Feeling proud (5k)

Liang Yao felt a lot more at ease after buying 50% of the shares of the Nicaragua Shipping Company.

With this 50% stake in hand, he no longer has to worry about accidental bottlenecks on this major transportation artery from the East to California.

As for the betting agreement on the post-merger railway company, he was absolutely certain of winning the betting agreement.

The economy of the United States has begun to pick up. Before the Kansas Incident broke out in 1854, the economy of the United States would usher in retaliatory growth. The railway industry was a sunrise industry. The demand for railway transportation during the development of the western region continued unabated.

In such a general environment, if a railway company with a first-mover advantage and control of lucrative railway routes cannot turn a profit in four years, he may as well withdraw from the railway industry as soon as possible.

When the civil war officially breaks out in ten years, a huge war fortune will be made.

James, the president of the Erie Railroad Company, and fish and hunter, members of the board of directors, came to see Liang Yao after meeting Vanderbilt.

James and Fish knew in their hearts that every decision they made now would determine the life or death of the Erie Railroad Company.

If they want the Yili Railway Company to survive, they must obtain Liang Yao's patent authorization, otherwise the final result waiting for the Yili Railway Company will be bankruptcy.

"Gone are the days when it was easy to make money monopolizing the line between New York and the Great Lakes."

On the way to visit Liang Yao, James said very seriously.

"If we want to survive, we must make changes."

"In this severe storm, many railway companies will be ruthlessly eliminated. As long as the Yili Railway is willing to make changes, I believe that with the huge understanding and resources at its disposal, the Yili Railway will not only survive, but also

Continue to grow bigger and stronger.”

Fish agreed with James.

"Liang Yao's performance in California last year was obvious to all, both in the business and in politics.

Although some of Vanderbilt's personal habits are terrible, I have to admit that Vanderbilt has a very good vision, and if Liang Yao can become Vanderbilt's partner, Liang Yao must have something special about him."

"Just put down your dignity and negotiate with Vanderbilt. After all, Vanderbilt is a New Yorker and a white man.

Now you still have to condescend to visit a Western barbarian, a Chinese boy with the same skin color as an Indian savage? I'm going to go to you, our Hunter family can't stand this humiliation!"

Hunter, who was stubborn and had a high self-esteem, left angrily.

Hunter believes that with their energy, they are fully capable of handling this crisis on their own without resorting to external forces or cooperating with outsiders. His views differ from those of James and Fish.

"Hunter is used to living a comfortable life, and he still can't recognize the current situation."

Fish sighed.

"The leader of the Hunter family is so short-sighted and his thinking is still stuck in more than 30 years ago. The influence of the Hunter family in New York will not last long."

"Hunter is more suitable to continue to be a big landowner. The emerging industry of railways is not suitable for Hunter."

James looked at Hunter walking away and said.

"He is better suited to the company of a stubborn man like Backhouse."

After seeing off Thomas and August, Liang Yao met with Fish and James.

Fish has a head of thick black hair that makes him proud, plus a thick beard on his face, a big mouth and thick lips, the whole person looks like a grouper.

Thanks to his distinguished family background and his own abilities, Fish, who was born in 1808, was a leader among the younger generation of New York State aristocrats.

In 1848, Fish, who had just turned 40, became the lieutenant governor of New York State and won the governorship of New York State that year.

Although Fish resigned as governor of New York State at the end of last year, Fish still serves in the House of Representatives as a member of the Whig Party and is a representative of the New York State Whig Party.

The two-party system in the United States was relatively mature by 1851, but the two parties at this time were the Whig Party and the Democratic Party.

The Republican Party, as it later became known, was still a small local party.

The period from 1841 to 1853 was the golden age of the Whig Party, since William Henry Harrison, a member of the Whig Party, took office and successfully ran for the ninth president of the United States.

During these 12 years, except for the twelfth president, who was a Democrat, all the other presidents were Whigs.

Fillmore was also a member of the Whig Party.

Like the situation in Congress, the current majority party in New York State, a large voting base, is also the Whig Party, and three consecutive governors have been members of the Whig Party.

"You two, please take a seat."

Liang Yao asked Coney to serve tea and entertain James and Fish.

"Mr. Liang's Pioneer has opened our eyes. Even the British are full of praise for the performance of the Pioneer. The outstanding performance of the Pioneer has made the United States feel proud."

After Fish sat down, he put aside the civilization stick in his hand and said.

"Only high-quality orbits that meet standards can the Pioneer's capabilities be unleashed."

Liang Yao had already guessed the purpose of Fish and James' visit.

It's nothing more than trying to get permission to use Pioneer.

Not all the old aristocrats in New York State are stubborn and stubborn people, at least not the two people in front of him.

But there are still only a few people who keep their minds clear and are willing to keep up with the times.

Liang Yao has been in New York for a few days, but there are very few New York nobles willing to take the initiative to visit Liang Yao.

James and Fish were undoubtedly the two most prominent New York dignitaries who took the initiative to visit him.

"We also carefully observed the new rails used by Mr. Guoliang, and the technical staff of the Yili Railway Company reported to us.

Your new railway track is not only of excellent quality, but also has a longer service life and greater development potential.

The purpose of our visit to you this time is to obtain authorization for the use of the Pioneer and the new railway track."

James said in a very sincere tone.

“It’s time for the Erie Railway’s old tracks from more than 20 years ago to be phased out.”

"As for the patent authorization period and price, we can negotiate, and I think we will come up with a quote that satisfies Mr. Liang," Fish said.

The Erie Railroad Company is currently the largest railroad company in the United States.

Exporting the Pioneer and new rails to the eastern railway companies is not so much about selling the patented technology of the Pioneer and the new rails, but rather exporting industry standards, which belong to Liang Yao's industry standards.

It's not that James and Fish don't understand this, it's that they have no choice.

Yili Railway Company has missed too many opportunities in more than 20 years of inactivity. They currently cannot come up with a corresponding solution and can only turn to Liang Yao for help.

“Can shares of the Erie Railroad Company and authorized rail routes also be discussed?”

Liang Yao squinted his eyes and looked at James and Fish.

General offers cannot attract Liang Yao. Liang Yao currently has abundant cash flow and holds a large amount of hard currency.

The only things the Erie Railroad Company could impress him with were stock shares and authorized railroad routes.

The Yili Railway Company is willing to take the initiative to request cooperation, which is a very positive signal.

"As long as it is within our scope of authority, we can discuss it."

James gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"All locomotives used by the Yili Railway Company in the future must be purchased from the America Group. Correspondingly, the America Group will be responsible for the locomotives sold and provide after-sales maintenance services for ten years. Of course, these services require the Yili Railway Company to spend money to purchase them.

"Liang Yao made his first request.

"Can."

James agreed to this without hesitation.

The technology used by the Pioneer locomotive was too advanced and avant-garde, and the railway company's technical staff had clearly told him that the current level of the Erie Railway Company could not be copied.

He had no choice but to buy it from Liang Yao.

"Twenty percent interest in the Erie Railroad Company, and authorization to transfer the Chicago to Cleveland line."

Liang Yao made his second request.

Compared with the Erie Railway Company's equity, Liang Yao values ​​​​more the authorization of the railway line between Chicago and Cleveland.

Chicago is currently the largest city in Illinois and the city with the greatest development potential in Illinois. Later, Chicago was also the third largest city in the United States.

With the rise of the Great Lakes Industrial Area, Chicago will become the central city of the Great Lakes Industrial Area.

Liang Yao was very optimistic about Chicago's future, so he couldn't let go of this piece of fat.

After the acquisition of the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad Company, rail routes from Baltimore to major cities in Ohio will be opened.

If the Ohio railway line can be connected to Chicago, Illinois, the railway line resources in Liang Yao's hands will be no worse than those of the Erie Railway Company.

The problem is that Liang Yao doesn't have many connections in the states bordering the Great Lakes.

Except for some of Gervin's relatives and friends in Ohio, Liang Yao had no political friends in the other states on the Great Lakes, including Illinois and Indiana, which the Cleveland-Chicago railway line needed to pass through.

To obtain authorization for railway routes, the competition is based on who has a deeper background and greater energy.

States in the United States are beggar-thy-neighbors, and it is very difficult for people from out-of-state to obtain authorization for railway routes in their states.

It is less troublesome and easier to directly obtain authorized railway routes than to apply for authorization from state governments.

James frowned, Liang Yao's appetite was greater than he imagined.

After some discussions with Fish, James said to Liang Yao.
To be continued...