v3 Chapter 164： Arnold and Humphrey

Latest website: Who is keeping the country running? Royal Family, Prime Minister or Cabinet? No, it is the countless civil servants who are maintaining the operation of this old empire, making this classic car that is about to fall apart drive slowly and steadily on the downhill road.

They can't change the fact that the car is going downhill, but they can make the person in the car feel extremely smooth. As the saying goes, hit GG in the midst of laughter and laughter

Hundreds of thousands of civil servants will "dedicate" themselves in obscurity to ensure the smooth functioning of government departments. But since they have to assume such a huge power, they always have to sacrifice something, such as holidays.

During the Christmas holidays, the civil servants must not be able to rest. On the contrary, they are busier than usual, because all the lay ministers who are in the way and are good at whimsical are all going on vacation, and the ropes tied around the necks of the civil servants are briefly loosened for a moment. . Civil servants who are good at controlling the timing will definitely not let go of this window period, and they are all working overtime to deal with various government affairs that are usually inconvenient to deal with.

The heads of civil servants were no exception, and when Huck visited Hogwarts, Huck's secretary, Sir Humphrey, and his cabinet secretary, Sir Arnold, had a small meeting. The two people at the top and the second top of the food chain in the British administrative system got together like this.

Cabinet Secretary Sir Arnold is, in a sense, the most powerful man in the country. He is the permanent secretary of the Prime Minister and controls the agenda of the cabinet. Everything in Dae Ying is under his control, and even the magical world has an unclear relationship with him.

But such a person also has the day to retire.

He invited Humphrey to his office today and chatted with him. The chat went well, and Sir Arnold walked over to the side table and poured himself and Humphrey drinks.

"By the way, Humphrey, I decided to retire early." Arnold said while pouring wine, as if he was talking about a trivial matter in Chapter 1, and even the amount of alcohol flowing out of the jug did not change.

"Really, Arnold?" Humphrey couldn't be so calm, his voice trembled after hearing the news.

Sir Arnold noticed a change in the mood of his subordinates.

"It's New Year's." Arnold handed the wine to Humphrey, and he said while holding the glass: "My successor has to stand firm in the face of politicians, and he has to be tactical, gentle, charming, sophisticated...especially Be reliable."

As he spoke, he sat down in an armchair. Humphrey echoed every word he said.

"It is therefore my duty to nominate a permanent secretary to the prime minister who fully meets these conditions."

In the face of Arnold's crazy hints, Humphrey took it all. He felt that this candidate was simply carved out of his own image. He was all excited, and his eyes glowed.

"Then, you... this... do you have..." Humphrey, who was eloquent, actually stammered.

"Look, the true meaning of this business is not to find the right answer, but to find the right question, to see who can find the most critical question." Arnold with black-rimmed glasses is always a light-hearted look. What he said was always vague, but in Humphrey's ears, Arnold's meaning couldn't be more clear: Whoever can help me solve the key problem will be the next cabinet secretary.

He took a sip from the glass and started his performance.

"By the way, Arnold, change the subject, what are you going to do when you retire?" The subject was blunt, but very effective.

It can be seen that after Humphrey said this, Arnold's mood became visibly happy, and there was a hint of admiration in his eyes when he looked at Humphrey. He started gushing about his plans for retirement.

"Chairman of the Bank of the West, IBM, BP, Chairman of the Royal Theatre Foundation - the whole thing is until next year, the Chancellor of Oxford University, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England can be a little challenging...but you always like a challenge...finally , the President of the British Caribbean Association is an opportunity to benefit the public, especially in the winter."

"Exactly." Arnold was very satisfied. Humphrey was worthy of being his chosen successor and arranged his retirement life in an orderly manner.

After the promised position was negotiated, the two began to discuss confidentiality matters. Humphrey assured Arnold that some documents involving Arnold would be kept and looked after.

Who doesn't have a dark history yet? It doesn't matter if you have a black history, just don't expose it while you are alive.

"I can finally rest assured. Then, having said that, my colleagues and I agree that you are the first candidate for cabinet secretary." Arnold's expression was as usual, as if the negotiation just now had never happened at all.

Humphrey gave a delighted smile that grew even brighter when he learned there was only one candidate.

After the deal, Arnold and Humphrey drank the wine together. At this moment, Sir Arnold seemed to remember a trivial matter.

"By the way, since you are the first and only candidate for the next cabinet secretary so far, I think it's a good thing for you and the entire administrative team to take you to meet someone in advance. He and the forces behind him are very important, but their existence can only be known by the cabinet secretary - are you free now?"

Humphrey's expression became serious, he knew his boss too well. The more important things are, the more he has to put them at the end, and the more relaxed and ordinary his tone is, the less relaxed and unusual this matter will be.

He adjusted his sitting position, "Arnold, of course I'm free, may I ask who is the big man we want to meet?"

Arnold glanced at his watch, "No hurry, there's still a quarter of an hour. As for the person we're going to meet, it's a wizard."

Humphrey:  …

He thought there must be something wrong between his ears and Arnold's brain. wizard? He stopped believing in wizards at the age of three!

"After a busy day a joke really does relax."

Arnold looked at Humphrey, his eyes cold and ruthless. Under the coercion of Arnold's eyes, Humphrey obediently closed his mouth.

"I'm not kidding. This is top secret from the cabinet secretaries to be passed down from generation to generation."

Humphrey was already thinking about whether he could become a cabinet secretary after the madhouse kidnapped Arnold.

How could Arnold not see through Humphrey's careful thoughts? But he was too lazy to explain, just sat quietly in his seat, waiting for the appointed time to arrive.

Time is fleeting. Suddenly, the flames in Arnold's office fireplace blazed violently, turning into a green flame the height of a man.

A figure emerged from the flames.

"Allow me to introduce, this is Lucius Malfoy, from the wizarding world."