North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 280 Strategies for Establishing a Government
Besides researchers like Zou Boqi who entered the California Institute for Advanced Study to conduct full-time research on various technologies, those students who returned after completing their studies and were willing to teach were assigned to the University of California, starting as lecturers.

Those who were willing to join the California government or work in management at Huamei Corporation had their personal wishes fulfilled.

After gaining experience in their respective positions for a period of time, Ah Zu plans to arrange for most of these students to return to Guangdong and take on important responsibilities.

Like the Chinese children sent to the United States in later generations, this group of rare talents can only play their greatest role and exert their full potential when they return to their motherland.

……

In 1854, war broke out in the Americas, Europe and Asia, but California remained remarkably peaceful.

But beneath the calm surface, a massive storm is brewing that will sweep across the entire Pacific Ocean!

……

Time flies, and it was July 1854 in the blink of an eye.

After six months of intensive recruitment and training, the two armies and four divisions, totaling 160,000 troops, arranged by Azu at the end of last year, have all been in place.

In particular, Shi Dakai's Second Army, a full-strength army of 56,000 men, has completed all training courses, is fully equipped and ready to go!

Meanwhile, in the port of San Francisco, a total of 260 high-speed steam merchant ships, with displacements ranging from 1,500 to over 3,000 tons, had already assembled.

Heavy and light artillery, 18,000 warhorses, 30,000 tons of ammunition, and tens of thousands of tons of grain and other supplies have all been loaded and are ready to set sail at any time!

Meanwhile, a convoy of up to fourteen ships, led by the fast armored cruisers "Guangzhou" and "Fuzhou", was also moored in the port. They had already completed their maintenance and preparations and were ready to set sail at any time in perfect condition.

……

On the eve of the expedition, Azu once again summoned Shi Dakai and other senior officers of the Second Army, as well as Wu Qingfeng and others who had come back specially, and core personnel such as Edgar Allan Poe and Naval Commander Vick to his study to privately explain the strategy!
"I dare say that. After more than half a year of preparation, I have done everything I can for your expeditionary force!"

Addressing a group of corps and division-level officers, Azu earnestly said, "The rest depends on what effect you can achieve in this battle!"

Shi Dakai nodded solemnly: "Boss, don't worry!"

"I've said it before: even if you gave me 10,000 men, I would be absolutely confident that I could take over Guangdong."

"And now, we have a full 56,000-strong army!"

"Furthermore, with the thousands of people you've assigned to handle logistics, infrastructure, factories, and government affairs—a total of 62,000—taking Guangdong will be no problem at all!"

Ah Zu smiled slightly: "What I'm worried about is not whether we can take Guangdong or not, but whether, after we take Guangdong, we can stabilize the situation as soon as possible and win back the hearts and minds of the people of Guangdong as soon as possible...!"

Wu Qingfeng, who had just returned from Hong Kong, replied at the opportune moment: "Boss, our Far East office has also done a lot of work in advance over the past year or so."

“We have already made secret contact with the gentry and wealthy families in various parts of Guangdong.”

“We have already gained the support of the Thirteen Factories, including the Wu family, and the gentry and wealthy families in other places have long been extremely dissatisfied with the Qing court.”

"As long as we can take Guangdong and drive out the Manchus, most of these gentry and powerful families will give us their full support!"

Wu Qingfeng continued, "Moreover, through our secret activities, we even gained the support of many Han Chinese officials."

"Once our main force arrives, the situation will surely be quickly stabilized...!"

“The gentry and powerful families, the Han officials…!” Azu pondered, “What I’m worried about is actually these people!”

"As long as we maintain strict military discipline and our policies benefit the people, we will definitely gain the support of ordinary people."

"However, those aristocratic gentry and officials only care about the interests of themselves and their clans."

Azu continued, "Because of the Taiping Army's conquests, the Qing government became even more ruthless in its oppression and exploitation of the Han people in order to raise funds and supplies."

"Therefore, the gentry, officials and gentry were dissatisfied with the Qing court, which is why they turned to support us."

“But if our policies touch upon the interests of the gentry and officials, they will still betray us!”

"They might even incite ordinary people to rise up against us and overthrow us...!"

Azu continued, “If we want to break with the old and innovate, and create a completely new era, we will inevitably touch the interests of those gentry, gentry and officials, and even completely overthrow their fundamental interests!”

"Therefore, these are the people I'm most worried about!"

Wu Qingfeng pondered for a moment and said, "Boss, according to the policy guidelines you previously assigned to us...!"

"Reduce taxes and levies, conscript and train soldiers; build schools widely, broaden minds; develop industries, expand trade; establish newspapers, broaden channels for expression; build bridges and roads, and extensively develop infrastructure...!"

Wu Qingfeng continued, "In my opinion, this policy should not affect too many of the interests of the gentry and powerful families!"

“Hehe…!” Azu shook his head with a smile: “This is just the initial policy! It’s impossible to create a completely new era with just these.

"To achieve our lofty goals and ideals, we must have fundamental changes!"

Shi Dakai and Wu Qingfeng couldn't help but ask at the same time, "Boss, what exactly constitutes a fundamental change?"

Azu said in a deep voice: "Land Revolution...!"

"Land revolution?" Shi Dakai and Wu Qingfeng exchanged a surprised glance, not understanding the meaning behind it.

Azu explained, "Land is the foundation of everyone's survival; it is the most important and core means of production!"

"Without land, nothing can be discussed!"

"In China, land ownership has continued for thousands of years, serving as both the foundation for the rise and fall of dynasties!"

"At the beginning of the dynasty, after years of turmoil, the population decreased significantly. The land was vast and sparsely populated, with enough land resources to ensure that everyone had enough to eat and wear, and even that every household had surplus grain."

"Under these conditions, as long as the political situation is stable, the emerging dynasty can gradually move towards prosperity, with population growth, increased taxation, and everything looking thriving."

"But when the population grows to a limit, it changes from a vast land with a sparse population to a land with a large population and a small amount of land, and the arable land per person becomes less and less. When the land per person can barely feed everyone, every household has no surplus food and there is no room for error."

"If we encounter even the slightest natural disaster or man-made calamity, countless people will go hungry or even starve to death."

"In addition, in the later period of the dynasty, the annexation of land by the gentry and wealthy families became quite serious. A large number of peasants who lost their land had no foundation for survival and became the most unstable factor."

Azu continued, “When people are starving and lack a stable means of survival, countless people will rise up in rebellion. While overthrowing the corrupt dynasty, large-scale wars, plagues, and famines will cause a significant decrease in population.”

"And then, a new cycle begins again...!"

Azu scanned everyone in the study: "This is the cycle of rise and fall that every dynasty in our country's history has been unable to escape!"

"Even the mighty Han and Tang dynasties met the same fate!"

Shi Dakai, Wu Qingfeng, and the others fell into deep thought.

After a long while, they all showed expressions of sudden realization.

Shi Dakai and Wu Qingfeng were quite excited and quickly asked, "Boss, what you said makes so much sense! Listening to your words is better than studying for ten years!"

"So, is there any way to completely break this vicious cycle of rise and fall?"

“Of course there’s a solution!” Azu smiled faintly. “There are three solutions, divided into three strategies: superior, middle, and inferior. Which one would you like to hear?”

"Of course! Everyone wants to hear it!!!" Shi Dakai, Wu Qingfeng, and the others nodded eagerly, their expressions showing a thirst for knowledge.

"Heh, you want all three strategies—superior, middle, and inferior—you're really greedy!"

Azu laughed and said, "If you want to break free from this vicious cycle of rise and fall, the best strategy is to expand your territory!"

"Expanding territory?!" Shi Dakai and Wu Qingfeng exchanged another glance, utterly astonished.

"Yes! To expand our territory!"

Azu smiled and nodded: "Although China is a vast country with abundant resources, its land resources are ultimately limited."

"When the population reaches its limit and can no longer support so many people, it is necessary to explore new land resources from the outside."

"With new land, the surplus population can be continuously migrated outwards."

"In this way, we can not only alleviate domestic population pressure, but also expand our territory and continuously strengthen our national power."

"Therefore, this is the best course of action!"

Wu Qingfeng asked in bewilderment, "But there have been many dynasties and emperors throughout history that expanded their territories, so why didn't they break out of this vicious cycle?"

Azu calmly said, "They seized the land, but they did not relocate our people there in large numbers."

“Simply seizing a piece of land without settling one’s own people or fully developing the land’s resources is just a waste of national strength and does not help at all.” “Moreover, the era of territorial expansion all occurred during the empire’s heyday, when the contradiction between the domestic population and land was not so acute or intense, and there was no motivation or need for large-scale emigration.”

"When the empire declined and its land resources became insufficient, it lost the ability to expand its territory..."

"I see, I finally understand!" Wu Qingfeng nodded vigorously.

"Boss, what about the middle strategy?" Shi Dakai pressed.

Azu continued, "As for the middle strategy, it is... to continuously improve the productivity of the land!"

"Continuously improve land productivity? What does that mean?" The group exchanged bewildered glances, waiting for their boss to explain.

Ah Zu laughed and said, "You all know about the fertilizers we produce in California, right?"

"Of course I know! The yield per acre of land that has been fertilized has more than doubled! It's simply amazing!"

Azu chuckled: "Applying chemical fertilizers is increasing land productivity!"

“Originally, an acre of land could only yield five or six hundred catties of grain at most, enough to feed one person, even if two crops were grown a year.”

"But with the application of chemical fertilizers, even if we plant two crops a year, we can produce more than a thousand catties of grain, which is enough to feed one person and there is still a surplus!"

Azu continued, "Furthermore, starting from the late Ming Dynasty, the country began to plant sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn. These high-yield crops increased the original yield per mu from two or three hundred jin to more than five or six hundred jin."

"This also increases land productivity!"

"Because of the cultivation of these high-yield crops, the population of the Qing Dynasty more than doubled compared to the peak of the Ming Dynasty."

"Therefore, the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns came to be prosperous... Hehe, it should be called the Sweet Potato Prosperity, that would be more fitting!"

"Therefore, improving land productivity is the best way to break out of the vicious cycle of prosperity and decline!"

Shi Dakai, Wu Qingfeng, and the others nodded vigorously: "I see, we understand now!"

"So, boss, what's the worst option?"

Ah Zu sighed softly, "As for the worst option, that's troublesome...!"

"Could it be that this desperate measure is what you called the land revolution, boss?!" Shi Dakai pressed.

Azu nodded slightly: "I dare say, you guessed right! Land revolution is a poor strategy to break free from the vicious cycle of rise and fall!"

"So, what exactly is the method of revolution on this land?"

Azu replied, "In short, all land belongs to the state!"

"Land is state-owned!!!"

These four simple words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, startling everyone present and leaving them utterly shocked.

Azu continued to explain, "Yes, all land ownership belongs to the state, and private buying and selling is prohibited."

"However, the right to cultivate the land belongs to individuals! The right to cultivate the land is distributed equally to each person according to the population and land resources of each region."

"The income from personal farming, apart from a small amount of rent paid to the state, is entirely personal income."

"In this way, land annexation was prevented, the landlord class was prevented from exploiting the land, and the gap between the rich and the poor was minimized, achieving three goals at once."

Azu added, “In California, under the name of Huamei Corporation, we bought up tens of millions of acres of arable land in the Central Valley and then distributed them equally among all Chinese immigrants and Native American women who were willing to join the model village.”

"This is actually a practice in which the land ownership is state-owned, but the right to cultivate it is equally distributed to individuals."

"Over the years, it has been proven that our land system is very effective."

"Every household has more than enough grain to eat, and they can also exchange grain for daily necessities, making life more prosperous every year."

"And the state... that is, our Huamei Company, also collected 150 million catties of grain rent last year, and it is still growing rapidly at a rate of tens of millions of catties every year."

Azu continued, "There is another advantage to state ownership of land."

"What are the benefits?" Shi Dakai continued to press.

“We need to build various engineering projects, which will inevitably occupy arable land. However, with state ownership of land, we can acquire the necessary construction land at the lowest cost and with the highest efficiency.”

"If land becomes privately owned, then no matter what kind of construction project we undertake, we will be trapped in an endless land acquisition dilemma, which is extremely costly and inefficient."

After hearing their boss's explanation, everyone present fell into deep thought.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that this land revolution method is absolutely brilliant!
However, some doubts remain.

Wu Qingfeng couldn't help but say, "Boss, your land revolution sounds really effective, and it has already achieved very good results in California."

"However, this is based on the fact that most of California's land is unclaimed, so there are almost no insurmountable difficulties and conflicts."

"But the situation is different in China!"

"Almost all the land in the country is owned."

"If all these owned lands were nationalized, it would inevitably provoke enormous conflicts."

“Not only the landlord class who own large amounts of land will definitely oppose it madly, and may even rise up in rebellion at all costs.”

"Furthermore, the scholar class mostly owns a lot of land. Like the landlord class, they will unite and oppose us at all costs!"

"Moreover, countless self-sufficient farmers who own land will certainly oppose the land revolution!"

Wu Qingfeng pondered for a moment and said, "If we rashly implement the land revolution in the country, we will definitely face opposition from countless people, and even countless people will rise up in rebellion because of it!"

"The landlord class, the scholar class, and the self-cultivating peasants, united together, constitute a force capable of overthrowing almost everything!"

Thinking about this, Wu Qingfeng felt a chill run down his spine!

Azu nodded solemnly: "Yes! Qingfeng, you're absolutely right!"

"The land revolution will inevitably face enormous resistance, the fervent opposition of countless people, and even their united rebellion against us!"

"Therefore, this is a poor choice, and the most troublesome and painful one at that!"

Azu's tone was full of determination: "But no matter how painful and troublesome it is, no matter how many people oppose it, the land revolution must be put into practice sooner or later!"

"Otherwise, the country we have built could not have enjoyed long-term stability and prosperity, and it would have been impossible to create a brand new era!"

After a long period of contemplation, Ah Zu said, "Guangdong is our testing ground!"

"However, in order to avoid huge resistance, the land revolution will not be implemented in Guangdong for the time being."

"Instead, it will not be too late to implement this after we have seized the whole country, completely expelled the Manchus, and established a stable regime throughout the country."

Azu continued, "Not only will land be state-owned, but we will also implement a state-owned system in key core industries that are crucial to the national economy and people's livelihood in the future."

"For example, energy, finance, transportation, communications, mining, water conservancy, military industry, and so on!"

“These industries are the lifeblood of a country and cannot be controlled by private individuals.”

Hearing this, Wu Qingfeng couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Then our Huamei Company...!"

Wu Qingfeng didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already very clear.

Aren't the industries owned by Huamei Company all key industries related to the lifeline of the country, such as energy, finance, transportation, communications, mining, water conservancy, and military industry?
Ah Zu chuckled: "The current Huamei Company has become a terrifying behemoth!"

"In the future, Huamei Company will also not be controlled by private individuals, not even me!"

"When I was around, I was still able to control such a terrifying behemoth as Huamei Company."

"But what if I'm gone? Who will control this terrifying monster?!"

Ah Zu casually remarked, "Therefore, the future of Huamei Company must be split into several state-owned companies."

"But some less critical industries can still be reserved for you founding heroes."

"For example, pharmaceutical factories, fertilizer plants, machinery factories, textile factories, and garment factories, etc.!"

"But even these less critical industries are enough to support all the heroes...right?"

(End of this chapter)