The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 545 - 282: Anti-Smuggling Inspector_3

Louis seemed to remember something too, Arthur had previously sent him to investigate that casino.

He said, "In the past two years, the only casino in London where someone made a big win is the one on St. James Street, and we even know who won the money. Heinrich, take a piece of advice, you can’t learn his method of winning. For most people, it’s better to quit gambling while they’re ahead."

Upon hearing this, Heine asked, "What, does he have some kind of infallible secret? Ha! I knew it, there must be something fishy about that casino. My card skills can’t possibly be that bad, there must be someone cheating inside!"

Arthur, holding his forehead with one hand, said, "Heinrich, I so wish I had never met you. You’ve completely destroyed the image I had of you in my mind."

Heine mimicked Arthur’s words in response, "Arthur, I too wish I had never met you. You’ve equally destroyed the image of a police officer in my mind. If all Prussian police were as efficient as you, I wouldn’t have had to leave there."

Upon hearing this, Great Dumas merely pursed his lips and widened his eyes. He shook his head while clapping Heine on the shoulder, "Heinrich, if you really think so, then the dozen or so Barbary Pirates who died at his hand would surely disagree. Our Officer Hastings is a true tough guy; if you think he’s gentle and lazy, it’s purely because he’s not out to get you. If you don’t believe it, you can ask Louis. His experiences after arriving in London could easily make up a short story."

Louis, upon hearing this, quickly changed the subject.

After all, that story wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory for him to savor.

Louis handed Arthur the bound documents in his hand, "I’ve already organized the relevant information about Liverpool. It’s just that our departure was so rushed, some of the details will probably have to be inquired about from the relevant departments once we reach Liverpool."

At these words, Arthur suddenly remembered the ambiguous advice from Agares and the suspicions of Director Rowan in front of the Lord Chancellor’s office.

Smiling and looking up, Arthur asked, "Louis, have you read Hume?"

"Hume?" Louis nodded, "Though not as extensively as I’ve read Voltaire, I’ve read a bit of Hume’s work. After all, he’s one of the representative figures of the Enlightenment."

"Good," Arthur continued, "Since you’ve read Hume, then surely you must be familiar with his principle of the knave hypothesis."

Before Louis could respond, the most learned man in Germany had already taken the lead to answer.

Raising a finger, Heine recited, "Hume assumed that human nature is evil, and so everyone entering a position of power could be a knave. With this assumption, when designing mechanisms of power, one must keep a close watch on human weaknesses and ensure that the system strictly guards against the knaves."

"Because Hume believed that ambition plays a large role in human nature, desires are very hard to satisfy. If a person lives at the bottom of society, say a thief, then what he pursues is the pinnacle of his own level, to be the king among thieves."

"And once he has reached the peak, becoming king of the thieves, then he will pursue a leap to a higher level of society, for example, becoming a respectable gentleman or even running for election. Moreover, he will do everything possible to escape the restraints intended for him, such as destroying his criminal record or spending money to cover up the immoral acts he had once committed."

Arthur nodded slightly, and with a smile, he said, "Exactly, that’s true. Yet, Hume also admitted that it is clearly wrong to treat every person as a scoundrel. However, when it comes to institutional design, we should prepare for the worst rather than expect the best."

Hume emphasized that, in designing any governmental system and determining the checks and oversight within that system, one must imagine every member as a scoundrel, whose actions are driven solely by self-interest with no other purpose.

And I believe this theory is absolutely correct, and it can also be applied in our process of solving cases. We will certainly refer to the data provided by Liverpool, but we must question its credibility. Louis, I believe you have made some good findings on the credibility of government data with the statistics of London’s nightingales at Scotland Yard."

"This..." Louis, holding the documents, thought for a while, then stood at attention and saluted, "Understood, sir."

Accompanied by a long whistle and a series of ear-piercing, almost mournful brake sounds, sparks burst from the rails as the train slowly entered Lime Street Station at the heart of Liverpool.

The conductor struggled to open the cast-iron door, but before he even had time to catch his breath, he was stunned for a moment by the sight of two rows of gentlemen, canes in hand and dressed in formal attire, waiting at the station to meet the train.

He found some of these gentlemen to be somewhat familiar.

As a conductor who had been on the job for a year, he remembered that some of these gentlemen had also appeared on the platform of Liverpool Station last year, waiting to meet with Prime Minister Wellington, the Duke, during the inauguration of the Manchester-Liverpool railway.

As the conductor hesitated on whether to greet these personages, he suddenly heard a gentle voice behind him: "Excuse me, sir, could you please step aside?"

The conductor turned to look and saw a young face. The gentleman, who had previously been leaning against the window reading a newspaper, had at some point changed into a Scotland Yard uniform, and he was now calmly putting on white gloves.

In the sunlight, the Order of Saint Edward badge on his shoulder and the King’s Court Sword hanging from his waist shined brilliantly.

"Of... of course, sir."

The conductor quickly stepped aside.

Under Arthur’s lead, Louis, carrying bags big and small, exited the carriage with him.

Arthur let go of the sword hilt he had been holding and first surveyed everyone before raising his hand in salute to the officials waiting for his arrival in front of the station.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Arthur Hastings, Senior Superintendent of the Greater London Police Department and head of the Criminal Investigation Department, Director of the London Police Intelligence Bureau, appointed by the Privy Council and the House of Lords, commissioned by the Lord Chancellor’s office, Navy Department, Home Office, and Customs and Excise, the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland’s Special Commissioner of Anti-Smuggling in Liverpool."