Chapter 323: Hastings the Wise-Eyed

Chapter 320 – The Wise-Eyed Hastings

The night in Liverpool is cloudless and starry.

In the hotel adjacent to the docks, Arthur pushed open the window and felt the salty sea breeze blowing from the Irish Sea.

The docks were crowded with merchant ships from all over the world, and even though it was nighttime, kerosene lamps were still lit on these ships.

The sailors who were locked up in the ships and were not allowed to go down to the ground were holding beer cups in their hands, cursing the expensive but poor quality of food provided by the harbor authority, and complaining about the ineptitude of the parliament of Britannia.

Land was close at hand, yet they had to remain locked in their sweaty, vomit-filled cabins for another forty days.

Perhaps due to the fact that the Liverpool authorities were nervous because of the dock riots some time ago, or perhaps due to the fact that Arthur’s string of titles made them panic, the number of Liverpool military and police officers who came to the docks on duty today was obviously much higher than in the past.

In addition to a small number of dockers loading and unloading goods and customs officials in charge of customs clearance, the rest of the idle people staying in the harbor are subjected to their key defense.

However, due to the outbreak of cholera, the Liverpool docks are not as lively as they were two months ago.

Whether it’s vendors selling various goods or girls trying to solicit customers, they all stayed away from the docks, understanding that not only would they not be able to do business at the docks now, but they would also be at risk of contracting the dreaded ‘Blue Death’.

For most people in Britain, the fear of cholera was no longer just that it would kill people, but that they would not get a decent death.

Compared to tuberculosis, a disease so decent that it creates fascination in people, cholera will neither bring aesthetically pleasing pale skin and rose-scented cheeks, nor will it cause people to contract a gentle, melancholic temperament, nor will it turn out a beauty or a handsome man for you so that you can fall into their arms at any time.

Cholera will only make you vomit up last night’s meal and poop like rice soup, and when you’re drained of moisture, your skin will soon sag and wrinkle, and your complexion will begin to turn bluish and darker as the moisture dissipates. If you don’t get good medical treatment within 24 hours, you will become a blue-black dry body with skin and bones.

Even your family and friends will stay away from you in this state, not to mention the beautiful and handsome people.

In a country where poor people spend most of their lives at funerals, such an undignified death is simply more horrifying than the fact of death.

Out of fear of cholera, there was also a rare and quick consensus in the always noisy political world of Britain, a small island with divided opinions.

From the reports Arthur received today, the various committees under the Privy Council were meeting almost every day, and the Cholera Control Manual of the Grand Paris Police Department, which Arthur had privately submitted to Mr. Chadwick, was also formalized into a Cholera Prevention Bill after several revisions.

And they will vote on this one as soon as the new Parliament has completed its re-election.

According to the news coming out from inside the Chancellery, the guys are expressing optimism about the passage of this bill.

The Tory Party, which is under the leadership of Sir Peel, holds the consistent position that the government’s power of control should be strengthened, so they do not intend to arm wrestle with the Whigs over cholera control.

Knock knock knock!
A sharp knock suddenly came from Arthur’s room.

“Arthur, for fuck’s sake, open the door!”

Arthur had just opened the door to his room when Dumas rushed into the house shouting, and just as he was about to make a big celebration, he saw that Arthur was leaning against the wall next to the door, and the revolver in his hand had been loaded a long time ago.

Dumas asked with wide eyes, “Damn! Arthur, are you planning to kill me with one shot?”

Arthur reached out and glanced out, there was no one in the dimly lit hallway that swayed, and only then did he tuck his revolver into his holster.

“Alexander, what time is it, and when you came over here in the middle of the night in a hurry, I thought there was some kind of a siege of the hotel. This is Liverpool, not London. In other words, this is not my field. And the job we’ve come over here to do is not a popular one, and controlling the harbor is a way of reducing jobs for the poor, and a lot of people’s livelihoods will be affected.

And for those big shipowners and trading companies, this is to cut off their financial road. While Britain is not as keen on political murder as France, we’ve had our share of storming parliaments, gunpowder plots, assassinations of kings, shooting of prime ministers and the like. You and I are obviously no better than the Prime Minister and the King, so I’d advise you that you’d better not sleep too much at night, or you won’t blame me for not having warned you if you wake up with an extra aperture above your head.”

Dumas picked the corner of his mouth disdainfully when he heard this, “Die in your sleep? This way of dying is too shabby. Don’t worry, I, Alexandre Dumas, have seen great scenes. Back in the July Revolution, I braved the rain of bullets to lead people to capture the armory. Even the bullets didn’t kill me. Can I be killed by a cold shot? Besides, don’t you know my dueling record in London, 5 wins and 0 losses, what kind of concept do you know?”

Arthur returned to the table and poured a cup of coffee, “As the saying goes, those who drown are those who can water. If you put it that way, the Royal Navy wouldn’t have sailors drowning in training every year. Do you know about Admiral Codrington’s youngest son? He was a young man of great promise, but he fell overboard and drowned while at sea as a cadet trainee, and was only thirteen years old when he died.

Every time Mrs. Codrington mentioned this, she had to count General Codrington down with tears in her eyes. She said she did not know what the Royal Navy in the end what good, the father spent his life floating on the sea, the result is that the three sons still have to float on the sea, if the life is gone, even if he became an Admiral what can be done? In the land peacefully elect a member of parliament, idle playing cards and watching the theater is not good?
Admiral Codrington because of the Navarino sea battle was explicitly transferred back to the country, the whole of Britain the most happy is probably her.”

Hearing this, Dumas couldn’t help whistling as he laughed out loud and said, “From what I hear, this lady and her husband should be quite amicable. Although I understand her thinking, I still have to say that ladies obviously see things from a different perspective than gentlemen.

In my opinion, if one wants to die a heroic death, then one should die on the march of the revolution. Of course, if you want to die romantically, you have to contract consumption, and that gesture of coughing up blood every time you get emotional is just too flashy. And this kind of romance is also limited to before the age of thirty, once you pass thirty, then you can no longer make that kind of sickly noble gentleman gesture.”

Arthur took a sip of his coffee and said with unsalted sarcasm, “Then why don’t you hurry up and get a grip? If I remember correctly, you’re twenty-nine today, right? In another year’s time, the label of noble son will be gone from you. But then again, isn’t it true that you guys who engage in literary creation are more or less involved in that?
I remember Lord Byron once upon a time openly expressing his wish to die of consumption, and he fancied that the ladies who came to his funeral would stroke his cheek and say, ‘Look at poor Byron, how amusing he looked in his mortal state’.”

“Vulgar, Arthur, how vulgar you are!” Dumas accused contemptuously, “Is there no place in that head of yours, filled with all sorts of papers and files, for any semblance of romance and poetry in your dull disposition?”

Arthur stroked his chin, “Alexander, it seems to me that temperament and destiny are two names for the same concept. My destiny doesn’t allow me to reserve too much of a romantic disposition for myself, go into this job as a police officer with a romantic disposition and you’ll be dead in the water. Believe me, a romantic person can go and write poems and paint pictures and give alms in the streets, but the only thing he can’t do is hold on to power.”

Dumas questioned, “So, according to you, can a guy who is as boring as a dry wood fire hold power?”

Arthur shrugged his shoulders, “I didn’t say that. But Alexander, you have to understand that humans are extremely narrow-minded and short-sighted species. Everyone says that they make new progress every day, but their so-called progress is nothing more than copying the trajectory of their first success. That’s why everyone’s first success is so influential in his life that he thinks it’s the only way to succeed, regardless of the fact that his success may have been just a lucky coincidence. In other words, if a person is in a position of power by virtue of romance, then things can get really interesting. I don’t mean to be critical, but romantic people are usually pretty unrealistic.”

Hearing this, Dumas raised an eyebrow and said, “All right! Then our Mr. Hastings, allow me to bring you some good news. I have the honor to inform you that I have just learned that Mr. Benjamin Disraeli, our great Cockney majority shareholder, the foul-mouthed and theatrical London fashion fiction magnate, the Jewish kid who secretly wears a corset to shape his body, and the newcomer to Britannia politics who takes a pragmatic line, has been declared the winner of the election in Maidstone, Kent, today. He will be one of the 658th members of the House of Commons, and will sit in the House of Commons on behalf of the Tory Party, and in a spirit of compassion will be a voice for the great mass of Britannia.”

Arthur’s hand on his coffee cup stopped when he heard this, and his eyebrows jumped three times.

Although he had guessed from early on that Disraeli, who was besotted with a bigwig within the Tory party, had a great probability of winning the election, Arthur still could not help but let out an exclamation of admiration when his friend was actually seated in this position.

“Benjamin …… really let his kid do it. Who would have thought it? Just a year ago, this guy was still a street rat that everyone was shouting at in Britain. As a result, a year later, he’s already transformed into a polished member of the House of Commons.”

Dumas couldn’t help but roll his eyes and say, “Can he not turn into an MP? He had over fifteen hundred pounds pre-prepared for his campaign funds alone. He basically took out all the money he earned this year, and also borrowed a lot from us. If he can’t even get elected, then it can only be said that Britain’s political system is still too clean.”

Arthur happily paced around the room with his hands behind his back, a smile spreading across his entire face, “No, no, no, Alexander, you’re a Frenchman, so you don’t really know Britain. The fact that Benjamin took the seat for a mere fifteen hundred pounds just highlights his skill. Money is essential to get elected to Parliament, of course, but fifteen hundred pounds is not enough to get elected to Parliament. Before I was born, in 1807, the local MP’s seat in York was sold for 100,000 pounds.” When Dumas heard this, he almost didn’t spit out the tea in his mouth, “One hundred thousand pounds? Is that man crazy? When I served in the artillery, I was paid as a second lieutenant, and it was only 120 francs a month. If it’s an ordinary private, they only get 40 francs a month. According to the exchange rate of 20 francs to one pound, 100,000 pounds would be enough to hire several thousand French soldiers to fight for him for a year.”

“One hundred thousand pounds could be more than enough to hire a few thousand French soldiers, it would also be more than enough to hire a thousand Elder. Elder, even with the special allowance for the round-the-world voyage, will only get 85 pounds a year for this voyage.”

Arthur smiled back, “So you now how much value for money Benjamin really got for those fifteen hundred pounds?”

Dumas shook his head at that, “Come on, I have a feeling Benjamin may not be in this seat for long. You don’t know what kind of nonsense he was talking about in his victory speech today. Wasn’t Charles brought over to campaign for him? His letter to me said that Benjamin stood up on the stage today as if he’d just drunk two barrels of whiskey, red from head to toe, and his whole body shaking with excitement.”

Arthur nodded slightly and said, “It’s not a big deal to be excited when you’re a congressman for the first time.”

Dumas opened his eyes wide and said, “Excitement is of course inevitable. But it’s not okay for him to talk nonsense. Charles said that Benjamin burst into gold right out of the gate. He said in front of thousands of people, ‘A great nation is one that gives birth to great men, just as Rome gave birth to Caesar, ancient Greece gave birth to Homer, and Britain gave birth to Shakespeare. And today, just today! Britain has also given birth to yet another brilliant man, whose Augustus you have elected! My dear electors, God is blessing this nation! This is a small step for me personally, but it is destined to be a great step for all of Britain!'”

Arthur slapped his forehead when he heard this, “And then what? What was the reaction of the people who attended the party?”

Dumas spoke with an odd expression on his face, “The populace is still quite stable, after all, the money is already in their pockets, so it’s nothing to listen to a couple of young people waxing lyrical about their emotions. You know, besides writing books, Benjamin is also very professional in hiring people.”

“That’s true.” Arthur sniffed in relief and raised his hand to light his pipe, “I almost forgot about that.”

Dumas asked, “Are you that comfortable with Benjamin being elected? I’m really surprised, where on earth did you see that he had political talent? Are you still really discerning?”

Arthur smiled and spoke, “What’s wrong with that? I still think that Louis can be an emperor in the future.”

Dumas snorted at this, “Arthur, almost, the Bonaparte family is already in the past of France, I don’t see the need to invite them back. Above all, France doesn’t need an emperor, what we need is republicanism.”

Arthur just smiled back, “It’s fine, it’s not a conflict, republicanism emperor. Moreover, just because you don’t need it doesn’t mean all the French don’t need it. That’s why I said before, it’s human narrow-mindedness.”

Dumas asked back, “Are you calling me narrow-minded?”

“No.” Arthur returned, “You could also consider narrow-minded the ones that got him to be emperor. Alexander, you are my friend and I absolutely support you in this.”

“Arthur!” Dumas looked as if he was really getting a little angry, “Are you treating the revolution like child’s play?”

Arthur returned, “All human beings are child’s play in nature, whether it’s Scotland Yard or the Cabinet of Britain, you can to a certain extent see them as improvised haystacks. The so-called rules, regulations, and systems merely make us look formal, but as soon as it comes down to the level of implementation, it’s a different story ……”

Speaking of which, Arthur suddenly heard the sound of intensive footsteps coming from the hallway.

Within a short time, the dusty Louis appeared in front of Arthur’s room with a group of people.

“Arthur, Mr. Mill has arrived.”

John Mill, dressed in a neat tuxedo, shook Arthur’s hand hastily.

“Arthur, the Company, on receipt of your official correspondence, has very kindly decided to accept the invitation to assist in the investigation. But since we are now in the middle of the East India Company’s annual internal audit, our internal audit department cannot spare too many suitable candidates. We have reluctantly managed to put together three auditors for you, including myself.

However, considering the current state of affairs in Liverpool, the company has contacted several of our long-term partners in London on your behalf out of a desire to safeguard the public interest. However, since the Parliament has just passed the Personal Insolvency Bill this year, the accounting firms in London are all busy in their business, and the senior accountants have all been asked by the London Insolvency Court to act as insolvency liquidators.

But fortunately, after asking around, we found that our Bristol partner, Bradley Barnard, is still doing business. So I made a special trip to Bristol before coming to Liverpool, and arrived a little later than I had previously arranged with you. As an apology, the company has authorized me to advance the audit fee to the accounting firm on behalf of the government, so I hope you don’t mind too much.”

The group knew that the East India Company had long looked at Liverpool’s consortium of import-export companies with displeasure, but to hate them to this extent was still a little beyond Arthur’s expectations.

From the information revealed in Mill’s words, it can be seen that the East India Company this is simply itching for Liverpool to be occupied by the French.

Arthur smiled and spoke, “John, it’s okay. The fact that you were able to arrive in Liverpool despite the difficulties is enough to make me rejoice.”

Mill was no ambiguous person, and he turned his head and began to introduce Arthur to the accountants behind him.

“This is …….”

However Arthur’s gaze had just turned to the group of accountants when his heart couldn’t help but tighten.

There was no other reason, this group of people looked far too young.

It wasn’t even possible to call them young, and it wouldn’t be too much to say that this was a bunch of kids whose hair hadn’t even grown out.

The shortest of the accountants wasn’t even as tall as Arthur’s chest, and judging by his little red nose and boyish freckled face, the kid probably wasn’t any older than Adam and Pinkerton.

Arthur couldn t help but ask, “John, are these accountants …… apprentices?”

Mill nodded unimpressed, “It is an apprentice. Those in the business of being an accountant are generally young, and this year’s Personal Bankruptcy Act has had a really big impact on the industry. Accountants with a little bit of seniority have all been asked by the court to do liquidation business, and these apprentices from ‘Bradley Barnard’ have been put together from scratch to get you all of them. But Arthur, you don’t have to worry about their business ability, I’ve already tested their math skills on the train to Liverpool. This one in particular, Price, if he wasn’t so young, I’d think he could have an office of his own.”

“Price?” Arthur looked along where Mill was pointing, and it was the youngest child he was talking about.

Perhaps fearing that the business had gone yellow, the freckle-faced child rushed forward when his name was called and took off his hat to greet Arthur, “Samuel Price sends his regards, sir.”

Although he knew that child labor was the norm these days, Arthur couldn’t help but feel a little weird having such a group of kids stay up all night checking the books.

Pointing to the table behind him, Arthur pointed to the voluminous assortment of volumes delivered by the Customs Department, and opened his mouth to ask, “Kid, how long will it take for you to get your hands on all this stuff?”

Price looked up at the papers, and then looked at Mill beside him, “Sir, if you have Mr. Mill with you, you will be able to give you a result by tomorrow evening.”

(End of chapter)