North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 208 Military Expansion and Preparation for War
After arranging things for Wu Qingfeng and Fu Shanxiang, Azu continued.

"California's population is growing rapidly, and including Native Americans, the total population should have reached more than 400,000."

Azu said, "This population base can support the California National Guard to be expanded slightly."

"Currently, the main body of the California National Guard consists of Feng Zicai's First Brigade, Shi Dakai's Second Brigade, Old Martinez's Independent Artillery Regiment, and Youma's Independent Cavalry Regiment."

"The National Guard currently has a total strength of around 10,000 personnel."

"My idea is to expand the National Guard to about 6,000 people, based on the existing three infantry battalions, one cavalry battalion and one artillery battalion under each brigade."

"Each brigade will be newly equipped with an engineer battalion, a supply battalion, and a directly subordinate reconnaissance company, medical company, and guard company."

"The number of infantry battalions has increased from three to five."

"The artillery and cavalry battalions were expanded from a three-company system to a five-company system."

Azu continued, "In this way, each brigade will basically have the ability to operate independently."

"I demand that the expansion of the two National Guard units be completed within two months."

Feng Zicai and Shi Dakai stood up at the same time and said, "Yes, sir!"

Azu added, "The National Guard School and the Coast Guard School should also vigorously train officers at all levels."

"For this reason, I went to great lengths to persuade Colonel Robert E. Lee to return and serve as the principal of the National Guard School."

Robert E. Lee did not attend today's meeting.

As a newcomer to California, Robert Lee, at least for now, is neither qualified nor has he gained enough trust to attend such a core meeting.

Azu said, "One of our main goals in the near future is to prepare to take over the Isthmus of Panama."

"The Isthmus of Panama is located at a strategic choke point; it's absolutely crucial!"

"Only by conquering the Isthmus of Panama and building the Panama Canal can we fully open up maritime transportation between us and the East and Europe."

"Therefore, we must be fully prepared and ready to go to war at any time."

Azu pondered for a moment and said, "According to my agreement with President Lincoln, we will use this opportunity of my being 'ambushed' to push the United States to declare war on the Republic of New Grenada."

"At that time, the U.S. Navy and Army will attack New Grenada from the Atlantic side."

"And our California Navy and Army will launch an attack from the Pacific side."

"The initial battle plan is to start from the Isthmus of Panama, cutting off the Republic of New Grenada in half. After establishing a solid position, we will then advance north and south until the Republic of New Grenada sues for peace."

"The naval strength of the Republic of New Grenada is almost negligible. Our California Coast Guard can easily defeat their navy and gain control of the sea by virtue of its superior speed, range, and firepower."

"At the same time, our coast guard forces will also support our army in landing on the Isthmus of Panama."

Azu said, "Based on this preliminary battle plan, Allen, Vic, Feng Zicai, Shi Dakai and old Martinez, you need to work with Colonel Robert E. Lee to come up with a concrete battle plan as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir!!"

The people whose names were called stood up and answered at the same time.

"The Isthmus of Panama and the entire New Grenada are located in the rainforest, where various infectious diseases are rampant. The operational plan should focus on the prevention and control measures."

“Mr. Parker, as a medical doctor, you need to cooperate with them and implement the epidemic prevention plan.”

Parker Parker nodded: "Okay, no problem!"

Azu continued, "At the same time, we must also conduct targeted training in amphibious operations and rainforest warfare."

"You have at most a month and a half to intensify your targeted training."

"Sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in wartime."

"We will strive to take the Isthmus of Panama at the lowest possible cost!"

"Understood...!" they all replied in unison.

Ah Zu then asked, "Uncle Jiu, is our current arms production okay? Can it support a medium-sized war?"

Uncle Nine replied, "Absolutely no problem!"

"We now produce more than 15,000 firearms of various types per month."

"The production capacity of bullets of various calibers has reached over one million rounds."

"The production capacity of high-explosive grenades has also reached more than 50,000 pieces."

"The monthly production of 203mm, 155mm and 100mm breech-loading rifled guns has reached more than fifteen each."

"The production capacity of 81mm mortars has reached more than 50 per month."

"The number of artillery shells and mortar shells of various calibers has reached more than five thousand."

"There are also various related equipment, including military uniforms, military shoes, helmets, belts, water bottles, etc., with a monthly production capacity of more than 5,000 sets."

"Even if the National Guard needs to be expanded, we can immediately meet all equipment requirements."

Uncle Nine proudly concluded, "With such a large production capacity, in addition to meeting our own equipment and combat needs, we can also export a large portion of it."

“Very good!” Azu nodded with satisfaction: “It seems that everyone has been busy while I was away.”

Parker Parker added, "Li, our penicillin production capacity has expanded from one million doses per month to one and a half million doses in the past six months."

Ah Zu smiled and nodded: "That's exactly what I was going to talk about!"

"With an annual penicillin production capacity of 18 million vials, it is necessary for our penicillin to further reduce its price significantly."

"The ex-factory price of penicillin, which was originally thirty dollars a vial, has dropped directly to fifteen dollars."

"The factory price offered to the church has also dropped from twenty-four dollars to twelve dollars!"

"In this way, even ordinary people can afford our penicillin, which will allow us to absorb such a large production capacity."

Parker Parker wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "Yes, penicillin can only truly become available worldwide when its price drops below ten dollars, or even one or two dollars."

"Only then will penicillin be able to play its true role and bring good news to the whole world!"

Ah Zu said, "Lowering it to below ten dollars, or even one or two dollars, is not possible for the time being."

“Mr. Parker, keep up the good work!” Azu said with a smile, “When our annual penicillin production capacity reaches more than 30 million doses, theoretically we can reduce the price to below ten dollars.”

"If our production capacity reaches hundreds of millions of doses, then penicillin costing one or two dollars will become a reality!"

“However, penicillin is not a panacea!” Azu added, “In addition to continuing to expand the production of penicillin, we also need to accelerate the development of new drugs.”

"For example, malaria has claimed countless lives around the world."

"We are fully capable of developing a specific drug to treat malaria!"

Parker Parker said, "The main drug for malaria right now is quinine, also known as quinine powder!"

"However, the raw material for quinine needs to be extracted from the cinchona tree, which is not only expensive, but also has considerable side effects and toxicity."

Ah Zu continued, "In our Chinese medical books, artemisia can be used to treat malaria."

"However, the effective component in artemisia annua for treating malaria is difficult to dissolve in water, and high-temperature boiling will destroy the effective component, namely artemisinin."

"Mr. Parker, if we use the low-temperature extraction method with ether, can we effectively extract artemisinin to treat malaria?"

Upon hearing what Azu said, Parker Parker was stunned and didn't react for a long time.

Ah Zu laughed and said, "Let's not talk about this in the meeting now. We'll discuss the feasibility of this separately later!"

“Okay…!” Azu’s suggestion kept swirling in Parker Parker’s mind.

……

After finishing speaking about that, Azu turned his gaze to Carnegie Jr.

At only seventeen years old, Carnegie was attending such an important meeting for the first time, so it was understandable that he was a little nervous.

Then Azu said, "Our little Carnegie, tell us about the current development of our East West Bank!"

"Cough cough...!" Little Carnegie had just taken a sip of water to ease his tension when he was suddenly called out by his boss and choked on the water.

After blushing and coughing repeatedly, Carnegie finally caught his breath. "Boss...!" Carnegie replied, "Our East West Bank, with two million dollars as start-up capital and equity, has made considerable progress after more than a year of operation."

"Now, in addition to the head office in San Francisco, we have opened fifteen branches in California, covering almost all major cities in California."

“In addition to California, we have also opened six branches in nearby states such as Nevada and Oregon.”

"Furthermore, East West Bank branches have been established in Washington, New York, and Philadelphia in the East."

"Overseas, the Paris branch, personally overseen by Jones, has also opened."

"Now, the head office and all branches together have twenty-six branches."

"Branches in Baltimore, Boston, Richmond, Atlanta and other locations are also being prepared."

"As of November, our bank had more than 500 employees."

"The head office and branches have collectively attracted over US$73 million in deposits and issued over US$56 million in loans."

"The majority of these savings are deposits from our own Huamei Company."

"The funds that Huamei Company alone has in our bank exceed fifty million US dollars."

"As for the profit for the whole year, it is estimated to reach more than one million US dollars."

A profit of one million dollars is negligible compared to the other businesses of Huamei Corporation.

But East West Bank's ability to turn a profit in its first full year has already exceeded Azu's expectations.

Azu laughed and said, "It seems that you two lads, Carnegie and Jones, have done quite well in the past year or so!"

Upon hearing the praise, Carnegie Jr. couldn't help but beam with joy: "This is all thanks to the strong support from the Huamei headquarters. They provided manpower and deposits. If we still can't make Huamei Bank stand up, we'd be incredibly stupid!"

Azu nodded: "Indeed, with the backing of Huamei Corporation, our Huamei Bank does have a natural advantage."

"However, my requirement for East West Bank is to open branches in all states and major cities in the United States as soon as possible."

"Besides the simplest way to make profits, such as attracting deposits and lending money and earning interest spreads, our banks also need to learn more ways to make money."

Carnegie asked humbly, "Boss, for example...?"

"For example, using a large amount of capital to acquire high-quality assets at low prices!"

"For example, we could establish a dedicated department to research stocks and bonds...!"

Azu said, "However, stocks and bonds are too risky. Before we fully understand the rules and unspoken rules of stocks and bonds, and before we have a large number of professionals, we can only try them in small quantities. The main purpose is to learn and cultivate talent."

“I will approve a million-dollar investment fund for the newly established stock and bond division.”

"Let me repeat myself, the purpose of allocating one million US dollars to this department is primarily for learning and developing talent, not for making money."

"Furthermore, you must not use bank depositors' funds for stock and bond investments, understand?"

Carnegie Jr. quickly stood up: "Understood, my boss!"

"Don't worry, boss!" Carnegie Jr. patted his chest and assured him, "Whether it's acquiring assets or investing in stocks and bonds, we will maintain the utmost caution and will absolutely not affect the bank's normal operations!"

Azu nodded and said, "We must also maintain a strict and cautious attitude towards our lending scale and risk control, and make sure to keep the bad debt rate at around 1%, and absolutely not exceed 2%."

"Otherwise, our East West Bank will face very high operational risks!"

Carnegie Jr. nodded immediately: "Right now, our lending is mainly concentrated in California, and we are very strict in our review of every loan."

"Moreover, in all of California, no one dares to borrow money from you, boss, and not pay it back!"

"Therefore, our current non-performing loan ratio is very low, only about 0.5%. In the banking industry, this non-performing loan ratio is considered to be at a fairly high level."

Azu said, "That's right! But our East West Bank is increasingly expanding beyond California, and we may face more and more bad debts in the future."

"I would like to reiterate that risk control must be exceptionally strict and cautious! It is better to make less money or no money at all than to have as few bad debts as possible."

"Okay, my boss!" Over the past three years, Carnegie has grown up alongside Azu.

Carnegie knew his boss's personality all too well.

East West Bank, like its owner, is reserved, cautious, and meticulous, never fighting a battle it cannot win.

Azu said, "Carnegie, once our financial talents in all fields have truly grown and matured, California will also establish its own stock exchange."

In those days, even on Wall Street in New York, the stock exchange was still in its infancy.

More stock transactions are still conducted privately rather than on the open market.

Azu's idea of ​​establishing California's own stock exchange and securities exchange was undoubtedly quite advanced.

Before everyone could recover from their surprise, Azu continued, "Little Carnegie, we can send some people to New York and London to learn about stocks and securities trading."

"Judging from the current situation of our Huamei Company, we have already passed the stage of initial capital accumulation."

"Our next development direction is, firstly, to vigorously develop real industries."

"The second direction is to make money from money, which is to go into finance."

"Both legs must learn to walk, both hands must grasp, and both hands must be strong!"

Azu said, "Therefore, Carnegie, you and Jones bear one of the development directions of our Huamei Company. It is a great responsibility and a long way to go!"

Seventeen-year-old Carnegie has grown into a grown man. Moreover, his childhood experiences have made him far more mature than his peers.

During the three years that he spent with Azu, young Carnegie gained a great deal of knowledge, broadened his horizons, and learned a great deal.

Even so, under the overwhelming burden of Azu, Carnegie Jr. felt somewhat breathless.

"Boss, I... I will do my best!"

"Haha!" Azu couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw his expression. "Don't be afraid, little Carnegie. What I'm talking about are long-term plans for the next few years."

"I will give you time to learn and grow; there's no rush!"

Hearing his boss say that, Carnegie breathed a slight sigh of relief.

……

After finishing talking about the bank, Ah Zu brought up another matter.

"Perhaps in the near future, we should be able to take over the Isthmus of Panama."

"Once we take control of the Isthmus of Panama, we will soon begin preliminary exploration, mapping, and preparation work for the Panama Canal."

"This is an extremely large project that requires a massive investment of funds, personnel, equipment, and materials."

"Even the preliminary exploration, surveying and preparation work involves a considerable amount of work."

"Therefore, we need to establish a dedicated engineering company in advance to be responsible for the preliminary preparations for the Panama Canal and the subsequent development work."

Azu said, "This engineering company will not only be involved in the development of the Panama Canal, but will also be preparing for the construction of California's railways, ports, and inland waterways."

"Furthermore, in the near future, a transcontinental railway will be built to connect the east and west coasts of the United States."

"These are all extremely large projects, so this engineering company is extremely important!"

"And among us, there are no specialized engineering talents who are capable of taking on such a great responsibility."

"Does anyone have an idea, or anyone with the ability, to set up this engineering company?"

For a moment, the dozens of people in the conference room fell completely silent.

We looked at each other, each pondering who had the ability to shoulder the heavy responsibility of this engineering company.

After a long silence, Edgar Allan Poe finally said in a deep voice, "Boss, if none of the company's current talent can take on this important task, then I do have a friend in the East...!"

"He should have the ability to build this engineering company!"

"Even subsequent projects like the Panama Canal, California's railway ports and inland waterway projects, and the even larger transcontinental railway project should be no problem for him!"

Upon hearing this, Azu immediately became very interested: "Ellen, who is this person you're talking about...?"

(End of this chapter)