Rothschild, a name that often appears in the news of British newspapers and various satirical cartoons.

Although in these reports, the name Rothschild is often associated with bad images such as bribery, corruption, treachery, cunning, etc.

But no matter how much the newspapers belittled or ridiculed the family, at the end of the article, they would always mention the astonishing wealth of the financial family.

As a large financial family spanning the continent, the Rothschilds are the richest of them all, despite their great success in Paris, Frankfurt, Naples and Austria.

In the war against France in 1811-1815, the British government paid a total of £42 million in aid to the allies of the anti-French alliance, of which the Rothschilds were involved in about £8 million.

They helped the cash-strapped British government by borrowing from other companies and negotiating, and subsequently earned a lot of commissions and currency exchange spreads by providing financial intermediation services for the anti-French alliance.

In the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, they made a thrilling bet on the Duke of Wellington and made a profit of more than 200,000 pounds by purchasing British government bonds at a low price.

Drawing on the wealth they had accumulated over the past decade, they intervened decisively in the 1825 financial crisis, providing the Bank of England with 11 million pounds worth of gold reserves in the midst of a gold run, helping them survive the crisis.

Through this series of events, the Rothschilds succeeded in gaining the trust of the Tories, so they successfully obtained the qualification to issue part of the British government bonds on their behalf.

On top of that, they used their growing fame to gain the trust of the newly independent Brazilian government and issue £3 million worth of Brazilian bonds on their behalf.

It can be said that since 1825, Nathan Rothschild, the London branch of the Rothschild family, has become the king of the entire City of London.

Caricatures often depict him with other bankers in the City, saying that 'Nathan's sneezing can cause an earthquake in the City'.

But compared to the growing wealth of the Rothschilds, their political status has always been relatively low.

On the one hand, it is because their nouveau riche image is too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, after all, it has only been two or three decades since the Rothschilds officially became popular, and before that, their ancestors were only antique dealers from Frankfurt.

On the other hand, it is because of their special status as Jews.

In almost all regions of Europe, discriminatory policies were pursued towards Jews, restricting them to live in designated ghettos, limiting their political power to vote and to be elected, and so on.

In Britain, even the Irish have a much better image in the newspapers.

In order to improve this unequal relationship between wealth and political power, and also to expand its own sources, the Rothschilds have been engaged in various powerful political figures for more than a decade.

On more than one occasion, Arthur had seen cartoons in the newspapers satirizing Nathan Rothschild's bribery to Prime Minister, Duke of Wellington and King George IV.

They were so attentive to the Duke and King of Wellington that they certainly did not neglect the Duke of Sussex, who had always advocated equal treatment for Jews.

The Lionel standing in front of him must have been sent by Nathan Rothschild to contact the Duke of Sussex, right?

In the face of this big man in the City of London, a small person in British political circles, Arthur really didn't know what attitude to use to face him.

After all, his deposit is only 14 pounds, 6 shillings and 1 pence, and there should be no stocks with such a small denomination on the London stock exchange, right?

But he still chose to hold the other party's hand, after all, multiple friends are better than multiple enemies, and maybe he will need it in the future.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Rothschild."

"No, no, no."

Lionel winked at Arthur, and he smiled, "Just call me Lionel." Truth be told, I've wanted to get to know you for a long time. You are the pride of the whole of Scotland Yard and I am delighted that the work you have done has inspired the whole of the UK.

Your presence also illustrates the correctness of the Catholic Emancipation Act. Times are changing, and in this era of change, holding on to outdated backward ideas is not beneficial to the progress of society. You should agree with that, right? ”

When Arthur heard this, he finally understood what kind of medicine was sold in the other party's gourd.

Jews and Catholics are both in the Thames, and everyone wants to go ashore, so helping each other is helping themselves.

The Red Devil put his arm on Arthur's shoulders and winked his eyebrows and said, "Look! What am I talking about? Mammon has come to you, Arthur, look ahead, there are a lot of bills waving in front of you. As long as you catch Rothschild, your personal wealth will soon be a thousand miles away. ”

Arthur nodded and smiled: "I've heard of the Rothschilds for a long time, but as you know, the City of London is not part of Scotland Yard, and the City has a special City of London Police Department, so I haven't had much chance to go." ”

"It's okay." Lionel took a business card from his jacket pocket with two fingers and handed it over: "As long as you have time, you can come to this place to find me at any time." Whether it's a chat with friends or looking for some investment advice, I'm here for you. ”

"You're so gracious."

The Duke of Sussex suddenly spoke: "Arthur, you came to me today to investigate the case of the Diocese of St. Giles, right?" Those people are truly abominable!

I assure you, those doctors involved, I will do my best in the House of Lords to put pressure on the medicine and schools involved. ”

Arthur said, "Thank you for your kindness and justice, but Your Highness the Duke, I am not here today for more than that. ”

He retrieved the investigation document from the handbag he was carrying.

"After my large-scale investigation and analysis, the missing persons should not only be linked to the murder and theft of corpses, but I suspect that it may also be involved in the nasty deal of tricking the poor into signing contracts to sell themselves."

"Indentured servants?" When Sussex heard this, he immediately felt a surge of fire in his chest.

He had long been one of the leading supporters of the abolitionist movement in Britain, and in 1807 he lobbied for a considerable time among the nobles in the House of Lords in order to pass the Abolition of the Slave Trade.

However, the 1807 Act only made the slave trade illegal in Britain, but it was still legal in the British colonies.

In 1827, Sussex and a large group of former abolitionists founded the Anti-Slavery Society in order to abolish slavery altogether.

So when Arthur talked about the issue of indentured servitude, it was like stepping on the tail of the Duke of Sussex.

He bounced off the couch with a smack: "Arthur, are you sure?" ”

Arthur, of course, couldn't say anything to death, and he had to give himself a little leeway: "I'm just reasonably suspicious. After all, most of the missing people have already found their bodies, and those who can't find them happen to be young men.

Men of this age are unlikely to be targets for body snatchers. The Scotland Yard Coalition had almost scoured all of London, but there was not a single clue to be found, and I could only guess that they had left Britain.

But with their level of wealth, it was unlikely that they could afford a ticket to other places, and indentured slavery was almost the only possibility left. ”

After listening to Arthur's analysis, the Duke of Sussex nodded slightly: "What you said makes sense. Okay, so be it, I'll assign all of my private detectives to you. If you want them to check it, check it as you want. These bastards don't let them sell black slaves, so they simply change to white slave trafficking? It's not a thing! ”

When Arthur heard this, his hanging heart also relaxed slightly, and he added: "Your Royal Highness, you should understand that the slave traders who can organize a fleet of ships are not comparable to the petty criminals like corpse thieves. If I encounter some level of resistance during the investigation, you ......"

The Duke of Sussex, of course, understood what Arthur meant, and he waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, as long as you get the conclusive evidence, I guarantee that they will have no good fruit to eat!" I am not alone in the abolition of slavery, I still have many friends in the House of Commons.

If anyone dares to retaliate against you, I can protect you and pledge to mobilize the Whigs to build a campaign for you in the House of Commons. As Lionel said, the abolition of slavery is the historical trend of the progress of the times, and the sale of white slaves is even more shameful to society.

I believe that at this point in time, even if you are as stubborn as the Duke of Wellington, you should be more serious! If he wants the cabinet to fall as soon as possible, then he can go against me on this matter.

And even if he wanted to, it was estimated that Sir Peel would not let him do it. Arthur, don't worry, if something happens, I and the Anti-Slavery Society will take care of it! ”

(End of chapter)