Shadow of great britain

Oxford Street, in an inconspicuous cafe on the corner.

Arthur was holding a pipe in his mouth and wearing a big-brimmed hat on his head. He held in his hand the "The Times" that had just been released this morning. The shocking headlines on it were enough to frighten anyone who longed for a peaceful and stable life. .

"The Duke of Wellington has been besieged on the high hill by the progressive forces of liberal democracy, and we will annihilate him here"

"Wellington's gold medal thug Crocker submitted the first draft of the 'Rebellion Bill' to the House of Commons, and the helpless old Nose tried to give it a go"

"The Rebellion Bill was strongly blocked in the House of Commons, with the Whigs voting collectively against it and the Tories Peel Party not commenting on the feasibility of the new bill"

"The overall situation has been decided?" His Majesty the Great King canceled the toast to the Duke of Wellington's health at a banquet for the directors of the East India Company. His Majesty's actions may have the following three profound meanings.

"Tonight is the darkest sky the Duke has seen since the Battle of Waterloo"

"The Duke of Wellington met with Tory figures the Duke of Newcastle, the Earl of Eldon, the Earl of Winchelsea, Viscount Harding and others at Apsley House"

"After meeting with the Duke of Wellington, the former Tory Lord Justice Earl Eldon delivered a violent speech to his supporters: Reform is violent democracy, and the direct consequence of democracy is the deprivation of property! If the Reform Bill passes the House of Commons, then we will stop him in the House of Lords! 》

General Roland Hill, Viscount Almaraz, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Major General Henry Harding, Viscount Henry Harding, former Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State for Ireland, Marquess of Anglesey, former Director of Ordnance , General Henry Paget, Governor of the Cape Colony, Lieutenant General Lord Galbraith Cole, former Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in Bengal, current Governor of the Colony of Mauritius, Lieutenant General Charles Colville Lords issued a joint statement: We implore your Lordships to consider carefully whether parliamentary reform is a wise move.

"Unforgivable!" Old Nose is secretly organizing his defensive position》

"The Prime Minister makes a statement! Earl Gray made a public speech to Whig members at the Reform Club, asking all party members to strengthen their confidence: I will reduce the number of "cannons" displayed in the House of Lords.

"Prime Minister Earl Gray visited Windsor Castle at night and talked with His Majesty the King for three hours"

"According to informed sources, Earl Gray is trying his best to persuade His Majesty the King to urgently consecrate fifty Whig nobles to ensure that the Whig Party can occupy an absolute majority in the House of Lords and ensure the smooth passage of the Reform Bill"

"The bad news is coming!" It is said that although His Majesty the King supports the reform position, he is still extremely angry at Earl Gray's request to urgently confer fifty nobles into the House of Lords.

"His Majesty angrily denounced Earl Gray's bold idea: The seats in the House of Lords are not second-hand stalls in Covent Garden Market, so they cannot be sold wholesale. British noble titles will only be awarded to those who have made meritorious services to the country."

As soon as Arthur saw this, he suddenly found a hand on the edge of the newspaper.

A kind and energetic voice sounded in his ears: "Reading the Times? I thought you would never buy their newspapers again after they attacked you."

Arthur put down the newspaper and said: "I'm not that narrow-minded, and I didn't buy this newspaper. It was distributed collectively by Scotland Yard to senior police officers. It's free. Why not take it? Besides, "The Times" Despite all their shortcomings and their tendency to jump left and right, even if their news does not always state the facts, it can still reflect the current trend in Britain to a certain extent."

The person talking to Arthur was Lionel of the Rothschild family. The eldest young man of the Rothschild family took off his coat and put it on the chair. From his usual smile, it was impossible to read his recent past. Are you in a good mood?

Lionel said: "Arthur, you should have come to me first to cooperate with the Liverpool city construction bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance. Although Bahrain has a stronger say in the issuance of British public bonds than us, Rothschild Germany is not completely speechless. If there is such a good thing in the future, you must discuss it with us first. The Rothschild family and the Bahrain family both started in Germany, and our business philosophy and management model are no better than theirs. Difference."

Arthur tilted his head and picked his ears: "I will definitely come to you as soon as possible for this kind of profitable business. But at that time, nothing was certain. No one knew whether Liverpool's city bonds could be approved, so this kind of I definitely can't push you out of something that is risky. Lionel, I still remember the words you said to me. Rothschild pursues long-term and stable profits."

Lionel smiled and pursed his lips when he heard this. He shrugged and said: "If the risk is only this level, we can still take it. But I can understand why you are looking for Bahrain. After all, the Public Works Committee basically has In their hands, and they hold a larger proportion of equity in the Bank of England than we do. So, even if you find me, I will eventually have to find Bahrain. It’s okay to give Liverpool’s head to them, but if London We need to break ground too, and it won’t work if we are ignored any longer.”

Arthur replied: "I will convey this matter to Benjamin for him. After all, you know that I am just a Scotland Yard policeman, and Benjamin has become a member of the Public Works Committee, and he has financial matters." You have more say than I do."

Lionel took the coffee cup from the waiter's hand, stirred it with a spoon, and asked: "Speaking of which, why don't you and Benjamin come to my place to sit together some other time? By the way, there will also be Alexander and Sergeant Bonaparte, call them together. I just bought a manor in the country a while ago, which is very close to Highgate Forest. After lunch, we can ride horses and go fox hunting in the forest."

"I'd love to accept your invitation, but..."

Arthur shook his head slightly and said: "Lionel, you should be better informed than me. With the current situation in London, it is impossible for me to leave and go hunting in the countryside. Moreover, I invited you here today precisely to express my gratitude to you. Verify one thing.”

Lionel looked at Arthur's face. He was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Well, since you said that, I probably know what's going on."

Arthur took out a document from the cowhide bag he carried with him: "You should know about the various protest groups that have sprung up in London recently, including middle-class people, manual workers, dock workers, and Protests against urban sanitation and cholera controls.

There are some people here who want to work but don't work, so I can understand their actions. But for other people, they are not short of work. They have legitimate careers and an income that is not high but not low either.

Therefore, even if they want to protest against social injustice, it is usually not their turn to take the lead. But they just came out. I have been wondering what they are going to do for a living by wandering on the streets all day long.

But later, my informant told me that someone was providing them with funds behind the scenes. Their job was to protest on the streets, and no matter how the funds were circumvented, they would always end up in the Financial City. Bankers and stockbrokers either paid them directly or provided food for the protesters.

Of course, I have no problem with the fact that these gentlemen are so passionate about politics and wholeheartedly support the cause of parliamentary reform. In Britain, everyone has the right to express their views freely. But, Lionel, I recently discovered something that deeply worries me. "

Lionel took a sip of coffee and asked with a smile: "What did you find?"

Arthur paused for a moment, then tapped the document at hand with his fingers: "The Police Intelligence Bureau has sufficient evidence to show that there should be at least one assassination plot against the Duke of Wellington. I am not opposed to parliamentary reform, but if parliamentary reform It led to the unexpected assassination of His Excellency the Duke, which is something I don't want to see. You must know what that will lead to. A civil war will break out in Britain, between the Royalists and Parliament. If not, Cromwell's story will be repeated in this country. ”

When Lionel heard this, he didn't show much panic. He just tasted the bitterness of the coffee calmly.

"Arthur, maybe you don't believe me, but I still have to say it. In fact, you and I have the same point of view on this matter. I support parliamentary reform, but I will not agree with any conspiracy to assassinate the Duke of Wellington. .You know, I am a banker, and the Rothschilds are one of the major holders of British public debt. Do you think we would like to fight a civil war in Britain?

No kidding, that would send the prices of our bond holdings down. And it’s not just us. Bahrain also holds the same view as us. The bigger banks like us are, the more risk-averse they are. If possible, we hope that His Majesty the King can agree to Earl Gray's suggestion and allow the reform bill to pass the vote in the House of Lords peacefully and calmly. "

Speaking of this, Lionel also specifically added: "Talking back to the revolution, Arthur, you may not know that when the July Revolution broke out in France the year before last, I was in Paris. My father sent me there. Assisted Uncle James with some business concerning French public debt.

There was something wrong with Paris on the eve of the revolution. In order to ensure that a revolution would not break out in France, Uncle James went to French Prime Minister Polignac several times to make sure that he would not launch a military coup or take any illegal actions. After getting repeated commitments from Polignac, we agreed to buy public bonds with a face value of 3.3 million francs, helping them stabilize the bond price at 82.40 points.

However, when Charles X announced the dissolution of Parliament, we finally discovered that things were getting more and more wrong. Although Charles X continued to declare that he would support his government, Uncle James was already devastated by his actions.

The whole world was selling French bonds, and Uncle James couldn't close his eyes for three days. He wrote to my father that he had completely lost his nerve. That is why my father sent me to Paris urgently to assist him in handling our business there.

However, as soon as I arrived in Paris, turmoil broke out there. I saw newspapers on the street being surrounded by soldiers and armed men. They took away all the newspapers and took the editors into the police station. You know, in Britain, that alone would be enough to cause unrest.

Naturally, all the shops selling small commodities on the street were closed. There was a man selling newspapers in the tavern, but he was immediately arrested, but soon some boys and ordinary citizens immediately took up his role, but within a few minutes , everything seemed to be calm again.

The doors of the Palace Hotel and all the shops were closed. This situation was not a big deal in Paris, but if it were in London, it would be big news. All the ministers' houses were also crowded with armed men. All of this has people talking.

After the meeting of all members of parliament, they announced that they were the only and true representatives of the people, and that without their approval, nothing was legal. In other words, everything the ministers did after January 1 They are all illegal, and the people no longer need to pay taxes to the king.

Of course, these are just the views of the opposition, who believe that we will see a very serious situation again, but in the king's camp, the government faction has complete control of the army, and they believe that anything can be done with armed force.

The differences of opinion naturally led to fighting breaking out in the streets of Paris. Over two days, more than 800 demonstrators and more than 200 soldiers were killed. Then, the white flag symbolizing the Bourbon dynasty fell, and the tricolor flag began to fly over every public building in Paris.

Regarding this revolution, Uncle James told me that he was very happy that the outcome was much better than he expected and did not trigger a large-scale civil war. Otherwise, the price of French public bonds would not have remained at 79 points, but would have fallen to 39 points long ago. Clicked.

In order to prove that he was really happy, Uncle James immediately expressed his support for the revolution. Not only did he put a National Guard mini uniform on my three-year-old cousin Alphonse, but he also generously gave him a disposable Donated 15,000 francs to treat innocent citizens injured in street fighting. "

Having said this, Lionel smiled: "Arthur, if you don't believe what I'm saying, you can write a letter to Paris and ask that annoying Mr. Heinrich Heine. He But he kept an eye on Rothschild's every move in Paris. He wrote about the relationship between Uncle James and King Louis Philippe of France as if they were lovers. Rothschild would not oppose the government. , we will only support the government, no matter what kind of government it is, as long as it is in power we will support it. As for the civil war, the price for this thing is too high for us."

Arthur nodded slightly and said: "Not only is it a civil war, even if it is a foreign war, there are many people in the Financial City who are opposed to it, right?"

Lionel stared at the corner of Arthur's eyes and replied apologetically: "Arthur, although I am better informed than the average person, I am not omniscient and omnipotent like God. The rights and wrongs of your experience in Liverpool are quite complicated. But I assure you, Rothschild is not involved, we are not involved in import and export trade.”

"Of course, Lionel, I completely trust you on this point. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to talk openly and honestly with you about the source of funding for protest groups."

Arthur asked: "I just want to find out, if the money was not given by the banker, how did it flow out of the Financial City?"

Lionel put down the coffee cup and said: "I'm just saying that bankers of the size of Rothschild are unlikely to take extreme actions, but this does not mean that those who are relatively small will not take risks. We Being satisfied with where they are currently does not mean that everyone is satisfied with their position. Perhaps in the eyes of some people, the civil war is an opportunity, an opportunity that allows them to replace Rothschild and Bahrain. . There is no shortage of careerists in every era."

Arthur asked: "If Scotland Yard sent an official document to the City Corporation asking the City Police to arrest these people, would there be any chance of success?"

"Minimal."

Lionel sighed: "Arthur, you must know that that is not a person, but a group. They also occupy seats in the City Corporation, and they have more seats than Rothschild and Bahrain combined. Many. Perhaps if they were put forward individually, they would be nothing, but now, these people have become one under the banner of parliamentary reform.

And as your friend, I advise you to put this idea aside as soon as possible. You work in government, so you should understand that if the cabinet really wanted to root them out, why would they let Scotland Yard launch an operation against the City? It's not like there are no police in the City, and the police resources there are more abundant than those under Scotland Yard's jurisdiction. If it really wanted to move, the Financial City would have done it itself.

Arthur, although London is not Liverpool, at some levels, London is just like a larger version of Liverpool. We can only move within the small circle God has drawn for us, and no one can cross the boundary. You can arrest those who conspired to assassinate the Duke of Wellington and bring them to justice, but there is not much more you can do. "