The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1164: Chapter 123: The Absent-Minded Sun Never Sets Empire

Disraeli explained the ins and outs of the New Poor Law draft to Arthur, and from time to time, vulgarities could be heard coming from the academic director’s office.

Disraeli put down his glass, cursing from Prime Minister Count Grey all the way to the Lord Chancellor’s office, and finally from the Whig Party to the internal affairs of the Tory Party.

“Arthur, although I know as a member of the Tory Party, I should not evaluate the party leader this way. In my view, Robert Peel completely lacks the basic qualities needed to lead the Tory Party. I know our party seats in the House of Commons are not currently dominant, but at least in the House of Lords, we can stand evenly with the Whigs, or could even say slightly dominant.

Look at how the Whig Party troubled us when they were in opposition, launching media offensives, seizing moral high ground, and even flirting with the French during the Great Revolution. And now, under Sir Peel’s leadership, the Tory Party? I haven’t seen any fierce opposition concerning Whig proposals; Sir Peel even actively cooperates with them on some issues.”

At this point, Disraeli was so angry that his face turned red: “Robert Peel is a Whig plant within the Tory Party. He clearly holds Whig views but insists on presenting himself as a Liberal within the Tory Party, occupying the party leader position without doing anything. With such a leader, I think we shouldn’t expect to rise for at least another twenty years!”

Arthur poured Disraeli another glass of wine, looked at the amber liquid filling the cup in front of him, and slowly began, “It seems you prefer leaders like the Duke of Wellington, those who could command the party as a military commander?”

Disraeli, upon hearing Arthur’s comment, felt a sense of ‘you really understand me.’

“A spot-on evaluation! What the Tory Party needs now is for the Duke of Wellington to come back and lead the big picture. Under Peel’s leadership, the Tory Party is divided, each faction—Radical, Traditional, Liberal—having their own cliques. This division further exacerbates the Whig Party’s dominance in Parliament.

Peel doesn’t understand the importance of traditional values to the whole party. He doesn’t realize that the ancient spirit of England is the most important rope binding the Tory Party. He recently released the ‘Tamworth Manifesto,’ asking the entire party to put down historical burdens and move with the times, but it’s like what Mr. Richard Osler called for.

If the Church, monarch, and nobility decide to plunder the poor’s freedom, wives, and children, such a Church is not Christ’s Church; such a monarch is not Britain’s monarch; nobility is no longer the people’s protector. Then, they are more harmful than useful. To these most hated enemies, I will shout, ‘I will overthrow them, topple them all!’”

Disraeli, reaching the peak of excitement, even stood with one foot on the chair, his right hand waving high, as if he were standing not in the academic director’s office but in the lower house of Westminster Palace in debate.

“No matter what Peel says, I will stake my entire reputation and never back down an inch on the issue of the Poor Laws against the Whig Party. Yes, I will stand here, I will fight at Hyde Park’s Speaker’s Corner, I will fight in the ‘Britisher’ editorial office, I will fight in Westminster Palace. I will not retreat, only to preserve the ancient morality passed down since the Middle Ages and for the entire British people!”

Arthur, seeing Disraeli like this, knew the guy must have been utterly frustrated for over a year now.

Obviously elected as an MP, yet unable to reshape the country according to his ideals, instead forced to watch the course of history slide in the opposite direction. For a young man whose heart carries the dream of standing shoulder to shoulder with all great figures in the world, this may be the greatest suffering Disraeli has ever faced.

That feeling is worse than being attacked by the entire British literary scene a few years ago or being rejected by high society ladies.

Disraeli, having finished venting, noticed that Arthur seemed not particularly enthusiastic.

He looked at this familiar yet somehow unfamiliar friend in front of him with some surprise and asked, “Arthur, don’t you agree with my views?”

Arthur, hearing this, just smiled: “Of course I agree with you, Benjamin. It’s not just because of our friendship; don’t you remember? Ever since our first meeting, you recognized that we are alike, that our ideals are the same.”

Disraeli frowned as he sat down: “Then why don’t you cheer for me, or at least clap? You do nothing, making my speech seem untimely.”

“If you want, I can certainly do so.”

Arthur lukewarmly clapped: “I support Mr. Benjamin Disraeli’s views.”

“Come on, come on, it’s so disappointing.” Disraeli rolled his eyes: “You simply don’t support me.”

“No, quite the opposite.”

Arthur commented: “It’s precisely because I support you too much that I can’t publicly come out and applaud. Benjamin, you can’t take an MP’s perspective and apply it to a civil servant’s way of doing things. In an MP’s view, applause means support, booing means opposition. However, for a civil servant like me, verbal support means actual opposition, verbal opposition means actual support.”