Chapter 66: The Struggle Between the Old and the New and the Struggle Between the North and The

Vice President Millard Fillmore met Fremont and Guwen in his simple house.

His clothes were as simple as his house. This was not because the vice president practiced frugality, but because he was really poor.

Fillmore's background was very humble. He was born into a poor family and had no formal education. He was self-taught.

He was very good at political speculation. At the age of 29, he became a New York State legislator and began to enter politics. Just three years later, he was elected to the U.S. Congress. Until he became vice president, he was quite young: only 47 years old.

President Taylor's health was getting worse day by day. Fillmore, who had a keen political sense, had a hunch that he would become the second person in American history to ascend to the presidency as vice president.

Fremont and Guwen, who came to visit, were relatively young, and their age immediately won the favor of the vice president.

Fillmore was in favor of the compromise bill. He thought politics should be flexible and changeable, so he disliked the veteran members of Congress who were born during the founding period.

They were entrenched in conventions and were willing to drag the entire country into the abyss for their own selfish interests. But he could only kowtow in front of these old members.

In contrast, young politicians were much more flexible.

"Mr. Vice President, please look at the California Star!"

Fremont and Gwen took a lot of effort to lift the wooden box containing the California Star to the table in the hall.

The so-called California Star was the big gold that was accidentally found when the riverbed of the American River was blasted that day.

Although Fillmore was relatively poor, he was also a well-known figure in the political circle and a man who had seen the world.

When a piece of gold weighing 145 (77kg) pounds was displayed in front of him, Fillmore was still conquered by this huge piece of gold.

Fillmore pretended to be calm, carefully observed the huge piece of gold with a magnifying glass, and then expressed his heartfelt admiration.

"Gift crab! This is a gift from God to America! It is really a natural gold nugget!"

"It is also a gift to you, Mr. President." Fremont said, and his title was bold.

"It is the Vice President!"

Although this likable young man was very sensible and Fillmore was very pleased with this title, he still corrected their mistakes in a serious manner on the surface.

At the same time, Fillmore also understood the principle of not visiting the temple for no reason.

"I have also heard about your two affairs. California's establishment as a state is a foregone conclusion. If you want to become a senator in California, you should go back and win the support of California voters. It's useless for you to come to me."

"We are here for the future stability of America." Fremont said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "It is about the land grant from the Mexican government."

Fillmore frowned slightly: "This is indeed a very difficult matter. I can understand your feelings. Not only California has land grants from the Mexican government, but also Texas, New Mexico and even Utah. If California sets a bad precedent, it will be difficult to predict what the consequences will be."

It seems that Fillmore and their views are consistent, and Fremont continues to strike while the iron is hot.

"Those tycoons who claim to be old aristocrats are frequent tax evaders. If the gold in California is divided up by them, the federal government will not gain much substantial benefits in this gold rush, and the treasury will not become full."

Fillmore stared at Fremont quietly. He admired this bold young political novice very much.

He also agreed with Fremont's point of view. Fillmore knew better than Fremont what kind of character those tycoons who came from plantation owners and big landowners were. He also hated those old guys because they had not made the statehood of the territories a success until today.

However, as a mature politician, he would not express any of his personal opinions without being fully sure.

The future of the United States belongs to younger, more visionary and ambitious young politicians, not those old antiques who regard themselves as elders of the United States. Their thoughts and vision have not kept up with the times.

This is Fillmore's opinion.

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"Are you still interested in politics?"

In the study, Vanderbilt flipped through Liang Yao's clippings without Liang Yao's consent.

Liang Yao had long been accustomed to this. Anyway, the clippings were not secrets.

"If you want to be a successful businessman, you must first understand politics. We Chinese have a saying that the poor should not fight the rich, and the rich should not fight the officials. You can choose not to fight with them, but you must understand them."

"It's an interesting saying." Vanderbilt put down the newspaper in his hand and sat down. He suddenly became interested. "I want to hear your views on free states and slave states. This is the hottest political topic at the moment, and it is also closely related to California."

"The problem between free states and slave states is not so much a problem of ideals and principles as it is a problem of economic interests and roads between the northern and southern states." Liang Yao said without hesitation.

"Tell me more in detail." Vanderbilt crossed his legs.

"Tariff issue, I think Mr. Vanderbilt should know this better than me."

In 1850, the voices of North-South division and abolitionism were raging. This was the seed planted at the beginning of the founding of the United States 60 years ago.

Britain's traditional skill of laying mines and stirring up trouble in the colonies has never disappointed anyone.

When the United States was still a British colony, Britain placed the few industries in North America in the North, while the South practiced slavery and planted cotton to provide cheap raw materials for Britain's textile industry.

The founders of the United States also realized this. When Jefferson drafted the draft of the Declaration of Independence, there was such a sentence: slavery was imposed on the United States by Britain.

However, this move caused a strong backlash from the southern states. In order to win the support of the South, the North had to remove this sentence from the official document and recognized the legitimacy of slavery in the United States.

The capital was also moved from Philadelphia to Washington, further south, and the United States was established under the compromise of both sides.

The most direct manifestation of the conflict between the North and the South is the issue of tariffs.

The South hopes to lower tariffs to facilitate the export of their cotton, sugar, tobacco and other products to Europe in exchange for advanced industrial products in Europe.

The North hopes to raise tariffs and restrict imports to protect its own industry and commerce.

Since 1815, the US tariff has been up and down like a roller coaster, which is the result of the game between the North and the South in Congress.

"Tariffs, you said it well, it really hits the nail on the head. You not only have a talent for business, but also a talent for politics." Vanderbilt asked, slapping the armrest of the sofa with his hands, "Do you support the North or the South?"

Liang Yao certainly knew that Vanderbilt was leaning towards the North, but this question didn't mean much to Liang Yao. He didn't even have the qualifications to stand on the side now. He handed Fremont's letter to Vanderbilt.

"I support California!" This was Liang Yao's answer.

Whether it was the South or the North, he would support whoever supported the legitimacy of the Mexican government's land grant.