shadow of britain

Chapter 586: The Prisoner's Dilemma

Arthur Hastings' first exile began. The retired senior chief of the London police lived in a luxurious mansion in the small town of Göttingen. Although the life here was far less luxurious than that in London and Paris, he enjoyed the same power as a sovereign prince. He was only 24 years old, but he had fully experienced the hardships and joys, successes and misfortunes in a political career, and the eternal changes of the ebb and flow in the tide of fate.

He had experienced the favor of the powerful, and also felt the despair of being down and out. He had been poor and even worried about his daily bread. Now, he was rich, loved, hated, respected, and despised. Now he was a knight of the lower order, a special representative of the country, and the academic supervisor of the University of Göttingen. He was a millionaire with tens of thousands of pounds. He only obeyed his own will and did not belong to anyone. He could rest at will in the famous European library in Göttingen.

He rode slowly in a carriage painted with elaborate patterns, visited the nobles of the Kingdom of Hanover, accepted the loud praise from the small town of Göttingen and the quiet sympathy from London, and he no longer had to do the annoying chore of dealing with stupid officials and despotic masters every day. If you saw his contented look and believed it, then Arthur Hastings really felt the comfort of being free from official duties.

Hastings' memoirs are as unreliable as he is. This stubborn man who doesn't like to talk much refused to tell the truth until his death. Most people use their tongues to express their thoughts, but Hastings uses his tongue to hide his thoughts. He was afraid that others would know his secrets, so he took the secrets into the coffin, so that he would always be a fog on the streets of London, a hazy mystery in the night, and an unfathomable shadow.

But there is a passage in his very questionable memoirs that shows that this complacency is purely a false appearance - the inveterate habit of wanting to know everything entangles me, the desire to peek into the secrets makes me feel anxious, and the "exile life" in Hanover is extremely comfortable but monotonous. Whenever I encounter such boredom, I can't get rid of my habit that I don't know when I developed.

According to his confession, the "charm of his retirement life" does not lie in the soft scenery he glimpsed during his short stay in Paris, nor in the inspiration he gained from immersing himself in the ocean of natural philosophy, but in the pleasure of sorting out newspaper headlines, street rumors, and gossip that are as complicated as a ball of yarn, and analyzing valuable intelligence from them.

"I arranged secret correspondence with the help of reliable friends and loyal messengers, and regular greetings from several London friends supported this secret communication channel. The unexpected visits of Heinrich, Alexander and others, and my budding friendship with members of the Young Italy such as Garibaldi, expanded my intelligence network to Genoa and Paris. And Sir August Schneider, we have been good friends since then. I am very grateful for the local specialties he brought back from Munich. Munich's lager beer goes well with pretzels. The sudden arrival of the Duke of Sussex also made me realize that my significance to this country and the royal family may not be just a bullet. Although it is not very modest to say this, yes, it makes me secretly proud."

He used it as a pastime when this restless man was not allowed to perform his official duties. He longed for it when he was not allowed to step into Whitehall again. He thought that he must at least look through the keyhole through other eyes and eavesdrop on the meetings through other ears, especially to find out whether there would be a chance for him to recommend himself again and make a comeback.

This prisoner was not happy about leaving the "cell". Others paid bail to get out of prison, but he tried his best, spent handfuls of gold and silver, and racked his brains to come up with strategies, just to get himself back into the "prison" so that he could squeeze into the gambling table of the history of the times and play another round.

——Stefan Zweig, Arthur Hastings: A Prisoner of the Mind Driven by Ambition

It was not difficult to persuade Lionel to consider railroad investment.

Long before the railway boom swept the City of London, Rothschild had already noticed the huge investment potential behind railway construction.

The Manchester-Liverpool Railway, the first passenger railway in Britain that killed former Secretary of State Mr. Huskisson, was financed and built by Rothschild Bank. After the success of this railway, Rothschild, who had tasted the sweetness, soon turned his attention to the Great Western Railway, the largest and most discussed railway construction boom, and made a fortune with Arthur, Disraeli and others.

However, investing in Hanover’s railways is not as convenient as investing in British railways.

The Rothschilds are not short of funds; what they lack are policies that can be implemented 100%.

Once the railway construction plan is proposed, it must be approved by parliament.

If this were in the UK, Lionel wouldn't even have to spend a lot of money to find out from others which railway companies would get construction approval this year, because the House of Commons Railways and Industrial Infrastructure Special Committee where Disraeli currently serves does just that.

In Hanover, the Rothschilds did not have such resources.

Of course, the absence of resources does not mean that resources cannot be created.

Lionel casually flipped through the construction plan Arthur gave him. For bankers, it didn't matter how the railway was built. As long as the railway could guarantee profitability, someone would eventually come to build it. It didn't matter if this German named List couldn't build the railway well. British companies were eager to start construction the next day as long as the Hanover government was willing to give in.

Lionel could understand many things without Arthur saying anything.

He closed the plan and said with a smile, "I knew you didn't call me to Leipzig just to watch an opera. Before I entered the theater, I saw the Duke of Sussex's carriage outside the theater. I guess this is the biggest reason why you called me here."

Arthur did not hide anything. "His Royal Highness has a good relationship with His Majesty the King. If we can convince him that building a railway in Hanover is profitable, and then have him convey our idea to His Majesty the King, then His Majesty can directly order the Hanoverian cabinet to approve the railway construction. But all this must be done quickly, before Hanover passes the constitutional reform. If the constitutional reform is passed, the railway construction plan may need to go through the Hanoverian Parliament again."

Lionel nodded slightly. "I also plan to meet His Royal Highness the Duke. Arthur, the painting "Liberty Leading the People" that you got for me in Paris is a good painting and a valuable work of art. If you think about the fact that this painting was created during the July Revolution, which caused Rothschild to lose more than 100 million Dutch guilders, its value is even higher."

Arthur also smiled and nodded, "Do you think His Royal Highness the Duke will like this painting?"

"He will probably like it. He is the only one in the royal family who is fond of the ideas of the Revolution. Who knows, he might even hang it in the living room." Lionel put on his coat. "I hope his brothers, especially the Duke of Cumberland, don't see this painting. Otherwise, there will definitely be a big quarrel."

After saying that, Lionel asked again, "His Royal Highness the Duke should be on the third floor, right?"

"Not only His Royal Highness, but King Anton I of Saxony will also visit tonight." Arthur put away the plans on the table and put the documents into his small bag. "If we are lucky, maybe we can build another railway."

"how do I say this?"

Disraeli helped explain: "Mr. List, the proposer of the Hanover Railway construction plan, is a genuine railway expert and the proposer of the German Customs Union. A year ago, he also proposed to build a railway between Leipzig in the Kingdom of Saxony and the capital Dresden, but there are still differences within the Kingdom of Saxony on the issue of building a railway. Some people think that it is more cost-effective to dig a canal than to build a railway."

Lionel immediately sensed a business opportunity: "It looks like we might actually be able to close two deals today."

Disraeli joked, "If we build two railways at once, can Rothschild complete such a large financing plan in a short time?" Lionel smiled and said, "Benjamin, although Frankfurt cannot compare with financial centers like London, don't forget that Rothschild started in Frankfurt. Even if Frankfurt can't handle it, we can still get support from Vienna, Paris and Naples."

Arthur led the way and asked, "Leaving Naples aside, are you sure it's a good idea to raise funds in Vienna and Paris? Even if the Kingdom of Saxony doesn't care where the railway funds come from. But from the perspective of the British Foreign Office, they probably won't be happy to see the Austrians and the French get involved in Hanover."

Lionel rubbed his brows in annoyance. "Oh, that's true, but if everything goes according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs's idea, then we have to reject the American funding as well."

Arthur sensed something was wrong. He stopped and turned around to ask, "American?"

Lionel smiled and said, "I almost forgot that this news has not been announced yet. But I have nothing to keep secret from you, Arthur. Rothschild is negotiating with the US government. If everything goes well, we will become the official bankers of the US government and help them manage their investment affairs in Europe."

Arthur raised his eyebrows when he heard this and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, before his dream of becoming an Atlantic policeman spanning Europe and America was realized, Lionel took the lead in becoming an Atlantic banker.

However, he was not too discouraged. After all, the two of them had different starting points.

When Arthur was still raising pigs in the countryside, Rothschild had already begun helping the Brazilian government issue public bonds in London.

Nowadays, although he has not become the Atlantic police, he has at least mastered the transatlantic animal breeding technology.

Besides, it’s not like he doesn’t have international loan business.

When Elder was being ripped off by some women in Rio, Arthur had slipped him a few guineas in his reply letters.

Arthur led everyone upstairs. Just as the Leipzig police who were in charge of guarding the third floor were about to stop him for inspection, the Duke's attendants slowly walked up to them and shook their heads slightly at the police.

"Sir, His Royal Highness is waiting for you inside."

Arthur and others followed the servants into the box.

The theater lights had not yet been fully lit, and the Duke of Sussex's figure was hidden behind the heavy velvet curtains of the box, like a quiet statue.

His body leaned forward slightly, his hands resting naturally on the carved box railings, his eyes focused and deep, as if he was trying to decipher the secrets of the painting in front of him by penetrating layers of historical dust.

"Liberty Leading the People" hangs on the wall opposite the box. Through the dim light, the outlines of the characters are vaguely revealed, including a half-naked female flag bearer, a fluttering tricolor flag, a young man holding a musket, and smoke all over the sky.

The whispers of other people outside the box, the occasional footsteps in the theater, and the faint smell of tobacco behind the curtain seemed to be completely blocked out by him.

Until the attendant called softly, "Your Highness."

The Duke of Sussex finally woke up from his dream and turned around and said in surprise: "Lionel, Arthur... Mr. Disraeli is here too."

The three of them took off their hats and bowed slightly in greeting: "Your Highness."

The Duke of Sussex waved his hand to signal them to come to terms with the formalities. "This painting is indeed good, but what interests me most is that I heard that Mr. Dumas is also in this painting, but I have looked for a long time and have not found anyone who looks like him. Where is he?"

Arthur smiled when he heard this: "It's not your fault, Your Highness. When I first got this painting, I also spent a lot of time looking for it."

"Oh." The Duke of Sussex stepped aside and called Arthur over: "Point out to me who is Mr. Dumas."

Arthur walked forward and pointed to a black spot with a human outline and said, "Look, Your Highness, he is right here."

The Duke of Sussex was stunned for a moment, then he stared with wide eyes for a long time, and finally laughed and joked: "Is this Mr. Dumas? Where were you at that time?"

"Your Highness," Arthur said solemnly, "I was at Scotland Yard at the time."

"So the name of this painting should be Arthur Hastings in Scotland Yard?" The Duke of Sussex laughed. "In my opinion, this painting is far inferior to Mr. Turner's Rain, Police and the Tower of London - Arthur Hastings 1832."

Sussex smiled and asked everyone to sit down. "Okay, no more jokes. I've been so busy with the Royal Society and the Electromagnetic Conference that I almost forgot my most important mission. Arthur, His Majesty the King and the Duke of Cambridge, the Governor of Hanover, have read your police reform report. But some of the statements in it are still not so satisfactory."

(End of this chapter)