1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 87: New York Nobles

As time goes by, more and more large and small consortiums and family forces are pouring into California. Google search reading

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

The consortia are also divided into two groups. One group is the more pragmatic consortium. They have recognized the current situation in California. In order to find gold as soon as possible, they have not limited their sights to the Sacramento area. Instead, they chose to go deep into the interior to find new gold mines.

Of course, these consortiums are not voluntarily giving up on the Sacramento gold-producing area.

At first, like John, they entered the gold-producing area in the Sacramento area without hesitation, regardless of 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 from time to time.

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

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

These are not the most terrible things. The most terrible thing is that Liang Yao unceremoniously cut off their material supply, putting them in a very embarrassing situation.

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

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

These pragmatic consortia finally reached a compromise with Liang Yao, who guaranteed their material supplies, provided them with medical services, and authorized them to use the port of San Francisco.

In return, they withdrew all their workers and machines from the gold-producing area of ​​Sacramento, no longer interfered with the gold-producing area of ​​Sacramento, and looked for other gold-producing areas.

"The Astors, the Livingstons, the Schuylers, the Bayards, the Morrises, the Van Rensselaers, the Beekmans, the Schuylers, and the Jays are really stinking families. It’s hard.”

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

The consortium of these families is another consortium that refuses to give in and would rather suffer casualties. Even when they are short of food and clothing, they insist on mining gold in the Sacramento area.

Even Liang Yao had to lament their tenacity and perseverance.

"These are all big families that were formed before the Revolutionary War, or even earlier. It can also be said that they are the real aristocrats of the United States. Some families were famous local families 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 arrogance. "

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

"In other words, these people became prosperous during the Dutch colonial period?" Liang Yao was slightly surprised. "Compared to the short history of the United States, they can indeed be regarded as a wealthy family with a long history."

"Isn't that right? After old Astor became rich, he also desperately wanted to integrate with them and make the Astor family one of the noble families." Nigel said.

Nigel is an old New Yorker who knows everything about New York.

"So these old nobles also despised Astor back then? Even the Astor family was just an upstart?" Liang Yao guessed.

"You are really a smart man. Old Mr. Astor also started from scratch, and he was the son of a poor butcher. The story of starting a business from Hesse to the United States with 25 dollars and 7 flutes is the same as Mr. Vanderbilt's 100 dollars. The story is also inspiring and wonderful.”

"Does this mean that old Mr. Astor eventually became the person he hates the most?"

"That's not the case." Nigel shook his head and denied, "Old Mr. Astor's goal was to become a New York aristocrat from the beginning. He tried his best to erase his disgraceful origins, and even tampered with his ancestry and claimed that he was He is a descendant of a down-and-out noble. His butcher father is not his biological father. He was just adopted by his butcher father. Moreover, he also wanted to change his Hessian accent, but unfortunately, he carried it with him until his death, which made him hate him all his life. A shameful accent.

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 openly admitted that he was just a rough old sailor.

Even when attending banquets with aristocrats in New York, he was calm and confident in talking to celebrities in English with a Dutch lowland accent.

This is what I admire most about Mr. Vanderbilt and why I am willing to serve Mr. Vanderbilt.

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

"These New York aristocratic consortia are indeed more difficult to deal with than I thought."

Liang Yao encountered real difficulties this time.

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

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

These aristocrats are not small characters like Brannan, they are all well-established and well-established people in New York.

To kill them directly would be to go against the entire American ruling class. He is not so reckless and stupid.

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 that of southern plantation owners. However, they are all white. You 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.

Labor costs in the United States are 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 talking, Nigel had already drank all the tea in the teacup. He handed the teacup 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. "

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