1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 122 The thoughts of Britain and France

In the mid-19th century, the comprehensive national power of Britain and France was far stronger than that of the United States.

The British Empire, known as the sun never sets, has the most extensive colonies and the most powerful navy in the world.

France is the most powerful country in Europe and has the most powerful army in Europe and even in the world.

After all, Fremont was still a young politician without much political experience. When he contacted the ambassadors of Britain and France, he just wanted to make a superficial statement to Congress and had no intention of substantive cooperation with Britain and France.

These two countries are both unprofitable masters, and each ambassador is more shrewd than the other. How could they be willing to act as dispensable tools?

What they want is real benefits, which is why Liang Yao doesn't want to have premature contact with senior British and French officials.

Liang Yao met two guests at Tingtao Garden. One of them was Gibson, a banker from the British Bank of Barings, and the other was Le Goff, a banker from the Bank of France.

It seems that Britain and France are relatively restrained in the United States and have not sent anyone from the embassy to have direct contact with him.

After briefly introducing himself, Liang Yao started negotiating with the two British and French bankers.

Liang Yao is no stranger to Barings and Banque de France.

Four years ago was a golden era for American Democrats, and their president Polk was an ambitious president.

Polk was keenly aware at that time that if the United States wanted to become an influential power, it could not stay on the Atlantic coast and must achieve effective control over the Pacific coast.

To achieve this, it was necessary to realize postal services between the Oregon Territory (California had not yet been annexed by the United States at that time) and the eastern states.

The best mail route is the Panama route now operated by the Pacific Mail Line Company of Aspinwall.

At that time, the Congress and the State Department, dominated by Democrats, had completed contact with the government of the Republic of New Granada (roughly equivalent to today's Colombia) and decided to dig a canal in the Panama Province of the Republic of New Granada.

At that time, the Mexican-American War coincided with the territorial dispute between Canada and the United States.

President Polk, who has always had a tough attitude towards foreign affairs, even directly shouted: Fifty-four forty or fight (divided by 54 degrees 40 degrees north latitude, otherwise there will be a fight) when faced with territorial disputes over the northwest border and the British Canadian colony.

.) radical slogan.

The British authorities believed that if the Oregon Territory and the eastern part of the United States were to be connected by mail, it would harm the interests of their Canadian colonies, so they entangled France and disrupted the cooperation between the United States and New Granada.

The main participants in this matter were Barings Bank and the Bank of France. They valued the canal at more than 10 million US dollars, forcing Americans who were interested in digging the Panama Canal to stay away.

At the same time, they told the New Granada government that the United States could not provide more than ten million U.S. dollars, but they, Britain and France could, and the New Granada Republic was more inclined to cooperate with Britain and France, which had stronger financial resources.

At that time, the United States was at war with Mexico, so naturally it could not afford more than ten million U.S. dollars, and the wealthy people in the United States could not afford ten million U.S. dollars, so the matter had to be abandoned in the end.

After the United States gave up digging the Panama Canal, when the government of the Republic of New Granada again urged Britain and France to dig the canal, Britain said that the project was too difficult and that the project was not feasible. This made the Republic of New Granada feel very angry and felt that it

Got fooled.

"I would like to say hello to you on behalf of the Ambassador, Mr. Liang."

Although Robinson is the governor, Gypsy, who has been paying attention to California for a long time, has long known that Liang Yao is the one who really controls California.

"The Ambassador has interviewed Senator Fremont earlier. The Ambassador and I deeply sympathize with what is happening to the Republic of California, and I deeply admire the spirit of the people of California in fighting for freedom.

I am willing to do whatever I can to support the people of California in resisting tyranny and striving for independence."

While passing by the square, Gibson noticed that there were no stars and stripes in the square, only the bear flag symbolizing the Republic of California.

Gibson mistakenly thought this was California's war of independence and was ecstatic.

California is a territory that the United States just annexed from Mexico two years ago. From a legal perspective, it is logical and reasonable for Californians to seek independence.

War requires money, lots of money.

During the U.S.-Mexican War, Barings Bank provided loans to the U.S. government, while cleaning up inventory for the British Empire and selling outdated weapons at high prices to Mexico, which lacked weapons. It can be said that it made a lot of money.

The Bank of France also made a lot of money in the Mexican-American War, but the French mainly supported the United States and did not make as much money as the British.

The British supported both countries and even sent British officers to help the Mexicans train their troops because they hoped the war would last longer.

Consuming the national strength of the United States by shedding Mexican blood is something the British are very happy to see.

It's just that Mexico was too stretched and lost its capital in less than two years, but the US military's performance in this war was also relatively poor.

The United States can win thanks to the excellent matching mechanism of the Americas region.

France, on the other hand, wanted to let the stronger United States create obstacles for the British, because Britain supported Prussia in Europe to create obstacles for France.

Both sides know what the other is thinking, but things that are easy to break up cannot be brought to the table.

Although Britain and France secretly disliked each other, on the surface they still maintained a harmonious appearance.

"Mr. Gibson, since you admit that Mr. Fremont is a senator in the United States Senate, how can you talk about the Republic of California? This is just a war for Californians to defend their rights, not a war of independence."

Liang Yao had already seen through Gibson's conspiracy, and he told Gibson the nature of the war.

It's not that he doesn't have independent ideas, it's just that the time for independence has not yet arrived.

California did not have a complete industrial system to support a long-term modern war.

At present, the cohesion of Californians is limited to defending California and protecting their property. It is simply Liang Yao's passion to want them to follow him in expanding his territory.

He also needs more time to increase Californians' cohesion and their sense of identity.

Liang Yao can flirt with Britain and France, making Congress and senior officials in Washington feel nervous and pressured.

But he would never fight to the last Californian for Britain and France.

Gibson and Legoff looked at each other, and Liang Yao's reply was beyond their expectations.

This young man seems to be very sober, sober enough to resist the temptation of a president of the republic.

Is he really just willing to be the lieutenant governor who controls everything behind the scenes?

"Ahem, don't get me wrong, we just sympathize with the Californians." LeGoff coughed twice to ease the somewhat awkward situation.

"We are bankers and we came to California to look for business opportunities. But if you need weapons, we are happy to provide them. We also have our own channels."

Legoff did not know that half of Colonel Mason's infantry regiment had been wiped out by Liang Yao.

He feels that the current situation in California is not very clear, and Paris has not given clear instructions on this matter. Le Goff decided to continue to wait and see.

"As long as you abide by the laws of this state, we welcome businessmen and entrepreneurs from any country to invest in California." Liang Yao said, "As for weapons, as long as the weapons you provide are advanced enough, I can purchase some weapons to arm the California Infantry Regiment."

"Great, can I do some research in California?" Legoff asked.

Gibson's purpose in coming to California was very clear, which was to instigate the American Civil War.

At the beginning of the year, when the North and the South were at war with each other in the United States, the British authorities secretly rejoiced, thinking that a large-scale civil war was about to break out in the United States.

Capitalists in London even prepared war bonds for the United States. However, in July, the new President Fillmore quickly mediated the conflicts between the North and the South after taking office, easing the tense relations between the North and the South.

Fillmore successfully promoted the passage of the Compromise Act in September, which saved the United States from civil war.

This disappointed the authorities in London on the other side of the ocean.

The disagreement between California and the U.S. Congress gave them hope of reigniting the fuse of the American Civil War. This was the purpose of Simpson's entrusted trip to California.

Le Goff's purpose in coming to California is not as clear as Simpson's. Although Paris has not made clear statements or instructions on this matter, Le Goff also knows that a stronger America is in France's interests.

Every second has the ambition to become first.

France covets Britain's world hegemony, but there is a huge gap between France's comprehensive national strength, especially its navy, and Britain's. France needs a partner with the strength to contain Britain.

If California is worth investing in, it will be a big gain for Le Goff if French capital represented by the Bank of France can enter California and participate in local development.

"Of course, I will let my assistant serve as your guide later to take you on an inspection tour in California." Liang Yao said.

(End of chapter)