1850 American Gold Tycoon

This was the first time that eastern Americans felt that the West Coast, two to three thousand miles away, would have such a big impact on their daily lives.

The Chinese businessmen's strikes and strikes organized by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce have set off more and more waves.

The media from all over the world have been exaggerating this matter and exaggerating the atrocities against Chinese people in various places.

Cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore, which have a large number of Chinese people, have armed themselves to blockade the streets where they live to ensure their own safety.

Near the streets that were blocked by armed forces, there was a strong and pungent smell of gunpowder and the stench of corpses.

In order to prevent the situation from expanding, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Maryland have dispatched local fire brigades and national guardsmen to the city to maintain order.

The Atlantic Railway Company has announced the suspension of operations. The suspension of this large railway company, which owns Baltimore to Philadelphia and Philadelphia to New York, has caused great inconvenience to residents of these three major cities.

In other words, before the railway crisis broke out, which company would dare to go on strike and suspend operations? Within a quarter, a new railway company would build a new line next to the suspended line to replace it.

Unfortunately, during the current economic crisis, major railway companies are struggling to protect themselves, let alone lay and develop new lines.

The railroad tycoons who were once ambitious and claimed to build railroads to every corner of the United States have either declared bankruptcy or are on the way to it.

More than a month after the Chinese Chamber of Commerce announced a strike, many non-Chinese-owned small and medium-sized railway companies also announced the suspension of operations and published statements in newspapers. They were using practical actions to support the strike of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and support the Chinese in safeguarding their legal rights. rights and interests.

They even sent a special telegram to California to report the matter, for fear that California would not know about their suspension.

Liang Yao quickly learned about this, and he knew that this was not because these small and medium-sized railway companies were kind-hearted, but because these railway companies used locomotives, carriages and accompanying maintenance services provided by Caltrain.

In the short term, these railway companies will have difficulty finding alternative locomotive suppliers.

Even if you find it, the other party may not be willing to supply it.

The California Railroad licensed the New York Central Railroad and the Illinois Railroad to produce the Pioneer and some of its improved locomotives.

However, Liang Yao has already written to the president of the Illinois Railway Company in advance. If the Illinois Railway Company violates the contract and privately sells the Pioneer and its modified locomotives to third parties and provides maintenance services without the permission of the California Railway Company, California The railroad will terminate all cooperative projects with the Illinois Railroad.

Some clever railway companies thought of purchasing locomotives and related services from the British for emergency purposes.

When the American Railroad Association unified railway gauge, it used the same railway gauge as the British.

But they were soon disappointed because American railroad tracks were the same as British railroads except for the gauge, but the track form and track structure were different.

In other words, even if they buy a motorcycle from the British, they cannot put it into use directly.

What's more, British businessmen prefer to add icing on the cake rather than provide help when needed.

The British are very aware of the current economic situation in the United States, especially the poor economic situation of the American Railways. They were not willing to take the risk of supplying locomotives to American Railroads.

The boom in railway construction has made most cities in the United States basically connected to railways in the past few years. People have developed the habit of traveling by railway, especially cheap railway travel.

The suspension of more and more railway companies has brought a lot of inconvenience to the lives of residents along the lines.

They now eagerly hope that the government can reach reconciliation with Chinese businessmen and the western region and restore normal economic order as soon as possible.

In addition to travel, the goods that the China Chamber of Commerce strike had the greatest impact on the lives of Americans in the east were high-quality and low-priced Vaseline and kerosene.

Because Vaseline does not have the odor of animal fat, it has a comfortable and greasy feel when it comes into contact with the skin, and the price is irresistible.

Vaseline has already replaced traditional animal oil and some expensive vegetable oil cosmetics and skin care products.

It has quickly become the new favorite of American women.

It is absolutely unacceptable for these ladies and ladies who are accustomed to applying Vaseline petroleum jelly to switch to animal fat which has a peculiar smell and is not cheap.

In addition to these young ladies, workers in the east also suffered when Vaseline was unavailable.

Workers in the east also have the habit of buying cheap Vaseline antifreeze cream and applying it on their hands and faces to prevent frostbite. They are full of praise for this cheap and practical antifreeze cream.

However, this kind of antifreeze cream is no longer available on store shelves. Some people are reselling antifreeze cream produced in California on the black market, but the price is comparable to high-end cosmetics, which is not affordable for ordinary workers like them.

The situation of kerosene, which is a daily necessity, is even more serious. Street lights in major cities, including New York, the largest city in the United States, no longer light up at night, and the city's nights have become dim again.

When kerosene was in abundant supply, New York was truly the city that never sleeps. The economic crisis and the cutoff of kerosene brought bustling New York back to its original shape overnight.

Not everyone loses from crises and conflicts, while a few gain from them.

Vendors selling whale oil and other animal fats made a huge profit from the Chinese businessmen's strike.

However, the output of animal fat is still very limited after all, and it cannot fill the gap of kerosene. Its high price also means that animal fat cannot replace kerosene.

It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

Kerosene has become a necessity for Americans, and Americans have developed the habit of using kerosene for lighting.

The first thing many children do after school is to go to the kerosene store with bottles and cans and queue up to buy kerosene.

After getting kerosene, I secretly poured some into a small bottle, and then exchanged some snacks with a second-hand dealer who specializes in buying kerosene.

The 18-year-old Rockefeller was one of them. Over the years, Rockefeller not only paid off his high tuition fees but also accumulated considerable wealth by reselling oil.

At the beginning of the economic crisis, Rockefeller noticed unfriendly behavior toward Chinese people on the streets of Cleveland, even though there were not many Chinese in Cleveland.

When he learned that this had become a common phenomenon in eastern America, Rockefeller realized that his opportunity had come.

Liang Yao, who was self-made, was Rockefeller's idol. Although Rockefeller had no chance to meet Liang Yao, he carefully studied and analyzed how Liang Yao succeeded and read all Liang Yao's published articles.

Based on his understanding of this idol, Rockefeller believed that Liang Yao, as the leader of the West and the leader of the Chinese, would not give up.

Rockefeller thought his chance had come.

He resigned from his accounting job at Witte-Tart.

Although this decent and stable job that could earn 70 cents a day was envied by many people, Rockefeller only regarded this job as a part-time job.

"I really don't know what's going on in your head. If you don't do accounting, do you want to sell snake oil with me?"

Rockefeller's father, Dr. Rockefeller Sr., was not surprised at all when he learned that Rockefeller had quit his job as an accountant. Instead, he was a little pleased. He knew his son's nature and he would not be satisfied with being an accountant.

Dr. Rockefeller Sr. was just a nickname given to him by his neighbors. Sr. Rockefeller was not a professional doctor.

The old Rockefeller relied on his sharp tongue to peddle a prescription that claimed to be able to cure all diseases, but in fact had no use: snake oil, and lived a more comfortable life than all the doctors in Cleveland.

Although the doctors in Cleveland disdained the old Rockefeller's means of making a living.

But there are always more ignorant people than smart people in this world. With his sharp tongue, old Rockefeller had no worries about selling his snake oil.

"Father, this is my first job and will be my last job. From now on, I will not work for anyone else." Rockefeller said very firmly.

If other children had said this to their father, they would have received a lesson in love. However, the old Rockefeller was not an ordinary father. He patted Rockefeller on the shoulder with relief and said.

"This is like my Rockefeller child. Tell me, what do you want to do?"

"I want to collect a batch of kerosene. Father, are you interested in doing this business together?" Rockefeller expressed his thoughts.

"But I only have 1,565 US dollars now. If I have more start-up capital, I can earn more. Father, I want to borrow a sum of money from you, and I can pay the interest."

Rockefeller earned a fortune as a second-hand kerosene dealer over the years: a full $1,200 (historically, Rockefeller had already accumulated a savings of $800 when he was 19 years old).

Including $365 borrowed from colleagues and friends, Rockefeller scraped together $1,565.

But he was not satisfied with this. He wanted to raise more start-up capital. He knew that his father had a considerable amount of savings.

"As far as I know, the current price of kerosene is stable and declining. Although your behavior is very risky, kid, I support you."

Old Rockefeller was also very happy. After he asked Rockefeller to write an IOU for a loan of US$1,500 with an interest rate of 15%, he happily handed over the US$1,500 to Rockefeller.

Rockefeller took 3,000 US dollars to hoard kerosene, and used the remaining 65 US dollars to maintain daily life and buy newspaper information. He was particularly concerned about the recent whereabouts of California politicians.

Soon, as Rockefeller expected, his venture succeeded.

Chinese Chambers of Commerce of all sizes in the eastern states responded to the call of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and announced a strike in protest.

The price of kerosene gradually moved higher.

By January 1857, Rockefeller was one of the few people in Cleveland and even in Ohio who still had a large amount of kerosene.

There was an endless stream of businessmen coming to buy kerosene from him, and some were even willing to pay $6,500 for the kerosene that Rockefeller had purchased for $3,000.

Rockefeller remained indifferent and just read the newspaper quietly.

By mid-January, news reached Ohio that California Senator Pan Zhengwei was about to arrive in Washington.

This time, even the old Rockefeller couldn't sit still and believed that the time was ripe for selling.

Once Pan Zhengwei reaches an agreement with Washington on behalf of California and California resumes kerosene supply to the eastern region, the price of kerosene in Rockefeller's hands will quickly fall back to normal levels.

Rockefeller just replied calmly: Congressman Pan does not have enough weight, and the best time to sell has not yet come. Still no plans to sell kerosene.

————————————

The White House in Washington at this time.

Buchanan, entering his second year as president, was distraught.

The conflict between the north and the south has not ended, and the dispute between the east and the west has arisen again. Racial issues, economic crisis issues, fiscal issues, local capital outflow issues, tariff issues and many other issues. In the past, if presidents encountered even one of these issues, it would be enough to make them drink.

But all these problems happened to Buchanan, the lucky man, at almost the same time.

Sometimes, Buchanan even felt that he was not sitting on the presidential throne, but sitting on a powder keg full of fuses.

Buchanan hated the previous president's inaction and dumped all the mess on him.

Thinking of Fillmore, Buchanan also thought of the opening ceremony of the Pacific Railroad. Liang Yao and Vanderbilt did not invite themselves to attend, but chose to invite the former president and cabinet members.

Buchanan grew angrier as he thought about it.

Fillmore was responsible for all the good guys, and Buchanan was left to clean up the mess. Fuck, these people are so hateful.

Buchanan originally wanted to use the opening ceremony of the Pacific Railway to show off and improve his image. At the same time, he hoped that the super project of the Pacific Railway would stimulate the American railway industry and boost people's confidence in the railway industry.

To this end, Buchanan even prepared an impassioned speech, but he didn't expect that Liang Yao and Vanderbilt would show up like this in the end.

It seems that this idea has failed, at least the idea of ​​improving its image through the opening ceremony of the Pacific Railway has failed.

Buchanan was not an uncultured and low-quality president. He grew up in a small and prominent family in Pennsylvania and received a good education.

It’s just that anyone who encounters these bad things will inevitably feel unbalanced.

"Your Excellency, Senator Edward from New York State would like to meet with you to discuss the tariff rate issue."

"roll!"

"Your Excellency, Governor Robinson of the State of Casas wants to report to you personally on the conflict that broke out between slaveholders and anti-slaveholders in the town of Topeka on January 21."

"roll!"

"Your Excellency, the President of the Tokmok Railway Company has been waiting outside the White House for two days."

"roll!"

"Your Excellency, the British Minister is here to see you. The British Minister is concerned about the recent discussions in Congress on tariff rates and hopes to talk to you."

"Wait a minute. The British Minister cannot let him go. Tell him that I have been feeling unwell for the past few days and it is inconvenient to receive the Minister."

"Yes, Mr. President, what are you sick of today?"

"You think of one!" Buchanan became increasingly irritable.

Not long after, his assistant returned.

"Your Excellency, California Senator Pan Zhengwei seeks to see you."

"Wait a minute? California Senator?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"Bring him to me quietly."