The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1139: Chapter 113: Gottingen Conspiracy (Part 2)

However, correspondingly, to compensate for the loss of the land nobility, peasants need to acquire the land use rights originally belonging to the Lord through a redemption process. Redemption includes land redemption, labor redemption, and cash redemption.

Among them, land redemption means that the peasants can choose to give up part of their land use rights in exchange for full ownership of the remaining land.

For example, if a serf cultivates 100 acres of land, he might give up 50 acres to the landlord to gain full ownership of the remaining 50 acres. This is a more common form of redemption, but since not all serfs possess tenant rights over 100 acres, some chose labor redemption and cash redemption.

Labor redemption is exactly as it sounds, where peasants provide free labor for a certain number of years to the landlord in exchange for freedom.

Cash redemption is simpler, where freedom can be bought with money, paid either in full at once or in installments.

However, most peasants cannot afford to pay a large sum at once, so the mainstream choice is installment payments over 20 or 30 years, similar to modern loan repayment models.

Still, some Junker landlords, due to poor financial conditions, are pleased to transfer these peasants’ loan contracts if someone is willing to pay 70% or 80% in a lump sum.

As for Britain, this year’s abolition redemption bill has a total cost of over 10 million Pounds, so most slave masters also receive government installment compensation.

Therefore, Bismarck boldly speculated that there must be someone engaged in the cash-for-loan business.

Indeed, Bismarck’s speculation was spot on; currently, there are indeed many people in Britain engaged in this business, or more accurately, the people engaged in these businesses all come from London Financial City.

Bankers unanimously believe that such installment compensations with government endorsement are unlikely to result in debt defaults, and these compensations rank on the same level as British government bonds, regarded as very high-quality financial investment products.

So, as long as someone is willing to sell contracts, they are all gladly accepted.

Unfortunately, Arthur had no interest in getting involved in this matter.

On one hand, it was from moral concerns; the bankers in the Financial City could disregard their reputation, but Sir Arthur Hastings, who had a mixed reputation in London, could not afford to.

On the other hand, it was a political consideration. Arthur first made his name by attacking Fred and the Barbary pirates’ slave trading business. To ruin his reputation for a few meager silver coins was something a respectable gentleman from York just couldn’t do.

Moreover, he recently discovered a whole new avenue for wealth. Supporting the Italian revolution, in comparison to the slave redemption contracts, not only earned reputation but also turned a quicker profit.

However, as an 18-year-old Prussian youth, Bismarck could not imagine that in the diplomatic field he so yearned to enter, the diplomats, who seemed like a bunch of fools, were discussing business even more lucrative than the slave trade, in French.

During activities supporting Young Italy, the British Foreign Office Assistant Secretary Mr. Auguste Schneider donated 3,000 Pounds, the Austrian Empire’s Cultural Attaché at the French Embassy Mr. William von Kromer donated 4,000 Pounds, and the ’conscience’ of European diplomacy, Arthur Hastings, donated 2,500 Pounds.

As for why Arthur only registered 2,500 Pounds, it was because his conscience was uneasy, ultimately causing him to privately donate 500 Pounds in cash to Garibaldi, urging him repeatedly: under no circumstances should the connection between the British Foreign Office and Young Italy be revealed.

And as Garibaldi was about to leave, he didn’t forget to thank Arthur, sincerely apologizing on behalf of Mazzini: ”These ten thousand Francs help us greatly; we apologize, Arthur, we should not have doubted you before.”

Bismarck stared at the peculiar-looking envelope on the table for a long time, his fingers itching; he desperately wanted to see what the academic director was secretly dealing in.

He hesitated for a long while, when suddenly he heard a burst of laughter coming from the window behind him.

Bismarck tiptoed to the window, pried open a gap in the curtain, and saw two gentlemen smoking on the shaded path outside the window.

One of them was Mr. Arthur Hastings, the other looked unfamiliar, of unknown origin.

However, judging from the language they used in conversation, the unfamiliar face seemed to be British too.

Though Bismarck wasn’t very diligent in his professional courses, he was a linguistic prodigy, proficient in French, English, and Latin by the age of 18; he could even catch the gist of Italian and Russian.

Bismarck pressed himself against the wall, his ear against the window through the curtain, trying to hear as much as he could of what these two were discussing.

”Arthur, it seems you’re adapting well in Gottingen. Look at you in that black robe; you really do look like a scholar.”

”To be honest, I still prefer the uniform of Scotland Yard; it’s much more dashing than this robe.”

”Hahaha! Not to worry; aren’t you preparing to experiment with your police reform plan in Gottingen? Officially it’s a student council, but in fact, it’s a police organization; how did you come up with such a cunning plan?”

”It’s nothing strange; for the police, it’s standard practice to embed informants in opposition organizations. My experiences in France also gave me great inspiration; Mr. Victor told me that many of those so-called revolutionaries climbed up the leadership ladder just to better sell them out, securing a position for themselves or some retirement money.”

”So you plan to practice the French experience in Hanover rather than British wisdom?”

”Hmm... I personally think there’s a difference between continental countries and an island nation like Britain. Therefore, the French experience might be more suitable for Hanover. Gottingen’s student council is just a pilot; if it’s successful enough, I will suggest to the Governor that the experience here be written into the new constitution of the Kingdom of Hanover.”

”Arthur, I must say, I was previously quite pained at the Foreign Office losing someone as outstanding as you. But now it seems, internal affairs are your true calling. What you’ve managed in the university, I can’t imagine what accomplishments you’d achieve if you were tasked with the Home Office.”

”August, stop flattering me. I just happened to find Gottingen University well-suited for this experiment. To be honest, I recently found a promising young man, Otto von Bismarck; this lad is bound to have a bright future. Without his help, I might not have had the resolve to reopen the student organizations at Gottingen University.”

”Arthur, you always manage to make things sound so humorous. You say you’re giving them freedom, but in reality, you’re opening a branch of Scotland Yard in Gottingen. What are you planning to name the student council in Gottingen? New Scotland Yard?”

”No, I’m planning to call it: ’Göttinger Enthusiasts for Social Activity and Planning Organization.’

”No, I think I’ll just call it by its acronym.”

”What’s the acronym?”

”G.E.S.T.A.P.O. Göttingen Social Enthusiasts for Social Activities Planning Organization (Gesellschaft für die Ausübung sozialer Tätigkeiten und Planungen Organisation).”

”Gestapo? Oh, dear brother, you do realize that acronym could stand for another institution, don’t you? It could also be the Geheime Staatspolizei!”

”Oh, Auguste, you really have reminded me. Pardon me, is my German a bit too advanced now?”

”No, I think the opposite might be true. Arthur, your German proficiency might be a bit too advanced. Hahaha!”

”Auguste, I’m not being modest. I genuinely think my German skills still have room for improvement. I discovered an interesting young fellow these past couple of days, Otto von Bismarck; I’m sure he’ll have a promising future ahead. Without his help, I might not have had the determination to reopen student organizations in Gottingen University.”

”Hmm? Whose student file is this? It’s so dusty.”

”Clemens von Metternich! This is Metternich’s student record from the University of Gottingen!? Arthur, you really do give me what I need the most. Even if I don’t make much progress in Munich, I can at least jot down some irrelevant details from this dossier as a report, and satisfy London. You little rascal!”

”Auguste,” Arthur exhaled a plume of smoke, tapping Schneider on the shoulder with the back of his hand, ”What’s there to be so formal about between us?”