Shadow of great britain

Chapter 117 The Proud Gallic Rooster

Greenwich Police Station, a place that is usually avoided by London citizens, has become a holy place that reporters flock to.

There is naturally a reason why they can be so crazy.

That is, they heard that the Frenchman who was rescued from the high seas by the Royal Navy is now being protected here.

Nearly a hundred reporters from newspapers of all sizes blocked the place, and their high enthusiasm for interviews even forced Arthur to order the cancellation of some patrols and temporarily bring them back to maintain order at the scene.

In his office, Arthur also had to provide a certain degree of temporary training to the fat Frenchman before releasing him for an interview.

He looked at Alexandre Dumas, who was wearing loose casual clothes and a ragged felt hat on his head. He couldn't help but shook his head and said, "Mr. Dumas, what is that on your head? Can that be considered a hat?"

Hearing this, Alexandre Dumas immediately retorted: "Oh! Mr. Hastings, what is that under your hat? Can that be considered a brain?"

As soon as Alexandre Dumas said this, he immediately made the red devil watching the excitement burst into laughter.

Arthur shrugged helplessly and said seriously: "Mr. Dumas, I'm not here to fight with you today. I'm just stating a fact. You can't go out for interviews wearing a hat like that. Otherwise, you will be seen by those reporters. , maybe they will have to add fuel to the fire and make up stories about us mistreating you."

Alexandre Dumas reached out and knocked on the table. The fat man asked: "Didn't you abuse me?"

Arthur held his chin and recalled the collection of French jokes he had told these days, and couldn't help but smile awkwardly: "Those are all mental. At least we didn't abuse you physically."

But Alexandre Dumas did not intend to reconcile after hearing this. He sternly demanded: "You must apologize to me on behalf of the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Navy for your previous actions!"

When Arthur heard this, his face was a little tangled: "With all due respect, Mr. Dumas, there is indeed no precedent for Scotland Yard and the Royal Navy to surrender to France. But if you really urgently need an apology, I suggest you go to our Prime Minister, Duke of Wellington. Although it has been a long time ago, after all, the army did hand over guns to the French. You should remember, Yorktown, Virginia, in the eastern United States, the time was last century, 1781."

Alexandre Dumas took a deep breath after hearing this. He took a look at this young man who was a few years younger than him, and suddenly felt like he had met his opponent.

This is the first guy he has met in his life who can talk to him for an advantage.

He took off his old felt hat and said, "Okay, then I'll listen to you. In fact, it doesn't matter if I don't wear a hat. Only you British people like to wear hats. After all, most British people only need to take off their hats, and the sparkling The head can literally blind someone’s eyes.”

Arthur nodded with deep understanding after hearing this: "You are indeed a great playwright, and what you say is always so literary and elegant."

Alexandre Dumas was stunned when he heard this: "How did you know that I am a playwright?"

Arthur pretended to be embarrassed and said: "Mr. Dumas, I forgot to tell you that I actually admire your talent very much. I happened to have read your amazing work "Henry III and His Court". This The play is not only popular in Paris, but has also spread to London in the past two years. I have seen it many times at the Old Vic Theatre, but it remains fresh in my memory every time."

Arthur praised Alexandre Dumas so much that he was embarrassed to replace Alexandre Dumas. He coughed twice, raised his head proudly and said: "Actually, it's nothing, it's just an ordinary play. But I also thank you very much for your support. My support and gaining a fan on an island on the other side of the channel really makes me feel happy.”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but change the topic: "But, I actually have a French playwright I like more."

"Who?" Alexandre Dumas raised his eyebrows: "Voltaire? Diderot? Or Rousseau?"

Arthur shook his head slightly: "No, no, no, they are too old for me. I am talking about a writer about your age, Victor Hugo."

"Do you like Victor?" Alexandre Dumas thought for a while and nodded: "But it makes sense. After all, he wrote the "Cromwell", and I have long heard that he is quite popular in the UK."

This time Arthur was surprised: "Do you know him?"

"Of course!" Alexandre Dumas said: "I even had dinner with him. We are ordinary friends, but we are not particularly close."

Upon hearing this, Arthur calmly picked up a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Alexandre Dumas talked about literature, and his aggressiveness decreased significantly. He asked with interest: "Which of Victor's works do you like best?"

Alexandre Dumas was able to question Arthur. He had never read Hugo's masterpiece "Cromwell", which Alexandre Dumas mentioned, but he was not sure whether famous works such as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" would be written into books at this time.

Therefore, he could only answer ambiguously: "Rather than saying which of Mr. Hugo's works I like, it is better to say that I like some of the wise sayings in his books. I have always believed that Mr. Hugo's talent in comedy is beyond ordinary people's ability." Achievable."

Hearing this, Alexandre Dumas immediately frowned: "You're not talking nonsense, are you? Victor writes all historical dramas. When did he write a comedy?"

Arthur shook his head: "You don't understand that different words will have different effects in the eyes of different people. You should know that Shakespeare once said that there are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people. In France In people's eyes, Mr. Hugo writes dramas and tragedies. But in the eyes of British people, Mr. Hugo's writing has a comedic effect."

"For example?" Alexandre Dumas nodded slightly, as if he thought of some writing technique.

Arthur said: "For example, the whole of Europe is attacking France, but the French are attacking Paris. What could be more tragic than this? This is an epic tragedy!

The French thought this was a tragedy, while the British all laughed. "

When Alexandre Dumas heard this, he couldn't help but hug his sore and aching head. He hissed and wanted to refute, but felt that any refutation was pale in the face of the facts.

He sighed: "Forget it, I won't argue with you. Which book by Victor did this sentence just now come from? I'll have to look for it later and take a closer look."

Arthur didn't answer, but just said: "You should go out and finish the interview first. If you don't go out, I'm worried that these reporters may be planning to destroy the police station."

Alexandre Dumas is like an eggplant beaten by frost, and even the shaggy head that was raised proudly in the past has drooped.

He asked: "Is there anything I should pay attention to during the interview?"

Arthur couldn't help being stunned when he heard this: "Why are you so cooperative all of a sudden?"

Alexandre Dumas glared angrily: "What else? If I say something wrong, wouldn't I have to be sent back to France?"

Arthur joked: "Are you afraid that the current king, Louis Philippe, will kill you?"

Alexandre Dumas glanced at the drizzle outside the window with a complicated mood. He held it in for a long time before revealing the truth in his heart.

"Hmph! I'm not afraid of him, he's just a tyrant. I'm just afraid that after I go back, I will start to incite the great French people to attack Paris again!"

Arthur also smiled and sighed: "That's all, I'll just accompany you to the interview. I'm also worried that with your hot temper, if you get angry under the reporter's questioning, you say something you shouldn't say. Yes, that's a big problem.

By the way, I have to inform you that according to the orders issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Scotland Yard headquarters, you cannot stay away from the Greenwich Police District's sight after the interview, at least not away from my sight. "

"Why is this?" Duchess glanced at Arthur up and down: "You British policemen also play the same tricks as the French? Ha, but it is understandable, after all, these things are learned from us."

Arthur said: "It's not that you can't learn. I have to tell you honestly that the reason why we go to such great lengths to save your life is not because of the determination of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Scotland Yard in combating crime.

But the big shots believe that even if you want to die, you cannot die in the hands of the French. If the person who captures you this time is an ordinary slave trader, we probably won’t chase you to the high seas, let alone mobilize the Royal Navy. .

Therefore, although I will still monitor and protect you in the future, the content of my monitoring will be limited to preventing you from falling into the hands of your compatriots. If you encounter other crimes, we can still give you the greatest freedom of choice. "

Having said this, Arthur paused for a moment, then smiled and asked: "If you look at it this way, do our Scotland Yard police still look like French military police?"

Alexandre Dumas's eyelids twitched: "To be honest, in some aspects, maybe you are not as good as the French military police. Either ignore it, or completely control it. What kind of devilish behavior is this half-indifferent management method?"

Arthur stood up from his chair and patted Dumas on the shoulder: "Come on, Mr. Dumas. This is the characteristic national character of Great Britain. You will gradually become familiar with it in the future, the difference between the British and the French. It’s right here. Come on, let’s get interviewed.”

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