Chapter 16 Just in case

“The Queen’s request for more funding from Congress proves that there is a problem with her source of income…”

"Because the Queen signed an agreement with the government and promised to pay salary taxes, and the expenses of the royal family members are increasing day by day, the Queen, the head of the family, is facing a very embarrassing financial crisis..."

"In the past ten years, the Queen's personal expenses have increased by 15 million pounds every year, which has added a lot of burden to the royal family... You know, since 1993, the royal family's income has dropped sharply, and the government's Subsidies have also been cut at the same time..."

"The Queen's Sandringham House suffered heavy losses due to the foot-and-mouth disease crisis last year. It ran a deficit for the first time in many years and has yet to turn a profit. Her shares have also lost more than 12 million pounds in value due to the global economic downturn. , making the Queen’s financial situation even worse..."

Putting down the newspaper in his hand, Barron couldn't help but think deeply.

Just as the whole of Britain was holding the "Golden Jubilee Celebration" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne, the "Independent" suddenly released a detailed report, listing many exact data to illustrate that the royal family was affected by the global economic impact, and Continued increase in expenses and financial crisis.

A spokesman for the royal family immediately denied the report, saying that the royal family's financial situation was very good and that the report was completely alarmist.

However, in Barron’s view, even if the situation of the royal family at this time will not be as serious as in this report, it will still be affected to some extent by the global economic downturn. I am afraid this is why the royal family has not treated their family in the past. There is no clear reason for support. After all, "the landlords have no surplus food"...

The time came on June 5th. Through betting during this period, Barron's capital had increased from the initial 100,000 pounds to a huge profit, exceeding 5 million pounds!

As mentioned before, this time the Asahi World Cup can be said to have frequent "upsets", and it can even be regarded as the World Cup with the most upsets.

It is precisely because of this that upsets correspond to odds that are much higher than normal game results, which is what Barron likes.

Just like Argentina, in this World Cup, they failed to qualify from the group...

Equally tragic, there is Portugal... Well, in addition to Portugal being too stretched and losing to the US team in the first game, Portugal was also unlucky to be placed in the group of South Korea. Haha, you know what? Understand.

And in addition to these upsets, the Chinese team has also entered the World Cup. The group it is in has the champion of this World Cup-Brazil; there is also the third place in this World Cup-Turkey, and Costa Rica is not a weak team.

It can be said that because of the Chinese team, Barron remembers the scores of this group's games very clearly, and can directly bet on the scores to get higher odds.

…

Of course, although the funds in his hands have swelled to 5 million pounds through betting.

At the same time, it also means that from now on, if you continue to bet with this amount of funds, it will be very conspicuous.

In order to keep a lower profile, Barron even began to divide the funds. Some of the funds were still scattered at various companies' betting points in London for betting; while the other part of the funds crossed the strait and went to France on the other side for betting.

Fortunately, there are Eurostar high-speed trains at this time. It doesn’t take much time to cross the Channel to reach France, which is very convenient.

Also, at this stage, Barron has not only changed his strategy, not betting more frequently, but choosing more high-odds games, he is also preparing to take advantage of the funds at this time in the next few days. Spend 2 million pounds to pay the inheritance tax, complete the family inheritance process, and officially obtain the dukedom and control of the family trust fund.

This step is still very necessary, because in addition to the change in identity and the ability to control more assets, the various resources available will also be richer than at this time.

The reason for making such a decision is that Barron also figured out a reason during this period, that is, the previous reports about the financial crisis of the Duke of Devonshire family first appeared in a gossip tabloid.

This is very likely to be some force similar to Viscount Bute that I encountered before, who has various thoughts on certain assets of his family...

But this kind of report was able to appear in many influential newspapers later, which is definitely not something that ordinary wealthy and powerful businessmen can do...

In this regard, Barron has some guesses, that is, there are more powerful forces involved!

Just like the Prime Minister of England...

The British Prime Minister at this time was Bruno, who came from the Labor Party. After his successful re-election, it was the time when his power was at its strongest.

The background of the Labor Party also represents his attitude towards the British aristocracy, which is to try his best to weaken them.

In 1999, he reformed the House of Lords, which was composed of nobles. He abolished the qualifications of more than 600 hereditary nobles and retained only 92 hereditary members in the House of Lords. It can be said that there were almost no rights in the past. The House of Lords is becoming increasingly useless.

Therefore, at this time, a little influence can amplify the voice of the Duke of Devonshire's financial crisis, which will cause it to encounter more resistance in resolving debts. This may ultimately lead to the decline of the Duke's family, which is indeed very likely. things.

After all, it would be possible for a ducal family with certain influence in England to disappear, which is definitely what the other party would like to see.

Of course, these are just Barron's guesses, but one thing he is sure of is that even if he will not encounter resistance from the government in the process of solving the family's financial crisis, he will certainly not receive any support.

This is why he decided to pay the inheritance tax as soon as possible and complete the family inheritance procedures.

He didn't want this matter to encounter any more variables during the delay.

…

"Master Barron, this is the invitation sent by someone today."

After receiving the unique invitation letter from Ramos, Barron opened it and learned that it was an invitation to invite him to a banquet, signed by Viscount Bute.

Sure enough, the other party started to take action.

It can be said that the "Golden Jubilee Celebration" that began during this period, as well as some reports about the royal family, also helped Barron attract the public's attention.

In England, of course, news about the royal family attracts readers more, so after that, reports about the Duke of Devonshire family almost disappeared.

At this time, Viscount Bute sent an invitation to himself. The location should be his residence in London.

It was obvious that this time the other party's goal was still to occupy the land where his family owned the gas storage tank near King's Cross Station.

This actually made Barron a little curious. What kind of conditions will the other party offer this time?

It seems that the answer will be revealed by then.