1850 American Gold Tycoon

"You two disgusting creatures should be hanged on the gallows. Google search to read"

Nathan only felt that this scene was a little dirty for his eyes. The West of this era was far less tolerant of homosexuality than later generations.

"It's quite lively."

Harvey noticed movement in the grass behind the two black slaves, pointed his rifle at the grass, and shouted.

"Stop hiding. I know there are still people in the grass. If they don't come out, I will shoot!"

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

Another black shadow emerged from the grass and shouted loudly.

"I am a servant of the Firestone family."

Harvey put away his gun and frowned at the disheveled female slave: "It is your indiscreet behavior that makes many newly born black slaves not know who their father is."

"move."

Zoe's little face turned red and she urged Harvey and Nathan.

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The fleet of Liang Yao and Vanderbilt successfully arrived at the Port of LaPorte, Texas, under the escort of the American Navy.

Port LaPorte is the closest port to Houston, located twenty miles southeast of Houston.

Governor Bell of Texas warmly welcomed Liang Yao in Port La Porte and took Liang Yao to Houston, 20 miles away.

For a slave state to welcome a representative of a free state with such grand ceremony was unimaginable in the context of the incompatibility between the North and the South.

The road to Houston is lined with endless cotton fields, interspersed with tobacco plantations and sugar cane plantations.

Cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane are the economic pillars of Texas and the entire South of the United States.

Especially cotton. It is no exaggeration to say that cotton is the lifeblood of the economy of the southern states of the United States.

Black slaves were working bent over in these plantations under the scorching sun. Liang Yao noticed that some black slaves had shackles on their feet. This was put on them by the plantation owners to prevent their private property from escaping.

Although the Compromise of 1850 had been enacted for a year, this compromise recognized the legality of slavery in the South to a certain extent.

However, the restless factory owners and freedom fighters in the north still did not give up on "rescuing" the black slaves in dire straits in the south from the hands of the southern plantation owners. The problem of escaped slaves not only did not alleviate, but became more and more serious. It's serious.

Several Texas Rangers came from the north and passed by Liang Yao. They were holding ropes tightly in their hands, but the ropes in their hands were not the reins of their mounts, but the linen ropes used to bind escaped slaves. .

"Almost every day, restless black slaves try to escape to the north."

Bell glanced at the dejected runaway slaves with drooped heads, and said with a frown.

“There were also a few black slaves on my plantation who tried to escape, but they were all caught and severely punished by me.

Those Yankees who keep their word are the most insidious and cunning, showing one thing on the surface but another behind the scenes.

On the surface, they recognize that black slaves are our legal property, but secretly they still send people to the south to encourage black slaves in the south to flee to the north. This is not only the case in Texas, but also in states such as Georgia and South Carolina. There are always Restless Northerners were active in these states. "

Although Bell is the governor of Texas, in terms of appearance, Bell is not an easy person to talk to. He has a rather fierce appearance and does not look like a good person.

Bell suddenly remembered that Vanderbilt beside him was also a northerner, so he said in an apologetic tone: "Mr. Vanderbilt, no offense, although you are also a northerner, you are a very peaceful northerner, from Texas. The door is always open for you.”

"Mr. Bell, I'm afraid you want to open the door to investment in Texas for me, and I have to think carefully about it." Vanderbilt complained to Bell.

"The cotton market is getting more and more sluggish. The two cotton gin factories I opened in Texas last year are still not profitable. The price of workers in Texas is more expensive than workers in New York."

Vanderbilt's investment in Texas last year was a failure. His investment in Texas was not so much an investment as an attempt to maintain friendships with Texas dignitaries.

Because his shipping empire needed a long-term and reliable port in Texas.

"Cotton is white gold."

Liang Yao looked at the endless cotton fields. In addition to black slaves working in the cotton fields, there were also many white people working in the cotton fields, which showed the shortage of labor in Texas.

Black slaves were very expensive. This was not because Liang Yao had specifically inquired about it, but at the slave market in La Porte, Wu Yuanhua and others wanted to buy some black slaves to take care of their homes and homes, so they asked the slave traders about the price of black slaves.

The price of an adult male black slave of US$1,800 made these wealthy businessmen prohibitive.

This is only the price of ordinary adult male black slaves. As for those strong, year-round male black slaves, the price will only be more expensive.

Fortunately, Wu Yuanhua and others did not buy black slaves, they just asked. If they bought black slaves and brought them back to California, they would probably face jail time.

California is a free state, and California law has banned the private ownership of black slaves, and private slaves will face imprisonment.

In the mid-19th century, the monthly salary of an average worker in the North of the United States was about US$6 to US$9. The price of an adult male black slave at US$1,800 was indeed astronomical.

Only large plantation owners could afford black slaves. As for small plantation owners, it would be good if they had one or two black slaves. They still had to do many of the tasks on the plantation.

The industry in Texas is indeed very backward. Apart from some sporadic cotton gins, cane sugar manufacturing plants, and cigarette factories, there are no other factories. Many industrial products in Texas need to be imported from outside.

Texas' industrial products mainly come from Britain and France, followed by industrial products from the United States.

Native American industrial products are not popular in Texas.

In addition to the fact that Texans have brought their hatred of Yankees to their products, the industrial products of the North are indeed industrial waste compared with the industrial products of Britain and France, and have nothing compared with the high-quality and cheap industrial products of Britain and France. attraction.

Although Congress and the federal government have increased tariffs and the prices of industrial products imported from Europe have risen, the prices of American industrial products have not been much lower. But compared with the industrial products of Britain and France, the quality is not even the slightest bit worse.

Therefore, Texans are still willing to pay a little more to buy imported industrial products from Britain and France.

This is true not only in Texas and the southern states, but also in the North. The Yankees do not like the industrial products they produce.

"Perhaps it was white gold in the past, but it is no longer the case. Although cotton from Texas, and even the entire United States, is of good quality, it is not competitive at all compared with cotton from India."

When it comes to cotton, Bell looks sad.

"India has endless cheap labor, while Texas only has expensive black slaves, and these black slaves are becoming more and more restless. There are also tariff issues. In the face of high tariffs, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Texas cotton to be exported."

Growing cotton requires a lot of labor, and the population of the United States is mainly concentrated in the north, to be more precise, the free states in the northeast.

Although the population density of the southern slave states was higher than that of the western wilderness, as far as the entire South was concerned, the population and labor force of the southern slave states could not be said to be abundant even if black slaves were included.

When the Civil War broke out, the South's population accounted for only 39% of the United States' population, with only 9 million people. However, the South used its population base of 9 million to squeeze out 1.1 million troops.

This will still be the population of the South ten years from now. The population of the South will only be smaller at this time.

As for the tariff issue, it has been the focus of conflict between the North and the South since the founding of the United States.

The domestic industrial capacity and market in the United States cannot digest the huge amount of cotton in the South. In fact, the cotton in the South is not grown for the United States.

Cotton in the South of the United States is mainly exported as raw materials to continental European countries, mainly the United Kingdom. The lower the tariff, the more beneficial it is to the South.

It is Congress that formulates U.S. tariffs. In recent years, the South's influence in Congress has become smaller and smaller. On the important issue of formulating tariffs, the South has far less say than the North.

In addition, in the mid-19th century, Britain's rule over the British Indian colonies was quite stable and it was able to obtain a large amount of cheap raw materials from India, including cotton.

Cotton from the American South was no longer as attractive to Britain as it had been before.

"Of course there is no profit in simply exporting cotton as a raw material. If Texas cotton is spun into cloth or even made into clothes, I think the profit will be very high," Liang Yao said.

As soon as Liang Yao said this, Bell couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in Liang Yao.

In his impression, the California state speaker was not an ordinary person. How could he say such unrealistic words?

Texas doesn't even have enough manpower to grow cotton. Where is there enough labor force to spin cotton into cotton spindles and cotton cloth? As for making ready-made clothes, it is a joke. Everyone's body shape is different, and it is difficult to sell ready-made clothes in advance. Who wants to pay for clothes that don’t fit?

Making clothes not only requires a large number of skilled tailors, but also takes time and effort to sew clothes. A skilled tailor can only make a few sets of clothes per month.

After all, Bell is still a big plantation owner, and his vision and vision are ultimately limited.

It can also be said that Liang Yao's ideas were too advanced. Before the emergence of mature and efficient sewing machines, whether in the East or the West, sewing clothes relied on inefficient manual work, and tailors were also craftsmen.

"Your idea is bold but impractical."

Bell shook his head in disappointment.

"California will purchase cotton, cane sugar, and tobacco from Texas in the next five years. Is this idea realistic enough?" Liang Yao said slowly.

Before setting off, he had already discussed the matter of importing cotton, sugar, and tobacco from Texas in the state assembly.

California's farmland will be given priority to growing food crops such as rice and wheat.

California's population is growing very fast, and more and more immigrants are flocking to California. Food problems will plague California for a long time.

However, California's demand for cash crops is also increasing. Textile factories need cotton, people need sugar to prepare food, and tobacco is a necessity for miners.

In order to solve this problem, importing cash crops from Texas is undoubtedly a good choice.

California and Texas can not only get what they need, but also deepen the ties and friendship between the two states.

The more frequent trade between the two states, the more support the proposal to build a railroad between California and Texas will receive, at least in Texas, where there will be little opposition.

“California wants to buy cotton, sugar and tobacco from Texas?”

Bell's eyes lit up and he rubbed his hands excitedly and said.

"California doesn't have to pay tariffs when buying goods from Texas. As long as you can provide high-quality and low-priced goods, why not?" Liang Yao said.

"Thank you so much. You are really the savior of Texas." Bell said gratefully. "I wonder how much cotton California imports from Texas every year?"

"Let's talk about it after we get to Houston." Liang Yao said calmly, "I prefer to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Texas on horseback instead of talking about these trivial matters."

"That's natural. You have traveled all the way to Texas. I think you must be exhausted. Please come to my manor to have a good rest tonight. I will entertain you well.

Tomorrow I will take you to my plantation to see my cotton, those beautiful white and big cottons! My cotton growing skills are the best in Texas. "

Bell said enthusiastically.

The 20-mile road is neither long nor short. It was already evening when Liang Yao arrived at the largest city in Texas.

Although Houston is the largest city in Texas, in the eyes of Liang Yao and others, this largest city in Texas is not very prosperous.

Houston's population is about the same as San Francisco's, and that's if black people are counted as people. If black people were not included, Houston's population would probably not be as large as San Francisco's.

The streets were as bumpy as the surface of the moon that had been devastated by meteorites.

The construction of the urban area is also chaotic, allowing all kinds of buildings to grow wildly on the land of the city, without any order at all.

The most unbearable thing is a wastewater collection pond not far from Houston City Hall, which is a pond that exudes a foul smell.

The wastewater collection pond is surrounded by slaughterhouses and tanneries in Houston. Wastewater from slaughterhouses and tanneries without any treatment is mixed with animal blood and discarded animal offal and is discharged directly into the pond.

What's even worse is that it's summer now, and this pond doesn't communicate with the outside water system, which means it's a stagnant pond.

"The Texas State Legislature is discussing filling in this pond, but the slaughterhouses and tanneries next to the pond are opposed to filling it in. This involves their livelihood issues. Generally speaking, it is a headache."

When passing by this smelly pond full of maggots and flying mosquitoes and flies, Bell speeded up and said to Liang Yao.

A few steps away from the smelly pool is Houston's City Hall.

From the front, Houston's City Hall is quite impressive. The front of the municipal building is decorated with marble like those in big cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston.

But it is limited to the front. There is no decoration on the back of the municipal building. It is bare and looks a bit ugly.

This may be due to the financial constraints of the Houston city government.