Love all, trust the few, and live up to anyone.

- Shakespeare, "All Are Happy"

On a gloomy and humid London afternoon, the sky suddenly tears apart and the rain pours down like a waterfall across the city. The streets and alleys instantly turned into a sea of cobblestones, and the roads paved with cobblestone and bluestone bricks became extremely muddy under the baptism of rain, and every rut was deeply sunk in the sticky mud, as if it were the scarred veins of the earth.

And in the dense rain curtain that almost overwhelming people and making it impossible to see the scenery in front of them, mixed with the sound of messy and heavy riding boots hitting the ground.

They wore makeshift tarpaulin raincoats and bowler hats, the brim of which dripped, and the epaulettes shimmered faintly but glitteringly in the rain.

And on the road, herds of passing carriages struggled through the mud, their wheels grunting heavily, and the coachmen wielded whips as they strained their tired horses. The gentlemen and ladies sitting in the carriage couldn't help but open the windows and cautiously look at the group of 'blue devils', curiously guessing where these people were going to go.

But in an instant, curiosity turned into hesitation, and the gentlemen looked up at the smoke rising from all over the sky, and the air seemed to smell of gunpowder to be lighter under the heavy rain.

The noble lady gently shook her husband's hand and asked unconfidently, "My dear, why don't we go back first?" Looking at the expressions on the faces of these officers and the neat running posture, things are ...... now It doesn't seem to be as bad as we thought. ”

The gentleman glanced at his wife beside him, smoking a smoky cigarette vigorously, and he stared at the group of police officers running by, and suddenly, he saw several mounted policemen passing by on tall horses through the rain curtain.

The horses' hooves trampled over the puddles, splashing the murky water, and their figures loomed in the rain, like a dynamic black and white oil painting. With the doors and windows of shops closed along the way, pedestrians rushed to take shelter from the rain, and only this disciplined team made its way up the river towards the bustling City of London.

The mounted sergeant in the lead seemed to have spotted the slowly halted carriage, and with a pull on the reins, he turned the horse's head and drove the horse towards it with small steps.

The chief took off his hat, leaned down slightly, and raised his hand to tap the edge of the window. Outside the car window, his black eyes flashed with a faint red light.

"Sir, ma'am, do you need any help?"

The lady glanced at her husband and replied apologetically, "Officer, thank you for your help, we ...... We just felt a little flustered and scared. ”

Arthur laughed lightly, straightened his back and replied, "Ma'am, I assure you that the situation in London will soon be settled. It's our responsibility to cause you to be scared, so we're now preparing to take it on our shoulders. Go home, go home and get some sleep, and by the time you wake up tomorrow, the rain will have stopped. Believe me, it's the first time I've predicted the weather, but after living in London for so many years, I still have this bit of common sense. ”

With that, Arthur swung the reins again, and heard only the neighing of a horse, and soon he sprang out like an arrow off the string, and the horse's hooves fell and splashed many mud spots in the small puddles of water on the road. There were a few naughty mud ideas, and even jumped into the car window to stain the lady's beloved white dress.

But the lady did not have the heart to blame the ungentlemanly police officer for his ungentlemanly behavior, but turned her head and asked her husband, "My dear, what do you think ......?"

The gentleman tapped his pipe out of the window and cleared the ash inside: "Mary, go back, I suddenly remembered that we still have some good tea left at home." Let's light a campfire, boil some samovars, and slice some ham, and tell me about Mrs. Hawkinson that you mentioned to me last time, and the little stories from your ladies' reading club, I'm actually quite interested in your ladies' hobbies. ”

……

The City of London, known as the 'square mile' by Londoners, is located in the heart of the River Thames, with the minarets of old churches, heavy Gothic buildings and new commercial buildings, intertwined with the solemnity of history and the atmosphere of modern industrial civilization.

As the name suggests, a square mile, this is not a particularly large area in the midst of the majesty of London. However, anyone who sets foot in the area for the first time will be shocked by the wealth and opulent decorations it possesses.

Neoclassical bank buildings rise here, built of solid stone and adorned with ornate sculptures and reliefs, reflecting the power and prestige of the financial magnates.

The England regional headquarters of local banking giants such as Bank of Baring, Rothschild Bank, Lloyds Bank, and Bank of Scotland are all located here, like castles, guarding the country's financial lifeblood. In addition to them, other countries in South America and Europe have also opened multinational banks in the City of London in order to be able to issue national bonds and raise sufficient funds in London.

However, the most striking of the banks still belongs to the Bank of England, Britain's largest bank, which is jointly owned by 21 British banking giants.

As a gathering place for these high-net-worth individuals, the financial city has naturally developed its entertainment and catering industry very well. The streets are lined with elegantly decorated gentlemen's clubs and cafes used by merchants to pass the time and exchange information.

It's just that at a time like today, the clubs and cafes that used to be overcrowded are not half a person, and even their owners and waiters are not there.

At this moment, everyone is gathered in a pre-Victorian building, the place where the wealth of the empire is transferred, and the prosperity and authority of Britain is displayed - the London Stock Exchange, located in the heart of London.

The interior of the exchange is filled with intricately carved stone facades that exude Renaissance sophistication and solemnity, and tall arched windows let in an abundance of natural light to illuminate the inner trading floor.

Walking through the doors of the exchange, a unique smell of paper, ink and coins waives you.

In the center of the spacious trading hall, a large domed skylight casts golden light, making the space both grand and bright. The trading desks are arranged in a radial pattern around the central area, and each trading desk is enclosed by an elaborate wrought iron railing to ensure the safety and order of trading activities.

However, the self-proclaimed security and orderliness of this kind of exchange in the past seems to have become a kind of self-deprecating joke today.

The hall was crowded with bustling people, and the investors in top hats and long dresses were crowded together, and those who stayed in the hall were reluctant to go out, and those who did not squeeze into the hall desperately wanted to squeeze in.

Everyone's face was pale, and everyone had a tight grip on the transaction slips full of dense numbers. Their eyes flashed with an apocalyptic unease and trepidation.

In the midst of the cacophony of hurried footsteps, muffled conversations, and occasional exclamations, it sounded like a tragic symphony.

The stockbrokers were busy in their respective trading seats, sweat sliding down their cheeks and soaking their necklines.

They shouted out the stock symbol and price, trying to get rid of the stocks and bonds in their hands as soon as possible.

However, panic spread like wildfire in the market, and each drop in quotations triggered a new round of frenzied selling.

On the huge bulletin board inside the exchange, the chalk lines of the rapid decline in stock prices are striking, as if heralding the end of an era.

In the crowd, some people were pale with heavy losses, others took the opportunity to pick up cheap chips, and some screamed in despair to sell their last holdings.

At some point, the exchange's bell rang to announce the end of the trading session, but the panic in the air did not dissipate, but intensified. Everyone was roaring for extended trading hours, and to that end, they didn't mind giving the exchange staff two punches or even pulling out their pistols and threatening them.

Faced with such a scene, those capital giants who used to make waves in the London financial market couldn't help but feel that their hearts were in their throats. They didn't dare to open their mouths, for fear that their hearts would pop out of their stomachs as soon as they opened their mouths.

"It's over, it's all over!"

"You're robbing! It's robbing me of my hard-earned money, and you're not even willing to pay for this robbery! ”

"I'm going to the parliament to petition, and the king should issue a Privy Council order to arrest all those guys who suppress stock prices, just like the Nanhai Company case back then!"

Such voices reverberated in the exchange, and everyone's hearts were filled with anger and fear.

But the bad thing is that they don't even know who to turn to, because no one knows who is robbing them of their money.

Even the families who have a great say in the financial city have suffered heavy losses in this short half-hour trading time.

The total collapse that swept through the market has plunged the London Stock Exchange, the heart of the global economy, into unprecedented chaos and turmoil.

In a corner of the London Stock Exchange, Lionel trembled as he clutched the thick stack of trading papers in his hand, surrounded by stockbrokers large and small belonging to the Rothschild family.

"Mr. Rothschild, do you have any news? Greenwich, can you give an explanation of whether it can be solved there? ”

"We can't sit still, we either add to our positions or close them, and we have to do something now while we still have some capital in our hands."

Lionel sat on the bench of the Exchange, the young Jewish master expressionless and trying to maintain his composure, but the beads of sweat on his forehead betrayed his nervousness, and his trademark smile was now gone.

Lionel said in a gentle tone: "Don't worry, my father has already gone to the Apsley Mansion to find the Duke of Wellington. The Bahrain side must have already moved, and they will contact the Whigs. I'm sure we'll have fifteen minutes at most to figure out what's going on. ”

"Fifteen minutes?!"

When a stockbroker heard this, he was directly anxious, and he directly threw the slip in his hand in Lionel's face: "Do you know what crazy you are talking about? Now every minute that passes, the value of our assets will depreciate by three percent, and if this continues, there will be another fifteen minutes, and even if the news comes out, we are finished! ”

Lionel was taken aback by his actions, but in an instant, he was full of anger. He stared at the stockbroker in front of him, never expecting that this guy, who usually nods to him, would behave so rudely today.

Soon, however, Lionel figured out why his Uncle James was so desperate that he nearly committed suicide when the July Revolution broke out in Paris.

Many stockbrokers and investors are bottomless guys, you can make money with him, he can hold you up like a god, but if you let him lose money, he will want to drink your blood and eat your flesh.

Friendship, friendship, affection, love, no emotion can come in handy at such times.

Lionel said calmly: "Jerome, you and Rothschild have been working together for many years, and you also know our investment habits, we don't like to gamble without getting any information. Rather than do something wrong, we'd rather do nothing. If you feel that we are not in tune, you can terminate the cooperation contract with us at any time. For the sake of our friendship for so many years, I am in charge of my father, and if you terminate the contract now, I will only charge you half of the liquidated damages. ”

"Half?"

Jerome saw that his strategy to provoke Lionel worked, and hurriedly hit the railroad while it was hot: "How much do I pay every year to get news from you?" And now you not only didn't let me make money, but also made me lose money, so you are still trying to make me pay half of the liquidated damages? ”

Lionel bent down to pick up the slips that Jerome had smashed in his face, raised his hand and handed them to him: "Sir, this is the rule of the financial city, and it is also the credit that you rely on for a living as a stockbroker. Of course, you can choose not to pay, but I have to warn you that if you don't pay even half of the liquidated damages, then you don't want to mess with the financial markets of London, Paris, Naples, Vienna or Frankfurt. ”

Forced by Lionel's momentum, Jerome couldn't help but take a step back, he stared at Lionel, then looked back at the still falling stock and bond prices on the bulletin board, and finally gritted his teeth and snatched back the notes from Lionel's hand: "Good! I'll give! Half of the price will be paid to your account tomorrow. ”

After that, he turned his head and shouted at his gang, "Go!" We broke with Rothschild! ”

Jerome's roar echoed through the stock exchange, and as soon as he took a step, he suddenly felt that something was wrong, and his whole body froze in place.

At this time, he realized that the exchange that had just been full of people suddenly fell silent, and even the sound of a needle falling on the ground was clearly visible.

All the investors and stockbrokers stood in place with their faces in staring at each other, still holding the trading notes in their hands, but no one waved them anymore.

A road had been cleared of the hall of the exchange, and it was lined with five steps and a post on both sides, and Scotland Yard officers in blue tuxedos and loaded guns had taken over.

At the end of the road, a senior police officer took off his hat and leaned in front of the trading window to the trader and said, "May I ask you, I heard that stocks and bonds are cheap now?" ”

The trader looked down at the pistol on Arthur's waist, although he was nervous, but the highly disciplined professional ethics forced him to show a standard smile: "Yes, Mr. Officer, most of the stocks are down thirty percent now, and some have even fallen by half." On the Treasury side, the price of British Treasuries has fallen to 85.4 points. Are you ready to buy a little now? ”

"Hmm."

Arthur nodded, he fumbled in his pocket, took out a stack of banker's acceptances and put them on the counter: "Here is part of my personal savings, and the other part is the money of Scotland Yard, a total of thirty-two thousand two hundred pounds, please buy me all into bonds." ”

"Uh......" Arthur's words made the trader cloudy, and he asked rhetorically: "Mr. Officer, if I am not mistaken, are you saying that the money you gave is embezzlement?" ”

"Hmm." Arthur nodded calmly: "That's right." ”

After that, he turned to the officers behind him and asked, "Do you have any opinion on the salary of Britain in the next few months?" ”

"No Comments!!"

The officers' replies were deafening.

"Now." Arthur turned around and said, "Sir, you see, they have no opinion, so you can do it and buy it for me." ”

The trader was made to laugh and cry by Arthur, and while counting the money order, he said: "Mr. Officer, I have seen a lot of embezzlement over the years, but this is the first time I have seen such a person doing such a thing openly and honestly as you. Aren't you afraid of being investigated later? ”

Arthur shrugged: "It doesn't matter, as long as the public debt can make money, my subordinates will definitely not report me." ”

"Arthur."

Arthur looked back and saw that it was the Jewish young master Lionel Rothschild who called him.

When Arthur saw him, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "I knew you were here." ”

Lionel came to sit down beside him, leaned down slightly, and whispered, "You are here, do you mean the matter of Greenwich?" ”

Arthur did not deceive him, but confessed: "That's right, it's bad there. ”

"Then you ......"

Arthur smiled again for a moment: "That's it, just kidding." ”

Arthur whispered into Lionel's ear: "You know, if you look at the price of public debt, things will get worse. The only thing I can assure you, Lionel, at this point is that things are still under our control. If you believe me, then help me, I need you to do it at this time. ”

(End of chapter)