Under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, the kind-hearted Chinese people were accustomed to being gentle and obedient citizens. As long as they could survive, they would rather live in silence.
Even though they have gone overseas and are far away from their homeland, they are still cautious, honest and live cautiously.
Although they also know the truth that good people are often bullied and good horses are often ridden.
After Sacramento was burned down, the Chinese community was the least vocal group. They silently endured the heart-wrenching pain of their homes being burned down, swallowed their tears, and rebuilt their homes among the ruins.
In order to protect the safety of his industries in San Francisco, Liang Yao sent two-thirds of his armed forces to San Francisco.
As a result, Sacramento's security forces became weak and somewhat stretched. In this case, arming the local Chinese clans became urgent.
Liang Yao gathered representatives from several Chinese clans and prepared to arm them to deal with the coming storm.
"Possessing firearms privately is a capital offense. I dare not touch this thing."
"This is the United States, not the Qing Dynasty."
"The United States also has its own imperial court."
"Mr. Liang said that this is the new frontier of the United States. The court of the United States has no control over this place, just like Xinjiang in the Qing Dynasty!"
"When we pacified Dzungar, the Qing army also entered Xinjiang frequently!"
"That's right. We came to San Francisco to make a living. If things get out of hand, I'm afraid it will not end well."
"With Master Liang's guards protecting us, we can rest assured. If Master Liang is short of money to support the guards, we can collect some and hand it over to him on schedule."
"Yes, this is a good idea."
Although they were in California, America, the thoughts of these Chinese immigrants were still stuck in the Qing Dynasty.
There was a heated discussion around the question of whether to arm oneself.
Liang Yao listened to their discussion behind the scenes and felt very disappointed. He pulled aside the curtain with a serious look on his face and walked out to the stage.
"Mr. Liang is here."
Seeing Liang Yao's arrival, the representatives of all the Chinese clans immediately fell silent, waiting for Liang Yao to speak.
"I called you all here today not to discuss matters with you, but to inform you that you must arm yourselves." Liang Yao's resolute eyes swept over the Chinese clan representatives, "Sacramento is not my Sacramento alone, but our common Sacramento. Everyone has the responsibility to protect it."
"Mr. Liang, even if these firearms were handed over to us, we would not be able to use them. We are all honest farmers and have never used these things."
Looking at the muskets placed aside, Chen Baoliang, the representative of the Chen clan in Quanzhou, felt a little embarrassed.
"Tell me, before coming to Sacramento, in which mines did you live? How did the foreigners treat you?" Liang Yao did not directly answer Chen Baoliang's question.
Faced with this question, all the Chinese clan representatives remained silent.
Before coming to Sacramento to join Liang Yao, they could not compete with the whites for the mines. Even if they found a mine with a low gold content, the foreign gold mining companies and teams would expel them, even though these foreign gold mining companies and organizations were not the owners of the land. Of course, they also resisted this injustice, but after some people were beaten to death by the foreign gold mining companies, they became afraid, chose to endure, and gradually accepted this reality.
Over time, in order to survive in California, they either had to do small businesses to make a living or work for foreigners, doing the dirtiest, most tiring and most dangerous work for the meager income.
All this changed fundamentally after they arrived in Sacramento. It turned out that the Chinese could own their own mines and make the foreigners so afraid.
"Do you know why the foreigners dare to bully you without any scruples? It's because you dare not even fart after being bullied! When your fellow tribesmen were shot to death by the foreigners, you only dare to carry away their bodies and bury them after the foreigners left, weeping!"
Liang Yao thought of the Chinese Exclusion Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1882, and he became increasingly emotional. He did not want his compatriots in a foreign land to repeat the same mistakes, and blindly giving in would only make the bullies more aggressive.
He did not expect to be able to awaken these people's self-awareness in a short period of time. As long as they could take the step of arming themselves and take up guns to defend their rights, the situation would naturally improve slowly. It just takes time and a process.
When they understand what they should be fighting for, even if Congress wants to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act, they should consider the cost of enforcing and maintaining this ridiculous law.
"Do you know why foreigners are afraid of me?"
"Because you have gold and a gun in your hand!"
"You're missing the point! Not only do I have a gun, but they believe I dare to shoot them with the gun in my hand!"
Lin Taiwei, the representative of the Lin clan in Fuzhou, clenched his fists and made up his mind.
"Mr. Liang, we Lin family members are willing to accept arms, and we will listen to your arrangements." Lin Taiwei stepped forward to express his position, "But we don't know how to use these foreign guns."
"Don't worry about this. I'll have my guards teach you step by step." Liang Yao folded his hands and stood upright in front of several clan representatives. "What about the other clans? I'll say it one last time. Sacramento doesn't need cowards. If you want to continue living in a cowardly way, I won't force you. Just pack up and get out of Sacramento."
Liang Yao's attitude was very tough. Several clan representatives looked at each other in bewilderment. If they left Sacramento, where else could they go? This was the only place that could give them a sense of security and make them rich. No one was willing to leave this place.
Captain Weber of the Boston Company fell ill. Due to his high prestige in the Boston Company, Robinson naturally took over Weber's position and temporarily became the leader and representative of the Boston Company.
Thanks to its first-mover advantage, the Boston Company has become the most powerful white gold mining company in the Sacramento area. Almost every day, gold miners from other places come to join the Boston Company.
But now the Boston company has also encountered a lot of troubles.
The high-quality gold-containing ore on both sides of the American River had almost been mined out, and the amount of gold they could get was getting less and less.
Of course, this is not the most serious problem. The most troublesome thing is that people from the Security Committee come to Sacramento every now and then to harass them, which seriously affects their gold mining operations.
"If this continues, gold mining in Sacramento will not be able to continue. We must find a way to solve this problem."
Robinson thought of Liang Yao, and only Liang Yao could solve this problem.
"We need to find a way to solve this problem, but we can't do it by myself. One person's power is limited after all." Liang Yao asked his assistant to serve Dr. Robinson a cup of his favorite oolong tea.
Robinson took a sip of tea and held the cup in his hand: "I want to hear your opinion."