For a long time, in the general political pattern of the United States, in which the Republican Party and the Democratic Party take turns to sit in power, the direction of the distribution of political donations by Tang Huan and his family has always been maintained at a two-headed betting ratio of more than 40 to more than 50 percent -- whoever gives the most benefits will receive more.

Now that Tang Huan directly pointed out the subtlety, Jerry Brown could only nod his head in recognition of the strength of Mr. The Richest Man, but he still conservatively suggested: "In any case, the variables in this party struggle should not be underestimated." ”

The main stakeholders of California's high-speed rail impact are the civil and road transport industries, as well as the associated manufacturers, and the Republican Party has always been closely associated with such traditional capitalists, so it is natural to become the voice of the opposition wave.

This is the main reason why Tang Huan chose Jerry Brown as a partner of California high-speed rail, who is not only "one door and two governors", has deep connections in California, and has shown great interest in the California high-speed rail project during his tenure, but is also a senior member of the Democratic Party.

You know, although the current Governor of California, George Dockmegian, and President Ronald Reagan are both Republicans, and the Republican Party currently controls the Senate of the U.S. Congress, the Senate and House of Representatives in California have been controlled by the Democratic Party since the 1970s, and the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress has been for a longer period of time, starting in the mid-1950s.

If the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress belongs to a different party from the president of the United States, then the speaker of the House of Representatives is the leader of the opposition party in the United States Congress, and because of his prominent position, he and the president of the United States have become political opponents in the process, and the drama is wonderful.

The current speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, Thor O'Neill, who is from the Democratic Party, has such a relationship with US President Ronald Reagan. His popularity and popularity in the United States are completely comparable to Reagan's.

Jerry Bronqu, chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, is in a good position to use these Democratic resources to make the building bill pass more smoothly.

However, when the California high-speed rail project caught up with this year's U.S. midterm elections and became a bargaining chip between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, the taste began to change, and gradually degenerated into "opposition for the sake of opposition".

"I understand that your successor, George Dockmegian, is a moderate Republican conservative and intends to be re-elected to the post of governor of California. But with the Democrats all around, he had to be cautious in the governor's position. ”

Tang Huan muttered: "Under the influence of Reaganomics, the unemployment rate in California was as high as 11.2%, that is, the economy has recovered in the past two years and entered a new round of growth, and the situation has not deteriorated. After the start of the California high-speed rail project, of course, there will be some job losses due to the impact on the original economic system, but when the project is started and put into use, it will create more jobs, and he will not fail to understand this. ”

"When California's high-speed rail is completed, George Dorkmegian, the current governor, will also receive some credit." Jerry Brown nodded, "The really unpredictable offensive and defensive positions are the Congress and the federal government that decide the federal appropriations, and it will depend on the results of this year's midterm elections." By the way, you have a close relationship with the White House, did President Reagan show any attitude towards this? ”

"I won't object." Tang Huan replied vaguely.

Although Reagan belongs to the Republican Party, he has served two terms as governor of California, and his family has fallen there, and in two years, he will retire from the presidency.

Jerry Browna is a political veteran, and he immediately knows what he thinks. He said with a relaxed face: "Then only the Senate controlled by the Republican Party is left." ”

"Whether it can continue to be controlled is not certain." Tang Huan smiled playfully.

The Republican Party, a bunch of people who don't remember pain, is directing another Nixon Watergate scandal, and such a scandal may have been exposed at a sensitive moment of party contention.

Jerry Brown was overjoyed and tentatively asked, "Do you expect the Democrats to win in the Senate?" ”

"Again, whoever is in favor of California high-speed rail, I will support whom!" Tang Huan waved his hand noncommittally, and said instead: "I have prepared a new promotional video for you to build momentum for California high-speed rail, and it will come in handy when you give your next speech." ”

"Then I'm going to take a look." Jerry Brown was immediately interested, and Guy could have imagined that Tang Huan could create a different commercial by taking some resources from his Hollywood company, and then help the California high-speed rail project win more supporters.

"The reason why this promotional video has been launched slowly is mainly because it contains some high-tech elements that need to be carefully considered." Tang Huan explained while instructing his assistant to show the film.

Although the advertising film should talk about the publicity effect, it cannot be as mysterious as a science fiction film. Therefore, the high-tech elements contained in it are all R&D results that are expected to be put into commercial use within three years at the latest.

For example, consumer-grade VCDs.

Sales of broadcast and television VCDs are very good, but the market for consumer VCDs is progressing slowly.

Compared with the current booming home video recorders, the advantages of consumer-grade VCDs are not decisive, and entertainment content providers, including Hollywood, have less incentive to adopt them. They were more interested in the digital rights protection mechanism of consumer-grade VCDs, a key feature that all similar products, including home video recorders, did not offer.

Tang Huan had no intention of laboriously and thanklessly forcibly promoting consumer-grade VCDs in the North American market to replace home video recorders, and if he did, he would also be ruining his own job. After all, he also put a lot of effort into VHS recorders. It will take time for the entire society to move closer to the digital age.

However, Tang Huan's genius lies in the fact that he is often able to find a place for new products without touching existing interests, as is the case with California high-speed rail for consumer-grade VCDs.

One of the themes of the commercial is that traveling through California high-speed rail is the time to have a cup of coffee, a few glances out the window, and then enjoy a great movie.

With the help of consumer-grade VCD's flexible multi-audio tracks, multi-subtitles, menu navigation, and other unique features, artworks can break through the boundaries of language, including language, and make travel extraordinarily romantic.

Of course, there are plenty of ways to entertain, and there are also EA consoles to choose from.

It's important to note that, to a large extent, California high-speed rail is designed to meet the needs of business travelers. This group can work on the train with ThinkPad and IdeaPad laptops.

In addition, California High-Speed Rail will provide a wireless communication network to allow passengers to stay in touch with the outside world.

"In my opinion, the sci-fi flavor in this is already very strong." Jerry Brown smiled and pointed to the screen, curiously asking, "What's that little device?" Calculator? Mobile phone? It's not like it. ”

"PersonalDigitalAssistant - Personal Digital Assistant is PDA, you can also call it a PDA, pocket computer. Send you a to-play. Tang Huan waved his hand and asked the assistant to bring a sample.

The size of the square circle PDA is about 150 mm x 80 mm x 30 mm and the weight is about 230 grams. And it comes with a plastic protective case. The main body on the front is an LCD monitor in the upper part and a special keyboard in the lower part.

In terms of hardware architecture, Fangyuan PDA adopts a 16-bit low-power microprocessor developed by Wang Xuehong's team, with a maximum operating frequency of 2MHz; The memory is 128KB EEPROM, which contains built-in software such as independent operating system, input method, micro database, scheduler, business card book, notepad, scientific calculator, alarm clock, dictionary, etc.; Utilize 4KB of StaticRandom-AccessMemory – a static random access memory (i.e., SRAM and battery) to store user data; It can also communicate with Fangyuan computer through USB interface.

This little thing is certainly not comparable to the smartphone in the original time and space decades later, but the functional model is roughly the same, and in the context of the current era, it is amazing enough.

"It's pretty easy to get started." As soon as Jerry Brown got the Fangyuan PDA, he immediately liked it, fiddling with it and saying, "By the way, it won't be as expensive as a mobile phone, right?" ”

"Of course not. The retail price should be $299. Tang Huan shrugged, "Actually, what's really worrying is the positioning of this product, which is now aimed at mainly business people, as well as specific industrial and commercial application scenarios." ”

"Such a modest tone is not like the style of a leading figure in Silicon Valley." Jerry Brown, who laughed at this cutting-edge product, quipped.

"Seeking truth from facts is a virtue." Tang Huan smiled calmly, "Only by facing up to the actual situation can we carry out the work in practice." ”

Jerry Brown took out a document from his briefcase and casually asked, "Can I put its contents in the Radius PDA?" ”

"Of course there is no problem. It's just that, for convenience, it's best to transfer data through a Fangyuan computer. Tang Huan nodded, "However, one of the limitations of Fangyuan PDA is also this, and that LCD display needs to be continuously improved." ”

"I believe that Fangyuan's products will become more and more perfect." Jerry Brown complimented.

After watching the promotional video full of science and technology, and mixing a Fangyuan PDA, he pulled the topic back to the California high-speed rail project, pointed to the document and said: "This is the manuscript of my speech in public places such as parliament, which has been repeatedly revised many times, you can see what is still lacking, and needs to be improved and supplemented." ”

Tang Huan took the document and looked at it, the content on it is nothing more than to explain the value and significance of California high-speed rail to highlight the necessity of its construction.

First, California high-speed rail is strategically unusual.

The decline of American rail passenger transport is obvious to all, and of course there are practical reasons such as the fact that the US economy has developed to a very high level, enjoys the global resource filial piety, and then can enjoy the convenient use of civil aviation and highway methods, as well as the vast and sparsely populated area, and the former railway speed increase attempt was interrupted by accidents, but if the US rail passenger transport is really allowed to disappear in the American transportation system, the result is good or bad, no one can say.

Just like the two world energy crises in 1970, many Americans realized that it is quite necessary to be prepared for cloudy and rainy days in times of peace.

In this case, high-speed rail has become a breakthrough for American rail passenger transport to get out of the current predicament, and California high-speed rail is an extremely important attempt, but based on more realistic interest considerations, it has been suppressed by the National Railroad Passenger Company from the industry, the external civil aviation industry, and road transportation.

In addition, after Japan and Europe have high-speed railways, the United States, as the world's number one power, has not moved, and it is still a little embarrassing to face.

Second, the world is paying more and more attention to environmental protection, and the United States, a major user of resources and even waste, cannot be left alone. Compared with civil aviation and highways, high-speed railways have achieved remarkable results in energy conservation.

Such benefits, Jerry Brown is full of enthusiasm, and the outline deed is very comprehensive, Tang Huan really can't find any omissions, and can only put forward some suggestions on the point of clear priorities.

Finally, Tang Huan put down the document and said slowly: "In the final analysis, the progress of California high-speed rail still needs to be implemented in money, as long as the source of construction funds is satisfactory to everyone, some of the noise will lose its meaning, and the problem will be solved." ”

"Then we need to increase the proportion of private financing as much as possible." Jerry Brown glanced at Tang Huan and said tentatively: "Does the richest man plan to increase his investment?" The first place on this year's Forbes rich list is almost still yours to sit on. ”

Tang Huan laughed loudly, "Then I will give you a bottom, and the investment amount will be increased to 3 billion US dollars, with a ceiling of 5 billion US dollars." In this way, you will be more comfortable when you negotiate with all parties. ”

Mr. The richest man is keen on the California high-speed rail project, in addition to considering many benefits including personal merit and business interests, but also to absorb the huge profits made from speculation such as the appreciation of the yen. Just like the warriors in the game, the rage is overflowing, and the anger must be vented, so it is best to find an opportunity to release the "slash" ultimate to maximize the output.

Although Tang Huan also has a lot of places to spend money in Asia, in line with the principle that eggs cannot be put in one basket, and more practical asset preservation, the United States still needs to maintain a sufficient proportion of investment.

"$5 billion!" Jerry Brown, who was joking, couldn't help but gasp and said with a wry smile, "If that's the case, you can completely take over the leadership of California high-speed rail." (To be continued.) )