1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 141 Ambition of Iron

"It was the height of the fighting in California, and both the army and the navy had generals in California.

The supreme commander of the Army was Brigadier General Stephen Carney, Colonel Mason's immediate boss at the time.

The supreme commander of the navy was General Stockton, and the two generals were vying for command of the front.

I happen to have a relatively objective armed force in my hand, probably more than three hundred people. At that time, General Stockton appointed me as the interim governor of the California Territory. I accepted it, and my armed force also obeyed his command. "

Fremont talked about that bitter past.

If Liang Yao realized something, the US Army and Navy also had sectarian views.

As an officer from the army, Fremont is naturally taboo to accept the appointment and dispatch of the commander of the navy, and the ending is naturally self-evident.

"But you are an army officer." Liang Yao said.

"That's the problem. At that time, the war was urgent, and I couldn't take care of so much. Besides, General Stephen Carney was too greedy for merit.

With more than [-] cavalry, he wanted to take the whole of California alone, and wanted to make a splash in this battle. If General Stockton didn't arrive in time, he might be killed in the city of Los Angeles. "

Fremont said.

"Mexico's resistance in Baja California is stronger than in Upper California. I am more in favor of General Stockton's decision-making. I think his decision-making is more reasonable and I decided to follow General Stockton's command.

General Stephen Carney was outraged by this and tipped off to Washington not only to have me court-martialed but also to have me removed from the Army.

Fortunately, I have a little connection in Washington, and his plot did not succeed.

Not long after the war ended, General Carney also unfortunately contracted a tropical disease in Mexico and died not long after returning to the United States. "

"What's the relationship?" Liang Yao asked curiously.

"President Polk and my father-in-law are good friends, and President Polk, thinking of my contribution to the West, not only ordered a pardon for me, but also kept my military post.

It's just that I was already disheartened with the army at that time, I resigned voluntarily, and didn't want to have anything to do with the army anymore. "

Fremont said with a very relaxed expression, but Liang Yao could still see the unwillingness in his eyes.

Perhaps this is also the reason why Fremont declined when President Fillmore appointed him as colonel and sheriff of the California Infantry Regiment last year and gave the position to Liang Yao.

The army is a scar in Fremont's heart.

"You call this a little relationship?" Liang Yao laughed.

"It's good that you have the idea of ​​building a Pacific Fleet on the West Coast, but the federal government has no money right now, so it's impossible for the Navy Department to build a Pacific Fleet on the West Coast," Fremont said.

At the end of last year, he also lobbied in the Washington area. Fremont still knew the financial situation of the US federal government.

The Ministry of the Navy is streamlining even the active fleet, and the shipyards under the Navy are also laying off employees. How could it be possible to set up a new fleet in the Pacific region on the west coast.

It costs more to raise a navy than an army.

"The federal government has no money. We can set up a coast guard in the name of the California Anti-Smuggling Bureau to be responsible for anti-smuggling and coastal patrols in California." Liang Yao said, "I don't think the federal government wants them to come to collect tariffs. What you see is a California where smuggling is rampant."

The federal government can't afford it, but the California government can.

At this time, the IRS (International Revenue Service of the United States), which has changed the color of the American people in later generations, has not yet been established. The Internal Revenue Service of the United States was established during the Civil War, when President Lincoln and Congress of the United States established it to raise military expenses. The income tax also started from this time. just started collecting.

At present, the main source of taxation for the federal government of the United States is tariffs, followed by excise taxes on some consumer goods.

The federal government's tax revenue is relatively single, and the American economy has been sluggish in recent years. It is strange that the finances can be rich.

The federal government may not have the financial affluence of some wealthy states at this time.

The California tax bill has been passed, and after the levy begins, California's financial situation will definitely improve. It is no problem to raise a small fleet in the name of anti-smuggling and protecting merchant ships.

"A patrol ship of more than [-] tons?" Fremont laughed. "If you have the heart, I can also help you clear up the relationship with the navy. The navy's shipyard is also short of orders right now. You can give them Placing a few shipbuilding orders can also make the navy have a good impression of you."

As he spoke, Fremont signaled the servant behind him to bring up the box in his hand.

Fremont opened the box, and inside was a pile of blueprints for the railroad route between San Francisco and Sacramento.

The precise map hanging in Liang Yao's office is Fremont's masterpiece.

The level of drawing in Fremont is very high, no less than that of professional cartographers.

Liang Yao recalled the first time he met Fremont, this guy was looking for gold near Sacramento, and at the same time drawing an accurate map of the Sacramento area.

Fremont and Liang Yao came to the office of the shipyard, and the director of the shipyard hurriedly made room for the two of them.

Fremont took the drawings out of the box and put them on the desk to show Liang Yao.

"This is the railway map drawn by me and the engineers of the California Railway Company. I heard that the steel plant has recently accumulated a lot of iron. I think it is time to start the railway line between San Francisco and Sacramento."

Fremont is also one of the shareholders of the California Railway Company, but the shares he holds are small compared to Liang Yao.

He hopes that the railroad between San Francisco and Sacramento can be completed and opened to traffic as soon as possible.

The rail line linking the two cities must be highly profitable, and he believes it won't take long to pay for itself.

Of course, Fremont's ambition doesn't stop there. He has the same ambition as Liang Yao's, which is to build a railway across North America and connect California and the eastern region with railway lines.

At present, the main mode of transportation between California and the eastern region is through the routes of Nicaragua and Panama.

These two routes have to pass through a piece of land on the isthmus of China and the United States, which is not only inconvenient, but also relatively inefficient, which limits the transportation of large cargo.

Transportation is a bottleneck currently limiting growth in California.

California needs a railway connecting the east and the west. Of course, he also knows that the difficulty and engineering volume of building this railway is unimaginable with the current technical level.

Fremont hopes that the California Railway Company can accumulate experience from the construction of short- and medium-distance railways, and accumulate technology for the future construction of this railway across North America and connecting east and west.

　I have to go out for a trip, I can't add an update tonight, sorry, I will add an update tomorrow!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)