Chapter 240: Go to Oregon!

On January 18, 1852, Liang Yao summoned Chinese businessmen in the hall of the Huaxia Chamber of Commerce.

"Almost everyone has arrived. The main members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Jinshan and Saskatchewan are here. There are also three or five members of the Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles, but it is harmless. We can also tell them the content of the meeting by telegram after the meeting.

The president suddenly summoned us, is there an urgent matter?"

Seeing that most people had arrived, Pan Zhengwei, the vice president of the Huaxia Chamber of Commerce, said to Liang Yao.

Liang Yao looked around and found that there were many new faces among these Chinese businessmen, which was a good phenomenon.

"I remember that many of you asked me when you first arrived in America whether you could donate officials in America." Liang Yao said after sitting down.

Businessmen are a group that adapts to new environments quickly. In addition to some new members who have just joined the Huaxia Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese businessmen who arrived in California early have lived in California for at least a year, and some of the core backbones have also followed Liang Yao to the eastern United States.

Many Chinese merchants have gradually become accustomed to life in America, and have a general understanding of the situation in America.

"Don't be afraid of being laughed at by you, I was the first to ask this question." Wu Yuanhua smiled awkwardly, "When I go out, I always feel uneasy without an official as a talisman."

As soon as Wu Yuanhua said this, a burst of laughter broke out among the Chinese merchants, and the air was filled with a happy atmosphere.

"Don't laugh, Liang Yi's worries are not unreasonable."

After these Chinese merchants laughed, Liang Yao said seriously.

"Although America claims to be the world's largest free and democratic republic, freedom is ultimately the freedom of a few people, and democracy is ultimately the democracy of a few people. Although America has no emperor, does anyone know who holds the power?"

"In the hands of the president!"

"In the hands of Congress!"

"In the hands of the Supreme Court!"

The merchants rushed to express their opinions. Due to the special national conditions, Chinese merchants have always been very concerned about politics. However, their purpose of paying attention to politics is not to participate in politics, but to understand the policies of the court and the psychology of officials in order to make the most self-interested decisions and maximize their own interests.

In the Qing Dynasty, the specific manifestation of these Chinese merchants' concern for politics was to guess the intentions of the superiors, make friends with local officials who hold real power and court favorites, and donate from time to time to save themselves.

After arriving in America, this specific manifestation became an investigation of the national conditions of America, understanding the American state machine, and also understanding how the entire California superstructure operates.

Being able to get these not-too-outrageous answers shows that these Chinese businessmen have done their homework and are not just talking nonsense. At least they have a superficial understanding of the United States.

"You are all right, but not completely right. The United States divides the executive, legislative, and judicial powers into three, but the root cause is that whoever has more seats in Congress holds the power of the United States." Liang Yao said slowly.

"And the members of Congress are divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each state has two fixed seats in the Senate, and the seats in the House of Representatives are determined by the population of each state. Every 50,000 voters can elect one member of the House of Representatives.

California has two fixed Senate seats, but the population is too small. The population of the entire California is only a little more than half of that of New York City. California has no advantage in the seats in the House of Representatives."

Since the founding of the country during the War of Independence, the central power of the American federal government and the power of the president have been continuously strengthened, especially in the two key nodes that determined the fate of the United States, the Civil War and World War II.

America has chosen to strengthen the central power and the power of the president, but whether it is strengthening the central power or the president's power, America is relatively limited.

Especially before the Civil War, the power held by Congress was quite large.

"What the president said is very true. New York State has 33 congressmen, and we only have three congressmen in California, which is only a fraction of theirs." Pan Zhengwei deeply agrees.

When attending a local political evening in New York, out of curiosity, Pan Zhengwei asked former New York Governor Hunter this question.

"Although I still don't know much about Washington, I still know California under our feet. It's nothing more than who has more people and who has more power. The ghosts are afraid of us, and it's nothing more than because there are more and more Chinese in California, and there are many seats in the state legislature, and the president has a big business in California. Without the president, those ghosts will have difficulty in eating, wearing and using." Wu Yuanhua said after thinking for a while.

"I think the same is true for the Congress in Washington and the State Assembly in California. Does the president mean that we should have more immigrants and fight for more seats in Congress?"

"Exactly."

These businessmen are still very insightful and understand everything at once. Each state in the United States is a smaller version of the federal government, and its operating logic is the same.

"Even if the president doesn't say anything, we will do it. The Qing Dynasty is not peaceful at the moment, and there have been years of famine, and the people are living in poverty. It is also a good deed to be able to ferry those disaster-stricken people to California. It is a great merit.

Besides, there are only about 300,000 people in such a large state of California, and there are still large tracts of land waiting to be reclaimed. We don't have enough workers." Wu Yuanhua said.

For the immigration matter, the merchants in Guangzhou have been helping. In addition to sending ships to transport immigrants directly, the local officials are also managed by these merchants headed by Yihe Bank and Tongfu Bank.

These merchants also know that they don't have the ability to understand the national conditions of the United States like Liang Yao and to get along with all the major politicians in the United States.

The more stable the foundation of the Chinese in California is, the more stable the foundation of Chinese businessmen in the United States will be. Therefore, they are also willing to take the initiative to contribute in the matter of immigration.

"Immigration is bound to happen. I am here to tell you that according to American law, a territory can apply for statehood as long as its population reaches 60,000. Our neighbor to the north, Oregon, currently has more than 40,000 people. Population." Liang Yao picked up the teacup and took a sip of the fragrant tea.

"The president wants us to send some immigrants to the Oregon area and let them settle down in Oregon. When Oregon's population exceeds 60,000, we can submit an application for statehood to Washington!" Wu Yuanhua slapped his thigh. A sudden realization.

"Wonderful, 50,000 immigrants can only win one more seat in the House of Representatives in California! And all of them have to be adult men! And as long as 20,000 immigrants are sent to the Oregon region, Oregon can directly establish itself as a state! New Jersey has at least two Senate seats and two guaranteed House of Representatives seats!”

Although the United States stipulates that a population of 50,000 people elects one representative, these 50,000 people are not people in the biological sense, but people in the political sense.

Needless to say, black people in the South are certainly not people in the American political sense. Even the 1787 U.S. Constitution stipulates that when counting the population of each state, five black people are converted into three people to calculate the total population of each state.

Women and children cannot be considered persons in the political sense. Although the standards for voters vary from state to state, they all follow the principle of adult free men. In some states, a certain amount must be reached on this basis. Only the property of a person can be called a voter.

This is not fundamentally different from the ancient Greek democratic system.

This is also the reason why when California was founded as a state, its population exceeded 150,000, but it only had three seats in the House of Representatives. This was the number of seats in the House of Representatives after excluding women, children, and black households without American citizenship.

"Clever!" he said with great satisfaction.

"It's just that I heard that the folk customs in Oregon are also very fierce. Most of the people there make a living by hunting and selling furs, or logging and selling wood. With so many of us going there, it is inevitable that we will have conflicts with them." Zeng Jinsong grabbed the sparse hair on his chin. Beard said.

"They are tough, why don't we be tougher than them?" Liang Yao's tone became tougher.

"My status in California today was not obtained for nothing, but was achieved with the barrel of a gun. When I first became successful in California, there were many people who refused to obey me and wanted my life. What about now?

Ghosts always bully the weak and fear the strong. The more you accept the weak, the more they will bully you. If you are tougher than him, you can bully him.

The old ghosts in Oregon use their words to reason with them if they can, but if they can't, they use their guns. What are you afraid of when I'm here to carry you?

Please remember that no matter where you go, California will always be your solid backing. "

In order to give these Chinese businessmen more confidence after entering the Oregon region, Liang Yao gave them reassurance.

Two years ago, he would never have dared to be so arrogant, but at this moment, he now holds the command of three infantry regiments: the California Infantry Regiment, the California Militia Regiment, and the Arizona Infantry Regiment that was just recruited to guard the U.S.-Mexico border. troops.

This is one of the most powerful violent machines in the entire West Coast of the United States.

Any infantry regiment that marches into the Oregon region in the name of defending the Indians is enough to give those unconvinced ghosts in Oregon a drink.

"With the words of the president, I feel much more at ease." Zeng Jinsong said.

"I have men who are engaged in the fur trade in the Oregon region. Although I don't say I know the ins and outs of the Oregon region, I still know a little bit about it. Although the winter there is cold and the farming conditions are not as good as those in California, but if you cultivate it carefully, you can still open up a lot of new fields. Come."

"There is also fur wood. If new mines are discovered during mining exploration in the future, it will also be a great wealth." Wu Yuanhua added.

The Chinese businessmen nodded one after another. With Liang Yao backing them up, they were willing to organize immigrants to colonize the Oregon area.

"I've heard that Burnett has been coveting the position of governor of Oregon for a long time, and he is also working hard for the establishment of Oregon. Moreover, he has great prestige in the Oregon region. This guy has never dealt with us, so I'm afraid he will be a trouble." Pan Zhengwei He expressed his concerns to Liang Yao.

"Bernet is already a withered bone in the grave. In the Oregon region, you just have to go and help the immigrants settle there. I will take care of the rest."

Liang Yao said lightly.