1850 American Gold Tycoon

Politicians are gamblers by nature.

A typical representative among them is British Prime Minister Churchill. Before the war, the Chamberlain government advocated appeasement, and he sang a high-profile anti-appeasement tone.

After the war, Labor Prime Minister Clement was pro-Soviet, and he sang an anti-Soviet tone.

Fortunately, Churchill won the bet twice and succeeded in becoming prime minister.

Buchanan was not as lucky as Churchill. He ran for president four times. Buchanan sang the opposite tune the first three times. It was not until his fourth campaign on behalf of the Democratic Party that the 65-year-old Buchanan entered the White House as he wished.

A 65-year-old is not considered young to serve as president. Before Buchanan, only the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, became president at the age of 68, older than Buchanan.

The rest of the presidents are younger than Buchanan. Buchanan's predecessor, Fillmore, was only 50 years old when he became president.

Buchanan's rich resume is, at best, a rich political resume, but at worst, he has a troubled official career.

It is the norm for Western politicians to contradict the previous government.

Buchanan also inherited this characteristic of Western politicians, or to be precise, part of it.

Former President Fillmore pursued a policy of being close to the Chinese, while Buchanan did the opposite and pursued a policy of alienating the Chinese.

As for the most critical North-South issue, Buchanan and his cabinet continued the policy of peace and harmony and chose to evade.

At first, Buchanan believed that the Chinese, as an ethnic minority that had just emerged in recent years, had limited influence, and equated them with Irish immigrants.

Buchanan ignored that the Chinese syndicate was far more powerful than the Irish immigrants.

Politically, the Chinese consortium directly controlled the votes in three states.

The economic influence and political voice of the two are completely different.

When the anti-Chinese riots first broke out, Buchanan did not stop them immediately, but chose to sit on the sidelines.

The economic crisis has made people irritable and irritable, and these irritable and irritable people need someone to vent to.

As a wealthy ethnic minority, Chinese Americans are obviously a very suitable target for venting.

Buchanan hoped to use this to divert conflicts and buy him enough time to deal with this sudden and menacing economic crisis.

It's just that he made a mistake. The Chinese are not Irish.

During this period, the wealthy Irish people in the United States generally did not take the initiative to admit that they were of Irish descent, and were more willing to rely on their English and Scottish ancestry to identify themselves.

The Chinese are different. If they don't admit that they are Chinese, shouldn't they admit that they are Japanese?

What's more, compared to the Irish, the Chinese have ethnic leaders with extremely strong strength and attitude, which is something the Irish do not yet have.

"Your Excellency, the voters of the West Coast states are very disappointed with you and your cabinet's inaction." Pan Zhengwei did not give Buchanan a good look. He directly threw the "Strike Statement" and the "Three West Coast Three States High Government Letter" at the president. On the desk.

"Don't forget that West Coast states contributed their votes to the fact that you are sitting in this seat."

Pan Shicheng's Chinglish, Buchanan waited for a while before he understood Pan Shicheng's words.

"Mr. Pan, please take a seat." Buchanan pointed to the chair opposite and motioned for Pan Zhengwei to sit down and talk.

“It’s a pity that things have reached this point, and I don’t want to see this situation.

As you know, I have to deal with many important things every day, and it is inevitable that there will be omissions."

Although Pan Shicheng cannot speak English well and has a strong accent, his English listening is still very good. Before Buchanan could finish speaking, he interrupted Buchanan: "What the President means is the personal safety of American citizens." and property security are not important matters to you.”

"Congressman Pan misunderstood me. The personal safety and property safety of citizens are of course very important."

Pan Zhengwei's tough and rude attitude made Buchanan unhappy, but Buchanan still controlled his emotions and did not have an attack.

The economic situation in the eastern states is not optimistic to begin with, and the strike by Chinese businessmen has made the economy and people's livelihood in the eastern states even worse.

Before the Chinese businessmen went on strike, people in the eastern region could not only enjoy industrial products and petrochemical products from the west coast, mainly California. You can also enjoy Chinese specialties that are cheaper than those in European markets.

After the Chinese merchants went on strike, these products disappeared from the shelves almost overnight.

Residents of eastern states have long complained about this.

Buchanan has many problems to solve now, and precisely because there are so many problems, they need to be solved one by one.

Buchanan hopes that Chinese businessmen can end the strike as soon as possible to alleviate the current bad economic situation, improve people's livelihood, and of course, the most important thing is to increase the government's low support rate.

With the current approval rate, it would be a blessing if Buchanan could serve as president for a full term. It would be wishful thinking to be re-elected.

Therefore, Buchanan did not offend Pan Zhengwei, a representative from three states on the West Coast, because of his tough attitude.

"If it is important, then why did you turn a deaf ear to the riots against Chinese businessmen in the eastern region and did nothing? We have asked Washington about this matter several times, but you have not given us a satisfactory answer." Pan Zhengwei still said The attitude of calling out the enemy.

"Sixty-eight Chinese citizens were killed in the riots, and countless others were injured. According to rough statistics, our direct economic losses have exceeded US$1.5 million in just one month."

"I deeply sympathize and apologize for this. This is my dereliction of duty." Buchanan slightly bowed to Pan Zhengwei to apologize, and then said.

"Your Chamber of Commerce's losses from the daily strike exceed tens of thousands of dollars. In order to reduce economic losses, your Chamber of Commerce should cancel the strike and restore normal market order."

"The loss of normal market order in the eastern market was not caused by us. We are also citizens of the United States, and we also hope that the United States will have a good economic environment." Pan Shicheng's attitude is very firm.

"I am a businessman and I love money very much, but there are some things that are more important than money, and for these things, we would rather suffer the loss of money."

"what?"

After the assistant served tea, Buchanan made a gesture of inviting tea and invited Pan Shicheng to drink tea.

"Fairness and dignity." Pan Zhengwei straightened his somewhat stooped back.

Regardless of their wealth, the merchants of the Thirteenth Bank of Guangzhou are the emperor's Nanku and the fat pigs of the Qing Dynasty. With just one word from the person in the capital city, no matter how much wealth you have accumulated, it will be wiped out in an instant.

This is the direct reason why Pan Zhengwei, who is over 60 years old, still chooses to cross the ocean and buy property in the United States.

Firstly, he wanted to prepare a way out for the Pan family, and secondly, he also wanted to make money while standing.

"How can we deal with the aftermath so that your Chamber of Commerce can cancel the strike?"

By this time, Buchanan knew that it was impossible for Chinese businessmen to cancel the strike unconditionally.

"The conditions for canceling the strike have been written on it." Pan Zhengwei pointed to the two documents that had just been thrown on the president's desk.

Buchanan nodded, took the glasses and documents handed over by his assistant and read them carefully.

The other party’s requirements can be summarized as follows.

One: severely punish the perpetrators involved.

There is nothing wrong with this. The security in the eastern region should indeed be improved. Otherwise, the restoration of normal social order will be far away.

Second: The federal government issues a public statement apologizing for the recent series of atrocities and racial discrimination against Chinese people.

This is barely acceptable. After all, the prestige of the Buchanan administration has hit rock bottom. As long as the economy can improve, it would not be difficult for him and his cabinet members to apologize. Perhaps this move can also improve his image.

Third: Provide pensions for the victims and injured in this incident, and compensate Chinese merchants for their losses.

Buchanan hesitated when he saw this.

The federal government's finances are currently in dire straits, otherwise Buchanan would not have touched upon the always sensitive issue of tariff rates.

This money may still be able to pay for the compensation for the victims and injured, but it may be difficult to compensate all the merchants for their losses.

"The perpetrators involved should receive the punishment they deserve. The federal government also bears a certain responsibility for this incident. As the president, I should apologize." Buchanan took off his glasses and rubbed his sore eyes.

"Only for compensation, the federal government is really powerless. I hope you can understand my difficulties."

"Then who can understand the difficulties of those poor victims? If there is no financial compensation, how will the families of the victims and the injured maintain their lives in the future?" Pan Zhengwei said seriously.

"Your Excellency, this is not a business, there is no room for bargaining."

"I also sympathize with the victims and injured, but the federal government really has no money. This is by no means me deceiving you and bargaining with you. If you don't believe me, I can call the Minister of Finance." Buchanan said in a very embarrassed tone. said.

"I also understand the difficulties faced by the federal government, and I didn't say that the federal government must provide this money. The federal government bears some responsibility for this matter, but it is not fully responsible." Pan Zhengwei reminded.

"I know some about the politics of the Qing Dynasty. Your Excellency, the president is not the emperor. The states in the United States are independent political entities. I have no right to issue orders to the states." Buchanan shook his head and said.

Not to mention that the president cannot issue orders to the states, not to mention the issue of money. It is extremely difficult to get the following states to spend money.

Buchanan had been a Pennsylvania congressman when he was young, and he knew very well what state-level government and parliament were like.

"I didn't say that." Pan Zhengwei said slyly, "Although the president is not the emperor, you are the president, and you will always find a way."

Cunning old fox, Buchanan cursed secretly in his heart, have you said it yet? All he needs to do is tell me openly to put pressure on the states.

"Your Excellency, I have conveyed to you the attitude of the Chinese businessmen in California and the West Coast. The above requirements are our bottom line." Pan Zhengwei glanced at Buchanan and prepared to stand up and leave.

"In addition, Speaker Liang asked me to tell you that the Qing Dynasty intends to establish a shipping administration and wants to find a reliable partner among Western countries. At present, Speaker Liang has used personal connections to negotiate with the commissioners of the Qing Dynasty and the Deputy Minister of War. this matter.

Speaker Liang is worried that if this matter is not properly resolved, it will damage the international image of the United States, and it will be difficult for the Qing Dynasty to explain it. "

"Your Excellency, please stay!" Upon hearing this, Buchanan stood up quickly and grabbed Pan Zhengwei.

"What did you just say? The Qing Dynasty wants to establish a shipping administration? What is going on?"

"To be specific, in order to strengthen coastal defense, the Qing Dynasty wanted to establish a modern navy, set up modern shipyards, and build modern forts, but they did not have the relevant experience and technology." Pan Zhengwei sighed loudly as he spoke.

"Hey~ the commissioners and ministers of the Qing Dynasty came to California and were very angry after learning about this incident. They angrily criticized the United States as a barbaric country and could not cooperate with it. If Speaker Liang had not worked hard to persuade them to stay, I am afraid that the commissioners and ministers of the Qing Dynasty would have changed their minds by now. Headed to France."

Establishing a navy, setting up a shipyard, and repairing forts are all defense projects that are more expensive than the last.

At present, the federal government's finances are tight, and Buchanan is worried about not being able to broaden fiscal revenue channels.

Furthermore, besides money, what Buchanan needs most now is political achievements. If this can be facilitated, Buchanan will not only gain much-needed political achievements, but also alleviate some financial problems, and can also increase the influence of the United States in the Far East. Strength can be described as killing three birds with one stone.

Thinking of this, Buchanan felt a little light-headed.

Buchanan enthusiastically shook Pan Zhengwei's old hand and said excitedly: "Speaker Liang, please make sure to retain the commissioners and ministers of the Qing Dynasty! Bring them to Washington to see me. I will handle this matter soon!" "

With that said, Buchanan called his assistant and asked the assistant to inform the Secretary of State to prepare to convene Congress.