Chapter 267: Flowers and Swords and Poland and France (K4)
Chapter 266: Flowers and Swords with Poland and France (6K4)
With a violent swing, only a loud thud could be heard as the leather golf ball flew far towards the sky and disappeared behind the green.
Lionel reached out and held his hand in front of his brow to open his eyes for a moment, and then he revealed a smile, ”Mr. Talleyrand, is this really your first time playing golf? It is indeed hard to believe that you can possess such a level of skill on your first tee shot.”
Talleyrand gently tossed the club upwards, then held it in the air again, raised his eyebrows proudly, and spoke at Arthur, “Young man, it’s your turn.”
Arthur nodded at his words, he first gripped the club and felt the distance from his arm to the butt of the ball, then he swung hard, but before the club touched the golf ball, Arthur’s arm gently removed the force.
The golf ball fell to the ground with a snap as if it had been knocked over by a gentle breeze.
“Ah.” Arthur first pretended to be stunned, then raised his head to look at Talleyrand and said, “Slip of the hand.”
Talleyrand was amused by his reaction as he covered his stomach while speaking, “Come on! Arthur, this isn’t a banquet, you don’t want to play such funny jokes with me.”
On the other hand, Lionel, who was standing on the side and had some experience in sword fighting, saw something in Arthur’s movements.
He first inhaled slightly, then shook his head with a smile and said, “Arthur, it seems like I shouldn’t have come to you to play golf. With this level of power control skills, I dare say that there is not a single one in the London Fencing Club that can be stronger than you. Why don’t I take you there to fight with them some other day?”
Hearing this, Talleyrand couldn’t help but pat his head, “Wow! I forgot if you didn’t say it. I remember seeing in the newspaper two days ago that ‘Foil Napoleon’ seems to be killing it in London. Arthur, don’t you have any plans to go and defend the glory of your Britannia’s swordsmanship?”
“Foil Napoleon?” Arthur picked up the golf ball and put it back on the tee, “The nicknames are always so unoriginal these days, the Napoleon of perfume, the Napoleon of tailoring, and we’ve got the Napoleon of Astronomy sitting in the Royal Observatory up our ass. If we were away from Napoleon, the London media could probably cut out half the news coverage.”
Lionel joked, “It’s not all Napoleon, weren’t you called the Wellington of Scotland Yard by The Times?”
Arthur drew out his handkerchief and wiped his cue, “I suppose that was your idea for them? After all, Rothschild’s got a lot of money invested in The Times. Only the Times called me that, and I wonder what the Duke of Wellington himself would think of it.”
“What would it think?” Talleyrand laughed as he mortared his club, “I just had dinner with Wellington two days ago, and he himself doesn’t mind if you use his name, after all, he has a new nickname now, and the citizens of London are now calling him the Iron Duke, aren’t they?”
Speaking of which, the playful Talleyrand also flirted, “Boy, according to me, why don’t you go and give a battle cry to Napoleon the Foil? I heard them say that you can fight seventeen pirates by yourself, and if you can take down Foil Napoleon again, then you will be able to take down another nickname of Foil Wellington.”
Arthur heard this and just said helplessly, “Your Excellency, are you just really bored with idleness lately?”
“That’s right, you guessed it.”
Talleyrand laughed, “Didn’t you also say that before? The Oxbridge Thames Boat Race is at the end of March, the Derby Marseille is held in June, the Bull Run Festival is also now weighed down by tax increases, and you, as a Scotland Yard policeman, loathe large-scale boxing matches. That being the case, the second half of the year’s schedule in British sport would be really dismal if you, the Foil Wellington, didn’t step up to the plate.”
Hearing this, Arthur suddenly remembered Talleyrand’s trip this morning, and he casually asked, pretending not to think about it, “If I remember correctly, Britain and France are now quarreling over the Polish issue. You even made a special trip to the Foreign Ministry this morning, could it be that a problem concerning the life and death of millions of people in Poland was solved by you in one morning?”
Hearing this, Talleyrand just smiled and shook his head, “It’s not that it’s solved, but that it’s already insoluble. Since it is already insoluble, why should I spend so much effort on it. Arthur, if you ask me, sooner or later your new foreign minister, Viscount Palmerston, is going to regret the answer he gave me today. If it had been the unfortunate Viscount Castlereagh with whom I was conversing today, he would never have put it so decisively. It’s a pity, why would such an outstanding character as Castlereagh commit suicide because he couldn’t think straight.”
Hearing this, Arthur quickly spoke up, “Your Excellency, although I do not wish to disagree with you, in order to uphold justice and Viscount Castlereagh’s honor, I must correct you here, he did not commit suicide, but was unable to stop himself from his impulse due to insanity. I remember that you were Bishop of Alden; how can you err in such a matter?”
Hearing this, Talleyrand first froze and then laughed, “Wow! I almost forgot. Suicide is an unpardonable offense in the eyes of both the Church and the laws of Britannia. What does that law say? For a successful suicide, a stick is used to pierce the heart of the deceased. Attempted suicide was punishable by hanging. I don’t think those two laws have been repealed yet, have they?”
Arthur said in all seriousness, “The former has been repealed by order of Sir Robert Peel, but the latter is currently under discussion and study in Chancery.”
Talleyrand nodded slightly and said, “In that case, Peel has done a rather excellent job. At least he knows how to look at things through the eyes of the movement, quite a bit better than Palmerston.”
Hearing this, Lionel’s eyes twitched slightly as he smiled and inquired, “Viscount Parmeston had a bit of an unpleasant encounter with you?”
Talleyrand glanced at Lionel and said, seemingly absentmindedly, “If he can learn to converse with foreign ministers in a respectful manner, I’m sure he can do better at the Foreign Ministry. Or, at least, I hope he will show France half the respect he showed Russia.”
Agares, who was lying on an acacia tree nibbling on an apple, could not help but snicker at the sight: “One wants to listen, the other wants to speak. But on the face of it, they’re wriggling and half-assing it; they’re really matronly, just like fucking pussies.”
Hearing this, Arthur just glanced at the red devil, “Agareth, I understand your whining, but we humans usually call this diplomacy.”
Lionel followed up with Talleyrand, “What did he say to you?”
Talleyrand coughed twice, following Palmerston’s formal and serious cadence, “I believe that even if Britannia were to offer friendly mediation on Poland, it would be rejected by Russia. Moreover, the Great Powers have only a short time ago rejected the French offer to intervene in the Polish question.
Where friendly mediation would have been rejected by Russia, the intervention of Great Britain and France in the Polish question could only have been of a coercive character, but the intimate partnership between the authorities at St. James’s Palace and those at St. Petersburg would not have permitted such an intervention on the part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Moreover, Russia’s right to Poland has long been recognized in the Peace of Vienna. Moreover, I am quite sure that the present Russian Tsar is a strong and powerful monarch. It would therefore be far from premature for Britain and France to take the initiative of armed intervention against a strong monarch with undisputed rights.”
Hearing this, Arthur also finally understood why Talleyrand was upset today.
Although Palmerston’s words appeared to be well organized at first glance, upon closer examination, none of the logic made sense.
First of all, based on the news reports of the past few days, not all the major powers had refused to intervene in the Polish issue.
For example, Austrian Chancellor Metternich, who was once in the same trench as the Russians over Belgian independence, is sitting on the Polish question a bit.
The reason why Austria was reluctant to let Belgium become independent from the Netherlands before was that the Austrians hoped to hinder French expansion to the east with a complete and powerful Netherlands. Similarly, Austria did not want the Russians to swallow Poland in one go, but wanted Poland to serve as a barrier between Austria and Tsarist Russia.
Therefore, Palmerston lied in his first paragraph.
And in the second paragraph, he took the initiative to raise the level of intervention to armed intervention, which was almost like intimidating the French to their face, either not to intervene, or to intervene, they would have to go to war with the Russians. And once France went to war with Russia, Britain would never provide any kind of assistance to France.
As for the Peace of Vienna in the third paragraph, it was even more direct to put their thick skin on the table. In the Peace of Vienna, Russia’s possession of Poland came with the precondition that Russia must respect Poland’s 1815 constitution. The reason why France and Austria wanted to intervene in Poland was that this precondition was now gone.
Lionel listened to this paragraph, can not help but be a little surprised: “This …… This is really what Viscount Palmerston said? He does not go to actively find the Russians trouble is already very surprised me, but if based on this passage to speculate, he is not going to find any compensation for the Russians to ask for, and then directly sold Poland? That doesn’t fit the image we all have of him, he’s always been a tough guy since he entered politics!”
Arthur sniffed, and just softly read, “Lionel, that only shows that your understanding of Viscount Palmerston is still too shallow. Viscount Palmerston has always been tough when it comes to treating the weak, but when it comes to treating strong enemies, his attitude can be summarized by one of his early speeches in Parliament.”
Hearing this, Talleyrand also became interested, “What did he say in the council?”
Arthur spoke up, “There are those who want to tell us to make threats right in the middle of negotiations, regardless of the fact that we are not prepared for war should the negotiations fail. If we talk about war all the time while actually thinking about neutrality, if we threaten with an army and then hide behind official documents, if we just wave our swords provocatively when we discuss issues but grab our pens and write big protests when it comes time to fight, then we’re braggadocios cowards, and that’s not only going to be despised by the whole of Europe as an object of their ridicule, but from now on nor will anyone ever again take what we have said seriously.”
Talleyrand pondered for a moment, and then asked, “When was this said.”
Arthur rubbed his temples, “If the archived documents are correct, it would 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 amongst them who believed that Britain should immediately undertake an expedition to preserve the forces of progressive liberty by sending troops to aid the revolutionary constitutional government of Spain.
Viscount Palmerston then made the above speech in Parliament, and strenuously prevented what he regarded as ‘a Don Quixote-like crusade for the sake of abstract principles.’ For the operation was, in his opinion, neither economical nor practical, and risked offending half of Europe.”
Hearing this, Talleyrand 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, not a soft persimmon he won’t pinch. But I can also understandably put it here that sooner or later he will regret for condoning the behavior of the Russians.
Look at Greece, it’s because Britain indulged the Russians in the Russo-Turkish War and the Greek War of Independence, and allowed Codrington to completely crush the Ottoman navy, that the Russians are now more than just France catching up in Greece, and even Britain can’t touch the Russians’ asses.
Don’t forget, that president of Greece, Kapodistrias, turned out to be the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian negotiator at the Vienna Conference.”
When Arthur heard this, he just faintly returned, “There will be someone in charge of the matter regarding Mr. Kapodistrias.” Talleyrand’s expression suddenly changed when he heard this, and he raised his eyebrows, “Boy, Scotland Yard is still in charge of this? I used to think that your scope of business was only in London.”
“Whatever.” Arthur swung his club and hit the golf ball into the sky, “But I do occasionally sit in on the Royal Navy’s Geographic Information Top-up Data Statistics department and the Army Ordnance Survey, and it’s a refreshing thing to hear from them sometimes.”
“Wow. ……”
Knowledgeable Talleyrand immediately understood what Arthur meant when he heard those two names, and he couldn’t help but give the young man in front of him another high look, “What do you exchange with them when you go there?”
Arthur bit down on his white glove and pulled it off, “Nothing, nothing more than exchanging information on some reptile specimens.”
“Reptile specimens?” Lionel was confused by what he heard, “Shouldn’t this be something you should look for at the Linnaean Society? That’s where I usually go when I’m looking for specimens for the Duke of Sussex.”
Arthur looked up at him, “Lionel, the Linnaean Society’s specimens are all civilian ones, I’m talking about police and military ones.”
Talleyrand tapped Arthur on the shoulder in a serious manner, “And do you know who’s running the taxidermy this time?”
Hearing this, Arthur just said helplessly, “Your Excellency, you should know this better than me, the handiwork of the natives of the specimen’s origin is the best.”
Talleyrand couldn’t help but sniff, “It seems that your boy knows quite a lot.”
Hearing this, Lionel also sensed a hint of something wrong, he always felt that this old man and young man were using some kind of black language to communicate.
He pondered for a while, and finally decided not to ask first.
If Rothschild wanted to know what was happening in Greece, all he needed to do was to send a few messengers to Athens to take a stroll, and within a few days he would be able to receive a detailed written report.
He patted Arthur’s back and spoke with a smile, ”After all this useless talk, we’ve almost forgotten our main business. Today we are here to play ball, not to discuss reptile specimens. Let’s go, Arthur, where did you just hit the ball?”
Arthur sniffed and just shook his head slightly, he glanced at Agareth who was crouching in the tree slapping his leg and laughing maniacally, and spoke, “That depends on where the crow flies to.”
Talleyrand frowned, “Crows?”
The caddie on the side spoke at the right time, “That’s right, sir, just now Mr. Hastings’ ball was taken by a crow that flew across the court.”
“Grabbed it?” Lionel slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “My God! Does it say in the St. Andrews Rules what the penalty should be if the ball is taken by a crow?”
“Uh ……” said the caddie, “The rules say that if the ball is obstructed by any person, horse, dog, or other object, the ball should continue to be hit where it is. But I’m afraid this is the first time in centuries that something like this has been picked up by a crow, so perhaps I should suggest to the club that this be included in the next revision of the St. Andrews Rules.”
Lionel queried, “You can suggest a rule revision to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews?”
Hearing this, the caddie spoke up rather disgruntled, “Sir, I am the head caddie at St. Andrews. On top of that, I am the best golfer in all of Scotland and even all of Britain. I originally came to Blackheath today to play an exchange match, and if I hadn’t heard that there are three honored guests visiting today, and that there are also two beginners among them, I wouldn’t have been temporarily arranged to come here to give teaching instructions to a few gentlemen.”
Talleyrand also joked, “Young man, are you really the best golfer in all of Scotland? I see you’re only sixteen or seventeen years old, don’t flash your tongue if you talk big.”
The caddie didn’t care what Talleyrand really was, on the golf course, he was the king here.
The caddie said, “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you play against 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 honor me as the Napoleon on the golf course.”
“Another Napoleon, hahahahaha, kind of funny.” Talleyrand smiled broadly at his words, “I wonder if I have the honor of learning the honorable name of Scotland’s best golfer?”
The caddie took a club out of his bag and weighed it twice, “Allan Robertson, Your Excellency, and don’t blame me for not reminding you, no one has been able to beat me on the course so far.”
“Well then, Mr. Robertson, where do we both start?”
“Your Excellency, let’s play eighteen holes as a rule, I’ll give you three strokes, and as for the initial teeing ground, I’ll take your pick.”
Talleyrand, having gained a strong opponent, could not help but be interested in competing with him.
He raised his hand to bid farewell to Arthur and Lionel, “You two, this kid is really too arrogant, if you don’t respond to the battle, it would be too unmanly. By the way, Arthur, you must not forget to leave me a ticket.”
“Leave a ticket?” Arthur frowned and asked, “What ticket.”
Talleyrand turned his head while walking and waved his hand at Arthur, “What else could it be, the ticket for the duel between you and Foil Napoleon. Arthur, don’t say that my friend doesn’t support you, even though Napoleon is a Frenchman, I will definitely bet all on you in this battle. You won’t let me, an old man with a meager income, lose a lot of money, will you?”
Arthur looked at Talleyrand as he walked further and further away, and suddenly lit the cigar in his hand, “Mr. Talleyrand is quite a sharp operator, and doesn’t want to linger at all when he’s finished saying what he needs to say.”
Lionel also nodded slightly, “It seems that those conversations he had with Viscount Palmerston were deliberately leaked to us. He’s still not dead set on the Polish issue, and he also knows that Rothschild is hitching a ride with the Whigs right now, and you’re able to poke your nose into the side of the Home Secretary, the Chancellor, and the Tories. Some of what is said will be far more effective if we do the talking than if he relays it to these people himself; after all, his position is still too French official.”
With that said, Lionel turned his head again and asked, “Arthur, what do you think will be the final outcome of this?”
Arthur sipped his cigar, “There won’t be a result in the short term, after all, the Parliament has too many issues to be busy with right now, and Poland doesn’t rank at all compared to Parliamentary reform. But for Mr. Talleyrand, perhaps he hadn’t expected anything to come of it, purely to add to Viscount Palmerston’s problems. A man who has changed his master six times, Napoleon would have been finished if he had offended him, and how can we afford to be vindictive to Palmerston without giving him a piece of his mind?”
Lionel thought for a moment, “That’s all, it’s good to take a favor from Mr. Talleyrand, after all, our business in Paris is also quite big. However, Arthur, what are you going to do about it on your end?”
“Me? Depends.” Arthur loosened his wrist, “Besides, don’t I still have a spotlight match to fight right now? What’s with that Foil Napoleon?”
“You’re actually interested?”
Lionel smiled and winked, “Napoleon the Foil, the Parisian Sword Saint, François Bertrand. Arthur, think about it, this man is not one of those flamboyants from the London Fencing Club. He doesn’t have too many flashy but impractical sword strokes, but he has the best speed and agility of footwork I’ve ever seen in my life. He just arrived in London last month and swept through all the fencing venues in London, picking off thirty-six London fencing masters in a row.”
Arthur exhaled a smoke ring, “Wow? Sounds a little familiar, didn’t he split a plaque that said ‘Sick Man of France’ or something?”
Lionel recalled the news report, “A plaque? That’s not true.”
Arthur asked, “Then again, what path did he take? The German Richard Null stream, the Meyer stream, or the Fiore stream, which, like me, is habitually Apennine?”
“Neither.”
Lionel laughed, “Arthur, you play with longsword strokes. And Mr. Bertrand, as his nickname suggests, is a master of the foil. Naturally, his sword stances are also French foils, beautiful, smooth, calm, stab-oriented French foils.
However, if you are accustomed to Fiorentina fencing, you should be able to get used to the Italian style of foil very quickly. After all, the Fiorentina style originates from the Italian region, and the style is the same active, fierce and powerful.
Especially in terms of footwork, with Fiorentina, even if you don’t practice it actively, you will be able to learn the technique of approaching and forcing your opponent with small leaps. That’s the good thing about Italian foil, it’s a great spectacle, and even if you lose, you’re still pressing your opponent the whole way. And if your opponent doesn’t pay attention, you’ll end up with a springing step up.”
Hearing this, Arthur pondered for a while and spoke, “Sounds not bad, looks like I need to take the time to catch up on some practice, I’m still quite short of money these days.”
Lionel winked, “Don’t worry Arthur, feel free to let me know when you’re ready. I’ll be organizing this fight, and I guarantee we’ll make a fortune from the tickets alone.”
(End of chapter)