Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 235 002 Intelligence Analysis of the British Beer Industry

The St James' Gate Brewery was founded by Arthur Guinness in 1759. It became famous only after his sons and grandsons continued to expand the business, and later it became a giant in alcoholic beverages.

In fact, it is still difficult for Irish products to compete with those in the UK. This is different from the 21st century when taxes in the UK were higher than in Ireland, causing Guinness to want to move the distillery back to Ireland. Now, Ireland’s various taxes and levies are more severe than those in England.

What about Scotland and Wales?

One of them was inventing things and the other was mining, but neither of them was affected as much as Ireland. The tax reform in Ireland around 1800 led to an increase in the tax burden on the island of Ireland.

However, the impact on alcoholic beverages is relatively small. The dark beer produced by this brewery from St. James' Gate in south Dublin is still sold to the British market in a steady stream.

After all, compared with the water quality of this era, various alcoholic beverages are a safer source of water for civilians, but it is easy to get drunk.

"I am somewhat interested in the story of Mr. Arthur Guinness. Sylvia, can you find the Irishman in Rome?"

"You say that as if you were to find a Gaul in Rome."

Of course, Sylvia also knew that Solovyov was a smart person. He must have thought of something. If it wasn't a conspiracy, it must be a way to make money.

There were indeed quite a few British people in Rome, but it was not easy to find Irish people. If they were Scottish, you could tell by their last name. Even if Scrooge was a Scottish duck, you could tell from his clothes and name.

"Sir, if you go to the gentlemen's club, it's really difficult. Even if I look through the entire list for you, you can't find many Irish people. Their surnames are still very distinctive."

For example, O'Connor and the like. Solovyov sat there and thought about some other things related to the Celtics.

After all, the Scots and the Irish have always been able to feel the great shortcomings of the English. The last defeat of the Jacobite Party was only more than 50 years ago, and the Irish have had a more recent experience, which is the recent tax reform.

"Michele, does this trick work?"

"Let's see how lucky we are"

Nothing was strange to him. He drew a four-leaf clover and imitated the future logo of a Boston team, and he danced like this.

Octavia just laughed at her father's funny look, but this did attract a few Scots.

"What are you doing, man?"

"I want to find out something about a brewery in Dublin, Ireland."

"It doesn't have to be like this, sir."

"It's a little funny, but we Russians are mysterious and distant to Western Europe. Some people always regard us as barbarians. If we were just 'weirdos', that would be a relatively friendly evaluation."

"Well, sir. You do have some truth in what you say. There is some prejudice against Russia in Europe."

These two gentlemen from Scotland were very happy to help.

"Come to the club and have a drink."

“But I can’t take them in.”

Gentlemen's clubs do not allow women and minors to enter unless they are considered adult men.

"Well, I suppose you have an attractive young wife, and a lovely daughter."

Sylvia found it very useful, she was so strange sometimes.

Although she had rejected the proposal, she enjoyed the fact that her lover, who was still unmarried, belonged completely to her in the recent period.

"We can go to that restaurant and talk about Ireland."

These two Scots did visit Ireland.

"The brewery you mentioned is Mr. Arthur Guinness, the original owner mentioned in the obituary. His products are quite famous, and they have been exported from Dublin to Liverpool frequently in recent years. However, although the quality of this beer is good, the production is very limited."

"Mr. McNamara, why didn't they consider using the steam engine? You Scots have a Mr. James Watt who improved the steam engine."

"Mr. Watt is indeed an outstanding inventor, but he always uses his patents to compete and raise prices. This has led to legal lawsuits, which is unwise. Therefore, many people have given up their research on steam engines. After all, it is not easy to deal with such a gentleman."

"If that's the case, there are actually ways to solve it. Mr. Watt's steam engine is just made according to a certain principle. It should be said to be a vacuum steam engine, not a high-pressure steam engine. If we take appropriate measures to improve the steam engine from an angle other than his patent, wouldn't that be possible?"

"You are a very clever Russian, sir. But it is not easy."

"Let's not talk about that for now. I think some breweries will see a significant improvement in efficiency after adopting steam engines to assist production. I'm from Russia. To be honest, I'm a Russian diplomat in Paris. I came here just to handle some personal matters. What I'm thinking about is whether the brewery left by Mr. Arthur Guinness can consider using steam engines to expand production at St. James' Gate. It will definitely improve production efficiency."

"Good idea, but in Ireland, there"

"is there a problem?"

"If you want to invest in the UK, you still need some solutions."

"Of course, I have also thought that the winery of that gentleman can be expanded in the future, more than double or even triple in size."

"You speak English very straightforwardly."

"That's because I don't have enough vocabulary. Some of the more complex words are still difficult to say."

"But that's enough. There are many things in England that you can't say."

Solovyov actually knew how to sing Sir Humphrey's chant, but he pretended to do so and used a suburban London accent, which made him look a little funny.

"Well, judging from the current situation, in Britain or Ireland, please allow me to emphasize this relationship. After all, they are two islands of the United Kingdom. Judging from the feasibility of investment, we should come to a conclusion. If there is no force majeure to hinder it, I think investing in the tobacco and alcohol industries will have a bright future. In addition to snuff and beer, there are also red wine, rum, and champagne."

"If you say so, rum has a lot to do with sugar production, so you can invest in the sugar industry."

"Indeed!"

Think about Solovyov's benefactor Count Bobulinsky, the younger brother of Tsar Paul. He went to the countryside of Tula and Ryazan not only to mine, but also to engage in other industries.

His descendants will become Russian sugar tycoons, and it is not impossible to make rum in Russia. "Sir, what are you going to do?"

"I have considered going to England to meet with Mr. Arthur Guinness's heirs, but I will be returning to France soon, so whether I can visit England is still a question."

"You don't need to worry. Sometimes in Amsterdam and Antwerp, there will be people there to negotiate face to face. It's okay to keep the peace. But you also have to pay attention to something. The relationship between Britain and France is not as harmonious as we thought."

"You mean"

“We can see that from what happened in Malta.”

"Besides that, there are also the activities of the French army in Italy, and both sides are strengthening their own forces. At that time, someone will definitely try to win over the courts in Vienna, St. Petersburg and Berlin."

"You may know more about this than we do. After all, diplomats are more familiar with the situation in France."

"That's why I think it's not difficult to buy property in Ireland. If war breaks out, some stocks will fall, but it will take someone in London to do it."

Taking into account the differences in communication methods, in reality, this kind of risky investment will always have some delays.

If the acquisition is carried out at a time when war is about to break out between Britain and France, it may also reduce the acquisition cost, regardless of whether it is in Ireland or in the British mainland.

This risk existed as long as the French army remained in Boulogne.

Solovyov considered many other aspects besides the Guinness Brewery.

"Mr. McNamara, do you know what specifications of beer barrels are used in London now?"

"In London, beer barrels are getting bigger and bigger for easier storage."

"In Liverpool, Birmingham or Manchester?"

"We've been to those places, and beer is usually stored in barrels."

"To be honest, this is not safe, and the strength of the wood may not be enough. I think we should use some smaller wooden barrels for separate storage, so that it can be quickly mixed and used. With such a large barrel there, we have to consider the liquid pressure, regardless of other things."

"What you said makes sense. We came to Rome and want to investigate the wine industry in Naples."

Mr. McNamara then handed over a business card. He worked for a wine shop in Glasgow and hoped to import wine from Italy to the UK.

However, this industry is somewhat risky. Once the British become enemies with France, those allies that oppose France will be attacked by the French army and occupied by France one after another.

In this case, although sugar and coffee from overseas colonies and tea from China will not be affected, the British will not be able to obtain red wine exported from Portugal and a few regions. This industry seems to have no hope in the next few years.

Napoleon would impose a Continental Blockade, and he would find ways to strangle Britain's trade with the European continent as a means of attack.

Although this was a method of killing 1811 enemies but losing of their own, it made the British lose hope for a time and they began to waver around .

However, acquiring some industries in the UK is not a bad idea, especially beer, which has long been an alcoholic beverage needed by the working people and is widely welcomed by all social classes.

"Okay, I'll contact you then, but you're not in London either, you're mainly based in Glasgow."

"It's okay. We go to London often. If you are interested in other breweries, we can also help introduce them to you."

But Solovyov was always worried that he would not be able to go to England, and he had other things to do after returning to Paris.

"Belzoni, how's your English?"

"Sir, although I don't have the complex language skills like you, I can still handle it."

"What do you think about running your business?"

"I don't think I'm good enough to run a winery. But I'd be happy to help you recruit people to do business in the UK."

When you open a brewery in the UK, in addition to beer, you can also sell gin.

Ah, Sherry, that's a Spanish wine, it will be affected.

At the same time, selling vodka to the UK would not be a bad idea.

It's just like this, as if there are undercover agents everywhere in the UK, even though this is describing the facts and restoring history.

In fact, Soloviev had the idea of ​​investing in a winery a long time ago. He even discussed with Prince Vasily about sending a letter from Naples back to Russia and handing it over to Count Stroganov and Count Bobulinsky.

Only these two have surplus assets and come to the UK to invest, especially since the land prices in Ireland are really very cheap.

Solovyov's plan is not just aimed at the present. If potatoes no longer grow in Ireland in the future, he will be over 60 years old, and then he can deal a fatal blow to Britain.

But before that, the wiring still needs to be long-term.

He didn't have a deep impression of other things, but he remembered clearly the lack of virtue in English.

At times like this, the role of personal connections may still be very important.

After all, when he was with Paul, he was already very familiar with Russia's future Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nesherrode. If he could hold an important position in the army or government, he would still be able to influence St. Petersburg's decision-making.

Solovyov could not have imagined that his ambition would be fueled by alcoholic beverages.

But this is not wrong. After all, ethanol is a very good fuel with a very high combustion efficiency. In other words, it is so volatile that the aroma of alcohol is overflowing.

At the same time, he also wanted to save some property for himself.

A lot of these properties now need to be divided among my younger brothers and sisters, after all, they are still being managed in the name of Baron Sergei.

Considering that the old father is still powerful and still making dolls with his stepmother in his fifties, he doesn't even know that his stepmother is pregnant again.
By then, whether it is his share or the one left for his younger brothers and sisters, the cake should be made as big as possible.

Having too much money can also be a problem.

(End of this chapter)