Chapter 294: London’s Eight Hundred Thousand Forbidden Army Instructor (K6)
Chapter 292 – London’s Eight Hundred Thousand Forbidden Army Instructor (4K6)
The second floor box of the Astley Amphitheater, thanks to the theater’s semi-open structure, the scenery here is far better than that of the box of a closed theater.
In front of the box is a stretched balcony, looking up is the stars and moon, and looking forward is the center stage of the theater.
There, the theater staff was preparing the props for tonight’s performance, countless tin cans, several meters long copper columns and a rose-red curtain that fell inch by inch.
Inside the box, Lionel Rothschild looked with mild surprise at the young man who was leaning back on the balcony sofa, savoring a fine wine while writing a couple of sentences with a vigorous pen every now and then.
He twisted his head and asked at Arthur, “Arthur, who is this?”
Arthur laughed softly, “Sorry, Lionel, I forgot to introduce you, this is the famous German poet – Mr. Heinrich Heine. You must have read his book of Heine’s poems, right?
In terms of social perception, Mr. Heine was able to write such a forward-looking and philosophical poem as ‘Burning books at the beginning, burning people at the end’.
Talking about the sadness of love, he could also write ‘I have long possessed your heart, but you have already forgotten it’ such sadness.
Congratulate us, Lionel, and I am honored to inform you that The Englishman has just gained a remarkable author.”
Arthur turned his back to Heine and said something to brag about Heine while winking at him with a continuous smile.
Lionel was stunned at first, and then quickly comprehended the meaning lurking in Arthur’s words as he lowered his voice and asked, “In that case, Mr. Heine’s new novel, those offensive remarks about Rothschild ……”
Arthur responded in a low voice with the same smile, “Lionel, Britain is a free publishing country, we can’t engage in publishing censorship of a new work. At the same time, however, the editorial board of Britannica has agreed that controversial statements should be avoided as much as possible. We all understand that risk can never be avoided, but at the moment it seems to me that the risk is generally manageable.”
Hearing this, Lionel couldn’t help but smile and pat Arthur’s chest with the back of his hand, “Arthur, it looks like you’ll do well even if you don’t become a police officer and come to be a stockbroker. You’re right, we’re not afraid of risk, it’s everywhere, what we look at is that the risk is controllable, and for me, that’s good enough.”
Arthur removed the red wine from the cupboard and poured a little into each of the two tall glasses, he gently raised his glass to clink with Lionel.
The glasses clinked together with a clink and a crunch, the rippling liquid just reflecting the slightly upturned corners of his mouth, “Lionel, most of the ill will in the world stems from not knowing and yet knowing too much. If you can get into a conversation with him, there’s no telling if Mr. Heine will withdraw the article himself after that.”
Heine couldn’t help but get up and turn around when he heard the conversation behind him, he glanced at Lionel and frowned at Arthur, “Mr. Hastings, who is this next to you?”
This time, without waiting for Arthur to reply, Lionel took the initiative to greet him with a smile, “Mr. Heine, I am truly honored to see you here. To introduce myself, I am a banker and one of the investors of The Englishman, as well as your loyal supporter. To tell you the truth, I buy double copies of your poetry books, one for reading and one for my collection. If you don’t mind, you can just call me Lionel.”
“Banker? Investor?”
Heine quickly caught the keywords in Lionel’s words, and he mulled them over for half a day, and in the end, in his heart, his respect for the gold master slightly overpowered his distaste for the banker by a head.
Heine shook Lionel’s hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. It is also a great honor to share my travel insights and feelings with the readers of The Englishman.”
Lionel complimented, “Your lyric poetry is absolutely superb, even in Europe. I’m a little embarrassed to say that I used your love poems to impress my wife, and I’m really grateful to you for helping me win a love.”
“Wow? Is that so?”
Heine smiled awkwardly upon hearing this, “So it seems that you are luckier than me. Most of those love poems were written by me to my cousin, and at the time when I finished writing them, I was afraid that there was nothing more outstanding and emotional than those verses in Germanic literature. But to my surprise, that cousin of mine apparently knew nothing of literature and had no feelings. If I have any regret in my life, it is that I did not fuck that pair of dogs at the time.”
Heine’s words immediately caused even Lionel, who had always been well-cultivated, to stiffen his smile as he maintained that smile and turned his head to look at Arthur beside him, his eyes full of doubt and skepticism, as if asking Arthur, “Are you sure that this guy standing in front of me is Heine? That lyrical poet who is one of the leading poets in Germany?”
Arthur also understood what Lionel was thinking, he calmly lifted his jacket, took out the pistol inserted in the holster and handed it to Heine’s hand, slightly apologizing, “Mr. Heine, I’m sorry to hear this news. Let me send you a gun to talk about my condolences.”
Lionel hurriedly pressed Arthur’s hand back when he saw this, “Arthur, are you crazy? Are you planning to encourage Mr. Heine to go to an honor duel? That could cost him his life!”
Arthur raised an eyebrow, “What’s the big deal about a duel. I already dueled before Mr. Heine went seeking revenge for an honor duel.”
Heine waved his hand at this as well, “Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Hastings, but the pistol will be waived, I can afford it myself. Well …… perhaps I’d better call you Arthur now, all in all, you’re quite a friend.”
Heine patted Arthur’s shoulder and spoke, “You don’t have to worry about me, I was that year that was just young and uninvolved, and didn’t understand women yet. That’s why I fell on her, at that time I was only about twenty years old, I easily believed the bullshit in the book, thinking that women are all impersonal, as long as they are sincere enough they can impress them.
But now I’ve proved it with my own insights and real-life experiences: it’s not that women don’t have personalities, it’s just that they take on new ones every day. Damn! No one told me the second half of that sentence back then. Arthur, you’re still young, you must take my experience as a warning!”
Arthur cupped his chin and pondered for a moment, “Is that the only experience you’ve realized? Is there anything else?”
Heine lifted his glass and swung it twice as he paced the room, “Any more well …… I’m afraid it’s about getting along with your beloved father. But I have a feeling that’s all minutiae, and it’s fine if you can’t learn it, as long as you can charm her into submission, her father will be no resistance at all.”
“A lover’s father?” Lionel asked, “Do you mean your cousin’s father, your uncle-Mr. Solomon Heine?”
No sooner had Lionel said this than Agareth, who was lying asleep on the sofa in his nightgown and nightcap, lifted the covers and looked around, “Solomon? Where’s Solomon?”
Arthur glanced at the Red Devil, but had the good sense not to attempt to comment on his star-crossed behavior.
Heine, on the other hand, looked at Lionel with a surprised expression, “How do you know my uncle’s name?”
Lionel smiled and spoke, “As I said before, I’m an avid supporter of yours, and I’ve collected every single one of your poetry reviews. And the experiences of such a well-known figure as you are no secret, besides I am friends with Mr. Mendelssohn, whose father was a well-known local banker in Hamburg. And your uncle, Mr. Solomon Heine, is likewise a successful Hamburg banker, and it was easy enough for me to ask him about the Heine family.” “So that’s how it is?……” Heine couldn’t help but skim his lips, “And did he tell you that little story about me and my uncle?”
Lionel probed, “You mean that affair at the Hamburg banking community banquet?”
Heine raised one eyebrow and shook her head back and forth, “You do know.”
Arthur, who was always sensitive to information, reluctantly asked, “So what was it all about?”
“This ……” Lionel looked at Heine beside him and smiled as if apologizing, “It may be a bit inconvenient to say.”
Heine spoke, “Nothing, if you don’t say it, then I’ll say it myself, anyway, it’s all in the past. And until now I haven’t changed my opinion, that’s how I live, no one can change me in the slightest. Only cowards who have done something wrong hide it, and I never cared to do anything like that.”
Heine cleared her throat and then spoke, “As you all mentioned earlier, my uncle was a banker, so not long after I came of age, I was sent to him by my father to learn about business. But that man, my uncle, is simply vulgar, he hardly gives a damn about anything but money. He also hated my poetry, and told me that I might as well learn to keep a quick score if I wrote all day.
But he had to realize that there was a limit to my patience, and sooner or later he would have to pay the price. So, at a gathering of politicians and businessmen in Hamburg, I took the opportunity of my drink to talk to the ladies around me about parenting, and I proclaimed loudly at them: ‘Fetal education is very important; my mother read elegant literature when she was pregnant, so I was going to be a poet. And my uncle’s mother read robber baron novels when she was pregnant with him, so my uncle became a banker.'”
Hearing this, Arthur couldn’t help but cupped his chin and nodded slightly, “You should have told that story earlier! Now I finally understand why your cousin scoffed at you.”
Lionel, who was also a banker, looked as if he had eaten a fly in a difficult manner as he coughed and spoke, “Mr. Heine, in fact, my wife is also my cousin. In my opinion, our experiences are similar. Both came from banker families, both loved their cousins, and even used the same poetry when courting. But what separates success from failure is probably a bit of subtle expression. There are times when it’s important to politely express dissatisfaction.”
Heine raised his glass and clinked it with Arthur and Lionel, “You’re both right, which is why I’m not trying to be a little more restrained now. At least I’m not going to explicitly say that Metternich has hemorrhoids anymore.”
Lionel’s wine had just been brought to his mouth before he could swallow it, and then he almost choked directly on Heine when he heard that.
He held onto the sofa and coughed repeatedly, “Mr. Heine, I have to say that there is a reason why you can be a poet. A random sentence, a single word can produce a power that ordinary people can’t reach. You have such a talent, you must be more careful in using it in the future!”
As soon as he finished his words, a knock sounded outside the door of the box, and a well-dressed waiter came in in a hurry, whispering beside Lionel, “Sir, the most honorable one in all of Britannia has already departed from St. James’s Palace. Do you think you should go downstairs first to prepare for a grand reception outside the theater?”
Hearing this, Lionel hurriedly asked, “Does His Majesty have any other entourage with him?”
The attendant returned, “The news just came back that he only brought a few close attendants with him, mostly palace chamberlains.”
Lionel smiled and spoke, “Then don’t make it too grand, just simply greet them. Everyone knows that His Majesty the King doesn’t like to make any big arrangements, and his most annoying hobby is limited to giving a few lengthy speeches to a bunch of guests after getting drunk at a banquet. Judging from his entourage, his visit to the duel this time was just an impromptu entertainment, not for any political purpose. His Majesty is probably just too bored with tonight’s palace ball, he does have a bit of a distaste for these socializing things.”
Hearing this, the waiter nodded and added, “Young master, there’s also news just now: although His Majesty didn’t bring any outsiders with him this time, the few outsiders seem to include the two Henry Angelo brothers. I heard that the two of them were summoned to St. James’ Palace by His Majesty just after returning from the Balkans this afternoon.”
“The Angelo brothers?”
Lionel couldn’t help but frown when he heard this, “That …… that’s a bit difficult.”
Arthur saw that Lionel was in trouble and followed him straight out the door as he opened his mouth and asked, “Is something wrong?”
Lionel spoke with some difficulty, “Arthur, I’m afraid you and Bertrand will have to show some real skill today. His Majesty the King’s arrival has brought with it some unknown variables, and he seems to have brought with him two connoisseurs of the trade. You’ve heard of the Angelo brothers, I presume?”
“Henry Angelo?” Arthur thought for a moment, “I know there’s an Angelo’s Swordsmanship School on Bond Street, something to do with them?”
Lionel nodded, “Yes, that school was founded by their father. Since Angelo Sr. passed away, that school is now in the hands of the two brothers. If the two of them hadn’t gone to the Balkans some time ago to study Hungarian swordsmanship, it would have been impossible for them to watch Bertrand run wild in London.”
Arthur asked, “From what you’re saying, these two brothers are very powerful?”
Lionel took a deep breath, “I don’t know whether they are powerful or not. But of the two brothers, Big Angelo’s Scottish Highland broadsword skill is listed as the basic training sword skill for the entire regiment by the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Scottish Infantry, also known as the ‘Blackguards’. And Angelo Jr. was even better than Big Angelo, and his close combat swordsmanship, which he had customized for the sailors of the Excelsior back then, was now listed as a standard training discipline of the Royal Navy.
And his book on martial arts, Exercises in Infantry Swordsmanship, is listed as a guidebook for British infantry and cavalry sword training. As you know, His Majesty the King once served in the Royal Navy for more than ten years, so he has great respect for the Angelo brothers, who developed the standard sword arts for the army, and a while ago I heard that His Majesty the King seems to be interested in appointing them to be the Chief Swordmasters of the Army and the Royal Navy respectively.”
Hearing this, Arthur also couldn’t help but mutter, “Chief instructor of the 800,000-strong London Forbidden Army? It’s a bit interesting ……”
Seeing Arthur’s calm demeanor, Lionel sighed and said, “Arthur, it’s probably no problem to blindfold a layman with our script, but in the face of a connoisseur like the Angelo brothers. And they are still standing on the side of His Majesty the King, in case …… this is rumored, our reputation will not be very good. Even if it doesn’t get out, on His Majesty’s side we ……”
Arthur pondered for a while and suddenly spoke, “Lionel, you’re right. It seems that we have to change our script temporarily.”
“You have a way?”
“There is a way, but the specific execution is not just up to me and Mr. Bertrand. Lionel, you’re important tonight, too.”
“Me?” Lionel froze, “What specifically do you want me to do?”
Arthur waved at him and attached his hand to his ear, “Listen to me, when the duel begins, you first stabilize His Majesty and Brother Angelo ……”
I’ll make up for the allies’ outstanding work tomorrow
(End of this chapter)