Chapter 316: Complete California

As a relatively mature politician, Fillmore's policy agenda is obviously more mature and more operational.

After these two rounds of debate, Fillmore won the debate without any doubt.

After the debate, Liang Yao and others congratulated Fillmore.

If nothing else, Fillmore should win 35 votes in his home state.

The Crystal Palace has generally been renovated and the main building is ready for normal use.

Taking advantage of Fillmore's speech and debate in New York, Liang Yao invited Fillmore to cut the ribbon for the opening of the Crystal Palace.

Fillmore is now a top figure in the United States and a native of New York State. It is most appropriate to ask him to cut the ribbon for New York's new commercial center, the Crystal Palace.

Faced with Liang Yao's invitation, Fillmore did not refuse and readily agreed.

Fillmore walked off the debate stage at New York City Hall. He looked up at the magnificent marble palace belonging to Stewart and said: "If the Crystal Palace in London can be replicated in New York and used as a shopping mall, other shopping malls in New York will be the same." Losing color."

Fillmore did not personally attend the 1851 London World's Fair, but he had seen daguerreotypes of the London World's Fair, and he was deeply impressed by the grand buildings made of steel and glass in the photos.

I heard that the Crystal Palace in London has been demolished. It would be a great event to recreate a building like the Crystal Palace in New York.

"I'd like to lend you your kind words." Liang Yao said with a smile.

Fillmore invited Liang Yao to ride in the same carriage. He also had some things to discuss with Liang Yao alone.

Originally, the split within the Whig Party made him not have high expectations for a successful re-election. However, after personally contacting Pierce today and debating on stage, Fillmore became more confident in his re-election.

The Democratic candidates are no better than that.

Fillmore is now beginning to think about what to do after re-election.

He didn't want to be an unknown president of the United States. Of course, Fillmore understood. He could also see that the conflict between the North and the South would inevitably lead to an unavoidable civil war in the future.

Mild means cannot resolve the conflict of interests between the North and the South. Only by reshuffling the country through war can it be completely resolved.

After so many years in politics, Fillmore still has this vision and judgment.

Since there is no way to avoid civil war, and we do not want to bear the reputation of a civil war president, the only feasible way is to delay the outbreak of this civil war and prevent it from breaking out during his term.

As for when the civil war will break out, leave it to the next president.

"As long as I am re-elected, I will fully support the Pacific Railway."

In the spacious carriage compartment, Fillmore said to Liang Yao.

"But I hope that this railway can be completed during my term of office and I will personally cut the ribbon for this railway."

Fillmore hoped that a great project like the Pacific Railway across the North American continent would become a political achievement during his term. This was also the condition for Fillmore to support Liang Yao in building this railway.

He did not want this railway to become his successor's political achievement and give his successor advantages in vain.

"Done on your watch? It's a little difficult, but I'll try my best."

Regarding Fillmore's harsh request, Liang Yao looked reluctant, gritted his teeth and agreed, and he also put forward his conditions.

"However, the Pacific Railway Act needs to be passed by Congress as soon as possible. It will take four years to complete the construction of this railway, which is equivalent to me building about 2 kilometers of railway a day, and there are still many sections in mountainous areas that require bridges to be laid. railway."

Historically, it took six years and five months to build the Pacific Railway. Completing the project in four years was a big challenge for Liang Yao.

However, Liang Yao also has his advantage, that is, the western starting point of this railway is no longer Sacramento, but Reno or Carson in Nevada, and the railway mileage to be built is reduced by more than 200 kilometers.

Historically, when the Pacific Railway was built, it was still in the midst of the Civil War, and the federal government, which was in financial distress, gave limited substantive support to the Pacific Railway.

Although the current federal government is divided, it is still a unified government, and its finances are better than during the war.

What’s more, Liang Yao now has the ability to mass-produce nitroglycerine explosives, an advantage he did not have when building the Pacific Railway in history.

It is not an impossible task to complete the construction of this railway in four years.

Furthermore, Liang Yao himself also hoped that the railway would be completed during Fillmore's term, so as to avoid long nights and dreams.

"This law may be passed within a month after I take office." Fillmore promised Liang Yao, his tone was very firm.

"With your words, I feel relieved." Liang Yao said.

"You have been in charge of the US-Mexico border for some time. What do you think of Mexico's military strength?" Fillmore continued the next topic.

"Mexican army?" Liang Yao pondered for a long time. After confirming that the Mexican army had nothing to boast about, he gave the Mexican army a very pertinent evaluation, "It is a piece of loose sand and vulnerable to a single blow."

It's not that Liang Yao looks down on the Mexican army, but that the Mexican army is really unbearable.

Mexico has a standing army of up to 30,000 people. In terms of the number of standing troops, Mexico's standing army is larger than that of the United States.

But the Mexican army lacks training, the soldiers are lax in discipline, the commanders are of low quality, and the weapons and equipment are relatively backward. This is the evaluation of the Mexican army by Elvis, a capable general under Liang Yao.

Elvis was employed by the Mexican government in his early years and trained the army for the Mexican government. His evaluation of the Mexican army is still of certain reference value.

The above are not the fatal flaws of the Mexican army. The most fatal flaw of the Mexican army is that the Mexican president cannot fully control this 30,000-man standing army.

Mexico's standing army is controlled by different bureaucrats and politicians, local landlords, and the emerging bourgeoisie, and they are not subordinate to each other.

Moreover, Mexico has not completed the construction of a modern country, so there is naturally no modern military mobilization system.

This is why at the beginning of the Mexican-American War, Mexico could take advantage of its advantage in military strength and win a few victories while the US military was careless.

But after the United States began to mobilize, a steady stream of new forces joined the battlefield, and the Mexican army could only passively be beaten and could not organize an effective counterattack.

"The current California is not complete. The California with Baja California is the complete California." Fillmore said with some amusement.

Baja California? What is Fillmore planning? Liang Yao was full of doubts. Could it be that Fillmore also had his eyes on the Mexican territory?