Shadow of great britain

Looking south from the top penthouse of Arthur House, across the street is the prestigious Hyde Park.

Hyde Park was an ecclesiastical estate given to Westminster Abbey by King's grace before the 16th century.

However, in the 16th century, King Henry VIII officially announced his break with the Holy See on the pretext that he wanted a divorce. He led the British Catholics to break away from the Catholic Orthodox Church, established the Church of England, and declared himself the supreme religious leader of England.

In addition, he ordered all Catholic monasteries in England to be dissolved, so the property of Westminster Abbey was naturally returned to the royal family.

After Hyde Park returned to royal hands, it was transformed into a royal park and a royal deer hunting ground by Henry VIII.

During the reign of Charles I, who was beheaded by Cromwell, in order to please the citizens of London, Charles I ordered this royal garden to be opened to the public, and this tradition continues to this day.

The area of ​​Hyde Park is not small, covering more than 360 acres. In addition to various green trees, fountains and sculptures, there are also many interesting places in the park.

For example, the northeast corner of Hyde Park where Arthur and Disraeli met today is a special area called "Speakers' Corner".

In Speakers’ Corner, almost every afternoon you can see people expressing a variety of political views.

The content of what the speakers talked about can be said to cover all aspects of life.

Here, you can often see supporters of slavery and anti-slavery fighters spitting at each other, or priests who dream of returning to the Middle Ages talking about "I have a dream", and facing them across the air from a few meters away. fans of Byron and Shelley, these atheists are clamoring to sweep God into the dust heap of history.

Of course, this kind of venue for intense exchanges of opinions between the two sides naturally includes representatives of London tabloids who demand the abolition of newspaper stamp duty and shout "Raise the flag of the no-stamp war", as well as publican owners who have recently become angry over the "Beer Act" and the brewers.

In a place filled with all kinds of strange opinions, it is natural that Mr. Disraeli's speech should not interest others.

At the southern end of Hyde Park, there is another place that can be called a heavyweight.

That is where the Hyde Park Cavalry Battalion is stationed. The old unit that Superintendent Clemens once served for is stationed here, and it is directly under the orders of the Guards Cavalry Regiment dispatched by the Army Headquarters.

The Cavalry Guards has a long history. They were formed in Bruges during the restoration of Charles II in 1658. At the beginning, their official designation was 'His Majesty's Loyal Cavalry Guards', and the political composition of the soldiers of the Cavalry Regiment also changed. Very homogeneous, all members of the regiment are die-hard royalists in exile.

After 1788, the Cavalry Guards had lowered the social status qualifications for recruiting officers and no longer required officers to be of noble origin. As a result, they were ridiculed that "the members of the Cavalry Guards are no longer a group of gentlemen, but a group of gentlemen." Cheesemonger'.

Although the social composition of the regiment has changed, the ideological tradition of the Cavalry Guards has obviously been well inherited. After reorganization, they still completed the 1810 attack as brilliantly as their predecessors did in suppressing the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685. He was responsible for suppressing the riots in the Piccadilly area of ​​London, and was therefore awarded the 'Glorious' title of 'The Butcher of Piccadilly'.

Arthur stood under the maple tree in Hyde Park. The bright and soft white moonlight shone down, illuminating the half-red maple leaves trampled under his feet by his dark riding boots. Hanging on the branch of the tree above his head was the pair of excited eyes. Clemens was convex, his skin was white, and his body was gradually rigor mortis.

Clemens's body hung on a thick hemp rope, and when the wind blew, it couldn't help but sway slightly in the wind.

In his pocket was a letter with a postmark that had not yet been sent.

Arthur was smoking a cigarette, and he slowly exhaled a burst of white mist. Through the gap between the smoke and the tree branches, he could vaguely see the marble arch not far ahead.

Looking at the scene in front of him, he always felt that everything was so familiar.

He recalled the time when he had hanged the body snatcher in the churchyard not long ago.

Scotland Yard police officers on duty in the Bayswater area tonight have surrounded the place, and they are following Arthur's instructions to isolate the crime scene from the outside world.

Officer Field glanced at Arthur who was smoking leisurely, looking like he was hesitant to speak.

He didn't know why, but he was a little afraid of this boss who was about the same age as him, although the Scotland Yard police officers who had friendship with Arthur praised Inspector Arthur Hastings for his kindness to others.

The most important thing is that he can bring benefits to everyone. All Scotland Yard's frontline patrol officers have received a 25% salary increase because of Inspector Hastings' efforts.

But Field always felt that beneath his glorious and upright figure, there was a dark place that ordinary people could not imagine.

He endured it for a long time, and finally couldn't help but ask: "Inspector Hastings, aren't you going to check on the body?"

Arthur glanced at him, smiled and shook his head: "I'm off work. Although for the benefit of the public, I don't mind working overtime to handle cases. However, Hyde Park is not my jurisdiction."

When Field heard this, he thought about it for a moment. He always felt that there seemed to be some deep meaning in this sentence.

He asked tentatively: "But aren't you going to take a look at the letter inserted in Superintendent Clemens' pocket? Everyone is very curious about that letter."

Arthur raised his eyebrows: "What do you think that is?"

"I guess?" Field was stunned for a moment: "A suicide note? Or is it proof of a will for property division?"

Arthur nodded slightly: "I have different opinions from you. I guess that is a resignation letter."

"Resignation letter?" Field thought for a moment: "Are you saying that you think Superintendent Clemens committed suicide because he could not bear the pressure of dereliction of duty?"

When Arthur heard this, he shook his head: "It doesn't matter whether he committed suicide out of fear of crime. What's important is that everyone hopes that he committed suicide out of fear of crime. Charles, remember, when everyone hopes that a person can survive, he will You may not survive. But if everyone wants a person to die, then he will definitely die."

Field was confused by what Arthur said: "Why is this?"

Arthur paused, as if he couldn't answer the question.

But after he was silent for a moment, he still gave an explanation that he thought was more appropriate: "Because people are social."

When Officer Field heard this, he nodded thoughtfully, but soon he turned to ask: "Then should we notify the news media? Or should we suppress this matter?"

Arthur poured out the ash from his pipe, raised his toes and gently crushed the sparks on the ground bit by bit: "This is not something we can decide. How to operate it depends on Director Rowan or someone higher than him. Decide."

When Field heard this, he looked at the Speaker's Corner not far away. As we all know, it is the area with the freest speech in the whole of Great Britain. However, compared with Arthur's words, it looked like a scene full of irony. behind-the-scenes drama.

He asked with a wry smile: "But don't we want freedom of the press? Publishing censorship has just been relaxed. If we do this, I'm afraid it won't be in line with the public's expectations of government departments, right?"

Arthur smiled and patted Field on the shoulder: "Charles, I'm glad you can think so. But you must also understand that where there is light, there will be shadows. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press can only be achieved when the government believes that it is safe. It only existed during , so you understand that the Duke of Wellington's cabinet is not stable now.

We are the police of Scotland Yard, and Scotland Yard's primary mission is to protect the safety of public life and property. To do this, we must first maintain the stability of social order. In fact, I shouldn't have said these things to you, but I think you are a very good person, so I told you some things that I shouldn't have said.

Do you know General Codrington? If you have nothing to do, look through his resume, it will be helpful for your future development. Charles, you are still young. If there are truths that are harmful to social stability, please do not publish them. Unless these truths are so numerous that they affect the happiness and interests of most people, some matters should still be dealt with internally. "

When Field heard this, he always felt that it seemed a bit familiar.

He thought for a while and suddenly realized: "I almost forgot your origin. You graduated from the University of London. Are you a follower of Jeremy Bentham? I remember hearing this when I passed by Westminster last time. His supporters were preaching utilitarianism on the side of the road."

Field thought Arthur would nod in affirmation, but unexpectedly saw him shaking his head slightly.

Field saw his eyes glow with a faint red glow.

"Mr. Bentham's ideals are indeed lofty, but as humble as myself, I can only partially absorb them. For a Scotland Yard policeman, you must first consider how to survive in this environment for a long time. I can't propose such a thing as Bentham's ideals." Mr. Qin’s great ideals and visions, I can only do my best to be their shadow.

People like Mr. Bentham are responsible for telling humans how the world should move forward. They are responsible for guiding humans to find light. And the task of an insignificant little person like me is to remind people at all times not to forget what exists behind the light. If anyone dares to remove the light, something like me will be released. "

When Arthur said this, he couldn't help but look up at Clemens' face that looked terrifying and hideous because of death.

The white moonlight shines on the side of Arthur's face. On the bright side, Arthur's calm face is seen, while on the dark side, Arthur's flashing red pupils and the corners of his mouth are gradually raised.

Arthur took off his hat, held one arm across his chest, and bowed slightly toward Clemens' body.

Behind him was the floating shadow of the smiling Agares.

"Superintendent Clemens, I'm sorry that I couldn't see you off in person."