The Shadow of Great Britain

Blackwell suddenly became alert, he knew things were not that simple: ”What is it?”

Arthur turned his wine glass in a circle, as if confirming that the wine had breathed enough. Then, as if he suddenly thought of it, he asked with a smile: ”Foreign Office Secretariat... which department are you in now?”

”The Second Transcription Group.” Blackwell replied instinctively.

”Then you should be clear about the responsibilities of the Secretariat, right?”

”Of course.” He answered almost reflexively: ”The Secretariat is responsible for sorting and summarizing reports and documents sent by embassies, consulates, Foreign Office officials, and garrisons abroad, categorizing them according to type, and handing them over to higher-ups for evaluation, processing, or submission to the State Minister. We also handle drafts of documents, edit minutes of meetings, and... some informal written correspondences.”

”Very good.” Arthur nodded: ”I need you to ’organize’ some correspondence for me, this task shouldn’t be too difficult for you, right?”

”May I ask... what kind of correspondence?”

Arthur calmly refilled Blackwell’s glass: ”They are documents regarding the Belgian Royal Family, or to be more precise, records of all formal or informal meetings between Leopold and Viscount Palmerston during his visit to Britain this month, memorandums submitted by relevant officials, summaries of talks, drafts of communication... If these could also include correspondence between the Belgian embassy, the Foreign Office European Affairs Division, and the Royal Family’s diplomatic advisory group... I think, the stipend allocated by the Police Commissioner Committee to the Secretariat this year could be a bit more generous.”

Blackwell’s expression tightened slightly, and his gaze toward Arthur changed.

Leopold I’s visit to Britain this time is not just to visit his niece after her succession, but also to negotiate with Britain to resolve the Limburg and Luxembourg issues.

During the 1830 Belgian revolution, Limburg and Luxembourg under Dutch rule also revolted in response to Belgium.

Especially in the towns along the Maas River in Limburg, large numbers of militia controlled customs stations and barracks within days.

In western Luxembourg, many villages and towns also raised the black, yellow, and red tricolor flag, openly pledging allegiance to the newly formed Belgian Provisional Government.

Therefore, Belgians generally regard these two areas as inseparable territories of Belgium, and at the beginning of the Belgian revolution, almost no one doubted that they would join Belgium in its independent future.

However, this optimism was soon shattered by reality.

Nominally, Luxembourg was under the rule of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but it had actually become a member state of the German Confederation as early as 1815, garrisoned by Prussian troops.

And that Luxembourg Castle, known as the ”Northern Gibraltar,” had been the haunt of Prussian cavalry since the Napoleonic Wars.

Therefore, the Belgian independence army did not even touch the city gate before retreating in disgrace under warnings from Prussian long-range artillery.

The issue of Limburg is even more complicated.

This narrow, resource-rich border area is not only Belgium’s gateway to Germany, but also stuck strategically between the Netherlands and Germany.

Prussia had had its eyes on this transport corridor to the Ruhr for some time, and the Dutch steadfastly refused to cede the Limburg capital, Maastricht, to Belgium.

In recent years, although Britain and France nominally acknowledged Belgium’s de facto control over Limburg and Luxembourg, whenever the formal boundary was mentioned, the two countries were unwilling to confront pressure from Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands, and Russia for the sake of Belgium.

The ”Eighteen Articles,” signed in London in 1831, originally attempted to grant Belgium partial sovereignty recognition through compromise. However, with the Netherlands’ refusal to sign, war broke out again. Subsequently, with French intervention and British mediation, the situation was forcibly frozen in a stalemate of neither war nor peace.

On the surface, Limburg belonged to the Netherlands, but it was actually managed by Belgium.

On the surface, Luxembourg was owned by the King of the Netherlands, but actually, Prussia did not allow any non-German Confederation members to enter...

Blackwell’s Adam’s apple moved, and he felt a little short of breath.

The conditions offered by Arthur indeed sounded tempting.

Third-class Clerk at the Home Office, the Deputy Director title, getting rid of that old, moldy office at the Foreign Office, and not even needing to see Beckett’s handwriting dominating the memos every month.

But the more tempting it is, the more something feels off.

A list, a desk, an office, just handed over like that?

This is not Sir Arthur Hastings’ style.

”Sir.” He cautiously opened his mouth, his voice trembling a little: ”May I boldly ask... for whom do you need these materials?”

Arthur raised his eyebrows but did not respond.

Blackwell continued cautiously: ”I mean... I certainly don’t doubt you—never would I—but... over the years, there have been some rumors within the Foreign Office, saying that some embassies of the Old Continent want to facilitate some... convenient transactions before parliamentary elections. Like the Netherlands, Austria, they sometimes, to gain a neutral stance or influence newspaper trends, they... occasionally also... uh, go through certain channels...”

Saying this, Blackwell couldn’t help but slap himself. He couldn’t resist asking after all: ”You... you haven’t taken money from the Dutch, have you?”

Arthur clicked his tongue and leaned back in his chair: ”You have indeed made some progress, Henry, at least this time you didn’t guess I have any connection with the Chechens of the Caucasus.”

Blackwell was now full of regret; he shouldn’t have gotten into that carriage today: ”Then... then you must at least give me some ground, can’t let me be completely in the dark...”

”You are working in the Secretariat, not Intelligence Division.” Arthur lit his pipe: ”I asked you to retrieve materials because you know where to find them, how to retrieve them, how to transcribe them, not to investigate any hidden truths behind the documents.”

”But...” Blackwell tried to defend himself: ”Those correspondences are highly classified, some I don’t even have access to copies...”

”But you know how to get them.” Arthur said calmly: ”Henry, don’t forget what I taught you in St. Petersburg. You know better than I do which Director leaves the earliest, which duty secretary likes to drink before going home, which document needs original archiving, which memo only retains its summary.”

He spoke casually, but Blackwell was listening with cold sweat all over.

”Besides, it’s not the first time I’ve asked you to do such things, is it?” Arthur exhaled a puff of smoke: ”The position of Third-class Clerk is right in front of you, whether it’s a bright future or a confined future, you have to weigh it yourself.”