Shadow of great britain

From a sociological perspective, an act that offends a strong and very distinct collective emotion constitutes a crime. In Tsarist Russia, these political exiles did not offend collective emotions, but the emotions of the ruling class headed by the Tsar, so they also occupied a very special position among other types of exiles.

——Arthur Hastings

In this vast snowy land, the cold wind seemed to be an uninvited soul, tearing every inch of skin with a piercing pain.

The wheels of the carriage made a low creaking sound on the thick snow, accompanied by the echo of the horse's hooves, and gradually went away.

The sun has set, and the afterglow dyed the boundless snowfield into a blood-red hue.

The Russian winter is as cold and ruthless as this land, and today, it is full of unspeakable terror and despair for the political prisoners being escorted.

At the front of the convoy was a military police captain in a dark green uniform.

His face was stern, and his deep eyes seemed to be able to see through everything in front of him, even the fear and silence in the dark night.

He patted the horse's neck from time to time to let it move forward steadily.

Under the towering military cap, he showed a calm face, although the cold and oppressive atmosphere around him did not shake his calmness at all.

The military police captain had a strong sense of majesty, holding the command whip tightly in his hand, and occasionally waving it hard to remind the carriage team to maintain speed and discipline.

He did not talk directly to the prisoners, but handed all power and fate to the soldiers who had long been accustomed to living like zombies.

In the convoy, several Polish political prisoners were detained in a carriage, sitting in a humiliating posture with empty eyes.

Their faces were pale, as if they were crushed by the long journey and the ruthless fate that was coming.

The haggardness and fear on the faces of several young people were particularly conspicuous. In their hearts, they were once radical thinkers and freedom fighters against the tyranny of Tsarist Russia.

However, their thoughts were now locked in a silent frozen cage, turning into unspeakable pain and regret.

They were destined to spend the rest of their lives with this cold wind, buried in the unknown mountains.

A military policeman walked to the front of the car, opened the window, and ordered in a cold voice: "Keep quiet, don't forget your fate."

The window was slightly opened, and the wind and snow blew into the car mercilessly, as if judging the souls of the prisoners.

The prisoners did not speak, they lowered their heads powerlessly, dared not contact the outside world, and even their lowered eyes did not have a trace of resistance.

The woods not far away gradually disappeared in front of them, replaced by an open wilderness, snowflakes dancing like irrational elves, and there was a dead silence all around.

The convoy moved slowly on the thick snow, and Druisk in front was already vaguely visible. The silent town, like an abandoned stone, was deeply embedded in this vast wilderness.

Compared to cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, the existence of Druisk seems meaningless, and perhaps even time has never left any traces here.

But for this gendarmerie that has been marching in the ice and snow for days, it is always a blessing to have a city where they can temporarily rest and drink a cup of hot wine.

"Hurry up." The captain said coldly, without a trace of emotion in his voice.

The guards whipped the horses, and the convoy continued to move forward. The wheels of the carriage made a dull sound on the snow and gradually drove into the city gate.

The gendarmerie captain did not stop, or even look up, but calmly directed the convoy and went straight through the streets of this small town.

The houses on both sides of the street were silent, the windows were closed, and there were few pedestrians on the street. Occasionally, someone would stick his head out of the house with a strange and curious look in his eyes.

However, after seeing the team's logo, all eyes quickly turned away. In the past two years, the residents of Druisk have become accustomed to this cruel phenomenon - those prisoners who came from afar were only temporarily staying and would eventually disappear in this ruthless northern land.

The team slowly passed the sentry tower at the city gate, crossed a narrow street, and finally stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary but oppressive building - Druisk's temporary prison.

The half-drunk and half-awake jailer holding a bottle of wine saw this group of people and shuddered all over. The three-point drunkenness that had just brewed was instantly thrown away by him.

The military police captain dismounted and nodded to the guard who saluted at the door. His guards took action, pulled the prisoners off the carriage, and pushed them into this cold building.

The temperature here is so low that it is almost suffocating. The air is filled with the smell of rust and frost, which makes people feel an indescribable depression.

The military police captain took out a match and lit his pipe, took a deep puff, and two streams of smoke slowly blew out of his nose.

The jailer straightened his tattered hat, came to the captain and saluted, saying: "Sir, please show me your ID."

The military police captain glanced at him, and the jailer trembled all over with just one glance, but fortunately he did not embarrass him, but took out a document made of dark leather with a golden double-headed eagle emblem in the center from his arms.

Russian Empire

General Administration of Military Police

Official ID Card

Name: Richard Huett

Title: Cavalry Captain

Position: Military Police Captain

Unit: General Administration of Military Police of the Russian Empire

Region: Second District

ID Number: № 7825

Date of Issue: May 20, 1832

Job description: As the Imperial Gendarmerie, Richard Hutte is responsible for law enforcement and maintaining order, especially in the control of political prisoners, maintaining national security, suppressing illegal acts, and monitoring counter-revolutionary activities. He is also authorized to participate in criminal investigations, monitor local military affairs, etc. assistance in operations and execution of special orders issued by the central government.

Work area:

This document allowed Richard Hutte to enforce the law throughout the empire, especially in the eastern and remote areas where order was needed, including Siberia and Poland.

Validity Period: This certificate is valid from the date of issuance until further renewal or termination.

Signature and seal:

Issued by:

Head of the Third Bureau of the Imperial Administration of the Russian Empire, Commander of the Gendarmerie Regiment, General of the Cavalry

Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf

Date: May 20, 1832

Location: St. Petersburg

The jailer's hand holding the document was trembling slightly, and he muttered softly: "Another gendarme..."

Richard Hueter frowned slightly when he heard this, and his sharp, knife-like eyes instantly stared at the jailer: "Are you dissatisfied with the military police?"

The jailer trembled in fright, and returned the certificate with both hands: "No, of course not, Captain! I just thought it was a coincidence, because there is a military police colonel visiting this city."

"Colonel?" As soon as Hueter heard this word, several familiar faces instantly appeared in his mind.

There are not many colonels in the gendarmerie regiment. Those with the rank of colonel are either the gendarmerie commander of a province or the gendarmerie supervisor who serves as deputy.

There are only 50 administrative units at the provincial level in Russia, so there are definitely no more than a hundred military police colonels.

Although Hueter dared not say that he knew all the military police colonels, at least the colonels in the first and second districts were familiar faces. Even if he had not met some of them, Hueter at least saw them on the official list. Passed the name.

Thinking of this, Hute couldn't help but want to pay him a visit. He asked, "What's the name of that gentleman?"

How could the jailer dare to deceive the captain of the military police? He replied decisively: "It's Mr. Hestingoff from Petersburg."

Hutte thought about it carefully, but he really couldn't remember such a person.

He took the certificate back into his arms and calmly stared at the jailer who still lowered his head.

"From Petersburg?" Hutte repeated softly, with a trace of doubt in his eyes.

Huter couldn't help but run through a few names in his mind - these people either had a deep background in the military police group, or were elites who had just been transferred from the border areas.

However, the name Hestingoff did not leave a deep impression on his memory.

This means that this person may be an up-and-coming star, or a more obscure character who at least does not yet occupy a prominent enough position in the Empire's vast bureaucracy.

"Is it a new appointment?" Hute frowned slightly, trying to piece together more clues in his mind: "Maybe he was transferred from the east or the Caucasus."

He suddenly remembered that the situation in Russia had been changing over the years, especially under the rule of the new Tsar Nicholas I. The power of the military police was almost all-encompassing, and emergencies anywhere could cause greater power struggles.

As a young military police officer who intends to advance further in the system, Hueter has reason to suspect that the appearance of the little-known Colonel Hestingov may be conveying a signal of some deeper game within the military police regiment.

Whose person is he?

Count Benkendorf's new favorite?

Or is he a close aide of Lord Dubert, the 'two-faced man' who is gaining power in front of His Majesty the Tsar?

"If he is really newly appointed...then he may not know about me." Hute murmured in a low voice, feeling uneasy in his heart.

As the only British member of the Russian military police system, he already has a certain status in the military police system.

Although he doesn't care about the power struggle most of the time, he cannot take the arrival of the new colonel lightly, even the smallest threat.

Even as a foreigner, he was not at risk of being exiled by the Tsar...

However, if he offends someone he shouldn't offend during the power struggle, he will still be deprived of the Russian aristocratic status, military rank, salary and other benefits that he has worked so hard for.

After enjoying the pleasure of being called Mr. Hught, it would be too cruel to have him return to his position as a clerk in the company and be ordered to do this and that by the manager. This kind of heavy blow to the soul would be too cruel. .

Even if they are both errand boys, there is a big difference between running errands for the czar and running errands for the manager.

"I should go see him."

Hueter stood in front of the cold prison building, took a deep breath of the cold air, glanced at the jailer in front of him, and finally said: "That Colonel Hestingoff is staying in this city?"

The jailer was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Hueter to suddenly mention Hestingoff, and seemed a little hesitant. But he obviously did not dare to hide anything, so he replied in a low voice: "Yes, Captain, Colonel Hestingov is currently staying at the mayor's residence."

Hueter frowned slightly and asked softly: "The mayor's residence? When did he arrive? Did he meet with the local officials?"

The jailer obviously knew that these questions were difficult, but he did not try to avoid them. He just answered truthfully: "Lord Hastingoff arrived last week. He had several talks with the mayor, judges, and inspectors. However, the colonel seemed to be carrying the emperor's secret order, so he did not reveal his identity in the first five days, but found a small hotel to stay alone. The colonel went to the city hall, police station, city court and other places in plain clothes every day to investigate until everything was clear. He finally revealed his identity, which shocked the mayor and others."

When Huet heard this working method, he immediately concluded that Colonel Hastingoff must be an expert among the gendarmerie.

He had seen an old gendarmerie transferred from the border region in St. Petersburg before. He was also a tough guy who liked to go incognito and was comparable to Hastingoff.

The term "incognito" doesn't sound new, but don't think it's easy to go incognito just because it sounds old-fashioned.

If you don't have real skills and can't be bold and careful, it's easy to make yourself "disappear" by playing this game.

Although the Third Bureau and the Military Police Corps have great power, great power also comes at a price.

Their power is based on criticizing the incompetence of other government departments, and such a nature of work will naturally not be welcomed by other departments.

The fuse of all this came from the controversial "Report on the Public Opinion Survey of 1828" published by the Third Bureau.

The "Report on the Public Opinion Survey of 1828" shows that the supervision of the government's power organs by the Third Bureau and the Military Police Corps is absolutely effective.

However, because this report exposed social reality, it also aroused the hatred of many senior officials, and some even tried to persecute the Third Bureau and the Military Police Corps.

The counterattack of the Third Bureau was to make a sharp evaluation of the main leaders of the central power organs in the "1829 Public Opinion Survey".

The Third Bureau first praised the hard work of the Minister of Finance Conkling, but also pointed out that Conkling was stubborn and unwilling to listen to anyone's opinions. Conklin's assistant Druzhinin has outstanding work ability, but has a tendency to be corrupt and despise the law.

Minister of the Interior Zakrevsky is short-sighted and shallow-minded.

Minister of National Education Levin is ignorant, ignorant and uneducated.

Minister of War Chernyshev has a bad reputation and extremely poor personal ethics, and is the object of common hostility from the whole society.

The judicial system has been fiercely attacked by the Third Bureau for several consecutive years. In the annual work reports, Russia's judicial department was directly evaluated as still at the level of the end of the last century, with backward working methods, rigid management systems, corrupt and incompetent judges, and lagging trial procedures.

All central departments want to kill the Third Bureau and the gendarmerie, but after all, all central departments are in St. Petersburg, where the emperor is at his feet, and everyone is not easy to act rashly.

But for local institutions, the situation is very different.

The commander of the Moscow gendarmerie, Volkov, has submitted secret memorials to the director of the Third Bureau, Count Benkendorf, more than once, listing in detail various evidences to prove that the Moscow Governor, Duke Golitsyn, was extremely dissatisfied with the activities of the gendarmerie in the local area and was ready to attack the gendarmerie at any time.

At the end of last year, Colonel Maslov, the head of the Seventh District, was not only obstructed by the Governor of Kazan when he started his work in Kazan, but also restricted his personal freedom - he was under house arrest in the mayor's residence for a week.

However, compared with what happened in Saratov Province, the treatment Colonel Maslov suffered was considered light.

A few years ago, when cholera broke out in Saratov, the local gendarmerie reported the corruption of the Saratov Governor to his superiors, and the Governor even tried to use cholera to poison the gendarmerie. Fortunately, the gendarmerie's report had been passed to Count Benkendorf, so the Governor was eventually dismissed from his post, and was severely retaliated by the Third Bureau for the poisoning - the whole family was exiled together.

As for the policemen whose duties overlap with those of the gendarmerie, the two are simply old enemies. The gendarmerie will monitor the work of the policemen, while the policemen will monitor the travel and activity of the gendarmerie.

Under the instructions of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, this group of local policemen even dared to monitor the second-in-command of the Third Bureau, the head of the First Section, von Walker.

This forced von Walker to write to the director for help - I must talk to your Excellency about this matter, which is unpleasant. The group of local policemen affiliated with the Ministry of Internal Affairs traveled in plain clothes, wandered around the house where I lived, monitored visitors, and restricted my activities.

In such a context of serious confrontation between departments, the gendarmerie who dared to use the trick of incognito visits was an example of boldness.

After all, if this trick is not played well, it is easy to end up with a "Gendarmerie? What gendarmerie? There has never been a gendarmerie in our city. Maybe he was unlucky and was eaten by the wolf cubs."

Huet just thought of this, and his heart suddenly shuddered.

Colonel Hastingoff stayed at the mayor's residence?

Could he have let those bastards of Druisk put him under house arrest?

Huet quickly sorted out his thoughts and made a calm decision.

He waved his hand and motioned the two subordinates beside him to come forward.

"Get your equipment ready." His voice was low and serious, and his eyes revealed a deterrent force that could not be ignored.

The subordinates immediately obeyed the order and turned around to prepare. Huet continued to pace in the yard, and a trace of uneasiness emerged in his heart.

He knew that Hastingoff was not a simple character, especially since he conducted the investigation in such a low-key manner and did not even disclose his identity at the beginning, which in itself revealed a hint of unusual information.

After a while, two subordinates came over with weapons, one of them holding a standard rifle, and the other carrying two daggers and a pistol.

Huet did not say much, but nodded and waved for them to follow.

"Get in the car and go to the mayor's mansion."