What does Flash overhear from under the billiard table in the novel, Flashman and the Mountain of Light: From the Flashman Papers, 1845-46?

While General Sale, George Broadfoot, Henry Havelock, Prince Waldemar, and Sir Hugh Gough play billiards, Flashman eavesdrops on their conversation. Based on the conversation he hears, he will be offered two jobs. One job is as a soldier and another job is of a more administrative nature in the political service.