Shadow of great britain

Arthur stood at the window of the study in the old house of Duke Golitsyn, staring at Moscow covered with frost outside the window.

The cigar in his hand had burned a quarter, but he seemed unaware of it, his thoughts wandering between the cold streets in winter and the hot political conspiracy.

In the quiet morning, there was nothing but snow outside the window. The eight-month snow season in Russia sealed most people in their huts.

Except for the poorest and most destitute classes, almost no one walked on the street.

They wore tattered fur coats and staggered and dragged their steps on the street, like winter ghosts, struggling for a meager livelihood.

Occasionally, a carriage rushed past, rolling up a few strands of ice and snow crushed by the wheels, leaving a short trace, but it was soon covered by the wind and snow.

The Tsar suddenly ordered the closure of the Moscow Telegraph and arrested the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Polevoy, and others, which released a hint of intriguing and strange smell in this traditional and conservative city. Although the streets of Moscow looked deserted, Arthur could vaguely smell the smell of gunpowder hidden under the ice and snow.

If something similar happened in London, William IV would have been scolded by the media on Fleet Street, and British liberals would have attacked the king in all walks of life.

Can you imagine the scene of The Times or Manchester Guardian being closed down by Scotland Yard?

Arthur couldn't imagine it anyway, and even if he could, he wouldn't want to do such a bad job.

Because he was sure that if he really did it, then the petty reporters in Britain would definitely remember him for life and drag him out to criticize him every now and then.

In Britain, for gentlemen with status and position, there are two types of people you can't afford to offend, that is, lawyers and reporters.

These two types of people are to Arthur like Barr in Agares' eyes.

However, after all, this is not Britain, but Russia.

Therefore, the closure of "Moscow Telegraph" did not cause any waves at least on the surface.

The common people were not interested in this newspaper, because one more or one less newspaper would not affect their going to work on time every day, nor would it make them earn one or two more kopecks less.

Most of those who cared about this matter were the intellectuals in Moscow, that is, the upper class.

And this is also the biggest difference between Russia and Britain.

In Russia, you are either a master or a slave. The middle class between masters and slaves is very rare and almost non-existent.

Of course, this does not mean that there are no businessmen and doctors in Russia.

It's just that the external manifestation of these professions in Russia is completely different from that in Britain.

Take doctors as an example. Russian doctors basically have various official titles. This one is a county medical officer, and that one is a city pharmacist. They are all part of the bureaucratic system.

As for businessmen, Arthur actually saw quite a few businessmen in Russia, some of whom were even richer than their British counterparts.

However, most of them like to show off their wealth in a vulgar way, using unrestrained feasting and luxurious houses to show off their lives.

Of course, in order to be able to gain wealth from business activities for a long time, it is also very important for them to please officials.

Therefore, many of them are also training their offspring to become officials.

Usually, Russian merchants will only keep one son at home to help manage the business, and the other sons are sent to become officials.

But the contradiction is that although this group of merchants are keen to send their sons to become officials, they show no concern for public affairs. Whether it is political activities or social hot issues caused by politics, they often take an evasive attitude.

This is in sharp contrast to the performance of the British bourgeoisie. You know, no matter what political issues, the British business community is always the most cheerful group.

And such performance also makes Arthur repeatedly hit a wall when he contacts Russian businessmen.

Based on his work experience in London, Arthur preconceived that businessmen are usually the most liberal group among all social classes.

But the strong nationalism and unswerving loyalty to the Tsar among Russian merchants completely changed his cognition.

Arthur pondered for several weeks until he was awakened by Captain Huett's words a while ago.

Since Huett had worked in the Moscow Company, he provided Arthur with a rather simple but reasonable perspective - the strong nationalism shown by Russian merchants and the unswerving loyalty to the autocratic system. This is mainly due to the protective tariff policy implemented by this system, which enables this class to withstand the strong impact of foreign goods.

This group of Russian merchants may not really support the Tsar, but businessmen are very practical, so they deeply understand that if they leave the range of the "little father's" stick, with their production capacity and technical level, let alone British goods, they can't even beat the shoddy products of Germany.

The timid and conservative character of Russian merchants not only makes Russian literati hate them, but you can hardly find a popular Russian novel on the market that says good things about them.

Even their masters, the successive Russian tsars, often criticized their merchants for lacking the pioneering and adventurous spirit of British merchants.

However, in Arthur's opinion, the lack of pioneering spirit could not be blamed on these merchants, because they did not become rich because of their pioneering spirit.

British businessmen like to explore and take risks, because many of them were able to start their careers by taking risks overseas.

When there are more stories of making a fortune overseas, it will naturally trigger the next generation's endless imagination of the myth of wealth, and then follow their fathers to gamble all their wealth to make a big bet.

As for Russia, the experience summarized by Russian businessmen from the myth of wealth is different from that of British businessmen.

In Russia, the road to wealth is not to take risks, but to never confront the government, but to cooperate with it.

Another creed that accompanies it is: when competitors fight each other for political power, it is the wisest choice to wait and see.

Can you blame them for being conservative?

Of course not.

Because they are obviously right.

If the Tsar wants to have a group of Russian businessmen with British characteristics, then he must also accept that these Russian businessmen have the bad habits of British businessmen.

Only thinking about the benefits, but not the disadvantages, where in the world is there such a good thing?

When you want to have both the inner side of the royalists and the face of the liberals, you'd better pray that you can survive a bullet like Sir Arthur Hastings.

However, despite this, Russia has long had a very strange feeling for Britain in terms of business and culture.

The origin of this feeling can be traced back to the time of Peter the Great. In March 1697, Peter the Great, who was trying to start Westernization reforms, personally organized an unprecedented embassy from Moscow to visit Europe.

The official statement about the main purpose of the mission was to further consolidate and expand the alliance against the Ottoman Empire, but in fact, Peter the Great was going to personally investigate "European political life that he and his ancestors had never seen, and to establish the Russian political and military system according to the model of European countries."

In order to achieve this goal and to avoid unnecessary trouble, Peter the Great accompanied the mission as a sergeant.

In early 1698, Peter the Great arrived in London and stayed in Britain for 4 months.

During this period, he not only visited various parts of the UK, but also visited military factories, handicraft workshops, schools, museums, naval bases, and listened to parliamentary debates at the Palace of Westminster, and studied the British political system in depth.

After leaving London, Peter the Great also visited important ports such as Portsmouth and showed great interest in introducing British shipbuilding to Russia.

When he finished this trip, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which had long been widowed inland, suddenly developed an interest in the ocean and ports.

Two years later, in order to gain control of the Baltic Sea, Peter the Great declared war on Sweden, thus opening the prelude to the 21-year Northern War.

In the following 100 years, the Grand Duchy of Moscow also transformed into a real coastal empire-the Russian Empire.

As for the diplomatic relations between Britain and Russia in the past 100 years...

It may be an exaggeration to say that the relationship between the two countries is inseparable, but it is an indisputable fact that the two countries often wear the same pants most of the time.

Throughout the 18th century, Britain adopted a policy of wooing Russia and opposed certain European powers by supporting Russia.

In order to win over Russia, Britain even turned a blind eye to the fact that its ally Sweden was beaten by the Russians, as if it could not see the Anglo-Swedish Mutual Defense Treaty.

The century-long honeymoon period naturally gave rise to a group of pro-Russian and pro-British factions in Britain and Russia, as well as a large number of groups that relied on Anglo-Russian trade for their livelihood.

80% of Russia's iron, 58% of its hemp, and 60% of its flax were sold to Britain.

The iron, wood, hemp, and canvas needed by the British shipbuilding industry were also highly dependent on raw materials exported by Russia.

The best British company was the Moscow Company, which made a lot of money from Anglo-Russian trade.

Arthur sat in the big chair in the study of Duke Golitsyn's old house, sorting out his thoughts and the documents in his hands.

The flames of the fireplace danced, making the study warm and solemn.

There was a knock on the door. Arthur put out the cigar in his hand in the crystal ashtray, raised his head slightly and said, "Come in."

No mistake, one sentence, one content, one 6, one 9, one book, one bar, take a look!

The door was gently pushed open, and Secretary Blackwell led a middle-aged man of medium build and wearing a dark wool coat into the study.

He took off the black hat on his head, revealing a thin but capable face, with a businessman's shrewdness in his eyes.

He was followed by a young assistant holding a small wooden box in his hands.

"Sir Arthur." The middle-aged man bowed slightly and saluted: "I am Martin Huening, the agent of the Moscow headquarters of the Moscow Company. Thank you for receiving me in your busy schedule."

Arthur stood up, nodded, and walked forward to shake hands with Huening.

"Mr. Huening, the name of the Moscow Company is well-known, please sit down." Arthur made a gesture of invitation, indicating that he should sit on the chair opposite the desk.

Huening nodded slightly, took off his coat and handed it to the assistant behind him, and looked a little restrained after sitting down.

His assistant carefully placed the wooden box on the ground and stood aside waiting for instructions.

Arthur returned to his seat, crossed his hands on the table, his eyes calm but with a bit of inquiry: "So, Mr. Huening, are you here to see me this time for business matters, or something else?"

Xiuning showed a traceful smile: "Jazz, we visit you this time, there is actually no big deal, that is, it is to deliver a goods. Richard Hugat was my assistant in the company. Ask me to get some good smoke shreds.

When Arthur heard Hui Ning's words, he smiled slightly, and his eyes stayed for a moment.

He nodded gently and said, "Richard is indeed a person who knows how to enjoy life, but he let you run this trip in person, but it surprised me a bit."

Hui Ning smiled slightly and restrained: "Jazz, Captain Hunt, and I have known each other for many years. He helped me a lot when he worked in Moscow. You, I hope it can be beneficial to our cooperation. "

Arthur nodded and turned to look at the wooden box on the ground: "Is there a smoke in it?"

"Yes, Jazz." Hui Ning patted the lid of the wooden box: "This is a good Virginia tobacco that is directly transported from North America, with mellow taste and the most suitable for those who taste unique."

Hui Ning signaled the assistant to open it, and the lid was slowly unveiled, revealing a pack of exquisite packaging tobacco.

Arthur picked up a bag, opened it and smelled it, and nodded and said, "It is indeed waiting. You are so particular about such small things. No wonder you can stand firmly in Russia."

Such a good tobacco was delivered to the table, and Arthur took the weight in his hand. The old smoke ghost immediately estimated the value of these things.

There are about ten pounds of tobacco here. Such a good tobacco produced from Virginia can be easily sold for 1 pounds per pound in London. , Even if the price is 2 pounds, you can easily get off.

In other words, the tobacco here is about half a month's salary of London workers.

For Arthur today, this money is not too much, and it can even be ignored.

Perhaps Huining is also considering this. Such a gift will not look too valuable and decent.

He knew that Arthur would not refuse, so he saw the young jazz who was said to be hesitant to be hesitant.

Arthur lit a cigar and slowly spit out a smoke, and said with a smile: "In this case, let's open the door to see the mountains. In addition to this tobacco, do you encounter any difficulty in Moscow?"

Hui Ning didn't expect that the young man was so happy, but he was obviously prepared for this. He gave his assistant to the assistant. The latter took out a roll of exquisite sheepskin paper from the bottom of the box and handed it to Hui Ning with both hands.

Hui Ning put sheepskin on the table and pushed it to Arthur.

"Jazz, this is an analysis report in our recent trade in Moscow and Petersburg."

Hui Ning was tuned and tested with a bit: "We noticed that recently the Russian government's supervision of import trade has tightened, especially in the transportation permit of wood and iron ore. Although we can still pass traditional channels Obtaining a license, but the cost is nearly 30 % compared to the past, which has an impact on our profits ... "

Unexpectedly, without waiting for Hui Ning to finish speaking, Arthur raised his hand to signal him: "Mr. Hui Ning, what do you think of me? You have a longer time in Russia than me, so you should be clearer than me. I am more clear. There is no way to help you get your license.

Hui Ning would not believe Arthur's ghost words.

Because when Huite went to the company a few days ago, he explained to him clearly.

And look at the house he lives, this is the old house of the Duke of Moscow Governor Golzen. As long as he is willing to speak to the Governor, even if he let the Governor's Secretary Zubkov say hello, then the company can be in various yards in Moscow. Save a lot of "necessary" expenditures for permits.

Xiuning took out a Phnom Penh envelope from his arms without changing his color: "Jazz, this is a credit letter issued in your name. You can use it in all Moscow's branches in Petersburg and Moscow. Still arrange logistics, there will be someone to serve you. "

"What are you doing?" Arthur pretended to be surprised, as if he had forgotten that the person who sent Captain Hugh to Moscow was the same as him.

Arthur's righteousness blame: "Are you wanting to buy a diplomat who played for His Majesty King?"

Hui Ning quickly denied: "Of course not, Jazz, I just listen to Captain Huite, saying that you are a person who likes making friends very much. This time I come to visit it, just to make it with you. As for this credit letter, It is the testimony of our friendship. "

Arthur resigned again and again, and he said with a serious look: "Mr. Hui Ning, friendship cannot be measured with money. Friends, seeing friendship, whether you can insert a knife at a critical moment, not a credit letter! If you really treat me as a friend, take this thing back

Hui Ning had persuaded several times until he was sure that Arthur did not really plan to accept it.

Arthur pressed him on the chair and said: "I am not so complicated. Captain Huite is a little right. I am a person who likes to make friends. Since you really treat me as a friend, I naturally have a replacement. You can talk about the obligation of your two ribs.

When Huening heard Arthur's promise, his eyes lit up immediately: "You..."

But before he could finish, Arthur interrupted him again: "I don't want a letter of credit. But if this is done, I have a favor to ask you."

Huening's heart just calmed down, and suddenly it was lifted up again: "You can tell me, I know a little about business, but there are some places..."

Arthur saw him timidly evading, and laughed softly: "Don't be afraid, Mr. Huening, this is not my personal matter, but it concerns the entire embassy in Russia, the diplomacy of Britain and the face of His Majesty the King."

"You...you say..."

Arthur took off his cigar and blew a puff of smoke lightly: "I remember that Captain Huett mentioned to me that in addition to your business in Russia, your Moscow company also has several trade routes to Persia through the Caucasus, right?"