The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 542 - 281 Revisiting the Story of Sir Isaac Newton_3

When Newton took over as head of the Royal Mint, counterfeit coins were rampant across Britain, and the circulating coins often fell short of their supposed weight. To address this issue, Newton took on the significant task of recoining the currency directly.

Within a year, the president of the Royal Society had reminted seven million pounds worth of coins, exceeding the total workload of the mint from the past thirty years.

Moreover, to completely resolve the counterfeiting issue, Newton personally initiated an investigation to capture the counterfeiting ring.

For this purpose, London’s largest counterfeiter, William Chaloner, directly challenged Newton legally. Chaloner, backed by influential supporters, repeatedly escaped conviction in court, which Lord Newton could not tolerate.

By day, he frequented squalid taverns and impoverished areas to gather intelligence, bribing informants in dark corners, and even went undercover himself to collect evidence of their counterfeiting.

By night, Lord Newton did not forget to employ torture devices, chili water, and overtime ’greetings’ to interrogate the captured counterfeiters, inviting them to taste a special British delicacy—the water-dipped whip.

In this way, Newton ultimately brought Chaloner down in court with a set of flawless evidence. Holding the belief that all evil would eventually be brought to justice by him, he left Chaloner speechless.

Chaloner’s punishment greatly pleased Newton because Mr. Chaloner would use a rope and his own neck to demonstrate the gravity of his actions.

Of course, what made Newton even happier was that along with Chaloner, over twenty other counterfeiters would validate gravity at the Tyburn execution site.

Upon considering this, Rowan couldn’t help but shudder.

He suddenly felt he might have thought of cultured people as too detached from the mortal world, forgetting that there were figures like Sir Isaac Newton.

After careful consideration, he realized that none of those who opposed Newton met a good end.

Once clear about this critical point, Rowan finally let go of the last stone in his heart, took off his pipe, and blew out a puff of smoke, "It seems you can handle this matter well."

Arthur just smiled, "Of course, sir. I remember that smugglers are not subject to common law; they fall under the Admiralty Court governed by the Royal Navy. There’s no jury, and they do not adjudicate based on precedent. The judges are not educated at the lawyer’s guilds in precedential law but are experts in Roman law, all having graduated from various church universities. Moreover, most importantly, I recall that the confiscated goods from smugglers go directly to the Navy Department, right?"

Upon hearing this, Minister Rowan leisurely took a deep drag of his cigarette, "I was a bit worried for you initially, but now I am starting to worry for those smugglers."

Arthur laughed, "Why is that?"

Rowan glanced at his arm and then at the diploma Arthur held in his hands, freshly delivered from the University of London, merely shaking his head, "Those smugglers, whether they deal in arts or weapons, they can’t outplay you."

"Sir, you flatter me," Arthur said. "However, before that, I have a request. On this trip to Liverpool, I need to take a few people with me. I can’t handle the case alone."

Rowan replied, "Anyone at Scotland Yard below the rank of inspector and breathing, you can pick whoever you want." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

"Sir, that’s not what I mean," Arthur said. "I need a sharpshooter to solve physical problems, a rhetorical clerk to commend Scotland Yard’s merits, a well-trained detective to investigate the case, and lastly, if anything goes wrong, I need someone with a complicated identity to take the fall for us."

Rowan nodded slightly, "I know the last two, Chief Inspector Charles Field and Officer Louis Bonaparte. But who are the first two you mentioned?"

"The first two guys are currently quarantined in the hospital," Arthur said. "So, sir, I need you to approve a document for me to get them out of there. At my level, I don’t have that authority."

Hearing this, Rowan struck his pipe against the windowsill and then promptly pulled out a pen from his pocket, scribbling a note and passing it to Arthur.

"Going to Liverpool with two guys possibly infected with cholera, as long as you’re not afraid of dying, it’s fine."