America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 474 Armstrong Shipyard

Hawke didn't deal with Walter face to face.

Anyway, the biggest enemy has already withdrawn by itself, and the remaining futile rich second generation can deal with it slowly.

Walter got his wish and became the chairman of the board of directors of the Pacific Railroad Company.

Now he wished he could immediately run to his father's grave and dance disco:
father!Your son is now chairman of the board of the Pacific Railroad!I have fulfilled your unfulfilled wish in your old age!Your son can be regarded as a glorious ancestor!

Walter decided to make persistent efforts and work hard to make the Pacific Railway Company flourish in his own hands.

At his strong request, not only were all the previous railway construction plans put on the agenda, but a dozen more were added on the original basis.

In Walter's view, the former leaders of the company, including Chen Jianqiu, were too conservative, causing the railway company to miss the best period of development!

As for the lack of money, what should I do?
Go borrow it!

loan from the bank!Issue bonds!

With such excellent performance and assets as guarantee, you don't have to worry about not being able to borrow money!

Hauke ​​did not directly intervene in his plan.

He was quietly busy continuing to collect shares, and wanted to become the largest shareholder of the Pacific Railway Company before the next round of board of directors!
When the time comes, it will be the turn of Walter, who is ambitious at this time, to get out.

Chen Jianqiu didn't know about the intrigue of the Pacific Railway Company, and he didn't care.

He is in Europe at the moment.

This is not because there is a problem with the sales of the European branch of the military factory, but because he intends to collect a large amount of gold in Europe before the dollar becomes waste paper.

Before he came to London, Silas had brought people here first.

At this time, London is the financial center of the world, so Silas's behavior is regarded as the cash-out of another American nouveau riche.

In addition, the purchase volume was relatively stable at the beginning, so it did not cause much disturbance.

The collected gold was transported to the munitions factory in Kent.

In Great Britain, no one should think about the gold for the time being.

But this brings up a question, how to transport the gold back to the United States?

Under normal circumstances, Chen Jianqiu's company usually departs from London or Liverpool, crosses the entire Atlantic Ocean, crosses the Caribbean Sea, disembarks from the Mexican port of Monterey, and enters New Mexico via a special railway train.

On land, he wasn't worried.

Now along the US-Mexico border, no one is so bold as to rob his goods.

Because those who have the guts are either thrown into the Gulf of Mexico to feed sharks, or the corpses enter the stomachs of wolves and vultures in the Chihuahua Desert.

But it's not easy to say at sea.

Although at the end of the 19th century, pirates in the Caribbean Sea had already passed its golden age.

Under the attack of the navies of various countries, large-scale piracy has disappeared.

But as long as the temptation of profit is strong enough, there will always be people who are not afraid of death to jump out and resume their old business.

The Caribbean area is still under the influence of the Spaniards.

This old empire has no time to take care of him, and this area is also in turmoil.

Obviously, the U.S. government would not escort him, and the reason why he went to the Gulf of Mexico was because he didn't want people on the east coast to know about it.

Taking a step back, even if the government is willing, with the few broken ships of the U.S. Navy, at most it is patrolling its own coastline.

The navy of the British Empire is strong, but it is not a powerful and influential bank like the Rothschild family, please do not move.

Chen Jianqiu had a headache.

He still can't judge when the crisis will come, and the consumption of gold will continue for a while.

But it has to be transported back anyway. It’s not a problem to keep it in the arsenal all the time. The more this thing is, the more variable it will be.

After another carload of gold was quietly transported into the arsenal, Chen Jianqiu glanced at the closed vault door, and then started to inspect the arsenal together with Ma Keqin.

They walked through many factories along the way.

Ma Keqin introduced the new products in the arsenal to Chen Jianqiu.

There are not only improved models of machine guns to cope with various combat environments, but also an experimental model of a fully automatic rifle that has just been developed.

"Fully automatic weapons are the future of weapons!" Maxim clapped the new gun in his hand and said proudly, "Both me and Browning are already at the forefront of the world."

"En." Chen Jianqiu just nodded, expressing his agreement with his words.

Ma Keqin noticed that the boss's state today was a little strange.

On weekdays, Chen Jianqiu is very interested in new products, but today's answer is very short.

Based on his understanding of the boss, Chen Jianqiu must have something important on his mind.

"Chen, what's the matter?" Ma Keqin asked cautiously.

Chen Jianqiu did not shy away from it, and told Ma Keqin about the problem of transporting gold.

Hearing this, the military inventor also fell into deep thought.

Chen Jianqiu rested his chin on his hand, staring at the distant port in a daze.

He said thoughtfully:

"If only we had our own escort ships."

When Ma Keqin heard this, his eyes immediately lit up.

He moved to Chen Jianqiu's side, and said mysteriously:

"Chen, do you really want an escort ship?"

Chen Jianqiu glanced at Ma Keqin, who is usually very serious and does as the Romans do, with a gentlemanly look, and raised his eyebrows:
"Do you have a way?"

Ma Keqin smiled "hehe":
"I have been in the military industry circle of the British Empire for so long, can I still get this way?"

"But warships are strategic ships. Neither the US government nor the British government can accept it?" Chen Jianqiu thought for a while and said.

"Hey, big cruisers are definitely not good, but gunboats are still fine. Besides, you can register as a merchant ship first, and then modify it."

Maxim seems to know this well.

"Armstrong Shipyard sells a lot of this kind of ship. From the beginning of construction to the official launch, it can be completed in one year! I know their boss very well."

"I talked to him, they are living on orders from these ships and East Asia now, how can they survive on orders from the navy?"

Chen Jianqiu narrowed his eyes.

That's a very good idea!

He pulled Maxim's shoulders, and the two began to whisper.

"That's it, we're leaving tomorrow!"

After a while, Chen Jianqiu let go of Ma Keqin's shoulders and made a decision.

A few days later, Chen Jianqiu showed up in Newcastle with Ma Keqin and several others.

Armstrong Dockyard is located on the River Clyde in Newcastle.

The scenery here is beautiful, the water birds rising and falling on the water and the white smoke from the steam engine in the dock constitute a unique picture.

Because Maxim had telegraphed his friend in advance before departure, William Armstrong, the owner of the shipyard, went out to greet him in person.

He used to be a lawyer, but because he felt that being a "litigator" had no future, he "abandoned law and went into business".

From Chen Jianqiu's current point of view, he is a businessman who couldn't be more tactful.

"You are Mr. Chen! Hello! Hello!"

Armstrong greeted him with a smile, and held Chen Jianqiu's hands tightly.

And the business people behind him who participated in the greeting also looked accustomed to it, without any arrogance of the British people Chen Jianqiu had dealt with before.

"Come in! Come in!" Armstrong stepped aside and ushered Chen Jianqiu into the gate.

He asked Chen Jianqiu to walk in the front, while he accompanied him at the side.

"I heard from Mr. Maxim that you are a very successful businessman. In a sense, we are considered colleagues?" Armstrong said with his hands behind his back.

"Yes." Chen Jianqiu nodded as he walked.

Armstrong glanced at the entourage behind him.

This person is really different from the Chinese people I have dealt with before. Not only does he not have braids on the back of his head, but he is also not full of humble words like them.

They walked straight along the road in the shipyard, all the way to the dock by the river.

There are many docks here.

Basically every dock is full, workers come and go, very busy.

"We have also dealt with people from your government before, and your 'Zhi Yuan' cruiser was produced in this dock." Armstrong pointed to one of the docks and said, "That is the fastest cruiser in Asia. .”

"That is my motherland." Chen Jianqiu replied lightly, "but that regime has nothing to do with me."

Armstrong was taken aback, but quickly reacted:

"Sorry, sorry, my fault, I forgot that you are an American businessman now, hahahaha." He used a laugh to resolve his embarrassment.

At the same time, he complained to himself in his heart:
Damn it, just now from his demeanor and dress, he should have judged the identity of this person, how could he have touched the thunder point.

I heard that this person is quite rich, if he walks away because of this, the loss outweighs the gain.

Fortunately, Chen Jianqiu didn't have much emotional change.

After visiting the entire shipyard, he said directly to Armstrong:
"Let's get down to business now."

(End of this chapter)