Chapter 33: Big Gold, Big Shots

"Is the collection of samples reasonable?" Liang Yao asked.

Deng Wenqi sighed: "They are all made according to the method explained by the third brother. Each barrel of mineral soil is collected separately."

Liang Yao felt unprecedentedly disappointed when he heard this. Could it be that his thinking was wrong?

Building levees to divert the American River not only cost him a lot of manpower and material resources, but also a lot of his time.

Such a huge investment only resulted in an increase in gold production of one-sixth, which was far from his expectations. He could not accept this result.

Liang Yao firmly believed that his idea was right. There must be something wrong in some link, and it must be like this.

He took off his shoes and prepared to fall into the river bed to investigate and find out the cause.

The Boston Company also brought their samples, and Robinson came to Liang Yao with the Boston Company's samples.

"I have good news and bad news to tell you. The good news is that your idea is correct. The gold content in the river bed is indeed much higher than that on both sides of the river. A large amount of gold is deposited in the bedrock below the river bed.

The bad news is that there is a layer of solid rock beneath the river bed, making it difficult to dig out the gold manually. Compared to digging through these bedrocks, it is relatively easy to build a dam to divert the American River. "

"Overall it's still bad news. Our gold mining efficiency has not improved much."

It is easy to dig through a rock layer to extract samples, but if you want to dig for gold, you have to dig through all these rock layers, which is a huge waste of manpower.

"Yes, the shallowest rock layer is 1 meter thick, and the thick rock layer may be 2 meters, 3 meters or even thicker. It is not easy to obtain these because we do not have machines. These machines are only available in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. These are the big cities in the east.”

Dr. Robinson spread his hands and expressed his helplessness.

Knowing where the gold is but not being able to access it is more uncomfortable than not knowing where the gold is.

Now both the Boston Company and the old miners' organizations participating in the cooperation are anxious about this.

Liang Yao paced back and forth with his bare feet, thinking about more efficient ways to solve this problem, and soon he had a solution.

"Since there is no machine and manpower cannot effectively mine this gold on a large scale, then use gunpowder!"

Liang Yao had a black powder workshop and he had ready-made gunpowder.

Of course, using explosives would be more efficient and safer, but such highly efficient explosives would not be invented until 20 years later. Currently, he only has black powder available.

"Good idea. I'll go back and ask if anyone is skilled in using this kind of explosive."

Robinson thought it was a good idea to give it a try.

Black powder in California is expensive and can be called black gold, but it's worth using it to get more gold.

Moreover, he also knew that Liang Yao had a gunpowder workshop, which was the largest gunpowder workshop in California. They had no shortage of gunpowder.

"No, I can use gunpowder. Let me take a look at your gunpowder first. I need to know whether your gunpowder is suitable for mining."

Fremont became interested and eager to try these explosives. He was a senior expert in the use of gunpowder.

Liang Yao took Fremont and others to the gunpowder storage. What surprised Fremont was that except for a small amount of gunpowder that was more suitable for use as propellant for guns and artillery, the rest of the gunpowder was almost They are all specially formulated for mining.

Fremont was very curious about this, as if this young man had long thought of using gunpowder to mine.

"The ratio of your gunpowder is very reasonable. They are all high-quality gunpowder. Do you have people who are proficient in gunpowder?" Fremont couldn't restrain his curiosity.

Of course Liang Yao would not tell Fremont that these gunpowders were prepared for future gold mining in the foothills of Nevada.

Although Sacramento’s gold reserves are abundant, there will always be a day when they are exhausted, so it’s wise to prepare early.

"San Francisco and Sacramento are undergoing large-scale construction projects, which require a large amount of stone as building materials. The gunpowder is used to blast the mountains to extract the stone."

"It seems that you are determined to build Sacramento and San Francisco into a very large city." Looking at the huge gunpowder reserves, Fremont said thoughtfully.

This explanation was reasonable and he couldn't find any flaws, but his intuition told Fremont that things were not that simple.

Fremont prepared the gunpowder with ease and calculated the yield to be used to ensure that while blasting the rock formations, the scale of the explosion would remain within a controllable and safe range and would not harm innocent people.

After all work was completed, Fremont lit the fuse, which was successfully lit.

Everyone hid in a safe place and waited for the explosion to happen, praying to God and God that the gunpowder could successfully explode the bedrock.

However, something unexpected happened.

The gunpowder did not explode for a long time. An anxious Deng Wenkang ran forward with a box of matches to see what caused the fuse to go out. If it went out, he would relight the extinguished fuse.

"Deng Wenkang! What are you doing! Come back quickly! It's dangerous!"

Liang Yao shouted hurriedly.

"The second half is a quick twist! Even if you light the fuse, you will be killed! You don't want your life, little guy!"

Fremont didn't expect there to be such a stubborn person. He didn't have time to think about it, rushed forward, and skillfully threw Deng Wenkang down on the river bed.

Not long after the two men fell on the riverbed, a dull explosion sounded from the blasting point not far away, and the earth trembled. The splashed sand almost buried the two men.

"You fearless little guy, if you were my soldier, I would expel you now!"

Fremont picked up Deng Wenkang and said something that Deng Wenkang didn't quite understand.

Although he didn't understand the words, he also knew that it was this foreigner who saved him just now. He said to Fremont in half-baked English: "Thank you, sir."

Fremont patted the wet mud on his body and returned to the dry shore.

"Gold, such a big gold!"

Deng Wenkang, who was thrown out by Fremont, noticed a faint golden light in the crack of the bedrock that had just been blasted, and he couldn't help exclaiming.

He pried open the crack, and a huge piece of gold appeared in front of him!

It lay there quietly, emitting an attractive and dazzling light in the sun.

Although California is a place rich in gold, this is the first time he has seen such a large piece of gold.

"I found it! Gold! Such a big piece of gold!"

Deng Wenkang tried his best to lift the huge piece of gold, but the huge solid gold nugget was too heavy. He couldn't move after carrying the gold for a few steps.

"Oh my God!"

"Oh my God!"

"Fuck!"

Everyone was stunned by the huge gold nugget. They had never seen such a huge piece of gold.

Even Liang Yao couldn't help but marvel at it. In terms of volume, this gold nugget was much larger than a real dog's head.

Liang Yao asked people to wash the dirt off the gold nugget and weigh it.

"145 pounds! This piece of gold weighs 145 pounds!"

145 pounds is equivalent to 77 kilograms in metric weight units, which is about 1,800 ounces in troy ounces.

This is heavier than Liang Yao's weight, so it's no wonder that Deng Wenkang couldn't move it just now.

The largest natural gold nugget found during the gold rush weighed 151 pounds, which is a little bigger than the one in front of him.

However, a 145-pound natural gold nugget placed in front of him is shocking enough. California is really a good place.

"Mr. Liang, it seems that you are well versed in gold panning." Fremont exclaimed.

He had never seen such a huge piece of gold. This piece of gold alone is worth as much as $60,000. This is also a considerable fortune for the wealthy families in the East. No wonder countless people are crazy about it and are willing to risk many dangers to rush into this disorderly barren land of California.

His first job was as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Engineering Survey Corps. He remembered it very clearly, and the monthly salary of a second lieutenant was only a pitiful $15. Of course, the US dollar more than ten years ago would be more valuable, perhaps equivalent to today's $25, and at most no more than $30.

"I want to become a partner with you and set up a mining company to make a fortune together."

The rich gold reserves in California made Fremont feel excited.

"It's an honor, but as far as I know, Mr. Fremont's family is very rich, and he still values ​​this little gold?"

Facing Fremont's invitation, Liang Yao did not refuse.

Fremont was talking about establishing a mining company in partnership, not investing in his gold mining industry, which did not touch his core interests.

It must be said that Fremont had a high EQ, and it was no wonder that this inexperienced political novice could become the first candidate of the Republican Party, a new political party in the United States, six years later, in 1856.

Even the Democratic Party tried to win over Fremont, hoping that Fremont could become the Democratic presidential candidate.

At that time, the Democratic Party and the Whig Party were the two major ruling parties in the United States. The golden age of the Whig Party had passed, and it was internally divided and was already in a dying state.

If Fremont joined the Democratic Party, he would have a greater chance of winning the election, after all, the Democratic Party's influence was far greater than that of the Republican Party.

It was just that the Democratic Party supported slavery at the time, which was contrary to Fremont's political ideals. Fremont finally chose to join the Republican Party, which was still a small party.

Unfortunately, in the presidential election six years later, Fremont failed to achieve his wish and lost to his Democratic opponent Buchanan with a huge disadvantage of 9 states' votes.

The first Republican Party to take office was in 1860, and the first president of the party was the famous Abraham Lincoln.

"Family is family, I am me, I don't want to live under the protection of the family forever, otherwise I wouldn't come to you." Fremont said firmly, "I want to let them know that I can achieve something without the support of the family. By then, it's not me who is proud of being a member of the Fremont family or the Benton family, but my family is proud of me!"

"You are so ambitious, I believe this day will come, and you will become an influential big man." Liang Yao didn't know if this was possible, and Fremont did do it later.

"Count me in!" Ge Wen took advantage of the situation and said that he was willing to join the partnership, "Big man, who doesn't want to be a big man who shakes the mountains and rivers?"

"It's an honor, Mr. Ge Wen, no, it should be Senator Ge Wen." Liang Yao welcomed Ge Wen's joining.

He is looking for someone who can give him political protection. Without political protection, it means that no one will speak for you in Congress.

Without a voice and influence in Congress, even if you are rich enough to rival a country, in the eyes of those powerful financial groups, you are just a fat lamb. The fact that you still exist only means that you are not fat enough and it is not time to slaughter you.

Once you become a fat enough lamb, they will use the so-called legal method and will not hesitate to show their long-hidden butcher knife, slaughter you mercilessly, and eat you up.

Undoubtedly, these two people are very suitable candidates for cooperation. Binding interests with them is exactly what Liang Yao wants.

"Today can be said to be a double happiness. Mr. Liang found the largest natural gold nugget in the history of the United States or perhaps the world, and the three of us happened to gather in Sacramento on this wonderful day today. I think this is God's will." Ge Wen smiled happily.

"I suggest that we should celebrate on this great day."

Fremont was in a very happy mood. He did not find gold in the mountains, but here he not only found gold, but also found something more valuable than gold.