Chapter 597: Poaching

Did you know that Pushkin and I are friends? I have been to his home several times, and he even recited his poems to me personally!

——Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, "The Imperial Envoy"

The burly Shubinski had a shiny beard and wore a crisp uniform. He took out the two precious medals that he had put away earlier to hide his identity and hung them on his chest.

One of them is the Long Service Medal awarded to him for his stable and reliable service in the army, and the origin of the other, the Third Class Saint Stanislav Medal with red and green stripes, is worth talking about.

This medal was originally a Polish medal of honor, but after the Tsar concurrently became the King of Poland, the Order of St. Stanislav was naturally absorbed into the Russian honor system and became one of the important honors awarded to officials and nobles of the Russian Empire.

However, this medal is mainly awarded to officials who have served in the Kingdom of Poland for a long time.

But what is suspicious is that Shubinski never served in the Kingdom of Poland, yet he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, Third Class.

Of course, this does not mean that you cannot contribute to Poland if you do not serve in Poland. As a top student at the University of London majoring in Russian history, Arthur firmly opposed the criticism that Shubinsky was not worthy of the medal. The place of service cannot be used as the only reference for awarding medals. As we all know, even if you are in Liverpool, you can still contribute to Poland if you want to.

Perhaps being carried away by the joy of meeting the great musician Mendelssohn, Shubinsky even forgot that Arthur had studied Russian history.

To hang the Order of St. Stanislav in his presence is like standing in a courtroom and shouting 'I am a murderer'.

Arthur left his friend and asked him to calm down here, while he took the first step and ran to inform Mendelssohn and others to go out to meet the guests.

Shubinski waited here for a while, but after all he couldn't restrain his anxiety.

He paced back and forth hurriedly backstage, with even a trace of sweat breaking out on his forehead - today was such a big day, and he didn't even expect that he would get to meet the great composer Mendelssohn!

His "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Overture and "Hebridean Islands" Overture are regarded by the Russian upper class as must-choice pieces for concerts and aristocratic gatherings. Prince Odoevsky, Princess Mikhailovna, etc., these big figures are his loyal fans.

In order to please this artist who was highly regarded in social salons, Shubinsky could not help but prepare appropriate words in advance.

While wiping his forehead, he rehearsed to himself: "Mr. Mendelssohn, I personally deeply admire your talent! That song "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is really superb, ah! How... how unique to our Russia Soul's—"

He paused, thinking that "Russian soul" seemed not appropriate enough, and quickly changed his words, "What an extraordinary German temperament!"

Shubinski had just reached this point in rehearsal when he suddenly found that the door to the preparation room was pushed open, and Arthur led a strange man in.

Shubinsky quickly put on a flattering smile, trotted forward, stood in front of the two men and bowed deeply, his voice was low but full of flattery: "Dear Mr. Mendelssohn! It is really my honor to meet you. ——No, it’s an honor for all music lovers tonight that we can welcome a cultural giant like you!”

He deliberately used big words like "cultural giant" to add a touch of elegance, and even worried that his usually vulgar pronunciation would damage his image.

Heine looked at the Russian military police colonel in front of him strangely. He did not speak first, but turned his eyes to Arthur beside him, as if he was asking - where did this guy come from?

Shubinsky turned a blind eye to Heine's weird behavior. He thought that his flattery was not enough, so he continued to talk: "Mr. Mendelssohn, your music is like the sound of nature, and it even reminds me of our Peter The splendor of the Fort Opera House - of course, compared with your works, ours are just country ditties..."

He chuckled in a low voice, fearing that any hint of boastfulness in his words might offend Mendelssohn's sensitive status as an artist.

Arthur finally found a chance to speak when Shubinsky was breathing: "Sergey, I'm sorry, this is not Mr. Mendelssohn."

"Ah?" Shubinski was surprised at first, then straightened his back and asked, "What's wrong with Mr. Mendelsohn? Is he feeling unwell?"

"Well..." Arthur explained: "You should know that musicians usually have some quirks, and Mr. Mendelssohn's quirk is that he hates people disturbing him before going on stage. Although I have tried my best, but He still refused the request to meet.”

"Well, indeed, musicians do always have such quirks." Shubinsky said regretfully: "Arthur, aren't you the same? When I was in London, I heard other people say that you always You have to go to the theater to play on Sunday night, but you haven’t seen any guests since early Saturday morning.”

"oh……"

Arthur sighed softly. He didn't expect Shubinski to know about this.

If the reputation of a musician has brought him any benefit, this is the biggest benefit.

For some reason, people always seem to be willing to tolerate artists and forgive their faux pas and deviant behavior, as if they are not weird but deserve their reputation.

Arthur comforted: "However, although I can't see Mr. Mendelssohn, the man next to me is also famous. Please allow me to introduce to you-Mr. Heinrich Heine."

Shubinsky turned to look at Heine. He was stunned for a moment, and then said in a more humble voice: "Oh! So you are Mr. Heine! Your poems are simply the crystallization of human wisdom! I can even It is no exaggeration to say that your poems allow even a rough guy like me to appreciate a kind of——"

He racked his brains and finally found a word, "Subtle emotion! Yes, sublime emotion! I have always dreamed that we in Russia could have a great poet like you, who could write such exquisite verses... uh... …There is a poetic freedom in every word of yours…”

Heine narrowed his eyes. Although he didn't know who the gentleman in front of him was, the two medals hanging on his chest and the thick Russian accent made Heine realize that this guy was a polar bear. The people in power in the Dominion'.

Heine said with some amusement: "Freedom? This is a rare praise, especially from an official like you."

Shubinsky trembled slightly in his heart, but he immediately forced out a smile and said vaguely: "Oh, Mr. Heine, you are a great poet. A poet is naturally free! This is what we admire."

He hurriedly added, "As long as it does not violate...well, freedom under the condition of social order, you know, haha. You see, our greatest poet in Russia - Pushkin, he is living freely in Petersburg, writing his poems freely? By the way, it was our enlightened Emperor Nicholas I who ordered Pushkin to be pardoned from exile.”

Heine looked at the colonel bragging for the emperor even though he was abroad, and sighed softly: "Well, sir, Russia's freedom is indeed... very unique."

Shubinsky's level of German was obviously not enough for him to distinguish advanced words like 'original', but he responded even more excitedly: "Oh! Thank you for your appreciation of our Russian culture!"

He wanted to think of a few more words of praise, but he was obviously at his wits end, so he bowed frequently with a smile on his face.

In the end, he did not forget to defend Heine: "I think the way Austria and Prussia treat you is unfair. You are obviously such a good person. It is hard to imagine that those unseemly poems were written by you." I think someone must have framed you."

"There are not many sensible people like you these days."

Heine raised his hand to say goodbye to Shubinsky. He was worried that if he continued to chat, the other party might invite him to Russia.

For Heine, his range of activities could only stop at Leipzig in the east. If he wanted to go further east, he would be overconfident in his life safety.

Heine had just left the lounge, and Shubinsky was still immersed in the excitement of making friends with this poet who was hated by the Austrian Empire. Suddenly, there was a burst of thunderous applause from the front stage of the theater, followed by a death-like applause. of silence.

Just when Shubinsky was confused, the first sound of the "Turandot" overture sounded like thunder, and the low brass and rushing violins kicked off the tragedy of this Eastern dynasty. There is a strong tension in the notes, as if telling the frozen fate and the irresistible wheel of fortune.

The entire orchestra sounded in unison, emitting a powerful and tense sound. The shocking bass sound was like the beating of war drums on the ancient city wall, creating a majestic and solemn atmosphere.

Shubinsky was surprised: "Oh my God! Is this the latest work of Mr. Mendelssohn? This style of music is simply unprecedented! I thought his new work must be "The Passion of Matthew" "Religious program like "

Immediately afterwards, "Jasmine" played as scheduled.

Shubinsky frowned and listened quietly for a moment, then insisted: "This is like a Chinese song!"

Arthur asked in surprise: "Have you heard of it?"

"I haven't heard this song, but I have heard songs of a similar style." Shubinsky said: "Once, I was responsible for escorting exiles to Chita. Occasionally I met some Chinese businessmen in the market in Chita and laborers, if you listen carefully, you will find that the tune of the song they sing is similar to this song.”

Arthur murmured to himself: "Chita..."

Shubinsky thought he didn't know where Chita was, so he enthusiastically introduced him: "It's the Transbaikal region. Chita is the most important city and military fortress in the region. Of course, it's also the most fucked up city in Russia. One of several penal colonies, you could think of it as Britain's Canada and Australia."

Arthur asked curiously: "Let's assume that if a diplomat applies, is it possible to be allowed to go to Transbaikal?"

"This..." Shubinsky replied half-jokingly: "Oh my God! You don't want to go to Chita to spy on our military intelligence, do you?"

"What if I don't go to Chita?"

"Not going to Chita? Are there any good places to go in Transbaikal?" Shubinsky waved his hand: "If you want to be frozen into an ice sculpture in the icy wasteland, you can walk in the wilderness of Transbaikal. Of course. , and I cannot rule out that there are indeed such weirdos, such as Mr. Alexander von Humboldt.”

Shubinsky paused for a moment, as if he remembered something: "Oh my God! I almost forgot that you, like Humboldt, are also a natural philosophy researcher. Then I think I can understand why you want to cross the entire Siberia!"

"Mr. Humboldt? The president of the Berlin Academy of Sciences?" Arthur had a good impression of this gentleman who had attended the European Electromagnetic Conference for the University of Göttingen: "Did he do anything big in Russia?"

Shubinsky felt that this was not very valuable information, and it was almost known to everyone in Russia, so he did not hide it from Arthur: "You should know that when Mr. Humboldt was young, he went deep into the tropical rain forest of South America and conducted a five-year scientific expedition there?"

Arthur nodded and said: "I know this. Mr. Humboldt's "Travels in the Tropical Regions of the New World" can be said to be the favorite book of a friend of mine."

Shubinsky continued: "Because Humboldt has made outstanding contributions in this regard, His Majesty the Tsar took the initiative to invite him to visit Russia a few years ago and entrusted him to participate The Russian government's geographical survey work went to the Far East for scientific investigation. In eight months, Humboldt set out from St. Petersburg, passed through Moscow, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, crossed the Ural Mountains, entered Siberia, went deep into the Ob River and Irtysh River basins, and reached the Balkhash Lake area near the Chinese border, traveling more than 15,000 kilometers.

During this investigation, he discovered many unprecedented animals and plants, collected a large amount of data and specimens, and made detailed records of mineral resources, geomagnetic phenomena and climatic conditions. Not only His Majesty the Tsar, but the whole of Russia was excited about Humboldt's discovery. After the investigation, His Majesty not only agreed to Humboldt's suggestion and established the All-Russian Geomagnetic Observatory in St. Petersburg, but also gave him a high honor, allowing him to give lectures at all universities in Russia, calling on professors across the country to emulate Humboldt and encourage students to follow Humboldt's example. "

After hearing this, Arthur finally understood what Herzen had mentioned earlier about the "Humboldt's speech at Moscow University".

Judging from Shubinsky's description, at least for this matter alone, the Tsar's original intention was indeed good, but his subordinates turned it into a bureaucratic thing.

Shubinsky encouraged Arthur at this point, saying: "Old friend, you are also a researcher of natural philosophy. Isn't your reputation in the field of electromagnetism quite great? Russia has always valued scholars, and this is a tradition. Empress Catherine invited Euler, the Bernoulli brothers, and Goldbach to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences to preside over mathematical work, invited John Schumacher to preside over astronomical work, and summoned Pallas to investigate the Far East. And our current Tsar, he obviously also wants to restore the grand occasion of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Although you are British, it does not mean that you cannot work for Russia."

After speaking, Shubinsky also gave an example: "In our gendarmerie, there is a British The young man, Mr. Richard Huett, has now taken the position of cavalry captain. When we planned to recruit him a few years ago, we were a little worried that the nationality issue might cause a conflict between the two countries. So Count Benckendorff wrote a letter to Sir William Turner, the British ambassador to Russia at the time, and emphasized that "the mission of the gendarmerie is to maintain social stability, not to target Britain." What no one expected was that Sir William Turner replied that according to British law, citizens of the country do not need special permission to join the Russian gendarmerie, and there are no explicit regulations to restrict Richard Huett from joining the gendarmerie. Haha, he doesn't seem to take it to heart at all."