I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 245 Monopoly Game and the Birth of a Detective
The plains of North America and Russia are our cornfields; Chicago and Odessa are our granaries; Canada and the Baltic Sea are our forests; Australia and West Asia are our sheep pastures; Argentina and the western grasslands of North America are our cattle herds; Peru brings its silver, while gold from South Africa and Australia flows to London.
—British economist Jevons, 1865.

Victorian England, while unparalleled in its eccentricities, also ushered in its most glorious period.

In 1840, New Zealand became a British colony; in 1851, the Great Exhibition was held in London, attracting six million visitors from all over the world; in 1854, New Zealand dealt a heavy blow to Russia in the Crimean War, shattering Nicholas I's dream of European hegemony.
In 1858, India became a British Crown Colony; in 1863, the world's first subway was built; in 1870, the British Primary Education Act was passed; in 1878, Cyprus became a British Crown Colony; in 1882, Britain occupied the Suez Canal, making Egypt a British protectorate.
Each of these achievements, taken individually, would be a landmark accomplishment for a monarch or a nation, but in this context, they were all just part of the Victorian era.

The achievements of the Victorian era were essentially the result of the combined effect of advanced institutions and advanced productive forces, in comparison to other countries in the world during the same period.

While most other countries are still focused on protecting the interests of the monarchy and aristocracy, Britain has evolved to protect the interests of the emerging bourgeoisie and aristocracy.

This led to increasingly severe exploitation of workers by the bourgeoisie, to the point that the workers' charter movement would reach a new climax in 1848. On the other hand, if one wanted to start a business or set up a factory in those days, Britain was still the best choice.

In Russia, even though the government discourages such activities and requires the protection and guarantee of nobles, Russian bureaucrats still demand exorbitant bribes, trying to squeeze every last drop of profit from each step.

France is in a much better position in this regard, but there are still many hidden restrictions. Only the UK has both the freest market environment and a huge market with the highest consumer spending power.

From this perspective, being a British or French literary giant is truly exhilarating; one is almost never in a so-called desperate situation.

Another line in "Yes, Prime Minister" is rather difficult to understand: "They kneel down to the government while simultaneously throwing punches at it—that's what artists often do."

This can be considered a summary of the characteristics of some artists.

The reason for discussing these things is actually due to Mikhail's insights from his time in Britain, including running a factory and other activities.

Firstly, there were no major obstacles in terms of procedures; secondly, the British Patent Act of 1839, as amended, allowed for the registration of individual inventions; and finally, cheap factories and even cheaper workers were everywhere in London.

This last point is truly hellish.
In this situation, in addition to the tailor shop that Mikhail had planned before, Mikhail also planned to develop some industries with low barriers to entry and quick results.

On the one hand, it's to raise some money to facilitate various activities later on; on the other hand, it's also to create some jobs, so that people can do something if they can.

So, what industries have low barriers to entry, low costs, require little time, and are likely to generate substantial profits?

Come out, my proudest board game!
In an era with relatively limited entertainment options, the market for board games was definitely not small. Moreover, family values ​​were quite strong in Britain at this time, and families often had more than one child. Therefore, sufficiently interesting board games would accompany them through a happy childhood.

If Mikhail is capable enough, it's not impossible for an entire generation in Britain to play his board games.

So what will happen when Mikhail comes to Britain again ten years later?

In conclusion, Mikhail's foreign trips have essentially completed the puzzle he wanted. France mainly focused on building his reputation and increasing his value in the united front, while Britain focused on tangible financial gains. This approach would not be too constrained in terms of the economy, and he would have great potential to achieve his goals when the right opportunity arises in the future.

As mentioned before, Mikhail subconsciously walked down the right path. After all, even if you really want to do something, you have to put on some armor for yourself.

Incidentally, to be precise, France also has a syphilis lineage that resembles a pile driver, and the UK also has...
Forget it, let's not talk about that. Mikhail has to admit that he's not cut out for this.

As for the effect of the board game that Mikhail created, let's put it this way: when Sanders, who came to talk to Mikhail about his novel, saw Mikhail playing with his new toy, he immediately felt a sense of suffocation and even wished he could lock Mikhail in the room and not allow him to come out until he had written a certain amount of content.

But after Mikhail invited Sanders to experience it...
At first, Sanders was reluctant and dismissive. Why should Mr. Mikhail waste his own time and mine on wooden toys that even children don't play with?

But after playing one round and becoming a little more familiar with the rules, Sanders spoke up, "Mr. Mikhail, let's play another round. I've never seen such a fun and engaging game."

After playing two rounds, Sanders said, "One more round! I think I know how to beat you now!"

After another round, Sanders immediately shook his head and said, "I have to admit, you are unbeatable."

Having played this game countless times before, Mikhail had actually lost interest in continuing with Sanders. However, when he suggested discussing serious matters, Sanders grabbed Mikhail's arm and said:

"Play one more game with me, Mr. Mikhail. Let's put the novel aside for now."

Mikhail: “?”

Don't act like a child.
It must be said that the top-tier board game mechanics that didn't appear until the early 20th century are still a bit too advanced for this era.

Regardless, Mikhail no longer wanted to play with Sanders, this weakling. And after Mikhail rejected Sanders again, even though Sanders was still itching to play, he respected Mikhail's choice. At the same time, he couldn't help but say:

“Mr. Mikhail, may I have the honor of knowing its name? Have you applied for a patent for it? I have a strong feeling that it will become popular throughout Britain! I would love to buy one for myself and for my children!”

"Let's call it a monopoly game. Or..."

Mikhail rolled his dice again, paused slightly as he looked at the numbers, and then said another, more well-known name: "Monopoly is not bad either."

The origin of Monopoly, the board game that later became popular all over the world, was actually quite serious.

In 1900, Elizabeth Maggie, a stenographer from England, became aware of the income inequality and monopolies brought about by the new era's institutions. She felt this problem was beyond her ability to solve as a stenographer, but she still wanted to try different approaches. She ultimately chose to demonstrate her understanding through a board game.

The board game she created aims to capitalize on humanity's natural instinct for competition. She established two sets of rules: an anti-monopoly rule where everyone is rewarded for creating wealth, and a monopolist rule whose goal is to create a monopoly and crush competitors.

She hoped people could gain some insights and reflections from this, but ironically, only the rule of monopoly was welcomed by the public.

After that, two Americans improved her game and applied for a patent. While creating a wealth myth, they refused to acknowledge the woman's pioneering status.

Mikhail, however, genuinely wanted to maintain the game's critical tone while still providing entertainment; a game is a game, but sometimes it goes beyond that.

Furthermore, there are quite a few versions of Monopoly. If Mikhail releases them at a relatively appropriate pace, they could be published for many, many years. Moreover, besides the improved Monopoly, Mikhail certainly had many other board game ideas in mind.

High hidden barriers, low cost, and quick results
For Mikhail, who was pressed for time and had a heavy workload, there was no industry more suitable than this.

"I remember."

After memorizing the name, Sanders cautiously spoke to Mikhail about the serialization of "A Study in Scarlet."

However, after what just happened, Sanders was hesitant to reveal his idea of ​​locking Mikhail up so he could continue the serialization properly, since it seemed like this guy could make money doing other things too.
If you push him too far and make him focus on the factory business, he will most likely make a fortune, but Sanders' Fiction Weekly might really be doomed!

Fortunately, after talking for a while, Sanders learned that Mikhail was already preparing for the next series of novels after "A Study in Scarlet," which made him feel much more at ease, and he left with peace of mind.

Following this incident, the latest issue of "Fiction Weekly" was finally published.

Even though there were other novels in The Novel Ten-Day Magazine, it was clear that the first two chapters of A Study in Scarlet and the newspaper reports about Sherlock Holmes had already piqued the interest of many readers, and many people bought The Novel Ten-Day Magazine mainly for A Study in Scarlet.

Some readers even wrote to Sanders, saying things like, "Why don't you serialize 'A Study in Scarlet' in your magazine? I even suggest you change the name of your magazine to 'A Study in Scarlet' or 'Sherlock Holmes,' which might make more people aware of your magazine!"

Finally, I would like to trouble you to convey the following words to Mr. Mikhail: I…

Sanders: "???"

So, is this magazine still mine?!

That's a good suggestion, but I hope you won't make that suggestion, sir.
However, while he couldn't serialize "A Study in Scarlet" in the entire magazine, Sanders was indeed considering reducing the length of other novels in the magazine to make room for more advertising.
That's all in pounds!
With all these calculations in mind, the latest issue of "Fiction Weekly" has reached readers through various channels.

Although Ralph was just an ordinary police officer at Scotland Yard and not exactly well-off, he thought about the deep impression the first two chapters of "A Study in Scarlet" had left on him, and finally managed to squeeze out some money from his food allowance to buy the latest issue of the magazine.

To be fair, because the trailer for this novel featured incompetent police officers, many people at Scotland Yard were not very friendly towards the novel, and some even looked down on it:
"Has this author ever had any experience in detective work? Does he really understand all the details? If he did, he wouldn't be making up nonsense in his novel!"

Ralph didn't entirely agree, mainly because he was genuinely fascinated by the abilities of Mr. Holmes in the novels. If he possessed such abilities, then even with an ordinary background, he would still have the potential to rise to a high position.
In short, he desperately wanted to improve!
With these random thoughts in mind, Ralph quickly started reading the latest content.

At the end of the previous chapter, Holmes identified the Marine Corps sergeant, and in this latest installment, Holmes once again recounts his amazing and remarkably logical reasoning process.

When Watson exclaimed how amazing it was, Holmes revealed another side of his character:
“Nothing to be surprised about,” Holmes said. But I could tell from his expression that he was actually quite pleased to see the look of surprise and admiration on my face.

After that, the letter revealed a murder case, and just as the novel's atmosphere was becoming tense, Ralph saw the following:
"Holmes said, 'This Grayson is arguably the most capable man in the Metropolitan Police. And there's Lestrade, both of them are among the best of that bunch of fools.'"

These two men are quite shrewd and capable, quick-witted and efficient, but they're always stuck in old ways, and quite stubbornly at that. They're also constantly scheming against each other, like two jealous women distrusting one another. If both of them are in charge of this case, just wait and see how ridiculous it goes.”

Upon seeing this, Ralph immediately thought of certain people and couldn't help but break down a little.

Is this Mr. Holmes really so arrogant and conceited? What if some of the gentlemen at Scotland Yard saw this?
Although Ralph felt he had been criticized, he couldn't wait to continue reading because the novel was so captivating.

In short, what follows is Holmes going to the crime scene and searching for clues with the two detectives. During this process, one of the detectives first discovers the blood-written word "RACHE" and immediately says confidently:
"What does this mean? The writer was supposed to be writing the name of a woman named 'Racel,' but was interrupted by something, so whether it was a man or a woman, they didn't have time to finish. Please remember my words; once the truth of the case is revealed, you will find that a woman named 'Racel' is involved. Now you can laugh at me all you want, Mr. Holmes. Perhaps you are indeed very clever and capable, but in the end, experience counts."

Faced with such comments, Mr. Holmes ignored them and instead began to use his knowledge and methods to examine the traces at the scene and make various speculations.

For some reason, even though these methods were just things from a novel, Ralph felt that they actually worked, to the point that he even had the urge to try them out himself.
Before long, Mr. Holmes in the novel had already given his conclusion, and facing the two arrogant detectives, Holmes remained quite calm; he simply:

“Poisoning,” Holmes replied simply, then strode out. “And one more thing, Lestrade,” he turned back at the door, “'RACHE' means revenge in German, so there’s no need to bother looking for any ‘Miss Rachel’.”

After giving his parting words, Holmes turned and left, leaving the two detectives standing there dumbfounded.

it is good!
Although Ralph was a member of Scotland Yard, he couldn't help but get excited after seeing this crisp and very classy reply.

If I were Mr. Holmes, I would have given my superior the same answer.
As Holmes's charm becomes increasingly apparent, on the day the latest installment of "A Study in Scarlet" was published, it's clear that quite a few gentlemen shared this sentiment.
(End of this chapter)