1850 American Gold Tycoon.

"Your roads in California are really good, even better than New York."

Lincoln rode a Puma bicycle to Liang Yao's Tingtao Park.

Lincoln is a person who is willing to try new things. When Liang Yao got married in New York, he bought a Puma bicycle at a discounted price of US$110 (original price US$150) from Crystal Palace Mall in New York through his relationship.

Cycling on New York's potholed roads is a torture, but in California, since the urban areas of major cities in California are paved with concrete roads, some roads are also paved with expensive asphalt roads.

Therefore, cycling in a California city is a completely different experience than cycling in New York, at least the ass does not suffer so much.

"You came to me specifically, not just to praise the road conditions in California, okay?" Liang Yao laughed.

The state of roads in California is indeed second to none in the United States. This is due to the fact that most of the localities in California have relatively abundant finances, and there are sufficient funds for road construction and maintenance.

If you want to get rich, the slogan of building roads first has already spread throughout California, and governments across California are very enthusiastic about road building.

The roads here include railways as well as highways.

Commissioner Lincoln's thorough investigation of the California Customs Bureau has already made the headlines of major newspapers in California. Although Lincoln has not announced the details to the outside world, Lincoln's request to the California Department of Finance to transfer personnel to temporarily take over the work of the California Customs Bureau can also be indirectly It can be seen that Lincoln's anti-corruption efforts are very strong.

It is so large that the number of people involved in the case has been arrested, and it has reached the point where the California Customs Service cannot function normally.

Liang Yao is not surprised that Lincoln can complete the investigation so quickly. If he can't even deal with the corrupt elements of the California Customs Bureau, then he is not Lincoln.

"I'm here to talk to you about the legal issues in California," Lincoln said after parking the car.

"A legal issue?" Liang Yao was a little surprised.

"Yes, legal issues." Lincoln said as he walked.

"According to the usual practice, the personnel of the Customs Bureau are corrupt, and they should be punished according to the laws of the federal government, but the laws of the federal government are too lenient to them.

Under the Diplomatic and Consular Appropriation Act of 1853, it was a crime for any customs official to accept bribes for duties, exchange of goods, etc.

Although I have collected enough evidence, it is confirmed that the California Customs Bureau is involved in corruption from the director to the clerk.

But the bill's sentencing was still too light.

Even if these moths are prosecuted for the crimes of theft, bribery, bribery, fraud, embezzlement, and abuse of power, and they are punished for several crimes, the maximum penalty is only deprivation of public office qualifications, fines, payment of compensation, and ten years in prison punishment. "

Lincoln knew the laws of the United States very well. He believed that the laws of the United States were still too loose, with too many loopholes, and the cost of crime was too low, which gave these corrupt elements an opportunity to take advantage of them.

Imperfect laws and systems, as well as light sentences were important reasons for the prevalence of corruption in the United States in the 19th century.

In 1856, the United States had very limited legal provisions involving corruption of government employees, and basically issued a new bill every once in a while to fill in the loopholes.

Examples include the Indian Appropriation Act of 1853, and Lincoln's aforementioned Foreign and Domestic Construction Act.

The first relatively systematic laws in this regard in the United States were the Bribery Act and the False Claims Act that Lincoln promoted in 1863.

These two laws not only clearly define corruption and the penalties for corrupt government officials, but also list bribers as punishment targets.

The bill also stipulates that whistleblowers who report corruption will be rewarded to encourage people to report corruption.

Once this law was promulgated, everyone in the federal government who had blatantly asked for bribes in the past would be in danger, and the situation of corruption in American political circles has improved.

It's just that Lincoln only served as president for 4 years and 41 days. For a politician with ideals and ambitions, the political career of 4 years and 41 days is too short.

It was so short that Lincoln only accomplished the one major event of maintaining the unity of the United States. Of course, this event is enough for him to shine in the annals of history.

After Lincoln's death, the two bills introduced by Lincoln's painstaking efforts were not well implemented. During the post-war reconstruction period, American government officials at all levels were still corrupt and depraved.

It was not until the beginning of the 20th century, with the improvement of relevant laws and judicial systems, that the American government became relatively transparent and clean.

"You want to use the laws of California to punish criminals from the Customs Bureau?" Liang Yao said.

"Yes, according to territorial jurisdiction, the laws of California also apply to them. The maximum penalty for corruption in California is beheading and ransacking. I think this law is very applicable to them." Lincoln nodded and said.

The huge amount of corruption in the California Customs Bureau made Lincoln very angry. He was so angry that Lincoln studied the laws of California overnight, hoping to find a suitable punishment for these people.

When he read that the upper limit of sentencing for bribery in California is beheading and ransacking his home, Lincoln was very excited.

Other states have hangings for corruption, but Lincoln didn't expect California to take it to the next level and beheaded.

"State law does have territorial jurisdiction, but in the federal system, where there is a conflict between state law and federal law, federal law takes precedence.

It is a bit difficult to use California law to sentence the Customs Bureau. These people are not short of money. In order to survive, they are willing to spend money to hire the best lawyers. "

Each state in the United States has its own legal system and legal procedures, and it does have territorial jurisdiction to handle criminal and civil cases within the state and across states.

It's just that in the US federal system, although federal laws and state laws coexist, in the case of conflict between the two, federal laws will take precedence.

Compared with a professional like Lincoln, Liang Yao's knowledge of American laws is relatively limited. After all, he is not a professional lawyer, and he has only read the main laws of the United States.

As a well-known lawyer, Lincoln relied on this for a living.

Rao Liang Yao's knowledge of American laws is limited, and he also knows that if the case goes to court, Lincoln's chances of winning are very slim.

These corrupt elements of the Bureau of Customs would rather choose to be sent to Washington thousands of miles away for trial than to be tried in a California court.

"California's laws are so rough, how can there be any good lawyers in California. Besides, with your influence in the California judiciary, as long as you express your opinion, which lawyer would dare to seriously defend them." Lincoln also saw it clearly.

"They will definitely ask to go to federal court for trial and judgment, but as a commissioner, I can make a judgment on the spot in California on the grounds of the seriousness of the situation.

Minister Deng estimates that the Customs Bureau has embezzled more than US$1600 million over the past few years. However, after two weeks of investigation, I found that the whereabouts of another US$700 million was unknown except for the part that was spent by them.

Presumably many people in Washington do not want people from the California Customs Bureau to conduct a trial and judgment in Washington. "

Day, the amount of corruption of more than 1500 million US dollars.

Even though Liang Yao was already mentally prepared for the huge amount of corruption in the California Customs Bureau, he was still shocked to get a relatively specific figure from Lincoln.

These turtle grandchildren have been greedy for money in California over the years, which is more than he has earned from investing in the East in recent years.

No wonder even the people in the General Administration of Customs are eager to be transferred to the California Customs Branch, even if they are demoted.California Bureau of Customs, what a job.

"In 1851, the federal government's compensation for the cession of land in Texas was only 1000 million U.S. dollars, and the military expenditure approved by the Congress of Mexico for me to attack Mexico was only more than 400 million U.S. dollars. This money is enough for me to fight Mexico four times." Liang Yao couldn't help bursting out. foul language.

"The Great Rat of the Country!"

"I couldn't agree more. It's shocking and unprecedented. That's why I came to you and wanted to use you to clear the relationship between the California judiciary. I beg you for this matter, and I owe you a favor." Lincoln said.

"Behavior is so bad, if you don't kill chickens and monkeys to make an example, even if the federal government sends new personnel to fill the vacancies in the California Customs Bureau, it will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. The situation of the California Customs Bureau will not be much better than it is now.

The greatest value of these heinous criminals now is to set an example for those who come after them.The heavier the punishment for them, the better they can deter latecomers.Minimize the loss of the federal government. "

The tax loss caused by the corruption of the California Bureau of Customs to the federal government is huge, and the General Administration of Customs has never had such a bad corruption case.

Lincoln was a pragmatic man, and it was impossible to recover $700 million in unaccounted for accounts.

Therefore, Lincoln hopes to impose the death penalty on these scumbags of the California Customs Service to minimize future losses.

"Since you have passed the laws of California, what do you think of the laws of California?" Liang Yao asked.

He wanted to hear what Lincoln had to say about California law.

Lincoln was a little puzzled why Liang Yao asked him this question, did he want to change the subject?However, it seemed that Liang Yao didn't intend to shirk this matter. After thinking about it for a while, he gave Liang Yao a reply.

"Compared with the laws of other states, California's laws are stricter and the penalties are heavier. California's laws are very strange. Some places are eye-catching, and some places are hard to describe. It is difficult for me to comment.

But in general, California's laws are rough.However, rough laws are not a problem in California. This is an unavoidable problem in any new state or border state.After all, at the beginning of the establishment of the new state, there was a lack of excellent judicial practitioners to participate in the formulation of laws. "

Lincoln is a professional lawyer after all, and Liang Yao agrees with this evaluation.

At the beginning of the founding of California, the grassroots team was composed of members of the gold panning organization. The gold panning organization team would bring doctors with superb medical skills to California to pan for gold.

But no one would sit around and take lawyers and judges to pan for gold in California where there is no law.

The current laws in California were enacted by Leland Stanford under the supervision of Liang Yao.

Although Stanford is also a professional lawyer, Stanford was still a young man in his twenties when Jianzhou drafted the California law. No matter in terms of knowledge or professional experience, he was not as good as Lincoln, a well-known barrister in the country.

For a young lawyer in his 20s, Liang Yao has nothing to ask for. Stanford has already performed exceptionally well in building a legal framework in California.

As for the strict laws in California, heavy codes are required in troubled times. New immigrants enter California every day, and the quality of personnel varies. The laws have to be strict and the penalties have to be heavy.

"You help improve and supplement California's laws and return my favor, and I will help you with this favor." Liang Yao said to Lincoln.

It is difficult to find judicial talents like Lincoln who are proficient in the laws of the country and have rich experience in the field. Liang Yao hopes that Lincoln can help improve some laws in California.

"I'm a congressman from Illinois, but I don't have the right to amend California's laws." Lincoln said with some embarrassment.

"I didn't ask you to modify it, I just asked you to complete it for my reference." Liang Yao said.

"It's a deal." After thinking for a while, Lincoln still agreed.