## Chapter 83: The Financial King of London
**Chapter 84: The Financial King of London**
The name Rothschild, one that often graced the pages of both large and small newspapers in Britain, as well as various satirical cartoons.
While these reports often linked the name Rothschild with negative images like bribery, corruption, deceit, and cunning, no matter how much these publications belittled and satirized the family, they always mentioned the staggering wealth they controlled in the end.
As a vast financial dynasty spanning the European continent, even though the Rothschild family had achieved tremendous success in Paris, Frankfurt, Naples, and Austria, their London branch remained the wealthiest of them all.
During the Napoleonic Wars from 1811 to 1815, the British government paid a total of 42 million pounds in aid to its allies in the anti-French coalition. The Rothschild family played a role in approximately 8 million pounds of that sum.
Through loans to other companies and negotiations, they alleviated the financial burden of the cash-strapped British government. They then earned substantial commissions and currency exchange profits by providing financial intermediary services to the anti-French coalition.
In the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, they made a daring bet on the Duke of Wellington’s victory, earning over 200,000 pounds in profit by buying British government bonds at a low price.
Leveraging the wealth accumulated over the past decade, they acted decisively in the financial crisis of 1825, providing the Bank of England with 11 million pounds worth of gold reserves to help them weather the gold rush.
Through these events, the Rothschild family successfully gained the trust of the Tory Party, thus securing the right to issue some British government bonds.
Furthermore, they leveraged their growing reputation to earn the trust of the newly independent Brazilian government, issuing 3 million pounds worth of Brazilian bonds on their behalf.
It could be said that since 1825, Nathan Rothschild, the London branch’s leading figure, became the king of the entire City of London.
Satirical cartoons often depicted him alongside other bankers in the City, claiming that “Nathan’s sneeze could trigger an earthquake in the City.”
However, compared to the Rothschild family’s ever-growing wealth, their political status remained relatively low.
One reason was their image as nouveau riche, deeply ingrained in the minds of the public. After all, it had only been two or three decades since the Rothschild family’s rise to prominence. Before that, their ancestors were simply antique dealers from Frankfurt.
Another reason was their unique identity—Jews.
Almost everywhere in Europe, discriminatory policies were implemented against Jews. They were confined to designated Jewish ghettos, restricted from voting or holding political office, and so on.
In Britain, even the Irish were portrayed more favorably in the newspapers than them.
To improve this imbalance between wealth and political power, and to expand their sources of information, the Rothschild family had been diligently befriending various powerful political figures for the past decade or so.
Arthur had seen cartoons satirizing Nathan Rothschild bribing Prime Minister Duke of Wellington and King George IV in the newspapers more than once.
They were so eager to curry favor with the Duke of Wellington and the King that they certainly wouldn’t neglect the Duke of Sussex, who had always advocated for equal treatment of Jews.
The Lionel standing before him must have been sent by Nathan Rothschild to cultivate a relationship with the Duke of Sussex, right?
As a minor figure in the British political circle facing this big shot from the City of London, Arthur was unsure of how to approach him.
After all, his savings were only 14 pounds, 6 shillings, and 1 penny. There probably wasn’t any stock in the London Stock Exchange with such a small face value, right?
However, he still chose to shake the other man’s hand. After all, it’s better to have more friends than enemies. Maybe he would need them in the future.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rothschild.”
“No, no, no.”
Lionel winked at Arthur. He smiled, “Just call me Lionel. To be honest, I’ve been wanting to meet you for a long time. You are the pride of Scotland Yard, and your achievements have inspired all of Britain. I’m happy for you.
Your appearance also proves the validity of the Catholic Emancipation Act. Times are changing, and clinging to outdated and backward ideas is detrimental to social progress in this era of change. You must agree with this viewpoint, right?”
Hearing this, Arthur finally understood what the other man was up to.
Jews and Catholics were both stuck in the Thames River, and everyone wanted to get ashore. Therefore, helping each other was helping themselves.
The Red Devil leaned against Arthur’s shoulder and winked, “See? What did I tell you? Mammon has come knocking on your door, Arthur. Look ahead, a ton of cash is beckoning you. Just get on board with the Rothschilds, and your personal wealth will skyrocket in no time.”
Arthur nodded and smiled, “I’ve heard of the Rothschild family’s reputation for a long time, but you know, the City of London isn’t under Scotland Yard’s jurisdiction. The City has its own City of London Police, so I haven’t had the opportunity to go there.”
“It’s alright.” Lionel took a card from his top pocket with two fingers and handed it over. “Just come here whenever you have time. Whether it’s a friendly chat or you want some investment advice, I’m always here for you.”
“You’re too kind.”
The Duke of Sussex suddenly spoke, “Arthur, you came to see me today because of the St. Giles Parish investigation, right? Those people are truly despicable!
I assure you, I will do my utmost in the House of Lords to pressure the relevant medical and educational institutions regarding the doctors involved.”
Arthur said, “Thank you for your kindness and justice, but Your Grace, I came to Gresham College today for more than just that.”
He took out the investigation file from his briefcase.
“After extensive investigation and analysis, I believe the missing persons are not just linked to the murder and body theft case. I suspect there may be a vile trade involving the coercion of the poor into signing indentured servitude contracts.”
“Indentured slaves?” The Duke of Sussex felt a surge of anger at the mention of this.
He had always been one of the main supporters of the abolition of slavery in Britain. In 1807, he spent a considerable amount of time lobbying the noble class in the House of Lords to ensure the passage of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act.
However, the 1807 Act only made slave trading illegal in Britain itself, while it remained legal in British colonies.
To abolish slavery completely, the Duke of Sussex and a group of former abolitionist supporters established the Anti-Slavery Society in 1827.
Therefore, when Arthur brought up the issue of indentured servitude, it was like stepping on the Duke of Sussex’s tail.
He sprang up from the sofa, “Arthur, are you sure?”
Arthur, of course, couldn’t definitively say yes. He had to leave himself some room for maneuver. “I just have reasonable suspicions. After all, most of the missing persons have been found dead, while those whose bodies haven’t been found are all young adult males.
Men of this age group are unlikely to be the target of grave robbers. Scotland Yard, along with the military police, has practically turned London upside down, yet they can’t find any trace. I can only guess that they’ve left Britain.
But with their financial standing, they wouldn’t be able to afford tickets to other places. Indentured servitude is almost the only possibility left.”
The Duke of Sussex nodded slightly after listening to Arthur’s analysis, “You make a good point. Alright, I’ll allocate all my private detectives to you. You can use them however you want. These bastards, they wouldn’t let them trade black slaves, so they decided to trade white slaves instead? They’re truly scum!”
Hearing this, Arthur’s hanging heart eased slightly. He added, “Your Grace, you must understand that the slave traders who can organize a fleet are not comparable to the grave robbers, who are just small-time criminals. If I encounter resistance during my investigation, then you…”
The Duke of Sussex, of course, understood what Arthur meant. He waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry, as long as you get decisive evidence, I guarantee they won’t get away with it! This abolition of slavery isn’t something I’m doing alone. I still have many friends in the House of Commons.
If anyone dares to retaliate against you, I can provide you with protection and ensure the Whigs in the House of Commons will rally behind you. As Lionel said, abolition is the historical trend of progress, and trading white slaves is even more disgraceful.
I believe that at this point in time, even someone as stubborn as the Duke of Wellington should understand the priorities! If he wants to bring down the cabinet quickly, then he can go against me on this issue.
Even if he wanted to do that, I doubt Sir Robert Peel would let him get away with it. Arthur, go ahead and do your thing. If anything happens, the Anti-Slavery Society and I will have your back!”
(End of Chapter)