1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 299 California’s Dilemma

December 25, 1852, was Christmas in the West.

Although Liang Yao was very strict in managing the army, he was not unkind.

On Christmas Day, Liang Yao gave all the officers and soldiers of the Arizona Infantry Regiment and the artillery battery of the California Infantry Regiment a day off, allowing them not to train today and allowing them to celebrate Christmas to their heart's content.

In addition to the holidays, Liang Yao also gave each of the officers and soldiers who participated in the war, including the crew members of Global Shipping Company, a $5 bonus as a reward.

Five dollars in the mid-19th century was not a small amount of money. Even in California, where the per capita income was much higher than other regions, five dollars was still a considerable amount of money.

An average worker in a factory in the eastern United States earns only $10 a month if he works 30 days a month.

Liang Yao originally wanted to give a bonus of 10 US dollars directly, but thinking that the Spring Festival of 1853 would be more than a month later, he planned to give Chinese soldiers a day off on the Spring Festival and give all soldiers a bonus of 5 US dollars.

Currently, various ethnic groups in California have not been well integrated. After all, ethnic integration is a long-term matter, and it does not mean that integration can be achieved immediately.

The composition of Liang Yao's soldiers is relatively complex, including Chinese and white.

If you want soldiers of different races to fight for him in the same trench, in addition to giving enough money, it is also important to level a bowl of water and not to create a gap between the soldiers of different races.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire more than sixty years later is a lesson learned from this.

The officers, soldiers and crew members who received the bonus were very happy. They praised Liang Yao for his generosity and shouted long live the Colonel!

For these soldiers who are generally not very well-educated, sending them heavy dollars is far more practical than false Christmas greetings.

Liang Yao noticed that after receiving bonuses, a few officers and soldiers were happy but could not conceal their homesickness.

Needless to say, these officers and soldiers must have started families in California and want to go home.

Liang Yao calculated with his fingers that it had been more than half a year since he left for the war, and it was time to return to the United States.

Liang Yao went to the Liang family compound to say goodbye to Liang Weiming. Liang Weiming hoped that Liang Yao would spend the New Year in Xiangshan before leaving, but Liang Yao declined.

These days, he has received letters from Robinson, Strauss, Deng Wenyu and others.

Liang Yao learned from the letter that California's current financial situation is already in deficit, and the situation is becoming increasingly pessimistic.

The state Legislature has been arguing for more than two months on how to solve the financial problems of the California government with no result. They hope that Liang Yao can return to California as soon as possible so that Liang Yao can make the final decision to help California overcome the crisis.

Of course, this also means that Liang Yao takes the blame. Liang Yao formulated many California policies, and a large part of California's fiscal revenue is spent on these policies. For example, financial subsidies for compulsory education and subsidies for skilled immigrants.

, wages of the California militia, etc.

Liang Yao understands those politicians in California. It is not so much that they cannot come up with a result in the debate in the state assembly and cannot think of a way to solve the fiscal deficit problem. It is better to say that no one in the state assembly is willing to bear the consequences of making decisions.

In addition to California's financial problems, the decision on whether to start construction of the Pacific Central Railway will also need to be made after Liang Yao returns.

The construction of the Pacific Railway is a national super project. Although Liang Yao is one of the few richest people in the United States with strong financial resources, the super project of the Pacific Railway is still beyond Liang Yao's ability and cannot be completed by his own efforts.

.

Liang Yao needs to cooperate with other railroad tycoons, capitalists, and investors, and he also needs the strong support of the American state machine.

Seeing that Liang Yao had decided to leave, Liang Weiming couldn't force Liang Yao to stay.

"Since you have made up your mind to leave, I can't keep you. It's just that you were overseas when you were twenty years old, and you haven't received your crowning ceremony yet. It's not too late to leave after you have crowned and taken your title." Liang Weiming was a little reluctant to leave.

said.

"I forgot about this incident, so I'll just listen to grandpa and give him the crowning ceremony before leaving." Liang Yao agreed.

"Third brother, please take me with you when you go to America this time. I also want to go to California with you to have some adventure."

After Liang Yaogang and Liang Weiming finished talking about the crown ceremony, Liang Yi came up and asked Liang Yao to take him to California.

Liang Yi is the son of Liang Yao's second uncle, Liang Shaocong, and ranks sixth among the grandchildren of the Liang family.

Although Liang Yi is the sixth eldest, there is not much age difference between the Liang family's grandchildren, and they were all born in the same year. Liang Yi is only four years younger than Liang Yao.

Among the grandchildren of the Liang family, Liang Yi is considered outstanding.

There are only two famous people among the grandchildren of the Liang family, one is Liang Yao and the other is Liang Yi.

"California is not as comfortable as Xiangshan, and I don't support your third brother," Liang Yao reminded Liang Yi.

"I'm not an idler. I heard that Third Brother has to deal with foreigners in many of his businesses, so I specially learned English from a master from Tongfu Bank, hoping to be a helper to Third Brother." Liang Yi said hurriedly, for fear of Liang

Yao refused to take him.

"Whether you go to California or stay in Xiangshan, it doesn't matter what I say, it depends on grandpa's wishes." Liang Yao handed over the decision to Liang Weiming.

After his fifth uncle Liang Weiming participated in the team training, Liang Yi was the only good candidate in the imperial examination in the Liang family.

"Grandpa, just let me go." Liang Yi begged Liang Weiming.

Although Liang Weiming was reluctant to give up, in the face of Liang Yi's begging, Liang Weiming hesitated for a moment and said helplessly: "Even if I let you stay, you have no intention of studying to take the scientific examination, and the most taboo thing about reading is distraction."

Liang Weiming, a feudal patriarch, had a rare thought. Rather than forcing Liang Yi, who had no intention of taking the imperial examination, to continue studying the Four Books and Five Classics and end up accomplishing nothing, it would be better to let Liang Yi and Liang Yao go out and try their luck.

After all, Liang Yao had proved to him with practical actions that the imperial examination was not the only way to go in the world.

"Thank you soon, grandpa." Liang Yao winked at Liang Yi.

"Thank you, grandpa!" Liang Yi thanked Liang Weiming happily.

"You young people, if you want to go out and explore, go out and explore. Grandpa can't stop you. As long as you don't forget about Grandpa's old bones in your free time, just come back and see Grandpa." Liang Weiming squeezed out a bitter smile.

Three days later, Liang Weiming held a crowning ceremony for Liang Yao, and Liang Yao, who was about to turn 23, finally had his name: Zhaoming.

After the crowning ceremony, Liang Yao took a boat across the Pacific and returned to California.

Liang Yao's original plan, like Perry, was to take the Indian Ocean route directly, pass the Cape of Good Hope, and finally drop anchor directly in Baltimore, Maryland, and head to Washington to report to President Fillmore on the expedition to Japan.

It's just that the plan couldn't keep up with the changes. The situation in California was now urgent, so Liang Yao decided to go directly across the Pacific Ocean, return to California as quickly as possible, and then go to Washington after settling the issues in California.

(End of chapter)