Chapter 610 Drama Addiction

Laws are made for subordinates, not for superiors!

——Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf, the first director of the Third Bureau of His Majesty’s Imperial Administration

When the mayor saw Arthur taking the initiative to ask the judge's name, he thought to himself: "Ha! You unlucky guy, you will agree with whatever the imperial envoy says, and you will bite whatever bait they lay. I don't blame you for being raped by the superior." The donkeys sent to Druisk from Slonin know to run more diligently after being whipped, but after being whipped, many of them still do not do anything. "

The judge was obviously also shocked by Arthur's sudden question. He hesitated for a while, and then replied bravely: "Nikolai Ivanovich Lyudnikov."

"Very good, Mr. Lyudnikov." Arthur nodded slightly, picked up the teacup at hand and took a sip: "Your views are almost close to Pushkin's."

The judge's face turned purple when he heard this, but before he could defend himself, he heard Arthur continue.

"Don't think that being close to Pushkin's thoughts is bad, disloyal, or detrimental to national interests. Of course, I'm not talking about how good Pushkin's works were before 1829, but you have to pay attention to his 1830 Works from later years.”

Arthur swayed the tea cup and told the anecdotes he heard from Herzen and others to the local officials who regarded Pushkin as a scourge: "After all, since Pushkin was ordered by the emperor to move back to Petersburg, his published works All of them were reviewed by His Majesty himself. What a supreme honor it is for His Majesty the Tsar to personally serve as the reviewer. If Pushkin had not gotten involved with the Decembrists, he might still be in the court due to his reputation. A poet or something.”

Of course, the reason why Arthur dared to tell the anecdotes as true stories was not just to satisfy his personal bad taste.

But before he went to Russia to take office, in order to better penetrate into the social circle of Petersburg, he deliberately collected classic works of Tsarist Russian literature in recent years, including several of Pushkin's notebooks.

These notes are as wonderful as ever, but they also reveal a strange smell everywhere.

If I had to describe what this smell was like, it would be like some of the passages that Heine had to write while pinching his nose in order to pass the publication review.

For example, when Pushkin complained that the treatment of Russian farmers had not improved much compared to 200 years ago, it must be mentioned later that the treatment of French farmers has not changed much since Louis XV, and the streets of Paris are full of people. They are idle personnel.

Of course, as a well-known tragic story in Europe, the treatment of British workers has naturally been singled out for discussion.

Although the work "The Englishman" was not published in Russia, Pushkin did not know where he saw the works of Dickens, Disraeli and others. He even quoted several passages from "Hastings" in the article A description of life in London's East End.

——Please read the complaint of British factory workers, it will make your hair stand on end. How many disgusting cruel tortures and inexplicable pains! How barbaric and cruel on the one side, and how terrible poverty on the other side! Do you think that what is mentioned here is about the Pharaohs building the pyramids and about the Jews who worked under the whips of the Egyptians? Totally wrong! This refers to Mr. Smith's woolen cloth or Mr. Jackson's knitting needles! If you don't work, Mr. Hastings's baton is waiting for you.

——Please note that none of this is fraud or illegal behavior, but occurs within the strict scope of the law. If you only look at British laws, it seems that there are no misfortunes for British workers in the world, but please look at the new machine invention that suddenly relieved five or six thousand people from hard labor, but at the same time deprived them of their last resort to make a living. Finally, what will happen there?

——There is no similar situation in our country. Generally speaking, the taxes and servitude were not onerous, the poll tax was fair, the servitude was legal, and the renting of servitude did not cause great losses to the farmers. After the landlord paid the rent in lieu of labor, he let his farmers go wherever they wanted to get what they wanted. Peasants did whatever they wanted and often traveled two thousand versts to earn money...

Arthur seriously doubted that Pushkin, who was under the Tsar's supervision, enjoyed a small number of privileges. At least he could read some English and French literary works with the Tsar's permission. In order to pass the Tsar's review and have the new work released as usual, Pushkin could only play the same tricks as Heine.

As for where Pushkin got "The Englishman" from, Arthur reasonably speculated that these books were most likely brought back by some officials of the Russian Embassy in Britain, such as his friend Shubin, the former Russian assistant military attaché in Britain. Colonel Ski.

Of course, Arthur does not deny Britain's problems. He even thinks that Britain has more problems than what Pushkin wrote, because the life of British farmers is not much better than that of British workers, and it even gets worse in bad years. Not even close.

However, seeing his name appear in Pushkin's article and being set up as a negative example is something that Jazz cannot tolerate.

He enjoys an excellent reputation among French republicans, royalists, and even Orléansists, Italian nationalists, and German liberals. How could he become the target of criticism in Russia?

If you Russian Westerners don't know what's good and what's good, don't blame me for siding with the Slavs.

However, Arthur then thought about it and realized that these articles were not written by Pushkin himself, but were the result of Shubinsky and other third-round editors taking their own initiative to help 'polished' the writing.

The Third Department of His Majesty's Imperial Office and the Secret Intelligence Service of the Royal London Constabulary. The two organizations are the same as stones in the pit. They even appear in blue uniforms and white gloves, but they still have to stab each other. It’s really unreasonable to compete with one another about who smells worse and who is harder!

As the stinkiest and hardest stone in Britain, and a stone rolled out of a pigsty, Arthur naturally had reason to be angry.

But where there is fire, there is fire. As the saying goes, people have to bow their heads under the eaves.

Now being besieged in Druisk and losing his identity document, he still had to revise a letter and send it to Petersburg to ask Shubinsky to seriously handle this Anglo-Russian diplomatic crisis for him.

The officials in Druisk originally wanted to echo Arthur's criticism of Pushkin, but when they heard that Pushkin's works were personally reviewed by the tsar, they stopped and stopped.

It is not unusual for officials to complain privately to their superiors.

But if anyone dares to say anything wrong about the emperor, then he really thinks that the place where he lives is too warm and the official position under his butt is too secure.

In particular, the Hestingoff in front of him was a military policeman.

Who doesn't know that the military police's small reports can be typed directly to the emperor's desk.

Moreover, many of them do feel that they are doing well as officials and that Russia is better than France and Britain.

If Russia is not as powerful as France, then why did France not invade Petersburg while Russia invaded Paris during the Napoleonic Wars?

If Russia is not as powerful as Britain, then why did the British insist on pulling the Russians as allies in the anti-French war?

The inspector nodded and said: "In Russia, no one does not have his own private house. Even beggars who go out to wander around have their own wooden houses at home. This situation does not exist in other countries. In Europe, there are cows everywhere. a sign of plenty, whereas in Russia the absence of cows was a sign of terrible poverty. . And our farmers also have clean habits and rules. They take a bath every Saturday and wash their faces several times a day. Even the poorest farmers in Druisk are far better than the workers in London and Paris. Be clean. And with the spread of education, this situation will continue to improve.”

Arthur took a sip of tea: "It seems that Alexey Boltunovich is very confident in the school's work, so let's start the inspection by inspecting the school."

As soon as Arthur said this, the inspector immediately shut up. Although Druisk's school had been inspected by the provincial inspector before, that was a few years ago.

Not long ago, the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China completed its education reform, interrupting the continuity between primary school textbooks and middle school and university textbooks.

There are a few grumpy old teachers in the school who are scolding this matter every day, saying that this has been planned for a long time. If the teaching materials are inconsistent, then from now on, ordinary children will no longer think about going to middle school or high school. It's about college.

Although there is nothing wrong with this truth, if these words fall into the ears of the imperial envoy, there will be a big problem.

He hurriedly wanted to drag the judge beside him into the water, ask him to help block the knife, and give him some time to arrange it: "Alexey Portunovich, how is the arrangement in your court?"

The judge saw through his thoughts at a glance: "Where are we? Of course there is no problem. What if Mr. Colonel quarreled with the woman, the brothers separated, or the father-in-law and the daughter-in-law were too intimate and the son was unhappy, etc. It's trivial. Cases of interest are available for inspection at any time in the Municipal Court.”

Arthur knocked the table with his pipe: "Everyone, what I said has been made very clear. If we go to the local government for a hard investigation, who can guarantee that he has never made any mistakes in his work? If there is really no mistake at all, That only shows that you are not doing your job, not how honest and honest you are. Everyone can say nice things, but someone has to do the hard work after all. If you dare not offend others in the local area and insist on pretending to be a good person, it can only show that the emperor is using it wrong. people."

Arthur took out a piece of paper from the small bag at hand: "Come on, gentlemen, don't make it difficult for me. When I get to the place, if I can't find anything wrong, wouldn't it be equal to the emperor and Ben Kendo? The Count clapped his chest in front of him and said, "I, Hestingoff, am just a loser!" Guys, I won't make it difficult for you, and you don't want to make it difficult for me. I also have to bring something back to deliver. "

Arthur pointed out the mayor and said: "Come on, Mr. Mayor. Your brand is good, so I think your character should be fair. Give me some examples that can be written on paper, don't be too Fool me."

"Me?" Bakalkin hesitated, then said with a sneer: "Although I can't be called a virtuous person, but if you think that we deal with this sludge all day long, you are totally wrong. Our The level of education is too high. We have learned all kinds of knowledge. We always dream that our country will one day become a pure land. We hold the most orthodox views on the administrative authorities..."

"Huh?" Arthur bit the tip of his quill, obviously not satisfied with the answer.

However, before Arthur could take back his nasal voice, Bakarkin immediately turned around and said: "But you said that Druisk is really a pure land? That's not necessarily the case! To do this, there are documents , ahem, there are many people there! Because this is their duty, he We are born to do this. Like us, who has the hope to go further, who doesn’t want to keep his resume clean and his reputation untarnished? I still want to serve Russia peacefully for thirty-five years, and then change my mind. A fourth-class Order of Vladimir!

As for local work, if you think that I will send a farmer and squeeze the oil out of him personally, this is absolutely impossible. Have you forgotten that he smells like God knows what? I absolutely don't want to bother myself with this. I would at most call the clerk or someone else. Then, OK! That’s it! As for how he did it? That has nothing to do with me.

I personally hate corruption and bribery. Although the municipal government of Druisk is small, it is not a place where corruption is hidden, but an administrative authority! All I want is the share I deserve. As for how it comes, that is beyond my control. As the mayor, I am mainly responsible for finance. As for postal transportation, road construction, migrant workers, recruitment of new soldiers, etc., these have brought benefits, but I am not responsible for the specific work. If you want to know the details, that's easy. The people in charge are here today. "

As soon as the mayor finished speaking, all the officials present felt scolding.

Although Bakalkin is right, he must have a share in collecting the money, but when it comes to taking responsibility, he takes it out cleanly, and speaks in such a high-sounding way, which is really despising.

But they can't refute the mayor. After all, all the work in Druisk is finally summarized to him. If you expose his shortcomings, he will have many ways to counter you.

Just as the air in the study became stagnant, there was a knock on the door.

Arthur put down his paper and pen and instructed the garrison commander, Captain Potemkin, to open the door: "Go and see who is coming."

Captain Potemkin, who was wearing a dark green military uniform, took a hard step and opened the door. Before he could ask, he heard a gentle female voice outside the door: "Mr. Captain, our leader doesn't understand, why don't you help?" Please give me some advice. Although men like to play cards, they can't even go without food, right? Besides, the minister is still a rich man. If he is hungry in such a cold weather, what will happen to a small family like us? Can you afford to suffer?"

Needless to say, it’s the mayor’s wife who comes to the rescue.

She was wearing an indigo silk dress with a thick dark blue mink shawl draped over her shoulders. The maid behind her was carrying a plate of steaming snacks and a pot of hot tea.

The lady's face was slightly anxious, but she still pretended to be calm. It was obvious that she had been standing outside the door listening for a long time.

For the first time this year, Bakalkin felt how happy he was to see his wife's face, but as soon as the corners of his mouth lifted, he immediately collapsed.

Bakalkin acted like the head of the family and scolded: "The men are talking about things, why are you meddling in it? Is eating more important than doing things for the emperor?"

The mayor's wife's face instantly turned a little pale, and the anxiety and helplessness in her eyes disappeared instantly, replaced by a touch of grievance and anger.

She took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in her chest, lowered her head slightly, and gently brushed the mink fur on her shawl, as if trying to stay calm.

However, there was a subtle tremor in her voice.

"You're such an inconsiderate person, can't you say a few words less?" The mayor's wife's voice was clear, but with a hint of resentment: "Do you think I only care about family affairs? I am the mayor of Druisk. Madam, no matter what, I have my position and responsibility here!”

She paused, and when she saw Bakalkin was stunned, she sighed softly, lowered her head, and sobbed inadvertently.

"You are so unsettling, do you really want to ignore it?" Her voice became softer and softer, with a hint of crying: "Although I don't understand these official affairs, I also know that you are delaying things like this. Things will get messier sooner or later, do you really want everyone to laugh at you? Besides, the minister is hungry, so he needs to eat something and take a rest."

As she spoke, she lightly wiped the corners of her eyes, seemingly holding back tears, but it made her feel even more pitiable.

Arthur looked at the mayor's wife's reaction and raised his eyebrows slightly.

He was no stranger to the tricks of these ladies, for similar incidents occasionally occurred at London society parties.

The scene before him is nothing more than a typical "crying and crying" technique: the wife pretends to be angry, while the husband quietly bows his head under the pressure, and finally turns into a situation of "listening to his wife".

However, even if he saw through it, Arthur did not get angry immediately. Instead, as if watching the excitement, he gently put down the pipe in his hand, fiddled with the teacup on the table, and watched the scene quietly.

The mayor's wife saw that her emotional offensive did not seem to be effective immediately, and tears stagnated in her eyes. She pretended to turn to Arthur casually, trying to shake him with a more weak attitude.

She lowered her head and gently brushed the tears from the corners of her eyes, then raised her head and looked at Arthur with tearful eyes, as if silently asking him to understand her helplessness.

Although this scene is contrived, it is also quite effective.

Sure enough, everyone's eyes were focused on Arthur.

Arthur could only sigh when he saw this. The old stage actor of Scotland Yard glanced at the mayor's wife, stood up and said, "Madam, you really make it difficult for me."

His tone was gentle, but there was a hint of tactful apology: "I didn't mean to make things difficult for everyone, but I really hope to get this done as soon as possible to avoid delays and cause more trouble. But I only took care of official business and forgot to consider the feelings of the ladies. Now it's time for dinner. Let's have a meal first, take a break, and then continue to discuss business. How about it?"

"You are right." The mayor's wife forced a smile and raised her head. The grievance in her eyes had been calmed: "Since Colonel Hastings understands us, I won't say more. It's just that tonight's dinner is really tiring for everyone. Since you agree to eat first, please don't postpone it any longer."

She nodded gently to the maid beside her, indicating that she should start to arrange dinner.

Seeing this, Bakalkin said nothing more. He knew that if he continued to argue, it would only make the situation more awkward.

"Since Colonel Hestingov has agreed, then let's do as you wish."