Shadow of great britain

As a newly established new police organization, Scotland Yard not only lacks professional detectives to investigate crimes, but it is also very difficult to maintain daily patrols.

Their main task is simply to maintain daily order on the streets and arrest crimes such as theft and robbery.

Unless there is a major case such as a murder case that attracts public attention, cases with low social impact are generally let go if possible.

If this case had been placed in another police district, it might have been easily passed over.

But for Arthur, who is committed to investigating and solving major cases to expand his influence, of course he will not let go of this kind of case that is successfully handled but cannot be handled without fault.

As for such a disappearance case, the best way to start is, of course, to look for local snakes.

As for the people who were active on the ground in Greenwich District, Arthur not only knew everything about them, but at least he knew them well.

These days, there are no highly organized criminal groups like the Mafia. In the early 19th century, London saw more groups with the nature of industry associations.

Although the business they do cannot be considered illegal, it may not be legal if they are strictly investigated.

In terms of being well-informed, Judd Martin, a businessman who specializes in selling counterfeit and shoddy products, must be one of the people with the most extensive sources of information in the Greenwich area.

For no other reason than the small street vendors in Greenwich basically rely on Judd Martin’s counterfeit shop to supply supplies.

The goods sold by this person include, but are not limited to, pickles dyed green with copper,

Cream made from bad milk mixed with rice flour and tapioca flour,

Colorful candies made from sugar, starch and Guanyin clay,

Lemonade blended with tartaric acid,

Gloucester cheese dyed with red lead and annatto fruit,

Vegetable sauce is made by mixing the residue left after distilled wine and vinegar with walnut skin soup and various spices, chili powder, pimento, salt and unsellable rotten mushrooms.

There are also various fake medicines that have a small probability of curing the disease after taking it, but a high probability of making the condition worse.

By the standards of later generations, Judd Martin is an out-and-out criminal.

But in the 19th century Britain, Mr. Martin's business was not illegal. Parliament basically turned a blind eye to the counterfeiting and selling of counterfeit goods, because many of the factories that supplied fake goods were located across the UK. of large taxpayers.

Moreover, both the Whig Party and the Tory Party hold an economic liberal stance, and some congressmen will even take the initiative to defend these counterfeit factories and counterfeit merchants.

They claim that these counterfeiting activities have effectively lowered commodity prices and allowed poor people to improve their quality of life.

Others say it is the government's greedy tax policies that allow counterfeiting to flourish.

The UK has imposed high protective tariffs on most foreign imported goods.

For consumer goods such as tea, protective tariffs were once as high as 100%.

Drinking tea is an essential pastime in the lives of the British people. From noble businessmen to ordinary workers, everyone has to drink sweet tea at least once a day.

But in the face of such high tariffs and the high costs of long-distance transportation, the price of tea will inevitably remain high.

Those counterfeiting merchants claimed that in order to satisfy the lower class people's demand for tea, they had to fry the leaves of the blackthorn bush as tea and then sell them.

Therefore, the production and sale of counterfeit goods can basically be regarded as a common social behavior.

Although some social activists occasionally come forward to criticize food and drug safety issues, they generally fail to make much of a splash.

Frederick Acum, a chemical expert who exposed British food safety problems, was framed one after another because he touched the interests of these adulterating businessmen, and was eventually expelled from the UK.

Of course, Arthur has no interest and currently has no ability to fight against those big counterfeit factory owners.

But if he just wants to take advantage of Judd Martin, he can still get it. After all, the other party is just a distributor and primary manufacturer at the lower reaches of the counterfeiting industry chain. The most important thing is that Mr. Martin still has a lot of things he can do. in hand.

Arthur took Tom and Tony into the alley of Christmas Road. At the end of the alley filled with sewage, there was an open courtyard door. From a distance, he could smell a smell that was so strong that it made people sour and sticky. A greasy milky aroma.

When he came to the courtyard gate, he saw a large pot of bubbling milk standing in the courtyard.

Two workers wearing coats full of pockets were stirring the milk with wooden sticks of the same height. From time to time, they would take out handfuls of colorful powder from the pockets of their coats and throw them into the pot.

With the stirring of the wooden sticks and the addition of various raw materials, the sour smell became much lighter, and the flowing milk began to gradually become thicker, and its expression began to show a dark red sheen.

Mr. Martin, who was wearing a blue overalls and a dirty apron tied around his waist, was not idle either.

He first poured the sacks filled with Guanyin soil and pepper next to him on the ground, and then reached out to mix the two carefully.

He was kneeling on the ground stirring things up when he suddenly saw a pair of riding boots appearing in front of his eyes.

Martin looked up and immediately put on a smile.

He wiped his hands stained with pepper and Guanyin soil on his apron, then stood up, nodded and said, "Officer Arthur? Why are you free to come to my place today? Why don't you come in and have a cup of tea?" It’s definitely authentic tea, different from the ones I sell.”

Arthur didn't want to talk nonsense with him, so he took out a notebook from his arms.

"Mr. Martin, we received a report that the guests of a hotel suffered from vomiting and diarrhea after eating the Gloucester cheese purchased from you, and were collectively sent to the hospital for treatment. I plan to invest I want to arrest you in the name of poison. If it is convenient, come with us."

When Martin heard this, his expression changed. He said, "Sir, I did sell Gloucester cheese, but that stuff was purchased from other factories, not made by me!"

"Really? Then I'll change it."

Arthur turned to the next page of the notebook: "A lady complained to us that after she used the cream she bought from you to entertain her guests, the guests all collectively developed a high fever. We suspect you..."

As soon as Martin heard this, he quickly raised his hand to signal Arthur to stop. He fumbled in his pocket for a long time, then took out a stack of banknotes with a pained face, and handed it to Arthur tremblingly.

He said with a smile on his face: "Mr. Police Officer, this is my fault. You have been in office for so long, and I haven't congratulated you yet. For their sake, please don't continue to dwell on this matter." Bar.

After all, you know, these days, what’s not a little bit of fun? As long as it doesn't kill anyone, it means there's no problem. If it kills people, it means there is something wrong with their health.

You are an upright police officer. The newspapers praise you for being young and capable. How can I, a miserable and humble little businessman, be worthy of your massive efforts? Instead of wasting energy on me, it would be better to take care of those thieves and murderers. Do you think this is the truth?

If you have any use for me, just ask, no need to be polite to me. "

Arthur stared at Martin for a while, with a smile on his lips: "Mr. Martin, you are indeed very aware of current affairs. In this case, I will not be polite."

He took out a portrait from his pocket, pointed at the fat man with curly hair in the portrait and asked: "The police station just received a report saying that this gentleman is missing. You can help me ask the street vendors. Have you seen him somewhere?"

As soon as Arthur said this, Martin forced a smile and said: "Ask, I can help you ask, but if it is this kind of thing, I feel that it might be more helpful for you to go directly to the dock and ask the Cambridge gang. Efficiency, after all, that’s what they seem to be doing.”

"Cambridge?" Arthur frowned and asked, "What do they do?"