve as the French ambassador to the United Kingdom.
—Once, Talleyrand was ordered to draft the infamous Continental System imposed on Britain by the Napoleonic government, but now, Talleyrand, who has abandoned the dark side, will bring peace to both sides of the English Channel.
“Breaking News! The Duke of Wellington meets with French Ambassador Talleyrand at his private residence. Former Prime Minister quickly finds new employment?”
—French Ambassador Talleyrand met with the disheartened Duke of Wellington at Apsley House, where the two gentlemen reminisced and exchanged views on the Belgian independence issue.
—Reliable sources reveal that the meeting was generally relaxed, positive, constructive, and encouraging. Both gentlemen believe that the Belgian issue will be resolved amicably, but before that, Britain and France must resolve some minor disagreements.
After reading through these reports, Arthur merely shook his head and sarcastically muttered, “God even thinks that two groups of people separated by the English Channel need to be kept apart, why force them together?”
Dumas stretched and leaned back in his chair, saying, “Right? I told you, usually when the Brits come crawling, it’s not for anything good. You guys are the most hypocritical people in the world.”
Surprisingly, Eldred, sitting nearby, scoffed, “Alexandre, you have to understand, hypocrisy is the most important reason why Britain can build a global empire.”
“Hmm?” Dumas crossed his arms, ready to hear this young man’s eloquent argument, “How so?”
Eldred looked up at the ceiling, his nostrils pointed towards the sky, “Britain is called the Empire on which the sun never sets because God doesn’t trust any Englishman to be left in the dark.”
This remark made all the Brits in the room burst into laughter, even the usually taciturn Whitestone and Field, who was nervous about his transfer order, relaxed.
Arthur, with raised eyebrows, patted Eldred on the shoulder, “It’s not all God’s work that made Britain an empire, Alfred the Great also played a significant role.”
“Oh!” Eldred, upon hearing Arthur mention Alfred, immediately understood what he meant, “You mean his famous quote? ‘The laws of our ancestors are to be recorded and obeyed’? That can indeed be considered the beginning of the British legal system.”
Arthur shrugged, “No, Eldred, you’re only quoting the first half. But I forgive you, after all, you’re not a history major, you’re in classical literature.”
Dumas asked, “What’s the second half?”
Arthur pointed to Palmerston’s statement in the newspaper and said, “I thought you could guess, it’s written clearly in the newspaper.”
Dumas, upon hearing this, flipped the newspaper over and over, but he couldn’t find a single word about Alfred the Great.
Seeing his lack of understanding, Arthur had to say, “Alfred the Great’s actual words were: ‘The laws of our ancestors are to be recorded and obeyed, I mean the ones I like.'”
Dumas glared, “What about the ones you don’t like?”
Eldred tapped his coin with his finger, this once aspiring young man from the University of London, now a disillusioned youth, spoke.
“We don’t have any we don’t like. Not liking was a saying back in Alfred the Great’s time. Nowadays, we only have some unimportant documents that have been lost due to age or poor preservation. Of course, I’m not saying all of them, but that’s usually how the Admiralty explains it. Alexandre, as Arthur always says, times are changing, so at least other things have to look like they’re changing on the surface.”
As soon as Eldred finished speaking, Disraeli, who was sitting behind him, suddenly slammed his fist on the table.
“That’s right! Damn it, the reason we have to publish magazines and newspapers is to make sure these things don’t get lost so easily. The editor of Blackwood’s is blind as a bat, he actually rejected such good manuscripts!
Whether it’s The Count of Monte Cristo or The Pickwick Papers, in my opinion, they are both masterpieces! If you put these two books together with the Young Duke I’m currently writing, these three books will form a triumvirate like the Roman Empire back in the day, we’ll be the Caesars, Pompeys, and Crassuses of the fashion novel world!”
He couldn’t help but excitedly shout at Arthur, “Arthur, you really found the right person to ask to run the magazine. I assure you, this magazine will be a hit! Now we have the manuscripts, I also have equipment in stock, next we just need to get a publishing license from the British Literary Association, find someone to pull in some funding, and we’ll be on our way soon.”
Arthur leaned against the edge of the table, “I can think of ways to get the publishing license, as for funding, I still have stocks worth a thousand pounds, if I pawn them to Rothschild Bank, getting a few hundred pounds wouldn’t be a problem. Besides, Mr. Rothschild might be interested in investing in our business too.”
Disraeli excitedly said, “That’s all we need! You can put in a few hundred, although I lost seven thousand pounds last time, I still have some spare money to invest. If we can get Rothschild’s funding, our magazine will be fine for three to five years. In three to five years, the things we want to do should have been done by then.”
Arthur turned and said, “Whether we succeed or not is another story, but there’s one thing I need to make clear. According to the internal regulations of Scotland Yard, I can hold shares, but I can’t directly manage the business.”
“What’s the big deal?” Dumas raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t you just say: what we don’t like isn’t the law?”
Arthur lowered his head and smiled at him, “Alexandre, I’m not Alfred the Great, I’m just a Scotland Yard inspector, the law and internal regulations aren’t determined by me, I can only make suggestions at most.”
Having said that, Arthur turned to Field and said, “Have you decided on the security detail for the upcoming London Conference of Six?”
Field was taken aback by his question and shook his head, “You… You know, in the past, everyone would have been eager to take on this kind of job. But ever since Mr. Huskisson was killed by a train, everyone has realized that this is a hot potato.
Besides, I heard that the negotiator we’re sending to this London Conference is the Duke of Wellington. If he was still Prime Minister, protecting his safety would have been a glamorous assignment. But now, it’s not so certain…
You know, since the Whigs came to power, the inspectors in the hall don’t want to appear too close to the Tory bigwigs…”
Upon hearing this, Arthur reached for his hat on the hat stand, opened the door, and beckoned Field with a wave of his hand, “Let’s go.”
Field was stunned, “It’s so late, where are you going?”
Arthur smiled and said, “Didn’t you analyze it pretty well? Since it’s a thankless job, most inspectors will have all sorts of reasons why they’re too busy. In the end, this kind of ‘burden’ will fall on my shoulders. So, since it’s definitely going to be me, why not go take a look at the conference venue and get familiar with it?”
(End of Chapter)