"I know you are the owners of this land. The Mexican government gave you the land here. Although this is now the territory of the United States of America, the ownership of this land still belongs to you, not those gold diggers who illegally occupied it."
In Sutter Castle, Liang Yao knew nothing about the conspiracy of San Francisco at this time. He was talking to the representatives of the early immigrants who settled in California before the gold rush in order to buy land from them.
"You hate those gold diggers, who disturb your peaceful life and wantonly occupy and steal your land and property.
Although I am also a gold digger, I am different from them. I respect the legal rights of every land owner. Every grain of gold I mine is mined on my own land. Is that right, Mr. Sutter? "
"Yes," Sartre answered very honestly.
These early immigrants were willing to believe this. Liang Yao had also purchased food and goods from them and conducted fair trade with them over the past three months, so they had a good impression of Liang Yao.
Of course, they would rather believe that Sartre, their old friend with whom they have known each other for many years, would not deceive them. In their eyes, Sartre is a trustworthy person.
"You hate these illegal occupiers, but you can't do anything about them. I sympathize with you and I have a proposal. I will buy your land and bear the losses myself."
Liang Yao looked around at these early immigrants and put forward his proposal.
Some early immigrants were already eager to move after hearing Liang Yao's proposal.
One reason is that they cannot defend the land because there are too many gold diggers.
The second reason is that their land was originally donated by the Mexican government, or purchased from the Mexican government at a small cost.
During the westward movement, the U.S. government proposed the principle that whoever occupies the land in the West owns it, and whoever cultivates it owns it in order to encourage the eastern population to migrate westward and change the overcrowded situation in the East.
Those gold diggers who were like bandits often said these words, which made them feel uncertain and doubtful about whether the US government would recognize the legitimacy of the land donation from the Mexican government.
If they could get rid of this burden now and get some money, it would be a good choice for them.
Some of the early settlers were still thinking about the gold beneath their land and were wavering.
"But there's gold beneath these lands!"
As to whether the U.S. government would recognize the legitimacy of the Mexican government, Liang Yao was the only one present who had a definite answer in his mind: yes.
This is not because the U.S. government is trustworthy, but because the United States has been encouraging Americans to immigrate to Mexico since the early 1820s.
The Mexican government also introduced measures to welcome American immigrants, especially Americans immigrating to Texas, because this would develop the economy of these regions and provide them with more tax revenue. At the same time, these Americans could also be used to help Mexicans resist the harassment of northern Indian tribes.
The Mexican government thought it was a good strategy to kill two birds with one stone, but it was eventually backfired by its own stupid behavior. Some Mexicans even complained about why the United States didn't swallow up all of Mexico.
The Mexican government granted a lot of land to those American immigrants, and the number of early American immigrants in California was so small that it could almost be ignored.
But there are hundreds of thousands of American immigrants in Texas, and they all have more or less land generously donated by the Mexican government. If the US government does not recognize the legitimacy of these lands, the Texas region that has just been swallowed up will either riot or return to the embrace of Mexico.
The U.S. government still has a clear idea of which is more important.
"Who knows if there is gold buried under those lands? Gold mining itself is a risky gamble."
Liang Yao smiled, walked to the center, and lifted the cloth in the center. Everyone present went crazy!
"Oh my God! Gold!"
"This is the first time in my life that I have seen so much gold!"
"Oh my god, this is such a damn amazing color!"
The shock you get when 30,000 ounces, or more than 900 kilograms of gold, is placed in front of you is difficult to describe in words.
Especially those old-fashioned people who had never seen the world, lost their composure and went crazy on the spot.
"Since you like gold, I will also bear the risk of gold mining for you and use all my gold to buy land from you. Gentlemen, you should know that I am not only taking the risk of gold mining, but also the risk of whether the US government will recognize the legitimacy of the Mexican government's land donation."
Liang Yao stared at these early immigrants who had lost their composure with satisfaction. "Don't you want gold? I have ready-made gold!"
"Mr. Liang, you are such a kind person. God bless you."
"With such favorable conditions, there is no reason for us to refuse."
"We must not let Mr. Liang down!"
Under the temptation of gold, these early immigrants all agreed to sell their land to Liang Yao, and Liang Yao showed a satisfied smile.
"In that case, gentlemen, go back and get your land deeds and exchange them for gold. I'll be waiting for you at Sutter Castle!"
When he came, he had two carts full of gold, and when he left, he had a bag of contracts that seemed to have no value to outsiders.
Even Liang Yao's assistant didn't understand what Liang Yao was doing. Was it worth it to exchange gold for a bunch of land grant certificates from the Mexican government?
Back in Sacramento, Liang Yao quietly locked up all the contracts. A few months later, these things that now looked like waste paper were enough to make him a multi-millionaire.
Liang Yao bought a hamburger and a sandwich from his own restaurant and wolfed them down with milk.
At this time, there were sparse gunshots outside the window. Liang Yao didn't pay much attention to it. He just thought that Deng Yan and the guards were training.
It was not until the gunshots became more frequent and the cries mixed in with the gunshots reached his ears that Liang Yao realized something was wrong. "What happened?"
After making sure that the two pistols he was carrying were loaded, Liang Yao bent over with his gun in hand, carefully opened the door and walked out to find out what was going on.
"Robbers! Robbers are coming!"
Deng Yan quickly gathered more than thirty Chinese guards and a dozen hired white gunmen.
The gunshots were dense but not chaotic, and the firing was very methodical, indicating that the enemy had a large number of people and was firing in volleys. These were definitely not ordinary robbers. They were most likely the deserters mentioned in the rumors.
Liang Yao's mind was very confused and he tried his best to stay calm.
"And the eight mounted policemen?"
Liang Yao rubbed his temple and asked.
"Third brother! Those foreign detectives ran away!"
Deng Wenqi staggered out of the police station next door, cursing.
Accompanied by a burst of orderly gunfire, more than a dozen gold diggers fell dead in the American River, and the water of the American River was dyed red.
These bandits did not rush to rob the gold diggers, but reloaded their gold in an orderly manner. This made Liang Yao more determined that they were not ordinary bandits, but deserters from the California military fortress.
With his current armed forces, he is probably no match for these desperadoes.
"Go to San Francisco and ask Flagg for reinforcements!" Liang Yao said solemnly.
"Third brother, give me a fast horse! I'll go!"
Deng Wenshun, who had just returned from purchasing supplies from the Indian tribe, asked for instructions.
"Ride my horse! Go!"
Liang Yao gave his mount to Deng Wenshun, and suddenly remembered that Deng Wenshun's English might not be very good, so he took out the pen from his pocket and wanted to write a note to Deng Wenshun.
"No need, I can speak the language of the ghosts!"
I saw Deng Wenshun had already mounted his horse and whipped it, galloping westward.
"The Three Feudatories are too far away from here, and distant water cannot quench nearby thirst! The boss is closer to here! The boss also has dozens of people there. I will go find the boss and ask him for help!" Deng Wenyao said.
Deng Wenyao's suggestion made a lot of sense. San Francisco was more than a hundred kilometers away from here. If they went back and forth, it was possible that their bodies would be cold before Flagg reached Sacramento.
"Go quickly and come back quickly!"
Although Liang Yao wasn't sure whether Sartre was willing to take the risk, he still planned to give it a try.
The gold diggers nearby all scattered and fled from this troubled place in panic, leaving behind only a mess.
"Liang, I think we should join forces."
Captain Weber brought more than fifty people from the Boston Company to Liang Yao's mansion, which was the most solid building in the entire Sacramento.
"Indeed, welcome, Captain Weber!"
Liang Yao and Weber shook hands. The Boston Company had twelve or thirteen professional gunmen. They were no match for the gangsters alone. If they joined forces, they might have a chance of survival.
"Count us in!" A ragged, dusty gold digger in the crowd calmly fired back in the direction of the bandits, knocking down two or three of them. He then retreated while fighting and retreated into Liang Yao's house.
"Sven?"
Liang Yao didn't have time to think about why Sven didn't leave San Francisco and chose to come to Sacramento to seek his fortune. He accepted Sven and asked Deng Yan to pay more attention to Sven's every move.
So many things happened suddenly, making his nerves tense and sensitive.
"See that big house in front? The richest man in California lives in that house. He mined several tons of gold in Sacramento! As long as we take over that house, all the gold will be ours!"
Brandon excitedly waved his pistol and commanded his men to attack Liang Yao's house. His bloodshot eyes radiated a bloodthirsty and fiery light.
"Who told you to shoot at this time! Reload quickly! Don't shoot without my order!"
Although Weber issued guns to everyone in the Boston Company, the Boston Company, including Captain Weber himself, only had thirteen professional gunmen.
Among these professional gunmen, there are only seven or eight who have actual combat experience.
The scene was once very chaotic, with everyone firing their guns indiscriminately. This might scare away ordinary bandits, but it would not scare away the crazy bandits who used to be professional soldiers.
How could the professional soldiers who were able to stay in the army after the disarmament after the end of the Mexican-American War be ordinary people?