Arthur listened and took notes, but the more he listened, the more he felt a chill down his spine.
It was only at this mont that he realized how terrifying it was to be friends with novelists.
Not only do they write about you, but they also recreate your life experiences bit by bit for the public to see, as if they’ve put you naked in a zoo, and they even charge admission.
At this mont, Arthur suddenly seed to understand why Hugo was so enthusiastic about peeking.
This bunch mostly have an extraordinary thirst for knowledge, coupled with an exceptional desire to express.
If you only have the forr, you are just a voyeur, a pervert.
If you only have the latter, you are just an annoying loudmouth.
But if you have both...
My God!
You will beco an immortal literary figure!
Arthur previously thought it would be difficult to obtain information about Thiers, such a high-ranking official in France, but he never expected that Mr. Thiers was completely exposed and placed at the forefront in major bookstores in Paris, and the naked Thiers was very popular.
Thinking of this, Arthur suddenly wanted to maintain so distance from Balzac.
Because everyone knows how prolific this little Frenchman is when it cos to writing.
Since he could write a series about Thiers, there’s no reason he couldn’t strip the esteed Sir Arthur Hastings as well.
After all, his success story is not lacking in legend.
From a little pig farr in York, to relying on a deranged small farm owner uncle, to entering the University of London and eting Jeremy Bentham and other Radical Party mbers, to the series of stories at Scotland Yard, the underground dealings at the London Stock Exchange, and secretly controlling a small group of London floozies...
My God!
This could easily fill a million-word "The Shadow of Great Britain."
Arthur, thinking of this, restrained his previously open attitude considerably.
After diverting the conversation with random topics, Arthur cheerfully saw off the exceedingly excited Balzac with a contract for the exclusive English translation rights to all of Balzac’s novels.
In return, Arthur promptly issued him a 100 Pounds promissory note from Rothschild Bank as an advance paynt.
After leaving the Little Castle Hotel, Arthur finally let out a long breath.
He lit a cigarette and looked at the bustling street in front of him, with Victor smoking a pipe close by.
The old detective looked at the young man of not-so-great age and suddenly grinned: "Arthur, did you know? I always thought you would have a bright future, but I never thought you would have such a future."
"What’s up?" Arthur joked: "Do you regret not accepting my invitation to stay in London back then? Too bad I’m no longer at Scotland Yard, otherwise I would have undoubtedly brought you over."
"You handle people very well, just as I expected." Victor took a puff of his pipe: "If you were at the Great Paris Police Hall, Jusco would treasure you, because you are very suitable to lead the highest level of the political inspection departnt, which is the hardest job in the entire Paris police departnt."
"Oh?" Arthur raised an eyebrow: "Why do you say that?"
Victor raised his hand to flag down a horse cab and got in with Arthur.
"In Paris, the police departnt usually considers there to be seven types of troublemakers. The first type is the young people in schools, these young gentlen inherently like to oppose the governnt.
The second type is faithless lawyers, doctors without patients, writers without readers, store owners without custors and those who learn about politics from newspapers, naively hoping to beco politicians.
The third type is the unruly people, like myself, a group of drears who feel scared of a mundane life.
The fourth type is the working class who frequently talk about sovereignty and human rights. They are inherently brave and accustod to fighting, appearing in every public disturbance.
The fifth type is those who easily believe and get fooled. These people are brainless and lack thinking ability, often following the crowd and repeating whatever others do or say, just being parrots.
The sixth type is the discontented, mostly those who were once in power. They include various capable people, who are excluded from the power hierarchy, unable to participate, thus often trying to stir trouble.
The seventh type is political refugees, as you see on the outskirts of Paris, refugees from Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland and elsewhere, having fled here after their rebellions were suppressed in their own countries. They hope to regroup in France and finally liberate their own nations."
At this point, Victor paused and asked: "If it were up to you, how would you deal with these people?"
"This is never a difficult problem."
Arthur casually looked at the Paris scenery outside the window: "Young people in schools aren’t truly interested in revolution, they just want to show off, to prove they are more woke and smarter than others. To dissolve that, simply make them realize their ideas aren’t much different from those of fishmonger stall owners, ordinary farrs, and they would quickly feel a defeat akin to being insulted and switch sides.
As for those lawyers without faith, doctors without patients, writers without readers, and others of this kind, they’re actually easier to reason with than the young people. They don’t hate social injustice, they just hate that they aren’t on top. Like Mr. Balzac, a hundred-pound check can dispel all his dissatisfactions.
The unruly people usually need no attention, they are prone to fantasizing rather than acting. If even they start taking action, it only ans the overall situation is settled.
As for workers, they are indeed inherently brave, but most are headless flies crashing around. Worker leaders often don’t co from the workers, so just take care of the leading few, they won’t be a threat anymore.
Those easily fooled are really pitiful, and this group isn’t worth criticizing. They rely follow without offering any new viewpoints. Whichever side is louder, that’s the side they believe. And guiding public opinion is done by newspapers and magazines, not under police jurisdiction.
The sixth type, those once in power, are the most dangerous among them. Just by raising their arms, they can garner cheering. But these are usually the most cowardly among all, and direct threats to their lives will make most of them retreat.
The last political refugees, I think, if France is willing to drop the flag of freedom, naturally there would be no refugees flocking to Paris. If you are confident enough in your own country without needing to argue this cheaply, this problem would be easily solved."
Hearing this, Victor lightly tapped the cab window with his pipe: "Buddy, you know what’s on my mind?"
"Hmm?"
Victor chuckled: "Balzac wrote about the wrong person. I’m not interested in how Thiers beca who he is today, but I’m very interested in how you beca who you are."
Arthur, hearing this, looked at the shimring Seine River, with the Red Devil leaning against the fence smiling at him.
"That is quite a long story."
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