SGB Chapter 321

## Chapter 321: How Much Is A Superintendent’s Life Worth? (7K2)

The gentle breeze swept across the fields outside Liverpool, sending waves of verdant green turnips rippling.

Since the start of the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century, turnips had been introduced to Britain as a high-yielding crop. Initially, they were touted as the next generation of sugar-producing plants. However, when Francis Blakie discovered that sugar beets contained 8% more sugar than turnips, turnips naturally fell out of favor.

But from another perspective, this loss of favor actually helped the widespread cultivation of turnips. People quickly discovered its new uses.

This high-yielding crop, grown in autumn and matured in late winter, could effectively fill the gap in the crop rotation system. Although it couldn’t be the best sugar crop, it was a good quality fodder for livestock.

If we simply narrate this story, it seems like a mundane case of agricultural breeding.

However, if we delve deeper, we’ll be surprised to discover that it wasn’t the British farmers, who toiled under the sun, but a group of nobles who were obsessed with farming and herding that continuously pushed agricultural breeding and sparked new waves of agricultural revolution over nearly two centuries.

These individuals included Lord Townsend, who championed the introduction of turnip-crop rotation in Britain, and Sir Coke, who dedicated his life to improving livestock breeds.

There was the Duke of Portland, who was constantly troubled by insufficient irrigation in his own land and thus dedicated himself to researching clay pipe irrigation.

And then there was the Duke of Bedford, an early enthusiast of drainage and irrigation, who constantly pondered how to transform his swamp land into fertile fields.

Unfortunately, although the Duke of Portland and the Duke of Bedford achieved success in agricultural reform, the most famous figures in their two families were not involved in agricultural research.

The most well-known member of the Duke of Portland’s family was Henry Cavendish, whose landmark work was the Cavendish torsion balance experiment. Besides that, he was the first to discover carbon dioxide and hydrogen. In his later years, he collaborated with the young Faraday to propose the concept of dielectric constant.

As for the Duke of Bedford family, things were slightly better. Their most famous member hadn’t been born yet, and his primary focus was on mathematics and philosophy.

In any case, the British aristocracy’s love for agriculture is evident in this.

Unlike the aristocrats in most parts of Europe, who preferred living in cities, British lords would seize any opportunity to escape to the countryside.

In the 15th century, the Italian scholar Poggio Bracciolini mocked this English way of thinking that they couldn’t understand.

“In this country, nobles consider it a shame to live in cities for long periods. They mostly reside in the countryside, enjoy chopping wood and farming, and actively engage in various rural activities. Selling wool and livestock is seen as a noble profession. I once met a wealthy Englishman who sold his property, bought a large estate in the countryside, and left the town with his family to live in the countryside, simply to cultivate his son into a true nobleman. In the end, he achieved his goal. After spending a few years in the countryside, even he was accepted by the noble class.”

This deep-rooted agricultural passion has been passed down from the 15th century to this day. Even in the 19th century, people were still imitating the actions of that wealthy Englishman from centuries ago.

For instance, not far from the turnip field, in the nearby forest, a son of a renowned local Liverpool tycoon was chopping wood with a small axe.

December was the coldest month of the year. However, William Gladstone was only wearing a thin white shirt, completely ignoring the howling north wind, and kept his head down, chopping firewood with gusto.

Judging from the sweat covering his forehead and the soaked white shirt, the young man must have been chopping for a while now.

Even if the British considered chopping wood a way to cultivate resilience, it was still uncommon to find a wealthy second-generation like Gladstone who could chop with such abandon and vigor.

It was unknown whether it was because of the frustration caused by being defeated by Disraeli in the intra-party primary election, but Gladstone, who normally considered chopping wood his life’s work, was chopping with an unprecedented level of abandon and vigor today.

Before long, a pile of firewood had formed beside him, as high as a small mountain.

If Arthur were here, he would definitely recall what Mr. Disraeli once told him: “If Gladstone were to fall into the Thames and drown this winter, the entire London’s heating system would be in trouble. God’s great flood would be nothing before him. Noah’s seven days of work, Gladstone could finish in an afternoon.”

Although even Disraeli, a sharp-tongued political opponent, highly praised his chopping ability, he was still a human being, and humans would eventually get tired.

Gladstone put down the axe, propped one hand on the tree trunk, looked at the fruits of his labor this morning, wiped his sweat with one hand, and gasped for breath.

He turned his head and looked at the roaring bonfire beside him. The swaying flames seemed to warp with his breath, revealing Disraeli’s frivolous and narcissistic smile within. Even the crackling sound of the burning fire transformed into his sarcastic and阴阳怪气 voice.

As a devout believer who strictly adhered to church precepts and could recite the Bible backward, Gladstone never outwardly expressed his emotions. He followed his father’s instructions and strived to become a person with noble qualities and chivalry.

But in the end, he was still too young.

Being young, he naturally possessed a certain youthful vigor, or perhaps, fire.

Gladstone kicked the bonfire with his foot. Burning carbon ash sparks flew into the air, blurring his vision.

“Benjamin Disraeli! Narrow-minded, immature, frivolous, and pretentious in his speech. Wherever he goes, he’s in a little yellow trousers, green waistcoat, pointed leather shoes, and a lace collar, with a narcissistic and smug look on his face. You, you bastard! What the hell am I worse than you? Is it because you know how to climb up to Lady Sykes’ skirt?

Oh, my God! Can you open your eyes and see what kind of thing has been elected from Kent? This is better than electing a donkey. A donkey can also bray, and it’s smarter than him!”

A crack appeared in Gladstone’s white shirt, and the gold-plated copper buttons scattered on the ground. His sturdy chest heaved, revealing that the young man was quite upset.

Agareus lay sideways on a tree branch, munching on an apple and watching the show. “Praying to God? With that level of awareness, you deserve to fail the intra-party primary. You even look down on Disraeli and donkeys, but you go to beg something that’s not as good as them. At least those two can bray, but God, you can talk yourself hoarse, and it won’t even fart!”

Perhaps he heard Agareus’ murmur, or perhaps Gladstone realized he had spoken out of turn.

He covered his forehead, looking at the mess on the ground and shaking his head. “God! William, look at what you’ve done! Don’t let anger control your emotions.”

Gladstone quickly adjusted his breathing and emotions. He clasped his hands devoutly over the cross on his chest, closed his eyes, and prayed. “Dear Lord! We need you, we can’t be without you for a moment. Only by clinging to you can we find satisfaction and peace. My Lord, we thank you! For in this dark age, you are the only light. May your true light dispel the darkness within us and make us holy, becoming your precious vessels. We know that nothing is impossible for man, and nothing is impossible for you. We pray to you in the name of the Lord. Amen.”

Seeing this, Agareus just rolled his eyes, raised his hand, and threw the apple core towards Gladstone’s head. “This kid, he’s hopeless. You’re doing all this useless stuff, you’d be better off signing an agreement with me. If you want to be an MP, it’ll be Eldred’s turn before yours.”

As soon as Agareus finished speaking, a sound of galloping hooves suddenly came from ahead.

Gladstone looked back, and on the country road, several familiar young faces appeared on horseback.

They were also the sons of several wealthy Liverpool families, including some old friends he had known since childhood.

However, Gladstone had been intentionally distancing himself from these friends in recent years.

The reason was simple. As a devout believer, he simply couldn’t stand their decadent lifestyle of drinking and partying and their cynical attitude towards life.

“Good afternoon, William! When did you return to Liverpool? Why didn’t you give us a heads-up? If we’d known you were back, we would have taken you with us on the hunt this morning.”

Several young men saw their old friend, put down their waving whips, tightened the reins, and stopped in front of Gladstone.

Gladstone glanced at the two foxes hanging on the saddle, smiled politely, and said, “You know my hunting skills. Taking me with you would just be an extra burden. I won’t disturb your fun.”

Several young men laughed loudly. “What’s the big deal? We have plenty of bullets, and with enough practice, you’ll eventually hit a shot. But it’s fine if you missed the hunt. Since you’re back, let’s organize a salon party tonight. You must have had a miserable time in Oxford these past few years?

It’s a pity you didn’t come at the right time. My brother was at Oxford, and the rules weren’t as strict back then. But you didn’t come at the right time for your studies, and you happened to run into that Oxford University prostitution law. Ha, I have to say, the MP who proposed this bill is a genius. He’s planning to treat Oxford students as criminals?

I heard that since this law was passed, the number of women in Oxford town has been cut in half. You spent three years studying there, you must have been a medieval monk for three years? Without beautiful ladies to keep you company, your only entertainment must have been drinking.”

Gladstone heard this and solemnly corrected him. “I do drink some wine occasionally, but mainly during communion at school. I rarely drink on my own.”

“You don’t even drink much?”

Several young men were surprised. “William, my good brother, you’ve been through a lot these past few years. It seems like we have to make up for your lost three years tonight. Six o’clock tonight, the location is tentative, we’ll send a servant to your manor to notify you once we’ve organized the party.”

“William, do you remember Catherine? The little princess surrounded by stars has now blossomed into a charming young lady who can attend social dances. She’s always had a fondness for you. Go invite her to dance the first waltz tonight, and she definitely won’t refuse. What do you say? We’re pretty good to you, aren’t we?”

Gladstone was about to decline the invitation to the dance, but as soon as he heard the name Catherine, God’s precepts were thrown to the wind.

Gladstone hesitated and asked, “Are you sure Catherine will be there?”

“It wasn’t certain before.”

“But if you go…”

“Catherine will most likely go too.”

“Even if she doesn’t want to go…”

“Her parents will force her to go.”

Several young men winked at Gladstone, laughing. “William, you’re too humble and cautious. You have no idea how charming you really are. Every native of Liverpool knows that the name Gladstone represents wealth, let alone the fact that you were noticed by the Duke of Newcastle at your graduation ceremony. It’s already spread throughout our upper circles.”

“My father said that you’ll be at least a cabinet regular like Sir Peel in the future. If you think higher, you might even become a Prime Minister like Sir Canning.”

“That’s right, George Canning was just the son of an actress, and his uncle was just a small banker. But you, William, your father is one of the top businessmen in Liverpool. Whether it’s comparing abilities or wealth, you’re far superior to Canning. If Canning can serve a term as Prime Minister, you can definitely serve two terms.”

“William, if you’re going to be an MP, just speak up if you’re short of money. We’ve all played together since we were kids. Besides hunting foxes in the forest, we can also afford to spend a little money. A couple of thousand pounds, just have someone send a message. If it’s more than that, we’ll have to discuss it with our families.”

“Discuss? My father said that if William can get into the Board of Trade, he’ll give him £5,000 as a congratulatory gift. If William becomes Prime Minister and agrees to get me into the Board of Trade, he’ll sell the two manors he just bought. Even if he has to live a hard life, he’ll sell everything to raise £20,000 or £30,000 for William.”

The rich lads all burst into laughter.

However, Gladstone couldn’t help but frown at these words. But out of respect for his friends, he ultimately didn’t voice his campaign platform of wanting to vigorously reform government corruption.

He changed the subject. “Speaking of the dance tonight…”

“Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you. There will be a guest from London at the dance tonight. You need to be careful about him. We won’t compete with you for Catherine’s first waltz, but that guest might not know you two are a match.”

“Hiss… You didn’t mention this, I hadn’t thought of it. With that guest’s status, it’s not easy for us to explain this to him. If he sets his eyes on Catherine and invites her to dance, Catherine won’t be able to directly refuse him.”

“Guest?” Gladstone asked in confusion. “Is that guest’s status very special? Does he have any special title?”

One of the rich lads held back a laugh and replied, “Special, yes, special, and his title is quite long.”

Another rich lad beside him recalled the self-introduction he heard at the station, and with his unique duck-like voice, he imitated it in a strange way. “Let me introduce myself, Arthur Hastings, Senior Superintendent of the Metropolitan Police and Head of the Criminal Investigations Department in London… Director of the… what bureau, appointed by… as a special anti-smuggling inspector stationed in Liverpool.”

As soon as he finished his imitation, the friends around him burst into laughter in appreciation.

“Hahaha! Well done! This London kid is scaring who in Liverpool? Special anti-smuggling inspector. Does he know this isn’t the first time London has sent an anti-smuggling inspector to Liverpool?”

“Speaking of which, what happened to the last anti-smuggling inspector who came to Liverpool? Can anyone remind me?”

“Edmund, you have such a bad memory. Let me tell you, the last anti-smuggling inspector, he died! The people from the Hawkshurst gang buried him alive on the spot. Since then, London hasn’t sent any inspectors to Liverpool for half a century.”

“Hahaha!!!”

Gladstone heard this and his face couldn’t help but change. “Superintendent Hastings? The anti-smuggling inspector is him?”

“Huh?” The rich lad asked. “William, you know him? That’s perfect. You find some time to have afternoon tea with him, and talk things over with him, it’ll be good for everyone. I guess you don’t know that the Port Authority, the Customs Department, and the Customs and Excise Department, as well as the Municipal Council, are quite upset about this Superintendent Hastings!”

“That’s right, they’re sweating bullets these days. My father gathered Edmund, Jonathan, Monk, and their fathers today to hold an industry meeting to discuss how to deal with this Superintendent Hastings. Right, your father and brother should have participated in this, I remember the meeting was held in your family’s trading office at the port.”

“William, since you have connections, why don’t you go and sound him out for the old guys. Ask that Hastings how much money it will take to make this whole thing go away. We don’t want to make things too tense with London. Just because of a cholera prevention, we’ve made the port trade a mess. Is it necessary to make such a fuss?”

Gladstone heard this and hurriedly asked, “When was that industry meeting held?”

“This morning, starting at 10 a.m.” The rich lad looked up at the sun in the sky. “According to the old guys’ slow pace, it probably hasn’t ended yet.”

Hearing this, Gladstone immediately got on his horse. He pulled the reins and said, “Steve, lend me this horse. I’ll bring it back when I go to the dance.”

With that, Gladstone whipped the reins, sending up a cloud of dust on the path. The young man rode off on his horse, galloping away.

The few rich lads looked at each other.

“Well, guys, we’re short a horse, it seems like we can’t continue the hunt.”

“What should we do next?”

Steve, the rich lad, glanced at the small axe Gladstone had left behind and the large forest, stroked his chin, and suggested, “Why don’t we have a chopping wood competition?”

Hearing this, the rich lads looked around at the vast fields and the blue sky, and finally dismounted.

“Alright, I’ll go first.”

Agareus, lying on the tree, heard this, yawned, stretched, and the Red Devil spat disdainfully. “Damn… all of them are so useless.”

…

Liverpool, Old Dock, Gladstone Import and Export Trading Company.

The conference room on the third floor was filled with smoke.

A Danish camphorwood conference table imported from the Baltic Sea was packed with people, and the table was covered with black top hats that the guests had casually taken off.

In the ethereal mist and smoke, one could faintly see a group of shiny, oil-slicked little suns.

This iconic scene was enough to illustrate the identities of the attendees. They were all bona fide British gentlemen, any one of them could cause an earthquake in Liverpool’s import and export trade, even affecting the rise and fall of prices of certain goods throughout Britain.

Their business lines covered tobacco and sugar trade between the West Indies and West Africa, grain trading between England and Ireland, timber and cotton textile transportation between the Americas and the Baltic Sea coast. Of course, they didn’t forget Liverpool’s old business, Greenland’s fishing industry was also within their scope.

Old Gladstone, holding a pipe in his mouth, propped one hand on his brow, lowered his head to examine the document in his hand, and asked without looking up, “I heard he asked the Customs Department for the declaration yesterday?”

“That’s right.” The middle-aged gentleman sitting to his left stroked the few stubborn hairs left on his head. “The Customs Department sent the declaration over yesterday afternoon.”

“Oh?”

Old Gladstone put down the document, leaned back in his chair, and folded his arms. “They just compromised with London so easily? That’s not their style!”

The old gentleman sitting to Gladstone’s right took off his glasses and said, “I heard that Whitehall is really angry this time. The Lord Chancellor seems to be very unhappy with the recent dock riots in Liverpool. Earl Grey, the Prime Minister, even reprimanded the Chief Customs Officer and the Board of Trade in person, demanding written explanations for what happened in Liverpool.

The Chief Customs Officer and the Board of Trade, naturally, couldn’t keep this anger bottled up inside. So they kicked the ball over to the Liverpool Port Authority, demanding a written report from them and requiring them to guarantee that they wouldn’t repeat the same mistake.

The Port Authority, even if they’re tough, wouldn’t be stupid enough to stand their ground in this situation. Even if they want to fight back, they at least need to wait for this storm to pass. That Hastings is sent by London, and he carries orders from the Lord Chancellor’s office, the Admiralty, the Home Office, and the Chief Customs Officer. The Port Authority has to put on a show at least.”

“Just a show?”

“Yes, it’s the same old routine. They left some insignificant loopholes for that young man to investigate. After all, he needs to show some results to London. Besides, customs, if they do everything perfectly, it looks fake. It’s better to let him run around like a headless chicken, at least we’ll know what he’s investigating beforehand.”

“£9,600 worth of untaxed tea, £7,300 worth of tobacco declared as domestic transportation for international transportation, half a hold of high-end clothing with incorrect valuation, and some miscellaneous industrial raw materials. We’ll split the money for this among ourselves. When the Customs Department and the Excise Department come to collect taxes, we’ll just pretend to argue. If we lose in court, we won’t appeal. We can’t win this lawsuit, and we shouldn’t win.”

“He has something to investigate, he can gain some credit. The cabinet finds the problem, they can gain some reputation. Our losses are within a reasonable range, it doesn’t affect our future business, then it’s a win-win situation.”

Having said that, the gentleman sitting opposite Old Gladstone just touched his bald head, raised a finger, and tapped his head. “If things go smoothly, of course it’s good. But the problem now is, I’m afraid he won’t be satisfied with these small peanuts, he might want to investigate something big.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the gentleman sitting by the window impatiently spoke up. “We’ve already given him so much, what else is he not satisfied with? When I was young, how much money did I make transporting a strong black man to America? A nine-death-journey from Britain to Africa, then from Africa to America. A ship full of black men would lose at least one-third to one-half. After deducting the crew’s wages and ship damage, a slave ship that could carry 400 people would only net £8,000-£10,000. Now he’s doing nothing, lying in a hotel, sleeping, and we’re giving him the money for two shiploads of black men, that’s good enough.”

“Lowe, don’t get angry. I’m not saying he’s definitely going to do this, but we have to consider that he’s young. We’ve all been young before, just like you were when you were young. You could ignore malaria and go to Africa to sell black men when you were young, but now you’re old, can you still do that? When you’re young, you always want to swallow a watermelon, but you don’t consider that you might choke yourself, that’s the common problem of young people.”

“Don’t call them black men. We’ve abolished slavery in Britain. We’re running a legitimate business now.”

“How is selling black men not legitimate? It’s Parliament that says it’s not legitimate, but God didn’t say so.”

“Alright, alright! We’re discussing young people now, why are you talking about black men? You can use whips to deal with black men, but can you use them to deal with a Superintendent from Scotland Yard?”

“Whether it works or not, it’s not up to us, it depends on Superintendent Hastings’ own thoughts. Speaking of which, what kind of background does he have?”

“I asked someone to inquire in London. His situation is a bit difficult to say. He seems to be someone who got into trouble and was sent to Liverpool to do this thankless job, but it also seems like someone above him is watching him and wants to give him some achievements.”

“Using Liverpool’s port quarantine to gain achievements? Isn’t that insane? 90% of the cotton and linen in the country is imported through Liverpool. If we stop here, all the textile factories in Lancashire will have to shut down. The cabinet doesn’t send a veteran to handle this, but instead sends a greenhorn. You say he wasn’t tricked, I wouldn’t believe it.”

“Whether he was tricked or not, I don’t know. But I know he’s a graduate of the University of London, a protégé of Lord Brougham, the Lord Chancellor, and a trusted aide of Sir Peel. But you’re right about one thing, Brougham is a bit crazy.”

“A trusted aide of Sir Peel? If that’s the case, the Whigs are in power now. If he was promoted by Peel, and if he doesn’t do well in Liverpool, the Whigs wouldn’t have any psychological pressure to remove him.”

“So, as the saying goes, the more you argue, the clearer it becomes. Now it’s clear why this kid was sent to Liverpool.”

Old Gladstone pondered. “So next, it’s the question of how to contact him… Do you have any opinions?”

(End of Chapter)

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