## Chapter 207: The Old Gentleman from Austria (4K)
Arthur quickly warmed up to the two military officers simply by sharing a box of tobacco.
The three of them chatted and joked, discussing everything from the customs and traditions of England to the vast snowy plains of Russia. Ultimately, their shared profession led them to a common ground: a mutual condemnation of their clueless superiors and their own wasted talents.
Through their casual conversation, Arthur managed to piece together a basic understanding of this great Eastern European power.
Previously, Arthur’s knowledge of 19th-century Russia was limited to a few prominent literary figures, the oppressive serfdom they criticized, and a vague understanding of its administrative system.
His knowledge of the mysterious Imperial Chancellery was even more limited, consisting of only a few scattered pieces of information.
But now, the concept was finally becoming clearer.
The Imperial Chancellery of Russia, originally established as the Tsar’s Office during the reign of Peter the Great, was transformed into the Imperial Secretariat under Catherine the Great. Its status continued to rise during the reign of Paul I, and it was officially renamed the Imperial Chancellery.
However, throughout the 18th century, the Imperial Chancellery remained a secret, undisclosed organization. Its scope of authority was undefined and lacked legal basis, existing solely at the Tsar’s whim.
Following the Napoleonic invasion of 1812, the Imperial Chancellery was officially declared a public entity. Its functions and hierarchical structure began to resemble the Grand Council of the Qing Dynasty. The Chancellery was not accountable to any other department, reporting directly to the Tsar. It served as a conduit for collecting and relaying all matters of interest to Alexander I.
For instance, it handled communication with commanders, prisoner management, army supply arrangements, and camp organization.
Fortunately, there were no machine guns or telegraphs for rapid command transmission at the time. Otherwise, Alexander I, perched in St. Petersburg, could have used the Imperial Chancellery to order the front-line machine gun positions to shift five meters to the left.
Following the Napoleonic Wars, the Imperial Chancellery’s power began to expand continuously. It successfully codified its unchecked authority into official regulations.
The “Regulations of the Tsar’s Office” explicitly stated: “The Tsar’s Office exists to handle matters that fall directly under the Tsar’s personal study and decision-making. All matters here are handled directly by the Tsar or by the Chancellery’s chief official under the Tsar’s authority. As the scope of the Tsar’s will is undefined, the authority and system of the Tsar’s Office are also undefined.”
In essence, this amounted to the Imperial Chancellery having limitless power.
Soon after, the authority to assess and promote senior Russian officials, as well as evaluate the governance of local administrations and police agencies, was firmly grasped by the Imperial Chancellery.
Other Russian departments trembled before it. Anyone who offended the Imperial Chancellery could consider themselves lucky if their political career ended prematurely.
The expansion of power naturally led to a significant increase in the organization’s size. The Imperial Chancellery, in just a few short years, expanded from a single department into four departments.
The First Department oversaw the work of all departments. Except for the Navy and Army Departments, the heads of all departments, including the Chief Prosecutor of the Orthodox Church, had to report their work to the First Department every morning.
The Second Department held legislative power in its hands. The Russian Ministry of Justice was responsible only for executing the Second Department’s resolutions.
The Third Department was a heavyweight, to say the least.
To be precise, the Third Department encompassed almost all the power that Arthur, a Scotland Yard inspector, dared not even dream of.
The Third Department had five branches: the first branch was responsible for political investigations, secretly monitoring domestic revolutionary organizations and social activists, and handling political cases.
The second branch was responsible for combating separatism and religious extremists.
The third branch focused on foreign intelligence, not only monitoring foreigners within the country but also responsible for gathering foreign intelligence.
The fourth branch was mobile, specializing in handling domestic emergencies, major events, and gathering critical information.
As for the fifth branch, its responsibilities were unremarkable compared to its sibling departments. It specialized in censorship of publications, including newspapers, plays, and other cultural works.
To ensure the smooth functioning of the Third Department, it naturally had its own enforcement arm: the well-trained, nationwide Russian gendarmerie.
Directly reporting to the Tsar, exempt from legal constraints, and able to deploy the gendarmerie at any time to quell unrest, these factors made the Third Department the most formidable department within the Imperial Chancellery, indeed within all of Russia.
For a policeman to reach the level of the Third Department could be considered the pinnacle of achievement. At least in Britain, it was something Arthur dared not even imagine.
On this island, establishing an organization like the Third Department, even forming a regular police organization like Scotland Yard, was met with resistance.
The various London parishes had recently complained to Parliament: “We thought establishing Scotland Yard would significantly reduce the parish’s security expenses. But at the end of the year, we found that hiring our own parish constables used to cost seventeen thousand pounds, but Scotland Yard’s expenses this year have already exceeded twenty-five thousand pounds. Such an expensive thing, we might as well disband it!”
While the parish priests did raise this point, the Home Office remained exceptionally firm on this issue, refusing even to discuss disbanding Scotland Yard.
As the saying goes, it’s easy to establish a department, but difficult to disband one.
Perhaps the priests were genuinely concerned for the parish residents, seeking to lower security taxes. But in the eyes of the Home Office, this was an attempt to seize their power!
“Today you can disband Scotland Yard, tomorrow will you disband the Home Office?”
“Want to lower taxes? Sure! Go to Parliament and petition to disband the Royal Navy. What use is spending so much on the military every year?”
“Make them build a couple less ships, take the money from building battleships and subsidize the parish residents, eh?”
Arthur, at this point, had the two bearded officers roaring with laughter.
They found this Englishman increasingly likable. Just as they were thinking about inviting him for a night out drinking, an elderly gentleman with wavy hair, a walking stick, a black coat, and a wide-brimmed hat emerged from the embassy.
The two officers saw the old gentleman and greeted him with a smile and a wave: “Guten tag! Herr Metternich.”
The old gentleman touched the brim of his hat in response and then descended the steps with heavy, purposeful strides. He soon left the embassy gates.
Arthur frowned slightly. The man had spoken in what sounded like German.
Although the history department at the University of London offered Latin and Greek courses to enable students to understand official documents from various European countries during the medieval period, German was not part of the curriculum.
While Arthur had never studied German, he had watched some German videos in his previous life. Sadly, the only phrase he recognized was a revolutionary slogan: “Heil Hitler.” But it was clear that the man had not said this phrase today. It was at least half a century before the birth of the little mustachioed man.
Just as he was about to ask the officers who the old gentleman was, he suddenly heard a voice, light and playful.
“You must be Mr. Hastings, right?”
Arthur turned his head and saw a beautiful lady, dressed in a long yellow silk gown, wearing two emerald earrings, a diamond necklace adorning her delicate neck, and a lace white glove with a pigeon-blood ruby ring.
In London, wealthy ladies were plentiful, and beautiful ladies even more so. But a lady who was both wealthy and beautiful and lived in the Russian embassy, there could only be one.
Arthur removed his hat and bowed, “Madam, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Lady Liwen smiled and surveyed Arthur, “You are exactly as Emily described, a typical English gentleman. Just looking at you, no one would ever guess that you are a Scotland Yard inspector who deals with criminals on a daily basis.”
Arthur, despite the lady’s compliments, did not dare to be careless. He was well aware that this beautiful lady could stir up a storm in Europe with just a gentle flutter of her pleated skirt.
Arthur smiled, handing the gramophone he was holding to a nearby servant. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and took out four concert tickets, which he handed to the lady.
“Madam, I’m happy to have been able to help you with some minor matters. Thanks to your and Mrs. Cowper’s enthusiastic support, I’ve successfully joined the London Philharmonic Society. After discussing with Mr. Moscheles, we plan to hold the London Philharmonic Society’s Third Symphony Orchestra’s first public performance at the Coburg Theater this weekend. If you could spare the time to attend the concert with your family or friends, the London Philharmonic Society would be honored.”
Lady Liwen took the tickets and the program attached to them, glancing at them briefly. Her eyes lit up immediately. “Oh, my God! Are you sure you’re not mistaken? This concert will feature not only you, but also Mr. Moscheles and Mr. Mendelssohn?”
Arthur nodded with a smile, “That’s right. The Society is placing great importance on the Third Symphony Orchestra’s debut. Mr. Moscheles, as the head of the Society, has been holding his breath, wanting to make the Third Orchestra a smashing success. So, he specially invited Mr. Mendelssohn back from his travels in Italy.
“Besides, I can privately tell you something. Mr. Moscheles is actively trying to get Mr. Cipriani Potter, who teaches with him at the Royal Academy of Music in London, to join this concert. Based on what I’ve heard from Mr. Moscheles, Potter’s joining seems very promising.”
Even a noblewoman like Lady Liwen couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement when she heard the unprecedented lineup of this concert.
Ignatz Moscheles, the renowned chief conductor of the London Philharmonic Society and academic committee member of the Royal Academy of Music,
Felix Mendelssohn, a musical prodigy who became famous throughout Europe at the age of 21, composer of the “A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture,”
And Cipriani Potter, the best Mozart and Beethoven pianist in all of England.
Plus, Arthur Hastings, a Scotland Yard inspector, who may not be famous now but is destined for rapid stardom, a Paganini of the present day.
Such a luxurious lineup would have been enough to support a grand event like a Christmas gala. Using it for a routine Sunday concert seemed a bit of a waste, in Lady Liwen’s opinion.
Seeing Lady Liwen’s interest piqued but not yet fully committed, Arthur continued to raise the stakes. “Of course, although Moscheles, Mendelssohn, and Potter are all absolute powerhouses as pianists, they pale in comparison to the concert’s special guest.”
Lady Liwen, hearing this, couldn’t help but cover her mouth with her white glove. “You mean, there are even more masters?”
Arthur smiled and nodded, “I heard from Mr. Moscheles that his teacher, the mentor of all pianists in Great Britain, Muzio Clementi, will be attending this concert.”
“Muzio Clementi?” Lady Liwen’s eyes widened in surprise. “Didn’t he stop performing in concerts over a decade ago?”
Arthur smiled, “As you said, Mr. Clementi started focusing on music education over a decade ago and stopped performing in concerts. But this time is an exception. He’s getting old, so he plans to announce his retirement soon. This concert should be his farewell performance.
“That’s why I went ahead of Mr. Moscheles to earnestly request your presence at this concert. He wants to give his mentor a dignified farewell concert. If a socialite like you is willing to attend, Mr. Moscheles would be eternally grateful.”
Lady Liwen, hearing this, finally stopped hesitating.
While Muzio Clementi’s name may not be as renowned as Mozart and Beethoven in later generations, in 19th-century Europe, this legendary pianist, who composed over 110 piano pieces in his lifetime, was on par with Mozart and Beethoven.
In fact, in England, his fame and admiration even surpassed Mozart and Beethoven. This romantic pianist from the Apennine Peninsula was undoubtedly the undisputed leader of the British music scene.
Lady Liwen immediately declared, “Rest assured, it would be an honor to attend Mr. Clementi’s farewell performance. Even if you hadn’t asked me today, I would have volunteered to promote the concert for Mr. Clementi at the club.
“Traveling to Vienna without hearing Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven perform is like coming away empty-handed. Coming to London without hearing Mr. Clementi perform is like living a wasted life. Coincidentally, I have a friend coming from Austria, and I can bring him to experience Mr. Clementi’s playing style and compare it to the Viennese pianists.”
“A friend coming from Austria?” Arthur was taken aback, suddenly remembering the German phrase the two Russian officers had uttered earlier: “Herr Metternich.”
Metternich?
Metternich?
He abruptly turned his head, but the old gentleman was nowhere to be seen.
Damn!
That man was the Austrian Chancellor, Klemens von Metternich?
What was he doing at the Russian embassy?
(End of Chapter)