shadow of britain

Chapter 527 My Struggle
For Europeans, the imperial system of weights and measures can be said to be an extremely inhumane conversion system.

But if there is anything in Europe that is more extreme than the English system of weights and measures, it must be the monetary system of the German states.

If a merchant traveled from Switzerland to Berlin to do business, he would pass through ten German states, exchange ten different currencies and pay customs duties ten times.

Although the number of customs duties has been greatly reduced after the establishment of the North German Customs Union, there has never been unification in currency exchange.

In this day and age, if you don't have twenty or thirty currencies in your pocket, you'd be embarrassed to tell others that you're doing business in Germany.

But it is worth noting that even though there are still dozens of currencies popular in Germany, this is the result of Napoleon's unremitting efforts. Before Napoleon completely disintegrated the Holy Roman Empire, there were about 6,000 types of currencies in Germany at its peak.

However, for tourists like Arthur, collecting different German currencies is also a good pastime during the trip.

When he ate at small inns along the way, he often exchanged currency with local Junker nobles and farmers.

In just ten days, his pockets were filled with gold and silver coins made in various states and historical periods.

For example, the 1735 Brandenburg half-thaler silver coin commemorates the king's death and depicts him ascending to the sun.

A gold coin of 1744 kreuz, issued by the Free City of Frankfurt in 1, featuring a city view and the Roman eagle. A silver coin of a quarter ducat, issued in 1792, commemorating the accession of Francis, the last Holy Roman Emperor.

A large silver coin of 6 kreuz issued by the Free City of Hamburg to commemorate the fall of the Holy Roman Empire.

Of course, Arthur's favorite coin is the 1826 Ducat gold coin issued by the Austrian Empire in 1 with the portrait of Franz I printed on it.

As a gold coin as famous as the florin, the name of the ducat often appears in various historical records and novels.

The gold content of both gold coins is about 3.5 grams, so they can basically be exchanged at the same value.

In the 17th century, a twelve-pound falconer cost 190 ducats, while a three-pound kite cost 97 ducats.

If you look at the numbers directly, you can't imagine whether the cannons are expensive or cheap. However, when you put them next to the standard equipment of knights at that time, you can compare them.

Arthur clearly remembered that at the same time, a full set of knight armor cost only 35 florins, while a warhorse cost 30 florins.

That is to say, you only need 227.5 grams of gold to buy the basic equipment of a cavalryman. However, the minimum price of equipping an artilleryman is as high as 654.5 grams of gold, because in addition to the cannon, you also need three horses to pull the cannon forward.

However, the fun of collecting currency was only limited to diverting boredom during the journey. When Arthur stood firmly on the land of Germany, he finally felt how troublesome the currency chaos was.

Although the Kingdom of Hanover and Great Britain shared a king, the two countries were not close enough to share a currency.

Therefore, as soon as Arthur and his party got off the bus, they went straight to the local bank in Göttingen to exchange currency.

按照汉诺威王国的币制，120芬尼=60格罗申=10盾=5塔勒=1杜卡特。

Since the gold content of 1 ducat gold coin is 3.5 grams, it is roughly equivalent to half a pound.

But don't think that since there are five monetary units, there are only five currencies, because the thaler silver coins alone include at least three types, including half, quarter and sixth thaler.

Although the British were no less troublesome in this regard, the Hanover brothers still made Arthur understand what it meant to be a dwarf compared to a giant.

But the annoyance in Arthur's eyes seemed different to others.

When you see someone walking out of the bank with a small cloth bag of gold and silver coins in each hand, and even the sound of them jingling as he walks, it is really hard not to suspect that this guy is actually showing off his wealth.

This was exactly how Clara felt at the moment. She sat in the carriage and watched Arthur walk out of the bank. She felt that this nouveau riche aura was about to overshadow the original British gentleman temperament of this young man.

Arthur boarded the carriage and gently closed the door. As soon as he got in, he heard Clara muttering to herself: "Oh my God! Are you really an English noble?"

"Ok?"

Arthur looked back at Clara, took off his hat politely and smiled: "Although I am not a noble, I am indeed a knight. I am sorry for deceiving you before, Miss Clara. Let me introduce myself again, Arthur Hastings, a knight of the Order of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. If you don't mind, you can call me Sir or Arthur. If you do mind, you can continue to call me a college student. After all, it is not wrong, because I did go to college, but I have graduated for several years."

After saying that, Arthur put one of the two bags in his hand into Clara's hand. The heavy weight made it impossible for the girl to get up.

"What are you doing?" Clara asked in surprise.

Arthur said, "Although I don't know how you got involved with the Royalists, since we meet again, it must be fate. I always feel bad for bringing you all the way from the glamorous world of Paris to a small country town like Göttingen. Besides, you need money when you go out. There are 100 thalers and 30 ducats in this box, and a 100-pound promissory note from the Rothschild Bank at the bottom. If you don't want to stay here any longer, you can use this money to find a place to settle down and start your life again. Or, if I have the honor, I would like to hire you to help me with some housework, and this money will be regarded as a signing fee."

Thirty ducats and one hundred thalers, plus one hundred pounds, if converted, would be equivalent to 2500 francs, which was not a small sum of money anywhere in the world. Even in a place like Paris, this amount was enough for a girl to live decently for three or four years.

However, the young man seemed to not care at all, and was completely different from his performance in the pub that day.

How rich does a person have to be to be able to squander like he does?
Or is he just trying to brag?
It's not impossible, because Clara has seen too many guys like this in Paris.

But Clara thought to herself that she had always had a good eye for people. Even if this young man was a British lord, he could not be a wealthy one, because his performance in the pub that day was so natural that it did not seem like something that could be performed by someone who had no experience.

Clara spoke sarcastically, saying in a somewhat harsh tone: "Where did you get so much money? Have you paid off your 10,000 franc foreign debt?" When Arthur heard this, he knew that the girl might be indirectly accusing him of lying that day.

He joked, "Of course, miss. I went to do a business with someone else."

"Business?" Clara asked knowingly, "What kind of business can a good-for-nothing college student start?"

"Oh, miss, I'm not like those guys in college. I've been around for a few years, so I have experience, and the guy I'm with has a lot of money."

"and then?"

"Then." Arthur smiled and patted the purse in his hand: "Then, I am rich now, and he has experience."

Clara couldn't help laughing when she heard that, and her face, which had managed to be stern with great difficulty, could no longer be serious.

She stretched out her leg and kicked Arthur, saying, "You really are a liar."

"Of course, I remember everything you taught me that day. It's a very useful philosophy of life that can benefit people for a lifetime." Arthur then continued: "Such an important philosophy of life, I think it is worth paying for it."

"I think so too." Clara took the bag of money without hesitation. "Do you think I will give it back to you? Young man, girls in Paris are not as shy as those in London. We are the embodiment of material desires, exquisite watches, beautiful skirts and satin hats. We have always pursued these and never intend to change our goals."

Arthur replied with a smile: "That's the best. Things that can be paid for with money are always the most economical."

Clara opened the purse and checked the coins inside, while replying: "It seems that you are indeed not an ordinary college student. At least you are much better than most of the idiots in Paris, much better than me. To be honest, I used to treat you as my brother because you acted so pitifully before."

"Actually, I wasn't completely pretending. I did tell some of the truth."

"Oh?"

Clara picked up a ducat gold coin, pointed it at the sun outside the car window and squinted her eyes to admire it carefully. She liked the smell and luster of gold coins. This golden little thing was more attractive to her than all the luxury stores along the Place des Vosges combined.

As she admired it, she asked, "Where did you start speaking the truth?"

"Start with 'I'm a college student.'"

"And where does it end?"

“It ended there, too.”

Clara glared at Arthur with her blue-gray eyes when she heard this: "You really are a bastard, no different from Thiers."

Arthur shrugged. "I think there is still some difference. The difference between us is more than 30 centimeters."

“Heh…” Clara narrowed her eyes. “You’re getting carried away after leaving France? That’s right. The French Minister of the Interior really can’t arrest you in Göttingen.”

Arthur was about to speak, but he saw through the car window that Schneider had also exchanged money and came out of the bank, so he suggested, "Since you don't plan to stay, let's have a meal together before leaving. I heard from my colleagues that although German food is not as good as French food, it is better than London food after all."

"Of course," Clara said. "The French and Germans have stomachs in their bellies, but we don't have coal stoves in our bellies."

Arthur took Clara's hand and led her down the driveway. "You don't know you don't have the potential until you put some coal in your stomach. Before I lived in England, I thought I couldn't swallow that stuff either."

"Before you lived in England?" Clara laughed. "Didn't you live in one of those provinces until you came to Paris?"

Arthur was not angry after hearing this, but replied seriously: "Madam, although all places except Paris are considered provincial places, not all places have food as bad as England."

Schneider saw the two of them get off the car, took off his hat and waved at them as he walked, "Arthur, Miss Clara, this damn weather is really too hot, do you want to go to the pub for a drink first?"

"Of course, we think so too."

Led by Schneider, Arthur and his party followed the not-too-wide streets of Göttingen and soon found a beer hall on the side of the road.

It was a hot summer day, and the streets were sparsely populated, but the beer hall was packed with all kinds of people, most of whom were young people, and it was obvious that they were students from the University of Göttingen. Because only students have the mood and leisure to come to the beer hall at noon and drink unscrupulously, the vigorous energy of young people is fully displayed in them.

Before Arthur pushed open the gate of the beer hall, he heard lively cheers coming from inside, followed by a passionate speech in German.

"After the German Confederation passed the amendment to the Carlsbad Resolution, Metternich's big hand is tightening around our throats! The All-German Student Association was banned, and in Frankfurt, our compatriots, young people like us, those Frankfurt university students were executed and arrested!

How long has it been since the German land has exuded the breath of freedom? We have repeatedly made concessions, fantasizing that the German Confederation, Austria and Prussia would see our efforts and finally make concessions. I once called on everyone to fight peacefully and express our demands in a reasonable way.

But what did we get? All that was left on German soil was humiliation. The reactionaries, Metternich's police, laughed at our weak actions and wantonly trampled on our academic freedom and freedom of thought that we were proud of. Get up, students. All German universities are watching us, watching Göttingen.

In this critical moment, only we, the Göttingen with a long history and unyielding spirit, can shoulder the responsibility of leading all German university students. Heinrich Heine, the hero of our Göttingen University, was persecuted and exiled to a foreign country, living in the dirtiest and poorest residence in Paris, eating unpalatable black bread, but all these misfortunes could not make him surrender!
Life is like a glass of beer. You have to know what you want and not live in an illusory dream all day long! Life is like a glass of beer. The only difference is what you pour into it and what you want to leave behind! You can choose not to drink, but you have to know what you are doing and what you are fighting for!
Decades later, if your children ask you what you did when you were young, I hope that we can proudly say while lying on our sickbeds: When I was young, I was a hero like Heinrich Heine. In front of the police, the military police, and Metternich, your grandfather was still fighting for the happiness of all German people! "

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but push open the door of the beer hall, took off his hat and asked, "Excuse me, who wants to fight?"

(End of this chapter)