Chapter 309 Money, money...

"You really plan to let this Morgan intervene in Columbia?"

"What do you think?"

"How do I know what you plan?"

...

Leaving from Morgan's villa, Guo Jinzhang and Li Asheng returned to Seattle in the same car... The two did not stop along the way. After all, their current responsibilities made it difficult for them to chat casually, and the two have not yet started a family: Guo Jinzhang lives in the Mechanical Institute in Everett and returns to the military camp twice a week; Li Asheng follows the same thing, and is basically stationed in the Municipal Fu Building in Seattle. Well, because Seattle Mayor Qian Shide is not willing to be a director, the expected state Fu Building has been dragged by the State House. It is estimated that it is impossible before Qian Shide finds a suitable successor. Fortunately, Li Asheng is used to it and has not much objection.

"Morgan intervenes in Columbia, I guess he has his own intentions and others are encouraged!"

"You mean, is this what the American politics is motivating behind the scenes?"

"Is there any need to ask?" Guo Jinzhang snorted coldly, "Don't look at the Cleveland President Bihais, Bichesther and Arthur seem gentle, because he has no capital to use force. But just like that, do you think he has calmed down?... As soon as he took office, he was urging us to go to war with Spain. Can you think of such a whimsical trick without any thoughts?"

"Isn't that because you say you want to deal with Spain?" Li Asheng glared at him angrily, "It's just to go with the flow."

"Well, then you can try it? A president, and a president who advocates isolationism, will try every means to push us to the battlefield with foreigners... How much does he hate us?"

"That's it." Li Asheng sighed and looked up at the roof of the car, "But who told us that we fought? Since it was fought, we must be prepared to continue fighting. The Americans fought several times from the British? The First War, the Second War... During the Civil War, the British did not forget to intervene. If the North had not had good luck and quick reaction, they had pacified the South before the British sent troops directly. Now there is more than one United States of America in the North American continent, and there must be an American Union..."

"When the two countries are called the United States, how great it would be..." Guo Jinzhang sighed.

"Just be content, just say." Li Asheng smiled bitterly, "If there were two Americans, they would definitely fight. In that case, can we come to the United States and say a little bit, let alone like today."

"That's better. If that's the case, I'll stay in the country to carry out a revolution." Guo Jinzhang grinned, "Those idiots in the Qing Dynasty are not easier to deal with than these Americans? I'll be able to get rid of it every few days. Now I'm probably unifying the whole country. I still have to worry here all day long?"

"You have to be good at it when you get it." Li Asheng looked at him contemptuously, "Are you still worried? The Americans are worried now, have you figured it out?"

"Is there any? Will they be afraid of us?" Guo Jinzhang asked blankly.

"Desert, you continue to show off..." Li Asheng looked at him with contempt, with a look of disdain.

"Hehe..." Guo Jinzhang laughed proudly. Indeed, now they are indeed the opposite of the United States... The Americans are still strong, and should be stronger than when they first arrived in 1882, but the problem is that they develop faster and their power expands faster. In the past, they only had Tangzhou and Alaska, which was not bordered by Alaska, which was far away in the Arctic Circle. But now, they not only have a concession in the Greater Vancouver area, but also annexed the Yukon area. Moreover, the entire British Columbia has actually become their sphere of influence, plus they

Infiltrating the southward Oregon and California, more than half of the west coast of the North American continent have fallen into their hands... Not to mention, they are firmly tied to Colombia and have a springboard to enter South America. In the near future, they will also master the major transportation routes between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, the Panama Canal... These are enough to make the American politics feel great pressure. Moreover, the mountain division has just won several exciting victories in Colombia, and its military strength is enough to make the Americans with only 60,000 troops tremble...

The United States is a "free and democratic" country. If such a country wants to launch a war, it is impossible unless it is approved by members of Congress, especially those big entrepreneurs and big capitalists, because if the parliament is aside and those rich people, the government may not even be able to raise military expenses. However, even if the Americans have already felt the threat of the Red Corps, they cannot ignore the achievements made by Tangzhou in industry. Moreover, under his command, Tangzhou has used it from the very beginning.

The Alaska gold mines have obtained a cooperative relationship with Morgan and Rockefeller, and then cooperated with DuPont, Mellon, and Carnegie, the future steel king... Now, these collaborators have gained huge benefits in banks, chemicals, electricity, steel, etc., and will they let the US government smash all this? Not to mention anything else, the problems that need to be faced in the post-war redistribution of interests are enough to allow these consortiums that have been or are about to take the initiative to prevent the war from happening.

So, now it is the American political turn to worry... They have basically lost the possibility of taking the initiative to use force to Tangzhou, but Tangzhou does not have so many concerns. Some of the members of Capitol Hill even said that they were worried that Tangzhou would inspire the western states to ***... Although these guys still firmly believe that as long as a war broke out, the final victory would definitely be Washington's side, but the consequences of the war were not something they were willing to see, nor were they able to bear... Because they believed that their army could not resist the attack of the Red Corps, especially after the Battle of Colombia, this perception was stronger.

...

"If there is really an American political corporation behind Morgan, then what they do is what you often say... to seize our victory." Li Asheng did not get entangled in some of the problems. He thought about it and asked Guo Jinzhang: "You promised Morgan to intervene in Columbia now, so don't worry. Then we will work for the American political corporations?"

"There is always rewards when you have to pay. Besides, with the US politics ahead, don't we just have a scapegoat?" Guo Jinzhang said with a smile.

"If you want the Americans to do bad things, let's play blush?" Li Asheng asked back.

"That's right." Guo Jinzhang nodded, "No matter what, we interfere in Colombia, even Venezuela, or other countries, it is impossible for us to really just help them develop themselves... We are not trying to cultivate competitors for ourselves, nor are we good people who only help others. We go for money and profit. But no matter what we do, we always have to have capital... At the beginning, when we get the capital we invested in them, they will definitely treat us as friends. However, when we start asking for rewards, they will gradually become dissatisfied. Those who are moral will feel that we have taken too much and will restrict us through various means; those who are not moral will directly put a hat of economic plunder, and they may turn against us..."

"Isn't that too unethical?" Li Asheng asked.

"My deeds?" Guo Jinzhang looked at him in surprise, "I said brother, you have been the governor for many years, but what morals do you still believe in? People can talk about morality, but what morals can there be between the collective? If you talk about morality, aren't all the brothers who follow you all lose? Why do you let everyone suffer for your own morality? Do you think so?"

"I just said it casually." Li Asheng said.

"I know." Guo Jinzhang sighed, "But it's not okay to not pay attention to some things. Who told us that Chinese people have such a kind of "moral" national plot? We would rather let ourselves suffer losses, let our brothers suffer losses, and let our people suffer losses, and we should be respectful, and we should also maintain our 'morality', 'morality', 'big righteousness', 'demeanor', etc.... For hundreds or thousands of years, are there fewer such things to suffer great losses for superficial work such as 'morality'?"

"Okay, okay, I know what you are worried about." Li Asheng shook his head helplessly: "Don't worry, we are now small and have a small business, and we are almost not enough money to spend. How can we have any ability to tell people about moral face?"

"Isn't enough money to spend?" Guo Jinzhang was still thinking about the huge benefits that China had lost due to face in the past, present and future years. When he suddenly heard this sentence, he was stunned, "Is it possible? Our finances should be sufficient."

"That's because you feel good about yourself." Li Asheng glared at him, then stretched out his finger and pulled it up one by one: "You can figure it out yourself, what have we done in the past few years... Not to mention the Panama Canal, although it may be completed and opened for navigation in two years, but the salary of tens of thousands of workers is millions a year. This is because we exchanged land for those workers, and they agreed, otherwise, we can't afford to pay ten million. The total amount of research funds for each research institute will be at least one million, which is still the same.

It was shared with those groups; military expenses, needless to say, more than 20,000 people, and more than 3 million guns and ammunition consumed every year, as well as everyone's military pay, even higher; and the office funds of the government, you said that you should pay high salaries to maintain good health, plus various expenses, you have to pay millions every year, thanks to the small number of people and few staff members, otherwise, you can just wait and cry; and the West Coast Railway, the more difficult it is to build the north, and the investment is also great, we can't lose those workers, this is another big sum..."

"This is not much. I'll do it, it's about 20 million in total!" Guo Jinzhang said.

"It's at least 20 million!" Li Asheng shouted: "It was nearly 30 million last year. This is not counting our immigration every year... It costs money. A person has ten dollars, otherwise, do you think those guys are so happy to transport people for us? Also, everyone who comes is fine to work, if they are farming, they also need money for all rations, which is another big sum..."

"That's not much, right?" Guo Jinzhang asked.

"Well, it's not much." Li Asheng looked at him with a sneer and said, "But we just fought another battle... Colombia is so poor that it's just about to be pants. Can you block Nikolau in Balancavemeha? Without the weapons and ammunition we support, can it be done with their bows, arrows, swords and spears? But they have no money to pay the bill."

"Didn't they use coal mines to mortgage it?" Guo Jinzhang said.

"Then you have to mine it." Li Asheng rolled his eyes, "Besides, is it not expensive to build a coal mine?"

"Will you make money slowly?" Guo Jinzhang smiled.

"You dare to laugh." Li Asheng gasped, "You have fought so well and made a great reputation. Where are you? Have you ever thought about it? For your battle, I almost went to Chang'an Bank to use my pants..."

"Don't worry, can you make money back immediately? As long as the Qing court sent troops to Colombia, Washington would immediately allocate funds... At that time, our finances would be more abundant." Guo Jinzhang said with a smile.

"You'd better not worry about it for now." Speaking of serious matters, Li Asheng put away his temper for the time being, and another worried expression appeared on his face: "The Qing court is not all corrupt officials. At least I see that the guys coming back this time are not ordinary people. I won't say that Yuan Shicha you like. Mingli is generous and generous, and looks like a little careless, and actually he can do anything more than anyone else. Even Ronglu is smart and smart like a ghost... It's not necessarily easy for you to pick money from their hands."

"Have we ever done easy things?" Guo Jinzhang smiled, "Besides, now the Qing court has asked us, not for us... What else can they do if they share their money?"

"But if the training is not in place, the officers and soldiers will be lost... Isn't your plan just to attack these officers and soldiers? Are you not afraid of being killed by these people in the future because of this money?" Li Asheng asked.

"Why is that scary? Besides, do you think those people can start training as soon as they come?" Guo Jinzhang sighed, "After they come, the first thing they have to do is to keep their bodies healthy first... To put it bluntly, they are to have a meal first, have a few good meals before they can train."

"What does it mean?" Li Asheng said in confusion.

"What does it mean? Humph," Guo Jinzhang couldn't help but snorted coldly, "What else can I mean besides marveling at the wonders of the Qing generals? Do you know? The officers and soldiers of the Qing court, except for a few personal soldiers, could most of the soldiers only have enough food during the war. You said... how can such an imperial court support until now?"

"Only you can have enough food during war?" Although Li Asheng lived in the Qing Dynasty when he was a teenager, he was not very clear about the treatment of the Qing court's officers and soldiers. He couldn't help but be shocked when he heard this, "What else can he fight?"

"Why can't we fight? People still think well. They can't feed them in normal times and have almost no military pay. They will fight desperately during wartime, because only by working hard can you eat and drink enough and get military pay..." Guo Jinzhang said gritting his teeth.

"What? These beasts killed by heaven, they..." Li Asheng was full of disbelief, but looking at Guo Jinzhang's expression, he knew that this was true, but the more he was, the more angry he felt... Soldiers, that was the pillar of a country, and the umbrella, Tangzhou only had a population of more than 200,000. However, in order to ensure the stable development of the entire region, they had to maintain a red corps of 20,000 people. This is a nearly one-tenth of the military service. In any country in the world, this is a military proportion that is unfavorable, or may only appear at the most critical moment. It is conceivable that this army is against Tangzhou.

What kind of burden is it? But even so, they are still unwilling to reduce their investment in those soldiers. One-third of Tangzhou's annual fiscal revenue is almost used on the army. What is the purpose? The purpose is to allow soldiers to stay in the army with peace of mind and do their best to protect Tangzhou. At the same time, it is also to allow soldiers in the corps to have the most advanced weapons, the best training, better protect themselves on the battlefield, and eliminate the enemy... But the soldiers of the Qing court were not even full of food? How could this not make Li Asheng, who was afraid of the military's funds every year, feel angry and incredible.

"Who says China is poor? Since the Kangxi and Qianlong eras that the Qing Dynasty boasted about by the Qing Dynasty, many ordinary people have not even had enough food to eat. In order to have a porridge that could only barely satisfy their hunger, they had to join the army... Of course, this is even more so now." Guo Jinzhang sighed.

"He's the one who knew he would destroy those bastards first after he had known that he would return to China." Li Asheng cursed.

"There is a chance." Guo Jinzhang snorted coldly, "Anyway, before I close my eyes in this life, I will definitely see the destruction of the Qing court... The people I like can't do it, so I will go to it myself, and I won't believe it anymore. Even Americans can't do anything to me, and I can't deal with a decadent Qing Dynasty."

"Then why didn't you reach out to your hands earlier, but instead interfere in Colombia?" Li Asheng asked suddenly.

"Can I reach my hand now?" Guo Jinzhang sighed helplessly, "There is no reason, no strength, I am afraid that before I stretched my hand across the Pacific, the bastards in Britain and France are probably ready to buy axe... Don't forget, they regard China as their sphere of influence and are forbidden!"

"So, you have to cultivate talents within the Qing court first?" Li Asheng asked.

"That's right." Guo Jinzhang nodded, "Fortress is easiest to be destroyed internally, and I also hope that China will be reborn from the ashes, not relying on external forces..."

"Bad, what are we external forces?" Li Asheng shouted.

"Of course it's external force. We are all Americans now." Guo Jinzhang smiled bitterly, "What's more, look at the virtues of those Americans... We just put our hands into Colombia, but not long after we reached our hands, they were thinking of getting a share of the pie and even seizing our victory. If it were China, they wouldn't be more anxious? We will reach back to our country, and if we are not careful, we will lead the wolf into the house!"

……
Chapter completed!