1850 American Gold Baron

Suppressing his excitement, Liang Yao excitedly picked out the large and small gold particles from the bottom of the washing tank and put them into a glass bottle.

Deng Yan and the Deng brothers were all smiling, changing the dull atmosphere before.

After the ore washing tank was put into use, their gold mining efficiency was greatly increased. They no longer had to slowly sift gold bit by bit with a pan.

Instead, the mineral soil and sediment rich in gold are poured directly into the ore washing tank, and the lighter sand is washed away by the flowing water, completing most of the screening work for them.

All they had to do was find the gold particles that settled underneath the uneven bottom of the wash tank.

It's a pity that the blankets are now used to keep out the cold. Liang Yao doesn't have any extra blankets to use as a collection mat at the bottom of the washing tank. Otherwise, the gold mining efficiency can be improved to another level.

But these are not problems, the nearby Indians have furs. The Indians did not know the value of gold at first, and the white people often deceived them with cheap small items in exchange for their valuable specialties, including furs.

Over time, the Indians gradually became more sophisticated and demanded gold transactions. Even Sutter's Indian employees and slaves no longer accepted payment in kind, but demanded that their wages be settled in gold.

As long as there is gold, it is not difficult to exchange some furs from the Indians. If he has enough sales and connections, he can even start a fur business and sell these things to Europe and Asia. It is just that it is too early to consider these things now.

"Third brother, a full 158 ounces of gold! This is indeed a mountain of gold! Gold is everywhere!"

As a large amount of gold was unearthed from the mining soil and sediment, Liang Yaozai's status in the hearts of everyone also increased.

They now believe more and more that as long as they listen to Liang Yao and follow Liang Yao wholeheartedly, they will have a steady stream of gold.

"Are there really so many? Third nephew, did you weigh the sand by mistake and mistake it for gold?"

Deng Yan found this result unbelievable. They had worked hard for more than half a month and only found more than 130 ounces of gold. Today, they found 158 ounces of gold in one day. No matter what you think, they found 158 ounces of gold.

dream.

Many people think this number is exaggerated. In fact, early gold miners could usually dig out about ten ounces of gold or more in a day. This is also the reason why prices in California are so crazy. If there is more gold, it will naturally be less valuable.

"It's true, there are several bottles filled." Deng Wenyu patted his chest to confirm to Deng Yan, and lowered his voice and said ecstatically, "We are rich!"

Deng Yan adjusted the musket strap on his shoulders. They had now developed the habit of never leaving their guns. Then Deng Yan slapped himself hard and said with a grin: "It is indeed not a dream."

"Congratulations to Mr. Deng, Mr. Liang, and congratulations to you all for finding a way to make money."

Cai Mingsheng sent congratulations to them.

Liang Yao asked Deng Wenyu to bring two glass bottles filled with finely divided gold, weighing a full forty ounces, and wrapped them in a rag and stuffed them into Cai Mingsheng.

"Uncle Cai has been worrying a lot these days."

"They are all from the village. Everything is done without any trouble. This is all due to Mr. Liang. Mr. Liang has a great talent and has the ability to turn stone into gold."

Cai Mingsheng waved his hand and said that there was no need for so much gold. After several rejections, he understood Liang Yao's temper and accepted the gold.

Cai Mingsheng had been working for them in Sacramento for most of the month and had no home, so he temporarily said goodbye to Liang Yao and returned to San Francisco. Before leaving, Liang Yao asked him to find some reliable craftsmen for him.

Living in tents with so many people in the middle of winter is not a long-term solution. Now that he has a certain amount of income, Liang Yao decided to build a house here.

"Don't be too happy too early. There was a lot of gold in the mine soil at the beginning, but it will only become less and less in the future. If we want to get rich, we have to use our brains to think of other ways." Liang Yao told everyone.

I poured a basin of cold water on it.

The temporary success did not make Liang Yao go to his head and lose his mind, and this income was far from his goal. In his opinion, the gold mining method of washing tank was not efficient enough.

"Understood."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Third brother, we have gold, why don't we rent more land from Nasate? Before, we could only wash twenty or thirty barrels of mineral soil a day, but now with this washing tank, we can wash seven to eight hundred barrels a day.

Ore soil. Find some craftsmen to make the ore washing trough bigger, or make several more ore washing troughs. It will not be difficult to wash thousands of barrels of ore soil a day." Deng Wenyu suggested.

"You have such a bright mind! Does Sartre know that there is gold in his own land? Will he grant you all these lands?"

Deng Yan knocked on Deng Wenyu's forehead angrily. What Deng Yan said made sense. Sartre was indeed short-sighted, but that didn't mean he was a fool.

"These matters will be discussed in the long run. Starting tonight, you brothers will follow me at night to learn Gui Lao's words and write Gui Lao's calligraphy."

Some time ago, they had to use pans to pan for gold day and night in order to survive. Now that they have a washing tank, they can save a lot of time.

After having a relatively stable path for primitive accumulation of capital, Liang Yao also set out to build his own small business empire before the large conglomerates from the east came to California.

Liang Yao wants to train his cousins ​​to become the core management of his team in the future. However, it is difficult for illiterate people to be qualified for those management positions. It is also difficult to deal with those foreigners who do not understand English and cannot write English.

"Foreigners' foreigners look like bean sprouts. They are all similar. I know them, but they don't know me."

Deng Wenkang, the youngest, wanted to quit.

"I am a rough man, you can learn the words and calligraphy of Gui Lao, I am a gold digger..."

"Good-for-nothing!" Deng Yan gave Deng Wenkang a hard kick. "You want to make a living here. If you don't know Gui Lao, how can you do it if you don't recognize Gui Lao's name? Hunt for gold and wait until the day when the gold is mined.

What should you do to support yourself?"

Deng Yandang felt that he was deeply inconvenienced because he could not read. Sometimes when official documents came out, he had to ask someone who could read to read them. Now that Liang Yao was willing to teach the Deng family's children how to read and digit, the Deng family

The disciple was still unwilling to learn, which made him very angry.

"I want to learn too, count me in." Deng Yan took the lead in setting an example and expressed his willingness to learn.

"Fifth brother, if you want to study in a private school in Xiangshan, you have to submit to a private school teacher. Now that Brother Yao is willing to teach us how to read and digit, it is our blessing. Brother Yao's family has been a high official in the capital. If you want to

He was selected as a scholar at a young age and is very knowledgeable. You must not be ignorant of good and evil."

Deng Wenkang's brother Deng Wenqi also advised Deng Wenkang.

"I'm willing to learn." Deng Wenkang could only nod his head and agreed.

"I want to learn too." Deng Ying, who was lighting the fire at the side, came over in disgrace when she heard their conversation and said timidly.

When Deng Yan was about to reprimand, Liang Yao stopped Deng Yan. Of course he knew what Deng Yan was going to say in this era of patriarchal attitudes.

"Yingmei is a female student who is willing to learn. If you guys don't learn, then you are no better than a female student." Liang Yao said with a smile.

Liang Yao's joy did not last for a few days when the San Francisco Mounted Police rode to Sacramento and brought very bad news to the miners who were panning for gold.

Recently, more than 40 deserters stationed in nearby military fortresses have fled their camps.

Logically speaking, this news is not surprising. In 1850, the salary of ordinary soldiers in the U.S. Army was a pitiful $6 per month.

As long as you are not a super non-Emirati, you can easily earn dozens or hundreds of dollars a day by joining the gold mining team. Deserters are inevitable due to such a huge income gap.

After the Mexican-American War, the U.S. government had at least 800 troops stationed at major military fortresses in California. Most of them are now gone.

Not to mention the garrison in California, there were many deserters from neighboring Oregon and even from the eastern United States who came to California.

It's just that this time the deserters chose a simpler and cruder method of gold mining, that is, grabbing it directly. It's not as fast as grabbing it directly by panning for gold by yourself.

What's even worse is that officers were also involved, and they stole a large amount of arms from the arsenal before escaping the fortress.

Ordinary gangsters are not scary, because most of them are loosely organized violent groups that will disperse if anything goes wrong.

Obviously, these deserters are not ordinary gangsters. They are well-organized, have received good military training, have actual combat experience in the U.S.-Mexico War, and are even led by professional officers.

Professional soldiers act like bandits, and dealing with loose gold diggers like them is a dimensionality reduction attack.

Many leaders of gold mining companies and hired gunmen have also served in the military, and many of them are officers with actual combat experience. For example, Captain Weber of the Boston Company next door is an experienced officer. The five or six gunmen they hired, or in various countries,

He has served in the military or participated in actual combat as a mercenary.

But these people are scattered in different gold mining companies and organizations. They are just scattered sand on the sidelines and cannot form much combat effectiveness.

"Those daring guys, guess what they did? They actually dared to attack San Francisco! They also ransacked many shops. Even our police chief was unfortunately shot! Fortunately, no vital parts were hurt! My God!

These damn deserters should all be hanged..."

Since Liang Yao gave twenty ounces of gold to these mounted policemen running errands, these mounted policemen were also willing to reveal more details to Liang Yao. Of course, some of them were exaggerated.

"Oh my God, take me to say hi to Chief Flagg, and I will pray to God for a speedy recovery from Chief Flagg! California needs Chief Flagg and you honest police officers, and without you

, the security situation in California is unimaginable!”

Liang Yao said with a grief-stricken expression and tone, as if without Flag and these mounted policemen, the whole sky in California would collapse.

"Mr. Liang, I will take your words to Chief Flag. I believe he will be very happy to hear it."

Although Liang Yao's words were very exaggerated and disgusting, these mounted policemen were very useful.

"We are very poor and don't have anything good to give to Chief Flag to thank him for everything he has done for us in California. We can only give Chief Flag some gold to express our gratitude." Liang Yao reluctantly took it again.

Bring thirty ounces of gold and entrust these mounted policemen to deliver it to Flagg.

Flagg's injuries are not serious and will not be life-threatening. California will not replace the police chief in the short term, and there will be no disadvantages in maintaining a good relationship with Flagg.