North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 274 Edison and Rockefeller
After arranging military matters, Azu then began to inquire about the progress of infrastructure construction.

"Mr. Forbes, how are our key projects progressing throughout the year? Could you please give us a report?"

“Yes, BOSS!” Forbes, who was in charge of Huamei Engineering Company, stood up and bowed to Azu before continuing, “In 1853, we completed the ice-free port project in Alaska.”

"Other port projects, including the Hakodate Port expansion project and the first phase of construction in Guam, Wake Island, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, are all progressing rapidly. They are expected to be basically completed by the first half of next year."

"At that time, we will have a relatively complete supply chain in the North Pacific, which can provide sufficient supply support for our merchant ships, immigrant ships and warships."

"Subsequently, the second phase of these port projects will also include ship maintenance and repair capabilities. According to the plan, the second phase of the projects for each port will be completed by the end of 1855."

Although Forbes joined Huamei Company relatively late, the prosperity and dynamism there, along with the abundance of projects and funding, made him feel at home.

The numerous engineering projects spanning the entire Pacific region, while bringing immense pressure, also filled him with boundless energy, giving him a second spring in his life.

Azu smiled and nodded: "Our engineering company has done a great job this year! Especially Mr. Forbes, you have endured tremendous pressure and made tremendous efforts to achieve these results!"

"Boss, you flatter me!" Forbes has lived in China for a long time and has mastered the Chinese ways of being humble and reserved.

He continued, "After we acquired the Russian-American Company and took control of the entire Alaska, we immediately began exploring for gold, oil, and coal resources in Alaska, as instructed by our boss!"

"I have to say, boss, you are truly a prophet, a god among men!"

Forbes exclaimed, "Boss, the areas you pointed out, seemingly barren and covered in snow and ice, have indeed yielded rich mineral resources."

"Whether it's gold, oil, or coal, Alaska is extremely rich in mineral resources!"

"This barren land of Alaska is absolutely a treasure trove, an enormous gold mine!"

"Wow... a treasure trove... another gold mine...!"

Forbes's statement caused an uproar among those present!
Originally, many people thought that their boss had gone to great lengths, traveling thousands of miles to the capital of the Russian Empire to personally negotiate with the Tsar and acquire Alaska, this extremely cold and barren land, all for the sake of an important ice-free port.

Who could have imagined that their own boss had already foreseen that this barren land of Alaska was actually a huge gold mine!

Doesn't that mean that, unintentionally, you made a fortune with only a tiny amount of money?

You're sitting at home, and leaks come from the sky!
Out of the blue, I stumbled upon an incredible bargain!

Seeing everyone's excited expressions, Azu calmly smiled and said, "Alaska is a gold mine, a huge treasure trove, that's for sure!"

"Whether it's gold, oil, coal, or countless other resources, the barren land of Alaska is richly buried underground."

"However, now is not the time to fully develop Alaska."

Azu continued, "Right now, the most important thing for us in California is coal!"

"Our demand for coal and steel in California is growing!"

"We can also import high-quality steel directly from the East and Europe. Although the cost has increased significantly, it has also saved a lot of manpower and resources."

"However, coal, a cheap energy source, is the power source for all industries!"

"We still have to import a lot of coal from the east. Not only has the price of coal at least doubled, but it has also caused the cost of all our industrial products to rise significantly."

"More seriously, if the East and Europe cut off coal exports to us, it would be a fatal blow to California's industry."

Azu solemnly said, "Although the Pink River Basin in Wyoming has discovered huge coal reserves, many blocks are still open-pit mines that can be directly mined, making mining extremely convenient and inexpensive."

"Moreover, the Powder River Basin in Wyoming is already under our control. There are no insurmountable difficulties in directly mining it."

"However, Wyoming is thousands of miles overland from California, and there are currently no roads or railroads available for transporting coal."

"But Alaska's coal resources are different!"

Azu continued, "Alaska's coal resources are buried near the coast. Once mined, they can be transported directly to California via a short rail line of a few dozen miles through the port."

“Alaska is not far from California by sea. With the speed of our fast merchant ships, coal from Alaska can be transported to California in just a few days.”

"Therefore, the next development focus in Alaska will be coal mines and the associated railway and port projects."

Azu looked at Forbes and said, "Mr. Forbes, I require you to complete the construction of the coal mine's infrastructure, as well as the supporting railway and port projects, within the next year. Is that alright?"

"This...!" Forbes wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Boss, look at you, you're adding more burdens to me... We're already overwhelmed with all the projects we have on hand...!"

Azu smiled and waved his hand: "There are priorities. Things like the Alaskan coal mine, which are of paramount importance to California's lifeline, must be prioritized."

"Therefore, even if other projects are put on hold for the time being, this project must be prioritized."

“I understand…!” Forbes nodded quickly: “Since the BOSS has made this arrangement, we should do our best to complete the Alaskan coal development project within the next year.”

“Very good, very good!” Azu said with satisfaction. “However, we must further expand the scale and project capabilities of our engineering company.”

"In the future, there will be more and more projects that need to be implemented, and they will become larger and larger. If our engineering company is not big enough and has insufficient capabilities, that will absolutely not work."

Forbes nodded emphatically: "Boss, the engineering firm has been expanding rapidly."

"To date, our engineering company has recruited more than 10,000 full-time employees from all over the world, including more than 1,000 experienced engineers."

"And the number of temporary workers we employ in our projects across the country has exceeded 100,000...!"

"Besides our engineering projects that span the entire Pacific Ocean, our engineering company's focus remains on California itself."

"Port expansion, urban water supply and drainage, and urban road construction projects in major cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Monterey, and San Jose, as well as various municipal engineering projects, are being carried out at a rapid pace."

Forbes continued, "The municipal works in these key cities will be completed one after another before 1855."

"Then, the railroad project that runs through the entire north and south of California is also progressing rapidly."

"This key railway connects almost all of California's major towns."

"Once this railway is completed, the travel time from south to north in California will be drastically reduced to less than a day and a night. Previously, traveling by horse-drawn carriage would take at least ten days to two weeks...!"

"The most critical control project on this railway is the large railway bridge spanning the San Francisco Strait...!"

"Hehe, is that the Golden Gate Bridge?" Azu interjected with a laugh.

"Golden Gate Bridge?" Forbes exclaimed. "Boss, we haven't named this railroad bridge yet... Since you've given your word, then this strait bridge must be called the Golden Gate Bridge!"

Historically, the Golden Gate Bridge, which would have been built approximately seventy or eighty years later, is a suspension highway bridge.

But what's being built now is a railway bridge!
Ah Zu felt there was no problem, but he made one request: "After the Golden Gate Bridge is completed, the rust-proof paint must be painted red...!"

"Red anti-rust paint?" Forbes asked, puzzled. "Why, Boss?"

“Haha!” Azu laughed, “The future Golden Gate Bridge will be our gateway to California and an iconic landmark.”

"Red is festive and auspicious...!"

Forbes suddenly realized: "I understand, Boss, no problem at all, everything will be done as you say!"

Having lived in China for so many years, Forbes fully understands his boss's dedication to and emphasis on feng shui and metaphysics.

Forbes continued, "Currently, thanks to the addition of large-scale construction machinery, the progress of our various projects has accelerated significantly!" The large-scale construction machinery he referred to was the tracked heavy construction machinery that Azu personally designed and promoted for production testing and improvement last year, including steam bulldozers, steam excavators, steam cranes, steam loaders, and other similar machines.

These steam-powered tracked engineering machines are extremely bulky, inefficient, and their reliability needs further improvement.

However, with the addition of these engineering machines, they are far more advanced and powerful than human and animal power.

Many things that are impossible or impossible to do with human or animal power can be accomplished with ease by these steam-powered engineering machines.

Forbes continued, "Since construction began last year, more than 40 percent of the roadbed for the California North-South Railroad has been laid."

"And the crucial Golden Gate Bridge has been under construction for more than half a year."

"According to our plan, the California North-South Railroad will be fully completed and open to traffic by the end of 1856."

"Of course, without the engineering machinery designed by the boss himself, this timeframe would have been at least three years longer!"

After subtly flattering his boss, Forbes added, "Our Sacramento River inland waterway project is also progressing rapidly. By the end of 1854, the main channel of the Sacramento River will be able to directly accommodate ships of over a thousand tons."

"Our cable telegraph project in California is progressing smoothly. The various cable lines will be gradually opened next year."

"By the end of next year, cable telegraph lines from San Francisco to all major towns in California, and even to every model town and the Giant Elephant Gold Mine site, will be fully operational."

As the number of immigrants from China increased, the number of model villages in the fertile Central Valley reached more than 200, settling about 300,000 Chinese farmers and more than 20,000 Native American women.

As the number and scale of model villages continue to grow, some model villages with exceptionally advantageous locations and conditions have gradually developed into prosperous towns.

Azu also timely organized these model villages into eighteen model towns, with each town having more than ten villages under its jurisdiction.

In each model town, a complete grassroots governance system has been established, with each town government employing approximately twenty civil servants to strengthen grassroots governance and citizen services.

Now, cable telegraph has been extended to every town, further strengthening the state government's management capabilities and governance at the grassroots level.

Even though the Central Valley has resettled hundreds of thousands of Chinese immigrants, more than 90 percent of the rich land in this vast area has not been developed.

This vast and fertile land still has more than 50 million mu of rich land waiting to be cultivated, which can at least resettle millions of farmers.

As the population base continues to increase in the future, counties and cities can be established in the towns, and the entire governance system and political foundation can gradually become complete and perfect.

These cities, counties, towns, and villages, almost entirely composed of Chinese people, were Azu's inexhaustible source of grain, various agricultural products, soldiers, and talent, and were also one of the foundations for his global dominance.

After listening to the Forbes report, Azu said, "After completing the municipal works in major towns by the end of next year, the next step is to extend the road and municipal works further down to the townships."

“Every township must have access to horse-drawn carriage roads and a unified water supply and drainage system; these are the most basic requirements.”

Everyone present quickly wrote down their boss's requirements.

Forbes continued, "As for key projects outside of California, first is the Panama Canal project, second is the Brazilian iron ore project, and finally, the railroad project to Wyoming...!"

"The Panama Canal project is still in the early stages of exploration and design."

"According to the boss's initial design, the Panama Canal will be a stepped lock canal. It will utilize the water from two natural lakes in Panama to provide water for the locks."

On this point, Ah Zu personally oversaw and participated in the design, completely avoiding the detours taken by the French.

Forbes continued, "We will complete the exploration and design planning of the Panama Canal and officially begin construction before 1855."

"The original estimated construction period was at least fifteen years!"

"But thanks to the addition of large-scale construction machinery, the construction period is now expected to be shortened to ten years...!"

"If everything proceeds according to plan, the Panama Canal will be completed and operational by 1865...!"

Ah Zu originally wanted to say that a ten-year construction period was really too long.

Once we have truly mastered enough and abundant oil resources, the internal combustion engine will be invented ahead of schedule, and electrification will arrive decades earlier.

With the addition of internal combustion engines and electrified engineering machinery, the ten-year construction period should be able to be further reduced.

Thinking of this, Azu suddenly interjected, "Victoria, arrange for the Eighteenth Bureau to go to Milan, Ohio, or... or Port Huron, Michigan, to find a boy named Thomas Edison...!"

"He should be six or seven years old this year...!"

Azu wasn't sure if the Edisons had moved to Michigan by this time.

So he asked Victoria to look in both places.

"We're looking for a kid named Edison...!" Victoria asked in surprise, "Boss, what do we need this kid for?"

Azu smiled and said, "I heard that this child is a genius... but his family is poor and he can't afford to go to school."

“Once we find this child, we will tell his parents that the California government can take full responsibility for the upbringing and education of this gifted child until he becomes an adult.”

"The California government will cover all expenses related to raising this child!"

“If his parents are still unwilling, then give them some money and bring the child to California to raise him from a young age.”

Not only Victoria, but everyone present was used to their boss's sudden and imaginative ideas.

Victoria, unfazed, jotted down the name "Thomas Edison" in her notebook and replied, "No problem, my boss!"

Ah Zu continued, "Since we're looking for someone, let's look for the other person as well."

"Boss, all you need to do is give us a name and a general address. There's no one we can't find in our eighteen locations!"

Victoria replied confidently.

Now, these eighteen locations have secretly extended their reach to every state and major city in the United States.

They have even spread their spies to every major country in Europe, as well as to major countries in Asia and South America, in eighteen locations.

The Eighteenth Bureau is currently the fastest-growing, largest, and most professional intelligence organization in the world, if not the only one!

Of course, the oldest existing intelligence organization is the British Secret Intelligence Service, which was established and gradually improved more than two hundred years ago, eventually evolving into MI6.

As for the older intelligence organizations, such as the "Royal Eyes and Ears" of the Persian Empire before Christ, and the "Jinyiwei" and "Eastern Depot" and "Western Depot" of the Ming Dynasty, they have long been submerged in the tide of history.

After a moment's thought, Azu said a name: "John D. Rockefeller! He should be fourteen or fifteen years old now, born in New York, but his family should have moved to Cleveland, Ohio this year...!"

"I also heard that this young man is a business genius, and he should be in high school."

"After finding him, tell him that he has been admitted to the University of California, all tuition and fees are waived, and he can enroll immediately!"

As he spoke, Azu smiled and said, "If he still doesn't want to go to college in California after all this... then give him a scholarship until he's willing!"

"Finally, in Boston, find another young man named Samuel Langhorn Clement, who should be eighteen or nineteen years old now, working as a typesetter at a newspaper...!"

Samuel Langheng Clement—this name is completely unfamiliar.

However, later on, he had a well-known pen name!

(End of this chapter)