1850 American Gold Tycoon

May 1857.

After going north, the word "going east" appears more and more frequently in newspapers across California, and is expected to become California's hot word of the year.

"Extra number! Extra number!

Great news! Great news!

The federal government appointed Mr. Stanford as the Governor of the Utah Territory. Mr. Liang Shaoyu served as Mr. Stanford's assistant and chairman of the Utah Territory Immigration Committee, responsible for supervising Utah Territory immigration matters!

"

"Extra number! Extra number!

From now on, all train tickets to Utah Territory are on sale at San Francisco, Sacramento, and Los Angeles train stations at a 40% discount!

"

"Extra number! Extra number!

From now on, the Americas Bank and the Boston Bank will provide three-year interest-free loans to new and old immigrants going to Utah to colonize. Old immigrants can enjoy higher loan amounts if they can provide asset mortgages!

"

"Extra number! Extra number!

Members of the Brigham Mormon cult in Utah attacked immigrants on the West Coast for no reason. Colonel Krueger has arrested 28 cult members involved. The number of dead and injured is unknown.

Once again, I would like to remind all fellow immigrants that Brigham is a demonic den, so be careful when immigrating here!

"

"Extra number! Extra number!

Mr. Stanford selected 36 elite judges from across California to form the Utah Special Trial Court!

"

News that was good for immigrants to the Utah Territory spread like wings to the streets of every town.

People can't help but think of the brave immigrants who responded to the call of the state government and went north to develop Oregon and Liangzhou.

These people have now become prominent figures such as mayors and councilors.

Whenever I think about this, Californians who failed to respond to the government's call to go north due to various reasons can't help but beat their chests and sigh.

I wonder if they had gone to Oregon or Liangzhou, would the trajectory of their lives have changed?

In California today, it is not difficult to find a job with a monthly salary of about US$20 and make a living.

But if you want to continue to climb up and become a higher-level person, it will be difficult.

California has long since passed the rough days when gold was everywhere and everyone had the opportunity to make a fortune.

The Utah Territory is now in its own reckless era.

Although Utah is in chaos, wasn't California seven or eight years ago in chaos?

This was the thought of many old settlers determined to make their way to Utah Territory.

Unlike the new immigrants, some old immigrants from some backgrounds are no longer satisfied with their current mediocre life, and can see the end of their lives at a glance.

They decided to mortgage their property and go to Utah to make a living.

————————

Stanford, who received the federal appointment as governor of the Utah Territory, took his team to Utah in a hurry by train.

The composition of the team he led was very complex, including 36 elites from the California judiciary, members of the Loyalty Society, his privately trained thugs, and two pairs of shackles put on him by Liang Yao.

As the train entered Utah, what Stanford could see was a vast expanse of land that seemed to stretch to the end of the world. The sky is like a pure blue dome with few clouds.

The smell of drought is coming, and this place seems to be unable to tolerate even a drop of water. The natural wonders composed of vast arid deserts and majestic mountains were the impression left on Stanford when he first entered the Utah Territory.

Not far from the railway, you can often see grave bags of different sizes. Some grave bags still contain paper money and sacrifices. It seems that someone has paid homage not long ago.

In order to build this railway, 685 brave and hard-working railway workers were buried here, including 6 valuable railway engineers.

Of course, the actual death toll is far higher than that, and these are just the registered deaths.

In the middle of the project, the Umbrella Company transported tens of thousands of slave workers from Southeast Asia. In the end, only about 4,000 slave workers were able to return to Borneo by ship.

The matter was a tacit secret among California's top brass.

When the train leaves the mountains, there is a plain in front of it, and there is a bit of life on the plain. Lonely dwarf trees, grass taller than a person, and rocks stacked like sculptures have become the symbols of this area. Occasionally, a breeze passes by, and the only sound it brings is the vibration of the wind blowing through the gravel, like the whisper of the Creator.

In this desolate place, life has a tenacious viability. Elk danced their hooves gracefully on the hillside, their fur blending almost imperceptibly into the dry grassland. In the distance, a herd of wild horses galloped past, sending up a burst of flying smoke.

Stanford felt like a free and happy wild horse galloping in this vast world.

"Mr. Liang, Mr. Pan, are you interested in hunting together?"

Wild horses, elk, mountain lions (cougars), and wolves galloping in the wilderness, as well as eagles, vultures and other birds soaring in the sky aroused Stanford's desire to hunt.

Stanford closed the Book of Mormon in his hand. Over the past week, he had read the book over and over several times, and he already knew the contents of the book.

"Hunting?" Pan Baolin felt confused. What kind of hunting was on the train?

Without waiting for Liang Shaoyu to respond, Stanford suddenly raised the volcanic stone lever rifle and skillfully pulled the trigger at the living creature outside the window.

Stanford's shooting skills were very good. On a high-speed train, he was able to hit the heart and lungs of an elk with two bullets in a row. The elk was dragged bloody and collapsed before taking a few steps.

"Sir, you are simply killing, not hunting."

Pan Baolin, who was just starting out, couldn't stand Stanford's behavior of killing for fun. There was a reason why Stanford was not popular among the top leaders in California, Pan Baolin thought to herself.

"Hey, you lucky silly boy."

Stanford was very jealous of Pan Baolin. He was appreciated by Liang Yao at a young age and started his political career as an assistant to the territorial governor.

"Now we are only killing animals on the train, but when we get to Salt Lake City, we are going to kill people."

Pan Baolin was speechless for a moment and could not refute.

"Mr. Speaker, I must have sent you to me to train you." With that, Stanford put the gun into Pan Baolin's hand.

"Today I will teach you the first lesson, cruelty."

"I don't"

Pan Baolin refused, and now all the images in his mind were of the bloody elk, and he couldn't do it.

"If you don't shoot me, I will push you off the train." Stanford grabbed Pan Baolin's neck.

Liang Shaoyu on the side was drinking tea calmly.

After working as a housekeeper in Tingtao Garden for so many years, he knew exactly what kind of people Stanford was like.

Although this person is very annoying, he is still very measured in his actions.

"Should we shoot?"

Stanford pushed Pan Baolin's head out of the car window.

"No!" Pan Baolin was still stubborn.

"Should we shoot?"

This time, Stanford pushed Pan Baolin's lower body out of the car window.

"Let me go!"

Pan Baolin shouted.

"Hold on! Will you shoot now?"

Stanford smiled mischievously.

"I'll shoot your mother!"

Pan Baolin was heartbroken, put the muzzle of the gun against Stanford's head, closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.

But there was no gunshot, only a crisp metal collision sound that reached Pan Baolin's ears.

Stanford let go of his hand, and Pan Baolin's mind went blank. She felt weak all over. He gasped and collapsed on the ground.

"This is ridiculous." Stanford took the volcanic stone repeating rifle back from Pan Baolin's hand and threw it to the bodyguard aside.

"Stanford, enough is enough." Liang Shaoyu calmly walked over and pulled Pan Baolin up, teaching her a lesson.

"You don't even dare to fire your gun. It's such an embarrassment to your grandfather! In a place like Utah Territory, those legal provisions you learned in school are useless paper."

When he arrived in Salt Lake City, Stanford wanted to pay a visit to Brigham Young. Unexpectedly, since Kruger led the Arizona Infantry Regiment to the Utah Territory, Brigham Young was like a cat seeing a mouse. He directly left the Salt Lake City headquarters and hunkered down in Brig. Mu never leaves home.

The first thing Stanford did was to publicize that he was a loyal believer in Mormonism and go to a Mormon church to pray devoutly.

At first, the Mormons in Salt Lake City looked down upon Stanford, who claimed to be a Mormon.

Who is a Mormon if he has not been baptized by a bishop?

But soon, the Mormons who had come into contact with Stanford discovered that Mr. Stanford was even more familiar with the teachings of Mormonism than they, the old believers.

Gradually, more and more Salt Lake City Mormons came to believe that Mr. Stanford was a faithful Mormon.

Stanford went to church to pray every day and never missed it. It seemed that prayer was more important than his job.

What Stanford did made the Mormons who were initially hostile and wary of Stanford feel ashamed.

Mr. Stanford does not smoke, do not drink, and does not have relationships with women. It seems that Mr. Stanford is indeed a loyal believer who abides by religious rules.

“Since you endure all things in humility and obedience, trusting in God, I say to you, after we have gone through our counsel to God, everything will work out for your good.

And you have seen with your own eyes that the words of Aaron are true. I have seen all your sins, and let me lead you back to the fountain until your sins can be cleansed.

Behold, all are lost in my sight, as your heavenly Father testifies, therefore I am always exhorting you to return to him.

Behold, My Son, I tell you, humans are frail and sometimes make mistakes, but I will forgive them in My Mercy, if they sincerely repent. "

In the Mormon Cathedral in Salt Lake City, Stanford recited the Book of Mormon selflessly and devoutly.

For half a month, Stanford showed up at the church every day, rain or shine, as if this was the only place where his soul could rest.

"Sir Stanford, I knew you were here!"

Pan Baolin rushed into the church angrily and accused unceremoniously.

"You are the Governor of Utah Territory! I hope you don't forget your identity!"

They have been in Salt Lake City for half a month. In the past half month, all the trivial matters of the territorial governor have been handled by Pan Baolin. In addition to eating and sleeping every day, Stanford stayed at the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City with a group of Mormons every day. The believers sit and talk.

This made Pan Baolin very angry. Pan Baolin reminded Stanford not to forget his identity and the purpose of coming to Utah Territory.

"First of all, I am a believer in God, and secondly, I am a believer in God." Stanford looked extremely pious.

"Let me, a common man like you, handle the worldly affairs on my behalf."

After saying that, Stanford kicked Pan Baolin out of the church without any explanation.

"Mr. Stanford, thank you for your recent support of our church." Bishop Bolton Beth of Salt Lake City said to Stanford very politely.

These days, Stanford is either donating money to the church or distributing expensive and scarce living supplies to believers, which makes Beth very confused.

Beth didn't know the value of the daily necessities distributed by Stanford to the believers, but he knew that Stanford had donated as much as US$32,000 to the church in the past half month.

The money was not a blank check, it was all gold coins minted by the California Mint.

The gold coins and U.S. dollars minted in California are real hard currency, and cannot be compared with the inferior coins of other states.

The wealth donated to the church by one person in Stanford has exceeded the assets donated to the church by other believers in Salt Lake City this year.

Most Mormons in Utah are poor immigrants with little assets. Stanford is the richest person Beth has ever seen.

Such high-quality believers must be on their side. Beth thought.

"Bishop, it seems that I have sinned so much that you are still unwilling to accept me as a believer." Stanford said sadly and with great loss.

"Your Excellency Stanford's piety is obvious to all the believers in Salt Lake City, but" Beth hesitated.

"Just what? I hope the bishop can give me some advice." Stanford asked.

"It's just that you haven't been baptized by this religion and officially joined the religion." Beth said.

"Please, Your Excellency, please baptize me! Only by converting to Mormonism can I find peace of mind." Stanford's eyes lit up, and he begged in a humble and pious tone.

"I, I can't baptize you." Beth shook her head and refused to baptize Stanford.

"Why?" Stanford said excitedly.

"Is it because I am not pious enough? I am willing to donate all my property to express my piety to the church!"

All property

Beth was shocked. Stanford was a wealthy man in California.

Beth had also heard about the businesses that Stanford ran, although many of the businesses that Stanford ran were shady businesses. But these businesses are real huge profit businesses.

Stanford's entire property is worth millions of dollars at least.

How many new churches can be built with millions of dollars, how many believers can be developed, and how many beautiful female believers can be raised.

Thinking of this, Beth's heart almost jumped out of her chest with excitement.

"No, it is precisely because you are too pious and your status is so noble that I am not qualified to baptize you. Only the prophet is qualified to baptize you." Beth said solemnly.

If an ordinary person wants to become a Christian, Beth can baptize him now.

For someone as important as Stanford to become a Christian, it was beyond the authority of the Bishop of Salt Lake City. Only the prophet, the Mormon Archbishop Brigham Young, was qualified to baptize Stanford.

The Mormon Church is highly hierarchical. Brigham Young treated believers harshly and harshly. Beth did not dare to baptize Stanford without permission.