1850 American Gold Tycoon

Vanderbilt's study was as messy as the beard on his face, but he still took out a map from an inconspicuous corner with ease.

He glanced at the messy desk, and then swept his big hand across the desk to clear away the clutter on the desk to make room for the map.

After carefully comparing Liang Yao's Pacific Railway route map with his own private map, Vanderbilt put away his private map without blinking an eye.

Compared with this carefully drawn map, the map of the western region that he purchased at a high price seemed a bit unsatisfactory.

"Whose map is this? This map is very professionally drawn, almost to military-grade specifications." Vanderbilt asked very seriously.

Drawing a map is not something that can be completed in a short time. Liang Yao was in Japan last year, so this map cannot be made by Liang Yao.

"Fremont." Liang Yao replied.

"It turns out that this guy drew the map, so this map can be said to be priceless." Vanderbilt praised it without hesitation. "The idea of ​​a Pacific Railway across the North American continent is very bold."

Fremont is recognized as an outstanding explorer. He served in the Army in his early years, and the branch of service he served was an engineer. Therefore, Fremont's cartography skills are very solid.

After the United States annexed California, some insightful people had already proposed the idea of ​​building a railway from New York to San Francisco.

To be precise, build a railroad from a city on the Atlantic coast to a city on the Pacific coast.

Only in this way can the eastern and western regions of the United States be closely connected, which will not only promote the development of the western region, but also help maintain the unity of the United States. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Of course, this bold idea is ultimately just an idea.

At that time, the entire California, or the entire West Coast region, had only a little over 10,000 non-Indian residents, many of whom were Mexicans, and even the economy was very backward.

At that time, there was only some limited agriculture and animal husbandry in the west coast area. As for industry, there were only some blacksmith shops and small handicraft workshops that could barely touch the industry.

In addition to the sparse population, backward economy, and no demand for railways, the United States' limited survey of the western region at that time was also the reason why this bold idea could only remain at the level of imagination.

Now the West Coast has undergone great changes. The number of American citizens settled there exceeds half a million, and this number is still growing at a very rapid rate.

With a population of more than 500,000, it is no longer considered a small state among the states in the United States. This population size has exceeded that of many southern states. Take Texas, which joined the big family of the United States earlier than California, as an example.

The current non-Indian settled population in Texas is only 100,000, which is less than one-fifth of California’s.

Even compared to more densely populated free states such as free states, California's population is a little below the average level.

Wherever there is a population, there is demand. The current situation in California does require the construction of a railway transportation trunk line across the North American continent.

"Only bold people dare to take on bold projects." Liang Yao said, "This line was explored by the Fremont team for two years. My idea is that with Promontory as the boundary, the California Railway The company is responsible for the construction of the western section of the line, and your railroad company and the Atlantic Railroad Company are responsible for the construction of the eastern section."

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For such a challenging project, there are only a few adventurous entrepreneurs in the entire United States.

Businessmen dare to take it.

Vanderbilt is one of them. There are not many people in the United States like him who dare to personally pilot a ship to open up a new route.

This big project is both a challenge and a temptation for people like Vanderbilt.

If this railway can be successfully built, it will not only bring him real economic benefits, but his status as a giant in the American railway industry will also be unshakable.

The Pacific Railway itself is a business card that best represents his strength.

"Did you submit this report to Mr. President when you met with him?" Vanderbilt began to think about the feasibility of this project. "There is also funding, which is also a big problem."

In addition to the construction difficulty of the project itself, the biggest difficulty is obtaining support from the federal government and raising sufficient start-up funds.

For such a huge project, not only Liang Yao couldn't come up with enough funds, but Vanderbilt couldn't come up with it either.

"Mr. President is very interested in this project. This project can directly or indirectly bring at least 200,000 to 300,000 jobs to the states along the way. But Mr. President's term is running out. If Mr. President can be re-elected, It can save us a lot of unnecessary trouble," Liang Yao said.

"As for the funding issue, we can raise funds on Wall Street just like we did when we built the Yinli Canal."

Liang Yao has also considered these two issues, but compared to the funding issue, Liang Yao is more worried about whether Fillmore can be re-elected.

The Pacific Railway project would be supported by any president with a slightly sane mind. After all, this railway can bring not only economic benefits to the federal government, but also political benefits, connecting the western region with the United States. The eastern core area is connected as a whole, making the United States a real big country spanning two oceans.

But the problem is that Pierce is a famously mentally ill president in American history.

As a president who came to power mainly relying on northern votes, Pierce was able to make a miraculous act of openly expressing sympathy and support for the slave owners in the South. This shady operation that added fuel to the fire eventually contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War in Kansas.

In August 1854, Britain and France were deeply involved in the Crimean War, and Spain was facing an economic crisis. The United States had the opportunity to take over Cuba, which it had coveted for so long. Let Cuba also be a star on the Stars and Stripes.

Pierce also said at that time that if Spain did not agree to the United States' request to buy Cuba in good faith, the United States would seize Cuba with arms.

However, in the end, it was forced to give up because it was too tired to deal with the local civil war that broke out in Kansas and had no time to consider the Cuban issue.

Pierce used the presidential veto nine times during his term to veto some legislation passed by Congress, but five of them were vetoed again by Congress, making him the first president in American history to have more veto failures than successes.

In view of Pierce's poor performance during his term as president, after his term ended, his Democratic Party was so disappointed with the president of his own party that he was directly removed from the party's candidate list for the next president. .

In comparison, Fillmore's brain is much more normal than Pierce's. Although Fillmore cannot fundamentally solve the North-South issue, he can at least make peace and delay time. He is a normal politician.

"Mr. Fillmore gave great support to the railway industry during his term of office. People in the New York railway industry also hope that Mr. Fillmore can be re-elected. The New York Railway Industry Association will do its best to run for office as much as possible. Props to Mr. Fillmore.”

Although Vanderbilt has a straightforward personality, he is also a smart man, and he understands that Liang Yao hopes that he can use his influence in New York to support Fillmore's re-election.