Shadow of great britain

"Please wait here for a while, have some tea and some snacks. His Majesty the Tsar is meeting with the French chargé d'affaires. Someone will come to inform you when everything is over."

The court attendant put one hand on his chest and bowed slightly to Count Daramo and others, then turned around and strode out of the Winter Palace lounge with his sword in hand.

Arthur looked up at this spacious hall. The ceiling of the hall was very high, and the exquisitely carved gold decorations set off the dark blue wallpaper. A huge crystal chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling, and the light fell down, as if decorating the entire space into a golden dream.

From the murals hanging on the wall, it is easy to see the aesthetic orientation of the Tsar. In addition to the common portraits of people, the most common here are war scenes.

Among them, there is the Battle of Poltava, where Peter the Great defeated King Karl XII of Sweden, which completely changed the balance of power in Northern Europe.

There was also the Battle of the Kagur River during the reign of Catherine the Great, when Marshal Rumyantsev, the ‘Victor of the Transdanube’, completely defeated the Ottoman Empire, thus placing the Crimean Khanate under Russian control and laying the foundation for Russia’s military presence in the Black Sea region.

Then there was the Patriotic War of 1812, in which ‘Holy King’ Alexander I resisted Napoleon’s invasion. Both sides deployed a total of more than 300,000 troops, and the Battle of Borodino, in which the Russian and French armies lost more than 66,000 people in just one day of fighting.

Arthur, with his hands behind his back, looked at the walls one by one. Through the large gold-framed mirror placed in the corner of the wall, he could see that behind him, the other members of the delegation were standing aside and talking in a low voice.

Perhaps to prevent the walls from having ears, Count Daramo and others deliberately used the local English with a strong accent that they were familiar with to communicate.

Arthur could still hear the Glaswegian and Liverpool accents, but even Arthur couldn't recognize Colonel Stewart's Irish accent. He could only pick out a few familiar words with difficulty and analyze them with the words of others.

In short, Earl Daramo and the others seemed to be talking about the Greek forces in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the past few centuries, because Greece was ruled by the pagan Ottoman Turkish Empire for a long time, the Greeks continued to immigrate to other parts of Europe. And Russia, as it is an Orthodox country like Greece, and the policy of successive tsars to continuously introduce foreign officers and engineers, has always been the main destination for Greek immigrants.

Because this group of Greek immigrants has a high level of education, a large number of people, and no mother country, the tsar was also relieved to use them. Therefore, the Greeks soon became a force that could not be underestimated in the Russian court. Some of them were generals in Russia, and some had served as ministers.

The base camp of the Greeks in the Russian court was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Kapodistrias, the first president of the Greek Republic who was unfortunately assassinated a few years ago, once served as Russia's foreign minister.

The reason why Russia is the most resolute country in supporting Greek independence is not only because of the same religious beliefs and the old enemy relationship between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, but also because these Greek immigrants in Russia have also made great efforts behind the scenes.

Count Daramo and others were chatting, and suddenly Arthur heard a familiar name and a series of gossip from their conversation.

Dorothea Leven, the sister of Count Benkendorf, the director of the Third Department.

Mrs. Leven's husband was ordered by the Tsar to return to the country the year before last, but Mrs. Leven had lived in the UK for 22 years and was used to the convenient life and climate of developed Western Europe, so she was reluctant to return to the cold St. Petersburg, but stayed in Paris to participate in various social activities.

Because of this, the Leven couple have been separated for two years.

According to Count Daramo, the Tsar seemed to be very angry about Mrs. Leven's behavior. However, since her husband, Duke Leven, and her brother, Count Benckendorff, were both ministers highly valued by the Tsar, the Tsar reprimanded Mrs. Leven and asked her husband and brother to break off contact with her, and the matter was left unresolved.

However, Count Daramo did not know where he got the gossip from, perhaps from a big mouth during his trip to Paris. Mrs. Leven, who was mentally hit, found a person who could comfort her soul.

Of course, this person was not the dwarf Thiers. Although he was also very good at making women happy, he did not attack Mrs. Leven this time.

The one who was favored by Mrs. Leven was Thiers' cabinet colleague, François Guizot, an equally talented historian, former professor of the Sorbonne University, and the current Minister of Education of the July Monarchy of France.

Hearing Count Daramo's gloating tone, he seemed to be teasing Viscount Palmerston for his missteps in love.

However, based on Arthur's experience at the Allmark Club and his understanding of the Irish Cupid, Viscount Palmerston might not be too sad about this matter.

Because the love affairs of this old British baby have always been busy, even if he is well versed in time management skills, there are always times when he is unable to do so.

In a sense, Mrs. Leven's love affair has helped him reduce his burden.

If we must pick out a clown in this matter, Arthur thinks that Austrian Prime Minister Metternich should be elected with a high vote.

After all, during the London Conference that year, Arthur sent someone to steal the love letter that Metternich wrote to Mrs. Leven in his early years.

Although this diplomat who traveled around Europe and the state activist who had a close relationship with Talleyrand has always been loyal to Mrs. Leven over the years, even though Mrs. Leven left Viscount Palmerston, she did not rush to Vienna, but It was in Paris that he fell into the arms of Guizot.

Oh!

Perhaps I should write a letter to Heine about such a good thing.

But then he thought about it, and Arthur was worried that writing the letter might irritate Heine, because Heine's love story with his two cousins ​​was much more clownish than Metternich's. Perhaps this is the racial talent of the Germans. Metternich was not good, and Heine was not much better.

But then again, Mrs. Leven is indeed one of the top figures in European social circles. Look at her catalog of lovers and suitors, the Duke of Wellington, Viscount Palmerston, Metternich, Guizot, and her husband Duke Leven, brother Count Benkendorf...

Representatives can be found in every country including Britain, France, Russia and Austria.

Perhaps she was not the most powerful woman in Europe and was in no position to start a war.

But if everyone wants to quell a war, they will most likely have to pass the news through her, just like what happened at the Congress of Vienna after the Napoleonic Wars.

Arthur listened to a series of gossip, and the old agent's fingers trembled involuntarily.

He has developed a good habit since he was in school.

Once you discover any new knowledge points, you must immediately take notes and review them many times after class to deepen your impression.

Arthur subconsciously took out the notebook from his coat pocket. Just as he was about to start writing, he caught a glimpse of the eyes of Count Daramo and others. He smiled quite calmly and said, "I want to go smoke for a while. Can we come with you?" ?”

Count Dalamo and others were chatting, and they declined Arthur's invitation one after another.

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Arthur walked to the three-meter-high door and asked the guard: "Excuse me, where is the smoking room?"

"Just turn left at the first intersection ahead."

Arthur nodded and thanked him, hummed "Katyusha" and walked towards the smoking room. As soon as he opened the door of the smoking room, he saw a man who looked like him sitting on the crimson velvet sofa. Young people of similar age.

The two of them bowed to each other with a simple polite nod.

Arthur struck a match and lit his pipe, and through the white smoke that came out, he couldn't help but look at the smoker a few more times.

Judging from his attire, he should be a staff member of the Winter Palace, perhaps an attendant of the Tsar, or a clerk in the Tsar's office.

If it was just because of this, Arthur might not pay so much attention to him, but the smoker's appearance really didn't look like an ordinary Russian, nor did he look like a Briton, a German, or a Frenchman.

His curly hair, coupled with his shiny black skin.

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For some reason, this reminded Arthur of a fat French friend of his.

Curiosity is like a wild fire, igniting Arthur's soul as a spy. If he doesn't find out, he will suffer another day of torture.

Arthur sucked on his pipe and took another puff, until the third smoke ring blew out. The old agent finally couldn't hold it in any longer: "You don't look like a traditional Slav. Your ancestors were immigrants, right?"

The smoker did not shy away from his own life experience. On the contrary, he was quite willing to talk about it with others: "My life experience is comparable to that of Orlov's group of people who climbed up during the reign of Catherine the Great and Alexander II. The new aristocrats who came up are more traditional, and my ancestors came to prominence as early as the time of Peter the Great. Do you think that a family that has become a Russian aristocracy centuries ago is an immigrant?"

At this point, the smoker paused: "But if you insist on saying that I have some immigrant blood, I won't refute it. Because my maternal great-grandfather was indeed born in East Africa. He was Abisi. The prince of Nia was taken captive by the Ottomans to Constantinople when he was seven years old, and then brought back to Moscow by the Russian ambassador to be dedicated to Peter the Great. He worked as a bodyguard and secretary to the tsar, and was then sent to France to study military engineering. After returning home, he was entrusted with important tasks and led the construction of the fortresses of Kronstadt and Rogelvik and the Lake Ladoga Canal in Elisabeth. During the reigns of Peter I and Peter II, my maternal great-grandfather was an important minister in the court. He finally retired with the rank of general. You should know the weight of this title. "

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Your great-grandfather sounds like a real legend, and the more I look at your life experience, the more I think you are similar to a friend of mine. You are simply the Russian Alexander Dumas."

"Duma?" The smoker was just chatting casually, but when he heard Arthur mention Dumas' name, he immediately seemed to think of something and asked symbolically: "Are you Arthur Hastings?" Jazz?"

"How do you know my name?"

"It turns out it's really you!"

The smoker smiled and stretched out his hand: "I heard it from a little Russian. You should know who he is. That guy was tortured to death by hemorrhoids recently. By the way, let me introduce myself. I am Alexander. Sergeyevich Pushkin. You are right, I do have some similarities with Dumas. For example, part of our names is Alexander.”

"Pushkin?"

Arthur only felt that the chance encounter with Pushkin was ridiculous. He had originally deliberately wanted to establish contact with Pushkin through Gogol's introduction. Who would have thought that Pushkin would come to his door just for a smoke.

It seems that although smoking is harmful to health, it is very helpful for work.

Arthur lowered his voice and said: "I heard from Gogol before that you were pardoned by the Tsar and returned to Petersburg. I thought you were probably living in an apartment that was strictly monitored by the Third Bureau. Unexpectedly, you turned out to be Just work in the Winter Palace openly?"

Pushkin smiled helplessly: "As for surveillance, I am indeed being monitored. But apart from the fact that I need to apply to the Tsar and the Third Bureau for reporting when leaving the city, at least I am still free to travel in Petersburg."

"What about going abroad?"

Pushkin shrugged. It could be seen from his eyes that he was dissatisfied with this matter: "I was prohibited from going abroad. Although they didn't say it clearly, I applied to go to Western Europe for inspection before and was rejected several times. In the past few years, I I heard a translator from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mention his experience in the Orthodox missionary mission in BJ, so he wanted to go to China as a special envoy, but they didn’t agree.”

"Translation? Missionary mission?" Arthur suddenly became interested: "Don't the missionaries speak Chinese? Do they need a translator?"

"No, you misunderstood. The translator from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was originally a missionary, but how should I put it? It's quite interesting to talk about it."

Pushkin laughed loudly and said: "The translator was originally a missionary, but as a priest, he was an atheist and was very careless about missionary work. Therefore, his behavior directly angered the tsar, which made him He was recalled to the country and exiled to Siberia. He stayed in Siberia for three or four years. If it were not for the lack of people in the palace who knew Chinese, he would not have been so lucky to be pardoned and returned to Petersburg. "

Atheist priest?

Arthur couldn't help laughing when he heard this word.

He did not expect that such an advanced product had not appeared in the UK, but had actually been born in Russia.

He used to think that this thing should only be found in France, such as Mr. Talleyrand, the 'People's Bishop'.

Arthur asked: "Since he is an atheist, why does he have to be a priest to be in trouble with himself?"

Pushkin smiled and blinked: "Don't you understand this? The priest is from his family, and this is not the path he chose."