Chapter 39: Life and Death

It must be said that the wealth accumulated by the Brannan family in just two years is still very considerable.

Despite repeated setbacks in the business battlefield, Brannan was still able to turn over a full 13,000 ounces of gold as working capital, which shows his strong financial strength.

The first millionaire in the West, well-deserved.

What is the concept of one million dollars in this era?

On the eve of the Civil War, the industrial output value of the Southern Confederacy was only 15 million US dollars, and the total industrial output value of the Northern Federation was 500 million US dollars. The currency circulation in the entire United States was only 1 billion US dollars.

The millionaires of this period were actually better than the billionaires of later generations.

Of course, this gold cannot be equated with productivity.

Liang Yao's next job is to use this gold as raw capital and quickly convert it into productivity.

Liang Yao did not win this business confrontation easily.

If there were no gold mines to produce gold for him, and no Bank of China to absorb the gold of the gold mining company as reserve funds for him.

It is really hard to say who will win in the end.

Liang Yao put his hands in his pockets and watched the gold being moved out of Brannan's seaside estate.

Strauss personally watched each piece of gold being weighed and packed, and recorded them one by one.

When the box was full, Strauss carefully sealed the box full of gold, marked the seal, and then loaded it into the truck.

At first, the gold nuggets and bars taken out from Brannan's estate were neat and tidy, which was convenient for weighing and packing.

In the end, what was weighed and packed were not neat gold nuggets, but irregular gold vessels.

This shows that Brannan's wealth is about to bottom out.

"The look in Brannan's eyes just now made him want to eat you alive. We still have to be careful." Deng Yan followed Liang Yao closely.

"I wish he would eat me now."

If Griffin hadn't been here, he would have wanted to solve the problem of Brannan once and for all.

Liang Yao won the business war, but the feud between him and Brannan still needs to be settled. The current result is just the product of a temporary compromise among multiple parties.

This fragile compromise is destined to be short-lived, just like the compromise of 1850 four or five months later.

The contradiction between northern factory owners and southern slave owners cannot be compromised, let alone coexist for a long time. Entrepreneurs who want to develop industries cannot live under the same blue sky in California with speculators who only want to accumulate gold and make quick money.

They are born with irreconcilable contradictions.

Perhaps this is their fate, either you die or I live.

"How to deal with these two guys?!"

Sven walked two of Brannan's hawks like walking a dog, one was the notorious captain of the security team in San Francisco, and the other was the real murderer who killed Cai Laixi.

The two hawks and dogs no longer had the arrogance and dominance they had in the past. Liang Yao's cold eyes swept over the two men. The two men all looked servile and fawning, wagging their tails to Liang Yao for mercy, hoping that Liang Yao would spare their lives.

"I want to give Uncle Cai an explanation. The murderer who killed Lai Xi should be handed over to Uncle Cai for disposal. Second uncle, Uncle Cai is an honest man. If he can't do it at that time, you will do it for him."

"Mingsheng and I have been friends since childhood. Lai Xi is also my half-nephew. I will never show mercy."

Deng Yan raised the butt of the gun and smashed it hard on the heads of the two hawks and dogs. Two blood flowers appeared on their heads.

"Nelson can be used to build momentum for us. We will choose a day to hold a public trial in the square." Liang Yao said.

"Liang Yao, Nelson just told me that there are still many treasures in Brannan's shop and casino. Look, it's getting dark. Brannan's hired gunmen are scared by us and are hiding in the manor. Should we take this opportunity to do something?"

Sven is thinking about Brannan's shop in San Francisco.

If he failed to rob Brannan's manor, it would be a good idea to rob Brannan's casino and shop in San Francisco.

Liang Yao also wants to cut off Brannan's firepower. His only concern is Griffin's two infantry companies.

Griffin's two infantry companies are preparing dinner now. It seems that they are not going to leave tonight.

Liang Yao really can't praise the military discipline of Griffin's troops.

To put it bluntly, Griffin's troops are not as disciplined as Liang Yao's guards. The US military has never been known for its strict discipline.

But to be honest, in terms of combat quality, Griffin's troops are definitely better than his guards, which Liang Yao also admits.

No matter how poor the discipline of Griffin's troops is, they have fought in wars and are composed of veterans with rich practical experience.

Liang Yao also recruited some professional mercenaries from Tosven. It is said that there are three serious retired British officers who were employed by the Mexican army and served as instructors of the Mexican army.

He hopes that the arrival of these people can bring changes to his guard team.

"You can rob shops and casinos, but you can't rob them alone."

Liang Yao looked at Griffin's soldiers. Those soldiers were scattered everywhere, some brought their own dry food and cooked on the spot, or went to the food stalls on the commercial street in groups to eat. Some of them were full and warm and wanted to ask where the brothels were.

"Take them with you to rob together."

Sven was suddenly enlightened when he heard this, and he stroked his forehead and said, "Oh! I have such a stupid brain, why didn't I think of this, this is a really good idea."

"You can rob, but you have to rob in an orderly manner."

"Robbery should be in an orderly manner?"

"First, you can only rob shops under Brannan, not other places, and second, you can't set fires. If you touch these two red lines, not to mention Griffin, even I will not forgive you." Liang Yao said to Sven with a stern face and a tone of admonition.

"Don't worry, I can tell right from wrong and priorities. Apart from Brannan's shops, ordinary people don't have a few cents at home. I am now a captain with a monthly salary of 30 ounces of gold, and I don't even care about those few cents." Sven made a promise to Liang Yao.

After obtaining Liang Yao's consent, Sven, who suffers from social bullishness, walked up to talk to several soldiers who were about to go to the city for prostitution.

"Doing this will force Brannan, the mad dog, into a corner. I'm afraid that a dog will bite people when it's cornered, let alone a mad dog."

Although Deng Yan didn't speak English well, he could understand the conversation roughly. After all, he had lived here for almost four months and had dealt with foreigners a lot.

"Since it's a mad dog, it will bite you even if you don't force it." Liang Yao made his judgment, "Griffin doesn't want to care about San Francisco's affairs. Griffin will leave after dawn tomorrow. Brannan, the mad dog, will bite us only within two or three days."

"Leave San Francisco's affairs to my second uncle. You go back to Saskatchewan to take shelter. You are our backbone. Anyone of us can make mistakes, but you can't make any mistakes." Deng Yan was a little worried about Liang Yao's comfort.

"This mad dog has identified me. Who else can it bite if I'm not in San Francisco?" Liang Yao rejected Deng Yan's proposal.

The person Brannan wants to retaliate against the most now is him, and Brannan only has one chance to take action, so he won't act rashly. Only if he stays in San Francisco can he induce Brannan to take action.

Once Brannan makes a move, he can legitimately kill him.

As long as Brannan leaves this world forever, the war between them will be truly over.

His escort team is not as good as the best, but it is more than enough than the worst.

What's more, Brannan's hired guns have suffered heavy casualties and people are uneasy, while his armed guards have suffered minimal casualties in this conflict.

He has a great advantage over Brannan in terms of armed force.

Moreover, San Francisco still has more than 50 mounted police officers under Sheriff Flagg, and he and these mounted police officers are in the same boat.

It is very unlikely that Brannan can turn the tables under such circumstances.