The Shadow of Great Britain

88: Chapter 48 The King of Finance in London 88: Chapter 48 The King of Finance in London Rothschild, a name that frequently appeared in the news of various British newspapers and satirical cartoons.

Although in these reports, the name Rothschild was often associated with negative images such as bribery, corruption, cunning, and craftiness.

But no matter how much the newspapers belittled and mocked the family, at the end of the articles, they always mentioned the astonishing wealth that the financial dynasty held.

As a vast financial dynasty that spanned across Europe, even though the Rothschild family had achieved great success in Paris, Frankfurt, Naples, and Austria, their London branch was still the richest of them all.

During the anti-French wars from 1811-1815, the British Government paid a total of 42 million British Pounds in aid to the allies of the anti-French coalition, and the Rothschild family was involved in about 8 million pounds of that share.

They resolved the British Government’s urgent need for funds by borrowing from other companies and through negotiations, and later earned a large amount of commissions and currency exchange profits by providing financial intermediation services to the anti-French coalition.

Then in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, they daringly bet on Duke Wellington’s success, and made a profit of more than 200,000 pounds from purchasing British government bonds at a low price.

Leveraging the wealth they had accumulated over the past decade, they decisively acted during the financial crisis of 1825 by providing 11 million pounds worth of gold reserves to the Bank of England, which was experiencing a gold rush, helping them successfully weather the crisis.

Through this series of events, the Rothschild family successfully gained the trust of the Tory Party, thus they smoothly obtained the qualification to issue a portion of British government bonds.

Besides, they also gained the trust of the newly independent government of Brazil, and issued Brazilian bonds valued at 3 million British Pounds, with their steadily growing reputation.

It can be said that since 1825, Nathan Rothschild, the London branch’s head of the Rothschild family, had become the king of the entire London Financial City.

He and other bankers from the Financial City were often depicted together in satirical cartoons, where they said “a sneeze from Nathan could cause an earthquake in the Financial City.”

But compared to the Rothschild family’s growing wealth, their political status had always been relatively low.

On the one hand, it was because their image as nouveau riches was too deeply ingrained in people’s hearts; after all, it had been only two or three decades since the official rise of the family, whose ancestors were merely antique dealers from Frankfurt.

On the other hand, it was due to their special identity—Jews.

In almost all areas of Europe, discriminatory policies were adopted against Jews; they were confined to specified Jewish quarters, and their political rights to vote and be elected were restricted, and so on.

In Britain, even the Irish had a better image in newspapers than them.

To improve this imbalance between wealth and political power and also to expand their sources of information, the Rothschild family had devoted themselves to connecting with various influential political figures over the past decade.

Arthur had seen more than once in newspapers satirical cartoons that depicted Nathan Rothschild bribing Prime Minister Duke Wellington and King George IV.

They were so attentive to the Duke Wellington and King George IV; of course, they wouldn’t neglect the Duke of Sussex, who had always advocated for equal treatment of Jews.

The Lionel standing before him must be someone Nathan Rothschild had sent to establish a rapport with the Duke of Sussex, right?

Faced with this major figure from the London Financial City, a minor political player in Britain, Arthur truly didn’t know how he should behave towards him.

After all, he only had 14 pounds 6 shillings 1 pennies in savings; hardly enough to buy even the smallest denomination of stock in the London stock exchange, right?

But he chose to shake the other’s hand nonetheless—after all, it was better to have one more friend than one more enemy; he might be useful in the future.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr.

Rothschild.”

“No, no, no.”

Lionel winked at Arthur and smiled, saying, “Just call me Lionel.

Frankly, I have wanted to meet you for a long time.

You are the pride of Scotland Yard, and your work achievements have thrilled the entire Britain.

I’m delighted for you.”

Your appearance also attests to the correctness of the “Catholic Emancipation Act.” Times are changing, and in this era of transformation, clinging to outdated and backward notions does no good for social progress.

You must agree with this perspective, wouldn’t you?”

Arthur, having heard this, finally understood the true intention behind the other party’s words.

Jews and Catholics are both fallen in the Thames River, everyone wants to get to shore, thus helping each other is helping oneself.

The Red Devil, clapping Arthur on the shoulder and winking, said, “Look at that!

What did I say?

Mammon has come knocking at your door, Arthur, look ahead, and you’ll see handfuls of banknotes waving at you.

Just get on board with Rothschild, and your personal wealth will skyrocket in no time.”

Arthur nodded with a smile and replied, “I’ve long heard of the Rothschild Family’s great reputation, but as you know, the London Financial City does not fall under Scotland Yard’s jurisdiction—it has its own London Financial City Police Department—so I haven’t had much of an opportunity to go there.”

“No problem,” Lionel said as he pulled a business card from the pocket of his jacket and handed it over, “Whenever you have time, feel free to come to this place to find me.

Regardless of whether it’s a friendly chat or if you’re seeking investment advice, I await your visit.”

“You are too kind.”

Suddenly, the Duke of Sussex spoke, “Arthur, you came to me today regarding the case in the St Giles Church parish, didn’t you?

That group of people is indeed despicable!

I assure you that I will do my utmost in the House of Lords to exert pressure on the relevant medical institutions and schools involved in the case.”

Arthur said, “I appreciate your kindness and justice, but, Your Grace, my visit to Gresham College today isn’t solely for that.”

He took out the investigation file from the briefcase he carried with him.

“After my extensive search and analysis, the missing individuals should not be just related to the murder and body-snatching cases, I suspect that there may also be abhorrent transactions involving the luring of the poor into signing indenture agreements.”

“Indentured slaves?” Hearing this, the Duke of Sussex suddenly felt a surge of anger.

He had always been one of the major supporters of the British abolitionist movement, and had lobbied among the nobility in the House of Lords for a considerable time in 1807 to enable the smooth passage of the “Abolition of the Slave Trade Act.”

But the act of 1807 only made the slave trade illegal on British soil, while it remained a legal practice in Britain’s colonies.

To abolish slavery comprehensively, Sussex, along with a large group of abolitionist supporters from those days, established the Anti-Slavery Society in 1827.

Thus, Arthur’s mention of indentured slaves was like stepping on the Duke of Sussex’s tail.

He sprang up from the sofa in agitation, “Arthur, are you certain?”

Arthur, of course, couldn’t state it as a fact, he also had to leave some leeway for himself: “It’s only a reasonable suspicion.

After all, most of the missing have been found dead, and those without bodies to be found are precisely young adult males.

This demographic is unlikely to be the target of body snatchers.

Scotland Yard has nearly turned all of London upside down in conjunction with the military police, yet not a trace has been found, so I can only guess they have already left Britain.

Given their financial status, it’s unlikely they could afford a ticket to other places.

Indentured servitude is almost the only possibility remaining.”

After hearing Arthur’s analysis, the Duke of Sussex nodded, “You make sense.

Alright, I will assign all my private investigators to your command.

However you want them to investigate, that’s how they shall proceed.

These bastards, if they cannot sell black slaves, they just switch to selling white ones?

Damn inhuman!”

With that, Arthur’s worries eased a bit, and he added, “Your Grace, you must understand that slave traders capable of organizing fleets are not the small-time criminals like body snatchers.

Should I encounter considerable resistance during my investigation, would you…”

The Duke of Sussex clearly grasped what Arthur meant, waving his hand grandly, he declared, “Rest assured, as long as you get conclusive evidence, I promise they will get what they deserve!

The abolition cause is not just a solo endeavor; I have plenty of friends in the House of Commons.

If anyone dares to retaliate against you, I can offer you protection and guarantee to mobilize the Whig Party in the House of Commons to create momentum for you.

As Lionel said, abolitionism is the historical trend of the times, and the selling of white slaves is even more despised by society.

I believe that at this point in time, even someone as stubborn as the Duke of Wellington should be able to discern what is more important!

If he wants to bring down the Cabinet quickly, he is welcome to oppose me on this matter.

And even if he wanted to do so, I doubt Sir Peel would let him have his way.

Arthur, go ahead with your work with peace of mind, the Anti-Slavery Society and I will have your back!”