Preparations

"Sir, the other factories have followed suit as well. Look, this is the new contract for Anderson Textile Mill, and this is the new contract for Rhodes Textile Mill. They have all followed suit." An assistant placed several documents in front of Raine.

"Heh, isn't this normal?" Raine glanced at the documents and said, "Are the terms here any different from ours?"

"Mr. Raine, it's almost exactly the same as ours, with only a few words different, but the meaning is completely unchanged, especially in a legal sense, it's exactly the same," the assistant replied.

"Very good, Henri. Heh, these guys, they want to take advantage, but they're too scared to be the first. They're just waiting for us to make the first move, and then they'll follow suit and try to profit. Heh..."

"Also, Mr. Raine, Business Manager Hindley hasn't been to work for two days. His wife came to see him, saying he came to work very early yesterday morning..."

"Oh. He hasn't come to work for two days? Then fire him and find someone to replace him," Raine replied nonchalantly.

"By the way, tell the police to hurry up. The 'Barcelona Trade Fair' is coming up soon. Don't let those scoundrels and penniless bastards ruin our big event! Make them do something decent. We give them so much money every year, are we just feeding it to dogs?" Raine added.

The police's actions that day were unanimously praised by almost all the newspapers in Britain. They commended the London police for their decisive and forceful action, effectively cracking down on those who attempted to undermine the stability and unity of the British Empire and destroy the hard-won economic development, thus restoring the sacred order of England.

As for the "Sevenpence Alliance," they did report on the event in some inconspicuous places with a slightly sympathetic tone, but their coverage was very brief. France newspapers, on the other hand, still gave the event extensive and detailed coverage. Of course, the purpose of this reporting was still to remind France workers to cherish their current good fortune.

For the time being, the France domestic textile industry is still limited in scale and only covers a few areas, such as making lace and trims. Therefore, the France do not intend to crack down on the Britain textile industry for the time being.

"If the strike is in the Britain steel and machinery manufacturing and shipbuilding sectors, then we can certainly help. As for the textile workers, well, for now we can only offer our deepest sympathy. Remember, in our reporting, we only need to express goodwill and sympathy; we don't need to offer them any assistance. After all, we must respect Britain's internal affairs."

This is said to be an instruction given by Napoleon and Foreign Minister Talleyrand when discussing the situation in Britain. If the Britain had heard this, they would likely have ridiculed Napoleon's hypocrisy. After all, isn't Ireland also a matter of Britain internal affairs?

Fagin also contacted Jacques Gallen, but Gallen told him that France did not want any conflict with Britain recently, so he could only offer them some assistance within his capabilities.

"I'm sorry, I can't be of much help. Because we're not really in power in France. And France isn't really a country of working people. I can only offer some advice. Um, you know, the Paris Trade Fair is in about two weeks. It's very important for the textile industry. Last year, nearly half of all Britain textile export contracts to Europe were concluded at the Paris Fair. The reason Raine and his team are signing new contracts now is to further reduce costs and secure more orders at the Paris Fair. So..."

"So if we can organize a major strike across London's textile industry before the trade fair, we'll definitely be able to force them to concede," Fagin said.

"Yes, Fagin. But that's not all I'm saying. I'm also saying that they're certainly aware of this. So, during this time, they'll be even more ruthless, even more insane. Fagin, the opponent you're facing this time is stronger than any you've ever encountered before. To be honest, Fagin, the reason the London Police Department couldn't do anything to you before was because they didn't expend much effort on you. Once they consider you a real enemy, your situation will be extremely dangerous."

"Brother Jacob, we already knew all this. Why be so hesitant when doing things..." Fagin said dismissively.

"No, Fagin, I think you learned about the relationship between 'preserving ourselves and eliminating the enemy' in Toulon. We must eliminate the enemy, but we must also preserve ourselves."

"Only by eliminating the enemy can we truly and effectively preserve ourselves," Fagin replied.

"But preserving ourselves is a necessary condition for eliminating the enemy, and it is also the purpose of eliminating the enemy," Jacques Gallen responded. "Fagin, you know that France has some secret activities in Britain —in fact, countries all over the world have such secret activities in other countries. To ensure the safety of our personnel, following the principle that a cunning rabbit has at least three burrows, we have quite a few safe houses in London. I can now tell you about a few safe houses that I know of that have been prepared for my operation. If things go wrong, you can hide there first. In case, I mean in case it becomes very dangerous, you can come directly to my place."

"A safe house? I can accept that." Fagin smiled, patting Jacob Gollen on the shoulder. "However, I will never come directly to you. I'm a criminal; if I did, it would put you in a difficult position. I understand all of that. But I plan to send Oliver here. He's very stubborn, just like I was when I was a kid. Brother Jacob, you must protect him. Ideally, arrange for him to go to France immediately, okay?"

Jacques Gallen looked at his old friend for a long while before saying, "Don't worry, that's not a problem. I'll arrange for him to go to France immediately. He will receive a good education and become a truly useful person who benefits the people!"

"That puts my mind at ease. Well, I'll have someone bring Oliver here to you in a bit," Fagin said.

After saying this, Fagin picked up his hat, raised it to Jacques Gallen, and prepared to leave.

"Boss, be careful. I'm waiting to drink with you, please..." Yag Gaoleng couldn't help but say. Although he knew that saying such things at this time seemed a bit unlucky. Yes, people in their line of work are actually quite superstitious. Saying bad luck is one of them. But Yag Gaoleng inexplicably blurted out these seemingly unlucky words.

Fagin smiled at him, then made the sign of the cross on his chest and said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

These were the words of the Apostle Paul before his martyrdom, and Fagin's intention in saying them now was clear. Fagin knew that, as Jacob Gallen had said before, the London police hadn't done anything to them not because they were truly powerless, but simply because they hadn't truly considered them their primary Fagin. But now, the situation was different. Although after his studies in Toulon and Ireland, Fagin felt much more capable than before, even so, he wasn't optimistic about the outcome of this "good fight."

Back in Petticoat Lane, Fagin called over his brothers, gave them the locations and keys to the safe houses, and told them to move there first. He also instructed the Butcher to take Oliver to Jacques Gallen.

"Boss, what about you?" the Butcher asked.

"Me? I have a place," Fagin replied, "But we must first get this going, and organize the general strike before the 'Barcelona Trade Fair'."

"Understood, boss," the Butcher said. "Also, boss, there have been a lot of strange people around here lately."

"What?" Fagin asked.

"They were wearing tattered clothes, but they didn't look like farmers from the countryside. I think they must be police officers. Be careful."

"I understand," Fagin nodded.

After arranging these matters, Fagin left Petticoat Lane and went to another working-class neighborhood where many Rhodes Textile Mill workers lived. Fagin was going to discuss with them how to form a strike.

After leaving Petticoat Lane and walking for a while, Fagin noticed two people sneaking around behind him.

These two men had clearly received some training in surveillance; if they had been following ordinary people, they might not have been detected. But Fagin was a veteran, having undergone intensive training in Toulon. Although the time was short, unlike most people, Fagin already possessed a wealth of practical experience, yet he hadn't elevated these practical skills to a theoretical level. Therefore, once someone explained the principles to him from a higher perspective, he was immediately able to apply the theory to his practice. So, despite the short period of intensive training, Fagin's improvement surprised even himself.

Therefore, these two police officers, who were somewhat experienced, couldn't fool Fagin at all.

Fagin deliberately headed towards more secluded areas, where the workers lived. Now that most of the workers were at work, there weren't many people around.

Seeing that there was no one around, the two plainclothes officers followed them even closer. They even discreetly slid a butterfly knife from their sleeves into their hands—these two plainclothes officers weren't there to follow or investigate, or to arrest anyone; their mission was simple—to find an opportunity to kill those who looked like worker representatives!