Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 230 First Arrival in San Francisco

After staying at Midway Island for three days and unloading some supplies, the two sailing cargo ships loaded up another 400 tons of guano and continued their journey.

The final destination is San Francisco in North America.

In the mid-76th century, guano was an extremely valuable natural fertilizer, known as white gold, and worth as much as $15, or £, per ton.

400 tons of guano, with a total value of more than 3 US dollars.

In Peru in South America, there are three small islands rich in guano resources, with a total area of ​​about 2.5 square kilometers. They are called Bird Islands. Peru became rich because of the sale of guano.

After another 13-day long voyage, on February 1867, 2, the small fleet finally arrived at San Francisco Bay on the west coast of North America and anchored in the anchorage.

Wang Haigou and his group completed the entry procedures. He used the alias Wang Hai and was a Chinese maritime merchant. He entered San Francisco with his entourage.

San Francisco was originally named "San Francisco" and was also called "San Francisco" by the Chinese. Before the discovery of gold in 1848, it was just an unknown West Coast Bay Area town with a population of more than 1.

After the discovery of gold, the population soared to 3 that year. By early 1867, the local population had rapidly expanded to more than 13, of which one-third were of Chinese descent.

This is a rapidly expanding and vibrant bay city. Walking in the city, you can see tall Victorian buildings and two- or three-story wooden houses on both sides of the road. The most common thing is the four-wheeled freight carts of white farmers.

On the dirt street

Horse manure and cow urine can be seen everywhere, and a strong strange smell spreads in the city. The most common sights are cowboys, slovenly gold diggers, and Chinese workers wearing small hats and long braids.

Wang Haigou and his team followed the address and found the "Chu State Trade Office in San Francisco, USA" with a sign in both Chinese and English in a decent four-story Victorian building in Fangcaodi.

After reporting his identity, his assistant was left in the lobby downstairs, while Wang Haigou was guided by a special person to wait outside the quiet corridor on the side of the third floor.

In this office, many people are coming and going in a hurry.

waited a while
A young clerk came out and asked, "Excuse me, which one is the commissioner sent from China?"

"Ah, hello, I'm the Commissioner of the Ministry of the Interior, my last name is Wang, and my given name is Sea Dog. I've come to see you, my Lord."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Zhuo Weiting, the director's secretary. Please follow me. The director will make time to meet with you alone. Come this way." Zhuo Weiting nodded to the clerk who came up from downstairs and motioned him to go back.

Zhuo Weiting brought Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haigou into the office and pushed open a side door. Inside was a quieter small room with several stools lined up along the wall.

Zhuo Weiting said politely, "Please sit down for a moment. I'll go report to the director."

"Sorry for the trouble, please go ahead." Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haigou replied calmly.

Not long

Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haigou met Director Zheng Xin, who was in charge of North American affairs, and respectfully handed over the secret letter in his arms.

Director Zheng Xin is a slightly overweight middle-aged man in his early thirties. He wears round gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, looking calm and composed.

After these years of experience, Director Zheng Xin has become more steady and cautious.

He carefully checked the wax seal on the secret letter, then cut it open with a silver knife and read it solemnly.

after a long time
Director Zheng Xin put the secret letter in the drawer, then stood up and shouted, "Come here..."

"Director, please give your instructions."

"Pour our guest a cup of tea, and um... would you like a cigar?"

"I can't smoke, and I'm really embarrassed."

"Oh, a cup of tea then."

"Yes, my lord."

Freshly brewed tea was quickly served, and the young secretary Zhuo Weiting quickly and quietly left, closing the door behind him.

There were only two people left in the room. Director Zheng Xin lit a cigar himself and motioned Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haigou to sit on the sofa.

He watched Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haigou take a sip of tea before gently asking, "I'm fully aware of what's in the letter. You have two missions this time: one is to escort the guano to Hong Kong, and the second is to enter the Kingdom of Hawaii and lie low for a long time, awaiting the opportunity. I request that the US Representative Office provide as much convenience as possible. Am I correct?"

"Sir, I have no right to read confidential letters. I will only follow orders."

"Well, you can guess it even without me telling you." Director Zheng Xin took a deep puff of the cigar and then exhaled, and the strong aroma of tobacco lingered around.

He said as he considered it;

"The first thing is easy to do. Both the British and the French are eager to get these precious guano resources, so they have no trouble selling them.

Although 400 tons is a bit too much, it can be broken down and sold in bulk very quickly. It can be exchanged for money directly at the Wan Guo Tong Bao Bank, which is not a problem.

"Some of the supplies needed for Midway and Wake Island can be purchased and shipped from San Francisco and brought back along the way. I'll arrange for someone to take care of that. Also, your Minister Dong Huanzhang asked me to prepare $10 for your undercover operations in Hawaii. Did he make a mistake?"

Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haigou was startled when he heard this and looked up...

The Minister did tell him this. This money is related to continuing the undercover operation and placing subsequent personnel, and is of great importance.

He hurriedly explained;
“Sir, it’s not that we want to intercept this money, but we will use it entirely for the next step.

Due to the principle of confidentiality, I cannot give you a detailed account, but every penny spent is clearly recorded and filed for audit.

If anything goes wrong, we will bear the corresponding responsibility and accept internal disciplinary action."

Director Zheng Xin was involved in a very high-level confidential matter. He was also aware of His Majesty's decision to seize the Hawaiian Islands, so he would naturally cooperate. The relevant diplomatic documents were burned after reading them.

Hearing Lieutenant Commander Wang Haigou's panicked explanation, he smiled slightly and said;
“I’m not accusing anything?
What I mean is that your minister Dong Huanzhang should go out and take a walk, take a look around, and stop sitting in high chairs giving orders every day without knowing the sufferings of the people.

What does 100,000 dollars mean?
If you go to Hawaii and buy a remote island, it only costs a few hundred dollars. Even a large estate on the densely populated island of Oahu will not cost that much.

not to mention

Your undercover mission is just to receive more Chinese immigrants. There is no need to spend real money to buy a manor. You can just rent a few manors.

There are quite a few farmers developed by Americans in the Hawaiian Islands. There are at least 100 or sugarcane plantations, if not , and most of them are not doing well.

For just two or three thousand US dollars, you can rent a large sugar plantation, and the lease doesn't have to last long, just two or three years will do.

When the kingdom takes over the islands, everything there will be ours. Wouldn’t it be foolish to spend money on it?

You're right to listen to me. Spend money to rent a few large estates. I've asked my subordinates to follow up on this matter. There are many white estate owners living in San Francisco. You can find out by asking the Chamber of Commerce.

If that’s not enough, rent two more small islands. There are many people raising cattle there.

There is no need to worry about the cattle being left on the island. Let them reproduce freely. They have food and water and they can't run away anyway.

In three to five years, I'll be able to collect a batch of cattle and sell them. It will be a good business."

"Then sir, what do you mean..." Wang Haigou asked hesitantly.

Director Zheng Xin made the decision with a flourish. "I'll give you $2. Half of that will be used to rent the plantation and the deserted island. The other half, at $8, will be used to buy you some goods. Finally, I'll give you $ in cash. That's it."

The money suddenly dropped from 20 to 5. Wang Haigou's face fell and he begged with a sad face, "Sir, please give us more money. There are quite a few people who need to be resettled."

"You, what's wrong with you?" Director Zheng Xin said with a look of disappointment, and then he said on his own initiative;
"It's settled. We've accomplished a lot with little money, and it's another great achievement.

The goods I prepare for you will at least quadruple in value when they arrive in Hawaii. They cannot be sold if their value is less than $30,000. This is called money making money.

You don't need to ask about the revenue from the sale of guano. The North American representative office will make a detailed report to the government on this matter. It just so happens that I have my eyes on several equipment factories and I can buy more equipment and ship the machine tools back.

This money should be spent where it is needed most, to promote economic and people's livelihood and social and industrial development, which is the real thing.

I think you soldiers are not very smart. Let my secretary Zhuo Weiting bring some young students to help you take care of the relevant matters.

The North American Trade Representative Office should not intervene in this matter. Find a few white people to register a business and operate it under their name, and you can just hide behind the scenes."

Since Director Zheng Xin said so, Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haigou had no choice but to nod in agreement.

But he also asked for a favor, asking the North American representative office for help if he really couldn't make ends meet. Director Zheng Xin readily agreed.

Things went smoothly afterwards. The guano was unloaded into the heavily guarded warehouse of the North American representative office, and then a large amount of supplies was loaded onto the ship.

Zhuo Weiting boarded the ship with a group of more than 10 people. There were several white people among these 10 people. It was said that the two new trading companies were opened in their names.

One is called West Coast Max Agriculture Company and the other is called Gold Coast Trading Company.

some of

West Coast Max Agriculture obtained three-year leases on seven sugar plantations on Oahu and also leased a large, uninhabited island, Niihau.

Located in the Hawaiian Islands, Nihao Island is the seventh largest, covering an area of ​​approximately 179.9 square kilometers. At 18 miles long and 6 miles wide, Nihao Island sits at the center of Hawaii's largest lake, Lake Halali. Despite being uninhabited, Nihao Island remains uninhabited.

West Coast Max Agriculture Company has a good reason to rent this deserted island, which is to raise cattle!

If you put dozens of bulls and cows on the island, in just a dozen years, they will naturally reproduce into thousands or even more cattle.

If the timeline is extended a little, it will be no problem to breed tens of thousands of cows.

It doesn't require anyone to look after you, and you don't have to worry about anything either. Isn't that the best of both worlds?

(End of this chapter)