The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 780: Outrageous Plan

In San Francisco, a dozen Indians dressed in gentlemen's clothes stood on the dock, looking around, unable to take their eyes off.

"How many people are here?"

"There must be at least several thousand people!"

They had never seen such a prosperous place.

"Thousands of people? Hundreds of thousands!" Another Indian next to him smiled. They were not from the same tribe, and there were huge differences in their customs.

The former are Indians from the Modoc tribe in Oregon, while the latter are Indians who have long been integrated into San Francisco.

There were a few Chinese people standing not far away.

These Indians from the Modoc tribe were invited by Rong Jiacai to be his guests.

He wanted to use these people as a breakthrough point to conquer the Indians in Oregon, Washington Territory, and some other areas.

"You are here...are they nice to you?" asked the Indians of the Mocteau tribe.

“It wasn’t so good before, but it’s much better after these Chinese came!”

In other words, things got much better after Chen Zhengwei came.

Although Indians are not Chinese, they look similar to foreigners, are not discriminated against as much, and have more opportunities.

They actually hope that more Indians will come to San Francisco... Only when there are more people can there be power.

They can also be valued by these Chinese.

This is no longer the era of fishing and hunting when a tribe consisted of dozens or hundreds of people.

A steel monster drove over in the distance, scaring these people.

"How does this thing move without cows or horses?"

As a group of people were staring at the car, it approached and stopped. Two Chinese youths opened the door and got out.

After Chen Zhengwei's car factory was built, Rong Jiacai also bought more than a dozen cars and let his men drive them around San Francisco when they had nothing to do.

"Are you Indians from Oregon? Come with us...Brother Xiucai has made time to see you!"

Now that Chen Zhengwei has become a hands-off boss, Xiucai is so busy that he is beating his head with his feet and making very big movements.

On the one hand, he was contacting these Indians and wanted to conquer other Indian tribes. He wanted to use this method to take over those territories and turn them into states of the United States, and then turn those states into Chinese states.

States such as Washington, Montana, the Dakotas, Arizona, and New Mexico are still territories.

Those foreigners are now aggressively driving away and hunting those Indians, while the Chinese who look like them are lending a helping hand and using this method to subdue those Indians.

He even wanted to provide food and weapons to the Indians, just as Chen Zhengwei had previously provided funding to the black people.

Xiucai's style of doing things is completely different from Chen Zhengwei's. Chen Zhengwei has always used force to suppress others. Those who obey me will prosper, and those who oppose me will perish.

The scholar, on the other hand, mainly focuses on appeasement.

Whether it is the Chinese businessmen or some foreigners, they actually prefer to deal with scholars.

At least you won't be shot to death for saying something wrong.

There is another person who has a similar working style to Xiucai, and that is Xu Yan.

However, Xu Yan only looks gentle on the surface, but in fact his methods are extremely cruel and vicious.

In addition to trying to find ways to recruit the Indians, Xiucai has also recently set his sights on Mexico and has even sent people to contact the Mexican government.

By building a railroad in Mexico, they acquired land along the route.

After meeting these Indians, he had them settled down and all the expenses in San Francisco during those days were paid for by him.

Then we met another group of people who had just returned from Panama.

"Su Ya, you look so much darker! But you look more energetic!" Xiucai patted Su Ya's shoulder affectionately.

"The sun over there is very strong, but my situation is relatively good..." Su Ya is now in high spirits.

He handled the affairs in Panama very well, and now that he has retired successfully, he also has a good position in the United States.

"It's good that you're back. America is much more prosperous than Panama! You've been there for more than a year and it must have been very hard!" Xiucai said with a smile.

After greeting Su Ya, Xiucai looked at some other people. These people were those who went to Panama to survey the terrain. Among them were civil engineering students such as Zhan Tianyou, Chen Ronggui and Kuang Rongguang, who went over to help.

Anyone who participated in the construction of the Panama Canal throughout the entire process becomes basically an expert in the canal.

"What's the situation on the scene?" the scholar asked directly.

"We have completed the survey and recorded all the conditions on site... and compared them with the French data, and there is not much difference. However, there are some problems with the French design..." said James Bruner Edgard, head of the Panama Canal's technical team.

Another James.

He is an American expert in civil engineering, who was hired for the construction of the Panama Canal.

"What do you mean?" the scholar asked immediately.

"The French drew on their experience in building the Suez Canal, but the situations are completely different. The terrain on the Suez Canal side is flat and at the same level as the sea, while the terrain on the Panama side is extremely complex... They also want to dig through the Calebra Ridge, which is almost impossible to accomplish!" James Edgard said immediately.

He scoffed at the ideas of his French counterparts.

"Is there any way to solve it?" Rong Jiacai didn't understand what he said and asked directly.

"Yes! We can dig and build a lock canal." said James Edgard.

"How much is it?"

"According to preliminary calculations, it will cost around 2.8 million US dollars!"

When this number was mentioned, Rong Jiacai took a deep breath.

However, the technical team was not surprised by this number.

This is the result of their team's calculations.

"I see. The boss is waiting for you in Los Angeles. You just need to prepare your things and take a rest before going to Los Angeles."

The scholar kept Zhan Tianyou and a few others and asked: "What do you think of these people?" "They are all very powerful..." Zhan Tianyou and a few others said honestly.

The head of the technical team, James Edgard, is a member of the American Academy of Sciences and a foreign member of the Royal Society of the United Kingdom. A few years ago, he oversaw the construction of the St. Louis Bridge, one of the earliest large-scale steel arch bridges in the world. He also invented the jet engineering system for dredging sediment from the Mississippi River.

The rest of the team are also masters of civil engineering in the United States.

Compared with them, Zhan Tianyou and others are just kids.

If it weren't for Xiucai's arrangement, they would never have been able to join this team.

"Do you think there is any problem with their plan?" the scholar asked again, but there was no answer to this question either.

Zhan Tianyou and his team were not capable of doubting the team's plan.

Kuang Rongguang suddenly remembered something and said, "Mr. Edgard seems to have another plan!"

"I heard them say that Mr. Edgard wants to build a ship railway across the narrowest part of Mexico, so that ships can be transported by rail from land to the other side... It is said that this will be cheaper."

"Oh?" The scholar was very interested when he heard this.

After chatting for a while, he said to them, "Go back and rest first, pack up your things, and go to see the boss like savages. Be careful that the boss will kick you out."

……

A day later, the team arrived in Los Angeles and met Chen Zhengwei at his mansion in the city center.

James Edgard introduced the situation in Panama and the plan for building the canal.

"US$2.8 million, do you think it's enough to sell the United States?" Chen Zhengwei asked him directly.

Even Chen Zhengwei thought the price was too outrageous.

This is 2.8 million, not 2800 million!
Last year, all U.S. federal revenues, including taxes, totaled less than $4 million.

Even Chen Zhengwei himself...well, let alone outsiders, even Chen Zhengwei doesn't know how much money he has.

He estimated it to be less than $200 million.

"The French have a budget of only $1.5 million!"

"The French canal design is doomed to fail and will never succeed. They underestimated Panama's complex terrain and the local hydrological conditions! The conditions in Suez and Panama are completely different!" Edgard said firmly and without any doubt, his attitude full of contempt for the French canal plan.

While Chen Zhengwei was seriously considering the $2.8 million, James Edgard began to actively promote his other ship and railway plan.

"The cost is lower. It only takes half the price, 1 million, to build a ship railway! And the construction period is also only half."

"It would take at least eight years to build the Panama Canal. But a ship railway can be built in just four years."

Hearing this, Chen Zhengwei became interested.

"Tell me about your plan..."

After the other party finished speaking, Chen Zhengwei asked two questions: "How big a ship can this solution transport? What about the cargo? Unload the cargo in Mexico, and then load it on the other side?"

"Yes! But compared with the time saved, the time and manpower loss are completely worth it. And this ship railway can transport ships weighing no more than 4000 tons!"

He had been preparing for this railway-ship plan for a long time. It was a brilliant plan, and he had discussed its feasibility with some professionals. With current technology, it was completely feasible.

"Did the Mexican president give you money?" Chen Zhengwei asked directly.

A 4000-ton ship with a displacement of between 2500 and 3000 tons simply did not meet his requirements.

Even a light cruiser like the USS San Francisco couldn't get through.

Moreover, the need to unload and transship goods is a fatal drawback, which will cause freight rates to rise sharply. Even if the Panama Canal is built, it will not be able to compete with other modes of transportation.

The main purpose of digging and building the Panama Canal was to allow warships to pass through, but he also hoped to make money from the Panama Canal.

"Absolutely not!" Edgard felt very aggrieved. His plan was highly feasible and could save half the cost and construction time.

"Give up your stupid idea!" Chen Zhengwei glanced at him and said coldly.

Seeing Chen Zhengwei's eyes, Edgard felt as if he was being stared at by a wild beast and would be torn to pieces in the next second.

This made his forehead begin to sweat, and he immediately shut up.

"One of these days, you will give me the complete plan for the Panama Canal!"

Chen Zhengwei is going to find someone to evaluate this plan...and the price.

$2.8 million is fucking outrageous.

After the canal construction team left, Chen Zhengwei began to think about how he would get the $2.8 million if this plan was really implemented.

Even if it is issuing bonds... $2.8 million is a lot of pressure.

As for him paying for it himself, that's impossible!

Absolutely impossible!
His money didn't just come from the wind! Besides, he didn't have much spare money!

His army was the biggest expense. Every day when he opened his eyes, he had to worry about the food, drink, defecation and urination of tens of thousands of people.

Is it easy for him?

Chen Zhengwei thought for a moment and gradually came up with an idea.

It seems that we can only levy some on the banks... and some on the US government...

He remembered that the US government had a surplus last year.

At least $2 million must be raised, and then $1000 million must be used as an initial investment... and the rest... must be invested!
Then gradually withdraw profits from the investment and invest them in the construction of the Panama Canal.

This way, when the Panama Canal is built... I will still have $2 million!
Chen Zhengwei thought his idea was very good.

But... this plan would be outrageous even for a scholar.

In building this canal, Chen Zhengwei not only did not want to spend a penny, he also wanted to make a fortune by digging the canal.

And they not only want to make money through the project, but also want to make money from investors' capital and build the canal with the interest!
After the canal was built, he continued to make money by collecting tolls.

(End of this chapter)