Shadow of great britain

The button badge haunted the old squire like a lingering nightmare.

What on earth could make this old man who had spent most of his life feel so frightened?

If you only look at it from the surface, this is just the most ordinary and unremarkable decorative button badge. The pattern on it is not only inferior to those popular decorations sold in Paris fashion stores, but it does not even highlight the user. of elegance and majesty.

The design on the badge is just a boring white handkerchief.

However, for the old country squire who often reads "Moscow News", this is not an ordinary handkerchief button badge, because it means an organization, an organization that can make Druisk officialdom dark - His Majesty the Tsar's Imperial Palace The third round of the general office!

In 1826, Tsar Nicholas I officially accepted Count Benkendorf's suggestion and reorganized the Special Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs into the Third Bureau of the Imperial Office. The Russian Empire began to set up a standing political police. The function of the Third Office is described in official documents as: providing protection for widows and orphans.

But in fact, the Russians are well aware of the true function of the third game.

Their official emblem is a handkerchief, which was given to Count Benkendorf by Nicholas I when he appointed the first director of the Third Bureau. When His Majesty the Tsar presented the handkerchief, he also gave Benkendorf a gift: This is the order I give you. The more tears you shed, the more you can achieve my goal.

Although this most mysterious organization in the imperial office is small, it usually has only more than 40 full-time staff. But it is obvious that having few manpower does not mean low efficiency. In the third game, they can successfully complete the tasks assigned to them by the Czar under any circumstances.

Of course, sometimes all the credit cannot be attributed to the more than 40 people sitting in the office at the St. Petersburg headquarters, because most of the tasks of the third bureau are given to their ears, eyes and subordinates-the group of people wearing blue uniforms , carried out by gendarmes wearing white gloves.

The old squire stared blankly at the button badge, feeling cold from head to toe.

In Russia, wherever this handkerchief badge appears, nothing good ever happens. It only brings exile and imprisonment, and even... even the death penalty!

Arthur didn't know what happened to this old guy suddenly. As for the handkerchief badge in the third game, he didn't understand it at all.

In his opinion, the handkerchief-patterned button was just a small gift given to him by Shubinsky after he was drunk. If he had not come to Russia, he would not even bother to pin this button badge on his sleeve.

If the two of them met in the future and Shubinski mentioned the small gift he gave Arthur, Arthur couldn't say that it had been thrown into the glove box to eat ashes, right?

Arthur saw the old man's mouth half-opened and his eyes as wide as bells, but he didn't say hello to him. Finally, he couldn't help feeling lonely, and he kindly stepped forward and asked, "Old sir, what's the matter with you?"

Of course, in order to highlight his unusual identity and arouse the other party's interest, he deliberately chose to greet him in German.

However, what Arthur didn't expect was that after hearing the German language, the old man even became a little unsteady on his feet.

The old man held up his hat, nodded and bowed, with a bright smile on his face as if he had prepaid next month's quota: "Oh, hello, dear sir! You look familiar, handsome, mighty, tall , you can tell at a glance that this is not a place like ours. You...you must be from somewhere far away, right? This is really...welcome, welcome!"

Having said this, the old man stood up and walked to Arthur diligently. At this time, he no longer cared about the civilian uniform that had been treasured for a lifetime. The old man directly raised his sleeves and wiped them in front of Arthur. desktop.

"The conditions of this small hotel are really poor! Logically speaking, it is really rude to let a decent person like you live in such a place. I don't have any special advantages. If I insist on saying so, it's just a human being. Zealous, devout believer in God. I can't see it. Is this a crime that anyone can endure in such a cold day when others are suffering? Especially when I see a good young man like you suffering, I feel even more sorry for you. Whatever arrangements you want, I can make them right away!”

The old squire said this, but his eyes could not hide his glance from the handkerchief badge on Arthur's sleeve several times, as if to confirm whether he had seen it wrong because of his old eyesight.

Although Arthur couldn't figure out what kind of medicine the old man was selling in his gourd, the old spy knew how to read the air, and he also enjoyed being complimented by others.

However, the last guy to flatter him so respectfully was Ledley King, a progressive young man from Scotland Yard.

Arthur followed the old squire's wandering eyes and found the reason why this old man, who even the mayor and the judge did not take seriously, was afraid - the badge given to him by Shubinsky.

ah……

Arthur gradually came back to his senses, and unknowingly, he upgraded his false identity to eight levels in a row.

What a bullshit imperial civil servant and fourteenth-grade civil servant Artur Agaresovich Hestingov!

Standing here now is: Artur Agaresovich Hestingov, the sixth-rank military attaché of the Russian Empire (Army Councilor), military police staff officer of the first district of the Military Police Regiment, and Colonel of the Guards Infantry!

No, the title of Colonel of the Infantry Guards is not noble enough.

After all, Russian aristocrats and British aristocrats both have the same bad temper when it comes to joining the army. The noblest aristocrats usually only join the cavalry, while infantry officers are left to outsiders and bastards.

But if it is a Guards Cavalry Colonel, the target range is too narrow. After all, there are only a few Guards Cavalry regiments in Russia.

If you ask carefully, it's easy to reveal the truth.

That's all, just resign yourself and become a cavalry colonel.

Of course, the old squire didn't know what this despicable foreigner was thinking, let alone that he was automatically upgrading himself in his mind.

Just now he was the domineering Mr. Zaharov, but in the blink of an eye, he turned into a slug who didn't even dare to straighten his back in front of Arthur.

Arthur's eyes were fixed on the old squire, and there was no smile on his serious face. The old squire was sweating as he looked at him, and then he waved his hand: "Sir, what are you standing for? You are blocking my sunlight."

"Oh oh oh!" The old squire hurriedly sat down, as if he was afraid that he would be exiled to Siberia if he waited a second longer: "You..."

"Me? I'm just a young man from Petersburg."

Arthur pretended to stretch his wrists and turned his sleeves, revealing the white handkerchief badge in front of the old squire: "You are indeed a warm-hearted person. You know, you are the first person to take the initiative to talk to me since I came to this damn place. I said hello. I went to the city hall, the police station, the post office, many, many places, and you know what I found?"

When the old squire heard Arthur praising him, his heart was half relieved. He asked with a smile on his face: "What did you find?"

"I discovered..." Arthur imitated the old squire's tone when he came in: "This Druisk is indeed so cold that it freezes people's hearts."

"This..." The old squire's heart suddenly rose to his throat: "How many days have you been in Druisk?"

…

In Druisk's city hall, the mayor, who is usually invisible to people, was quite present today.

Although the snow has not slowed down at all today, the work of the city hall is in full swing in this weather.

The mayor banged the table and roared: "Where is Andrei Alexandrovich? The church is nowhere to be found, the tavern is empty, and there is no trace at home. Did he, the police commissioner, let the thieves steal it, or did he let the thieves steal it? The wolf kid caught it!"

The superintendent tried to persuade him from the side: "Mr. Mayor, Andrei Alexandrovich looks like a hill. When he walks, he shakes the earth like an earthquake. When his butt sinks, he can break the chair. That's it." People, thieves and wolves can’t be taken away.”

The little policeman who came back reported: "Mr. Mayor, our director drank too much last night and fell into a ditch on the roadside on his way home. If it hadn't been for a soldier urinating on the roadside this morning and melting the snow on it. Now, maybe we still can’t find the director under the snow.”

The mayor's eyes widened: "Ah! Did he freeze to death?"

The little policeman swallowed and said, "He almost froze to death. When he was sent to Charity Hospital, his body was frozen to the bone. If it hadn't been for the doctor at Charity Hospital who couldn't even speak a word of Russian, who gave him I ordered some hot vodka and prescribed some special medicine. I think the director can be buried in the cemetery now. However, although the director has recovered temporarily, he won't be able to get out of bed for a while."

The inspector patted his thigh and cried out in pain: "Oh! What can we do? At such a critical time, the police chief..."

However, the mayor rolled his eyes and said calmly: "Andrei Alexandrovich is in Charity Hospital? Then don't let him be discharged! Immediately send someone to tell him to lie down on the hospital bed. Druisker couldn't have asked for a more elegant person. When the imperial envoy arrives, we will take him to inspect Andrei Alexandrovich's bed. If the imperial envoy asks, tell him that Andrei Alexandrovitch is after a robber. Injured on duty during the process.”

The inspector's eyes lit up, and his depressed expression turned into a smile: "What a great idea! It's no wonder that you are the mayor."

The mayor was very impressed by the compliment to the inspector. He nodded triumphantly and said: "As for his work, leave it to Ivan Mikhailovich. As the chief of police, he has an eighth-rank officer. My father-in-law, who is a retired civil servant, simply doesn’t take us seriously, as if he is not the city police chief but the provincial police chief!”

After saying this, the mayor changed the subject and said: "Speaking of which, I feel something is wrong about the imperial inspection. Do you think it was someone who went to Petersburg to complain about us? Alexei ·Portunovic, have you made enemies with anyone recently, or found anyone disrespectful to you?”

"This..." The inspector thought about it and shook his head uncertainly: "Probably not."

"No?" The mayor snorted: "Don't think I don't know, think about it again!"

The inspector racked his brains and recalled for a long time before hesitatingly asked: "Could it be the incident with Ivanovna, the widow from the east of the city?"

"Huh?" The mayor suddenly raised his head: "What did you do to Ivanovna?"

Seeing his reaction, the inspector immediately realized that he had let something slip. He quickly went back and added: "Nothing, just some quarrels in daily life."

Snap!

The mayor slammed the table so hard that the inspector trembled in fright.

The mayor sternly accused: "Do you think this is your fault? Normally, I tell you not to go too far, but none of you listened to my words, and you all turned a deaf ear. Now the imperial envoy is leading the minister Come on, you must know how powerful it is!”

The inspector suddenly lost his temper after being reprimanded by the mayor.

After all, his real superior was not Mayor Bakalkin, but the Provincial Superintendent of Schools in Vitebsk.

Normally, when everyone discussed things in a friendly manner, he could give Bakalkin a bit of sympathy, but if he wanted to go to the line and start a fight, there was no need for him to coddle the mayor.

The inspector retorted: "I just slapped Ivanovna a few times because of my rude words. At most, this is a problem with my management style. But what about you? When your servants go to the butcher shop to buy meat, they always only give half the money. . When you go to a fabric store to buy good woolen cloth, you have to pay the price of coarse cloth. Not to mention, you bought two feet of cloth and took away a whole piece. This is a financial problem for you. "

The muscles on the mayor's face twitched a few times, he took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and looked at the inspector coldly: "Are you going to use these things as an excuse? Do you think I will be afraid of you? Threatening? You are just a nosy teacher, how do you get the right to act so righteous in front of me? "

The inspector sneered disdainfully and retorted: "I'm just telling the truth. If your servants buy meat and give half of the money, that's not just an economic problem, but a wanton infringement of the interests of the people! As for the cloth, you bought it But with all their hard work and You are taking advantage of your hard work, which is severely punished by the superiors! It would be better for you to try your best to engage in some "low-key business", and in the end you blame me for the imperial envoy's inspection. What authority do you have to make everyone else do it? Everyone respects you?"

The inspector's words immediately resonated with everyone in the room, and everyone turned their attention to the mayor.

The mayor also knew that if he continued to allow the inspector to be provocative, his reputation and position might be threatened.

So, he pretended to be angry and slapped the pile of bills, raised his voice and reprimanded severely: "Do you think your words can make me feel guilty? Let me tell you, Alexey Portunovich, I admit that you are a little smart. , but I warn you - don't forget, when will it be your turn to speak, Druisk? You are just a scholar who earns money from the country and makes a living by 'teaching'. Don't think you can provoke me. The bottom line! If you take it back now, I can still forgive you."

Others saw that the mayor was riding a tiger and was unable to get off, so they stepped forward to help the shameless two people to smooth things over.

"Okay, Mr. Superintendent and Mr. Mayor, they are all working for His Majesty the Tsar. Why do you two do this?"

Unexpectedly, the school inspector didn't buy it at all. He was so excited by the mayor's words that he decided to compete with him today.

A flash of fire flashed in the inspector's eyes: "You are right, I am a civil servant with no background and no power. But don't forget, the saying 'generals emerge from civil servants' is not groundless. One day your boat capsizes, who will come?" Support you?"

When the mayor saw that the inspector was still contradicting him, he became really angry for a moment. He said, "What you said are just empty accusations. We are all honest and honest officials, how can we let this happen?" How do these small, inconsequential things affect the overall situation? It seems to me that we are a little too anxious to make the matter so serious. The imperial envoy will be here soon. Since you have doubts about me, I think we can let him investigate carefully. , to see if the truth is what you said.”

Boom, boom, boom!

As soon as the mayor finished speaking, there was a rapid knock on the door.

The mayor was getting angry and couldn't help but cursed: "Who is this son of a bitch who wants to go to hell!"

The knock on the door stopped, and was replaced by the angry voice of the old squire: "Bakarkin! You idiot, you dare to scold me? Do you dare to scold me, Grigory Nikifor, the eighth-grade civil servant of the empire?" Mr. Lovich Zakharov? You damn mayor! Aren't you just a gangster wearing stinky leather boots? Even though you're wearing that official hat and shabby official uniform, you're obviously just a street gangster, but you still dare to wear one. Pretending to be an official!"

The curse almost shook the door, and the iron ring on the door made several harsh noises. Mayor Bakalkin's face turned livid in an instant. He had not yet calmed down from the angry scolding, but his rhythm was completely disrupted by this "master" who suddenly broke in.

The old squire found that no one was paying attention to him, and his mood became more and more agitated. He continued to roar and his voice became more and more sharp: "You bitch, do you really think that you can become an official just by wearing a rag? Let me tell you, I was a I've had tea and banquets in the palace, and sat at tables with real nobles of flesh and blood! What do you mean by your shabby clothes? You hold a dozen pieces of copper to pretend to be noble in front of me. Oh! Look, you are just like that thug on the street, a person who eats people without spitting out their bones! How dare you pretend to be a big-tailed wolf in front of me? , but how many dirty things have you done and how many people have you deceived? Do you really think that God can’t see your dirty transactions? Do you think you can continue to sit in this position with such evil money? Come down?"

The old squire's voice was as fierce as a storm, and every word in his anger was like a blade, hitting Mayor Bakalkin head and face.

The mayor's face turned green and white, and a bit of fear first flashed in his eyes, but then was replaced by anger.

He stood up angrily, his face flushed, and pointed with trembling fingers at the door.

"You old man, how dare you yell in front of me! You are just a shameless retired civil servant, why should you pretend to be a master in front of me! Who do you think you are? You are no more noble than me, you are gone long ago Qualifications are pointing in front of me!”

However, the old squire's anger did not stop at all, but became more intense. His voice was harsh and sharp, like nails hammering into Bakalkin's heart.

"Let me tell you, Bakalkin, Mr. Hestingoff did not come to play in this wretched place like yours. The laws of nature are clear and his eyes are like lightning! The eyes of the imperial envoy are much sharper than you think! If he looks I understand your true face , don’t even think about saving that head. You, a beheader, will have to be handcuffed and shackles at some point, dragged to Kazan Square, and put in front of everyone, so that the emperor will personally order it to be beheaded. You stinking head!"

Mayor Bakalkin's face turned pale, his whole body was shaken, and he asked almost incoherently: "What...what? Mr. Hestingoff..."

This sentence hit Bakalkin like a bolt from the blue. His mouth opened slightly, obviously frightened.

At this moment, the mayor's heart seemed to be hollowed out, his thoughts were disorganized, and the inflated pride and anger in his heart instantly disappeared without a trace. All that was left was intense fear coming in like a tidal wave.

He subconsciously took a step back, his eyes becoming a little evasive, even fearful.

But soon, he came to his senses again. The mayor hurriedly opened the door and respectfully invited the old squire in: "You... what you just said was Hestingoff... sir? How is that possible? How is it possible...how could he..."

The mayor's voice was low, with some imperceptible flattery: "Gregory Nikiforovich, since you know so many things, you are a little surprised. It seems that we need to sit down and discuss it carefully. . The Lord Hestingoff you are talking about...hehe...don't be angry, I didn't know it was you just now..."

The old squire snorted and slapped his bearskin hat on the table: "Angry? I'm not angry! What do I have to be angry about? I'm just an insignificant eighth-grade civil servant, and I'm retired. I'll be angry if I get angry. That’s all! But Lord Hestingoff, that’s a majestic empire. A sixth-rank Army counselor, a cavalry colonel, and a gendarmerie staff officer directly affiliated with the Third Bureau. You, the mayor of Druisk, left his old man in a small hotel for five days and five nights on this freezing day. Bakar Jin, although you have no conscience, you are quite courageous!”