1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 331 Eat Melon America

The strong smell of gunpowder on the Europa continent can be smelled in the Americas.

Compared with the reports in major newspapers and periodicals about the Near East issues between Britain, France and Russia, Liang Yao was more concerned about an inconspicuous piece of news in the corner of the newspaper.

A small accident occurred in Newcastle upon Tyne. A big explosion occurred at the Elswick factory of Armstrong Company in the western suburbs of Newcastle due to improper warehouse management. The explosion spread to the entire factory area and the entire factory was almost razed to the ground.

The Elswick Factory was actually an arsenal, and at this time, this arsenal was not known to people outside the UK.

This arsenal was the arsenal that later produced the Armstrong cannon and the predecessor of Elswick Dockyard.

The Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Fleet and Japan's Combined Fleet all purchased ships from Elswick Shipyard.

For example, the Mosquito, the earliest Western battleship purchased by the Great Qing Navy, was partly built by Elswick Dockyard.

The battleship Haturai and the armored cruiser Asama of the Japanese Combined Fleet were also built by the shipyard.

It's just that Armstrong Company has just started and has not yet entered the shipbuilding industry.

Liang Yao naturally knew why the Armstrong Company's factory exploded.

He just wanted the old Luo family to help him get the experimental cannon according to the blueprints and steal the research results of Amster Company. He didn't expect that the old Luo family was so good at it. They made such a big move and gave up their entire factory.

Raised.

In addition to the presidential election these days, the most favorite issue that Americans talk about before tea and dinner is the military strength of Britain, France and Russia, which is stronger and weaker, and after Russia invaded the Ottoman Empire, will Britain continue to give verbal support to the Ottoman Empire, or will it?

Directly send troops to help the Ottoman Empire, or directly side with Russia to dismember and carve up the Ottoman Empire.

As for France, most Americans believe that France will definitely stand against Russia, because the First French Empire began to decline after the failure of the Russian expedition.

At the Congress of Vienna, Britain, which defeated Napoleon in the crucial battle of Waterloo, had a relatively tolerant attitude toward the defeated France, while Russia was aggressive and wanted to dismember France.

Based on this, American politicians judged that the hostility between Britain and France was not as deep as the outside world imagined. This time Britain and France are likely to join hands to fight against this giant bear in the east.

A father is better than a son. These American politicians are relatively accurate in their judgment of form, especially in their judgment of British behavior.

The authorities are obsessed with it, but bystanders are clear. If you ask a congressman if a war will break out between the slave states and the free states, their reaction will definitely be hemming and hawing for a long time and they can't explain the reason. But if you talk to them about the situation in Europe, they will be able to

Be clear-headed, talk eloquently, and say something useful.

Today, the United States has no say in international affairs, and this world is still a European-centered world.

Even if a war breaks out, it will not have much impact on the United States.

The United States is also unable to intervene in continental affairs and can only watch the show across the Atlantic Ocean.

A large-scale war like the Crimean War, in which both sides invested millions of troops, is not something the United States can afford.

The United States can't afford it, and Liang Yao can't afford it even more. With his current two regiments of troops, he can't make much of a splash on the Crimean battlefield.

Of course, he didn't want to directly send troops to Crimea to stir up the troubled waters.

However, the desire to make war profits is still there. The United States has unique geographical advantages and is naturally suitable for making war profits.

Not only did Liang Yao have this idea, the plantation owners in the south were already discussing raising the price of cotton to make a huge profit from the British and French.

Northern factory owners were also discussing the feasibility of selling military supplies to Britain and France.

Whether in the south or the north, most people are discussing transactions with Britain and France, and few people are discussing transactions with Russia.

This also reflects from the side that Russia, an empire that is strong on the outside but weak on the inside, has a very backward economy and has very little influence on international trade. Its backward and fragile economy cannot support the empire's huge military power.

Fur may be the only commodity that Russia can sell, and the only trade that Liang Yao has with Russia is fur.

And it’s not just what Liang Yao needs. Fur is produced in the Oregon region adjacent to California, and fur is also produced in Canada.

The furs from these places can completely replace the furs imported from Russia.

Liang Yao is thinking about how to maximize economic benefits in this upcoming war. He wants to make money from Britain and France. As for Russia?

Could the emperor, who had to feed more than a million of the Tsar's gray cattle, find the money? The answer is obvious, no.

I'm afraid the only thing Russia has to offer is land and population.

Recently, many British, French, and Russian businessmen have appeared on Wall Street, presumably to raise funds for the upcoming war.

Liang Yao also issued $5 million in state government bonds on Wall Street for the California government. Since the California state government has a good reputation, investors also have confidence in California's future development.

The $5 million in California government bonds sold well on Wall Street.

In addition to peddling bonds for the California government, Liang Yao also issued $5 million in bonds on Wall Street in the name of America Group. These bonds were quickly sold out and were more popular than California state government bonds.

Liang Yao's 5 acres of land in New York was also mortgaged to the local Citibank, and he received a loan of US$1 million from Citibank.

Counting the original working capital, Liang Yao now has about US$15 million in working capital.

With this money in hand, Liang Yao is confident enough to start construction of the Pacific Railway or increase oil production in Los Angeles. He no longer has to worry about the problem of a broken capital chain.

What's more, in addition to this 15 million US dollars.

If the negotiation with the Rothschild family on the kerosene business goes smoothly, Liang Yao can also apply for a large loan from the Rothschild family's bank.

At the end of the month, the results of the general election were announced. Fillmore won the election by a narrow margin and was eligible for re-election.

This also made Liang Yao's heart finally let go.

At the same time, Liang Yao also lamented the strength of the Democratic Party.

Fillmore successively won the three major vote states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and obtained 30% of the electoral votes. His opponent was a clown like Pierce, and in the end it was only a small victory.

It can be seen that the Democratic Party, as the oldest existing political party, has a very profound foundation and influence.

It is worth noting that in this election, many abolitionists from the Democratic Party and the Whig Party voted against and quit the Democratic Party and the Whig Party.

These politicians who were originally in opposing parties became closer and closer because of the same political idea: the abolition of slavery.

(End of chapter)