I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 179 Han Chinese, You Must Be Confident

By mid-April, the eastern foothills of the Alabacia Mountains were fully in spring.

The daytime temperature and sunshine were comfortable, and the men and women of the western immigrant group took off their thick woolen coats and cotton skirts, and put on shirts and linen skirts that were easy to cool down.

This morning, after a final resupply in Harrisburg, the immigrant group set off again, crossing the Susquehanna River westward and continuing towards Fort Carlisle, seventeen miles to the west.

Further west from Carlisle, one officially enters the mountains. Aside from small settlements and military fortresses such as Shippensburg, Bedford, and Littleton that provide some supplies and water, there are no other inhabitants for over a hundred miles of mountain road.

Even the Native Americans who used to live here rarely venture into the Appalachian Mountains now.

Because of the British army and Pennsylvania militia's series of extermination and expulsion operations against the main Native American tribes in the mountains during the Seven Years' War and the ongoing Pontiac War, the surviving Native American tribes in the mountains, fearing the British army's attacks, have migrated westward.

According to the original timeline, this westward expulsion of Native Americans would have continued for over a hundred years, until the Native Americans were completely surrounded and confined to reservations by white people.

Americans call it the "Westward Expansion," viewing it as a great achievement and honor in their conquest of the North American continent.

This is indeed a tremendous achievement: conquering an entire continent, connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific, and firmly controlling the entire continent—a conquest that has been extremely successful in the entire history of humankind!

Americans call themselves the chosen nation, and judging from their achievements, there is some truth to that.

However, in Chen Wenbin's view, this is mainly because the Native Americans sold the vegetables too poorly.

Before Europeans came to North America, the Native Americans here didn't even have iron tools or horses. Their productivity level was almost equal to that of the Shang Dynasty in China, and in many aspects, they were even inferior to the Shang Dynasty.

At least the Shang Dynasty had a unified political core, while the Native Americans in North America were completely independent tribes fighting their own battles. They lacked both the necessary infrastructure and political power, so how could they possibly fight against the European immigrants?

The defeat of the North American Indians was inevitable; it would be a miracle if they could turn the tide!

However, the circumstances of failure differed: the Aztecs, Incas, and Maya of South and Central America, although conquered by the Spanish and humiliatingly abducted women, resulting in a large number of mixed-race offspring with white fathers and Indian mothers, at least retained some of their bloodline, leaving a glimmer of hope for future revival.

Chen Wenbin recalls that Mexico had a president of pure Indigenous descent named Juárez in the 19th century.

The Native Americans in North America saw no hope of revival, because the future North American society would neither have a large number of Native American mixed-race people nor be able to maintain the size of their tribes. They would be left to fend for themselves on reservations.

Even in a future America that becomes more liberal, where Black people of mixed race can become president, and Latinos make up one-fifth of the population, and the Native American population is only around five million, roughly the same as the Chinese American population.

Thinking of all this, Chen Wenbin, riding on horseback and looking at the mountains on both sides, couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.

In this respect, it seems that the Chinese are not much better than the Native Americans!

They were first sold into slavery to build railroads in America, and countless people perished at sea along the way.

As a result, they didn't enjoy a few good years in America. They happened to be caught up in the labor movement that swept across the United States in the 1870s and 1880s. The Chinese, who did not speak the language, were too hardworking and unwilling to participate in strikes, and did not even know how to unite to fight for political rights.

American immigrants and workers at the bottom of society viewed Chinese people as labor traitors, as rats with ugly queues stealing their jobs, and as bargaining chips for factory owners to lower wages.

From the perspective of the American upper class, factory owners thought Chinese laborers were useful tools, but the Pacific Railroad had already been completed, and the value of Chinese laborers was no longer so important.

For politicians, the hundreds of thousands of Chinese who have no votes, or even those who are unwilling to become American citizens and only want to make money in America to spend back in China, are nowhere near as valuable as the millions or even tens of millions of votes from Irish, Italian, and even Black people.

Thus, the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was an eyesore to all Chinese people, was passed by the American Congress in 1882.

If the United States were just a small country in the Americas, that would be one thing, but it is a superpower that rose to prominence in the 20th century and became a global hegemon.

Such a disgrace can probably only be completely washed away with the complete decline of America.

What caused all of this?

The inhuman capitalists and politicians in America are definitely number one, but their attitude towards lower-class white immigrants is no better than that towards Chinese immigrants, and they are ruthless in their oppression and repression.

Their choice to abandon Chinese people and support and tacitly accept the Chinese Exclusion Act was solely based on self-interest.

Chinese workers in North America neither stand with workers from other ethnic groups, nor do they have strong organizational and mobilization capabilities, nor do they even have much of a willingness to protest. So why should factory owners and politicians speak up for Chinese workers?

In political terms, Chinese people have the lowest value in united front work, so they are the first to be sacrificed.

So the question is, why were the Chinese laborers in North America in the 19th century so docile?

Why are they so hardworking and conscientious?

Why don't they know how to unite?

Why don't they understand how to fight for their own social rights?

Is it because they are inherently stupid and naturally suited to be enslaved?

Obviously not. If the Han people were inherently inferior, how could modern China have possibly revived and become the world's second strongest power?

There is only one answer, because some people have portrayed all Han Chinese people in the 19th century as North American Chinese laborers: uneducated, hardworking, resilient, afraid to resist, afraid to unite, inferior, cowardly, and apathetic slaves!

Indeed, the vast majority of Han Chinese people in the 19th century were a group of pitiful people who were artificially molded into slaves.

Their thoughts and minds were molded into those of slaves.

Their character was molded into that of a slave.

Their habits were molded into those of slaves.

Their way of interacting with people was shaped into a "slave and master" relationship.

If we look at it from this perspective, it's not hard to understand the various behaviors and ways of Chinese laborers in North America, and even many overseas Chinese.

How could a group of slaves who had just come from the slave owner's plantation, without any forced reformation, possibly learn to fight for their rights, unite with other allies of the same class, or even get involved in politics as quickly as normal free immigrants from European countries?

It was only a hundred years after Lincoln's death that Black Americans gradually broke free from the mindset of slavery, thanks to a combination of internal and external factors. Through a civil rights movement, they became true Americans. It wasn't until Obama came to power that Black people gained some control over public opinion and social influence.

In contrast, many Chinese Americans in North America have not shaken off many of the slave-like ways of thinking and personality traits from the 19th century, even into the 21st century.

They always think that if they behave themselves and don't bother anyone, they can live a comfortable life. They always need to recognize a master and be governed by the master's various rules to feel at ease, without questioning whether the rules are reasonable.

Some people will even go to great lengths to please their masters, justify all of their masters' actions, and sneer at their fellow countrymen who point out the bad or terrible aspects of their masters.

They believed that by currying favor with and ingratiating themselves with white people, they could gain recognition and a share of the spoils, instead of truly uniting their own people and striving for the common good of the entire community.

Of course, it could also be because these traitors were remnants of the Manchu Qing dynasty who fled to North America, which would make sense.

Frankly speaking, Chen Wenbin is not worried about the future size of the Chinese population in North America.

The first clipper ship was launched a few months ago, and in another three or four months, the first batch of Han Chinese immigrants should be able to arrive in North America.

If the number of clipper boats is increased over the next ten years, the population should be able to reach 10,000 to 20,000 by then.

If these Han Chinese immigrants were to marry and have children with European women, the number of Americans with Chinese ancestry would certainly exceed 200,000 in 20 or 30 years.

The total population of the United States is only three to four million, and after deducting four to five hundred thousand black slaves, Chinese and their descendants will make up at least one-tenth of the total population of the United States.

What he was really worried about was whether he could reform the servile mentality of the Han Chinese immigrants. If they ended up being just like those so-called "high-class Chinese," that would be absolutely disgusting!

"—It seems the Church of Divine Revelation needs to add more fuel to the fire. We must boost the confidence of the Han Chinese immigrants. We can't let them continue to be timid and hesitant in North America, otherwise those Irish and German girls won't be interested in them!"

He muttered to himself as he rode his horse, his brow furrowed in thought.

However, he couldn't think of any ideas on how to make the Han people confident.

We can't just say that all Han Chinese are descendants of Yan and Huang, that they are descendants of the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor, can we?

While it's possible, it's too broad. The points of confidence need to be specific enough, ideally tailored to each individual Han Chinese immigrant to North America.

As he was deep in thought, he heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him.

Looking back, it turned out to be John Smith, the president of Bank of America, and a brown-haired young man with a hooked nose riding up after them.

Chen Wenbin reined in the horses, looked at the two men, and asked, "John, Joshua, what happened? Did the wagon carrying the gold coins get stuck in the mud?"

"No, Your Excellency, the carriage is fine!"

Smith shook his head and pointed to the hook-nosed young man. "Joshua had a bold idea that I thought was feasible, so I brought him here to introduce it to you."

"Oh?"

Chen Wenbin looked at the Bank of America deputy manager sent by old Da Costa and asked curiously, "Joshua, what new ideas do you have?"

"Your Mightiness."

Joshua Francis bowed slightly to Chen Wenbin from horseback before smiling and saying, "I heard you had Mr. Holly raise some carrier pigeons, is that right?"

"Yes, that's true."

Chen Wenbin nodded, then suddenly realized what Joshua was up to, and shook his head, saying, "Joshua, you're not thinking of using carrier pigeons to send messages between branches and then profiting from the information gap between different regions, are you?"

"How—how did you know?!"

Joshua looked at Governor Chen with surprise. He hadn't told anyone except Smith about this idea—had Governor Chen thought of it before?

Also, the phrase "information gap" is so fitting. Is this guy some kind of prophet?

Chen Wenbin waved his hand dismissively and said, "You can try to do it later, but not now!"

After three years, once Bank of America has established a certain level of credibility, we can then consider using carrier pigeons for speculation—do you understand?

Your most important task now is to maintain the good credit of Bank of America!

Joshua was somewhat disappointed to hear that it could not be done for another three years, but he dared not refuse Governor Chen, so he could only nod and say, "Yes, Your Excellency! I understand."

Chen Wenbin knew he was unhappy, but he didn't want anyone else to use carrier pigeons to send messages out—he was just a deputy manager of a Jewish bank, so what if that old guy Benjamin Mendes da Costa personally recommended him? He wasn't worthy of Chen Wenbin's attention.

So he ignored Joshua and asked John Smith, "John, how is the corporate bond system I asked you to prepare going?"

Once we arrive in Pittsburgh, we'll be selling bonds to a group of clients immediately, so we need to be prepared on the way!

"—Joshua and his team have already prepared a draft plan for a bond issuance!"

John Smith quickly explained, "Following the bond issuance method of the East India Company, we plan to help twelve major companies, including Robin Steel, Robin Metals, Robin Textiles, Robin Trading, Robin Medicine, Robin Properties, and Robin Chemicals, issue a total of £30,000 in three-year bonds."

The annual interest rate is uniformly 3.5%, with interest payments made quarterly and the principal repaid in a lump sum at maturity.

"Thirty thousand pounds isn't enough!"

Chen Wenbin frowned and interrupted, "Increase it directly to £100,000! The interest rates and repayment periods for different corporate bonds will also need to be adjusted according to the situation!"

For example, steel companies involve large investments and long construction periods. However, once the coking kilns and blast furnaces are completed, they can generate a continuous stream of profits. Therefore, they must raise a sufficient amount of capital at once, extending the debt repayment period to ten years, with an annual interest rate of three percent, paid monthly, to ensure that creditors fully recognize the value of their investment!

He looked at the two of them and emphasized, "Remember this!"

Our main customers who will buy our bonds in the future are the most powerful governors, congressmen and generals in the North American colonies. They are not easily fooled grocery store owners and small workshop owners, but upper-class people with sufficient power and social influence.

Once they spend a few hundred or a few thousand pounds to buy our bonds, they naturally become the company's stakeholders. This is an intangible asset that can make the company develop more smoothly.

Tell those bond sales managers who are being trained that they are not working for the bank, nor for me, but for themselves to earn a ticket into high society!

Each major client who buys bonds from them is an important part of their network. If they are outstanding enough, the company can recruit them as partners and help them establish their own companies by leveraging their clients' connections.

This isn't betrayal, but a win-win collaboration. I'd love to see those sales managers eventually become their own bosses, and I'd be happy to invest in their new companies!

John Smith and Joshua Francis were stunned by the big boss's generosity and grand vision.

They originally thought that issuing 30,000 pounds of bonds was enough, and this was entirely due to Governor Chen's credit and the Southern Development Company's endorsement; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to sell even 100-pound bonds!

After all, who would believe that building factories and houses in the west could make money?

But the big boss said he wanted to borrow £100,000 directly and sell the bonds to the governors, generals and members of parliament in North America—such a crazy thing could probably only be done by the boss!

John Smith snapped out of his daze and said with a wry smile, "I'm sorry, sir, I can't guarantee that these £100,000 in bonds will sell smoothly—"

Chen Wenbin calmly waved his hand and said, "First, we need to develop the plan and get the clients to willingly part with their money—that's my job as the boss!"