The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1050: Chapter 78: Granduncle’s Imagination

The truth is rarely pure and never simple.

——Oscar Wilde

”The DelaSalle Bank is willing to fully manage the operations of the new bank?”

The proposal of the old granduncle was like a bombshell, taking Schneider by surprise, and even Arthur, who was watching silently, was stunned.

Indeed, for a businessman, there is nothing more profitable than establishing a relationship with the government.

However, it depends on what kind of government business it is.

As an example, in Britain, the safest, most respectable, and consistently profitable business is the legal service contracts with various government departments. By representing these departments in legal matters, one could gain a good reputation and expand their network.

Besides that, public engineering projects are also a lucrative opportunity, with railway construction, port development, and urban infrastructure projects each representing multi-thousand-pound deals.

The shares of the Brunel Road and Bridge Construction Company, which Arthur acquired previously, managed to revive from the brink of bankruptcy because the company consecutively secured several major government contracts, starting with the Avon Gorge Bridge, followed by the Great Western Railway.

Of course, the company getting these orders was not just coincidental, as aside from Arthur Hastings and Lionel Rothschild, obscure figures in the shareholder list, prominent Tory figures like the Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley and Sir Robert Peel appeared as stakeholders.

And apart from legal and engineering services, the most sought-after project is a traditional reserved government business worldwide—military procurement.

Many British companies established their commercial reputation through being army suppliers.

This includes the British Army’s designated uniform supplier, the British apparel giant, Gieves & Hawkes.

The Royal Navy’s official canned goods and condiment supplier, Eld, as well as Crosse & Blackwell, lifelong rivals on sea provisions for Royal Navy sailors.

The pharmaceutical giant, Thomas Holloway, whose main products include Holloway Ointment for treating external injuries, ulcers, burns, and infections, and Holloway Pills for treating indigestion, constipation, and other internal ailments, renowned for introducing quinine greatly appreciated by colonial troops.

As for the government business that caught the eye of the old Mr. DelaSalle, commonly known as financial services, it primarily involves helping the government manage national debt, raise funds, and provide financial consultancy.

Unlike varied blooms in other fields, financial services have always followed the principle of winner-takes-all, with British public debt issuance traditionally monopolized by the two behemoths, Baring Bank and Rothschild Bank, making it nearly sinful for smaller banks to even sniff at the business.

As for the management of national debt, this responsibility is almost entirely entrusted by the Treasury to the Bank of England, which was established jointly by the government and private investors in 1694. Therefore, as per the company’s articles of association, its 24 directors are naturally elected by the bank’s shareholders.

Thus, those sitting on the board are the wealthiest and most powerful bankers in London’s Financial City, namely the familiar faces like Nathan Rothschild, Alexander Baring, and John Reed.

Though the DelaSalle Family has decent clout within financial circles and even participated in the construction of the Banque de France during the Napoleonic Era, their influence in London is evidently inadequate to engage in such high-caliber government business.

Nevertheless, even though they cannot partake in the Treasury’s juicy meat, according to the old granduncle, catching small fish and shrimp from the Foreign Office is also worthwhile.

Moreover, such messy and laborious tasks are often disdained by large banks, which have major contracts from the Treasury and see no need to attract flies by providing a meager bit of meat. Most importantly, the reputation of bankers is not favorable; whether Rothschild or Baring, they must spend a significant amount of money each year on charities and public welfare to garner positive press.

The Rothschild Family has funded several educational and medical projects around London and is also a major sponsor of academic projects at Oxford University and Cambridge University.

The Baring Family is similarly attentive to public health and education institutions, with their main activities centered in London and South England. During the prior cholera outbreak in England, Alexander Baring, in a private agreement with Arthur, even announced on behalf of the Baring Family a plan to construct a low-cost housing community in Liverpool.

But unlike the lofty Rothschild and Baring Families, who beyond interests have begun to pursue reputation, the DelaSalle Family, although having similar origins, has not advanced like Rothschild and Baring, whose status in Europe continually climbs like sesame seeds sprouting. Meanwhile, DelaSalle seems like a post-autumn grasshopper, not likely to leap about long.

During a previous ball at the Kaidao Sai Mansion, Thiers privately mocked Emily’s father, thinking the old man was insatiable and discontent.

Though Thiers’ words were not incorrect, considering the starting points of both, it yields a different insight.

Thiers came from a middle-class French family; he was born in Marseille, his father a modest local businessman, later serving a term as the Port Director of Marseille. Unfortunately, Thiers’ mother was abandoned shortly after marrying his father, so he barely benefited from his father’s influence, even having to borrow money to finish college.