Napoleon in 1812
Chapter 83:

13. Golden War – 7

“Our kingdom’swar expenses includediplomatic payments to Russia, Austria, Prussia, Spain and ourotheranti-Frenchallies. ThePrince Regent knows about theamount, so I’ll skipthe explanation.”

George IV pressed his forehead without saying a word.

Since theresumption of warwith France, Britainhad beensending astronomicalfinancial aid every month to France’s rival countries, including Austria, Prussia, Russiaand Sweden.

It was part of atypical British strategy to feedthe European continent with money insteadofprojecting directpower.

In other words, the hugeamount of fundingwas alsoa form of employmentofthe other countries’ troops as mercenaries. Thesize of thefunding wastrulyenormous, as it was to buya nation’s army.

Last year, theBritish government provided £28.8 million in aid to Russia, which was preparingfor amajorwar withFrance, given in nine times. Of course, the results of the investment weredisastrous.

The annualspendingonSpainand Portugal, which were currently wagingdirect war on thepeninsula, wassmaller than of Russia. But the warwas lastingmuch longer.

Whig party figurescriticized thecurrent cabinet for spending tens of millions of pounds on foreign aid. They said thatthe United Kingdom should rathersupport thevulnerable or payoff its snowballing national debt.

The citizens of London, who initially supportedthe stance of thecabinet investinginthe war against its archrival, France, were increasinglyleaning towardthe Whigparty’s claimsastime went by.

“Then, the Prime Minister… wants to cutthe governmentfunding that has been usedtofinance thesea blockade?”

“When Sir Perceval wasstillaround, thefinancial situation of thekingdom wasgood. Unfortunately, that’s not thecase now. You shouldknow howtotighten your waist whenyou’re hungry.”

Prime Minister Jenkinson’s confidentclaimtoreduce the Navy and other countries’ financial aidwas all fora reason.

Because there werenomore maritime forcesthat could pose athreat to the Royal Navy. TheBattle of Copenhagendestroyed all of Denmark’smain fleet, and the BattleofTrafalgar destroyed theFrench and Spanish naval forces.[1]

In other words, under thecurrent circumstances, thenavalpowerofthe enemy countries hadalmost evaporated, so evena small cutinthe kingdom’s naval budgetposednothreat to the statusofthe maritime empire.

Evenafterthe Battle of Trafalgar, Napoleon lived on the promise of landingthe Imperial Guard on the British mainland, butall the British leadersknew that it was a bluffing delusion.

“I recommend reinforcing the army’sstrengthand training new recruits by using even apart of thenavy budgetcut. If youinvest amillion poundsinthe army, theywill present you with 30 elite divisions.”

“The army…”

“The MarquisofWellington hasa defensivestrategyinthe peninsula, whichislargely duetohis lackofpower. YourHighnessknowswhat he’s capableof, right? If yougive himenough troops andweapons, hewill surelyturn thingsaround.”

Invest in thearmy with the navy’smoney. It was Prime Minister Jenkinson’s real intention, whichhecouldneversay in front of the citizens whohad the right to vote.

Ifthey invested in thearmy andformed new units to join the peninsula, theywouldeventually have to recruitadditional soldiers andconscripts, sowho would welcomeit?

Just in time, France also reducedits armybyabolishing theImperial-Federal MobilizationDecree issued early last year. If there was a timetosend power into the peninsula, it was now.

GeorgeIV nodded as if he thoughtPrimeMinisterJenkinson had a point. Thecountries fighting on the Iberian Peninsula were the only onesresisting Napoleon’styranny on theEuropeancontinent.

Britain’s long-standinggrandstrategyhad beenpassive interventioninthe continent, but nonetheless, there wasone reason whyPrince Regent GeorgeIV and Prime Minister Jenkinson were thinking of doing a‘grand intervention’.

This was because, nowmore than ever, Napoleon and France’s expansionand possibilitieswere makingBritain anxious.

Now the twowere incompatible. Either theEmpire was taken down or the Kingdom bowed its head to them.

“But apart fromthat, the Treasury Departmentbelievesthat taxincreases are inevitable. Last month, thetotalamount of governmentbondssold in thename of thegovernment surpassed£900 million. Theirview is that if moredebt is accumulated than this, it could leadtofinancial health issues.”

Britain, whichhad previouslyestablisheda monopoly on foreign trade by assemblingtradenetworksbetween India, Chinaand the NewWorld, had becomea country thatcouldproduce as much wealth as allEuropeancountries combined throughthe mechanicalrevolution.

Nevertheless, the long-standingwar was proving thatBritain’s wealth hadlimits.

The cardthat Prime Minister Jenkinsonpulled out to make up for thesold government bonds thatshowed signs of turninginto increasinglybad debtwas to cut London’s financialself-governingdistricts.

Many businesses and financialfirmswith subsidiariesintheirautonomous districtswere nonetheless payinglowercorporate and incometaxesthan other regions.

Inaddition, theywere openlycommitting taxevasion by manipulatingbooksand deliberately omitting contracts. So far, theseviolations hadbeen overlooked for thesake of the‘economic of scale’.

But nowthat London’s financialmarkets hadbecome aunique hub in theworld, raisingtaxeswouldnot makecapitalistsleave, and on thecontrary, Britaincouldnot be any more patientbecause of theincreasing urgency of the war.

Howmany preferentialtreatments hadbeen given to capitalists andfinanciers? Jenkinson thoughtthat this was enough.

“Let’sdoasthe Prime Minister wants. But… let’skeep this matter to ourselves.”

“…All right, Your Highness.”

GeorgeIV was drawinga line as to whatcouldbea politicalrisk.

But anyway, after receiving tacit permission, Jenkinsonleft thehousewith a confident face. With thisreform, thecountry would be able to overcome thiscrisis wisely… That was what Jenkinson believed.

===

Thetax increase thatthe EarlofLiverpool, Prime Minister RobertJenkinson, came up withwas veryefficient and reasonable, at least forthe managementofthe state.

Capitalistsinfinancial self-governing districts accumulated enormous wealththrough business andfinance, but theyrepresentedonly a small minority of the entirenationwide population.

Therewas no one more suitable to be cut to match theslogan of the philosopher JeremyBentham[2]‘itisthe greatest happiness of thegreatestnumber thatisthe measureofrightand wrong’.

Politicians and journalists whoreceivedregular sponsorship or back money fromcapitalistswouldprobablygocrazy, but theprimeminister’s power andspeech werestrongerthan expected in wartime.

PrimeMinisterJenkinson, themembers of theTory Party andofthe Cabinetwere optimistic about the situation. But if everything in the world flowedsolely on efficiencyand rationality, whydid conflicts anddisputesoccur, and whydid people cryover accidents?

A series of unexpected events wasenough to shock the otherwisedisturbing British economy. Witha tremendous ripple effectthat no oneinthe Treasury had expected.

It was twodays beforethe Second Treasurerofficially announcedthe new taxbill publicly.

As aresult of having spies everywhere in the Cabinet to get importantinformationbefore anyone else, London’s leading financial firms were abletohear it beforethe announcement wasmade.

The taxreform plan, led by Prime Minister RobertJenkinson, wasa very reasonableimprovementinthe system to removeblindspotsinthe law, whichlegally preventedsmallincreases in corporate andincome taxes, taxevasion andbook manipulation.

However, peoplewere more angry and sensitivetogiving and takingthan to receive nothingfrom thebeginning.

The feelingthey felt was anger, not shame, as theeverydaythings thatthey hadbecome usedtodowere blocked, even if theywere illegal.

Even if they werenot wealthycapitalistswith a business or financial company, forworkers whowere tied up in property or workinthe financial autonomous district, theabove-reorganizationplan wasonly ‘a play of acountry takingaway their livingmoney’.

“Raisingcorporate and incometaxes? And they’re different dependingonthe profit of theyear? Then there’s no point in investing in financialinstitutions, right?”

“Requesting statements fromdouble accounts!? This means censoringour investors! From what kindofidiot’s head did this billcome!?”

“The reasonfor the establishment of acorporationinthe financial autonomous district is thattaxesare low, soifthey raise taxes, thereisnoreason to be in aplaceboastingthis crazy land price.”

“It’s the financiers who areleading theBritish economy that’s about to fall behind, and that’s howthey thank us?”

Allthe routes tryingtobypass thisnew regulationwith bribeswere cutoff, as if somethinghad beenfirmly orderedfrom above.

The taxofficials saidthat theincidenthad nothingtodowith them and that theycouldnot let thesurveillance personnel go because theywere dispatched separately, but that could not provide any consolation.

Companies in London’s financialborough hadtopay fulltaxes, which wereraised by the revision of thetax law.

The revised tax lawincludedmeasurestoblocktax evasionnetworksand monitorcorrupt officials, as wellasincreasecorporate and incometaxes, but excluded securities and bond tradingand dividend income taxes.

Thatmeantthat theamount of tax payable whenbuying and selling securities, bonds, or holding securitiesassets was thesame as beforethe tax amendment.

They seemed to have thoughtthat there would be no adverse effect on themarket itself if they did nottouchsecurities transaction anddividendincome taxes, butthe securitiesmarket began to freeze rapidly.

February10, 1813, at 9 a.m. TheLondon Stock Exchange opened. Assoon as thetradebegan, the first runners to comewere Jewishcapitalists, likethe Rothschildfamily.

The nextgroupofpeople to do so was theCity of London’s major financialinstitutions, which hadties to Westminster courtsand politics.

They competitively poured their bonds andsecurities into the marketinstead of secretly trading likeinthe past. As if theywere being chasedbysomething.

The shockwave wasboundtospread in the marketwhen thefinancial conglomeratesdominating theCity of Londonwere ruthlessly pouringout suchamounts.

Fivehourslater, at 2:00 p.m., the London Stock Exchange wasbustlingwith peoplewho cametosell stocksand bonds.

“Sellthesebondsrightnow! Even if there’sa 20%, no, 30% loss, it’s okay, so hurry!”

“I came herefirst! Justsell this quickly!”

“Please wait in order! Only those who bring theapplicable numbercan trade!”

“Darn it, getout of the way! Do you want to see peopledie!?”

“You think you’re theonly onewho bought stockshere!? Takeyour turn!”

There had never been sucha mess since the LondonStockExchangewas established in the City of London.

Prices of various securitiesand bonds werefalling in real time, reminding them of the South SeaCompany[3]crash that occurred 90 years ago.

The panic-stricken investorssold their assetsrandomly, furtheraccelerating the crash.

“We’re screwed… screwed!!…”

“Thewaterofthe Thames must be warm, right?… Is it okay if I goin?”

At6 p.m., themarket closed. Outside theexchange, it was full of investors whocouldnot selltheirsecurities andbonds. It was a legendary crash that would go downinhistory. The market hadtobeclosed to protectthe goodhalf of thestocks.

For those who didnot receivethe information in advance, the crash wasa bigeventthat occurred without any warning or sign. Onlyangerand ragefilled their heads, as they wereslightlydazed.

“The Jewsand the financialtycoons whohad information about the crash have siphoned off allour investments!”

A cry fromsomeone determined the directionthat this anger should take. Theglaring eyeofinvestors turned to managers of Jewishcapital andfinanciers in theCity of London.

Yes, that’s them!

The stock and bond prices plummetedbecause they poured outbig amountsrandomly! Instinctivelythreatened, the Jewish capital managers and thefinanciers of theCity of Londonshooktheirarms andmade excuses.

“That’s ridiculous nonsense! We-we’re just employees! All we can do is followorders!”

“We’ve lost alot of money, too! We’re victimsjust like you!”

“C-calm downfirst!…”

The Jewish capitals andlargefinancial institutions whowere informed quickly wereable to sell, of course, quite alot of stocks at reasonable prices.

However, theyhad so manysecurities andbondsthat it wasimpossible to sell everythingatonce, and the transactionswere controlled due to theheavytraffic on thestockexchange, making it difficulttosell anything. Itwas not wrong to saythat they lostmoneyinthe process.

However, their situationwas verydifferent fromthe one of small investorswho lostmost of their wealth.

“Wefollowedthe principle of investinginsecurities. Wejust moved quickly based on our judgment on themarket values. Don’tblameothers for losingmoney.”

A manwho managedJewish capitaldid not understand the atmosphere and uttered harsh words.

Normally, people would have laughedatthe person wholost money or would have agreed with his provocative words, but the problem was that the targetofhis remark wasthe absolute majority of the peoplegatheredhere.

Theycouldridiculeotherpeople’sfailures, but nottheirown. Some of themsnapped. And the resultwas terrible.

“Die!!”

“Argh!”

With hiseyes wide open, an investor rushed at him, pullingout asharpblade. And he pierced the stomach of the manwho saidthe cheeky remark.

There wasa momentofpanicatthe shocking situation. Some investorswere extremelyexcited to seethe pouringred blood. They needed to find the cause of this painfulfailure anda targetfor their anger.

Tothem, therewere no targets moresuitablethan Jewishcapital managers andemployees of large financial companieswho had siphoned offmoney.

“Sinceyou stole our money, wewill take yourlives!”

“Death to the filthyJews!”

“Ugh… Argh!”

Atfirstthey punched and kicked, but later they broughtstones, clubs, and evenshovels, causing mercilessviolence.

Theindiscriminateviolence, which lefta total of 5 people dead and 38 seriouslyinjured, continued until officers rushed in. But whathappenedtodaywas justa preview of the beginningofthe tragedy.

TL notes

[1]Battle of Copenhagen,Battle of Trafalgar

[2]Jeremy Bentham

[3]SouthSea Company Sᴇaʀᴄh the ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Sᴇarch the n0vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.