North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 85 The Joy of Harvesting America! (5000 words, please subscribe)
Besides the asset acquisition plan, Azu then brought up another matter.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I think we have another problem that we need to figure out a solution for!"

Hearing what Azu said, Vivian quickly asked, "Azu, what's bothering you?"

Ah Zu shrugged: "As everyone knows, our acting mayor, speaker, and almost all of our middle and upper-level officials have been slaughtered by the gang."

"Now, these positions are all vacant. However, San Francisco still needs officials to manage it."

"I heard that the three remaining council members have proposed to start the election as soon as possible to elect a mayor, vacant council members, and so on."

"So...!" Azu looked at everyone present and said in a deep voice, "Does anyone here want to be mayor? Speaker of the council? Or at the very least, become a city councilor?"

"Ah, this...!"

Azu continued, "We also need to place our own people in important positions such as the police chief, the militia commander, and the chief judge."

“Boss!” Edgar Allan Poe couldn’t help but exclaim, “Do you really want to take control of the entire San Francisco?”

Azu nodded without hesitation: "If we want to get richer and richer, we must completely control San Francisco! We can't let any politician ride roughshod over us anymore!"

Seeing everyone's shocked and unprepared expressions, Azu continued, "Since none of you are saying anything, I'll just assign you positions directly!"

“Mr. Vic, as the captain, you should set a good example. I think the position of mayor is rightfully yours!”

"Me? The mayor...?" Vic's mouth gaped open, he simply couldn't believe his ears!

“Yes!” After calling out Vic’s name, Azu continued, “Mr. Edgar Allan Poe, I think you are also very suitable for the position of Speaker.”

"Speaker?" Edgar Allan Poe was greatly shocked, but Bivik was slightly better.

"So, Mr. Jason, making you the police chief shouldn't be a waste of your talent, right?"

“Police…Chief? Li, are you serious?” Jason’s pipe almost fell to the ground.

“Of course I’m serious!” Azu nodded. “As for the militia commander, I plan to give Ayan a try. I’ll have Harley as his deputy!”

"Ayan is Chinese, a militia leader? Grandpa, is that really possible?"

Azu calmly replied, "What's the problem? Which law stipulates that a Chinese person cannot be a militia commander?"

"Uh, no, that's not true!"

Azu continued, "Now, almost the entire upper class of San Francisco has been slaughtered. Except for a few individuals, no one can stand up and compete with us."

"We have money, men, guns, and flags to rally you all. I can't think of anyone or any force that can stop us from taking complete control of San Francisco!"

"By the way, we're still short a chief judge! Hmm, how about we ask Bishop Evan to recommend someone for us?"

Parliament is responsible for legislation, the courts for justice, and the city hall for administration.

The so-called separation of powers means that all three powers must be in the hands of one's own people.

And then there's the newspaper "Standard," which controls public opinion.

Since Bishop Evan was considered one of their own, the power of religious faith was also taken into control!
Although San Francisco was small at that time, as long as he took over the city, Ah Zu would truly have a foothold in this foreign land.
-
A few days later, in Washington, D.C., the majestic and imposing Capitol Building!
"Bang bang bang...!"

There was a gentle knock on the door of a congressman's office.

"Come in!"

In the office, Mr. House's calm and powerful voice rang out.

A bespectacled, well-mannered assistant, holding a briefing in his hand, hurriedly pushed open the door and entered.

"Mr. Lincoln, here's a State of the Union briefing that I think you might find interesting!"

The man, who was sitting behind a large desk and engrossed in his work, slowly raised his head.

He was tall and thin, with deep-set eyes and a large nose that made his sunken cheeks stand out.

He was Abraham Lincoln, a commoner who had only attended elementary school for four months and had worked as a farmer, a sailor, and a stonemason!
Lincoln took the briefing from his assistant and scanned it line by line with his deep gaze.

A moment later, Lincoln finished reading the briefing, and his expression became very serious.

"California is such a vast land, it's just too wild!"

Lincoln tapped his fingers lightly on the briefing as he pondered, "The largest and most prosperous city in this land has been completely looted by bandits!"

"First, the mayor was poisoned. How long has it been? Then, the acting mayor, the speaker, the chief judge, and other key figures representing the executive, legislative, and judicial branches were all shot dead by gangsters!"

"Such a tragedy is simply unheard of!"

"Fortunately, California hasn't officially joined the United States yet! Otherwise, such a tragedy would have made the entire United States an international laughingstock!"

Lincoln continued, "And the Northern California Ranger Battalion, an elite unit of the United States Army, was ambushed by Native Americans and suffered heavy losses! Were the Native Americans in California too fierce, or were the officers of the Ranger Battalion too incompetent?"

"Currently, California is holding a state constitutional convention to draft a state constitution, establish a provisional state government, and prepare to join the United States as a whole state."

"But the current situation in California is far too chaotic. I believe that suppressing gangs and Native Americans is the most urgent task!"

The assistant couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Lincoln, if the California Constitutional Convention formally applies to join the United States, would you support this proposal?"

After a moment's thought, Lincoln replied, "In any case, it is certainly a good thing to be able to expand the territory of the United States and extend its frontiers to the vast Pacific Ocean."

"But that vast and remote land in the west was too wild and too unfamiliar to me."

Lincoln, in a deep voice, exclaimed, "If I had the chance, I would prefer to set foot on that vast land myself, to feel its immensity with my own eyes, and to hear its voice with my own ears!"

The assistant quickly chimed in, "Mr. Lincoln, I believe you definitely have a chance!"
-
In recent days, the Standard has been publishing endless articles praising Vic, Jason, and Edgar Allan Poe. Even the church has joined in, extolling their virtues, which has caused their fame and popularity to skyrocket.

Meanwhile, the incomplete city council finally decided on the election date: Sunday, October 15th.

In addition, another event plunged San Francisco, which was already filled with anxiety and gloom, into panic once again.

Many people witnessed large groups of Native American cavalry patrolling the city and its suburbs!

At least several hundred Indian cavalrymen roared through the outskirts of San Francisco, firing their guns and throwing explosives!
The Standard also immediately made this sensational news public!

San Francisco is now in complete uproar!

Those upper-class individuals who were already eager to sell off their assets and flee were even more terrified when they heard that a large wave of Native Americans was coming to invade.

The already exceptionally low prices of assets for sale have plummeted again!
The time was perfectly ripe, and it was finally Azu's turn to make his move!
He acquired shipyards, trading companies, mines and gold mining companies, shipping companies, large amounts of real estate, and so on, in the Bay Area at lightning speed.

Putting aside everything else, they've bought hundreds of thousands of acres of land just in the Central Valley!
There are also minerals such as coal, iron, copper, and asphalt.

The wealth piled up in the vault, worth millions of dollars, was mostly exchanged for a large number of high-quality assets.

It's no exaggeration to say that overnight, Ah Zu bought half of San Francisco!

It's not just San Francisco; these massive acquisitions span the entire Bay Area and even the whole of California!
This is the real time to reap the rewards!

Overnight, Huamei Industries, a once mysterious and unfamiliar name, resounded throughout San Francisco and the entire Bay Area!
This company, which seems to have appeared out of nowhere, is incredibly wealthy!

Huamei Industrial Group spent money like crazy in the market, buying up countless high-quality assets at the lowest possible cost, some even at only 10% or 20% of their normal value.

Overnight, Huamei Industries, which had been unknown, became the largest and strongest company in the entire San Francisco and Bay Area!

The company's shareholders have also piqued everyone's interest.

People were surprised to discover that the company's shareholders were none other than the celebrities who had been frequently featured in the news these days!

Moreover, these shareholders of Huamei Company, after acquiring a large number of high-quality assets, have also officially announced their participation in the mayoral and councilor elections.

Not only Edgar Allan Poe and Jason, but also Martinez, Harley and others were pushed into running for parliament.

The San Francisco City Council at that time had only seven members. Four of them died in the gang looting and massacres, and a by-election was required in this election.

Edgar Allan Poe, Jason, Martinez Sr., and Halley were the four members of parliament that Azu had nominated. After arranging all this, Azu began to worry again.

Overnight, the business has expanded so much; there's a shortage of talent!

By pushing their most trusted confidants to the forefront, Vic and Jason are about to seize political power, making it too difficult for them to continue running their businesses in the future.

But now that I own so many businesses, they need someone to manage and operate them, right?
Moreover, the factory buildings have been completed, and the ordered machinery and supplies will arrive at the port soon.

Furthermore, once we have complete control of San Francisco, we must also get started on building a pharmaceutical factory, because penicillin is an inexhaustible gold mine!

"What should we do? Where can we find talent?"

Schools for children and night schools for Chinese laborers have been set up in the shipyard.

With a shortage of manpower, in addition to personally teaching them Chinese, Azu also invited several young priests from Bishop Even to teach them English.

But the time frame is too short; it's still a long way off before we can cultivate qualified talent.

Right now, it seems like we have everything except talent!

Just as Azu was worrying, Edgar Allan Poe found him waving several letters.

"Hi, Boss, I finally received a reply to those letters I sent to the East a few months ago!"

"Following the reply came several young people from the east!"

Ah Zu beamed with joy: "Great! Who are these people who came?"

Edgar Allan Poe replied, “My friends were skeptical of what I said about the miraculous medicine, and thought that what I said in the letter was too exaggerated and unbelievable.”

"Therefore, they still have great concerns about coming to the remote west. After all, it is indeed a very difficult choice for them to give up everything they have now."

"If our pharmaceutical factory can be built and they can see the effectiveness of penicillin firsthand, then they will choose to come to the West."

"However, they recommended several young men to me. According to the letter, these young men were all very smart and very enterprising."

"Hmm, it's good to have young people around!" Azu said contentedly, "Where are those young people? Take me to meet them!"

Edgar Allan Poe led Azu to the entrance of the small building, where they happened to meet six very young white men unloading luggage from a carriage.

"Clap clap clap, young gentlemen, hold on a minute before you start carrying your luggage!" Edgar Allan Poe clapped his hands and called out, "Come and meet your future boss!"

Attracted by Edgar Allan Poe's voice, the six young people quickly put down their luggage and gathered around.

"Young gentlemen, the man standing before you is your boss, Li Zunian!"

The six young people's curious gazes instantly focused on Azu.

"BOSS? Chinese...?"

Facing the young people's surprised gazes, Azu smiled slightly: "Yes, I am Chinese! Welcome to the far west! Welcome to Huamei Industrial Company!"

"Gentlemen, you've come at the perfect time! Our company is in dire need of manpower. Trust me, in the West, in San Francisco, and within my company, you will absolutely be able to make the most of your talents!"

"Next, please introduce yourselves. Let me see what your special skills are."

The six young people looked at each other.

Finally, the tall, thin man who looked the oldest, in his early twenties, stepped forward first.

“Mr. Li, hello! My name is Chris Malone, I am twenty-five years old, I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and I used to work as a junior engineer for a railroad company.”

“Very good!” Azu smiled and took two steps forward, patting him on the shoulder: “Mr. Malone, my shipyard needs someone like you.”

"Hello Mr. Li! My name is Cohen Harris, I am 24 years old, a graduate of Columbia University, and I am a paralegal!"

"A lawyer? Haha, excellent, we need someone like you."

Ah Zu completely ignored the word "assistant," treating his assistant as a practicing lawyer as well.

“Hello, Mr. Li! My name is Samuel Wallace, I am 24 years old, and I graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in chemistry.”

"Great! The pharmaceutical factory we're planning to build needs chemistry talent the most!"

“Hello, Mr. Li! My name is Walker Hughes, I am 23 years old, and I am a classmate of Wallace.”

"Also a chemistry major? Great, the more the merrier!"

"Hello Mr. Li! My name is Jordan Carter, I am 21 years old, and I am an assistant accountant."

"Great, finally we have a proper accountant!"

Although Daisy is intelligent, she has not studied accounting professionally, so it would be more suitable for her to be a cashier and manage money.

The last young man was noticeably much younger; he looked like a teenager!

Even though the young man tried to dress more maturely, his youthful face and being half a head shorter than others revealed his age.

"Hello, Mr. Li! My name is Andrew Carnegie, I'm... eighteen years old!"

Upon hearing this, Azu was immediately stunned: "Say it again, what's your name?"

"Sir, my name is Andrew Carnegie!"

Azu couldn't quite believe his ears and his luck, so he asked to confirm, "Your name is really Andrew Carnegie?"

The young Carnegie was already nervous and insecure, and now, being pressed by his boss, he became even more anxious: "Sir, my name really is Andrew Carnegie! Is...is there a problem?"

“No problem!” Azu was still a little skeptical: “Let me guess, you…you must be Scottish?”

Carnegie nodded: "Yes, sir, I was born in Danvermline, Scotland."

"Hmm, let me guess again. Your Scottish accent is so strong, you must have had to immigrate to America last year because of the potato famine, right?"

Carnegie was surprised: "Sir, how did you know?"

"Okay! I'll guess one last time, you're not eighteen at all!"

"All things considered, you're only fourteen or fifteen years old this year, right?"

"I...!" Faced with his boss who could guess everything perfectly, young Carnegie was completely at a loss.

Young Carnegie lowered his head in deep shame: "I'm sorry, sir! I didn't mean to deceive you and Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. I just desperately need a job to support myself!"

“Alright!” Azu said calmly, his face hardening. “Even if you’re only fourteen or fifteen, as long as you have your own special skills, I can hire you.”

"So, Mr. Carnegie, what are your special skills?"

“I…!” Young Carnegie lowered his head even further: “I worked as a… a messenger at the Pittsburgh telegraph company. I was very fast.”

"messenger?"

The other five young men's eyes immediately fell on young Carnegie, their surprise barely concealed.

They were all friends of Edgar Allan Poe, and outstanding young people carefully selected.

And what's going on with this youngest guy who has no education or experience whatsoever?

Doesn't this immediately lower their standing in the eyes of the future boss?
"A fast little messenger? Heh, interesting!"

After thinking for a moment, Azu said, "Mr. Carnegie, since you don't know anything else, why don't you stay by my side for now and start as a messenger?"

Young Carnegie was overjoyed and looked up with a delighted expression, saying, "Yes, sir! Thank you for giving me a job, sir!"

(End of this chapter)