Wild North America 1846

Chapter 378 The sale of Texas

Although the United States of America is burdened with a huge debt of 1.875 billion yuan, it is sitting on the endless high-quality resources of North America, and its debt repayment ability is much stronger than that of the Manchu Qing Dynasty at the same time.

International loan sharks are taking advantage of the situation and trying to seize the Appalachian coalfields. They are just trying to get their hands on it, and their chances of success are close to zero.

The Tang Empire did not fight the North American War for them, so being able to pay off this huge war debt was already a great honor.

Why not take action now?

This thing is not something that will be useful immediately. In the final analysis, it depends on the strength. Without strength, all ideas are in vain.

Don't worry, wait until President Nick Jones-Marmont is overwhelmed and at a loss under the pressure of international loan sharks, and it will be more appropriate for the Tang Empire to propose generous terms, which will be a timely help.

For example, the Tang Empire does not seek to fully control the Appalachian Coalfields. 30%, 40% or more will be fine. Of course, there are two prices for controlling and not controlling, and the former one is much more generous.

In terms of valuation, there is no need to insist on a value of 300 million yuan, that is too dark.

For example, the valuation is 420 million Tang Yuan or a little more, which can be flexibly adjusted according to the number of shares acquired.

Moreover, it also provided a huge consumer market like the Tang Empire, which was conducive to a substantial increase in production in the Appalachian coal fields, from 40 million tons per year to 60 million, 70 million or more. Of course, the money earned was also

Just more.

For another example, the Datang Empire promised that once the two parties reach a shareholding agreement, they will put pressure on the international banking syndicate on their behalf. You must know that every half-point reduction in the interest level means a staggering reduction in the amount of debt repayment. Is this tempting?

?

For another example, the Tang Empire promised not to use all of the funds to offset war debts, but to use part of the cash or materials to restore the economy of the United States of America (the North) and support its reconstruction. Is this tempting?

Richard held many king bombs in his hands and was in control of the current situation in the United States of America (North), so after listening to the report for a while, he waved Director Zheng Yuan to retreat.

Just keep paying attention to this matter, don't take it too seriously, it will definitely take a long time.

The Appalachian coal fields are different from Manhattan, New York. They are the lifeblood of the United States of America (North) and cannot be let go easily no matter what. Even if they take shares, they are very vigilant.

If not for the huge pile of bad debts left after the defeat, the Tang Empire and international loan sharks would never have had the chance to get their hands on such a high-quality asset. This is the world's largest high-quality coal mine that can be mined for hundreds of years!

The President of the United States, Nick Jones-Marmont, is also a ruthless person. After the former president signed a deal to sell Manhattan and New York Harbor with the Tang Empire, he immediately sent people to New York to strictly control the distribution of food in Manhattan.

Personnel exchanges, on the one hand, use food to lure real estate owners to sell at low prices.

In just over a month

Strict traffic blockades caused an extreme shortage of food in Manhattan. Many people starved to death in their apartments, leaving a large number of property owners to escape from this hunger hell. More than 90% of the properties were acquired by the government through various means, which greatly reduced costs.

All that is used is hundreds of tons of high-quality flour and dozens of tons of beef.

The government used the help of Irish gangs to harm the property owners. On the one hand, they used food and money to lure them, and on the other hand, they used both soft and hard tactics. It is said that even the police and agents were used. This is really evil-hearted!

As for the New York Harbor, it's much better. It was originally government property and owned by the New York Port Authority under City Hall. It was also the primary port where millions of white European immigrants landed in North America every year, and it was the most lively and prosperous area.

The Tang Empire directly dispatched local troops to garrison, and New York Harbor was immediately cleared, and local security improved greatly.

The numerous Irish, Italian and Spanish gangs have all retreated. Thieves, vagrants and vicious thugs are no longer seen on the pier. They are all much more disciplined.

It's not okay to be unruly, because the army of the Tang Empire doesn't care if you are stealing or deliberately causing trouble. They will surround you with a rifle butt and smash it down, and then drag the person to death and throw him into the hard labor camp like a dog, and participate in the sunless labor camp.

Working hard all day long.

For example, building military camps, plowing fields for military commanders, building houses for military bases, or leaving it to the US government to participate in post-war reconstruction. The workload is overwhelming, and you don’t know when it will end?

The most valuable thing about New York Harbor is not the port, but the fact that it controls a large amount of high-quality land adjacent to the river. It can be said that it is the largest landowner sitting on a gold mine. If you pluck a hair from its legs, it will be much thicker than the waist of New York's largest real estate developer.

After obtaining the corresponding property rights in Manhattan, the Royal Household Office quickly announced that a large ship of grain would arrive in New York through the Toronto Canal, totaling more than 6,800 tons, which would greatly alleviate the severe famine in New York.

Then ship after ship of food will arrive in New York, helping the city to restore normal social order and ignite people's hope.

The soldiers of the Tang Empire established a stable area in Manhattan and drove away the homeless and unstable elements. Only wealthy families could find a comfortable apartment here and enjoy an ample supply of meat, eggs, milk, and vegetables.

Soldiers and police frequently patrol the streets to nip any petty theft and robbery in the bud.

All of a sudden

There are two completely different worlds inside and outside Manhattan, one rich and one poor and chaotic. The huge gap is visible to the naked eye.

Banks, merchants, trading companies and various Chinese businessmen from the Tang Empire swarmed in, and their first choice was to settle in Manhattan, which was safe and well-supplied, because they all had a large amount of Tang Yuan hard currency in their pockets.

In New York, the largest city in North America, business opportunities are everywhere.

The Chinese businessmen who have been gearing up for a long time will never miss the best opportunity to enter the New York metropolis. Following the occupying forces into Manhattan, New York, like now, will naturally be of great benefit to running business.

More than half a month passed quickly

Emperor Richard has concluded his visit to the United States of America and arrived in Richmond by train for an official goodwill visit to the Confederate States of America. A few days later, he took a royal train and arrived in New Orleans along the Southern Railway, where he stopped by at the next stop.

Houston, and finally all the way west to Mexico City.

After a two-and-a-half-month visit schedule, Shengjia returned to Chang'an City, the imperial capital, in late June, almost circling the North American continent from north to south.

In general

Richard was deeply impressed by the relatively developed eastern coastal cities of New York, Philadelphia and Boston. These cities aimed at the world's advanced level of development, with high starting points, good planning, and remarkable urban layout and architecture.

Compared with the south, it is more than one level higher.

As for the important cities in the south such as Richmond, New Orleans and Houston, they are not developed at all now. They are just cities with a population of more than 100,000. The largest city is Richmond with a population of 2.78 million, and all facilities are backward.

, cow dung and horse urine are everywhere on the streets, it feels like a big rural area.

After looking around on the spot, Richard felt that the development potential of the north was great, and the corresponding threats were also greater. He needed to spend more time penetrating and controlling the economic lifeline of the north.

For example, it is very necessary to cross-hold infrastructure such as ports and railways through various methods, such as acquiring banks and insurance companies in the financial industry, and investing in steel plants and coal mines to extend control to every industry.

Although the northern territory has been reduced to less than 600,000 square kilometers, they are all relatively developed areas along the East China Sea coast of North America. They have a good urban agglomeration foundation and a solid foundation. Once the economy is on the right track, it will soon be able to regain its vitality.

Comparison

Although the Confederate States of America (South) took advantage of the victory in the war to bring back a lot of people from the north, the total population returned to more than 6.4 million, including more than 2.9 million black slaves and more than 730,000 Chinese immigrants.

, the number of white people is 2.81 million, still significantly reduced compared to before the war.

Among them, the number of black slaves decreased by more than 1.1 million. The white soldiers of the Southern Army suffered more than 1.3 million casualties during the war. Almost two entire generations of young men and middle-aged men were killed. The losses were extremely heavy.

As an economy dominated by agriculture, the southern United States has far less debt repayment capabilities than the north. It is now helpless to face the huge war debt of the Tang Kingdom of 580 million Tang Yuan.

This is after excluding the 350 million Tang Yuan war compensation, and some debts with lower interest rates are retained. The interest rates are generally between 8.5% and 12%, which is an unbearable burden for the Confederate States of America.

Therefore, related debt arrangements, President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy, Secretary of State Henry Daniel, Secretary of the Treasury Robert Jr. and other high-level officials are negotiating with a consortium headed by the eight major banks of the Datang Empire to find a debt repayment plan acceptable to both parties.

.

This also includes the plan to sell Texas, but the asking price of the Confederate States of America is very high, with an asking price of 280 million Tang Yuan, which is almost 50 times the price of purchasing Alaska.

Texas today is just a wild land, with more than 100 small towns with low development levels. There are only four or five cities with a population of more than 50,000, and most of the others are small towns or villages with a few hundred to a few thousand people.

But don’t forget that Texas is a very large area, and it is not a wild land like Alaska that is covered in ice and snow and is not suitable for human survival. The price of land between the two cannot be compared.

The U.S.-Mexico War was launched for expansion, but it cost more than 200 million U.S. dollars in real money and military expenditures, and more than 17,000 officers and soldiers were killed or injured. The price paid was not small.

It's not that the Confederate States of America were willing to voluntarily give up Texas, but that they were really overwhelmed by the huge debt and had no choice but to reluctantly give up Texas.

Just do the math and you'll know.

If the principal and interest of the huge debt of 580 million Tang Yuan are repaid over a period of 30 years, and calculated at an ideal annual interest rate of 5.5% to 5.8%, the total principal and interest of 1.3 billion Tang Yuan in 30 years will be unsustainable, and the principal and interest will be repaid every year in excess of 43 million Yuan.

Tang Yuan.

The Confederate States of America (South) has an agricultural economic structure, and the profits from its agricultural products are relatively limited, and there is no cornucopia like the Appalachian coal mines. If the government tax revenue is exhausted every year, it can only repay a few million or tens of millions.

, no matter how much I pay, I can’t pay it back.

If half of the debt is removed, for example, the sale of Texas for NT$280 million, then there is still a debt of NT$300 million, which will be much easier to repay.

Calculated based on 20 years of repayment and a basic interest rate of 5.8, the total principal and interest is approximately 500 million yuan, and the annual repayment is more than 24 million yuan.

For the part where the government's tax revenue is insufficient, there will always be a way to pay for it by demolishing the east wall to pay for the west wall, or by issuing domestic bonds or borrowing new ones to pay off the old ones. If that doesn't work, selling some assets or something, there will always be a way to deal with this huge debt.

After Treasury Secretary Robert Jr. settled the account, the Confederate States of America began to change their attitude and did not shy away from discussing the sale of Texas.

Otherwise, it will drag everyone down, and no one will be able to get better.

As for defaulting on debts, no one in the Confederate States of America (Southern) has ever thought of such a thing. The Tang Empire was originally a man-eating tiger, who could dare to provoke it if it could be coaxed?

Wouldn’t that mean a great death?

Relevant matters were being closely negotiated, and since they involved major interests, they could not be decided for a while. Therefore, in the second quarter of 1862, the entire North America spent peacefully in the process of recovery and reconstruction of social foundation.

After the rich grain, oil and milk products from the Tang Empire continued to arrive in the north and south of the United States, the great famine that had been rampant for a while was suppressed. After years of war, people's minds calmed down, and there was a rush to rebuild their homes everywhere.

Emperor Richard returned to the imperial capital Chang'an at this time because the National Day was coming soon.

At that time, Chang'an will hold a grand triumphal parade ceremony for the expeditionary army. The officers and soldiers of the expeditionary army will enter from the tall and majestic Arc de Triomphe that is being built on Danfenghuang Street, and will be inspected by the emperor amidst the cheers of thousands of people.

Later, Richard will personally go to the Martyrs' Shrine to offer sacrifices to the heroes, comfort the souls of the imperial army who opened up new territories, and hold the July 7th 49th Land and Water Ceremony.

At the same time, a large court meeting will be held. After offering sacrifices to heaven, earth and ancestors, the generals of the conquering army will be granted titles and fiefs. They will be generously rewarded and all prisoners will be pardoned, and the whole country will celebrate together.

By holding this series of grand activities, we further united people's hearts and strengthened the people's sense of belonging and honor to the Tang Empire. We used newspapers and public opinion to praise His Majesty the Emperor's great achievements over and over again, and to praise the invincibility and invincibility of the Imperial Army.

It will surely win widespread praise and respect from the people.

In addition to the victory parade, parades and various celebrations in Chang'an, the imperial capital, various localities also hold celebrations according to local conditions. Where there are lakes and rivers, you can row dragon boats and rowing boats. In inland areas, you can race horses, dance dragons and lions, and walk on stilts.

, or hold poetry competitions, or hold lantern riddles, fireworks shows and other celebrations to jointly celebrate the glorious victory won by the Tang Empire in the North American War.

According to Richard’s idea;

The victory commemoration event must be grand and grand, and it does not necessarily cost much money, but it must mobilize as many people as possible to participate, so that everyone can feel the power and pride of the empire.

(End of chapter)