North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 255 The Embroidered Quilt with Mandarin Ducks Turns Red Waves

For people like Lincoln, once they set their sights on a goal, they will persevere relentlessly and relentlessly until the very end.

Therefore, Azu has absolutely no need to worry about the president's strong execution capabilities.

Perhaps, before long, I will be able to see the day when the Civil War breaks out.

If war breaks out too early, even Azu's own California may not be prepared to reap the greatest benefits.

So at this point, Ah Zu actually started to persuade Lincoln.

"Mr. President, eradicating slavery in the Southern states is the top priority for the United States right now."

Azu said, "However, we cannot be too hasty. We must wait until we are fully prepared for war...!"

Before Azu could finish speaking, Lincoln nodded and said, "In your Chinese parlance, it means never fight a battle unprepared, right?"

"Yes!"

Lincoln said seriously, "Of course I know that the United States is not yet ready for a large-scale war."

"Currently, the total strength of the entire army is only about 100,000 people."

"Among them are many Southerners! If I rush into war, the actual number of troops I can use is quite limited."

Azu nodded in agreement.

Lincoln continued to ponder, "Therefore, before declaring war on the Southern states, I must increase military spending, expand the size of the army, and enhance its combat effectiveness...!"

At this point, Lincoln felt things were starting to get tricky.

"But the United States treasury is just too poor right now, Congress won't approve increased military spending or expansion of the army...!"

After thinking for a moment, Azu said, "Mr. President, if we are really short of money, we can issue war bonds...!"

“War bonds…?” President Lincoln thought for a moment. “That’s a good idea… but what will we use as the underlying asset for issuing war bonds?”

The underlying asset is a high-value item that is guaranteed by the credit of the state before the bond is issued, serving as the expected future return of the bond.

For example, the Qing Dynasty used customs revenue as collateral to issue bonds to Western powers.

For example, if a war is launched against an enemy country, the occupied enemy land and mineral resources can be used as collateral to issue bonds.

Azu said calmly, "America has plenty of unclaimed land and minerals. These unclaimed lands and minerals can be used as collateral to issue war bonds."

Lincoln pondered for a moment longer: "I think it's feasible! If we want to fight a major war, this is the only way to raise funds quickly right now."

After saying this, President Lincoln suddenly chuckled and said, "Lee, today is your wedding day, but I, your unwelcome guest, have taken up your place as the groom in the middle of the night."

"Anything else to say can wait until after tonight," Lincoln said with a meaningful smile. "Your brides must be getting impatient. As you Chinese say, a moment on the wedding night is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Go back and be with your brides!"

Azu laughed heartily, raised his glass of wine, clinked it with Lincoln's, drank it all in one gulp, and then left the study with a flourish.

……

Of the six brides tonight, the others had already been taken by Ah Zu.

Only Fu Shanxiang was not as unrestrained as the white women. In the two years she had been in America, although she had always admired her young and promising boss, she remained chaste and did not let Azu taste the sweetness or get involved with any meat beforehand.

Only tonight, when the two became husband and wife, did Ah Zu have a legitimate reason to sneak into Fu Shanxiang's room.

……

In the room, Fu Shanxiang, who had gone to bed early, didn't even dare to take off her clothes. Dressed in her wedding attire, she crawled directly into the brand-new quilt.

Hiding under the covers, Fu Shanxiang's heart was pounding like a deer's.

She was both eagerly anticipating the groom's arrival and terrified of his coming.

Although she had been married once before, she was a child bride. Her original husband died of illness when he was only twelve years old.

Therefore, Fu Shanxiang, who was inexperienced in such matters, had never felt so nervous and expectant, fearful and joyful as she did tonight!
Fu Shanxiang lay in bed for most of the night, but he never came.

Overwhelmed with disappointment and despair, Fu Shanxiang finally succumbed to her fears and drifted off to sleep.

Fu Shanxiang, who didn't know how long she had been asleep, suddenly felt something quite comfortable next to her, so she turned over and naturally hugged it.

Even Fu Shanxiang's long, slender, and fair legs naturally draped over his body.

Even in her sleep, Fu Shanxiang suddenly felt something was wrong. She quickly opened her eyes and saw a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling but weren't, staring intently at her in the flickering candlelight.

"ah……!"

Fu Shanxiang's pretty face instantly turned bright red with embarrassment. She pulled the blanket up with her bare hands and buried her entire head inside.

"Hehe...!" Azu chuckled, "Shanxiang, we're already husband and wife, what's there to be shy about?"

With that, Azu also burrowed into the quilt.

That night, the embroidered quilt with mandarin ducks turned into waves of red... The subtleties within, those who know, know!

If anyone still doesn't understand, reflect on why you're still single!

The next morning, when the dozens of grooms, including Ah Zu, met, they could all see the weariness on each other's faces.

Especially middle-aged men like Zuo Zongtang and Edgar Allan Poe, who were in their early forties, were clearly much more tired than younger people after a night of activity.

In Azu's study, the two yawned widely, exchanged a slightly awkward glance, and then chuckled knowingly.

Ah Zu was young and healthy, and there was almost no abnormality on his face, but he also looked at his two right-hand men with a very interesting gaze.

"Mr. Zuo, Ellen, did you sleep well last night?" Azu asked with a meaningful smile.

"Cough cough...!" Zuo Zongtang and Edgar Allan Poe coughed twice almost simultaneously: "Thank goodness...!"

Edgar Allan Poe looked a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Boss, the land issue regarding the Brazilian iron ore mine has been basically resolved!"

"We bought the entire Carajás region for two million eight hundred thousand dollars."

"His Majesty Pedro II was quite generous, agreeing to provide us with the land we needed to build a railway."

"The exploration team that went to Brazil with me was already conducting detailed exploration in the Carajás region at this time."

"The exploration scope is not limited to iron ore deposits, but also includes railway routes leading to the port."

Edgar Allan Poe continued, “The closest place to the Carajás mines is the port of São Luís in Brazil. The straight-line distance is about four or five hundred miles, but if a railway were built, the length would be about five hundred and fifty miles.”

"This railway is almost entirely located in the Amazon rainforest, making its construction relatively expensive."

"If we calculate the cost at $30,000 per mile, the total cost of this railway would exceed $16 million...!"

"Moreover, it is estimated that at least tens of millions of dollars more will be needed to develop the Carajas mining area!"

Azu thought for a moment: "So that means the total investment in the Carajas mine is at least thirty million US dollars, right?"

“Yes!” Edgar Allan Poe nodded. “Moreover, after conducting an on-site inspection of the Carajás mine, I estimate that it will take at least five years and an investment of at least tens of thousands of manpower before we can mine high-quality iron ore in large quantities.”

"Thirty million US dollars, five years, and an investment of tens of thousands of human resources...!"

Azu pondered for a moment and said, "If California wants to grow bigger and stronger, the high-quality iron ore in Carajás is indispensable!"

"Therefore, no matter how much money, manpower, and time we invest, we must develop the Carajas iron ore mine."

"Moreover, five years is far too long!"

Azou pondered, "According to previous expectations, the Panama Railway would be fully completed by 1855."

"Once the Panama Railway is completed, although its transport capacity is far less than that of the canal, it will be able to transport large quantities of iron ore produced in Carajás."

"Therefore, we must strive to be able to partially develop the Carajás iron ore mine by around 1855."

"Five years is too long, three years...!"

At this point, Azu turned his gaze to his right-hand man: "Mr. Zuo, Ellen, in three years, can we partially develop the Karagas iron ore mine?"

Edgar Allan Poe looked troubled: "Boss, three years is far too short!"

"Putting everything else aside, it's absolutely impossible to build the railway from Carajás to St. Louis in three years!"

"Without railways, Carajás, deep in the Amazon rainforest, would be impossible to develop. Not only could the iron ore not be transported out, but essential supplies and equipment could not be transported in at all."

Azu didn't rush to answer, but instead had someone bring him a map of South America.

When the map was placed on the desk, Azu studied it carefully for a moment before saying, "Look, this Tocantins River...!"

As he spoke, Azu pointed to a large river on the map and continued, "This Tocantins River is located south of the Amazon River, and it is also a large river with abundant water flow, navigable enough."

"Moreover, the Tocantins River extends deep into the Amazon rainforest, and its banks are only tens of kilometers away from the Carajás mining area!"

"If we utilize the Tocantins River for preliminary development of the Carajás mining area...!"

Edgar Allan Poe studied the map for a long time before saying in a deep voice, "Looking at the map, the Tocantins River is indeed very close to the Carajás mining area."

"However, whether this river can actually be used to develop the Carajás mining area still requires on-site investigation and surveying."

"If it can indeed be utilized, it can greatly reduce the development time and difficulty of the Carajás mining area."

Azu continued in deep thought, "We in California are currently facing a massive amount of infrastructure construction, whether it's various projects within California itself, projects on the Isthmus of Panama, projects in the Caracas mining area in Brazil, or development projects in Alaska...!"

“These massive infrastructure projects would be far too time-consuming and labor-intensive to rely solely on manpower, and we simply don’t have that many people.”

"Therefore... we are determined to develop a series of engineering machines!"

"Construction machinery...?"

Zuo Zongtang and Edgar Allan Poe exchanged a glance and asked curiously, "What type of engineering machinery?"

(End of this chapter)