The arrival of the local garrison made Sven feel very discouraged.
Sven kicked the burning cannon several times, venting his negative emotions on the cannon.
"Damn that British junk! It turns out that the things the British sold to the Mexicans were not good, otherwise the Mexicans would not have lost to the Americans."
The reason why he attacked Brannan's estate so hard was, firstly, to avenge Brannan for buying gold mining tools from him at a low price, and secondly, to capture Brannan's estate and plunder the mountains of gold and treasures in the estate.
Now that the local garrison has intervened, his plan has come to naught.
If his cannons had performed better and blasted a hole in the wall of Brannan Manor, he would have already collected gold, silver and treasures from Brannan Manor.
Liang Yao and Griffin had never met before, but he knew Major Tim behind Griffin.
Of course, even if Tim was not present, Liang Yao would know that this person was Griffin, the sheriff of San Francisco.
Major Tim wore epaulettes with a yellow background and gold leaf edging, representing his rank of major.
The officer in front of Tim had an eagle with spread wings on the yellow shoulder straps of his uniform, which were the colonel's shoulder straps.
As for the lieutenant colonel's yellow-rimmed silver leaf shoulder badges, Liang Yao hadn't seen them yet, perhaps because the person in charge of guarding the fortress hadn't come. After all, a military fortress cannot be left without someone stationed there.
"Colonel Griffin, you are able to bring the soldiers of the United States here. I think you should be aware of the cause and effect of the incident."
Liang Yao ordered a ceasefire and turned to Griffin.
"Yes, I understand, but you can't solve the problem in such a rough way." Griffin said, pulling the reins of the warhorse under his crotch.
"I was born and raised in a civilized country. I am not a barbarian. I also tend to resolve conflicts and disputes in a peaceful way. It's a pity that Mr. Brannan shamelessly touches my bottom line again and again." Liang Yao argued, "I think if it were you, you would not tolerate such shameless behavior of killing innocent women and children, right, Colonel?"
Griffin sighed. It was indeed Brannan who was at fault in this matter.
As a colonel, he naturally had to show his disgust at the killing of women and children in front of so many people. Although he had looted Mexican villages and "accidentally injured" Mexican civilians during the Mexican-American War, it was a war, and war always involves death.
"Indeed, this is a very shameful act. I will try my best to resolve your conflict. Put down your weapons. Violence cannot solve the problem. I think you should talk at the negotiation table."
Liang Yao only ordered his men to put down their guns and remain on guard, but did not completely put away their weapons.
How can violence not solve problems? Wasn't the border issue between the United States and Mexico resolved through violence?
Of course, it can also be resolved at the negotiating table. The border dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom in western North America, that is, the Oregon border dispute, was negotiated at the negotiating table.
Although you once shouted the slogan of going to war if we don't reach 54 degrees 40 minutes north latitude, you can only talk big when facing the powerful Britain.
Griffin stayed in the military fortress all year round and rarely asked about the secular affairs outside the fortress. The sheriff of San Francisco was just a troublesome title for him.
He had never dealt with Griffin before, so he had no idea what kind of person he was and did not dare to let his guard down.
Griffin rode his horse to the front of the formation and shouted, hoping to call Brannan out for a good talk.
The guards in the manor were too nervous. In a panic, they shot at Griffin indiscriminately without seeing clearly. Fortunately, their hands were shaking with nervousness and their accuracy was poor, otherwise Griffin would have died here.
This really made Griffin, who had traveled all the way to San Francisco to act as a peacemaker, very angry.
"Damn it! Don't you recognize me and the uniform of the United States of America?! I'm Colonel Griffin, call Brannan out!"
After confirming that the person coming was indeed Colonel Griffin, Brannan felt like he had seen a savior.
"God bless you, Colonel Griffin, you are the savior sent by God!"
Brannan was overjoyed to see Griffin coming and hurriedly invited Griffin into the manor.
Griffin is not a fool. Brannan could do such stupid things probably because there is something wrong with his brain. If Brannan goes crazy and holds him hostage in the castle, his personal safety will not be guaranteed.
"Come out and talk, Brannan. You have no room for bargaining now. I have done my best to get you a chance to negotiate."
After saying that, Griffin turned his horse around and left. He didn't want to eat even one peanut in this troubled place.
"Let's talk. Colonel Griffin is right. We have no room for bargaining."
Little Brannan covered the wound that had just opened and gritted his teeth to persuade Brannan.
Brannan was used to negotiating as the stronger party, and he had not yet been able to complete the role change. Just as he did not realize that his throne as the King of California had changed hands.
Liang Yao had someone move the gambling table from the casino where he and Brannan discussed business.
"Mr. Brannan, I wonder if you still remember this gambling table. Our second deal was made at this gambling table."
Liang Yao's hands clapped on the gambling table, as if he was clapping on the keys of a piano, and the sound was so pleasant to the ears.
"You said you like to play a few rounds at the gambling table before talking about business. Why don't we play a few rounds now like we did last time?"
These sounds were so harsh to Brannan's ears, stirring up the anger in his heart.
In a rage, Brannan spat out a mouthful of blood, and Liang Yao, who was facing Brannan, could not avoid being stained by Brannan's blood.
Liang Yao calmly took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the blood off his face and body gracefully, and then threw the blood-stained handkerchief casually on the gambling table.
"If you have any requests, just tell me directly and don't provoke my brother anymore."
Little Brannan patted Brannan's back with his uninjured left hand to soothe Brannan's emotions.
In Brannan's current situation, it is impossible for him to negotiate normally with Liang Yao.
Little Brannan decided to negotiate with Liang Yao on behalf of Brannan.
Liang Yao stared at the pale-faced Brannan. Brannan had long lost his former breeze and spirit. The Brannan who had spent a lot of money on board the ship, calmly, confidently and domineeringly was no longer there.
Brannan didn't dare look Liang Yao in the eye. He was shaking like a timid child who had gotten into trouble. He lowered his head and nervously tugged at his sleeves. "First, hand over the murderer of Cai Laixi and Nelson. I know that Nelson was the criminal who specifically planned and carried out the crimes against women and children. He deserves the punishment he deserves.
Second, a compensation of $400,000 or 13,000 ounces of gold, part of which will be used as compensation for the victims and our killed and wounded, and the other part will be used as compensation for the citizens of San Francisco who have been disturbed today.
Third, transfer the ownership of the Port of San Francisco to me free of charge."
Liang Yao put forward his conditions.
"You are blackmailing me!"
Little Brannan slammed the table and stood up, ignoring the pain of his wound.
Of these three conditions, except for the first one which he could barely accept, the other two were very harsh.
Young Brannan also understood Liang Yao's intention. He specifically asked for their security team captain Nelson, simply to weaken or even disintegrate their armed forces.
Nelson is one of the few capable people in the Brannan family.
As for the 400,000 US dollars, they had just sold some shops, real estate and jewelry some time ago to raise the funds to continue the business war with Liang Yao. It was also all their working capital.
The ownership of the Port of San Francisco is the lifeline of the Brannan family. The Port of San Francisco is currently the only external transportation channel for San Francisco and nearby areas.
Another transportation route leads to Independence, 1,200 miles away. This route is the famous Western Trail, which requires passing through the rugged and undulating Nevada Mountains and through Indian territory.
Except for the impoverished gold prospectors in the East who took this route back to California to pan for gold, no one would choose to take this extremely inconvenient and dangerous road.
The Port of San Francisco is of vital importance. It can even be said that whoever controls the Port of San Francisco controls California and California's gold.
They spent a lot of money to buy the coast and organized people to build this port on the original basis.
"I don't deserve it. When it comes to extortion, your Brannan family is the expert in San Francisco and even in the whole of California." Liang Yao responded sharply.
"I can promise you the first point. As for the second and third points, I think we need to make some changes. The compensation amount will be halved. As for the Port of San Francisco, we will at most give up half of the ownership. This is our bottom line!"
Looking at Brannan, who was already a little mentally confused, little Bran was heartbroken and disappointed, and had to take the initiative to assume responsibility for the Brannan family.
He wanted to give the Brannan family one last chance of survival.
Perhaps after this negotiation, they are no longer the most powerful family in California, but as long as they have half of the port and a certain amount of assets, they are still a relatively prominent family in the local area.
As long as they have these things, they can slowly make a comeback. With the business abilities of the two brothers, it is not impossible for the Brannan family to make a comeback.
Liang Yao saw through little Brannan's thoughts. For a person like Brannan, keeping him would be a disaster sooner or later.
He has made up his mind to wipe out the root of the problem, and there is no room for negotiation on these three conditions.
"If we don't talk, I can still get these things. I am willing to sit down and talk with you calmly, just for Colonel Griffin's sake. I don't want the dispute between you and me to affect the normal life of the people of San Francisco."
Liang Yao's attitude was very firm. He had already regarded the $400,000 and the Port of San Francisco as his own.
"I reiterate, you have no room for bargaining on the above three points."
"Mr. Brannan, you are at fault for this matter. I still have a lot of military affairs to deal with. If I were not the sheriff, I would not want to come to San Francisco."
Seeing that the negotiations had reached a deadlock, Griffin also stepped forward to put pressure on the Brannan brothers.
The situation is very clear. San Francisco is about to change hands, and the Brannan brothers are just struggling to survive and making their last struggle.
Liang Yao is also much more rational than the Brannan brothers. If he replaces the Brannan family's position in San Francisco, he may not cause as many troubles as Brannan and will not cause unrest in San Francisco.
Of course, he doesn't care even if Liang Yao becomes the next Brannan. As long as Liang Yao can behave himself this year, everything will be fine.
Anyway, he will be transferred next year, and he won't have to worry about the annoying things like deserters in the barracks every day.
Whoever wants to clean up California's mess can do so.
He is still worried about how to explain to his fellow villagers where their children are when he returns. These soldiers were brought from his hometown to California to participate in the war against Mexico.
"If you don't want to agree, no one will force you. After all, this is a negotiation and you have the right to choose whether to refuse or accept."
Liang Yao pressed on step by step and continued to put pressure on the Brannan brothers.
"I agree to all your conditions, Mr. Liang."
It was not little Brannan who spoke, but Brannan who had been silent the whole time.
Brannan raised his head, and his eyes full of hatred and bloodshot stared at Liang Yao, making Liang Yao feel very uncomfortable.
Liang Yao was surprised by Brannan's reaction. He thought that the treaty would take a few more rounds of negotiation before it could be agreed upon, but he did not expect Brannan to agree so easily.
Before Liang Yao could react, Brannan laughed again: "Well, Mr. Liang, let's sign the contract. This is the most unequal treaty in California's history."
"elder brother."
Little Brannan on the side also looked at Brannan in disbelief. He couldn't believe his ears. He couldn't believe that Brannan would agree to these three harsh conditions so easily.
Each of these three treaties hits the Brannan family's weak spot.
He didn't know whether his brother was crazy or not, and he had a bad feeling in his heart.