America 1881: Legend of the West

On January 1897, 1, William McKinley officially entered the White House after placing his hand on the Bible and taking the oath.

There is not much suspense about the new federal cabinet.

Without exception, they are all big businessmen.

Secretary of State John Sherman, a millionaire and shareholder of several banks and financial institutions;

Secretary of the Treasury Lyman J. Gage, banker, president of the National Bank of Chicago;

Attorney General John W. Grigg owned several large companies in New Jersey and was president of the Paterson National Bank.

When forming the cabinet, McKinley once again invited Chen Jianqiu to join the cabinet to serve as minister of the interior.

But Chen Jianqiu still refused.

First of all, I am not a politician.

He has no foundation in the Republican Party, let alone being Chinese. How can he really be the Minister of the Interior? He must be attacked by those congressmen who have nothing to do every day and use all kinds of excuses.

And he knows these businessmen very well.

When there is no conflict of interest, everything is easy to talk about and everything is fine, but if something goes wrong, I am afraid that not even my biological father will sell it out.

There is a high probability that he will be pulled out and pushed into the cylinder.

He wasn't going to do this kind of loss-making business, so why bother making himself uncomfortable.

However, Chen Jianqiu still left traces in the cabinet.

For example, his good friend Russell A. Agee, the largest lumber merchant in the West, became the Secretary of War; and the cotton tycoon James A. Gary, who was tricked into his election team, became the Postal Minister.

Most importantly, Theodore Roosevelt was promoted to the position of Under Secretary of the Navy under his strong recommendation.

Secretary of the Navy John Long is an old and sick man whose body is half buried in the soil, and has always been known as a wandering crane.

Therefore, Roosevelt basically held all the power and was the real talker and spokesman of the Navy Department.

In addition, in this election, many Chinese politicians affiliated with the "Chinese Political Participation Alliance" performed outstandingly and began to enter the more core levels of each state.

Chen Jianqiu asked Wang Qingfu and the "Political Participation Alliance" to start preparing for the mid-term election to enter Congress.

When it comes to repealing the bill, it is better to seek help from others than from yourself.

Only by daring to take fate by the throat can we seize the opportunity and turn things around.

As for himself, he continues to be busy expanding his business empire.

Everything needs strength to support it.

Helping the new president come to power will always bring some benefits.

And affordability is the most important thing.

However, what surprised Chen Jianqiu was that the first person who found him in the new federal government was not from the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Transportation.

Instead, it was Army Quartermaster General Henry C. Coburn.

When the Army's chief steward appeared at the door of No. 36 Baker Street, he bumped into Chen Jianqiu, who was walking out of the door.

"Sorry, I almost stepped on you," Coburn said after adjusting his military uniform.

The West Point graduate had never been on a battlefield.

He had a very strict upbringing and acted like a gentleman, not like a soldier at all. Therefore, he had been criticized by the big bosses in the War Department for many years.

He was just about to look up and apologize or something.

But a pair of black cloth shoes caught his eye.

Coburn raised his head and found Chen Jianqiu with his hands in his sleeves, looking at him with a smile on his face.

He took two steps back, stepped out of the door, raised his neck and looked at the house number on the upper right: 36 Baker Street.

"That's right." Cobain muttered, "Isn't this the headquarters of the International Gunpowder Association?"

If so, why would someone dressed like this appear here.

In his impression, the arms dealers he had dealt with either wore military uniforms like Old Henry all day long to show that they had served in the army; or they wore suits and ties and were elegant.

"Yes." Chen Jianqiu chuckled.

"You should also apologize to me, sir." Cobain said seriously, "You bumped into me."

"I'm sorry." Chen Jianqiu was still smiling.

Qyburn was confused.

Why do these Chinese value words so much? Is it because they are not proficient in English words?
But don’t reach out and hit the smiling person.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Chen in this building?" Coburn cleared his throat and asked, "I am Henry C. Coburn, the Chief Quartermaster of the Federal Army Department. I have something to talk to him about."

"Yes." Chen Jianqiu's answer was still brief.

Cobain felt a little impatient.

Any arms dealer in the United States will smile and come up to hold his hand when they hear the position and name he reveals.

Not to mention shocking, at least it would show respect.

The country bumpkin in front of me knew that he must be from here, but he seemed to have never seen the world.

Otherwise it would never be this reaction.

Cobain finally restrained himself from showing it on his face.

"Please take me to see him, please." He said in a gentlemanly manner.

Chen Jianqiu nodded, turned around, and walked towards the elevator.

When the receptionist at the door saw Chen Jianqiu returning, he was about to stand up and salute him.

But Chen Jianqiu gave him a look.

The little golden retriever's butt returned to the chair without saying another word.

Also in the same situation were people who drove elevators.

He saw the boss bring in a middle-aged man in military uniform, and then pressed down on him with his lowered hand.

He didn't know what kind of medicine his boss was selling, so he didn't dare to say anything. He had to open the elevator door and watch the two of them walking deeper into the corridor.

Chen Jianqiu said nothing along the way, and led Coben to a carved wooden door.

He took out a bunch of keys from his pocket.

Coburn suddenly realized that this person was the janitor, otherwise why would he have so many keys on him.

Chen Jianqiu quickly found a silver-white key by the light from the window at the end of the corridor and put it into the keyhole.

He gave it a slight twist.

The door was opened.

Cobain was quickly attracted by the decoration of the office in front of him.

The antique Chinese wooden furniture was very different from other arms dealers' offices he had seen. There was a case beside the window with a unique pine bonsai placed on it.

The large desk was heavy and simple, and a small ornament on the desk caught Cobain's eye.

It was a shell casing.

"The shell of the world's first smokeless gunpowder bullet." Chen Jianqiu said as he walked inside.

He walked to the window sill, took down a rag from the shelf there, and then took the rag to the edge of the wooden sofa and began to wipe the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Um, is this Mr. Chen's office? He doesn't seem to be here." Coburn asked while continuing to look at the office. "Can you tell him for me?"

When he saw Chen Jianqiu cleaning the coffee table, he couldn't help but raise his voice a little higher:
"Sir, could you please stop cleaning the table and go find him for me? I have something very important to discuss with him."

"It's me." Chen Jianqiu said without raising his head.

Cobain stood there in a daze.

He looked at the thirty-year-old Chinese man who was still wiping the table in front of him with suspicion, and his face was full of disbelief. How could this person be the famous president of the International Gunpowder Association and the largest arms dealer in the United States, Chen Jianqiu?
After wiping the table, Chen Jianqiu washed the rag in the sink by the window and hung it back on the rack.

When he turned around, he found Coben standing there like a fool, so he immediately smiled and pointed at the wooden sofa and said to him:

"Please take a seat."

Only then did Coben come to his senses.

He sat in the chair and looked at Chen Jianqiu doubtfully:
"Are you Chen Jianqiu?"

Chen Jianqiu walked over with an ashtray in his hand.

He placed the ashtray on the coffee table, then pulled out a leather case from his robe and took out a cigar.

"Yes, I am." Chen Jianqiu cut the butt of the cigar, lit it with a lighter, shook it, and handed it to Cobain, "Do you smoke cigars?"

Cobain waved his hand.

His concern now was not about the cigar.

He felt as if he had been tricked.

"Then why didn't you tell me when you were downstairs just now?" Coben asked anxiously.

"You didn't ask either." Chen Jianqiu put the cigar into his mouth without any hesitation and said slowly.

Cobain felt like his lungs were about to explode.

But he did not forget his mission.

"Mr. Chen, I came here to talk to you about something." He said, finally calming down.

"Yeah, I know. No one comes to visit you for no reason." Chen Jianqiu took a puff of his cigar, looking very happy, and said with his legs crossed, "I was just about to go out, and I bumped into you and you're back again."

"We have never seen such a big shot in the Army Department before," he said with a smile.

Koben did not hear the sarcasm in Chen Jianqiu's words. Instead, he felt it was a kind of respect for him and immediately felt much more comfortable.

After all, he is an arms dealer, so we should give face to him as the Chief Quartermaster of the Army Department.

Even though the army is not very popular in the government now.

He took out two black and white photos from the pocket of his military uniform, placed them on the coffee table, and then pushed them in front of Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu glanced at the photo on the table.

It's a gun.

The black and white photo is a little blurry, but the model of the gun can still be identified.

"Kragg-Jorgensen M1892, the army's current standard rifle, what's wrong with that?" Chen Jianqiu disagreed.

A satisfied smile appeared on Cobain's face.

As expected of an knowledgeable arms dealer, he could tell at a glance that the person in front of him was Chen Jianqiu.

"This gun was designed by a Norwegian designer hired by the previous Army Department and is mass-produced by the Springfield Armory."

Cobain suddenly changed the subject.

"However, this gun has recently performed poorly in actual combat and has been criticized."

As he spoke, he observed Chen Jianqiu's expression.

Chen Jianqiu almost laughed out loud.

What actual combat has the U.S. Army had recently? It was just beaten up and annihilated by its own, oh no, by the New Mexico militia and the warlord troops of Juarez on the U.S. border.

As an officer in the Army Department, Coben, even if he has just entered the decision-making level, must know something.

What is he going to say by looking at me like that?
"Yeah." Chen Jianqiu nodded, not in a hurry to express his opinion.

Seeing that Chen Jianqiu did not respond, Coben continued:

"I discussed this with the new Army Secretary, Mr. Agee, and I think this is probably due to problems with the previous secretary's logistics procurement. In addition, the state-owned arsenal responsible for producing guns, the Springfield Armory, also has a number of problems."

"Their quality control and workmanship have declined dramatically."

Chen Jianqiu understood immediately after hearing it.

It seems that Russell A. Agee started causing trouble as soon as he became Secretary of the Army.

The friendship or relationship between the two people originated when Chen Jianqiu first took charge of the Pacific Railway Company.

That winter, heavy snow suddenly hit the northwestern United States, and tens of thousands of tons of logs at the logging camp run by Aijer almost rotted in the Rocky Mountains. In the end, Chen Jianqiu went against the majority opinion and sent more trains to help the old man pull his treasure out, thus avoiding huge losses.

The old man was originally very disgusted with immigrants, but after this incident, his attitude took a 180-degree turn.

His company maintained a long-term transportation partnership with the Pacific Railroad.

Chen Jianqiu always gave him the most favorable transportation prices.

This was criticized by a profit-seeker after he temporarily left the railway company and the price was raised.

This made Aijie miss Chen Jianqiu very much.

From then on, he became very close to Chen Jianqiu.

It is hard to say whether the old man's behavior this time was a return of favor, but it definitely had some personal thoughts in it.

Otherwise, why would I look for him?

"So, what can I do for you?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"As far as I know, your Roswell Arms is well-known both at home and abroad, and you have many excellent gun designers working for you. At the same time, you also have very rich and successful experience in military factory management. So."

Coben continued to observe Chen Jianqiu as he spoke.

"Why? You want me to integrate the Springfield Arsenal for you, just like you integrated the railroads?"

Seeing that Keben was hesitant in speaking, Chen Jianqiu took the initiative and asked with a smile.

"No, no, no, Mr. Chen, that's not the case yet."

Cobain quickly shook his head.

"The Springfield Armory is a state-run arsenal with a history of 100 years. It has made great contributions during the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. Until now, it has directly served the Army."

"Its funding is all federally allocated, and Congress will not agree to such an arsenal being controlled by private individuals."

"What the minister and I have suggested is that you can start by becoming their outsourcer, which will just make up for their insufficient production capacity."

Chen Jianqiu sneered in his heart.

The Army has a good plan.

The Springfield Armory has a history of over a hundred years, and I’m afraid the interests involved are complicated.

These people didn't want to offend anyone, but they wanted to do Chen Jianqiu a favor and also improve the army's own equipment level.

It really kills three birds with one stone.

However, his expression did not change at all, and he was still smiling:
"Sure, I think this plan is feasible, but I hope our designers can also participate in the design of standard weapons. We only want patent rights, not design fees."

Cobain thought about it and finally agreed.

As we all know, the products of Roswell Armory are recognized as the most advanced in the industry.

He felt that this would have only benefits and no harm.

"If you have time, you can go to Springfield, Massachusetts to take a look. We have already communicated with Captain Rhodes, the person in charge there, in advance."

Coben stood up, held Chen Jianqiu's hand and said.

Chen Jianqiu escorted Coben out of the office.

He looked at the back of the Army Quartermaster General and the corners of his mouth curled up.

This time, his smile was genuine.

Now that the design has come into my hands, it’s hard to say who the Springfield Armory will listen to.