The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 73 A few words of gossip

I saw a lot of people in the book review section saying that it is absolutely impossible for Chinese to make it big in the United States, and that the U.S. government will not allow Chinese to make it big, and so on.

In fact, most people don’t really understand American history, nor do they understand the situation in the United States in the 19th century.

First, the United States is not a person, nor a group, nor a fist, nor the patriarchal model that has existed in our country since ancient times.

Instead, it is composed of many groups, each with its own demands.

Let me first talk about the situation in the United States at that time... The United States disbanded its army after the Civil War, and in the mid-to-late 19th century, the army and navy combined had only 3 people.

Just imagine if the Qing Dynasty had such a large territory but only 30,000 troops, how many rebellions and uprisings would there be? I'm afraid the Qing Dynasty would have been destroyed.

In addition, there are very few police officers in each city. For example, San Francisco has a population of more than 300, but only more than police officers, including civilian staff.

The town's security mainly depends on the sheriff.

At that time, there was another large law enforcement group in the United States, namely bounty hunters, who later became Pinkerton agents. At their peak, there were tens of thousands of them, which was more than the US military.

Nowadays, people often say that the United States is scattered. This statement is not only true now, but was even more serious in the 19th century.

Most people should know that each state in the United States has its own laws and each state has its own demands.

At the end of the 19th century, the U.S. government had very little control over local areas, and it could even be said that the areas were free-range.

The U.S. government has almost no requirements for local governments, and does not even have regulations on local government departments and staff.

From the end of the 19th century to before World War I, with the influx of a large number of immigrants and the continuous increase of urban population, the United States was in a period of transition from an agricultural society to an industrial society.

This may be different from many people's perception and imagination of the United States.

There was a situation during this period that had never occurred in our country and many people were not aware of it.

During this period, those who actually controlled the cities were the "city bosses".

City bosses manipulate votes, elections, and politics by providing jobs and help to new immigrants and voters.

They are the group that truly controls the city, not the so-called mayor or city government. They are the real bosses behind the scenes.

The identities of city bosses include but are not limited to political parties, large companies, and gangs.

Those who are interested can look up relevant information. The most famous of them is the Tammany Hall. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, positions in the New York Police Department were all clearly priced.

The city boss model did not end until around World War II.

At this time, as long as you have money, you can bribe the police and get the mayor to stand up for you.

And there really is a Chinese gang that has done this before, and it was in New York.

This man's name is Li Xiling. If you are interested, you can read the book "Tang Fights", which records the gang fights in New York's Chinatown in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Also, I've seen many people say that it's impossible for Chinese people to make it big in America...

Actually, I really want to ask something. Considering the rule of aristocratic families in the history of our country, isn’t it more incredible that a beggar established a dynasty?

And if nothing is possible, what is the point of having novels?
……

Now that I have finished chatting, let me tell you about my recent situation.

I have talked about this before about family members being sick.

I also told the readers that I was recently transferred to another hospital and am accompanying my baby in the provincial hospital. Every day, apart from being in the hospital, I am either in the hotel writing.

The director of the nephrology department came to see me today and told me something. I won’t go into details, but it wasn’t too good anyway.

For the next period of time, I will continue to type while thinking of solutions. Next week, I will make appointments with experts at a few provincial hospitals for consultation, and then think of ways to ask hospitals in Beijing, trying not to interfere with my typing.

Then the release date will be next Friday (if there is a climax, it may be released earlier, if not, it will be released on Friday as usual.)
It is not yet certain how many chapters will be updated on the day of release, but there will be three chapters per day thereafter.

(End of this chapter)