The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1117: Chapter 105: The First to Be Arrested (2)

“Is His Majesty the King your backer?” The Police Chief, feet up on the interrogation table, continued writing his report without lifting his head: “Are you implying that His Majesty is the instigator of the riot? Ha, it seems we should add an accusation of insulting the Royal Family to your list. I must say, you’re quite lucky. If I were the judge, just this charge alone would be enough to sentence you to life labor…”

The Police Chief hadn’t finished speaking when a knock sounded on the interrogation room door.

“Enter.”

A young officer, appearing about the same age as Arthur, pushed open the door to the interrogation room and hurriedly ran to the Police Chief’s side, saluting: “Sir, there’s a diplomat outside the station holding a badge from the British Foreign Office, requesting to see you.”

Hearing this, the Police Chief quickly stood up and straightened his collar: “It seems Sir Arthur Hastings has arrived. Yesterday, the Home Office sent word that Sir Arthur is accompanied to Göttingen by Mr. Auguste Schneider from the British Foreign Office.”

At this, he further inquired of the young officer: “Was there anyone else beside that diplomat?”

“There was a tall man beside him.”

“That must be Sir Arthur Hastings. I’ve heard that the Sir is quite tall, built like a Dragon Cavalry soldier, perhaps a middle-aged man with a seal-like beard, a sword of honor at his waist, and a serious demeanor?”

“No, sir! The tall man beside Mr. Schneider is Professor John Helbart, the Head of the Philosophy College at the University of Göttingen.”

“Then where is Sir Hastings?”

Hearing this, the young officer didn’t dare answer, only continued to use his eyes to motion to the Police Chief.

The Police Chief was unaware of the mess he had gotten into, lowering his head to straighten his wrinkled white gloves, and slowly putting them on one by one, he said: “In a moment, pick a few of the tallest and strongest from the station to accompany me to the hotel where Sir Hastings is staying. I want to report in person that, due to the strong and effective actions of the Göttingen Police Station, we have just thwarted a student riot incited and funded by external forces from France.”

The young officer, sweating all over, strained his mind to help the Police Chief soften the situation: “Sir, isn’t this bad? Haven’t we yet to figure out who organized this action? How can it be connected to the French Government?”

“Who else if not the French Government? They’ve long been at odds with both Britain and our Kingdom of Hanover. The members of the Kingdom’s Cabinet will be satisfied with this answer, and surely Sir Hastings will highly recognize our work.”

“But…” The young officer felt as if his heart was being squeezed tightly: “Sir, this isn’t right… we don’t have the evidence yet.”

The Chief frowned at these words, glancing at the young officer: “Be smart. Being a policeman isn’t just about using the baton, you must also use your brain. Have you forgotten how the university students were lecturing in the tavern? They view Heinrich Heine as a hero, and Heine just recently received official funding from the French Government. We have ample reason to suspect that this riot was orchestrated by the French Government behind Heine.”

At this point, a eureka moment struck the Chief, and he turned to Arthur: “Did you receive support from Heine?”

Holding back anger, Arthur replied: “I received support from Heine? It was him who received support from me!”

“Oh…” The Chief, listening to this, appreciatively nodded toward Arthur: “Had you cooperated like this earlier, there wouldn’t have been so much trouble, would there?”

With that, the Police Chief said to the young officer: “Look, he admitted it. This riot was indeed instigated by Heine. Draft an investigation report later, put it on my desk before you clock out, and I’ll submit it for Sir Arthur Hastings to review tonight.”

Hearing this, the young officer couldn’t help but despairingly clutch his head and shout: “Chief! Why can’t you understand?”

“Understand what?” The Police Chief scratched his head.

As soon as his words fell, he heard Arthur tapping the interrogation table with handcuffs: “Once the report is ready, there’s no need for you to deliver it to the hotel; if it’s not too much trouble, you can bring it here directly for me to review.”

The Police Chief was momentarily stunned by these words, then glanced at the young officer who was nearly fainting, and turned to look at the ‘student leader’ solemnly sitting straight behind him.

An indescribable emotion welled up from his stomach as if even without sunlight in the interrogation room, it didn’t stop his head from buzzing as if sunburned.

The Police Chief couldn’t help but exclaim: “No wonder the weather feels so hot today, we have an Apollo sitting right here!”

…

Half an hour later.

Outside the small Göttingen Police Station, the core forces of the Göttingen Police Station had all arrived.

The officers formed two lines, arranging themselves in order of height.

The released university students came out of the police station, jumping in fright at the lineup. They thought perhaps these officers had changed their minds and wanted to arrest them again.

They hesitated for a moment. Finally, a few of the braver students were the first to walk down the steps. Once confirming that the police had no intention of re-arresting them, they breathed easy and called their classmates back to school.

However, their happiness didn’t last long. Suddenly, a command echoed from the police station: “Salute!”

The lined-up officers, following in order, mechanically raised their Flintlock Guns.