Chapter 200: Media Empire and the Barebones Commander (K)

Chapter 199 The Media Empire and the Barebones Commander (5K)

Night time, 36 Lancaster Gate, Bayswater, West London.

The walkway at the edge of Hyde Park was deserted, and at this time in the past, Arthur and the others would have long since finished dinner and gone back to the house to rest, but today the seats in the dining room were filled with young people from both sides of the English Channel, of varying heights and shapes and sizes.

Red Devil crossed his legs and sat on the chandelier swinging, from his perspective from near to far in turn.

Seated on the right side of the table were the three Charles, a puzzled Charles Darwin, a fidgety Charles Wheatstone, and Charles Dickens with his dark green canvas bag.

On the left side of the table, also not to be underestimated, are the Avengers, who have just been rejected three times in a row by a single key, and have vowed to avenge themselves: the fat Frenchman Alexandre Dumas, who scolded the English for not knowing what they were talking about, the inexplicably dragged in Cambridge student Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Mr. Elder-Carter, who somehow managed to get into the room, and who looks out of place because of his over-the-top vulgarity.

At the head of the table, beside Arthur, sat Mr. Benjamin Disraeli, the defeated parliamentary candidate who was so infamous in the literary circles of Britain that he dreamed every day of the liquidation of Blackwood.

Wheatstone shrank his head and looked back and forth at this group of people, and suddenly extended his hand carefully: ”Mr. Hastings, I don’t think there’s anything for me to do here, or I’d better go first. As you know, I’m on a very tight schedule lately, and the orders are all very urgent.”

Arthur sniffed, but didn’t say much, he just pointed at the gate and said, “The gate is over there.”

When Wheatstone heard this, he was first stunned, and then he said in ecstasy, “I knew that you are not completely unsympathetic.”

He lifted his butt and was about to leave the table when he unexpectedly heard another snap and a flintlock pistol slapped on the table.

Arthur pointed to the pistol and said, “The bullets are over here.”

Just as the words left his mouth, Wheatstone’s newly raised buttocks went back down as he leaned back and sighed, “On second thought, maybe I’m not in that much of a hurry.”

Tennyson was also taken aback when he saw this, he didn’t know Arthur that well, and didn’t really know about the complicated feud between Arthur and Wheatstone.

He glanced at the gun on the table, then at the large, bright house, and asked tentatively, “Mr. Hastings, may I take the liberty of asking what you do for a living.”

Who knew that before Arthur could answer, Dumas was the first to answer for him, the fat man leaned back in his chair and opened his mouth.

“Mr. Hastings’ business is quite varied, high seas plundering, financial insider, labor fraud, street fighting, monkey breeding, secret imprisonment …… Anyway, basically everyone you see here has been persecuted by Mr. Hastings.”

Arthur sniffed and wasn’t angry, he just calmly said, “Alexander, the Tory cabinet has now gone down, so the Home Office’s surveillance and protection order on you has been revoked along with it. If you want to move out, there’s absolutely no need to fight for an application from me. But before you leave, please still remember to settle your rent.”

Dumas rested one hand on the desktop while the other pinched a piece of candy from the fruit plate and threw it into his mouth, “Now there’s another one, suppressing French republicanism.”

Tennyson, confused by the big hats Dumas threw out one after another, asked, “Is Mr. Hastings so bad? I think he was a peaceful and romantic man, judging from his gold medal-winning Farewell to Cambridge. By the way, Mr. Hastings, I forgot to ask you last time, which class did you graduate from Cambridge? I am afraid that if you were not a Cambridge student, you would not be able to have such a strong affection for Cambridge.”

No sooner had Tennyson said this than Elder sat up again and asked with wide eyes, “Arthur’s poem won a gold medal? And it’s fucking Cambridge? Are you sure you’re not joking?”

Seeing that the situation was not right, Arthur hurriedly spoke up, “Elder, I know that you, an Oxford graduate, are naturally hostile to Cambridge, but you can’t blame Alfred for Cambridge’s problems. Besides, don’t you and Charles get along quite well? Have you forgotten? He’s a Cambridge graduate too.

You can get along well with Charles from Cambridge Christ’s College, can’t you get along well with Alfred, who graduated from Cambridge Trinity College?”

Hearing that Tennyson was actually his alumnus, Darwin’s attitude became much more intimate, and he extended his hand towards the other party, “Mr. Tennyson, please don’t pay attention to the rudeness of my vulgar friend, you understand, he serves in the Royal Navy, where sailors usually express their friendliness with some fierce words.”

“Is …… that so?” Tennyson would doubt it.

But in any case, with Darwin’s explanation, the matter was finally muddled.

Taking advantage of the newcomer editor-in-chief Disraeli’s gap in reviewing the manuscript, the group soon began to chat, and the atmosphere in the dining room gradually livened up.

In the midst of a crowd of chatty chatterboxes, Wheatstone appeared to be fidgeting, and he gritted his teeth as he got up and came to Arthur’s side, whispering, ”Mr. Hastings, what on earth did you get me over here for today? Hasn’t the matter of the lost gun been covered up? And you’re going to do a literary magazine, what on earth does that have to do with me, a man who owns a musical instrument business?”

Arthur sniffed and just smiled as he pressed him into the chair beside him, “Charles, don’t be so anxious. I truly take you as my friend, think about it, since you met me, has your business gotten bigger and bigger? You have received many orders for gramophones in the past few days, haven’t you?
Even if you make a profit of five pounds on a gramophone, given its popularity in London society, you could sell three or five hundred of them in the future, which would be an income of one or two thousand pounds. If you’re willing to work a little harder, hire a dozen apprentices to work with you, bring up productivity, and keep costs down, then maybe a slightly more affluent middle class family would be willing to buy one.

Don’t you realize that you could live entirely on this invention, the phonograph, for the rest of your life?”

If Arthur had mentioned anything else, then Wheatstone might not have been quite so willing to accept it, but he had indeed been much helped by Arthur in the invention of the phonograph. And just as Arthur had said, the orders for gramophones that had accumulated in his hands these days had accumulated to more than a hundred units.

Although Wheatstone was afraid of socializing, he was also thinking about expanding his production capacity recently.

As for dealing with the apprentices under his command and what not, in front of the glittering wealth, Wheatstone felt that he could still barely overcome it.

After all, the so-called social fears were only about people, and it wasn’t like he was having trouble with money.

When Wheatstone heard this, he just cupped his chin and softly inquired, “Actually, …… I am also pondering the matter of hiring people. You may not know, from my grandfather’s generation, our Whitestone family is making musical instruments, and my father also opened a musical instrument workshop, so he has a bit of experience in this area.

The phonograph is certainly a nice new invention, but if I open a workshop out for it alone, in case the guys buy it just for the novelty, then when this heat passes, not only will I not be able to earn any money, but I’ll also have to lose the labor cost.”

Arthur nodded at his words, “You’re right, but do you think this phonograph thing will be a three-minute fever? You may not know, I just went to the Royal Society a while ago, and according to Mr. Faraday, the phonograph is also being hotly debated within the Royal Society, and many of the members are even directly referring to it as the best invention of the year.”

When Wheatstone heard this, he was surprised and said, “This …… Although I also think that the phonograph is indeed very amazing, but those people in the Royal Society also think so?”

“Of course.” Arthur’s smile was warm and innocent, “More than that, they are planning to have you give an additional lecture, specifically on the phonograph.”

“What did you say?!”

When Wheatstone heard this, he covered his heart and almost fainted straight away, “My God! Can’t they think of any good ideas?”

The Red Devil sitting on the chandelier couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow when he heard this, he took a bite of his apple and muttered, “Fuck, Arthur, you’re getting really good at this kind of thing.”

Arthur glanced at the Red Devil, and then he switched to a gentle voice and said in relief, “Mr. Wheatstone, don’t always think the worst of everything, think carefully about who the audience groups of the Royal Society’s lectures are. The audience of the Royal Society’s lectures are mainly ladies above the middle class, and this group of people’s spending power is very strong. As long as you are willing to stand on the podium, perhaps you can bring in hundreds of orders at a time, isn’t this a good thing?”

“But …… a good thing is a good thing …… but the speech thing well ……”

The moment Wheatstone thought of the scene of countless pairs of eyes converging on him, he felt the sweaty hairs on his body stand up, and even his calves and stomach were trembling.

“That would be too damn exciting! Arthur, I know it might be lucrative, but I’m afraid I’d just die of fright at the lecture, and now that the gun you gave me is gone, I just can’t bring myself to do it. Lol …… Arthur, even if I beg you, turn down the invitation from the Royal Society for me, and as for publicity and stuff, I’ll think of something else.”

“Think of other ways? What need is there to think of other ways?” Arthur leaned forward, both arms resting on the tabletop, his hands crossed to rest his chin, “Mr. Wheatstone, do you think that my invitation to come here today is just to have a simple meal? I am trying to solve your problems for you! I already knew that you might not like publicizing your new product through lectures, so I prepared another preplan in advance.”

Arthur patted Disraeli, who was concentrating on reviewing the manuscript beside him, and spoke, “Benjamin, come on, you guys get to know each other. This is Mr. Charles Wheatstone, owner of Wheatstone Musical Instruments, the big advertiser of our new magazine, the inventor of the phonograph, and the titan of the acoustic field in Britannia, Mr. Charles Wheatstone.”

Hearing that the gold master was actually sitting right in front of him, Disraeli also put down the manuscript in his hand busily and shook Wheatstone’s hand vigorously, saying, “Alas! So the big businessman who is going to advertise for a year is you? I thought you were also here to submit a manuscript, so I am really out of order.”

“A one-year advertisement?” Wheatstone’s jaw dropped at his words, and he raised his eyes to glare at Arthur beside him, “Mr. Hastings, when did I say ……”

But before Wheatstone could finish his words, Arthur spoke up and interrupted him, “Actually, our advertisers have two candidates at the moment, one is your Wheatstone Musical Instrument House, and the other is the Royal Society. If you don’t vote, we’ll have to advertise for the Royal Society the regular Wheatstone lectures that will be held every month for the rest of the year.”

When Wheatstone heard this, he practically gnashed his teeth, hissing and sucking in air, his chest rising and falling, but in the end, his stomach full of obscenities turned into a long, resigned cry, “If I really can’t do it, I’ll just spend some money. Mr. Hastings, you say you this is why …… in fact, even if you do not mention it, I also intend to pay you the record royalties of that song ‘Bells’.”

Wheatstone was so cooperative, Arthur naturally couldn’t let him get cold feet, he reminded with a smile.

“Speaking of which, Mr. Wheatstone, I don’t suppose you’ve submitted your patent application to the Department of the Interior yet? With all due respect, the principle of the phonograph is actually not that complicated, and if others see the way out, I’m afraid that similar imitations will soon appear. You may be able to establish your competitive advantage through technological upgrades, but it is also essential to seek protection from a legal perspective.”

Hearing Arthur take the initiative to mention the patent matter, Wheatstone couldn’t help but sigh, “Of course I know that I need to apply for a patent, but if the patent approval process goes down in full, the fastest estimation is that it will take a year and a half, the patent of the 10,000-speaker cylinder that I had before hasn’t even finished, and the phonograph will probably have to be lined up one row further back.”

Arthur sniffed, couldn’t help but be curious: “Is the patent application so complicated?”

Wheatstone nodded slightly, “Well, according to the process, I first have to prepare an application with a patent statement that meets strict specifications to submit to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

After the Ministry of the Interior reviews and approves the application, it will issue a certificate that the Secretary of State has obtained the application and send it to the Attorney General. A patent report is then issued to His Majesty by the Ministry of the Interior or the Chancery.

The King then signs a license requiring the Attorney General to prepare a patent proposal, one proposal and two copies.

Upon receipt of the Writ of Permission, the main case is converted into a ‘King’s Proposal’ and kept in the Seal Office.

One filing is then stamped with the seal of the Secretary of State and converted into a ‘Seal Proposal’ and the other backup is converted into a ‘Royal Seal Proposal’, and finally the corresponding ‘Royal Seal Proposal’ with the patent model attached to it is Finally, the corresponding ‘Royal Seal Proposal’ with the patent model is submitted to the House of Lords for approval by the Royal Chancellor before the process is complete.

This process is time-consuming, laborious, costly and costly in terms of human relations, after all, you should know that patent applications have to go through twenty to thirty legal procedures, and it is impossible to pass them smoothly without careful arrangements.”

Wheatstone just said here, suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Dumas leaned back in his chair, leaned his body back, and with his outstretched hand he opened the doorknob; he stretched his head out and looked out, and shouted at Arthur, “Arthur, it’s for you.”

“For me?”

Arthur got up and walked to the door, and before he could get a good look at the visitor, he heard an anxious voice.

Charles Field, who had just been promoted to Sergeant by Arthur not long ago, stood outside the door, holding a brand new document in his hand, “Superintendent Hastings, something big is wrong!”

Arthur frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Fielder sighed and shoved the document in his hand into Arthur’s hand, “Take a look.”

Arthur took the document and froze in place after merely scanning it.

Decision of the Greater London Constabulary on the Adjustment of the Terms of Reference of Arthur Hastings, Superintendent of the East London Region.

He hurriedly turned to the next page of the document.

Just like the title of the document, the content of the document was not too complicated.

Arthur just took a cursory glance at it and quickly summarized the general idea of the document – to remove East London Region Superintendent Arthur Hastings from all regional sub-divisions and reassign him as the head of the Criminal Crime Investigation Department of the Greater London Police Department.

Although on the face of it, this seemed like a promotion for him, if you looked at it from the perspective of a senior Scotland Yard police officer, this was completely kicking him towards the fringe departments.

Because up until this Saturday, Arthur had never heard of any specialized criminal crime investigation department in Scotland Yard.

In other words, I’m afraid that this department has been set up for less than a day now.

Arthur went on to the next page, until he reached the last page of the document, and only then did he get his head around what was going on.

–In order to cope with the increasing seriousness of vicious crimes, upon the application of Charles Rowan, the Commissioner of the Greater London Police, the Ministry of the Interior has officially approved the establishment of a specialized criminal investigation department consisting of the elite forces of the police force above the rank of sergeant.

–After the reorganization, the Criminal Investigation Department will be headed by Superintendent Arthur Hastings, with three sergeants, Charles Field, Tony Eckhart, and Tom Flanders, dedicated to solving major cases.

The red devil stood beside Arthur just scanned the documents and couldn’t stop laughing, he grinned widely, dragging his saliva-stained red tongue rushed at a calm Arthur arching fire.

“Whoa! Look who the fuck it is! My dear Arthur! Have you, my boy, become a bare-knuckle commander like me, the once-mighty Duke of Hell? Rowan has hit you hard, jerking you around from top to bottom.”

Arthur didn’t answer Agares, he just glanced at the Red Devil, and then laughed easily on Sheriff Field’s shoulder, “It’s no big deal, Charles, at least the four of us are still together. Life is all about ups and downs, it’s normal, it’s quite cold outside, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?”

Fielder still felt uneasy when he heard that, he asked for instructions, “Superintendent Hastings, do we need to prepare in advance? To tell you the truth, I just got this document as well, and a lot of people probably don’t know about it yet. For example, the Whitechapel District’s Sheriff Jones side, do we need to go to talk to him?”

“Jones?”

Arthur heard the name and suddenly raised his head to look at the stars in the sky outside the door.

He blinked his red shimmering eyes and simply smiled, “I think he better know something.”

This is the first one for today, I’ve arrived with some new information today, and information I’ll have to catch up on.

(End of chapter)