On the outskirts of Liverpool, a gentle breeze blows through the fields, bringing waves of turquoise turnips.

Since the beginning of the agricultural revolution in England in the 18th century, turnips have been introduced to Britain as a high-yielding crop. Although at the beginning of its introduction, turnips were given high hopes to become a new generation of sugar crops. But when Francis Blakey discovered that beets were 8% more sugar than turnips, turnips fell out of favor.

But on the other hand, the fall from grace has helped the large-scale promotion of turnips, and people soon discovered its new role.

This high-yielding crop, which grows in autumn and matures in late winter, fills the gap in rotation, and while it is not the best sugar crop, it is a good forage for livestock.

If you just tell this story, it seems to be an ordinary case of agricultural breeding.

But if we look at the matter, people will be surprised to find that it is not the British peasants who have been pushing agricultural breeding and setting off a new round of agricultural revolution in the past two centuries, but a group of aristocrats who have been crazy about farming and herding sheep.

These included Lord Townsend, who promoted turnip rotation in Britain, and Lord Cork, who had devoted his life to improving the breed.

There is the Duke of Portland, who worries every day because of the lack of irrigation in his own fields, so that he delves into pottery pipe irrigation every day.

There is also the Duke of Bedford, who was an early human water supply and drainage enthusiast, who pondered every day how to turn his marshland into fertile land.

Unfortunately, despite the Duke of Portland and the Duke of Bedford's achievements in agricultural reform, neither of the most well-known figures in their families studied agriculture.

The most well-known figure in the Duke of Portland's family is called Henry Cavendis, whose work is represented by the Cavendish Twist Scale Experiment. In addition, he was the first to discover carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and in his later years, he and the young Farah were the first to propose the concept of dielectric constant.

The Duke of Bedford's family is slightly better, the most famous of whom has not yet been born, and is mainly engaged in mathematics and philosophy.

In any case, the British aristocracy's love for agriculture can also be seen in this.

Unlike the aristocracy of much of Europe, which preferred to live in cities, the British lords went to the countryside whenever they had the opportunity.

The 15th-century Italian scholar Borgio Bracciolini complained about this incomprehensible English way of thinking.

"In this country, the aristocracy considered it a shame to live in a city for a long time. They mostly lived in the countryside, enjoyed cutting trees and farming, and were active in various rural businesses, and the sale of wool and livestock was regarded as a noble trade. I once met a wealthy English man who sold his fortune, bought a large piece of land in the country, and took his family out of town and into the country, just to raise his son to be a true nobleman. The end result was as he wished, and after a few years in the country, even he himself was accepted by the aristocracy. ”

And this long-standing heavy agricultural plot has been passed down from the 15th century to the present day, and even in the 19th century, there are still people who are emulating the actions of the British tycoon hundreds of years ago.

For example, in the woods not far from the turnip fields, the son of a well-known local tycoon in Liverpool is chopping wood with a small axe.

December is the coldest season of the year, but William Gladstone wears only a thin white shirt, ignoring the howling north wind, and chops firewood with his head down.

And judging by the sweat on his forehead and the soaked white shirt, the young man must have been splitting for a while.

Even if Britons see chopping wood as a way to develop tenacity, it is still rare to find a rich second generation like Gladstone.

I don't know if it's due to the frustration caused by the defeat of Disraeli in the party primary vote, Gladstone, who usually regards chopping wood as his life, is even more selfless and energetic with every axe today.

In a few moments, the firewood was piled up around him as high as a hill.

If Arthur had stood here at this time, he would have remembered what Mr. Disraeli had said to him before: "If Gladstone falls into the Thames and drowns this winter, the whole of London will be in trouble." The great flood of God was nothing to worry about in front of him, and Noah's seven-day workload could be done in one afternoon by Gladstone. ”

Although even sharp-tongued political opponents like Disraeli highly recognize his ability to chop wood, people are still human beings in the final analysis, and human beings will eventually get tired.

Gladstone put down his axe and leaned one hand on the trunk of a tree to look at the pile of this morning's labor, panting as he raised his hand to wipe his sweat.

He turned his head to look at the blazing campfire beside him, the swaying flames seemed to distort with his breathing, and it was full of Disraeli's frivolous and narcissistic smile, and even the crackling burning sound became his yin and yang sarcasm.

As a devout man who kept the precepts of the Church and could memorize the Bible backwards, Gladstone never showed his feelings, and he tried to be a man of aristocratic qualities and chivalry, as his father demanded of him.

But at the end of the day, he was still too young at this time.

is a young person, and naturally there will be a little bit of youthful vigor, or rather, fire.

Gladstone kicked into the campfire, and the flaming soot sparks flew in the air, blurring his eyes.

"Benjamin Disraeli! Narrow-minded, naïve, frivolous, and pretentious in his speeches, he looks narcissistic and proud everywhere he goes, with little yellow pants, green vests, pointed-toe leather shoes, and lace scarves. You guy! What the hell am I worse than you? Is it because you know how to go to Mrs. Race's dress?

Oh, my God! Can you open your eyes and see what Kent has chosen? It's better to choose a donkey, a donkey can also croak and be smarter than him! ”

Gladstone's white shirt cracked, and the gilded brass buttons spilled to the ground, and his strong chest rose and fell, and it was obvious that the young man was not lightly angry.

Agareth was lying on his side on a branch while munching on an apple while watching the play: "Pray to God? With this realization, it deserves to pass the party primary. You don't even look down on Disraeli and donkeys, and you still ask for something inferior to them. At least they can still make a noise, and God, if you grind your mouth into a bubble, it won't fart! ”

Maybe he heard Agareth's whisper, or maybe Gladstone realized he had lost his words.

He covered his forehead and shook his head, "Oh God! William, look, what have you done? Don't let anger get the hang of your emotions. ”

Gladstone quickly adjusted his breathing and emotions, and he held the cross on his chest with his reverent hands, closed his eyes and prayed, "Dear Lord! We need you, and we can't live without you for a moment, only by snuggling up to you tightly, can we have satisfaction and rest in our hearts. My Lord, we thank you! For in these dark times you are the only light, and seek your true light to cast out the darkness of our hearts, and to make us holy, and to be your precious vessels, knowing that all this is impossible for men, and that is impossible for you. Holy prayer to you in the name of the Lord. Amen. ”

Seeing this, Agareth just rolled his eyes, raised his hand and threw the apple core at Gladstone's head: "This kid, it's hopeless." If you don't have any of this, you might as well sign an agreement with me. In the future, when you elect a councilor, it won't be your turn to be Held. ”

As soon as Agares's words fell, suddenly, there was the sound of galloping horses' hooves ahead.

Gladstone looked back, and on top of the horses on the country road were several familiar young faces.

It was also the son of several wealthy Liverpool families, many of whom had known him since childhood.

It's just that for these friends, Gladstone has been estranged consciously or unconsciously in recent years.

For no other reason, as a devout person, he was really a little blind to the extravagant life and cynical attitude of these guys.

"Good afternoon! William! When did you come back to Liverpool, why didn't you say hello to us? I knew you were back, so we took you with us on the hunt in the morning. ”

Several young men saw that their old friends had also put down their whipped whips, tightened their reins, and stopped in front of Gladstone.

Gladstone glanced at the two foxes hanging from the saddle and smiled politely: "You don't know my hunting skills, and taking me with you is nothing more than a burden, so I won't disturb your interest." ”

A few young people laughed and said, "What's the big deal, anyway, you have enough bullets, and after a lot of practice, you will always be able to get a shot." But it's okay if you didn't catch up with the hunt, and since you're back, we'll have a drinking party salon tonight. You must not have had a few good days in the past few years when you went to Oxford, right?

It's a pity that you didn't make it to the good times, and my brother didn't manage it so strictly when he was studying in Oxford. But you didn't rush when you were studying, and you just happened to bump into the prostitution crime at Oxford. Heh, I have to say, the congressman who introduced this bill is a genius. Is he planning to treat the Oxford students as prisoners?

I've heard that since the bill was introduced, there have been more than half fewer women in Oxford. You studied there for three years, you must have been a medieval monk for three years, right? Without the company of beautiful ladies, the only daily pastime is drinking. ”

When Gladstone heard this, he corrected him seriously: "Occasionally, I drink a little wine, but mostly when I eat communion at school." In private, I rarely drink on my own. ”

"You don't drink much alcohol?"

Several young men were amazed: "William, my good brother, I have suffered you in the past few years. Looks like we're going to have to make up for the lost three years today. At six o'clock tonight, the location is tentative, and when we have formed a bureau, we will send a servant to your manor to inform you. ”

"William, do you remember Catherine? The little princess of the stars and the moon is now a beautiful big girl and can participate in the social ball. She's always had a crush on you, and if you invite her to do her first dance tonight, she's definitely not going to say no. What do you think? Guys are interesting enough to you, right? ”

Gladstone wanted to turn down the ball, but when he heard the name Catherine, he threw God's commandments out of the air.

Gladstone asked hesitantly, "Is this ...... Are you sure Catherine will go too? ”

"It would have been uncertain."

"But if you go ......"

"Then Catherine will probably go too."

"Even if she doesn't want to go."

"Her parents will escort her, too."

Several young people winked at Gladstone with a grin: "William, you are just too modest and cautious, and you don't know how attractive you are." Every Liverpool native knows that the surname Gladstone is synonymous with wealth, not to mention that the news of your being taken by the Duke of Newcastle at your graduation ceremony has long been spread throughout our upper echelons. ”

"My father said that you could be a regular in the Cabinet at worst like Sir Peel, and if you thought high, you could be Prime Minister like Sir Canning."

"Yes, George Canning is the son of an actress, and his uncle is a little banker. And you, William, your father is one of the biggest businessmen in Liverpool. Whether it's competitive ability or financial resources, you're much better than Canning. If Canning can be prime minister for one term, you can be for two terms. ”

"William, if you want to run for parliament, you can talk at any time when you are tight, and everyone has played together since childhood. In addition to being able to hunt foxes from the woods, we can also come up with a little bit of money. If it's a thousand pounds or two, you can just tell someone to spread the word. If it is more, we will have to discuss it with the family. ”

"Discuss? My father said that if William could get into the Board of Trade, he would give him five thousand pounds on the spot. If William becomes Prime Minister and agrees to get me into the Council of Trade, he will sell all the two estates that his family has just bought, and even if his days are over, he will have to sell iron to William for twenty or thirty thousand pounds. ”

The young men laughed out loud when they said this.

Gladstone, however, frowned when he heard this, but because of his friend's affection, he ultimately did not say his campaign platform to vigorously rectify government corruption.

He digressed the subject, "Anyway, tonight's prom ......"

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot to tell you. There should be a guest from London at tonight's ball. You have to be wary of him, we don't like you to steal Catherine's first dance, but the guest doesn't know that you are in love. ”

"Shhh...... I didn't think of it if you didn't mention it. As that guest, it's really hard for us to explain these things to him. If he took a fancy to Catherine at a glance and invited her to dance, Catherine really couldn't refuse him directly. ”

"Guest?" Gladstone asked, puzzled, "Is that guest's identity special?" What special title does he have? ”

A broad young man replied with a smile: "Special, indeed special, and the title is quite long." ”

Another young man next to him recalled the self-introduction he heard at the station that day, and imitated it strangely in his distinctive male duck voice: "Introduce yourself, Arthur Hastings, Senior Superintendent and Head of Criminal Investigation of the Greater London Metropolitan Police, London...... The director of the Bureau, who is appointed by the Liverpool Special Anti-Smuggling Ombudsman. ”

As soon as his parody show was finished, his friends laughed and cheered.

"Hahaha! Well learned! Who is this kid from London running to Liverpool to scare? Special Anti-Smuggling Ombudsman. Does he know that this is not the first time that London has sent an anti-smuggling commissioner to Liverpool? ”

"Anyway, what happened to the last one who came to Liverpool to fight smuggling? Brother, can anyone remind me? ”

"Edmund, you kid has a terrible memory. I'll tell you, the last anti-smuggling officer! He's dead! The Hochhurst gang was buried alive on the spot, and since then, London has not sent a commissioner to Liverpool for half a century. ”

"Hahaha!!"

When Gladstone heard this, he couldn't help but change his face: "Superintendent Hastings? Is he the anti-smuggling commissioner? ”

"Huh?" Kuo Shao asked, "William, do you know him?" That's just right. It's good for everyone to find a time to have afternoon tea and talk to him about things. I don't know that the Port Authority, the Customs and Excise Department, and the City Council are quite angry with this Officer Hastings! ”

"That's right, they've been peeing for the past two days. My dad had Edmund, Jonathan, and Monk together for an industry meeting today to discuss how to deal with this Officer Hastings. By the way, your father and your brother must have been involved in this, and I think the meeting took place in your family's trading office at the port. ”

"William, since you have a way, then you can go and help the old fellows find out. Ask that Hastings how much money it would take to get this done. Everyone doesn't want to get into too much trouble with London, just for the sake of cholera prevention and control, and make the port trade a miasma, as for the trouble? ”

When Gladstone heard this, he hurriedly asked, "When did the industry conference you mentioned take place?" ”

"It started at ten o'clock this morning." Kuo Shao looked up at the big sun in the sky: "According to the old guys' chronic sons, it is estimated that it is not over at this time." ”

When Gladstone heard this, he turned over and got on his horse, and he pulled the reins and said, "Steve, borrow this horse for me to use, and bring it back to you when I go to the ball." ”

With that, Gladstone flicked his whip, and the trail was dusty, and the young man rode away on horseback.

A few broad, you look at me, I look at you.

"Come on, brothers, few horses, it seems that it is not possible to continue hunting."

"So what's next?"

Broad Steve, who was named Steve, glanced at the small axe and the large woods that Gladstone had left behind, pinched his chin and suggested, "Why don't we chop wood?" ”

When they heard this, they looked around at the vast empty fields and the blue sky, and finally turned over and dismounted.

"Okay, then I'll go first."

Hearing this, Agares, who was lying in the tree, yawned and stretched, and the Red Devil spat in disgust: "What the fuck...... One is more unproductive than the other. ”

……

Liverpool, Old Docks, Gladstone Import & Export Trading Company.

In the conference room on the third floor, smoke fills the air.

The Danish camphor wood conference table imported from the Baltic Sea was filled with black bowler hats that guests took off casually.

In the clouds and mountains like a fairyland, you can vaguely see the shiny and shining little suns.

Such an iconic scene is enough to explain the identity of the participants, they are all British gentlemen, any one alone is enough to cause an earthquake in the import and export trade of the whole of Liverpool, and even affect the rise and fall of the price of one or several commodities in the whole of Britain.

Their routes covered the tobacco and sugar trade between the West Indies and West Africa, as well as the grain trade between England and Ireland. It also includes timber and cotton products to and from the Americas and the Baltic Sea coast. Of course, they haven't forgotten Liverpool's old roots, and Greenland's fishing industry is also one of their areas.

Old Gladstone held his pipe in his mouth, put one hand between his eyebrows, looked down at the documents in his hand, and asked without raising his head: "I heard that yesterday he asked the customs department for a customs declaration?" ”

"That's right." The middle-aged and elderly gentleman sitting on his left hand stroked the few stubborn hair left on his head: "The customs department has already sent the customs declaration over yesterday afternoon. ”

"Oh?"

Old Gladstone put down his papers, leaned back in his chair and folded his hands, "They just gave in so easily to London?" It's not like their style! ”

The old gentleman sitting on Gladstone's right hand took off his glasses and said: "I heard that Whitehall is really on fire this time, and the justices seem to be very dissatisfied with the dock riots that broke out in Liverpool a while ago. A few days ago, the Prime Minister, Earl Grey, reprimanded the Customs Administration and the Trade Commission in person, asking them to give a written explanation of what happened in Liverpool.

The General Customs Administration and the Board of Trade were so angry that they couldn't hold it back and digest it on their own, so they kicked the ball to the Port of Liverpool Authority, demanding a written report from the Port Authority and asking them to promise not to make the same mistake again.

No matter how tough the Port Authority is, it can't be stupid enough to carry it in this situation. Even if they want to fight back, they will at least have to wait for this turmoil to pass. That Hastings had been sent from London, and he was carrying orders from the Chancery, the Admiralty, the Home Office, and the General Customs Service, and the Port Authority still had to do what it looked like on the surface. ”

"Is it just on the surface?"

"Yes, it's still the same set. They left some innocuous mistakes and omissions for the young man to check, after all, people also have to show some results to London for business. And the customs, it looks fake if it doesn't leak. Instead of letting him run around like a headless fly, let's show him the way, at least we can know in advance what he's looking for. ”

"Nine thousand six hundred pounds of tea that had not been declared for duty, seven thousand three hundred pounds of tobacco that had been reported for international shipment as domestic transportation, high-end clothing that had been misvalued in half a cabin, and a few bits and pieces of industrial raw materials. The money in this regard should be divided equally, and when the Customs Department and the Customs Department come to collect it, we can just make a show and argue. If you lose the case in court, don't continue to appeal, this lawsuit cannot be won and cannot be won. ”

"He has a check, and he can take credit. The cabinet finds out the problem and can make a name for itself. Our losses are also within a reasonable range, and if it does not affect the follow-up business, then we will all be happy. ”

Speaking of which, the gentleman sitting opposite Old Gladstone just touched his bald head, raised his finger and tapped his head: "If things can be resolved smoothly, then of course it will be good." But the problem now is that I'm afraid he won't like these little sesame seeds, so he has to check the big ones. ”

As soon as he finished saying this, the gentleman sitting by the window said impatiently: "I have given him so much, what is there to dissatisfaction with?" When I was younger, how much money did I make shipping a sturdy to the Americas? Nine deaths from Britain to Africa, and from Africa to the Americas, a shipload of will die at least a third to a half. After deducting the crew's wages and ship damage, the net profit of a slave ship capable of carrying 400 people is 8,000-10,000 pounds. Now that he's not doing his and sleeping in the hotel, we'll hand him over two boatloads of money, and that's enough. ”

"Lovey, don't be in a hurry. I'm not saying he's going to do that, but we have to consider that he's a young man. We also came from a young age, just like when you were young, when you were young, you could go to Africa to sell despite malaria, but now that you are older, can you still go out and do this kind of thing? When I was young, I always wanted to eat a fat man and swallow a watermelon, but I didn't think that I would kill myself, which is a common problem of young people. ”

"You don't want a. We in Britain are now abolished, and what we are doing now is making a living. ”

"Why is it not proper to sell? It was the council that made him improper, but God didn't say that. ”

"Alright, alright! We're talking about young people now, how did you get involved with? Can you use a whip to deal with, but can you deal with the superintendent of Scotland? ”

"It's not up to us to decide whether it will work or not, it's up to Officer Hastings to think about it. Then again, what kind of path did he take? ”

"I asked someone to go to London to inquire, and it was a bit difficult to say how he was doing. It seems that he was thrown to Liverpool to do this drudgery because he caused trouble, and it seems that someone above wants to brush up on his grades. ”

"Take Liverpool's port quarantine results? Isn't this a brain disease? Ninety percent of the country's cotton and linen is imported from Liverpool, and if we stop here, all the textile mills in Lancashire will have to stop production. The cabinet did not send a veteran to deal with this matter, but sent a stunned young man, you said that he was not cheated, I don't believe it. ”

"I don't know if someone cheated me. But I know that he is a graduate of the University of London, the tall foot of Lord Breham, the Lord, and the right-hand man of Sir Peel. But you're right about one thing, that Broughham guy is a little sick in the head. ”

"Sir Peel's right-hand man? If so, it is the Whigs who are now in power. If he had been brought up by Pierte, if he had not done well in Liverpool, there would have been no psychological pressure on the Whigs to remove him. ”

Therefore, the more the reasoning is debated, the clearer it becomes, and now it will be clearer. Why this kid was sent to Liverpool is now very clear. ”

Old Gladstone muttered, "Then it's a question of how to get in touch with him...... Do you guys have any thoughts? ”

(End of chapter)