1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 84 Citizens’ Committee Meeting

After the conversation, Liang Yao reviewed the training results of Isaac and Elvis.

Liang Yao's legion has one hundred and fifty people, but there are only eighty legion members on the training ground.

Liang Yao adopts a shift system for the arrangement of legion personnel.

The remaining seventy legion members are currently responsible for guarding the mint, bank and Tingtao Garden.

Every two weeks, training staff and on-duty staff are rotated.

Under the command of Isaac and Elvis, eighty legion members lined up in a neat formation and completed the tactical maneuvers in the drill.

These are just the basics. The two also wanted Liang Yao to demonstrate the formation switching between horizontal and column formations, deliberately disrupting the formations and allowing the squadron and middle-level captains of the legion to complete the formation reorganization in a short time.

Elvis even showed Liang Yao his latest training result: the skirmisher line.

Liang Yao's escort force has begun to take shape as a professional army, and he is quite satisfied with the results.

"I want to train another hundred such guards."

After admiring the legion's drill, Liang Yao said to Isaac and Elvis.

John brought seventy or eighty guards with him on the ship, and the subsequent consortium arriving in California must also have its own security force.

Although every gold mining company and organization in Sacramento has its own armed forces, large mining companies like Xiangshan Gold Mining even have their own mine protection teams.

But Liang Yao still felt that it would be safer to send some legion personnel to be stationed in Sacramento.

"As long as you can afford the high salaries of these guards, it's fine," Elvis said.

Liang Yao was not worried about money, but about weapons.

If he trains another hundred guards, his weapons will not be as unified as they are now, and he will have to equip them with various types of relatively outdated muzzle-loading muskets.

He can now produce his own gunpowder and bullets, but he cannot yet produce more advanced muskets.

"Money is not the problem, what I'm worried about is the lack of weapons." Liang Yao said.

"Your Excellency, you want to equip all guards with rifled guns?" Elvis saw what Liang Yao was thinking.

"A well-made musket has excellent shooting accuracy. If you want to improve your hit rate, you may consider using the American army's loading method."

"The American Army's loading method?"

"Every time when loading, in addition to loading a standard single-point bullet into the musket, 3 to 5 small shotshells are loaded. This loading method was used by the American army during the North American Colonial War 70 years ago. They control

This method is called Buck & Ball." Elvis said.

"This method is also used by the British Empire's army, and also by the French, but the French prefer to stuff two single-headed bullets directly into the barrel. The Russians also distribute special shotshell bags to the soldiers for long-distance hunting.

Headshot, shotgun at close range.”

Liang Yao quickly understood what Elvis meant. Simply put, he used the musket as a shotgun and used the density of ammunition to increase the hit rate.

"I will select another hundred outstanding young people for you to train." Liang Yao said.

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Representatives of gold mining companies from San Francisco and Sacramento, shop owners, and farm owners gathered at Tingtao Garden.

They also have another level of identity, that is, they are members of the Citizens' Committee.

Compared with the last time, there were significantly more Chinese representatives attending the meeting, occupying a full third of the seats.

In San Francisco and Sacramento, the proportion of Chinese in the total population does not exceed one-fifth at most.

This is due to Liang Yao's support for Chinese immigrants. In addition to providing free tools and subsidizing food rations for reclaiming wasteland, the interest rates on loans for Chinese gold mining companies and land rents in gold-producing areas are slightly lower than those of other gold mining companies.

"John of the Astor family has already met with me. His attitude is very arrogant. I think this also represents the attitude of the Eastern Consortium, at least the New York Consortium."

Liang Yao, who was sitting in the chairman's seat, was the first to speak. On his left and right sides were Vice Chairman Robinson and Sutter.

That is, the most powerful person in California besides him.

"John also approached me privately. He wanted to buy my land at five cents per acre, or pay in U.S. dollar bills. There are no banks in the east in California. In other words, if I want to sell the land to

After cashing in the money, I have to go to New York."

Sartre was also deeply dissatisfied with this.

When Liang Yao bought his land, he paid directly in gold, and the price was much higher than John's. Even when Brannan approached him to buy the land, the price he offered was twice as much as John's.

"So, John is much more generous to you than to me. He wants to take away my gold mines in the Sacramento area without paying any price." Liang Yao said, "At least he gave you a price, Sartre

gentlemen."

The committee representatives who were working couldn't help laughing when they heard this. John's move was simply a naked robbery.

"John also came to see me."

After Sartre, Robinson also stood up and spoke.

"He hoped that employees from the Boston company could work in his factory, but when he asked about the treatment of employees, he kept silent."

"Obviously, John, the Astor family, wants to monopolize our gold in California, and we gold diggers will become slaves in their factories." Liang Yao concluded.

The committee representatives were all filled with righteous indignation. They came to California to make a fortune and have a bright future. Such a result was obviously unacceptable to them.

Working in a factory in California is not as good as going directly back to work in a factory in your hometown, where you can still be with your family, and the entertainment options in your hometown in the east are much richer than in California.

"When I refused John's request, this bastard threatened me, saying that my land was illegal and that Congress would directly take away my land." Sartre said angrily, "He has Congress behind him, I think.

, This is the reason why he dares to be so arrogant and arrogant."

"My old man, what did you do after listening to this son of a bitch?"

asked Jim, a representative of the Old Miners Gold Rush Company and Sutter's long-time friend.

Jim is an old immigrant who immigrated to California during the Mexican government.

His situation was similar to that of Sartre. He sold most of his land to Liang Yao and also kept a small portion of his own land.

It is said to be a small portion of land, but it covers an area of ​​three to four square miles, which is about more than 2,000 acres of land.

These lands include farms, forest farms, and a small part of them are mines.

It can be said that these lands are the source of all Jim's income.

Jim heard that Congress would not recognize the legality of the Mexican government's land grant, which was killing him.

"I punched this bitch in the face and told him to get out!" Sartre said happily.

"You did the right thing, my old man! I swear, if he came to me, I would do the same thing." Jim clapped his hands.

"We will not only face John, but more consortiums will pour into California in the future, which will greatly squeeze the living space of us gold diggers in California." Robinson said with a worried look.

"According to the law, even if Congress does not recognize the legality of the land grants from the Mexican government, these lands were occupied by us gold diggers first, and John and the others have no right to take them away!"

The news that Congress would not recognize the Mexican government's land grants was widely known through the Daily Californian.

Robinson grew up in a law-abiding family. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a tutor. His parents taught him to believe in the law from an early age.

The law is Robinson's belief. If Congress really hands over the land of California to the eastern conglomerates, his belief for many years will completely collapse.

(End of chapter)