From then on, the inn where the Marquis of Siberia lived was full of traffic and gambling every day.

Several gentlemen at the table were sitting precariously, their faces blue or white, uncertain, thinking that it was the card counting and calling at a critical juncture.

Ji Aojian sat boredly on the sofa next to him, eating a large plate of grapes, looking completely idle.

Ling Tan walked up to him, "Childe, these cabinet ministers have all made IOUs today, and they want to continue gambling." ”

Childe said with an indifferent face, "As long as you want to gamble, let them gamble." ”

"They seem to be holding back their strength to win the deputy commander. ”

"It's like this every day, it's not surprising. ”

In the first days, His Excellency the Marquis also personally played against the celebrities of Mexico. But his gambling skills are really poor, and he has to ask the maid's opinion from time to time, and all the rounds that can be won are all based on the maid's luck. Later, the visitors finally couldn't help it, and said either explicitly or implicitly that it would be better to compete directly with the maid of His Excellency the Marquis, and see how her luck could go against the sky.

So the Marquis retreated with good interest, and let his maid and visitors gamble.

Ling Tan praised, "The deputy commander is getting better and better, you look at her blank expression, dumbfounded eyes, it seems that there is no one in this world who can't gamble more than her." ”

"That's an obsession. Ji Aojian sighed, "Our deputy commander Hong Fu Qitian, these people have to not believe in evil, they have to compete with people of good luck, but they don't know how high their card skills are. How can you fight too much?"

The two guys spoke Chinese, as if they were chatting about some homely things, so they were relieved to make mockery. I don't care about being heard by Mexicans at all.

"Childe, in fact, I'm wondering, these people have lost so badly, don't you really know that the Heavenly Dao girl is pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger?"

"Commander Ling, you must know that people have psychological misunderstandings. Ji Aojian said leisurely, "As long as it's a choice you make." You won't realize it's a trap. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"I didn't let the deputy commander gamble with them, they came to the door one by one and threw me away. If they want to compete with Quan'er by name, how can they think that the deputy commander is deliberately fooling them?"

"I see. Ling Tan understood, "Now the name of the deputy commander's gambling fortune star is already known to everyone in the upper circles. Naturally, these people are proud of their luck in defeating her. ”

"So. Moths come every day to put out the fire. Ji Aojian nibbled on another grape and smacked his lips, "By the way, how many IOUs have we received now?"

"Not counting today, the total amount of IOUs has exceeded one million silver dollars. ”

Ji Aojian snorted, "That sounds like a lot." ”

"There are also two or three hundred thousand in cash. ”

"Good, good. The Marquis clapped his hands, "The cost of our fleet's voyage this time." Enough for reimbursement. ”

"It's more than enough for the trip. Ling Tan also smiled, "The rest of the cash." Enough for a good year when we go back. ”

"New Year's Day, there aren't many days, right?"

"It's been a few days. Childe, we have already made a lot of money, just accept it when we see it, and hurry back to sail back, otherwise we won't be able to catch up with the Spring Festival. ”

"It's fine. Ji Aojian threw another grape into his mouth, "We'll go to meet with the Prime Minister in the afternoon and talk to him about policy issues." ”

"Mr. Nicholas, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, I have heard that he is an honest and honest minister, who is neither good at gambling nor good at money. Ling Tan reminded, "Childe, if you want to tempt him with gambling or bribe him with money, it is almost unrealistic, it is impossible for him to betray the interests of the country." ”

"The more honest and honest you are, the easier it is to deal with. Ji Aojian disagreed, "Of course I won't let him betray the interests of the country, as long as I talk to him about the truth of serving the country and the people, he will naturally support California to obtain privileges." ”

"Childe," Ling Tan was stunned for a moment, "Why did you give California those privileges to serve the country and the people?"

"You'll know when you look back. ”

During the Republican period of Mexico, the system of government was similar to that of the United States, with the president as the head of the executive. In the current Second Mexican Empire, the original general post became the prime minister.

The current Prime Minister Nicholas is nearly 60 years old, but he is still very energetic and his eyes are bright.

"Your Excellency, Marquis. The Prime Minister said slowly, "You want to talk to me about resisting the Americans?"

"Not bad. Ji Aojian also said leisurely, "The Americans have instigated the independence of Texas, and they are also eyeing New Mexico and California, did the Prime Minister ever think that he could reverse the situation?"

"Every Mexican, of course, wants to stop the expansionist ambitions of the Americans. Nicholas's words remained calm, "Although the territory of Mexico is large, not an inch is superfluous. ”

Ji Aojian was surprised, this sound very familiar.

"To stop Americans' expansionist ambitions, you need to understand the root causes of Americans' ability to expand, and then you can prescribe the right medicine. ”

Nicholas was intrigued, "I'd like to hear about it." ”

"Quite simply, the reason why the Americans were able to push westward was because they valued the construction of railroads. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"The times are progressing, and civilization is developing. Railways are of great strategic importance for the mobilization and transport capacity of modern countries. ”

Ji Aojian pointed to the map hanging on the wall, "Mr. Prime Minister, you see, the United States and Mexico are both vast countries. In the United States, because of the smooth railroads, it can quickly migrate and transport on the mainland, but Mexico has a traffic jam, and it takes a long time for manpower and materials to turnover. While the Americans relied on the railroad to quickly gather forces and keep moving forward, Mexico was passive step by step, and could only be beaten and unable to fight back. As the Americans' rail network grows more and more, the gap between their advantage and Mexico's will grow. ”

The Prime Minister fell silent.

"Now the Americans have planned a number of railroad projects across North America. Ji Aojian smiled and continued, "They have sent people to San Francisco City to discuss cooperation, and plan to build a railroad from the middle of the country to cross California. ”

"This must not be!" Nicholas, of course, knew what it meant after the railroad was built, and the influence of the United States could go on for a long time, while the Mexican government was about to be completely marginalized from California, and it could no longer sit still.

"The railroad is built, which is not good for Mexico. ”

Nicholas had a calm face and nodded slowly, "Your Excellency Marquis, you must oppose this plan. ”

Ji Aojian let out a long sigh, "Of course, I don't want the Americans to enter California so arrogantly. But the benefits of building railroads are very great, not only those engineering oil and water, but also the issuance of railroad bonds on the New York Stock Exchange, all parties in California have the opportunity to get a piece of the pie, and there are many, many people who are tempted. ”

The Prime Minister was silent again, the Americans can build a railroad in California, which can give real benefits to the local area, and what benefits can the Mexican government give to California, this cannot be stopped.

Ji Aojian sighed again, "Unless—"

Nicholas suddenly felt a little taste, and this Marquis Monsieur came to him and began to say that he wanted to resist the Americans, "Your Excellency, what is your good plan?"

"It's actually very simple, if you want the people of California to oppose the construction of a railroad with the Americans, it is unless the Mexican government builds a railroad for California. ”

This is indeed a method that should be thought of, but Nicholas shook his head and just smiled wryly.

"Prime Minister, why are you shaking your head? This is a great thing for the country and the people. Ji Aojian pointed to the railroad again, "You see, as long as Mexico builds a big railway connecting the north and the south, not only can the influence of the Americans be excluded, but California and New Mexico will no longer be areas beyond the reach of the central government." In addition, Mexico's domestic exchanges will also be greatly strengthened, and the economy will take off and the national strength will increase just around the corner. ”

As he was talking in high spirits, Nicholas sighed helplessly, "Your Excellency Marquis, Mexico is not capable of building this railway. ”

Ji Aojian said disapprerovingly, "What's the difficulty?"

"The cost of building such a magnificent railway project is huge, and we have limited financial resources to raise such a huge amount of money. (To be continued......)