Chapter 126: The Friendship Between the Minister of Finance and His Students

Vanderbilt left Doyle's Cafe amidst the uproar.

After walking out of the cafe, he looked at the assistant beside him, his sixth son-in-law Clark.

"Starting today, all shipping companies owned by our Vanderbilt family are suspended."

Vanderbilt spoke to Clark with the unquestioning tone of a king giving orders to his generals.

Previously, he also suspended some less profitable routes to protest against the government to show his support for California.

But this intensity is not enough. He needs to increase the intensity of his protests and put more pressure on the government to resolve this matter quickly.

Of course, the reason why he chose to suspend operations at this time was also based on his judgment: he believed that California would soon win, the suspended routes would be resumed soon, and he would not lose too much. He has also convinced some friends in Congress.

Vanderbilt is confident about the next vote.

"But in this case we will face huge losses! Shipping in the entire New York State will be paralyzed! Our opponents may take this opportunity to seize our market! Please consider it carefully!"

Clark said with some disbelief that the shipping industry is the pillar industry of the Vanderbilt family, at least for now.

He felt Vanderbilt's decision was a little too impulsive.

“The small loss is just a matter of digging for gold in California for a few more days!

tmd! After finishing this matter quickly, I have to go to California to see if that little guy's assets really exceed mine! "

Vanderbilt looked at Clark with some disappointment. Thinking of Liang Yao who was digging gold mines in California at this time, Vanderbilt couldn't help but feel itchy.

He was also a little envious of Liang Yao. It could even be said that he was extremely envious. This little guy actually made the money that he had earned for most of his life in just one year. Anyone can feel jealous and mentally unbalanced.

Damn it, people are really more annoying than people, and those who make money are not as good as those who pick up money.

"Clark, this is where you are inferior to that little guy. He is far more determined and courageous than you in doing things! And you are hesitant to even follow my orders."

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Meanwhile, Washington, D.C.

Dressed in a suit and top hat, Gervin visited Finance Minister Thomas Corwin carrying a heavy box of gifts.

When Corwin was the governor of Ohio, Gervin served as Corwin's secretary for two years.

While serving as the governor's secretary, the down-to-earth and hard-working Gerwin left a good impression on Corwin.

Kerwin and Gervin's career paths are somewhat similar. They both started at the grassroots level, from state legislators to representatives of the House of Representatives, and then to the Senate.

There are only a very small number of people like Fremont who have just entered the political arena and are senators, and more people are slowly climbing up from the bottom.

The growth experiences of Corwin and current President Fillmore also have some similarities, that is, they both obtained lawyer qualifications through self-taught and then entered politics.

Their starting point was not high, but through their own efforts and abilities, they all climbed from the bottom to the top of the country's political circles and realized their American dream.

Last year, Corwin stepped down as a senator and became Treasury secretary and a member of the Cabinet in the Fillmore administration.

In order to avoid civil war, Fillmore dismissed the belligerent Taylor cabinet and appointed some anti-war and peace-minded politicians to the cabinet.

Corwin was one of them. As early as 1836, when the United States attempted to immigrate to Texas, which was still Mexican territory, Corwin strongly opposed this approach.

The theories of Manifest Destiny and the so-called lack of living space that are currently popular in the United States are very absurd in Corwin's view.

Before the Mexican-American War, Corwin felt that the existing territory of the United States was vast enough. The top priority for the United States was to effectively develop the vast and sparsely populated central and western lands, rather than expand externally, because the central and western regions had great potential that could be tapped. , enough to accommodate a larger population.

The United States has 20 million hectares of land, with land prices as low as 25 cents per hectare, not to mention accommodating 20 million people. Corwin believes that as long as the United States can effectively develop these lands, with the advancement of science and technology, these lands can support 200 million Americans. Everyone is fine. There is absolutely no need for external expansion.

Of course, Corwin's biggest concern is that foreign wars will only make the conflicts between the north and the south of the United States more and more intense, and even trigger a civil war between the north and the south.

Facts have proved that his worries are not unreasonable. He believes that the conflicts over the issue of statehood in the territory last year, as well as the current California and Texas issues, are all sequelae of the U.S.-Mexican War.

Thomas Corwin not only said this, he also did it.

When the war broke out between the United States and Mexico in 1846, the enthusiasm for the war was very high in the United States from top to bottom. Almost all public opinions supported the annexation of Mexican territory and even the entire Mexico.

Under such circumstances, Corwin still went against the current under tremendous pressure and resolutely stood up against the war, and delivered a speech "Opposing the Mexican War" and even pointed at then-President Boer in Congress. Polk cursed loudly, accusing Polk of being a war criminal.

Not to mention Corwin's voice at that time, even now it is one of the few.

Corwin read today's "Washington Republic" in silence. This newspaper full of photos made him cry.

This is war, a terrible tragedy caused by war.

"Hello, Mr. Minister."

Gwen walked into Corwin's study carrying the gift box. Corwin's character was consistent with his political views. He seemed to be a very kind-looking person.

"It turns out the senator from California is here."

Kewen was very happy to see that it was Ge Wen who came to visit and warmly received Ge Wen.

He put down the wet newspaper and said to Ge Wen: "I still prefer you to call me teacher. I am very happy to have an excellent student like you. Work hard. You are still relatively young and you still have a great future."

"I really want to thank you for what I have achieved today. When I was your assistant, I learned a lot and benefited a lot." Ge Wen said very modestly.

"Don't be too happy too early. I always like to praise others before hurting others. You have a very serious shortcoming. You will start to waver or even give up halfway when you encounter a slight setback. You need to keep up with your colleagues on this point. Limont should study hard. Although he is very stubborn, sometimes stubbornness has its benefits. "

Corwin said to Ge Wen very seriously, and he had very high expectations for Ge Wen.

“Students are taught.”

Gervin generously admitted his shortcomings, and he was indeed inferior to Fremont in this regard.

Corwin glanced at the gift box that Gavin had just put down and said: "I am the Minister of Finance now and cannot accept gifts. You can take the gifts back.

The above conversation is a private conversation between us, and then we will talk about business. I think you have come all the way from California, and you must be here for California matters. "

"I really can't hide anything from you." Ge Wen said with emotion.

"If you could hide something from me, would I have let you be my assistant?" Corwin said.

"Congress will soon hold a new round of votes, and I think you don't want the situation in California and Texas to escalate further.

You have a high reputation and influence among the central congressmen. I hope you can persuade them to support California and support peace. The United States cannot afford a war now, especially a civil war. "

Corwin has recently been very busy raising compensation for Texas. As Secretary of the Treasury, he naturally knows that the current financial and economic situation of the United States cannot cope with any war.

"As you know, I have always advocated peace and hate war, let alone this kind of war where the same room is at war with each other."

Corwin's eyes fell on the "Washington Republic" on the table. After a pause, he continued to speak slowly.

“For the sake of peace in the United States, I will work hard to persuade members of the House and Senate who have friendships with me, but my influence is only limited to members of Ohio and a few surrounding states.

Those who advocated the resumption of California land were New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Veronia and other old eastern states. They and I couldn't urinate in a chamber pot. "

“That’s enough, on behalf of the people of California, thank you!”

Gervin was overjoyed. There were not many negative votes in California. As long as the still wavering legislators in the central region supported California, he believed that he would have a good chance of winning one-third of the negative votes in this round of voting.

As long as one-third of the votes are against, President Fillmore can veto this unreasonable and unconstitutional bill.

"There is one more thing I need to trouble you with. This matter can be said to be a private matter, but I can say it is a business matter." Ge Wen said.

"Tell me."

"California wants to develop the steel industry. We have not been able to acquire high-quality steel companies in the east. There are many high-quality steel companies in our hometown and the states around the Great Lakes. I hope you can help me connect and introduce some reliable steel companies to me. Steel entrepreneur." Gervin said his request.

Corwin thought for a moment, then touched his smooth chin and said, "As far as I know, no iron ore or coal mines have been found in California. It is not suitable for the development of the steel industry there. Have you discovered new mineral resources?"

Ricowin has learned about California privately. According to his knowledge, no large-scale iron ore resources have yet been discovered in California.

Of course, there are not many iron ore resources discovered in Ohio. However, Ohio has a large number of coal mines and is very close to the iron ore producing areas of the Great Lakes. It is not a bad idea to import iron ore from surrounding states to develop the state's steel industry.

California does not have the same conditions as Ohio.

"It seems that you still know California very well, but we still found some coal mines. Although they are not big, they are enough to last for a while. We also found a solution for the iron ore mines."

Gervin scratched his head and said that there is no iron ore found in California, which is indeed a very troublesome problem.

He and Liang Yao also complained about this problem to each other when they talked.

The steel industry is the foundation of industry. Whether it is laying railways or manufacturing machines, steel cannot be bypassed.

Ge Wen also agrees with Liang Yao's view that no matter how much gold there is in California, it will be mined out one day. Now, while there is still gold in California, they must immediately use the original capital to convert it into real industries.

Only in this way can California have a way out after the gold mines are exhausted and continue to maintain California's prosperity.

And the prosperity at that time was the real prosperity, not the deformed prosperity at present.

Although Liang Yao was very young, only a few years older than Ge Wen's eldest son, Ge Wen felt that Liang Yao was a very visionary person.

"What solution have you found?" Corwin asked curiously.

"Sorry, I can't tell you for the time being." Ge Wen said apologetically.

Because Liang Yao finally decided to import iron ore and even coal from Mexico, the relationship between the United States and Mexico is still very tense,

and such things naturally cannot be brought to the table.

Corwin did not embarrass Ge Wen, but he was still very curious about the California authorities, because he saw more news about the deputy governor of California, the first multi-millionaire in the West.

As for Mr. Robinson, the current governor of California, there is very little news about him. Except for seeing his name in the news of successfully preventing cholera, there is no other valuable news.

In contrast, there is more news about the deputy governor of California, whether it is positive news or negative news, and even gossip about the Vanderbilt family, which can often be seen in newspapers.

Of course, in this era of materialism, people are more concerned about the deputy governor's wealthy identity. Major newspapers have estimated the assets held by Liang Yao, ranging from 10 million US dollars to hundreds of millions of US dollars, with various versions of estimates.

They also nicknamed this mysterious rich man who had never met him the King of Gold, just like they nicknamed Vanderbilt the King of Ships.

Some exaggerated news even said in the newspaper that the residence of the King of Gold was built with gold.

For such a statement, Cowen did not believe it. A residence built with gold must be uncomfortable to live in. He prefers wooden residences and feels that wooden residences are more comfortable to live in.

Whether in Washington, DC or Ohio, his residence is a wooden building.

Cowen heard that the deputy governor was a little too young. He was only 20 years old this year, which was what Orientals called the virtual age. His actual age might not even be 20.

This made Cowen curious about this young man. A person under the age of 20 was in charge of a state?

This was unprecedented in the history of the United States.

"Gerwin, please tell me, is it your governor or your vice governor who is in power in California now?"

Corwin's serious expression was mixed with curiosity.

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4k chapter is here!

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