1850 American Gold Tycoon

After buying 50% of the shares of the Nicaragua Shipping Company, Liang Yao felt a lot more at ease.

With 50% of the shares in hand, he no longer has to worry about accidental bottlenecks on the transportation artery from the East to California.

As for the betting agreement on the merged railway company, he was fully confident of winning the betting agreement.

The economy of the United States has begun to pick up. Before the Kansas Incident broke out in 1854, the economy of the United States was about to experience retaliatory growth. The railroad industry was a sunrise industry, and the demand for railroad transportation continued to increase during the development of the western region.

In such a general environment, if a railway company with a first-mover advantage and a highly profitable railway route cannot turn a profit in four years, he may as well withdraw from the railway industry as soon as possible.

When the civil war officially breaks out ten years later, a huge war fortune will be made.

James, the president of Yinli Railway Company, and board members Fish and Hunter came to see Liang Yao after meeting Vanderbilt.

James and Fish knew in their hearts that every decision they made now would determine the life or death of Yinli Railway Company.

If they want Yinli Railway Company to survive, they must obtain Liang Yao's patent authorization, otherwise the final result waiting for Yinli Railway Company will be bankruptcy.

“Gone are the days of making easy money monopolizing the line between New York and the Great Lakes.”

On the way to visit Liang Yao, James said very seriously.

"If we want to survive, we have to make changes."

"In this severe storm, many railway companies will be ruthlessly eliminated. As long as Yinli Railway is willing to make changes, I believe that with the huge understanding and resources at its disposal, Yinli Railway will not only be able to survive, but will also be able to survive." We can continue to grow bigger and stronger.”

Fish agrees with James.

"Liang Yao's performance in California last year was obvious to all, both in the business and in politics.

Although Vanderbilt has some bad personal habits, he has to admit that Vanderbilt has a very good vision. If Liang Yao can become Vanderbilt's partner, Liang Yao must have something special about him. "

"Just put down your dignity and negotiate with Vanderbilt. After all, Vanderbilt is a New Yorker and a white man.

Now you are going to condescend to visit a Western barbarian, a Chinese boy with the same skin color as an Indian savage? I'm going to kill you, our Hunter family can't stand this humiliation! "

Hunter, who was stubborn and had a high opinion of himself, left angrily.

Hunter believes that with their energy, they are fully capable of handling this crisis on their own without resorting to external forces and cooperation with outsiders. His views differ from those of James and Fish.

"Hunter is used to living a comfortable life, and he still can't recognize the current situation."

Fish sighed.

"The leader of the Hunter family is so short-sighted and his thinking is still stuck in more than 30 years ago. The influence of the Hunter family in New York will not last long."

"Hunt is more suitable to continue to be a large landowner. The emerging industry of railways is not suitable for Hunter."

James said looking at Hunter walking away.

"He is better suited to the company of a stubborn man like Backhouse."

After seeing off Thomas and August, Liang Yao met with Fish and James.

Fish has a head of thick black hair that he is proud of. Coupled with his thick beard, big mouth and thick lips, he looks like a grouper.

Thanks to his distinguished family background and his own abilities, Fish, who was born in 1808, was a leader among the younger generation of aristocrats in New York State.

In 1848, Fish, who had just turned 40, became the lieutenant governor of New York State and won the governorship of New York State that year.

Although Fish resigned as governor of New York State at the end of last year, Fish still serves in the House of Representatives as a member of the Whig Party and is a representative of the New York State Whig Party.

The two-party system in the United States was relatively mature by 1851, but the two parties at this time were the Whig Party and the Democratic Party.

The Republican Party, as it later became known, was still a small local party.

The period from 1841 to 1853 was the golden age of the Whig Party, since William Henry Harrison, a member of the Whig Party, took office and successfully ran for the ninth president of the United States.

During these 12 years, except for the twelfth president, who was a Democrat, all the other presidents were Whigs.

Fillmore was also a member of the Whig Party.

Like the situation in Congress, the current majority party in New York State, a large voting base, is also the Whig Party, and three consecutive governors have been members of the Whig Party.

"Please take a seat, both of you."

Liang Yao asked Kony to serve tea to entertain James and Fish.

"Mr. Liang's Pioneer has opened our eyes. Even the British are full of praise for the performance of the Pioneer. The outstanding performance of the Pioneer has made the United States feel proud."

After Fish sat down, he put aside the civilization stick in his hand and said.

"Only high-quality orbits that meet standards can the Pioneer's capabilities be unleashed."

Liang Yao had already guessed the purpose of Fish and James' visit.

It's nothing more than trying to get permission to use the Pioneer.

Not all the old nobles in New York State are stubborn and stubborn people, at least not the two people in front of him.

But there are still a few people who keep their heads clear and are willing to keep up with the times.

Liang Yao has been in New York for a few days, but there are very few New York nobles willing to take the initiative to visit Liang Yao.

James and Fish were undoubtedly the two most prominent New York dignitaries who took the initiative to visit him.

"We also carefully observed the new rails used by Mr. Guoliang, and the technical staff of Yinli Railway Company reported to us.

Your new rails not only have excellent quality, but also have a longer service life and greater development potential.

The purpose of our visit to you this time is to obtain authorization for the use of the Pioneer and the new railway track. "

James said in a very sincere tone.

“It’s time for the old tracks of the Yinli Railway that were built more than 20 years ago to be phased out.”

"As for the patent authorization period and price, we can negotiate, and I think we will come up with an offer that satisfies Mr. Liang." Fish said.

Yinley Railroad Company is currently the largest railroad company in the United States.

Exporting the Pioneer and new rails to the eastern railway companies is not so much about selling the patented technology of the Pioneer and the new rails, but rather exporting industry standards, which belong to Liang Yao's industry standards.

It's not that James and Fish don't understand this, but they have no choice.

Yinli Railway Company has missed too many opportunities in more than 20 years of inactivity. They currently cannot come up with a corresponding solution and can only turn to Liang Yao for help.

"Can we also discuss shares in Yinli Railway Company and authorized railway routes?"

Liang Yao squinted his eyes and looked at James and Fish.

General quotations cannot attract Liang Yao. Liang Yao's current cash flow is also very abundant, and he has a large amount of hard currency in his hands.

The only things Yinli Railway Company could impress him were its shares and authorized railway routes.

Yinli Railway Company is willing to take the initiative to request cooperation, which is a very positive signal.

"As long as it's within our scope of authority, we can talk about it."

James gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

“All locomotives used by Yinli Railway Company in the future must be purchased from America Group. Correspondingly, America Group will be responsible for the locomotives sold and provide ten-year after-sales maintenance services. Of course, these services require Yinli Railway Company to spend money. Buy." Liang Yao made his first request.

"Can."

James agreed to this without hesitation.

The technology used by the Pioneer locomotive was too advanced and avant-garde, and the railway company's technicians had clearly told him that Yinli Railway Company could not copy it at the current level.

He had no choice but to buy it from Liang Yao.

"Twenty percent interest in the Yinley Railroad Company, and authorization to transfer the Chicago to Cleveland line."

Liang Yao made his second request.

Compared with the equity of Yinli Railway Company, Liang Yao valued the authorization of the railway line between Chicago and Cleveland more.

Chicago is currently the largest city in Illinois and the city with the greatest development potential in Illinois. In later generations, Chicago was also the third largest city in the United States.

With the rise of the Great Lakes industrial region, Chicago will become the central city of the Great Lakes industrial region.

Liang Yao is very optimistic about Chicago's future, so naturally he cannot let go of this piece of fat.

After the acquisition of the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad Company, rail routes from Baltimore to major cities in Ohio will be opened.

If the Ohio railway line can be connected to Chicago, Illinois, the railway line resources in Liang Yao's hands will be no worse than those of the Illinois Railway Company.

The problem is that Liang Yao doesn't have many connections in the states around the Great Lakes.

Except for some of Gervin's relatives and friends in Ohio, Liang Yao had no political friends in the other states on the Great Lakes, including Illinois and Indiana, which the Cleveland-Chicago railway line passed through.

To obtain authorization for railway routes, the competition is based on who has a deeper background and greater energy.

States in the United States are beggar-thy-neighbors, and it is very difficult for people from out-of-state to obtain authorization for railway routes in their states.

It is less troublesome and easier to directly obtain authorized railway routes than to apply for authorization from state governments.

James frowned, Liang Yao's appetite was greater than he imagined.

After some discussions with Fish, James said to Liang Yao.

"The 20% shares of Yinli Railway Company are beyond my authority. I can only grant you 10% of the shares at most. For this 10% of the shares, I still need to fight for it on the board of directors."

James said with an embarrassed look on his face.

"As for the transfer of the Chicago to Cleveland rail line, I can promise you that right now."

Although the value of Yinli Railway Company's shares is shrinking, many shareholders have already had the idea of ​​selling Yinli Railway Company shares, but 20% of the shares is really too much.

James may not be able to convince shareholders to give up so many shares.

Even James himself holds only 11% of the shares of Yinli Railway Company, while Fish holds 8%.

Neither James nor Fish held 20% of the shares of Yinli Railway Company combined.

The railway line from Chicago to Cleveland, given that the authorized railway lines of Liang Yao's Delaware and Hudson Railway Company are currently limited to several coastal states, does not have a direct competitive relationship with the routes controlled by Yinli Railway Company.

After thinking about it, James and Fish agreed happily.

With their connections, it would not be difficult to apply for another rail line between Chicago and Cleveland.

Of course, the reason why James and Fish were so happy was that neither of them knew that Liang Yao had plans to acquire the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad Company.

If they knew about Liang Yao's acquisition plan, they would never agree to Liang Yao's conditions and transfer the railway line between Chicago and Cleveland to Liang Yao, creating a strong competitor for themselves.

James and Fish agreed to transfer the railway line between Chicago and Cleveland, which made Liang Yao ecstatic.

But in terms of shares, he still doesn't want to make too big concessions.

"10% of the shares is far from my expectations. My bottom line is 15%. If it is lower than this ratio, the negotiation between us will end here." Liang Yao's attitude is very tough.

James and Fish wanted to continue fighting for it, but Liang Yao still insisted and refused to let go, so they had no choice but to agree to Liang Yao's request.

"Okay, after we go back, we will convince the shareholders of Yinli Railway Company to get 15% of the shares for you." The two said.

"I have one more thing to ask for your help." Liang Yao stood up from his seat, "Bank of America wants to open a branch in New York, and opening a branch requires authorization from the local state government. I hope you can help me get it. to this permission.”

The market in California is limited. If Bank of America is limited to a corner of California, the upper limit will not be high in the future.

If Bank of America wants to grow bigger, it must expand its business to the broader eastern market, and New York is the largest financial market in the United States and the most suitable city for opening branches and expanding business.

"No problem, it's easy."

Fish agreed. With his connections and influence, it was very easy to get a bank authorization in New York State.

Ideological issues are not unique to the establishment of the first socialist country in the 20th century.

There were also ideological issues in the 19th century, but the ideological issue in this period was the ideological issue between monarchy and republic.

Americans are proud that their country is a powerful modern republic in the world and believe that this system is advanced and unparalleled.

The republic is the most perfect system among the existing political systems in human society.

In the middle of the 19th century, republics were not yet mainstream. Not many countries adopted republics, and even fewer were big and powerful countries.

The monarchy prevalent in most countries in Europe and Asia was the mainstream in the 19th century. Even in France, President Louis Bonaparte declared himself Napoleon III, the French Emperor.

Next year, the president of the Second French Republic will abolish the republic and restore the monarchy, becoming the first emperor of the Second French Empire.

Polaris was launched from the Simonson Shipyard and towed by tugboats to the quayside of the Alaire plant for assembly of its two massive engines.

The entire process attracted onlookers and cheers from the American people, who were excited and proud of this behemoth that was about to be launched into the water.

Because this is the pride of the United States, and the level of American shipbuilding has reached a whole new level!

The United States, which was only founded 75 years ago, is now able to independently manufacture large steamships that are comparable to those of Britain and France!

The upcoming completion of the Polaris and the display of the Pioneer have become the hottest topics in the United States.

The prestige of Vanderbilt and Liang Yao, the two super rich Americans, has also increased in the minds of the American people.

In order to cater to public sentiment, the New York Evening Post launched America's most popular rich voting campaign at the right time.

In this event, Vanderbilt topped the list, followed by Liang Yao in second place.

Liang Yao is not interested in the rankings of the New York Evening Post. This is not because he is number one on the list or because he thinks the list is not authoritative.

On the contrary, he agrees with the list.

Steamships were the largest, most intricate, and most expensive industrial artifacts of the era.

If the Polar Star can successfully make its trial voyage, the United States will become the third country after the United Kingdom and France to independently manufacture steamships with a displacement of more than 2,500 tons.

All of this is the result of decades of hard work and accumulation in the shipbuilding industry by outstanding American entrepreneurs like Vanderbilt.

For this reason alone, Vanderbilt deserves the title of America's most popular billionaire.

Although Vanderbilt built the Polaris to show off his wealth and compare, objectively, it was also because of his efforts that the American shipbuilding industry slowly caught up with the pace of the British and French.

As a soul from China in the 21st century, Liang Yao can understand the mood of these Americans at this moment.

Everyone has come this way, and in the end they have become what they hated the most.

The United States hates the British Empire during the Victorian period not because it hates it, but because it is not the global hegemon that makes the world tremble.

Liang Yao held a copy of the New York Herald Tribune in his hand. The comments in this newspaper made him particularly interesting.

The European monarchies are both surprised and frightened by our growing strength, surprised by our progress, but also frightened that these experiences will quietly penetrate into their own countries and be learned by their own oppressed people.

Polaris and Pioneer will allow them to see directly the superiority of American democracy.

"Scientific American" even bluntly said: An ordinary citizen in New York can frustrate the pride of Queen Victoria, Russian Tsar Nicholas and Napoleon III.

Seeing this, Liang Yao smiled knowingly. It turns out that ideological infiltration is also a traditional American art.

It's just that the United States was still too weak at this period, and it was just for its own entertainment. Neither England nor France would take these remarks of the United States seriously.

For ideology to successfully penetrate and export, it requires a country with very strong national power and influence.

Obviously, the current United States cannot meet this standard, and the United States' influence in Central America is not even as good as that of Britain and France.

These heart-stirring words can only make the people of this country climax.

The progress of the United States is only compared to their own. When compared horizontally with Britain and France, there is still a big gap between the industrial level and manufacturing level of the United States.