The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 908: Chapter 22 The Truth of That Year_2

”This is...”

Louis pinched the newspaper, first frowning for a moment, then suddenly realizing: ”They’re blaming the Liverpool assassination on the East India Company? But according to the evidence we have, wasn’t the company not involved?”

”Whether they were involved doesn’t matter. What matters is that Parliament believes they are.”

Arthur, gazing at the scenery outside the window, said indifferently: ”The assassination gave Parliament an excuse, though the excuse might have been manufactured by them. After all, it’s not the first time Parliament has fabricated issues when dealing with the East India Company. The last time they stripped the company of its monopoly rights in India, the chairman of the company’s board committed suicide. The fact that they aren’t shooting them this time shows that Parliament’s methods have softened considerably.”

Louis put down the newspaper and said: ”Earlier, I thought sending you to Hanover was a sign of leniency. But with the Liverpool case added to it, I feel that a knighthood and a second-class secretary position is too cheap. Based on the principle of ’who benefits, who acts,’ was it those free trade faction guys who acted?”

Arthur remained noncommittal: ”That’s just a guess. However, matters in Britain are much more straightforward than in France. This isn’t so much about ideological issues but rather a matter of financial stance. There’s no Bonaparte Party or Legitimate Dynasty, no republicans or anarchists, only mercantilism or free trade, industrial production or international trade, the repeal or support of the ’Corn Laws.’

Louis was silent for a moment: ”Then... what do you plan to do? You remembered the Liverpool case, found out who they were, and next, you’ll take the initiative?”

Arthur waved his hand, suddenly steering the topic to a new direction: ”Louis, did you know? I just went to the French Academy of Sciences a few days ago.”

”Hmm, I knew that, you went there to present an award to Mr. Poisson, enjoy yourself?”

”It wasn’t just for enjoyment, I pondered some scientific theorems there, realizing that many French scientists are also involved in politics, so some theorems can be understood not just from a natural philosophy angle, but also from a political angle.”

”Really?” Louis held his coffee cup in a daze, thinking Arthur was joking: ”What theorem are you referring to?”

Arthur chuckled quietly: ”Being a Briton, I naturally thought first of Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion.”

Louis recalled the mechanics content he learnt at military school in Switzerland, reciting word by word: ”Every object remains in a state of uniform motion or rest unless acted upon by an external force to change its state of motion.”

Arthur raised his wine glass, nodding slightly: ”This reflects my attitude towards the Liverpool case, which I also believe is the best solution to it.”

Louis started, as if his vision was becoming clearer: ”I...”

Seeing him like this, Arthur casually asked another question: ”I remember you just mentioned that the reason Louis Philippe called on you was because he wanted to send you to retrieve Napoleon’s remains?”

Arthur’s words calmed Louis’s restless heart.

This noble Bonaparte stared at the wine bottle in front of him, watching the amber liquid swaying within: ”He’s using me, he wants to use my surname and my uncle’s corpse to win over the Bonaparte Party, to draw them away from the republicans. For me, this is definitely a difficult problem, Arthur, I know your achievements in natural philosophy, so what theorem would you recommend me use to solve this problem?”

Seeing that he was asking proactively, Arthur calmly raised his glass to clink with Louis’s.

With a crisp clink, Arthur’s voice followed.

”Since it’s about Napoleon, I naturally recommend you solve it with Napoleon’s theorem. You surely remember the definition your uncle provided: using the three sides of an arbitrary triangle as sides to construct equilateral triangles outward, the centers of the circumscribed circles of these three equilateral triangles just form the vertices of another equilateral triangle, called the Napoleon triangle.”

Watching Louis clench his fist, Arthur paused for a moment, then continued: ”Perhaps constructing three equilateral triangles outward all at once is too hard for you right now. But that’s okay, you can start with the first equilateral triangle. Louis Philippe wants to use you to appease the Bonaparte Party, but this is also your chance to introduce yourself to the French people. The death of the King of Rome is heartbreaking, at this moment, even if not for Louis Philippe’s little scheme, you should let them know who’s currently bearing the heavy burden of the Bonaparte family’s revival, and who is truly qualified to represent the Bonaparte family in bringing Napoleon’s remains back to their homeland.”

Hearing this, Louis took a deep breath and closed his eyes: ”I understand now, thank you, Arthur. I never realized that the answer to the riddle was hiding in the riddle itself.”

Arthur casually smiled and replied: ”Louis, you’re just confused because you’re in the midst of it. Once you rise above and see the whole picture, with your intelligence, you’ll quickly uncover the truth.”

At this point, Louis asked again: ”Tomorrow, I’ll go see him, Arthur, will you come with me?”

”Me?”

Arthur shook his head and said: ”Louis, you’ve forgotten what I said earlier. You can’t make Louis Philippe feel threatened. He uses you, not your father or uncle, because he feels you are within his control range. As for me, though merely a second-class secretary stationed in the Kingdom of Hanover, my status as a British diplomat is enough to alert Louis Philippe. Remember, he actually has an alternative candidate for sending to Saint Helena Island, your cousin Mr. Valevsky, who is Napoleon’s son, but has no succession rights.”

Saying this, Arthur stood up, pulled out a bill from his coat pocket, and placed it under the plate: ”Louis, take your time enjoying your meal, I must take my leave.”

”Hmm? You’re leaving so soon? The dishes haven’t been served yet.”

Louis stood up to try to persuade Arthur to stay, but Arthur waved him off.

This retired Scotland Yard officer simply gestured towards the window, where under the plane trees at the street side, a few fellows with wide-brimmed hats lounged against the trunks smoking.

As a police secretary once trained in the Police Intelligence Department, Louis quickly understood Arthur’s implication.

There’s no need to say more, they must be plainclothes officers sent by the Great Paris Police Hall to monitor his whereabouts.

Louis laughed wryly: ”I truly let my guard down, I forgot that France handles these things far better than Scotland Yard.”

Arthur laughed and patted his shoulder: ”But you’re still a bit short of Prussia; I visited Heine yesterday, and from behind his window curtain, he personally pointed out to me several plainclothes spies dispatched by Prussia to watch him.”

Louis joked: ”So, am I actually lucky?”

”Perhaps. ” Arthur seized the opportunity to invite: ”After you’ve dealt with Louis Philippe, feel free to find me and Mr. Victor, and we’ll earn a little extra together. Mr. Victor and I are currently handling a tricky case, which might involve some ruthless thugs. If these plainclothes officers follow us, it’ll save us some security costs.”

Louis laughed heartily: ”Arthur, you’re quite something.”

Arthur walked out of the restaurant, glanced at those plainclothes officers following Louis, then hailed a cab.

He got into the cab and said to the driver: ”To the Rothschild Bank, please.”

The cab driver casually asked: ”Sir, are you going to conduct banking business?”

Arthur waved his hand, pulling out a letter he had pre-written: ”No, I’m just going to have Rothschild mail a letter.”

Agares, sitting beside the cab driver, seeing the letter, covered his mouth in a chuckle: ”Arthur, you little scoundrel, you just sold out the Bonaparte fool, didn’t you? I bet this letter’s destination is the French Embassy in London, isn’t it? You don’t want Talleyrand’s francs but his favor.”

In response to Agares’s taunt, Arthur merely chuckled softly: ”Smart.”