Shadow of great britain

As an early university with a long history, the campus planning of the University of Göttingen is completely open.

Except for a small number of core teaching buildings and administrative departments concentrated in a small area in the center of the city, newly expanded laboratories, student apartments and classrooms since the 19th century are scattered like stars in every corner of the city.

Therefore, every time the sun sets, you will find many students wearing robes emerging from quaint private houses.

Some of them had just finished taking classes at the professor's or private lecturer's home, while others were hungry after playing all afternoon and looking for food.

Whenever the busiest time in Göttingen arrives, many small vendors specializing in student business will pop up on the streets of this small town.

They either pushed a small trolley and placed some seasonal fruits and vegetables, or took out a piece of cloth from their bags and spread it on the stone road, carefully placing small groceries such as pipes, tobacco, and belts that they purchased from nearby cities on it. sell.

Of course, there are also vendors selling various handmade snacks. Although there are several beer halls in the city of Göttingen and a canteen on campus, there are always wealthy students who are tired of eating and will line up here to satisfy their appetite.

Schneider and Arthur walked together on the streets of Göttingen. The British diplomat was still in a state of excitement caused by the possibility of getting rich at any time.

"Railway investment! This is indeed a good business. I wanted to participate in a similar project when I was in London, but you also know how many scammers there are in the London Stock Exchange, and many of the companies there are unreliable."

"Arthur, you know what? Prince Leopold, oh, maybe it's not appropriate to call him that now, after all, he's now the King of Belgium, but you know who I'm talking about. You know he visited last year What is the purpose of the British visit? Naturally, this former British son-in-law is not just here to visit relatives."

"You know the Lord Chamberlain, the Marquess of Salisbury? I have some friendship with his nephew. That gentleman told me that his uncle told him that the reason why King Leopold came to England was to inspect Manchester. The passenger railway to Liverpool. Yes, that’s right, Arthur. He really wants Belgium to build a railway from Brussels to Liège on the lines of the Manchester-Liverpool railway.”

"A man was killed by a train? Secretary of State Huskisson? Please, Arthur, at this time, can you not always mention such unlucky things? It was just a small accident. People always have bad luck. , but it happened to be Mr. Huskison’s turn. What? You almost became the safety director of that railway? Tsk! You really have extraordinary luck.”

"Why do we have to come to London to inspect the railway? Can private companies from other places undertake this project? Yes, you are on to the point. You should also know what the situation is like in Belgium. They have just won their independence from the Dutch, so King Leopold feared that if private capital were freed up, the wealthy Dutch might dominate Belgium's economy through control of its railway lines."

"Compared to the Dutch, King Leopold, as the widower of Princess Charlotte, is naturally closer to our Britain. Therefore, he came to London in person to raise funds for railway construction and invited British companies to participate in the construction of the Belgian railway. . Do you know how much money the Belgians planned to issue for railway construction in London? It was to be paid off in fifty years!”

"I also wanted to get involved in this. After all, Belgium's public debt is different from the junk public debt of those South American countries. With King Leopold as a guarantee and Belgium's pretty good industrial strength, this public debt almost does not exist. Possibility of breach of contract. But...well, you know, good things have to be grabbed, and I didn’t grab this good business.”

"The 8 million Belgian public debt has basically been digested within the Financial City. Everyone can see that this is a business that is sure to make money without losing money. The bankers who have fallen in love with the money don't even need much from Belgium. The railway companies participating in the bidding do not need any subsidies from the Belgian government.”

"Well, I have been worried about this matter for a long time, but...hehe, if Mr. Lister's railway plan can be approved, it will obviously be your side's credibility that is stronger, and what we get is not bonds but shares. …”

It can be said that you don’t know if you don’t ask, but you will be shocked if you ask.

Arthur just provoked Schneider to talk about railway investment, but in the end, this guy revealed so many inside stories about Belgian railway construction at once.

It can be seen that he is really upset about missing out on high-quality financial products, and his words are full of fierce protests against the behavior of bankers in the City.

However, Schneider's words gave Arthur a very good idea.

The establishment of a railway company and the recruitment of industrial talents naturally have professionals like List to worry about, but how to help the company win projects is a matter of knowledge.

He was unfamiliar with Hanover. Even if his reputation as a constitutional reform consultant was deceptive, he could not get the Hanover Parliament to approve the construction of a railway line based on this status alone.

Therefore, in order to promote this big project, we must use some forces beyond the ordinary level.

Although Belgium is a constitutional monarchy, Belgium's railway construction plan was almost single-handedly promoted by King Leopold I.

Even if he could promote the railway construction so easily, it was because it was a decision that was in the interests of most Belgians, so it was not difficult to persuade the Belgian Parliament to approve the construction plan.

But since the Belgian Parliament could be persuaded by the king, the Hanoverian Parliament could naturally be persuaded by the royal family.

The opening of the railway can not only improve transportation, but also speed up population mobility, promote industrial development, and ease employment pressure in rural areas.

In addition, railway construction can directly bring thousands of labor jobs and indirectly drive the development of steel processing and machinery manufacturing in nearby areas, so the number of new jobs can only be counted in tens of thousands.

This set of rhetoric applies not only to Belgium, but also to Hanover.

Moreover, Hanover's financing environment is obviously better than Belgium. The City of London has always been generous to this country that shares a king with Britain.

Even if the worst plan is made, the bankers in the City of London are collectively blind and refuse to provide railway financing for Hanover, then Arthur is confident that he can persuade Rothschild Bank to help Hanover issue railway construction bonds.

But everyone knows that this is impossible. Anyone who has lived in London knows how crazy the British are in pursuing railway construction.

They not only want to build railways at home, but also abroad. The craziest idea is to build the London-Paris railway line.

The desire to build this railway is not only due to the huge market for cross-border cargo transportation between Britain and France, but also because this line still has considerable passenger potential. In this era, there are many British people living in France, most of whom are wealthy people such as aristocrats and bankers.

The amazing spending power of this group of people is enough to make the major railway companies listed on the London Stock Exchange scream. They just want to start work the next day.

But unfortunately, the French government is very cautious about foreign capital, especially British capital entering France.

Perhaps it is because they are worried that once the London-Paris railway line is opened, the Duke of Wellington will lead the lobster soldiers to hold a grand "armed parade" in front of the Arc de Triomphe the next day, so they are reluctant to open the railway market to British companies.

But the two countries cannot blame the French for the lack of progress in railway cooperation, because there are also concerns within the British Parliament.

Many people warned that if this railway line was really built, a revolution would break out in Paris the night before, and the republicans would line up to get off the train at Paddington Station the next morning. They would take advantage of the terrain to capture the East End of London before noon and raise the tricolor flag at the Palace of Westminster at midnight.

Is there anything more horrifying than this in the world!

Will this railway line really bring prosperity to Britain?

No, it will bring cheap republicanism and the revolutionary plague of France!

The views of the parliamentarians can indeed be called far-sighted and far-sighted.

Although Arthur was not sure whether this railway line would bring the revolutionary plague, he was sure that this railway line would indeed transport French republicans to London, such as his friend Mr. Alexandre Dumas.

However, Britain did not suffer unilaterally in this regard.

After all, London could also use this railway line to export the reactionary academic authority Arthur Hastings to Paris.

All in all, the two countries are even in this regard. It is not certain who tarnishes whom. Neither France nor Britain should say that the other is immoral.

However, the most opposed to this railway plan are not the members of the House of Commons, but an unexpected organization-the Royal Navy.

The generals of the Royal Navy who are missing arms and legs have stood up in the House of Lords and denounced the absurdity of this railway line.

Regardless of how high the cost of building a cross-sea railway is, even if this railway is really built, if Britain and France go to war again one day, will they blow up this railway temporarily?

However, their statement was strongly opposed by another group of disabled people. The generals of the army waved their empty sleeves and shouted.

"Don't we still have our army! Let's transform the naval base in Portsmouth into an army station, and then stand on the mast of the Victory to ambush these cross-sea frogs!"

Of course, the vulgar words of the army were quickly rejected.

This is not only due to their fantastical battle plan, but also due to the strong Tory background of the army generals.

Even when the Tories were in power, the army could not overwhelm the Royal Navy with strong Whig ideas. Now that the Whigs are in power, they will naturally not get any advantage.

However, no matter what, as long as the railway line from London to Paris is not built, there will be no other voices opposing the construction of railways in Britain. Even the most pedantic investors can see how profitable railway construction is.

The Manchester-Liverpool Railway, which has only been in operation for two years, has an average annual dividend rate of 15%.

No British gentleman can refuse such a profitable industry, even if he is a member of the royal family.

Arthur simply calculated in his mind and soon came to an obvious conclusion-the Duke of Sussex must be brought in.

Just in case, Arthur also needs to meet with Lionel when he returns to his hometown of Frankfurt to attend the annual meeting of the Rothschild family.

Once the Duke joins, the probability of the railway line being approved will soar.

If coupled with the operation of Rothschild, Lister's railway company is almost equal to winning the bid.

Arthur was thinking about this when he suddenly heard a burst of poetry singing from the second-floor window of the hotel across the street.

"The initiator was originally the nightingale, who kept singing: Chirp! Chirp! He sang and everything came to life, violets and apples bloomed, and the grass was green.

The nightingale pecked open its own breast, and bright red blood flowed out. A beautiful rose tree grew out of the blood, and it poured out its burning love to the rose.

What touches all our birds is the blood flowing from its wounds. Once the song of the rose disappears, the entire forest will be destroyed. "

Arthur squinted his eyes and looked up. The person reciting the poem was none other than his close friend, Mr. Heinrich Heine.

He was also familiar with this poem. It was Heine's mourning poem "The Instigator Was the Nightingale" written last year.

Although this poem is of great quality, Heine is obviously not reciting the poem now to mourn Arthur.

"Alas..." Arthur sighed, then put on a smile and shook his hat at Heine: "Heinrich, are you also interested in railways?"

"Railway? No, I just think you need to apologize to me." Heine rubbed his itchy earlobes: "Arthur, I will not say in front of a girl that she looks like a dragoon. You let me It’s out of character in front of Miss Fiona.”

"Ah..." When Arthur heard Heine mention it, he immediately guessed that Fiona probably ran to Heine to argue about her German origin.

He smiled and replied: "But wasn't it you who told me the dragoon joke?"

"Oh, that's not me."

Heine said seriously: "I think you need to help me clear my reputation. I have always thought that German girls are the best girls in the world. When I was studying in Göttingen, I could always hear citizens criticizing Göttingen. In order to help restore their reputation, I have been studying for a long time how to refute this fallacy harshly.

So I attended classes on comparative anatomy at school, copied out the most obscure works in the library, spent hours observing the feet of women passing by on Weijndstrasse, and finally summarized these studies in a erudite paper. results. It wasn't until I dug out the paper from the old papers in the library that Miss Fiona believed that I was not the one who slandered the German girl. "

"Really?" Arthur asked with a smile: "What did you write in the paper?"

Heine counted the family treasures on his fingers and said: "I talked about: 1. A general introduction to feet. 2. The feet of the elderly. 3. The feet of elephants. 4. The feet of Göttingen women. 5. A summary of my experience in Ukraine. Erlich's comments on these feet in the garden. 6. I will take the opportunity to connect these feet and extend them to the calves, knees, etc. 7. If I can find a piece of paper of that size, I will also attach it. Several copper engravings of women's feet in Göttingen."

Hearing this, even Schneider beside Arthur couldn't help laughing. The diplomat laughed and said: "How did you use such a paper to convince Miss Fiona: You are not a German The girl’s detractor?”

"It's a pity." Heine sighed and shrugged: "Miss Fiona only read the title of my paper. It can be seen that she does have German blood in her body. She is very smart, but not wise, and likes to pursue the truth. , but do not understand that the apparent truth is actually hypocrisy.”

After saying that, Heine gave Arthur a thumbs up and said: "But I still want to congratulate you, Arthur. At least Miss Fiona's figure has nothing to do with dragoons, and her feet have nothing to do with Göttingen." Compared with other girls, it is not a typical case.”

When Arthur heard that this guy was having fun again, he could only shrug helplessly: "Heinrich, I think that instead of worrying about the Austrian police and the Prussian military police, you should worry more about the German girls."

"What?!" Heine exclaimed: "My crime is not worthy of alarming the dragoons!"

At the end, he added: "But you are right, it is more humane to be arrested by the police and gendarmes than to be trampled to death by an elephant."