The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 559 Panama Treaty

"There will be a huge fiscal deficit this year, and we must issue bonds!" Treasury Secretary John Sherman was discussing with President William Wheeler in the White House.

"Especially the establishment of the National Guard has put tremendous pressure on our finances! Military spending has increased significantly!"

Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman was a very capable man, but even the best cook cannot cook without the rice.

This year, the compensation paid to Chen Zhengwei alone was 20 million US dollars. Together with the infrastructure costs in Los Angeles and the infrastructure costs allocated to Texas, it has reached one-tenth of last year's tax revenue.

The United States is still developing rapidly and needs money everywhere.

He has cut spending as much as possible, but the expansion of the military and the FBI, followed by the creation of the National Guard, has left the finances in an extremely dire situation.

Therefore, he had suggested issuing bonds very early on.

But the president never agreed.

William Wheeler sighed, then took out a telegram from the table and pushed it over.

In fact, he had been preparing to issue bonds before, but then he received a telegram from Chen Zhengwei, asking the U.S. government to issue bonds through his San Francisco People's Bank.

Then he put the matter aside.

After reading the telegram, Treasury Secretary John Sherman understood why the president was in trouble.

"As long as he can issue the bonds, it's fine to let him issue them! The important thing is that the government needs money now!" John Sherman said directly.

Speak according to where you sit.

In his view, it doesn't matter who issues the bonds.

The important thing is to get the money!
However, he is unsure about Chen Zhengwei's ability to issue bonds.

"But we can ask him to issue the bonds together with other big banks! Or we can set a time limit, and after the time limit is up, the bonds will be issued by others. This is safer!"

"That's it!" William Wheeler nodded. This was the only thing he could do.

While the two were talking, there was a knock on the study door, and a staff member came in and handed a telegram to President William Wheeler.

"Mr. President, it was sent by the Secretary of State!"

William Wheeler frowned after reading the telegram.

That guy...

……

At the Panama City Government Building, Arosemena signed his name with an expressionless face.

Faced with Chen Zhengwei's relentless pressure, he had no way out.

Otherwise, they could send out the army to fight Chen Zhengwei, but that would only make the situation worse.

He finally had no choice but to sign the Panama Trade Treaty.

Except for extraterritoriality, almost everything else was agreed to Chen Zhengwei, including opening up commodity rationing, providing Chen Zhengwei with land to build warehouses, and reducing tariffs and tolls on some commodities.

At the same time, Chen Zhengwei's ships and cargoes were given priority rights to enter and exit the port.

This way, goods from San Francisco can be packaged in Panama, and then the quantity and price of goods can be adjusted according to the situation in various parts of Central and South America.

“Mr. Arosemena, it’s a pleasure to work with you! I believe that after this cooperation, Panama will usher in better development and a brighter future!”

"Everyone in Panama will remember this moment!" Chen Zhengwei smiled and stretched out his hand after receiving the agreement.

He is in a good mood now.

Although there are still some details not included in this treaty, the general direction has been determined.

Next, a negotiation team will be needed to come to Panama to continue negotiations with the local government.

In addition, we need to select some books in San Francisco and publish and distribute them in Panama, so as to slowly assimilate the locals through culture.

At this time, the novels that Chen Zhengwei had asked those novelists to write before would come in handy.

Although most of the protagonists are white Americans, the image of Chinese people in them is relatively positive. Over time, it will be able to change the image of Chinese people in America.

When there are more Chinese people here, we can bring festivals like the Spring Festival here as well.

Just like in San Francisco, there are holidays during the Spring Festival. Now the foreign workers all know about the Spring Festival, and they will go out to the streets to watch lion dances during the Spring Festival.

After shaking hands with Arosemena, Chen Zhengwei handed the contract to his henchman and swaggered out of the city hall building.

"Send a telegram back to San Francisco and ask them to organize a negotiation team and bring people from the Chamber of Commerce, and bring some food, textiles, dyes, and fuel!" Chen Zhengwei said to his men as they walked.

America's industrialized production can easily destroy Panama's fragile peasant economy.

"Let's set up the Panama stall first!"

"Don't forget to arrange for the security company! A few hundred people will be enough!"

“Also, when the security company comes, they can recruit some locals.”

"I'm so worried about the United States! Without me, where would the United States get this market? And there are so many preferential treaties, they all have to kowtow to me!"

"Ask about the supply situation. If nothing else, we'll leave for Peru in a couple of days!"

"Even the air here smells like fucking shit and piss!"

The last point is the most important reason why Chen Zhengwei can't wait to leave here.

The sanitary conditions of this era were extremely worrying. Even San Francisco was not much better before, and New York was also full of feces and urine.

The situation here is even worse. Chen Zhengwei doesn't even dare to step out of the door.

You never know what you might step on.

So even though the sea view in Panama is nice, he didn't go anywhere except the hotel these days.

……

At the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Chinatown, horse-drawn carriages stopped one after another and members of the Chamber of Commerce got off the carriages and went in.

Most of these chamber of commerce members wore gentlemen's suits and top hats. It was well known that Mr. Chen did not like the Qing Dynasty's style.

Therefore, except at home, they now follow Mr. Chen's example outside.

"Boss Lin, congratulations on your prosperity!" Liang Yi Yue smiled and bowed when he saw Lin Yuanshan: "I heard that Boss Lin's business is booming recently, and he has even sold his products to Texas!"

"Congratulations! Boss Liang's business is also good!" Lin Yuanshan bowed.

The members of the Chamber of Commerce all looked beaming with joy.

The business is getting better and better, life is getting better and better, and even my back is straightened.

Originally they had planned to return home once they had saved enough money, but now this idea has faded.

I wanted to go back to the Qing Dynasty before because life was hard for Chinese in the United States. Although you could make some money there, you could be slaughtered like pigs by Americans at any time.

But now, Chinese people, not only in San Francisco, but in most places in the United States, walk with their backs straight. "By the way, do you know what the meeting is for today?" everyone asked.

"Mr. Rong had someone notify us... We don't know what exactly happened yet!"

Not long after, Rong Jiacai came over with a few of his men.

Everyone stood up: "Mr. Rong!"

"Okay, stop being so polite!" Rong Jiacai said with a smile.

After entering the conference room, Rong Jiacai sat in the main seat and asked someone to bring tea. Then he looked at everyone and said, "There is a good thing happening at this meeting! A very good thing!"

Hearing this, everyone smiled: "If Mr. Rong said it's a good thing, then it must be a good thing!"

"Speaking of which, you all have to thank Brother Wei! No matter what Brother Wei does, he is always thinking about you!"

"Of course, the Chinese in San Francisco are all thanks to Master Wei! Otherwise, we wouldn't be living our lives today?" Everyone said immediately, and at the same time they had an idea in their minds that Chen Zhengwei must have done something again, but it was a very good thing for them.

"But didn't Mr. Wei go to South America?"

"Yes, Master Wei opened up the Panamanian market this time! Food, textiles, daily necessities, as well as some dyes, fuel, and steel products are all open to us!"

When everyone heard this, they knew it was indeed a good thing.

But someone immediately laughed awkwardly and said, "Mr. Rong, we understand the situation. But where is Panama?"

"In Colombia!" Lin Yuanshan said. "I heard that Mr. Wei went to South America a few days ago, so I specially asked someone to get a map of South America, maybe it can be used. Look, isn't it used now?"

"Yes, Panama is in Central America, surrounded by many countries, and is a major transportation route, a battleground for military strategists. By shipping the goods there, they can be distributed to surrounding countries and South American countries!"

"Mr. Rong, do you mean to disperse to the surrounding countries?" Liang Yi Yue's eyes lit up.

Chen Zhengwei opened up the Panama market as soon as he went out. From the looks of it, will he open up other markets as well?

"That's right, so next we have to organize a caravan to go to Panama..." Rong Jiacai said with a smile.

He also admired Chen Zhengwei's decisiveness and efficiency in doing things.

It’s only been half a month since we left San Francisco, but we’ve already opened up the Panama market and signed so many agreements!
In particular, Chen Zhengwei wanted extraterritoriality, which scared him.

He knew about extraterritoriality. Britain, France and Russia all had extraterritoriality in the Qing Dynasty, and many educated people thought this was a shame.

These were all signed by powerful countries, forcing weak countries to sign.

He didn't expect that Chen Zhengwei would force Colombia to sign this. This made him very excited. He has been in a state of excitement since he received the telegram.

Not only him, other Chinese businessmen were also quite excited and expectant. After the meeting, the group made an appointment to find a place to drink and discuss.

These Chinese businessmen all benefited from Mr. Chen.

The next day, we began to hurriedly prepare the goods.

……

The subsequent signing of the Panama Treaty was not only reported in Panamanian newspapers, but also in international newspapers and even spread back to the United States.

Xu Yan was in the office with a list in his hand. After looking at it for a while, he handed it to his subordinates: "Contact all these people!"

As soon as his men left, another one knocked on the door.

"Brother Yan, look! Brother Wei is in the newspaper! Brother Wei signed the Panama Treaty in Panama!" The henchman excitedly handed a newspaper to Xu Yan.

Xu Yan finished reading the newspaper and then laughed out loud. He felt energetic and full of energy.

At the Qing Embassy, Ouyang Ming looked at the newspaper in his hand for a long time, his expression changing constantly.

The Qing Dynasty was forced to sign various unequal treaties.

Chen Zhengwei is rampant in the United States and now he has gone to South America to force other countries to sign a treaty.

This made him feel uneasy.

"Yong Wing...is so awesome!" Ouyang Ming felt that Yung Wing had a very sharp vision, so he resigned from his official position in the Qing Dynasty and went to San Francisco to help Chen Zhengwei build Los Angeles.

Although Chen Zhengwei has no reputation or status, he might be able to make a career of his own.

At Yale University, Cai Shaoji found Huang Kaijia and others with a newspaper: "Look, here's the news about Mr. Chen!"

"What?" Everyone came over curiously.

"Panama Treaty?" Everyone was shocked after seeing it, and they were all dumbfounded.

"Our Qing Dynasty has vast territory, tens of millions of people, and millions of soldiers, but we are bullied by the great powers! Mr. Chen has only a hundred thousand men, but he can run rampant in America! How wonderful! Let us show the power of the Han people!" Huang Kaijia clapped his hands in admiration.

"What's the difference between him and those great powers?" someone asked.

"Do you want to be a great power, or do you want to be bullied?" Ouyang Geng asked back.

The news that Chen Zhengwei signed the Panama Treaty caused a sensation in the United States, making these students in the United States feel uneasy.

……

Chen Zhengwei was also looking at the newspaper in his hand with a smile. His henchman handed him a telegram: "Brother Wei, a telegram!"

Chen Zhengwei took the telegram, took a look at it, and immediately laughed.

"Good things come in pairs!"

"The U.S. government is finally going to issue bonds! One hundred million dollars worth of Treasury bonds!"

"And it was handed over to me to publish!"

Since issuing government bonds is low-risk, the profit is generally not high and will not exceed 2%.

Even if Chen Zhengwei could get more profit, it would not exceed 3%.

A profit of 300 million US dollars is not too much, but not too little either.

Three million dollars for sending a few telegrams, that's easy money.

And importantly, it increased the influence of the People's Bank of San Francisco.

"Inform the scholar and ask him to send someone to Sacramento to change the name of the People's Bank of San Francisco.

“People’s Bank of San Francisco… you don’t have the vision to do this! How can others trust you?

"The more impressive the name, the better!"

Chen Zhengwei no longer looks down on the People's Bank of San Francisco!

"Change it to California International Bank!"

"Then send someone to Washington to sign a distribution contract!"

(End of this chapter)