Chapter 607 Governor

Chapter 600 Governor

Compared to the tense election of the 16th President of the United States, the election of the third governor of California seemed very smooth.

Liang Yao was successfully elected as the third governor of California with a support rate of over 90% without any suspense.

Liang Yao, who became the governor of California, had no fluctuations in his heart.

The governor of California is essentially the spokesperson for the interests of the local chaebol. And he himself is the largest chaebol in California and even the entire West.

If Liang Yao wanted, he could have become the first governor of California ten years ago.

Others have to consider whether they can be elected, but he only needs to consider whether he wants to be elected.

If it weren't for the fact that after the outbreak of the civil war, the western region needed a strong common leader to rule the west. And this western leader, only he is qualified and capable. Liang Yao really doesn't want to be the governor. He prefers to focus his limited energy on military affairs.

Arriving at the long-missed San Francisco Tingtao Garden, listening to the sound of waves coming from the coast, and looking from a high place, what comes into view is the chessboard-like layout of the old city of San Francisco.

The streets of the old city of San Francisco are straight and flat. Although there is no aesthetic feeling, it gives people a very neat and comfortable feeling.

This is the essence of San Francisco, with more than 300,000 residents. Most of the residents who can settle in the overcrowded and expensive old city of San Francisco are immigrants who came to California early and have made a fortune.

The carriage shuttles through the straight streets of the old city, and the sound of horse hooves is clacking, which contrasts with the hawking of street vendors. Pedestrians on the road are in a hurry, shuttling between three-, four-, or even four- and five-story high-rise buildings, forming a busy scene.

On the streets of the commercial district, towering buildings rise from the ground, and crowded people fill the sidewalks. The shop windows are filled with a wide range of goods, attracting people who come here to shop. Even on the street, there are vendors selling fresh food and various handicrafts.

In the port not far away, huge cargo ships are moored at the dock, and the workers on the ship are busy loading and unloading goods. The port is bustling with people. Various goods from all over the world are unloaded from the ship, transported to the warehouse at the dock, and finally transported to every corner of the city by horse-drawn carriages, maintaining the daily operation of this prosperous metropolis.

In 1860, San Francisco had become the trade center of the entire eastern Pacific region.

More than a decade ago, this was still an unknown small fishing village that was not marked on many maps.

"The whole block of buildings over there was newly built last year." Connie Vanderbilt, the mayor of San Francisco, pointed to a high-density residential area with four or five stories high at the foot of Mount San Bruno and said, "The price of this kind of apartment building is more than $20 per square meter. Even with this sky-high price, it was sold out within a few days of opening. What a pity..."

Thanks to Liang Yao's advice to Connie on the train a few years ago, Connie's real estate business in San Francisco, Sacramento, Aurora and other cities has been booming and he has made a lot of money.

The housing price of more than $20 per square meter is indeed a sky-high price. After all, the average worker in San Francisco only earns more than 20 dollars a month.

San Francisco, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Aurora are the four largest cities in California and the essence of California.

Of the 2.8 million people in California, more than 1.7 million people live in these four big cities.

The population of the two metropolitan areas of San Francisco and San Francisco both exceeds 500,000, with 700,000 in the San Francisco metropolitan area and 600,000 in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Such a population scale is an absolute metropolis even in the eastern region.

What's more, San Francisco and Los Angeles have not only a large population, but also a complete industrial chain.

The San Francisco metropolitan area is the largest comprehensive industrial city in the western region, and Los Angeles is the largest petrochemical industry city.

The wealth created by either of these two cities is more than many states in the United States.

"What a pity?" Liang Yao looked at Connie with a sigh and couldn't help asking.

"It's a pity that after this piece of real estate is sold, there is no more land to be developed in the old city of San Francisco. Unless the Golden Gate Park, Seaside Park, Daming Lake Park and other parks are flattened, there will be a place to build houses." Connie said with a smile.

"But these parks were reserved for greening at the beginning of the city planning. It's a pity that they can't be moved. This is the old city of San Francisco, where every inch of land is valuable." Liang Yao knew that Connie was trying to test his opinion, and said lightly: "There are a lot of wastelands in San Jose, Fremont, Oakland, and San Francisco Bay that can be developed. How can you say there is no land to develop?" "Yes, but to develop new land, you have to build roads, and building roads costs money." Connie said meaningfully. "If you have something to say, hurry up and don't beat around the bush." ​​Liang Yao spat. "Then I'll be frank. After the military expansion, the finances of various places have become stretched and a little nervous." Connie thought for a while and said, "I heard that some southern states have been asking the federal government to collect less or even no tariffs. Can we do it too?"

Connie had an idea of ​​the federal government's tariffs. Since the South could not pay tariffs, why not the West?

"You discuss this with Wen Yu." Liang Yao acquiesced to Connie's idea.

Tariffs are essentially protection fees paid by the Western region to the federal government. Since the federal government is now unable to provide sufficient protection for the West and wants to reduce Liang Yao's power, there is no need to continue paying this protection fee.

At the end of August 1860, William Seward, the most promising presidential candidate of the Republican Party, almost ruined his political career because of his outspokenness.

In a speech, William Seward, whether because of excessive fatigue or other reasons, publicly declared that the law is above the Constitution.

William Seward's shocking remarks not only shocked the Southerners, but also shocked his Republican colleagues in the North.

Republican colleagues were shocked that William Seward, as an experienced and savvy old politician, would make such a low-level principled mistake in public.

William Seward's political enemies would not miss this golden opportunity, especially Douglas, the candidate of the Northern Democratic Party, and Breckenridge, the candidate of the Southern Democratic Party, who seized on this fatal mistake of William Seward and made a big fuss about it.

Under pressure from the outside, the Republican Party had to cancel William Seward's candidacy and began to consider new presidential candidates within the party.