1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 156 Five-Year Plan

It is now April 1, 1851, ten years before the outbreak of the American Civil War.

Liang Yao had ten years, that is, two "five-year plans" to prepare for this civil war.

His goal is also very clear: the first five-year plan will lay the foundation, and after the completion of the second five-year plan, California will achieve preliminary industrialization.

Liang Yao does not expect that after the completion of the two five-year plans, California's industrial strength can compete with that of the north. This is unrealistic. After all, California's size is here.

If California wants to compete with the North in terms of industrial strength, it must at least integrate the resources of the entire western United States and some southern states, and its population must reach at least the size of the Confederacy (the free southern population is 5.45 million).

And these cannot be achieved overnight. To put it bluntly, California's current population of more than 100,000 people is not enough to fill the battle lines with all the people.

What Liang Yao points out is that at least after California completes two five-year plans, the state will have a relatively decent industrial system that can support California's self-preservation and have the strength and capital to travel between the north and the south.

"No matter how much gold is mined, it will eventually be mined out. If California wants to maintain prosperity and stability after the gold is mined, it can only build up its own industry, be able to produce industrial products on its own, and sell industrial products outside in exchange for a steady stream of outside money.

Gold, California's development can last long."

There is no need for Liang Yao to say these nonsense, but the quality of California’s state legislators is not high, and there are many state legislators who do not know ABC.

If it weren't for the state law that prohibits carrying guns into the parliament, these guys would have entered the parliament meeting with revolvers on their waists and swearing at their mothers.

Some words must be spoken directly to them in order for them to understand.

Unlike the American Congress, the cultural literacy of members of Congress is relatively high, and they are basically well-educated elites. People will understand after a little digging.

In contrast, the state legislators in the new state of California are a grassroots team mixed with a small number of elites and middle class.

Who of the decent, decent people who lived in the East would take the risk of going to California to hunt for gold?

The American immigrants who come to California are basically the lower class people from the east who have lost hope and come to California to study hard with the dream of getting rich.

If you win, you will return home in fine clothes; if you lose, you will kill yourself in Wujiang River.

However, low-quality members also have the advantage of low-quality, that is, they are easier to deceive. As long as their interests are taken care of and they are satisfied, the bill will be easily passed.

These big bosses will not talk to you about ideals, the separation of powers in the United States, or the unconstitutionality. They only care about whether there is more or less gold in their wallets.

Liang Yao's words are easy to understand. To put it bluntly, he is using industrial products to convert gold from other places. Many state legislators are gold diggers and low-level nouveau riche. Only simple and easy-to-understand vernacular can be understood by these state legislators.

"No industrial products from the east can be sold, and California has no industrial base. Can the industrial products it produces compete with those of the British and French?"

Robinson remains skeptical about this. He is well-educated and has lived in the East for a long time. He is very aware of the current status of American industry. The industrial products produced by the old enterprises in the East cannot compete with Britain and France. What can California do to compete?

?

"There is no need to compete with Britain and France, as long as we can defeat our domestic counterparts. The domestic market of the United States is enough to meet California's needs. After California is on track, I will organize an inspection team to inspect the east and find British and French people for California.

It’s an overseas market that no one has yet touched,” Liang Yao said.

Small size also has the advantage of being small, that is, it does not require a large market, as long as California's industrial products can outcompete other local counterparts and seize their domestic market.

Compared with the old states in the east, California, as a new state, also has the advantage of being a latecomer, that is, California is a blank slate without any baggage.

California is high in the sky and far away from the president. It is surrounded by territorial states and does not border any state. There is no need to consider the conflicts between free states and slave states, and there is no need to worry about taking sides between the North and the South.

Of course, it would be great if there was another overseas product dumping ground, a colony or semi-colony that could suck blood.

Japan meets California's requirements very well. Britain and France have not yet interfered, and it is not too far away from California. If anything goes wrong, it will not affect California itself.

And now the top leaders of the United States are also seeking to allow Japan to become a country, and Liang Yao is also willing to add fuel to the flames in this matter.

When Japan founded the country, California had a geographical advantage. As long as California had local industries, it could become the state that benefited the most from the founding of Japan.

Not everyone in the state Legislature shares Robinson's concerns.

On the contrary, many state legislators have developed a mentality of blind obedience to Liang Yao.

Whether it's Liang Yao's family history of gold mining in California, or Liang Yao's actual taking over of California.

Liang Yao has not missed a step, and his reputation in California is at its peak. Even in the eastern region, Liang Yao now enjoys the reputation of an American hero.

There is no doubt that Liang Yao is an extremely successful figure in California both commercially and politically, and no one can come close to him.

State legislators believe that as long as they follow Liang Yao, they can still drink soup even if they can't eat meat.

Since Liang Yao has said this, at least he has the confidence to compete with his peers in his country.

The Pioneer and the new railway track are the best examples, although the Pioneer has not yet been put into actual operation.

But anyone who has experienced the Pioneer train and its carriages on the experimental track knows that the Pioneer train has a crushing advantage over the trains manufactured by the large eastern railway companies.

As long as the Pioneer train enters mass production, the sales volume of the Eastern Railway Company will not be bad.

"We would like to listen carefully to your opinions, for example, which industries should we get involved in specifically?"

Sartre was also a little excited, from buying and selling gold producing areas to selling grain, and then cooperating to set up sawmills and building materials factories.

Sutter almost followed Liang Yao's steps step by step to get to where he is today. Not only did he save his Sutter's Castle in Sacramento, he also made a fortune and became the mayor of Sacramento.

He is also the one among these state legislators who admires Liang Yao, even though Liang Yao is about the same age as his son.

"Yes, yes, Speaker, just tell us what factory we want to open."

"We have not gone to college and are not as knowledgeable as you. We believe that California will have a bright future only under your leadership!"

"We all listen to you, your words are worth a thousand pieces of gold!"

After Sutter spoke, the state legislators in the Assembly echoed.

"Steel, coal, railways, machinery."

Liang Yao did not hold back and read out the general content of the draft five-year plan to the members of the state assembly.

Steel production, energy production, railway mileage, and mechanization level are the main indicators of early industrialization.

Liang Yao's first California Five-Year Plan was developed around these four indicators.

In addition, another indicator is the chemical industry, which is petroleum.

The first oil well in the United States would have to wait another eight years, and now there is no such thing as a chemical industry.

If there were no other time-travelers in this world, only Liang Yao knew about this industry, the terrifying profits it would bring in the future, and the impact it would have on the entire human society.

Liang Yao was so anxious to buy land in Los Angeles that was worthless in the eyes of others, immigrate to Los Angeles, and quickly turn Los Angeles into a town with an overwhelming majority of Chinese immigrants, just for the future layout of California's chemical industry.

Although there is no gold under the soil of Los Angeles, there is abundant oil that is easy to extract. This is the blood of the second industrial revolution.

"But these heavy industries require huge investment in the early stage, and it takes a long time to make profits. As far as I know, many steel companies and railway companies in the east went bankrupt before they could make profits."

Fehr said without concern that he had considered getting involved in the steel industry, but the astonishing investment and elimination rate in the steel industry discouraged him.

"You have strong funds and many technical talents at your disposal, which can support California Steel until the day it becomes profitable, but we do not have such conditions."

The congressmen also nodded in agreement. Fehr's concerns were also their concerns. The steel industry has high barriers to entry and a high elimination rate, which is not something that small rich people like them can afford.

Therefore, when Liang Yao started to engage in steel and railways, they were still hesitant and did not have the brainpower to plunge into the steel industry and railway industry.

Of course, there are also reasons for the lack of machinery and workers.

Liang Yao's steel, railway, coal mining, machinery industries and related manufacturing industries, such as steam engine manufacturing plants and shipyards, use machinery and workers that Liang Yao started laying out last year and imported directly from the eastern region.

It is not an industry hatched in California.

After losing the opportunity, it is very risky for them to copy Liang Yao's model.

These enterprises of Liang Yao are the only heavy industries in California, and their reputation has been well established. If they continue to develop these industries, they will directly face competition with Liang Yao.

In California, no one wants to be a direct competitor with Liang Yao, because they know how much they weigh.

Since Liang Yao mentioned this matter in the parliament today, these state legislators simply put their concerns on the table.

Liang Yao is willing to take them into steel, coal, railways, and machinery because he has no choice but to do so. Industrialization is a system and several industrial chains. It is difficult for one person or even a group to cover everything.

Even if it can be done, it will take a long time. He risked the disapproval of the United States and centralized power in California for the speed and efficiency of industrialization.

Only a relatively strong government can efficiently integrate resources and achieve industrialization in a short period of time through thunderous means.

The principle of separation of powers must be honestly followed in California. After the civil war breaks out, not to mention the complete industrial system, I am afraid that apart from gold, California will only have a few viable industries.

There is not much time left for him, and he cannot develop slowly like the old states in the east.

(End of chapter)