1850 American Gold Tycoon

“The land along the Sacramento River is fertile, with abundant water resources, and the land along it is very suitable for agriculture.

However, due to gold mining activities in the area near the Sacramento River, the land and water have been polluted to varying degrees. In order to find the gold under the river bed, the gold miners ignored the objections of farmers like us and blatantly built dikes to divert the American River, causing the Farmland does not receive adequate irrigation water.”

Chen Baoliang first elaborated on the advantages and current situation of the agricultural areas on both sides of the Sacramento River.

He originally wanted to mention the pollution problem of gold mining by mercury gold mining, but before the idea came to his lips, he swallowed it back and turned to talk about the Central Valley, which is his proposal today: "Central Valley Development Proposal" .

“The Central Valley is fertile and flat, but except for the southern section where the San Joaquin River flows, everywhere else is short of water.

The Agricultural Association has conducted field research and found that California’s winters are short and wet. Wheat can germinate and stub during the short winter, and can grow and mature in the hot and dry summer. This crop is very suitable for planting in the Central Valley.

As long as the Central Valley is properly developed, California will be able to achieve food self-sufficiency, and it will have no problem feeding millions of people, not to mention 100,000 people. "

The terrain of California is mainly low in the middle and high on both sides.

To the west are the Coast Mountains bordering the Pacific Ocean, to the east are the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and sandwiched in between is an extremely flat valley.

Because this vast valley floor is located in the center of California, it is named the Central Valley. It is actually an alluvial plain in central California.

The Central Valley covers an area of ​​80,000 square kilometers. It is not an exaggeration to describe this valley as fertile and wild.

Chen Baoliang is from Fujian. Fujian is a land with eight mountains, one water and one farm. The plain area is very small. The largest plain in the territory, the Zhangzhou Plain, covers an area of ​​566 square kilometers.

When Liang Yao organized Chinese immigrants to inspect the Central Valley, Chen Baoliang was among them. When he saw this plain for the first time, Chen Baoliang was immediately shocked. He had never seen such a large and flat land in his life.

With such a large piece of land, it would be a waste of money not to turn it into farmland. This was Chen Baoliang's idea.

The reason why he and his tribe left their hometown was because there was too little cultivated land in their hometown to support so many people, not to mention the fact that they had to face mergers by local wealthy gentry and exorbitant taxes imposed by the court.

Because he has not had enough to eat all year round, the fear of hunger has been deeply engraved in his heart and has become a lingering shadow in his mind and that of many Chinese immigrants.

California now has a large area of ​​land suitable for agricultural cultivation, and this valuable farmland should be utilized rationally.

"Mr. Chen, what is your suggestion? Stop all mining activities along the coast of Sacramento to ensure agricultural production? Do you think your suggestion is realistic? Without gold mining, California would be nothing.

Don't forget, more than 80 percent of California government revenue comes from mining.

I think as long as we have gold in our hands, we won’t have to worry about not being able to buy food. "

Industry Minister Fehr stood up and refuted. His views were diametrically opposed to those of Chen Baoliang.

"My suggestions are, first: reduce gold mining activities in Sacramento and on both sides of the coast. The gold there has been almost exhausted, there is not much value in continuing to mine, and there are always stupid gold diggers occupying that area for no purpose. gold mining operation.

Second: Encourage the reclamation of the Central Valley. The state should provide corresponding guarantees and support for farmers who are interested in developing the Central Valley. For example, tax reductions and corresponding low-interest loans are provided to purchase farm equipment. Bank of America has done a good job in this regard, attracting many immigrants who want to reclaim wasteland.

Third: After the California government becomes financially stable, it will build water conservancy projects to resolve the water shortage problem in the Central Valley. "

Chen Baoliang expressed his suggestions with courage and courage in front of everyone. It was the first time for him to speak in front of so many people.

Among the eyes that looked at him, some were supportive, some had nothing to do with him, and some had ill intentions, which made him feel very nervous.

But he still said what he wanted to say despite the pressure.

Chen Baoliang's speech triggered a heated discussion in the parliament, and the people in the discussion were divided into three categories.

One is the mine owners, the other is the farmers, and the other is neutral shop owners and business owners who are not mainly engaged in mining directly.

The state legislators from both parties were quarreling fiercely in the parliament. At this time, the parliament was more like a vegetable market. The quarrels between the legislators looked like hawkish vendors who were bargaining.

Quarreling in the parliament is inevitable. Liang Yao is not opposed to quarreling in the parliament. If there is an issue, you can quarrel, provided that the quarrel can finally produce a result and a solution, instead of having a meaningless quarrel just for the sake of quarreling.

From the perspective of their respective interests, both mine owners and farmers have their own reasons.

In the short term, it is irrefutable that mining, especially gold mining, remains California's pillar industry and a major taxpayer.

But in the long term, California must have self-sufficient agriculture, and California is fully capable of achieving agricultural self-sufficiency.

California started with gold mining, and more than 70% of state legislators in the state assembly are mine owners.

With more people and greater strength, Chen Baoliang quickly fell behind.

Liang Yao had almost rested. He stood up and walked back to the podium. He patted the podium heavily to indicate silence. There was a sudden silence in the state assembly.

"Mr. Fair, where is your ancestral home?"

After the state assembly fell silent, Liang Yao asked Fei Dao.

Facing Liang Yao's question, Fair replied respectfully: "In Ireland, Mr. Speaker of the State."

"Then why did you and your family come to the United States?" Liang Yao immediately asked the next question.

"Because of famine," Feier said in astonishment.

Feir and Liang Yao are partners, and his information must be clear to Liang Yao.

Feir is a smart man. When Liang Yao asked him this question, he quickly realized that in this debate between the mine owners and the farmers, Liang Yao was on the side of the farmers. At least his attitude was in favor of the farmers. .

The state legislators in the state assembly all know the weight of Liang Yao's words. He alone holds the weight of more than half of the assembly.

Winning the support of Liang Yao alone is more effective than winning the support of 70 to 80 percent of state legislators.

"Famine, it turns out you still remember the famine in Ireland. Mexico is very close to our California, and Ireland is also very close to the United Kingdom, right?" Liang Yao asked again.

"Yes, sir." Fair replied without hesitation.

"During the Great Famine, did the British sell food to the Irish? I heard that during the Great Famine in Ireland, the British granaries were full of rats." Liang Yao continued to ask.

"No, sir, they still buy our food." Feier lowered his head.

"Mr. Fair, Chinese immigrants are the same as Irish immigrants. We share the same tragic experience. We all had to leave our hometowns because of the damn famine. Whether they are Irish immigrants or Chinese immigrants, everyone is now a Californian.

I think no one wants the tragedy of the Great Famine to happen in California. Once there is a Great Famine, none of us can guarantee whether Mexico will refuse to sell food to us like the United Kingdom did. Don’t forget, the relationship between Mexico and the United States is not friendly and harmonious at all.

Transportation between California and the East is inconvenient. In the event of a major famine, even if there is surplus food in the East, it will not be able to be transported to California for a while.

Mr. Chen is right. The jobs of Californians must be in the hands of Californians. "

After Liang Yao finished speaking, there were bursts of applause under the podium.

This is not entirely because these state legislators are flattering Liang Yao, but that Liang Yao has indeed convinced these legislators.

After the prolonged applause stopped, Liang Yao asked these state legislators another question.

"Many of the congressmen present are businessmen. Let me ask you a very simple question. Assume that there are 100,000 people in California and the food on the market can only supply 90,000 people. How much will the price of food increase?"

"Of course it's ten percent."

One MP blurted out his answer without thinking.

"You are so stupid. You have never been in the grain business, let alone experienced the Great Famine. Grain is different from other commodities. It must not only increase by 10%, but also increase by 100% or even 200%." Maybe," Fair said.

He had personally experienced the Great Famine, and his real-life experience had already told him the answer.

"Yes, gentlemen, this is not a math question. There is no exact answer. If I have to give an answer, my answer is that even if the price of food rises a hundred times, a thousand times, or even ten thousand times, it is possible. Because no one wants to be among the ten thousand who starve.”

Liang Yao's answer caused all the state legislators to fall into silence.

No one wants to be among the 10,000 people who starve. This sentence has been buzzing in their ears and hitting their hearts.

Because they don’t want to be one of the hungry ones.

Fehr turned to look at the mine owners behind him, who nodded towards Fehr.

Fair spoke, breaking the silence in the statehouse.

“Your Excellency, Speaker, we support Congressman Chen’s proposal, but we also hope that the interests of gold diggers will not be harmed too much, and we hope that a practical plan can be put forward to resolve the differences between gold diggers and farmers. "

"From 1848 to 1851, gold mining activities were carried out on both sides of the American River. The gold there has been exhausted. I think it is time to ban gold mining activities on both sides of the American River.

There is also the Sacramento River, which is not only the source of agricultural irrigation water on both sides, but also the navigable river between San Francisco and Sacramento. The act of damming has affected the normal traffic in the navigable river section. I think we should legislate immediately to stop it. Such criminal behavior.

There is gold in other mountainous areas of California and Nevada, and we can focus our gold mining on these emerging gold mining areas, just as we originally shifted the focus of gold mining from San Francisco to the Sacramento area. "

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