Chapter 338: America Eating Watermelons

The strong smell of gunpowder on the European continent can be smelled in America.

Compared with the reports on the issues of the United Kingdom, France and Russia surrounding the Near East in major newspapers, Liang Yao is more concerned about an inconspicuous news in the corner of the newspaper.

A small accident happened in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Elswick factory of Armstrong Company in the western suburbs of Newcastle exploded due to improper warehouse management. The explosion affected the entire factory area and the entire factory was almost razed to the ground.

The Elswick factory was actually an arsenal, and at that time this arsenal was not known to people outside the UK.

This arsenal was the arsenal that later produced the Armstrong gun and the predecessor of the Elswick Shipyard.

The Beiyang Fleet of the Qing Dynasty and the Combined Fleet of Japan had purchased ships from the Elswick Shipyard.

For example, the mosquito ship, the first Western warship purchased by the Qing Navy, was partly built by the Elswick Shipyard.

The Hatsurai battleship and the Asama armored cruiser of the Japanese Combined Fleet were also built by this shipyard.

It’s just that Armstrong has just started and has not yet entered the shipbuilding industry.

Liang Yao naturally knows why the Armstrong factory exploded.

He just wanted the Luo family to help him get the experimental gun in the blueprint and steal the research results of Armstrong. He didn’t expect the Luo family to do so. They made a big move and blew up the entire factory.

In addition to the presidential election these days, the most popular topic for Americans to talk about before and after dinner is which of the three countries is stronger, Britain, France and Russia, and after Russia invaded the Ottoman Empire, will Britain continue to give verbal support to the Ottoman Empire, or will it directly send troops to help the Ottoman Empire, or will it directly stand on the side of Russia to dismember and divide the Ottoman Empire.

As for France, most Americans believe that France will definitely stand on the opposite side of Russia, because the First French Empire began to decline after the failure of the expedition to Russia.

At the Vienna Conference, Britain, which defeated Napoleon in the crucial battle of Waterloo, was relatively tolerant of the defeated France, while Russia was aggressive and wanted to dismember France.

American politicians judged that the hostility between Britain and France was not as deep as the outside world imagined, and this time Britain and France were likely to join hands to fight against this Eastern giant bear.

No one knows a father better than his son. These American politicians' judgment of the situation was relatively accurate, especially their judgment of Britain's behavior was very accurate.

The authorities are confused, but the bystanders are clear. If you pull up a congressman and ask them whether a war will break out between slave states and free states, their reaction will definitely be hesitant for a long time and can't say anything, but if you talk to them about the situation on the European continent, they can talk eloquently and say something useful.

The United States now has no say in international affairs, and the world is still a world centered on Europeans.

Even if a war breaks out, it will not have much impact on the United States.

The United States is also unable to intervene in European affairs and can only watch the show across the Atlantic Ocean.

The Crimean War, a large-scale war in which both sides deployed millions of troops, was not something America could afford.

If America couldn't afford it, Liang Yao couldn't afford it even more. With his current two regiments of troops, he couldn't make much of a splash if he was deployed to the Crimean battlefield.

Of course, he didn't want to send troops directly to Crimea to stir up this muddy water.

However, there was still a desire to make money from the war. America had a unique geographical advantage and was naturally suitable for making money from the war.

Not only Liang Yao had this idea, but plantation owners in the south were already discussing raising the price of cotton to make a lot of money from the British and French.

Factory owners in the north were also discussing the feasibility of selling military supplies to Britain and France.

Whether in the south or the north, the discussion was about trading with Britain and France, and few people discussed trading with Russia.

This also reflected from the side that Russia, an empire that was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, had a very backward economy and had little influence on international trade. Its backward and fragile economy could not support the empire's huge military power.

Fur may be the only commodity that Russia can offer. The only trade that Liang Yao and Russia have in common is fur.

And it is not Liang Yao's rigid demand. The Oregon region near California produces fur, and Canada also produces fur.

The fur from these places can completely replace the fur imported from Russia.

Liang Yao is thinking about how to maximize the economic benefits in this upcoming war. He wants to make money from Britain and France, as for Russia?

Can the Russian Empire, which has to feed more than one million gray animals of the Tsar, afford it? The answer is obvious, no.

I am afraid that the only thing Russia can offer is land and population.

Recently, many British, French, and Russian businessmen have appeared on Wall Street, presumably to raise funds for the upcoming war.

Liang Yao also issued $5 million of state government bonds for the California government on Wall Street. Due to the good reputation of the California state government, investors are also confident in the future development of California.

These $5 million California government bonds were sold very smoothly on Wall Street.

In addition to selling bonds for the California government, Liang Yao also issued $5 million in bonds on Wall Street in the name of the Americas Group. These bonds were quickly sold out and were more popular than the California state government's bonds.

Liang Yao also mortgaged his 5 acres of land in New York to the local Citibank, and borrowed $1 million from Citibank.

Including the original working capital, Liang Yao now has about $15 million in working capital.

With this money in hand, Liang Yao is confident enough, whether it is the start of the Pacific Railway or the increase in the production of Los Angeles oil, there is no need to worry about the problem of capital chain rupture.

What's more, in addition to this $15 million.

If the negotiation with the Rothschild family on the kerosene business goes smoothly, Liang Yao can also apply for a considerable loan from the Rothschild family's bank.

At the end of the month, the results of the election were announced, and Fillmore won the election with a slight advantage and was qualified for re-election.

This also made Liang Yao's heart, which had been hanging, finally put down.

At the same time, Liang Yao also lamented the strength of the Democratic Party.

Fillmore won the three major vote banks of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio in succession, and got 30% of the electoral votes. His opponent was still a clown like Pierce, but in the end he only won a small victory.

It can be seen that as the oldest existing political party, the Democratic Party still has a very deep foundation and influence.

It is worth noting that in this election, many abolitionists of the Democratic Party and the Whig Party voted against and withdrew from the Democratic Party and the Whig Party.

These politicians who were originally in hostile parties became closer and closer because of the same political proposition: abolition.