Lorkin Loach took out a map of North American minerals and spread it out in front of the turtledove.

It was the first time that the turtledove had seen such a map, and it had to be said that the power of the merchants was immense.

It took Fremont half his life to explore Oregon and California, and the map of the mineral resources that other explorers had spent their lives discovering, at least it should be top-secret, was now placed in front of the turtledove along with the soup on the table.

"The cutest thing in the world is gold!"

"I know that the reason why you have traveled so much to come from the forests of Sierra Madre to Mount Braque is for the gold—now you only need to do a little more work, and they will be all yours!" ”

……

Turtledove was stunned for a moment, he had wanted to say that he had not come to Brak Hill for gold.

But he quickly dismissed the idea of arguing with the loaches.

He couldn't have made a merchant understand that he didn't really care that much about gold. In his own eyes, shoddy flour, thin clothing, and houses with leaky winds on all sides are much more useful than gold.

But what's the point of such an argument?

……

"What job?" Turtledove asked.

"Go take Denver, turtledove!" Lorchen-Loach said. "As long as you take Denver, it's all yours!"

Lorqin-Loach points to a large area of mineral deposits along the Rocky Mountains.

On the map, various mineral deposits such as coal, iron, gold, and silver are marked in different categories, down to the longitude and latitude of the deposits, predicted reserves, and grades.

The copyist of the map was so meticulous that even the seal of the Pacific Railroad Company at the bottom of the map was copied exactly as it was. This aroused a hint of reverie of the turtledove, it turned out that at this time, the United States was already thinking about building the Pacific Railway? What a foresight!

"The rich West provides the federal government with a steady stream of gold revenue. Can you believe it? In the nearly half-century since the federal government was founded, it has only received a total of 37 tonnes of gold. But just in the past 6 years, he has taken 76 tons from the west! If it weren't for it, this gold would have been ours! ”

"You've taken Oregon and California, and that's good, very good! But now that we've gotten to this point, why not just take Denver down as well? In addition to Oregon and California, there is also Denver, and as long as you take here, the Federation will not want to snatch a single gram of gold! ”

"And, as a transit point for gold shipments, there must be a lot of gold in Denver. As long as you take here, you can get a large number of gold ingots that have been refined out of thin air, I guess, at least 10 tons of so much! ”

"As long as you take Denver, it's all yours!"

……

Half an hour had come, but neither the peso nor the turtledove made a sound.

There's no one who doesn't like gold, and even if Turtledove says he doesn't like this cold thing, he actually likes it in his heart.

What's more, the Lorqin-Loach is laid on the map on the table, which is marked not only with gold, but also with coal, iron, and copper...... All of them tempted him.

This map was more complete than any map Ikaruga had ever seen before, and even more detailed than the military maps he was using now.

From this map, in addition to seeing the mineral deposits, you can also clearly see the topography of the Oregon region.

In terms of the land that Ikaruga now grasps, it is like a big pocket that leaks from all sides.

To the east, the Missouri River is said to be the eastern barrier, but in reality it is only a symbolic and wishful boundary, and there is no danger in itself;

It is adjacent to Canada to the north, relying on a surveying 49th parallel, which can only be defended by mouth;

To the west is the Pacific Ocean, and for the Indian Union, which has no navy, it is not only not a defensive line, but it is simply an ass that can only be beaten and cannot fight back, and there is not even a cloth to cover it;

Only the south side can gradually build a defensive line, and the long Rocky Mountains form a natural barrier, as long as you build a fortress along the mountain, you can defend against the invasion of enemies from the south - and the turtledove is most worried about the American army to mobilize troops north!

Denver, on the other hand, is on the way to the northward route of the U.S. military.

As long as they can take Denver first, they can stop the American troops in the south.

The Denver Fortress, which was built to protect gold, was originally a wedge embedded by the US military into the west, and once it was in its own hands, how could it not be a sharp weapon used to defend against the US military?

The more I thought about it, the more happy I became.

But he still quietly asked, "What do you get by trying so hard to encourage me to take down Denver?" ”

……

Turtledoves don't believe that loaches have no selfish intentions.

This is a person who has already traded his body and soul to the Demon King, and Turtledove has known since the two first met three years ago. At that time, the loach almost engraved the words 'I want money' on his head.

Now the loach retracted a little and took the words off his head. But Ikadove thought that if he killed this guy and cut open his chest, he would definitely find that this guy's heart was a dollar or pound sign.

"I'm certainly not without a win!" Loach said; "From the first time I saw you, I had a hunch that you were a big man, and you would surely establish immortal deeds and achieve supreme prestige!"

"But at that time, I was still very weak, and I had no way to assist you, and I contributed too much to your career."

"Thanks to your care, I have gradually accumulated a little wealth over the years, which can be regarded as a small asset. So I didn't hesitate to put my assets into supporting your cause – in my own way, of course, and I could also make a profit from it and build up strength for the future to continue to support yours. ”

"To put it simply, I borrowed some dollars before the war and used those dollars to buy some assets, but I needed to return the dollars with interest after the war."

"So I want the dollar to depreciate a little more, and the more it depreciates, the more I will naturally earn."

"Of course this is a little selfishness on my part, Ikaruga Turtledove, please allow me to have such a little selfishness, otherwise, what is the meaning of life for a businessman?"

"Now 1 gram of gold can be exchanged for 1.9 dollars, and I think if you can take Denver, this rate will definitely be pushed up to 2.3 or even 2.5!"

"Without Denver, the last port of entry for gold, the American Federation will go crazy with hunger! The Federal President will beg his envoy to come to me on his knees, to let him lick my boots, to call me Daddy, and beg me to love him one more time for God's sake...... Absolutely, Irakdove! ”

"I know you still have a legacy in the south, do you want to win a battle?" Lorchen-loach looked at the turtledove with blazing eyes, and said:

"As long as you can push the gold-to-dollar ratio to 2.5, Boredad can go to court-martial next month!"

"If you can push it up to three, Zachary Taylor will have to go back to Washington in the second half of the year!"

"If you can push it up to 5, turtledove, you will win this war!"