Chapter 87: New York Aristocrats

As time went by, more and more consortiums and families poured into California. Google search reading

These consortiums and families that had just arrived in California inevitably clashed with Liang Yao and the old miners in California.

The consortiums were also divided into two factions. One faction was a more pragmatic consortium. They had recognized the current situation in California. In order to find gold as soon as possible, they did not limit their sights to the Sacramento area. Instead, they chose to go deep into the inland area to find new gold mines.

Of course, these consortiums did not voluntarily give up the Sacramento gold-producing area.

At first, like John, they swaggered into the gold-producing area in the Sacramento area despite Liang Yao's dissuasion, thinking that they were the masters of this gold-producing area.

But soon, they had to bow to reality. The old miners were full of hostility towards them, and their camp was harassed by the old miners every now and then.

The local mounted police refused to provide them with protection on the grounds of insufficient police force, even if they were willing to bribe those greedy mounted police with gold.

As for the current sheriff of California, Colonel Griffin, he is a coward who refuses to even leave the military fortress and cannot be relied on at all.

These are not the most fatal things. The most fatal thing is that Liang Yao rudely cut off their supply of materials, which put them in a very embarrassing situation.

In addition, the hospitals in Sacramento and San Francisco also refused to provide them with any medical services.

Because the behind-the-scenes boss of these two hospitals is Liang Yao, almost all doctors in California are Liang Yao's employees.

These pragmatic consortiums finally reached a compromise with Liang Yao. Liang Yao guaranteed their supply of materials, provided them with medical services, and authorized them to use the port of San Francisco.

In return, they withdrew all workers and machines from the gold-producing areas of Sacramento, no longer involved in the gold-producing areas of Sacramento, and looked for other gold-producing areas.

"The Astors, Livingstons, Schuylers, Bayards, Morriss, Van Rensselaers, Beekmans, Schuylers, and Jays are all really stubborn."

In Tingtao Garden, Liang Yao carefully examined the list in his hand.

The consortiums of these families are another group that refuses to surrender, and would rather bear casualties and mine gold in the Sacramento area despite the lack of food and clothing.

Even Liang Yao had to sigh at their tenacity.

"These are all big families that were formed before the War of Independence, or even before. It can be said that they are the real nobles of America. Some families were already famous big families in the local area when New York was still called New Amsterdam.

For example, the Van Rensselaer family is the most influential Dutch family in New York.

After all, they are nobles, and it is difficult to get them to put down their airs."

Nigel leisurely held the teacup and admired the beautiful scenery of Jinshan Bay.

"In other words, these people became rich during the Dutch colonial period?" Liang Yao was a little surprised. "Compared to the short history of America, they can indeed be regarded as a long-standing aristocratic family."

"That's right. After becoming rich, old Astor also tried hard to integrate with them and make the Astor family aristocratic family." Nigel said.

Nigel is an old New Yorker, and he knows everything about New York.

"So these old nobles also despised Astor in the past? Even the Astor family is just a new noble?" Liang Yao guessed.

"You are such a smart man. Mr. Astor also started from scratch, and he was the son of a poor butcher. His story of starting a business in America from Hesse with $25 and seven flutes is as inspiring and wonderful as Mr. Vanderbilt's story of starting with $100."

"So Mr. Astor eventually became the person he hated the most?"

"That's not the case." Nigel shook his head and denied. "Mr. Astor set his goal to become a New York aristocrat from the beginning. He tried his best to erase his ignoble origins, and even falsified his ancestral home, claiming that he was a descendant of a fallen aristocrat. His butcher father was not his biological father, he was just adopted by the butcher father, and he also wanted to change his Hesse accent, but unfortunately, he Until his death, he carried an accent that made him hate his whole life and feel ashamed.

Mr. Vanderbilt, on the other hand, was a very down-to-earth person. No matter what the occasion, he never shied away from his origins and generously admitted that he was just a vulgar old sailor.

Even when attending a banquet of New York nobles, he was calm and confident in speaking English with a Dutch lowland accent to talk to celebrities.

This is what I admire most about Mr. Vanderbilt, and it is also the reason why I am willing to serve Mr. Vanderbilt.

The contract that the Livingston family offered me was more generous than the total offered by Mr. Vanderbilt. "

"These New York noble consortiums are indeed more difficult to deal with than I thought."

Liang Yao had encountered a real tough guy this time.

Although he wanted to directly eliminate these annoying guys physically in the simplest and crudest way.

But reason told him that he couldn't do that.

These nobles were not small characters like Brannan, they were all well-known and well-established Citibank in New York.

Killing them directly would be against the entire American ruling class. He is not reckless and stupid to this extent.

The safest way at present is to slowly kill them and force them to voluntarily withdraw from Sacramento.

"Yes, the fertile land along the Hudson belongs to them, and their large estates are scattered there. For example, the Schuyler family owns more than 6,000 acres of land along the Hudson.

In fact, like the planters in the South, they owned their own slaves, but they were called tenant farmers in a more civilized way. The tenant farmers managed the estates for these noble gentlemen.

The number of tenant farmers owned by these aristocratic lords is no less than the black slaves of southern plantation owners. However, they are all white, so we can't call them white slaves, right?

But in essence, these tenant farmers are not much different from black slaves. They have signed contracts with these nobles for generations, and they cannot survive without the nobles. "

Nigel expressed his personal opinions.

The cost of labor in the United States is very high, and having a large number of tenant farmers is a very luxury.

Isn't this the American version of allowing only northern aristocrats to own tenant farmers and not allowing southern plantation owners to own slaves?

"Across the Hudson River in New York? 6,000 acres?"

Although Liang Yao is now the largest landowner in California, he does not even own a fraction of these lands.

But his 6,000 acres of land were in New York, where land was at a premium. Liang Yao suddenly felt that he was too ignorant.

These American nobles were no less possessive of land than the Qing landowners.

"Land is the most secure heirloom. The dollar will depreciate, but land in New York State will only increase in value. And land in New York State is more than just wealth."

While speaking, Nigel had already drank all the tea in the tea cup. He handed the tea cup to the maid beside him: "One more cup, thank you."

"that power?"

Liang Yao held his chin and guessed that he had lived in New York for several years in later generations and knew some of the laws of modern New York State.

But he knows that there is a big difference between New York State law in 2022 and New York State law in 1850.

“As you said, according to New York State law, both electors and candidates must own real estate, and of course, the requirements for candidates are higher.

Therefore, less than half of the adult males in New York are eligible to vote in the House of Representatives election, and even fewer are able to vote in the gubernatorial election. "

Without the tea cup in his hand, Nigel had nowhere to place his hands. He thought about it and finally put his hands in his pockets.

“But these votes mean nothing to ordinary New Yorkers like me. New York’s congressmen, governor, and lieutenant governor have all been members of these aristocratic families in rotation since the founding of the country.

They had been intermarried for several generations, and their bloodlines, like their interests, had long been integrated into one.

If you have the idea of ​​defeating them one by one, I advise you to give up. You either beat them all down, or they beat you down. "