Chasing Time

“Next, we have the most noble recipient of the Order of the Garter, the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Grand Cross of the Bath, the Victoria Cross and the lower grades of Knighthood, the leader of the anti-colonial movement, the bell-ringer of the East India Company, the hero of the Crimean War, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a lifelong dear friend of literary giants such as Dickens and Great Dumas, a steadfast supporter of scientific luminaries like Faraday and Darwin, having served as assistant under-secretary, deputy under-secretary, and permanent under-secretary in departments of the Home Office and the Navy Department of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the inaugural Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service, the first graduate and most distinguished alumnus of our school. Please welcome Sir Arthur Hastings to deliver a speech on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the University of London.”
Arthur's gaze swept across the crowd before him, looking at the young faces and murmured, “Agares, what do you think I should say?”
The Red Devil's wraith hovered behind him, saliva almost dribbling from the corner of his mouth, “Look at these ignorant souls; they still worship you as a hero. Why not say something they'd like to hear?”
Arthur took a deep breath and let out a deafening roar, “Oxford is a bunch of whores' bastards!”
“Oh!!!!”
The audience erupted into thunderous applause.
“Cambridge is the same!” he added immediately.
The applause grew even more fervent...
(The protagonist, possessed by a devil, travels through 19th-century Britain in a world without magic)

The Shadow of Great Britain

In 1826, Parliament approved five new railway companies in one fell swoop. By this year, Great Britain already possesses 21 railway companies, with Parliament having agreed last year to 105.25 miles of railway construction applications. This already exceeds more than half of the total construction applications of the past eight years.


Although a small, unfortunate accident occurred during this year's Manchester-Liverpool railway inauguration ceremony, we believe that this minor episode shouldn't disrupt Britain's railway construction boom. As you previously mentioned, the next thirty years will belong to the railway industry. I can even assert that the 19th century ought to be the century of railways."


Arthur tentatively asked, "So your advice is to invest in railway stocks?"


Chapter 87 The Game of Capital (Part Two) (4000 words) _2