Wild North America 1846

Chapter 355
January 1861, 11

This is the beginning of the fifth year of the American Civil War and the second year of the North American War. The streets and alleys of Detroit have been cleaned up, but there is still a lingering smell of corpses.

Surrounded by a group of senior generals, Li Cha stood on the pier by Lake Erie, looking at the vast and misty lake in front of him with deep eyes, wondering what he was thinking?
after a long time
Li Cha pointed to the northeast direction and asked; "Toronto should be in that direction, right?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, yes, from here to the northeast, you can reach the entrance of the Toronto Canal about 254 kilometers away, and it is about 330 kilometers away from Toronto. It can be reached in a day by boat."

"Are the English ships still coming?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, there are still. Two British cargo ships arrived just the day before yesterday, carrying food and cloth, which are the most in-demand goods in the Northeast of the United States. The British side expressed their willingness to strengthen trade with us. close co-opperation."

"If you want to grow into a great empire admired by the world, you really have to imitate the thick skin of the British. This is something we lack." Li Cha said with a soft sigh.

A group of senior generals looked at each other strangely, but they didn't say anything.

Tucao about the British is now a very popular topic in the two military and political administrations of the Tang Kingdom. If there is anything to do, the British elders will be brought out to make a fuss. I didn’t expect His Majesty to be very interested. It’s not easy to be a courtier. It’s taboo for His Majesty Well!
Admiral Dai Changfu gave a dry cough and said;

"Your Majesty, I think that soldiers should be pure, loyal to His Majesty, loyal to the kingdom, and maintain a noble character of being brave and fearless, humble and sticking to their oaths. Those intrigues are things that politicians should do, and soldiers don't bother to do them. .”

"It makes sense, standing by Lake Erie really makes people feel open!" Li Cha didn't dwell on the previous question, but changed the subject; "After the war, there were many casualties, so we should invite Buddhists and Taoists to do more A large-scale water and land ceremony, Christian priests can also participate, let the dead rest in peace, and the sad moment will become a thing of the past as soon as possible. Detroit needs a new start, and arrangements must be made as soon as possible."

"I understand." Dong Jie replied solemnly.

For some reason, standing on the edge of Lake Erie and watching the waves lapping against the shore, and the icy cold water vapor blowing in the bitter cold wind, people have a kind of coldness that penetrates the bone marrow, and they always feel depressed. A penetrating feeling.

If there is any smell in the city, it will inevitably make people think...

Finding some monks and Taoist priests to do rituals really helps to eliminate the psychological shadow.

After inspecting Detroit, His Majesty the King ended his eastward tour and returned to the imperial capital Chang'an by royal patent.

The New Year's Spring Festival is coming soon. The king will lead the royal family and ministers to pray to the heaven and earth, worship the ancestors, and hold the annual grand Spring Festival sacrifice.

This includes conferring meritorious officials, accepting pilgrimages from various countries and submitting credentials. There is a whole set of cumbersome royal etiquette and countless diplomatic activities, all carried out at the end of the year and the beginning of the year.

In 1861, it was not the same as a new year came.

Different from the cold weather, the restored Detroit railway ushered in a vigorous wave of transportation. In one day, 21 passenger trains and 14 freight trains arrived, bringing a large number of Chinese immigrants full of hope.

These Chinese immigrants are all old immigrants who have obtained residence permits in the kingdom for more than three years. They are like sardines that smell of money, and they migrate here with their wives and children.

Every time the Datang Kingdom opened up frontiers, it would bring countless opportunities to make a fortune.

"Go east... to open up new frontiers!"

"The east is the heavenly place to realize the dream of wealth, and the paradise of adventurers."

"Go to the east and set off a new wave of colonization and development."

This kind of slogan is the focus of the topic of anti-Yingtian in the media circles of the Tang Kingdom today, and the newspapers report all kinds of anecdotes and strange events.

For example, someone bought a large house or a detached villa in the city at an astonishingly low price of cabbage. A white woman bought one and got two free, and bought many golden shops in the city, and lived a shameless life ever since. rich life.

In the report, a certain person took over a white farmer's manor with an astonishing area at a price almost free, and he also has a beautiful wife and family, and has since reached the pinnacle of life...

Someone has dug up treasure in the yard, and someone has taken advantage of something. All kinds of wealth myths are staged in turn, and the newly conquered land is interpreted as a glittering dream land.

Such advocacy is in the interests of the Tang Kingdom.

From the perspective of the Kingdom government, it does not need those new immigrants who have nothing to develop the east, but prefers the old group of immigrants who already have a certain amount of capital and are more familiar with the operating rules and social conditions of the immigrant country of the Tang Kingdom.

There are indeed countless opportunities in the eastern region. From urban residences to shops, villages and towns, and farms and pastures on vast land, they all need people with certain financial strength to take over instead of giving them away for free. Things must be done according to market rules.

Although there are opportunities everywhere in the Datang Kingdom, no one can get something for nothing.

By selling city shops and properties, the Royal Government can quickly withdraw a large amount of funds for the financial gap caused by the war.

With so many assets in a city, it is easy to withdraw hundreds of millions of social funds. It is possible that the Datang Kingdom government will make a huge war fortune because of this.

After the Northern Corps conquered Detroit, the troops entered a long-term rest and replenishment of 3 to 4 months, and at the same time undertook the urban reconstruction of Chicago and Detroit and the follow-up combat missions of townships.

As many as 3 disabled soldiers will be retired, and some meritorious veterans who have overdue their service will also be retired. They will be arranged on the spot in Michigan and Illinois, and they will be given land and houses according to their merits. Shameless and peaceful life.

After this round of adjustments, the Northern Corps will have a shortage of more than [-] soldiers, half of which will be replenished from recruits from the mainland, and the other half will be replenished from conscripts recruited from within the kingdom, and the training will be completed during the rest period.

During the 3-4 months of rest and replenishment, the Northern Corps allowed its active-duty officers and soldiers to participate in the wealth-sharing feast on the newly conquered land, and provided all conveniences for this. This is an excellent move to unite the army.

this day

Captain Wu Erbao (newly promoted) was on vacation, wearing a neat military uniform, and visiting shops along the bustling streets of downtown Detroit with a group of fellow officers and new immigrants.

Each of them held a pamphlet in their hands, followed behind the young municipal employee, and listened carefully to the young man's explanation.

"Gentlemen of the military and friends who are willing to invest in Detroit shops and houses;
What you are visiting now is the prime neighborhood of Detroit. Here is a 177-story reinforced concrete building at 4 Caltman Street. It was built in 1853. The whole building is in Victorian style. The surface of the building is decorated with snowstone and granite. It is only 7 years old. time.

There are 12 shops on the first floor of this building, each shop covers an area of ​​60 to 85 square meters, and the price is also high or low.

Can provide you with a price reference;
Such a store, in 1856 before the outbreak of the Civil War, was worth more than 6500 Tang Yuan, and we set the starting price of each shop at 700 Tang Yuan, which was almost 1/10 of the value.

After a while, the auction starts, and the highest bidder wins.

The superstructure of this building consists of three floors. We will sell the entire floor as a package. Each floor has an area of ​​830 square meters and was worth 2.5 yuan before the war broke out. The highest price wins.

Take a look at the prosperous western coastal cities of the Kingdom today, and you will know the huge potential for appreciation in the property in front of you?
The newly conquered eastern cities are full of opportunities to make a fortune!
According to the information I have;

In less than a month, the total number of Chinese immigrants who have poured into Michigan has reached 31.17, and as many as 17.82 people have stayed in Detroit for development, and you are a powerful part of it.

In addition, most officers and soldiers of the Army of the North are willing to buy properties and settle down in this city. A look at many officers and gentlemen in our visiting team can prove that what I say is true.

This can show that the properties we sell are very valuable and have great potential for future appreciation.

Here, I would like to sincerely thank the imperial soldiers who obeyed His Majesty's orders and sacrificed their blood to conquer foreign lands. It is your dedication that has brought us countless precious wealth opportunities. Thank you again. "

After finishing speaking without any bumps, the young government employee bowed deeply with a respectful expression, which drew warm applause from the audience.

Captain Wu Erbao and a dozen other officers accepted the compliment with reserved expressions, which is an honor that soldiers deserve.

The people who came to participate in the real estate auction were all well-to-do immigrants of the older generation. They valued the bright development prospects of Detroit. This is the closest city for the Tang Kingdom to export to Europe. On the other side of Lake Erie is the Windsor region of Canada.

It is only 993 kilometers from Detroit to New York, the largest city on the east coast of the United States. Similarly, exporting from Detroit to Europe is only a thousand kilometers longer than New York. If the ship travels at a speed of more than 20 kilometers per hour, it is almost two Days and nights.

Compared with the traditional southern trade route of the Tang Dynasty to Central America and Panama, it saved more than 6800 kilometers. Compared with the Southern Railway, which then transited through the Mexican Railway, and exported from the Gulf of Mexico, the distance was shortened by 3150 kilometers.

Anyone with a little vision can see that the city of Detroit may develop into a bright future that is not inferior to Los Angeles.

Datang Kingdom is different from the United States. The United States has a series of excellent seaside port cities such as Philadelphia, New York, and Hampton on the east coast.The territory of the Tang Kingdom is located on the west coast of North America, and it is heavier than the major port cities on the Pacific coast, lacking ports leading to the Atlantic Ocean.

And because of geographical limitations, the importance of the city of Detroit is highlighted.

Newspapers have clearly analyzed the importance of the eastern cities of Detroit and Chicago, which have excellent development foundations, and canal shipping, railway and road transportation are very convenient.

Taking advantage of the time when the smoke of war has not yet completely dissipated, it is definitely a good deal that can make a profit without losing money.

Captain Wu Erbao and his colleagues also very much agreed with the analysis in the newspaper, so they took advantage of the vacation to make a big purchase of property assets, which has become a common practice among the officers and soldiers of the Northern Corps.

The young municipal staff who led the crowd to visit were outstanding graduates of Taoyuan School of Administration and joined the newly established Detroit City Hall.One of their current important tasks is to sell some city assets to return funds as soon as possible, prosper the market, and provide stable and continuous tax revenue.

There are as many as a dozen such house sales working groups.

After the enthusiastic young municipal staff led the crowd to visit the shop structure and the upper property, they waited downstairs, preparing to start the on-site auction when the auctioneer arrived.

in a while
The auctioneer arrived in a hurry in a carriage, and everyone helped to lift an auction table from the carriage, accompanied by lawyers, bank staff and two other city officials, who were responsible for witnessing the legality of the process and registration of participants, and Auction funds are collected afterwards.

These people came after another auction ended, and they had to catch the next one after the auction here, so they were really busy.

"Hey, Brother Tongde, are you looking at the shops or the entire upstairs property? If you have any ideas, let us know." Captain Wu Erbao said with a smile.

Major Geng Tongde is the oldest officer in this wave and has the highest position. He is now serving as a senior staff officer in the Staff Department of the Fourth Army, and he is in the same department as Captain Wu Erbao who was newly promoted and transferred. He is quite prestigious among the officers.

Major Geng Tongde is also a straightforward person. He stood aside and waited for the registration. Anyway, he cleared his throat and said;

"From my experience, the newspapers say that Detroit has the same future development prospects as Los Angeles, and I agree with that.

The prosperity of commercial trade will inevitably drive up the rental prices of shops along the street. Therefore, it is more cost-effective to buy a shop than the entire floor above, and the appreciation potential is higher.

As long as you can take pictures of two shops, you don’t have to do anything to be a charterer in the future, and you can see money in your account every month, wouldn’t it be wonderful!

The property on the upper floor is not bad either. It is cost-effective whether it is rented to people or to companies for office use. The main reason is that the area is large, with 830 square meters on the first floor, but the potential for appreciation is definitely not as good as the shops below! "

Major Duan Tongde's analysis attracted a lot of nods from the military officers. Many officers of the Corps also invested in buying urban properties. Major General Zheng Shi (Zheng Laosi), the commander of the Fourth Army, bought half a street by Lake Erie.

Although the location is a bit remote, it can't stand the size!

There are more than 10 large and small buildings, as well as apartments and warehouses. They earn more than 10 yuan in rent every year just sitting still. It can maintain a decent life for the upper-class military aristocrats, which is much more cost-effective than running a ranch.

There are more than a dozen streets in Detroit City by Lake Erie, and the commanders of the corps and divisions made a lot of moves, which made Wu Erbao and other middle- and lower-level officers jealous, and they also joined the army of investors one after another.

The Kingdom has generous rewards for military meritorious deeds, mainly based on the meritorious field system, but it can also be discounted for officers and soldiers who do not want to operate farms and ranches. Purchase a permanent property.

Generally speaking

No officer or soldier is willing to give up the reward of meritorious service. After all, this is a field that can enjoy "ten taxes and one preferential tax rate" for a lifetime, and it is also a symbol of the glory of the army.

Even after the death of these meritorious officers and soldiers, the nature of the "meritorious land" inherited by the family will change to civilian land, and the "ten taxes and three ordinary tax rates" will continue to be used, which is very cost-effective.

But look at it from another angle

It is a very cost-effective investment to buy shops or other properties with the "discounted capital of meritorious service" and wait for the appreciation in value while collecting rent.

Of course, the premise is; there must be such a condition.

For example, Chicago and Detroit, which were captured by the Northern Legion, have bright future development prospects and can be foreseen, so they are 10 points worth investing in.

Kansas City, which was destroyed by the Colorado Legion, is in ruins everywhere. Everything has to be pulled down and rebuilt, and the investment value will be greatly reduced.

Many officers of the Colorado Legion bought land and had to work hard to build houses and buildings. How can buying ready-made properties be convenient for investment?
If the Colorado Corps successfully captures Cincinnati, since the city is not an area where the Tang Kingdom's policy of "vacating cages for birds" is implemented, the officers and soldiers of the Colorado Corps will not have such investment opportunities, so they can only honestly accept meritorious rewards.

Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the Northern Legion are now bursting with happiness.

"Brother Erbao, the second-class meritorious service you won this time is in the bank, and you can get an extra preferential loan of 2000 yuan. This is real gold and silver! It depends on how many shops your brother buys in the auction later. Already." Major Geng Tongde said enviously.

"It's all because of the love of the chief, and Erbao is honored to be honored with the second-class meritorious service. After the auction is over, I will treat you to guests. Brother Tongde, please give me the honor."

"Okay, then I will enjoy the joy of you, a second-class hero."

Speaking of this
Captain Wu Erbao is also in high spirits at the moment. He has just been promoted to the rank of captain, and he will receive 86 yuan in military pay every month. If combat subsidies, job subsidies and other miscellaneous subsidies are added, it will be close to 1000 yuan.

With an annual salary of [-] yuan a year, it is a proper high-income group.

But Wu Erbao's savings are not much, and the total amount is more than 400 yuan.

When he arrived on the North American continent from Paradise Island in January 1860, he was only a second lieutenant in the artillery, with a monthly salary of 1 yuan, and he was promoted to two ranks within a year. Sure enough, war is the king of rapid promotion!
Captain Wu Erbao’s greatest asset is the meritorious field. After each battle, officers will accumulate meritorious service after the appraisal. Now his personal account meritorious field has accumulated to 115 acres (approximately 690 acres). Each acre is discounted at 30 yuan, which can be discounted in total. 3450 yuan, plus the preferential loan of 2000 yuan for winning the second-class meritorious service, then the funds he can use are 5450 yuan.

With so much money, it is enough to take pictures of a few shops.

Just as he was saying this, several military officers queued up and it was their turn to register. They all took out their military ID cards to register with the municipal officials. With military ID cards, there is no need to pay a deposit, which is also a convenience for soldiers.

Because the status of a soldier is a golden signboard, city officials are not afraid that the contract will be broken after the soldier is auctioned.As soon as a complaint is filed in the army, those officers who regard honor as their life will naturally punish their subordinates severely, and let these guys know why the flowers are so popular?

No matter under any circumstances, the honor of the army cannot be tarnished in the slightest.

(End of this chapter)