North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 259 Ambidextrous Fighting, Dominating Both North and South
Negotiations with the Northern Army were completely different from those with the Southern Army.

At the outset, Andrew Webber reiterated his apologies for the previous blockade of the California coast.

"Last time, under duress from the Freemasons, I had no choice but to lead the Pacific Squadron to blockade the California coast."

Andrew Webber offered a sincere apology: "Mr. Governor, I believe you are very clear that I had to do it because my family was under house arrest and control, and it was absolutely not my intention."

"But regardless, I express my deepest apologies for any losses caused as a result!"

"At the same time, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude for your help in rescuing my family!"

As he spoke, Andrew Webber, the gray-haired old general, gave Azu a standard military salute.

Ah Zu chuckled and waved his hand: "Whether it's grudges or love-hate relationships, let bygones be bygones."

"General Weber, you are now representing the U.S. War Department, and I believe we should be able to achieve a very pleasant cooperation."

Brigadier General Andrew Webber then sat down opposite Azu and said in a deep voice, "Governor, you should also have some understanding of the current situation in the East."

"After the eleven southern states declared independence and established the Confederation, the North and South were already at odds and could break out into civil war at any moment."

"Currently, both our Northern Army and those Southern Army forces are seizing every opportunity to expand their forces and prepare for war!"

"According to my prediction, civil war is inevitable! And next year, in 1853, we will have to face a civil war that no one wants to see."

Since the last incident, Andrew Webber has completely broken away from Freemasonry.

Moreover, he was extremely grateful for Abraham Lincoln's leniency in granting him a lighter sentence.

Therefore, Brigadier General Andrew Webber is now infinitely loyal to the Union Army and to that president.

He continued, "Governor, the Northern Army has already swelled to over 300,000 men, and it is expected to expand further to over 500,000."

"Our northern arsenals cannot provide the necessary weapons and equipment for so many soldiers in a short period of time."

"Therefore, our Northern Army desperately needs the strong support of the Huamei Arsenal!"

“Of course, of course!” Azu smiled and said, “Whether it is my personal political belief against slavery or my personal relationship with President Lincoln, I will definitely give my full support to the Union Army without reservation.”

“That would be wonderful!” Andrew Webber’s spirits were noticeably higher. “After the last Panama War, the U.S. Army truly witnessed the power of the weapons produced by the China American Arsenal.”

“So…!” Andrew Webber continued, “This time I’ve brought the largest order in the history of the United States military!”

"The biggest order ever?" Azu raised an eyebrow. "Just how big is it?"

Andrew Webber calmly raised three fingers!
“Thirty...thirty million?” Azu guessed.

“No… thirty divisions!” Andrew Webber replied in a deep voice.

“Thirty divisions… gulp!” Azu swallowed hard. “General, do you mean you need our Huamei Arsenal to provide the Northern Army with all the equipment for thirty divisions?”

“Yes!” Andrew Webber nodded emphatically.

"During this military expansion and preparation, our Northern Army is prepared to complete the formation of a full forty divisions!"

"Besides the equipment that the Northern Arsenal can produce for the ten divisions, the equipment for the remaining thirty divisions will all be provided by the Huamei Arsenal."

Andrew Webber emphasized, "This was not just an order from the War Department, but also a personal arrangement by the President."

"Hehe, the President's personal arrangement...!" Of course, Azu knew that Lincoln was repaying him for his long-term, unconditional support in this way.

Azu pondered for a moment and said, "General, providing equipment for thirty divisions of the Northern Army is no problem."

"But given the production capacity of our Huamei Armory, this will take time!"

Andrew Webber pressed on, "Mr. Governor, how long would it take to produce weapons and equipment for thirty divisions?"

“One year…!” Azu replied in a deep voice, “A full thirty divisions, that’s roughly three hundred thousand rifles, several thousand machine guns, at least two thousand artillery pieces of various kinds, and hundreds of millions of bullets and shells…!”

“My Huamei Armory will need at least a year to produce such a huge amount of weapons and equipment.”

"Moreover, this can only be achieved if my arsenal continues to expand its production capacity, operates around the clock, and has no shortage of raw materials."

"It's very difficult, extremely difficult... Moreover, our Huamei Company also needs to invest a lot of funds, manpower, and resources...!"

Andrew Webber understood immediately upon hearing this.

Like Brigadier General Miles, the representative of the Confederate Army, Andrew Webber also took out a check from his briefcase and quietly pushed it in front of Azu.

“Governor, this is the first payment from our War Department…!”

Ah Zu stared intently at the check, his eyes widening in surprise: "Forty million US dollars...!"

“Yes!” With that, Andrew Webber pulled a long order form from his briefcase and placed it in front of Azu. “Governor, we understand your difficulties, of course! And of course, we, the Union Army, have our own difficulties!”

"The federal government just issued a $100 million war bond, and most of the rest, apart from necessary other expenses, is on this check."

“Completing this order in a year is a bit too long… Mr. Governor, can’t we shorten the timeframe a little?”

Ah Zu smiled. He used to be the one urging others to speed up the progress and deadlines. He never thought he would be the one being urged to speed up the progress.

“General Weber, of course I also hope it can be done as soon as possible! But... production capacity is limited, and even if we expand production capacity, it will take a considerable amount of time. There's nothing we can do about it, and we can't rush it.”

“Sigh…!” Andrew Webber sighed softly, “So, those newly formed divisions will have to use those old, broken guns for now… They can only be gradually re-equipped after the Huamei Arsenal produces them.”

……

Azu carefully browsed the long list of orders.

This order was at least half again as large as the Southern Army's.

No more, no less; based on the price of the arms supplied to the Southern Army, this 40 million US dollars was just enough to produce weapons and equipment for 30 divisions.

Clearly, the War Department came prepared this time, having accurately calculated the price of weapons from the Huamei Armory.

Before the Civil War even started, Azu had already received orders worth more than 70 million US dollars.

This is just the beginning. When the two sides really start fighting and become fiercely competitive, how much will this number swell?
……

After signing huge arms deals with both the North and South, Huamei Arms Factory had to rapidly expand its production capacity.

The current Huamei Armory can produce about 30 to 40 million US dollars worth of arms orders a year, which can at most meet the needs of one side in the civil war.

To satisfy both parties, the production scale needs to be more than doubled in a short period of time.

Fortunately, after his private meeting with Abraham Lincoln, Azu had already begun preparations several months in advance.

Huamei Machinery Factory was able to produce most of the machinery and precision machine tools for the expanded arsenal.

The small portion of core equipment that cannot be produced domestically is already on a ship shipped from Europe to California and will arrive soon.

At the same time, a large quantity of high-quality European steel was also ordered and has been arriving in San Francisco in batches.

It wasn't just the arsenal that was being expanded; the machine factory was expanded as well.

After several months of tinkering, Azu and a large group of engineers finally managed to produce steam-powered engineering machinery.

After several months of trial production, testing, and improvement, these steam bulldozers, steam cranes, steam excavators, steam loaders, and so on will soon be put to great use in massive projects everywhere.
-
1852 passed quickly in this busy and hectic pace.

At the year-end summary meeting, the development of the entire California and Huamei Company was summarized once again.

That year, the population of California, including Native Americans, had grown to over 600,000, with the Chinese population growing the fastest, approaching 300,000.

In the vast Central Valley, a total of one hundred Chinese "model villages" have been established, resettling more than 100,000 Chinese and Native American women.

The remaining 100,000 or so Chinese either joined the Huamei Corporation or were selected for the National Guard.

Because of the gold rush tax, California's total annual revenue exceeded four million dollars.

Excluding military spending, California's total annual fiscal expenditure barely reached three million dollars, and even with the basic implementation of six-year compulsory education, it still achieved a fiscal surplus of more than one million dollars.

This fiscal surplus was invested by Azu in municipal infrastructure in various towns and cities.

Centralized water supply and drainage systems are gradually being built in various towns, including San Francisco.

Roads in various towns are also under rapid construction, and main roads connecting these towns are gradually being laid out.

……

Compared to California, Huamei Company is developing much faster!
Compared to its total revenue of $260 million in 1851, the total revenue of the Huamei Company in 1852 increased to $380 million.

This amount of 380 million does not include the huge arms orders of 70 to 80 million from the North and South armies.

Although the money was received in advance, the weapons have not yet been delivered. Therefore, it is reasonable to count these two huge arms orders in the next year.

Besides the original gold mining and penicillin, the two most profitable pillar industries, which continued to maintain rapid growth, reaching $270 million, other businesses also grew significantly.

In particular, fertilizers and advanced machinery produced by Huamei saw the largest growth, with total revenue from these two products exceeding 50 million US dollars.

As for the other companies, such as arms, banks, pharmaceuticals, textiles, clothing, chemicals, metallurgy, shipping, and trading companies, their combined total reached around 50 million US dollars.

Furthermore, the more than one hundred model villages of Huamei Company handed over tens of millions of kilograms of grain, which, in addition to being self-sufficient, also had a large surplus. These surpluses were sold on the market, earning millions of dollars.

(End of this chapter)