How great the temptation of a million dollars is, if you did not live in the nineteenth century, I am afraid it is difficult to estimate accurately. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

In the seven years from 1866 to 1872, bribes totaled $400,000 for the Central Pacific Railroad, a figure that will continue to climb in the future.

The money was used to bribe at least 14 members of Congress, including Abel and Grant's private secretary Balkeb, and the money weaved a tight net of protection for the company and ensured its rapid development during this period.

To be sure, although Abel also participated in the profit sharing, he certainly did not receive as much as a million dollars, after all, the total amount in seven years was only 400,000 dollars.

In fact, the railroad companies in this period still had to show face, and their bribes were not directly carried out in cash, but to lure members of Congress to buy shares of railroad companies, and often the shares purchased by lawmakers for a hundred dollars would pay hundreds of dollars in dividends every year.

Of course, only members of Congress are eligible to buy such stocks, and no one else has to think about it.

Relatively speaking, Li Mu's "simple and rude" made Abel like it even more.

Holding the check given by Li Mu, Able lay in Elizabeth's arms and was full of pride: "It looks like we're going to stay in Boston for a few more days—"

It is true that he has to stay for a few more days, and the million dollars given by Li Mu are also "black money", and Abel has to sell more lottery tickets to launder it.

"I really can't see it, this is actually a rich man-" Elizabeth looked at Li Mu differently, and her eyes were full of brilliance.

Li Mu maintained a polite smile and bowed slightly to express his gratitude, without being humble or arrogant.

"If you know the history of this guy, you will be even more surprised-" Abel got up, did not explain much about Li Mu's legend, and gave Li Mu a warm hug: "Let's go, my friend, I'll go to Springfield with you, I want to see who dares to cheat my friend of Abel Corbyn." ”

Bingo!

On the train back to Springfield, Li Mu and Able gave a detailed account of what had happened during this time, and did not hide the presence of Amos Ackerman.

"Amos -- hehe, this guy is not to be afraid, this guy has no ideals but no ability, he has a good appetite but no good teeth to match it, last year in Washington, this guy wanted to shoot at the railroad company, but this guy didn't want to think about it, the construction of the railroad was the decision of the federal government, and the federal government racked its brains to encourage private investment in the railroad, how could it be possible to change the national policy because of a report by this guy, this is simply out of place." Able looked down on Amos, and the taste of contempt was strong in his words.

That's right, it's important for the federal government to get the railroad connecting the east and west as soon as possible, and everything else can be sidelined.

On the other hand, the Mobile Credit Company does have a problem with its accounts, but the Mobile Credit Company defrauds those investors of their money, not the money of the federal government, and the federal government's investment is railway land and the land promised by the federal government, and no matter who builds the railway, the federal government will take it out, so for the federal government, as long as the total length of the railway is growing, the federal government will not lose money, and it will not pursue those details.

It's the investors who lose money, as well as the Wall Street stock players, all of which hasn't been disclosed yet, so it's still a good picture. But if one day all the truth is revealed, then there will definitely be turmoil in the stock market, which will lead to a certain degree of economic crisis.

This is where the economic crisis of 1873 came in.

1873, that is, this year-

Thinking of this, Li Mu subconsciously shuddered.

In Abel's eyes, Li Mu's fear obviously meant something else, for the sake of a million dollars, Abel still comforted Li Mu: "Don't worry, no one can threaten you now, I can guarantee that Amis will make up all the money that has been deducted from you, and then increase the budget, and what you have to do is to ensure that the construction of the Kuobin Reservoir starts as scheduled, and you must ensure that everyone can see the results." ”

This is the real reason why the Grant government, although it is extremely corrupt, has not capsized until now, although the federal government has rotted from top to bottom, but the construction of the country has not stopped because of this, such as the Mobile Credit Company, although there is a problem with the accounts, but the railroad has been extending far away; For example, although the William M. Tweed Group in New York is ugly, the municipal construction of New York has never stopped, and the money is spent a little more, but the results can be seen.

"I'm not worried about engineering now, you know, the Springfield government promised to give me the Broadside Reservoir to operate, of course I want to make the Broadside Reservoir a paradise on earth, but you also know that there aren't many idlers in Springfield, so workers are a big problem, what I urgently need now is workers, a lot of workers-" Li Mu had already dug the pit and waited for Able to jump in.

Workers, this is indeed a big problem, and in the United States at this time, as long as it is related to industry, everyone agrees on the fact that the Chinese are the best workers.

"It's a problem for others, but it doesn't seem to be a problem for you, you're Chinese-" Able jumped down in no hurry.

"So what, do you know Prince Alcohol-" Li Mu looked a little frustrated, and after getting a negative answer, Li Mu explained Prince Alcohol's background to Able: "-Look, I offended a prince of the Qing Empire, and it is estimated that I will not have the opportunity to return to the Qing Empire in my life, as long as I go ashore in the Qing Empire, it is estimated that I will soon be sent to the gallows, so I also know that the Qing Empire has a large number of laborers, but this has nothing to do with me-"

"Sending you to the gallows? Don't be funny, you are an American now, the federal government will guarantee your interests and protect your personal safety, if the Qing Empire dares to attack you, it is tantamount to provoking a war between the two countries. Abel was confident, and he also did not take the Qing Empire seriously.

"It's better to do a business together, set up a shipping company, and send labor from the Qing Empire to this side, which can not only solve my mercenary problem, but also cooperate with other companies to make a lot of money, this is a good business, and making money is much faster than the lottery." Li Mu got started directly, wanting to push Abel down.

From the Qing Empire to the United States, the main cost is on the transpacific ticket, if Li Mu pays for it, Abel is responsible for running the program, and really establishes a shipping company, then this business is really profitable.