Shadow of great britain

On the outskirts of Liverpool, a warm breeze blew through the fields, bringing up waves of green turnips.

Since the agricultural revolution began in England in the 18th century, turnips have been introduced to Britain as a high-yielding crop. Although at the beginning of its introduction, turnips were given high hopes of becoming a new generation sugar crop. But when Francis Blakey discovered that beets contain 8% more sugar than turnips, turnips fell out of favor.

But on the other hand, the fall from favor helped promote the large-scale cultivation of turnips, and people soon discovered its new role.

This high-yielding crop, which grows in autumn and matures in late winter, can well fill the gap in the crop rotation system. Although it cannot be the best sugar crop, it can still be regarded as a high-quality pasture for livestock.

If we simply narrate this story, it seems to be an ordinary case of agricultural breeding.

But if we expand the matter, people will be surprised to find that it is not the British farmers who have continued to promote agricultural breeding and set off a new round of agricultural revolution in the past two centuries, but a group of farmers who are interested in breeding. A nobleman who loves herding sheep to the point of madness.

These people include Lord Townsend, who vigorously promoted the turnip rotation system in Britain, and Lord Coke, who devoted his life to improving livestock breeds.

There is the Duke of Portland who is worried about the lack of irrigation in his own fields every day, so much so that he studies clay pipe irrigation every day.

There is also the Duke of Bedford, an early water supply and drainage enthusiast who thinks about how to turn his swamp into fertile farmland every day.

Unfortunately, although the Duke of Portland and the Duke of Bedford made achievements in agricultural reform, the two most famous figures in their families did not study agriculture.

The most well-known figure in the Duke of Portland's family is Henry Cavendish, whose representative work is the Cavendish Torsion Scale Experiment. In addition, he was the first to discover carbon dioxide and hydrogen. In his later years, he also proposed the concept of dielectric constant with the young Faraday.

As for the Duke of Bedford family, things are slightly better. The most famous member of their family has not yet been born, and his main interests are mathematics and philosophy.

But in any case, the British nobles' love for agriculture can also be seen from this point.

Unlike the aristocrats in most parts of Europe who preferred to live in cities, the British lords went to the countryside whenever they could.

The 15th-century Italian scholar Poggio Bracciolini complained about this kind of British thinking that they could not understand.

"In this country, the nobles think it is a shame to live in the city for a long time. They mostly live in the countryside, like cutting down trees and farming, and actively participate in various rural undertakings. Selling woolen materials and livestock is regarded as a noble industry. I have I met a rich British man. He sold his family property, bought a large piece of real estate in the countryside, and took his family out of the city and ran to the countryside. This was just to train his son to become a real nobleman. The final result was also As he wished, after a few years in the country, even he himself was accepted by the aristocracy."

This long-standing physiocratic sentiment has been passed down from the 15th century to the present day. Even in the 19th century, there are still people imitating the behavior of the British rich man hundreds of years ago.

For example, in the woods not far from the turnip field, there is a son of a well-known local wealthy man in Liverpool who is chopping firewood with a small axe.

December was the coldest season of the year, but William Gladstone was only wearing a thin white shirt, ignoring the howling north wind, and kept chopping firewood with his head down.

And judging from the sweat on his forehead and the soaked white shirt, the young man must have been hacking for a while.

Even though the British regard chopping wood as a way to cultivate a strong will, it is still rare for a rich second generation to be as selfless as Gladstone.

I don't know if it was due to the depression caused by being defeated by Disraeli in the party's primary vote. Gladstone, who usually regarded chopping firewood as his life, was even more selfless and dedicated today with every blow he struck. interesting.

After a while, the firewood was piled as high as a hill around him.

If Arthur were standing here at this moment, he would definitely think of what Mr. Disraeli said to him before: "If Gladstone falls into the Thames and drowns this winter, the heating of the whole London will be reduced." Problem. The great flood sent by God was nothing to worry about in front of him. What Noah did for seven days, Gladstone could finish in one afternoon."

Although even sharp-tongued political opponents like Disraeli highly recognized his ability to chop wood, in the final analysis, people are still human beings, and people will eventually get tired.

Gladstone put down the axe, put one hand on the tree trunk and looked at the pile of fruits of this morning's work in front of him. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat while breathing heavily.

He turned to look at the blazing bonfire beside him, and the swaying flames seemed to deform with his breathing. Disraeli's frivolous and narcissistic smiling face was all there, and even the crackling sound of burning changed into His eccentric irony.

As a devout believer who strictly abides by church discipline and can memorize the Bible backwards and forwards, Gladstone never shows his emotions. He follows his father's requirements and strives to become a man with noble qualities and chivalry. people.

But in the final analysis, he was still too young at this time.

As a young man, he naturally has a bit of youthful vigor, or in other words, anger.

Gladstone kicked towards the bonfire, and burning charcoal sparks flew into the air, blurring his eyes.

"Benjamin Disraeli! He has narrow political views, naive thinking, frivolous behavior, and pretentious speeches. Wherever he goes, he wears yellow trousers, green vests, pointed leather shoes, and lace scarves. He looks narcissistic and proud. You guy! How in the hell am I worse than you? Is it just because you know how to climb Mrs. Sikes's skirt?

Oh, my God! Can you please open your eyes and see what Kent County has chosen? He might as well choose a donkey. The donkey can also crow and is smarter than him! "

Gladstone's white shirt ripped open, and the gold-plated copper buttons were scattered all over the floor. His strong chest rose and fell, and it was obvious that the young man was very angry.

Agares lay on his side on a branch, gnawing an apple and watching the play: "Pray to God? With this level of consciousness, you deserve not to pass the party primaries. You even look down on Disraeli and Donkey, and you still go and pray." A thing inferior to them. At least they can still croak, and God, even if your mouth is blistered, it won't fart!"

Perhaps he heard Agares whisper, or perhaps Gladstone realized that he had made a mistake.

He covered his forehead and looked at the mess, shaking his head and saying, "God! William, look, what have you done? Don't let anger control your emotions."

Gladstone quickly adjusted his breathing and emotions. He held the cross on his chest with pious hands and closed his eyes and prayed: "Dear Lord! We need you. We can't live without you for a moment. We can only cling tightly to you." Only with you can we have contentment and rest in our hearts. My Lord, we thank you! Because in this dark age, you are the only light. Please use your true light to drive away the darkness in our hearts and make us holy and become you. Precious vessel, we know that all this is impossible for humans, but is it impossible for you. I pray to you in the name of the Lord. Amen."

Seeing this, Agares just rolled his eyes, raised his hand and threw the apple core at Gladstone's head: "This kid is hopeless. If you don't do all this, you might as well fight with me. Sign an agreement. When you elect a member of parliament from now on, it won’t be your turn even if it’s Elder’s turn.”

As soon as Agares finished speaking, suddenly, the sound of galloping horse hooves came from ahead.

Gladstone looked back and saw several familiar young faces sitting on the horses on the country road.

They were also several noble sons from wealthy families in Liverpool, many of whom he had known since childhood.

It's just that Gladstone has been alienating these friends intentionally or unintentionally in recent years.

There is no other reason. As a devout believer, he really can't stand the extravagant life and cynical attitude of these guys.

"Good afternoon! William! When did you return to Liverpool? Why didn't you say hello to us? If I had known you were back, we would have taken you with us when we went hunting in the morning."

Several young people saw their old friends put down their whips, tightened their reins, and stopped in front of Gladstone.

Gladstone glanced at the two foxes hanging on the saddle and smiled politely: "It's not like you don't know my hunting skills. Bringing me with you is just a burden, so I won't disturb your fun. ”

Several young people laughed and said: "What's the big deal? Anyway, there are enough bullets. If you practice more, you can always get a shot. But it doesn't matter if you missed the hunt. Since you are back, tonight we Set up a cocktail salon. You must have had few good days in the past few years since you went to Oxford to study, right?

It's a pity that you didn't catch up with the good times. When my brother was studying in Oxford, the control was not so strict. But if you didn't rush there while you were studying, you happened to catch up with the introduction of prostitution laws at Oxford University. Oh, I have to say that the congressman who proposed this motion is really a genius. Is he planning to treat Oxford students as prisoners?

I heard that since the introduction of this bill, the number of ladies in Oxford has decreased by more than half. You studied there for three years, and you must have been a medieval monk for three full years, right? Without the company of beautiful ladies, the only entertainment left every day is drinking. "

When Gladstone heard this, he corrected him seriously: "Occasionally I drink a little wine, but mainly when I take communion in school. I rarely drink wine by myself in private."

"You don't drink much wine either?"

Several young people were surprised: "William, my good brother, you have suffered terribly in the past few years. It seems that we must make up for the lost three years today. At six o'clock tonight, the location is tentatively determined , we will send servants to your manor to inform you after we have organized the situation."

"William, do you remember Catherine? The little princess who has become the star of the world has now become a beautiful young lady and can participate in social dances. She has always had a good impression of you. Tonight you go and invite her to dance first She will definitely not refuse a dance. How about it? Are you guys interested in you? "

Gladstone originally wanted to refuse the invitation to the ball, but as soon as he heard the name Catherine, God's commandments were immediately thrown out of his mind.

Gladstone asked hesitantly: "Are you sure that Catherine will also go?"

"It would have been uncertain."

"But if you go..."

"Then Catherine will probably go too."

"Even if she doesn't want to go."

"Her parents will also escort her there."

Several young people smiled and winked at Gladstone: "William, you are too modest and cautious, and have no idea how charming you are. Every native of Liverpool knows that the surname Gladstone represents You are rich, not to mention that the fact that you were favored by the Duke of Newcastle at the graduation ceremony has already spread throughout our upper circles."

"My father said that at worst you can become a regular in the cabinet like Sir Peel. If you think higher, you might even be able to serve as prime minister like Sir Canning."

"That's right, George Canning is just the son of an actress, and his uncle is a small banker. And you, William, your father is one of the top businessmen in Liverpool. In terms of ability and financial resources, you are better than Canning. Much better. If Canning can be prime minister for one term, you can do two terms no matter what."

"William, if you want to elect a member of parliament, keep your hands on your hands and speak at the same time. Everyone has been playing together since childhood. In addition to hunting foxes from the woods, we can also spend a little money. For one or two thousand pounds, you can Just ask someone to pass on a message. If it’s more, we’ll have to discuss it with the family.”

"Discuss? My father said that if William can join the Trade Commission, he will give him five thousand pounds as a gift on the spot. If William becomes Prime Minister and agrees to get me into the Trade Commission, he will give him the two he just bought at home. The entire manor has been sold, and even if life is hard, we still have to sell iron to get William two to thirty thousand pounds."

The wealthy young men burst out laughing when they said this.

However, Gladstone couldn't help but frown when he heard this. However, due to the favor of his friends, he ultimately did not express his campaign platform of vigorously rectifying government corruption.

He changed the subject and said, "Speaking of which, tonight's dance..."

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to tell you. There should be a guest from London showing up at tonight's dance. You have to be more careful with him. We don't want you to steal Catherine's first place. One dance, but the guest doesn’t know that you two are in love.”

"Hiss... I haven't thought of it if you don't mention this. As the guest, it's really hard for us to explain these things to him. If he takes a fancy to Catherine and invites her to dance, Catherine will also It’s really hard to reject him directly.”

"Guest?" Gladstone asked in confusion: "Does that guest have a special identity? Does he have any special title?"

A rich young man suppressed a smile and replied: "Special, indeed special, and the title is quite long."

Another rich young man next to him recalled the self-introduction he heard at the station that day, and imitated it in his unique drake voice: "Introduce yourself, Arthur Hastings, Senior Superintendent of the Metropolitan Police. And the head of the Criminal Investigation Department, the director of the London... Bureau, the special anti-smuggling inspector in Liverpool appointed by so-and-so.”

As soon as he finished his imitation show, his friends nearby laughed and cheered.

"Hahaha! Well done! Who is this boy from London going to Liverpool to scare? A special anti-smuggling inspector. Does he know that this isn't the first time London has sent an anti-smuggling inspector to Liverpool?"

"By the way, what happened to the last person who came to Liverpool to arrest smuggling? Can any of you guys remind me?"

"Edmund, you have a really bad memory. Let me tell you, the last Anti-Smuggling Commissioner! He died! He was buried alive by the Hawkhurst Gang. Since then, London has not been around again for half a century. No commissioners have been sent to Liverpool either.”

"Hahaha!!!"

When Gladstone heard this, he couldn't help but change his expression: "Superintendent Hastings? Is he the anti-smuggling commissioner?"

"Huh?" Mr. Kuo asked: "William, do you know him? That's just right. It would be good for everyone to have afternoon tea sometime and talk things over with him. You probably don't know yet, the Port Authority, the Customs The Customs Department and the City Council are very angry with this Officer Hastings!"

"Yes, their urine has been yellow for the past two days. My father also called Edmund, Jonathan, and Monk's fathers to hold an industry meeting today to discuss how to deal with this Hastings police officer. By the way, your father and your brother should also be involved in this matter. I remember that the meeting place seemed to be in your family’s trade office at the port.”

"William, since you have a way, then go and help the old guys find out. Ask Hastings how much it will cost to deal with this matter. We don't want to make too much trouble with London. "Zhang, just for the sake of cholera prevention and control, the port trade was turned into a mess. Is it like this?"

When Gladstone heard this, he quickly asked: "When was the industry meeting you mentioned held?"

"It started at ten o'clock this morning." Mr. Kuo looked up at the big sun in the sky: "According to the slowness of old guys, it probably hasn't ended yet."

Upon hearing this, Gladstone jumped onto his horse. He reined in the reins and said, "Steve, lend me this horse for a while. I'll take it over to return it to you when I go to the dance."

After saying this, Gladstone flicked his riding whip, dust flew up on the trail, and the young man galloped away on his horse.

You guys look at me and I look at you.

"Come on, brothers, we're short of horses. It seems we can't continue hunting."

"Then what are you going to do next?"

The wealthy young man named Steve glanced at the small ax that Gladstone had left behind and the large forest. He pinched his chin and suggested, "How about we compete in chopping firewood?"

After hearing this, the young men looked around at the vast empty fields and blue sky, and finally stood up and dismounted.

"Okay, then I'll be first."

Agares, who was lying on the tree, heard this and yawned and stretched. The red devil spat in disgust: "Damn... one is more useless than the other."

…

Liverpool, Old Docks, Gladstone Import and Export Trading Company.

The conference room on the third floor was filled with smoke.

The Danish camphor wood conference table imported from the Baltic Sea was full of people, and the table was covered with black bowler hats taken off by the guests.

In the fairyland-like clouds, mountains and mist, you can vaguely see the bright, shining little suns.

Such an iconic scene is enough to illustrate the identity of the participants. They are all genuine British gentlemen. If any one of them is taken out alone, it is enough to cause an earthquake in the entire import and export trade of Liverpool, and even affect the whole of Britain. Or the price of certain commodities rises and falls.

Their business routes covered not only the tobacco and sugar trade between the West Indies and West Africa, but also the grain trade between England and Ireland. It also includes wood, cotton and linen products traveling to and from America and the Baltic Sea coast. Of course, they have not forgotten Liverpool's old business. Greenland's fishing industry is also one of their areas of involvement.

Old Gladstone held his pipe in his mouth, put one hand between his eyebrows and looked down at the documents in his hand. He asked without raising his head: "I heard that yesterday he asked the Customs Department for a customs declaration form?"

"That's right." The middle-aged and elderly gentleman sitting on his left hand smoothed the few stubborn hairs on his head: "The Customs Department sent the customs declaration form yesterday afternoon."

"oh?"

Old Gladstone put down the documents, leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms and said, "They compromised with London so easily? This is not like their style!"

The old gentleman sitting on Gladstone's right hand took off his glasses and said: "I heard that Whitehall is really angry this time. The Lord Chancellor seems to be very dissatisfied with the dock riots that broke out in Liverpool a while ago. The Prime Minister, Earl Gray, was even more so a few days ago. The Customs House and the Board of Trade were reprimanded in person and asked to give a written explanation of what had happened in Liverpool.

The General Administration of Customs and the Board of Trade were naturally unable to keep it in their hearts and digest it alone, so they kicked the ball to the Port of Liverpool Authority again, requiring the Port Authority to submit a written report and asking them to promise not to make the same mistake again. .

No matter how tough the Port Authority is, they cannot be stupid enough to survive in this situation. Even if they want to fight back, at least they have to wait for this storm to pass. That Hastings was sent from London, and he carried orders from the Chancery, the Admiralty, the Home Office and the Customs Service. The Port Authority still had to keep its appearance. "

"Is it just a superficial appearance?"

"Yes, it's still the same thing. They left some minor mistakes for the young man to check. After all, he had to show some results to submit a report to London. And the customs, it seems fake because it is so watertight. Instead of letting it go, He's running around like a headless fly, so why not show him the way? At least we can know in advance what he's looking for."

"Nine thousand six hundred pounds of tea with no tax declared, 7300 pounds of tobacco that was declared as domestic transportation for international transportation, half a cargo of high-end clothing with an incorrect valuation, and some bits and pieces of industrial raw materials. Let's share the money in this area equally. , when the Customs Department and the Customs Department come to collect the goods, we can just pretend to argue. If you lose the case in court, don’t continue to appeal. It is impossible to win this case, and it cannot be won."

"If he investigates something, he can take credit. If the cabinet finds out the problem, he can take credit. Our losses are within a reasonable range and will not affect subsequent business, so everyone will be happy."

Having said this, the gentleman sitting opposite Old Gladstone just touched his bald head, raised his finger and tapped his head: "If the matter can be solved smoothly, of course it will be fine. But the problem now is that I am afraid of him I don’t like these little sesame seeds, so I have to look into the big ones.”

As soon as he said this, the gentleman sitting by the window said impatiently: "I've given him so much, what else is there to be dissatisfied about? When I was young, I only made a few bucks by transporting a strong nigger to America. ? After a narrow escape from Britain to Africa, and then from Africa to the Americas, at least one-third to half of the niggers in a ship would die. After deducting the crew wages and ship damage, a smuggler could carry four hundred people. The net profit from the slave ship is only 8,000 to 10,000 pounds. Now that he has done nothing but sleeps in the hotel, we will hand him over two shiploads of nigger money, which is enough."

"Lovi, don't be so quick to get angry. I'm not saying that he will definitely do this, but we must consider that he is a young man. We also came from when we were young, just like when you were young, you are young When you were young, you could go to Africa to sell niggas regardless of malaria, but now that you are older, can you still go out and do such a thing? When you were young, you always wanted to eat a fat man or swallow a watermelon, but But if you don’t think about it, you will push yourself to death. This is a common problem among young people.”

"You don't want one nigger at a time. We in Britain have abolished slavery, and what we are doing now is a decent business."

"Why is it illegal to sell a nigger? The council made him illegal, but God didn't say that."

"Okay, okay! We are discussing the matter of young people now. Why did you involve the nigger? You can use a whip to deal with the nigger, but can you deal with the superintendent of Scotland Yard?"

"It's not up to us to decide whether it works or not. It depends on Officer Hastings's own thoughts. By the way, what is his approach?"

"I asked someone to go to London to find out. His situation is a bit hard to tell. It seems like he got into trouble and was sent to Liverpool to do this hard job, or someone above him wanted to improve his grades."

"Using Liverpool's port quarantine to test your performance? Isn't this a mental illness? Ninety percent of the country's cotton and linen are imported from Liverpool. If we stop here, all the textile mills in Lancashire will have to stop production. The cabinet will not send an experienced person. I came to handle this matter, but instead sent a stupid young man. If you say he wasn’t tricked, I don’t believe it.”

"I don't know if he was tricked or not. But I know that he is a graduate of the University of London, a student of Lord Brougham, the Lord Chancellor of the Royal Court, and a capable person of Lord Peel. But you are right about one thing, Brougham. There's something a little sick in the head about that man Ruham."

"Sir Peel's right-hand man? If you put it that way, the Whigs are now in power. If he was promoted by Peel, and if he does not do well in Liverpool, there seems to be no psychological pressure on the Whigs to remove him."

"So, the truth is getting clearer with each passing day, and now it's clear. Why this kid was sent to Liverpool is now very clear."

Old Gladstone pondered: "Then the next step is how to contact him... What do you think?"