Chapter 266 Flowers, Swords, Poland and France (6K4)
After a violent swing, a loud bang was heard, and the leather golf ball flew far into the sky and disappeared behind the green.
Lionel put his hand in front of his eyebrows and looked around, then smiled: "Mr. Talleyrand, is this really your first time playing golf? It's really difficult to achieve such a level on your first tee shot. Make people believe it.”
Talleyrand gently threw the club upwards, then held it in the air, raised his eyebrows proudly, and said to Arthur: "Young man, it's your turn."
Arthur nodded when he heard this. He first held the club and felt the distance between his arm and the ball support, and then swung hard, but before the club touched the golf ball, Arthur's arm moved lightly. Removed the power.
The golf ball fell to the ground with a clatter as if it was blown over by a gentle breeze.
"Ah." Arthur pretended to be stunned at first, then raised his head and looked at Talleyrand and said, "My hand slipped."
Talleyrand laughed at his reaction. He held his stomach and said, "Come on! Arthur, this is not a banquet. Don't make such funny jokes on me."
Lionel, who was standing aside and had some experience in sword fighting, saw some clues from Arthur's movements.
He took a slight breath first, then shook his head with a smile and said: "Arthur, it seems that I shouldn't come to you to play golf. I dare say that no one in the London Fencing Club can surpass this level of force control skills." Damn it. How about I take you there to fight with them some other time?"
When Talleyrand heard this, he couldn't help but patted his head: "Oh! I forgot if you didn't tell me. I remember seeing in the newspaper two days ago that 'Foil Napoleon' seemed to be killing everyone in London. Arthur , Aren’t you planning to defend your British swordsmanship glory?”
"Napoleon on foil?" Arthur picked up the golf ball and put it on the ball holder again: "Why are the recent nicknames always so uncreative? Napoleon in the perfume industry, Napoleon in the tailoring industry, and we still sit in the Royal Observatory behind us. There is a Napoleon in the world of astronomy. Without Napoleon, the London media would probably lose half of its news coverage.”
Lionel joked: "It's not all Napoleon. Aren't you called the Wellington of Scotland Yard by The Times?"
Arthur took out his handkerchief and wiped his club: "This is probably your idea for them, right? After all, Rothschild invested a lot of money in The Times. It's just that the Times called me that. I wonder what the Duke of Wellington himself would think."
"What do you think?" Talleyrand punched his club and laughed: "I just had dinner with Wellington two days ago. He himself doesn't mind if you use his name. After all, he now has a new appearance. No. The people of London call him the Iron Duke now, don’t they?”
At this point, Talleyrand, who was playful, also said: "Boy, let me tell you, why don't you go and challenge Napoleon with the foil? I heard them say that you can fight seventeen pirates by yourself. , if you can win the foil Napoleon again, then you can win the nickname of foil Wellington."
When Arthur heard this, he just said helplessly: "Sir, have you been really bored recently?"
"Yes, you guessed it right."
Talleyrand smiled and said: "Didn't you say that before? The Oxbridge Thames Boat Race is held at the end of March, the Derby and Marseille is held in June, and the Running of the Bulls is now overwhelmed by tax increases, and As a Scotland Yard policeman, you hate big boxing matches. If you, the foil Wellington, don't show up, the schedule for the second half of the British sports world will be really bleak."
When Arthur heard this, he suddenly remembered Talleyrand's itinerary this morning. He pretended to be casual and asked casually: "If I remember correctly, Britain and France are currently quarreling over the Polish issue. What are you doing this morning?" You even made a special trip to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Could it be that you solved the issue of life and death for millions of people in Poland in just one morning?”
When Talleyrand heard this, he just smiled and shook his head: "It's not that it's solved, but that this matter has no solution. Since there is no solution, why should I spend so much time on it. Arthur, if you ask me, your new Foreign Secretary, Viscount Palmerston, will sooner or later regret the answer he gave me today. If it were the unfortunate Viscount of Castlereagh who was talking to me today, he would never give it to me. What he said was so decisive. What a pity, why would such an outstanding person like Castlereagh commit suicide because he couldn't think about it."
When Arthur heard this, he quickly said: "Your Excellency, although I do not want to disagree with your opinion, in order to maintain judicial justice and the honor of Viscount Castlereagh, I must correct your view here. He did not commit suicide, but It's because you're insane and can't control your impulse. I remember that you were Bishop Auden. How could you make a mistake in this kind of thing?"
When Talleyrand heard this, he was stunned for a moment and then laughed: "Oh! I almost forgot. Suicide is an unpardonable act in the eyes of the church and British law. What is that law? ? If a suicide is successful, a wooden stick should be stabbed through the heart of the deceased. If a suicide is attempted, the person who commits suicide must be hanged. Shouldn’t these two laws have been abolished?
Arthur said seriously: "The former article has been abolished by Sir Robert Peel's order, but the latter article is still under discussion in the Chancery Hall."
Talleyrand nodded slightly and said: "So, Peel did a pretty good job. At least he knows how to look at problems from a sports perspective, which is much better than Palmerston."
When Lionel heard this, his eyes moved slightly, and he asked with a smile: "Did Viscount Palmerston have any trouble with you?"
Talleyrand glanced at Lionel and said casually: "If he can learn to talk to foreign ministers with respect, I believe he can do better in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Or, at least, I hope he can Treat France with half the respect you give Russia.”
Agares, who was lying on the acacia tree and chewing apples, saw this scene and couldn't help but sneer: "One wants to listen, and the other wants to talk. But on the surface, he is half-hearted and half-hearted. It's really the mother-in-law's, and Like a fucking pussy.”
When Arthur heard this, he just glanced at the red devil: "Agares, I understand your complaints, but we humans usually call this diplomacy."
Lionel then asked Talleyrand: "What did he say to you?"
Talleyrand coughed twice, imitating Palmerston's formal and serious tone and said: "I believe that even if Britain offers friendly mediation on the Polish issue, it will be rejected by Russia. Moreover, the major powers just recently French proposals to intervene in Poland were rejected.
In the event that friendly mediation was rejected by Russia, British and French intervention in the Polish question could only be of a coercive nature, but the close partnership between the authorities at St. James's Palace and the authorities in St. Petersburg did not allow the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to do so. interference.
In addition, Russia's right to possess Poland had already been confirmed in the Peace of Vienna. Moreover, I am very convinced that the current Russian Tsar is a strong and powerful monarch. Therefore, judging from the current situation, the time for Britain and France to launch armed intervention to deal with a strong monarch with indisputable rights is far from mature. "
When Arthur heard this, he finally understood why Talleyrand was unhappy today.
Although Palmerston's words seemed logical at first glance, upon closer examination, nothing logically made sense.
First of all, according to news reports in the past few days, not all major powers refuse to intervene in the Polish issue.
For example, Austrian Prime Minister Metternich, who once stood in the same trench with the Russians on the issue of Belgian independence, became somewhat restless on the Polish issue.
The reason why Austria was previously unwilling to allow Belgium to become independent from the Netherlands was because the Austrians hoped to use a complete and powerful Netherlands to hinder France's eastward expansion. Similarly, Austria does not want the Russians to swallow Poland in one gulp, but hopes that Poland will serve as a barrier between Austria and Tsarist Russia.
Therefore, Palmerston lied in the first paragraph.
In the second paragraph, he took the initiative to raise the level of intervention to armed intervention. This was almost intimidating the French face to face, either not to intervene, or to intervene they would have to fight the Russians. And once France goes to war with Russia, Britain will never provide France with any form of assistance.
As for the "Vienna Peace Treaty" in the third paragraph, he directly put his shamelessness on the table. In the Treaty of Vienna, Russia's possession of Poland was subject to a precondition, that is, Russia must respect Poland's 1815 Constitution. The reason why France and Austria want to intervene in Poland is because this prerequisite is now gone.
After hearing this, Lionel couldn't help but be a little surprised: "Is this... is this really what Viscount Palmerston said? I'm surprised that he didn't take the initiative to cause trouble with the Russians, but if based on this paragraph It is speculated that he did not intend to ask for any compensation from the Russians, so he sold Poland directly? This is not in line with everyone's impression of him. Since he entered the political arena, he has always shown a tough image. ah!"
When Arthur heard this, he just said softly: "Lionel, that only shows that your understanding of Viscount Palmerston is still too shallow. Viscount Palmerston has always been tough when dealing with the weak, but when he treats When faced with a powerful enemy, his attitude can be summed up by a speech he made in his early years in parliament.”
Talleyrand also became interested when he heard this: "What did he say in Parliament?"
Arthur said: "Some people want us to threaten during negotiations, regardless of the fact that once the negotiations fail, we are not prepared for war. If we keep talking about war but actually want to be neutral, if we If we threaten the military and hide behind official documents, if we just wave our swords provocatively when discussing an issue, but when it comes time to fight, we grab a pen and write a close-up protest, then we become braggarts. Coward, this will not only be despised by the whole of Europe and become the object of ridicule, but from now on no one will take what we say seriously."
Talleyrand thought for a moment and asked again: "When did you say this?"
Arthur rubbed his temples: "If the archived documents remember correctly, it should have been in 1823 when France was commissioned by the Holy Alliance to send troops to intervene in the Spanish Revolution. At that time, there were many liberal members of Parliament who believed that Britain should immediately carry out a campaign to safeguard progress. An expedition of liberal forces sent troops to aid the revolutionary constitutional government of Spain.
Then, Lord Palmerston delivered the above speech in Parliament, trying his best to stop what he considered to be a "Don Quixote-style crusade for abstract principles". Because in his opinion, this action was neither economical nor realistic, and it also risked offending most of Europe. "
Talleyrand heard this and suddenly smiled: "If you put it that way, I can understand why he made that statement today. I understand that he doesn't want to take risks, and he won't squeeze soft persimmons. But I can also put it here clearly, sooner or later he will regret for indulging the Russians.
Look at Greece, it was because Britain indulged the Russians in the Russo-Turkish War and the Greek War of Independence, and Codrington completely defeated the Ottoman Navy. Now the Russians' influence in Greece is not only beyond the reach of France, but even Britain can't touch the Russians' ass.
Don't forget that the Greek President Kapodistrias used to be the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian negotiating representative at the Vienna Conference. "
When Arthur heard this, he just replied lightly: "There will be someone in charge of Mr. Capodistrias's affairs."
When Talleyrand heard this, his expression suddenly changed, and he raised his eyebrows: "Boy, Scotland Yard is also in charge of this matter? I used to think that your business scope was only in London."
"No matter." Arthur swung the club and hit the golf ball into the sky: "But I occasionally go to the Royal Navy's Geographic Information Topology Data Statistics Department and the Army Topography Survey to sit down, and sometimes I can hear something new from their mouths."
"Oh..."
When Talleyrand, who knew the business, heard these two names, he immediately understood what Arthur meant. He couldn't help but look at the young man in front of him again: "What do you communicate with them when you go there?"
Arthur bit his white glove and took it off: "Nothing, just exchanging some reptile specimen information."
"Reptile specimens?" Lionel was confused: "Shouldn't this thing be found at the Linnaean Society? When I look for specimens for the Duke of Sussex, I usually go there. "
Arthur looked up at him and said, "Lionel, the specimens of the Linnaean Society are all for civilian use. I'm talking about police and military use."
Talleyrand patted Arthur's shoulder seriously and said, "Then do you know who will be in charge of the specimens this time?"
Arthur heard this and said helplessly, "Sir, you should know this better than me. The craftsmanship of the natives of the specimen production area is the best."
Talleyrand couldn't help laughing when he heard this and said, "It seems that you know a lot. "
Lionel felt something was wrong when he heard this. He always felt that the old man and the young man were communicating in some jargon.
He thought about it for a while, and finally decided not to ask.
If Rothschild wanted to know what happened in Greece, he only needed to send a few messengers to Athens, and he would receive a detailed written report in a few days.
He patted Arthur on the back and said with a smile: "We have talked so much nonsense that we almost forgot our business. Today we are here to play ball, not to discuss reptile specimens. Let's go, Arthur, where did you hit the ball just now?"
Arthur just shook his head slightly when he heard this. He glanced at Agares who was squatting on the tree and clapping his legs and laughing wildly, and said: "It depends on where the crow flew to."
Talleyrand frowned and said: "Crow?"
The caddy next to him said at the right time: "Yes, sir, Mr. Hastings's ball was taken away by a crow flying over the court just now. "
"Take it away? "Lionel slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Oh my God! Does the "Rules of St. Andrews" explain how to punish a ball taken away by a crow? "
"Uh..." The caddy said in embarrassment: "The rules say: If the ball is blocked by any person, horse, dog or other object, you should continue to hit the ball where the ball is. But it's probably the first time in hundreds of years that a crow has taken it away. Maybe the next time the "Rules of St. Andrews" is revised, I should suggest to the club to add this rule. "
Lionel asked in confusion: "Can you suggest a revision of the rules to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews?"
Hearing this, the caddy said with dissatisfaction: "Sir, I am the chief caddy of the St. Andrews Golf Course. In addition, I am the best golfer in Scotland and even in the whole of Britain. I was originally here to play an exchange match in Blackheath today. If I hadn't heard that there were three distinguished guests visiting today, and two of them were beginners, I wouldn't have been temporarily arranged here to teach and guide several gentlemen. "
Talleyrand also joked: "Young man, are you really the best golfer in Scotland? I think you are only sixteen or seventeen years old, so don't be so rude when you brag. "
The caddy didn't care who Talleyrand was. On the golf course, he was the king.
The caddy said, "If you don't believe me, why don't you compete with me? If I lose, I will pay for your club membership this year. But if I win, I won't bully you as a beginner. You just need to call me Napoleon on the golf course."
"Another Napoleon, hahahaha, interesting." Talleyrand laughed, "I wonder if I will be lucky enough to know the name of the best golfer in Scotland?"
The caddy took out a club from the golf bag and weighed it twice: "Aaron Robertson, Your Excellency, don't blame me for not reminding you that so far, no one has been able to beat me on the golf course."
"Well, then, Mr. Robertson, where do we start?"
"Sir, let's play eighteen holes according to the rules. I'll give you three strokes. As for the final tee point, I'll let you choose it."
Talleyrand found a strong opponent and couldn't help but become interested in competing with him.
He raised his hand and said goodbye to Arthur and Lionel: "You two, this boy is too arrogant. It would be too unmanly if he didn't fight. By the way, Arthur, don't forget Leave me a ticket."
"Keep a ticket?" Arthur frowned and asked, "What ticket."
As Talleyrand walked, he turned to Arthur and waved his hand: "What else could it be? It's a ticket for you to duel with Napoleon in foil. Arthur, don't say that my friend doesn't support you, even though Napoleon in foil is a Frenchman." , but I will definitely bet on you in this battle. You won’t let me, an old man with a small income, lose a lot of money, right?”
Arthur watched Talleyrand walking further and further away, and suddenly lit the cigar in his hand: "Mr. Talleyrand is really nimble in doing things. He said everything he needed to say and didn't want to stop at all."
Lionel also nodded slightly and said: "It seems that those conversations between him and Viscount Palmerston were revealed to us on purpose. He still does not give up on the Polish issue, and he also knows that Rothschild is now riding on Hui. The French party, and you can go to the side of the Minister of the Interior, the Lord Chancellor and the Tories. It is much better for us to say some things than for him to tell these people himself. After all, his position is still too French and official. "
Having said this, Lionel turned around and asked: "Arthur, what do you think the final outcome of this matter will be?"
Arthur took a puff of his cigar: "There will be no results in the short term. After all, the parliament is still busy with too many problems. Compared with parliamentary reform, Poland is not ranked at all. But for Mr. Talleyrand, maybe he I didn't expect any consequences at first, I just wanted to add some trouble to Viscount Palmerston. If Napoleon offended the man who changed his master six times, he would be dead. Let's see what happens if we don't give Palmerston any color. Is it worthy of his vengeance?"
Lionel thought for a while: "That's all, it would be nice to get a favor from Mr. Talleyrand. After all, our business in Paris is quite big. But, Arthur, what are you going to do with it?"
"Me? It depends on the situation." Arthur loosened his wrist: "Besides, don't I have a focus match to play now? What is the origin of that foil Napoleon?"
"Are you actually interested?"
Lionel smiled and blinked: "Napoleon in foil, Paris swordmaster, Francois Bertrand. Arthur, please think about it, this man is not one of those showboats from the London Fencing Club. He doesn't There are too many exaggerated but impractical sword moves, but his sword-drawing speed and footwork agility are the best I have ever seen in my life. He just came to London last month and swept all the fencing venues in London. Thirty-six London swordsmen fell."
Arthur blew out a smoke ring: "Oh? It sounds familiar. Didn't he split a plaque that said 'The Sick Man of France' or something?"
Lionel recalled the news reports: "Plaque? Not really."
Arthur asked: "Speaking of which, what path did he take? The German Richard Naer flow, the Meyer flow, or like me, the Apennine Fiore flow?"
"neither."
Lionel smiled and said: "Arthur, all you play are long sword moves. And Mr. Bertrand, just like his nickname, is a master of foil fencing. His sword moves are naturally also French foil, beautiful. , smooth, calm, and stab-oriented French foil.
However, if you are used to Fiore style swordsmanship, you should be able to quickly get started with the Italian style foil. After all, Fiore flow also originates from the Italian region, and its style is also proactive, fierce and fierce in the same vein.
Especially in terms of footwork, with the foundation of Fiore style, even if you don't take the initiative to practice, you can still approach the technique of forcing your opponent with small leaps without a teacher. That's what's good about Italian foil, it's very entertaining to watch. Even if you lose, from the looks of it, you're still beating your opponent the entire time. Moreover, as long as the opponent is not careful, he will be lifted up and finished by you with a bounce step. "
When Arthur heard this, he thought for a moment and said, "It sounds pretty good. It seems I have to take some time to practice. I'm still short of money recently."
Lionel blinked: "Don't worry, Arthur, let me know when you are ready. I will organize this game, and I guarantee that we can make a lot of money from the tickets alone."