1850 American Gold Tycoon

Liang Yao received these local Guangzhou merchants at Xiangshan Camp.

The Wu family and the Pan family, who were the first to arrive in California, both benefited from the California Gold Rush, and their financial situation gradually improved as a result.

In addition to the gradually improving financial situation, the two families also have another option to choose, without having to tie the entire family to the dead tree of the Qing Dynasty.

Although the merchants from Guangzhou who arrived later did not eat meat, they at least got a share of the pie.

Those timid and cautious merchants who were still waiting and watching, but did not enter the market, became increasingly restless in their hearts.

During the banquet, there were many businessmen from Guangzhou, even those from Guangxi who had been waiting for a long time to ask Liang Yao about California matters.

Liang Yao naturally welcomes these potential wealthy and high-quality immigrants.

Although three years have passed since he ran California, and California has the most basic industries, in general, California is still in its infancy.

The most lacking talents and funds in the start-up stage are opportunities.

Liang Yao noticed that Pan Zhengwei, Wu Yuanhua and others still looked worried.

It seems that the contrast between the Qing Dynasty and the United States caused them to fall into deep conflicts.

On the one hand, many of them have become naturalized citizens of the United States. On the other hand, they have strong feelings about their country and cannot let go of their concern for their motherland. I hope I can do something within my power to change the current situation in my hometown.

After the banquet dispersed, Liang Yao walked out of the warm spring-like military tent, blowing the cold and wet wind in December in Lingnan.

The winter in Xiangshan in the mid-19th century gave him the most intuitive feeling that it was just like the world, very cold, at least much colder than the winter in Xiangshan in the early 21st century.

Pan Zhengwei knocked the long cigarette stick hanging the cigarette bag against the stone twice, then stuffed a ball of tobacco leaves and pressed it tightly. He took out a box of safety matches from his cuffs and struck three or four matches before successfully lighting the tobacco leaves. .

After the tobacco leaf was lit, Pan Zhengwei took several puffs to make his head clearer.

"What you said to me at the beginning of the year was right. You can never wake up a person who is pretending to sleep. I really regret not listening to you. I almost lost my head in the capital."

The trip to the capital made Pan Zhengwei completely lose hope in this zombie-like court.

"It is the Manchu dignitaries who are pretending to sleep. Not all Chinese people pretend to be asleep. Ting Yu, you are not pretending to be asleep." Liang Yao raised his head and looked at the deep starry sky. "Since those who pretend to be asleep don't want to get up, let them sleep forever. .”

The dark night is dotted with countless bright stars. This is the clear and pure starry sky of the agricultural era. In urban San Francisco, California, it was hard to see such a clear and clean starry sky when Liang Yao left San Francisco in the summer.

"I will discuss with the merchants in Guangzhou to raise some silver coins for Hong Junmen to purchase arms."

Pan Shicheng found a secluded place to urinate and came back. Seeing that Liang Yao, Pan Zhengwei, Wu Shangrong, and Wu Yuanhua were all there, he stepped forward and said.

Pan Shicheng is now the general manager of Guangzhou Thirteenth Bank, and he still has this ability.

The Guangzhou merchants who had already taken root in California had a good relationship with Liang Yao. It could be said that they did not dare to offend Liang Yao, so they were still willing to pay for the small amount of money to buy arms.

Guangzhou merchants who had not taken root in California also showed a strong interest in California. They were willing to pay some money as a way to promote friendship with Liang Yao.

Pan Shicheng also knew that California's arms industry was in the hands of Liang Yao, and the money they paid eventually flowed into Liang Yao's pocket.

"It is better to spend a small amount of money to buy arms and strengthen Guangdong's coastal defense than to spend a lot of money to redeem the city from the British and bear the court's share of indemnity if the city of Guangzhou is destroyed."

Wu Shangrong also agreed to raise some military expenditures for the Guangdong authorities to enhance the strength of the Guangzhou garrison.

In the 21st year of Daoguang's reign (1841), Guangzhou City was captured by the British army. Yishan, the imperial minister who succeeded Lin Zexu, was worried about Emperor Daoguang's conviction. In order to get back Guangzhou City, he secretly signed an armistice agreement with the British plenipotentiary, Yilu.

The British agreed to withdraw from Guangzhou City on the condition that Yishan paid a city redemption fee of 6 million silver dollars and compensated the British businessmen for losses of 300,000 taels of silver dollars, and the money must be paid within seven days.

If the full payment of 6 million silver dollars is not made within seven days, an additional payment of 7 million silver dollars will be required. If the payment cannot be made within fourteen days, an additional amount of 8 million silver dollars will be required. If the payment cannot be made within twenty days, an additional amount of 9 million silver dollars will be required.

Naturally, Yishan couldn't afford the money, so he set his sights on the merchants of the Thirteenth Bank of Guangzhou. Anyway, these merchants were all the money bags of the imperial court.

The merchants of the Thirteenth Bank of Guangzhou ultimately borne one-third of the city redemption fee. The Wu family alone paid 1.1 million silver dollars in city redemption fees.

Of course, this was just the beginning. The compensation from the subsequent Jiangning Treaty, that is, the Treaty of Nanjing, was also allocated to Guangzhou Hongshang.

The heavy burden of compensation and donations was the most direct reason for the rapid decline of the Guangzhou Thirteenth Bank.

Ironically, by using such humiliating means to redeem the city of Guangzhou, Yishan, the imperial envoy of the royal family, not only did not feel ashamed, but instead reported the victory to the court to claim credit, brazenly claiming that he had recovered the city of Guangzhou.

This further caused the Qing court to misjudge the form of war, believing that the advantage lay with us, and rejected the British request for peace talks. Seeing that the Qing government refused to surrender, the British army continued their march north, plundering the coasts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang until they captured Zhenjiang, a strategic point on the canal.

"Mr. Liang, do you think the British will stir up trouble again?"

Wu Yuanhua can be said to suffer from PTSD from the reparations. Although the Wu family has a strong financial background, they can't help but struggle with it.

After enjoying a rare sense of security in California, Wu Yuanhua was not willing to be the emperor's nanku. No matter how much money there was in the emperor's nanku, it belonged to the emperor, not himself.

"Then it depends on how the old British goods are sold in the Qing Dynasty." Liang Yao did not directly answer Wu Yuanhua's question.

The four of them looked at each other in silence, their expressions becoming increasingly ugly.

They already had the answer in their minds. The Guangzhou Thirteenth Bank also did business with the British East India Company, and they handled many of the British East India Company's goods.

They know very well how old British goods sell in the Qing Dynasty. In addition to opium, the sales data of other British East India Company goods in China are very dismal.

In other words, the British's goals in the First Opium War were not achieved, and the performance of the Chinese market fell far short of British expectations.

The war twelve years ago seemed to be over, but in fact the war between Great Britain and the Qing Dynasty had just begun.

"There are long-haired bandits causing trouble inside, and British tigers are watching outside. It's really a troubled year." Pan Shicheng lamented.

Pan Shicheng, who has been dealing with the British since he was a child, knows very well the nature of the British. The British are greedy, hypocritical, and motivated by profit, and they can do such things.

Pan Shicheng believed that Liang Yao's judgment was correct. As for Wu Yuanhua and Pan Zhengwei, they saw with their own eyes how Liang Yao established a foothold in the United States. They also believed in Liang Yao's judgment and ability to grasp the current situation.

"Why is General Shang Pan worried? It's only in troubled times that although there are many things, there are also more opportunities."

Liang Yao withdrew his gaze from the starry sky and said to Pan Shicheng.

Pan Shicheng is an outlier among Guangzhou merchants. Compared with other Guangzhou merchants, Pan Shicheng has a stronger interest in politics.

This is also due to the family tradition of the Pan family. Although Pan Qi, the founder of the Pan family, came from a rough background, he paid special attention to the education of his descendants after he became successful.

In the second generation, Pan Qi's second son, Pan Youwei, Pan Zhengwei's second uncle, was admitted to Jinshi very confidently, starting the Pan family's career as both an official and a businessman.

If the Pan family were asked to choose between officialdom and business, they would choose officialdom without hesitation.

During the period of Pan Youdu, the second generation head of the Pan family, he wanted to give up business several times, and even closed down Tongfu Bank, completely losing its identity as a merchant family and completely integrating into the scholar-bureaucrat group.

But the court refused to give up the Pan family's cash cow, so the Pan family had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue running Tongfu Bank.

Since Pan Shicheng was interested in politics, he did not hesitate to give Pan Shicheng some advice.

"Please give me some advice from Young Master Liang." Pan Shicheng bowed his hand towards Liang Yao.

"I have heard a little bit about the Long-haired Bandits. I heard that these bandits are extraordinary and are particularly good at winning over people's hearts. The bandit leader Hong Xiuquan also has many people who are good at using soldiers. At present, the Long-haired Bandits can be said to be the most popular in Hunan. It's like entering an uninhabited area, claiming to the outside world that there are millions of people." Liang Yao said slowly.

"The millions of people may be a bluff, but I think there are still hundreds of thousands of young people." Pan Shicheng said.

"General Shang Pan thinks the imperial court can quell the Changmao Rebellion by relying solely on the Eight Banners and Green Camp?" Liang Yaoming asked knowingly.

"Ahem, the Eight Banners were already useless during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. As for the Green Camp, it was very difficult to suppress the White Lotus Sect during the Emperor Qianlong's reign. This time, the Changmao Rebellion was much more fierce than the White Lotus Sect. In my opinion, if you want to rely on the Green Camp to annihilate the Changmao Sect, Mao, it’s difficult.” Pan Shicheng shook his head and said.

It seems that Pan Shicheng is quite knowledgeable, and Liang Yao is satisfied with Pan Shicheng's answer. This Pan Shicheng deserves his advice.

"The Eight Banners Green Camp cannot be used, the hair has to be flattened, and the court has no money at the moment. In the end, the court will definitely let all local leagues practice." Liang Yao said meaningfully to Pan Shicheng.

In fact, in November, Xianfeng issued an order to relax regiment training and guard against long-haired bandits. However, Guangzhou was far away from the capital, and Emperor Xianfeng's order had not yet reached Guangzhou.

"You mean, let me hold group training?" Pan Shicheng reacted quickly.

"In the two hundred years since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the Han officials have always been unable to raise their heads in the court. This is all because the Han officials did not have military power. Long hair caused chaos and the Eight Banners of the Green Camp were useless. If the court encouraged local governments to establish regiment training, wouldn't this be true? Is it a good time for the Han ministers to regain military power?" Liang Yao was good at tempting.

"General Shang Pan is extremely wealthy and has strong financial resources, so there is no need to elaborate. There are many refugees in Guangdong and Guangxi, so there is no need to worry about the problem of soldiers. The arsenal in California can provide General Shang Pan with guns, cannons and even warships. This is a gift from God to Pan. A great opportunity for general business.”

Tuanlian has existed since ancient times and can be understood as the militia of ancient China.

During the Qianlong and Jiaqing dynasties, due to the inability of the unstoppable Eight Banners and Green Camp to quell the White Lotus Uprising, the Qianlong and Jiaqing dynasties made extensive use of local regiment training.

However, although the Qing Dynasty allowed local regiment training to assist the Eight Banners Green Battalion operations, it had strict restrictions on the scale of local regiment training and off-site operations.

This is also the reason why although the local government organized group training during the Qianlong and Jiaqing dynasties, the group training did not eventually develop into a local separatist force during the Qianlong and Jiaqing dynasties.

This situation was not broken until the emergence of Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army. At first, the imperial court was also very defensive about Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army.

Zeng Guofan was registered as a minister, and he was like a common man living in a village. When he called out, more than ten thousand people jumped up and followed him. This was probably not a blessing to the country! This was the general mentality of those in power in the capital when the Hunan Army first showed its strength.

Of course, Emperor Xianfeng knew this, but he had no choice. The Eight Banners and the Green Camp were really useless. If he wanted to pacify the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Emperor Xianfeng had to use the Hunan Army. He had to allow the Hunan Army to go out to fight in Hunan and let the Hunan Army train from local regiments into a regular army.

The senior management of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties were always on guard against the Hunan Army, and they would cut off the Hunan Army's food and pay and beat the Hunan Army every once in a while.

The Hunan Army's food and salary only came from the lijin collected from setting up cards, extorting from local gentry, looting on the spot, and even massacring the city.

The brutality of the Hunan Army's massacre of the city is not an exaggeration to say that it made an outstanding contribution to the Qing Dynasty's family planning.

There is no specific data on how many people died in the Taiping Rebellion, but there are estimates ranging from 10 million to hundreds of millions.

Even with a very conservative estimate, the number of people who died directly or indirectly must have reached tens of millions, while the total population of the United States during the same period was only over 20 million.

It is undeniable that the sharp decline in China's population during the Xianxian period was caused by the Taiping Army, the Hunan Army, the Eight Banners, the Green Camp, various local regiments, the Nian Army and other forces.

However, the Hunan Army, which was the mainstay of the Qing Dynasty during the Xian-Tong period, had the widest range of operations and the most records of massacres. It was definitely the most guilty of these forces. His reputation as having his head shaved was not in vain.

Compared to Zeng Guofan, Sherman, known as the Butcher of the North, who killed the Confederacy to the point of breaking through its defenses and even the North itself could not stand it, can be considered a great benefactor.

After hearing what Liang Yao said, Pan Shicheng was moved, but he still hesitated and couldn't make up his mind.

"The imperial court has strict restrictions on the number of people and locations for group training. There are hundreds of thousands of young men at least, so what use can hundreds or even thousands of group training be of any use?"

Pan Shicheng also had Pan Shicheng's concerns. At present, the long-haired bandits were sweeping the southeast, and governors everywhere were trying to avoid them. Everyone is not a fool, and they all know that the Eight Banners and Green Camps stationed in various places are useless, and no one wants to be the leading bird to suppress the long hair.

Of course, Pan Shicheng also understood that it was precisely because no one wanted to be the first person that officials like him with a business background had the opportunity to take charge of the army.

"I don't think so. The troops are not more numerous but more skilled. My expedition force to Japan is only two regiments of more than 2,000 men. How can I still defeat tens of thousands of elite shogunate soldiers and force the Tokugawa shogunate to sign a treaty in Edo Castle?" Liang Yao said, "Furthermore, if the court is anxious, it may not allow the group training to be expanded."

"Mr. Liang, I heard that the mercenary system is very popular in Western countries. Can you directly hire the California Infantry Regiment to train the regiment?" Pan Zhengwei's eyes lit up and he expressed his idea.

"The California Infantry Regiment is affiliated to the Army Department. How can it be hired at will? If hired, how can I explain to the Army Department?" Liang Yao rejected Pan Zhengwei's proposal.

The California Infantry Regiment is his most important unit, and he will never hire it easily. He needed a strong army to ensure his absolute control in California.

Furthermore, the Mexican land purchase issue was still unresolved, and he also needed an elite force to maintain California's border security.

"I didn't consider it carefully." Pan Zhengwei also felt that his proposal was too rash.

"But I can form a teaching team to help Pan Zongshang practice team training. If the team training is successful, Pan Zongshang can advance as a minister of the resurgence of the Qing Dynasty, and retreat to separate the country. No matter how the history of the Qing Dynasty is revised, it will be Mr. Pan’s contribution is indispensable.” Liang Yao continued to fan the flames.

"As long as you have a strong army, your money is your money. Otherwise, no matter how much money you accumulate, it will be useless. Sooner or later, the imperial court will suck out the bones and marrow."

Pan Shicheng and others were not surprised that Liang Yao could say such treacherous words. Earlier Liang Yao bluntly called Emperor Xianfeng the emperor.

Liang Yao's words also touched their sore spot.

Whether it is the Pan family or the Wu family, what if they are the richest in the world? They are nothing more than Nanku, the emperor. To say that they are lambs to be slaughtered is to praise them.

The lambs have to be fattened and killed, but the money bag can be put into whenever and wherever you want.

"It's a serious matter, let me think about it again." Pan Shicheng, who was tangled in his heart, started to compete with the beads in his hand, flicking the smooth beads quickly with his thumb.

Seeing Pan Shicheng's attitude, Liang Yao knew that Pan Shicheng had something on his mind.

"This world is the world of the Manchus, not the Han people. This world is the world of the Manchu nobles and scholar-bureaucrats, not the world of merchants and common people."

Liang Yao turned around and walked in the direction of his residence, loudly speaking treasonous words.