Chapter 390 The spread of the epidemic (Part 1)

Chapter 390 The spread of the epidemic (Part 1)

Bobby Stark is grateful that he was able to sell those cursed potatoes, otherwise he would have been troubled by defaulting on his debt like his neighbors.

Because the bankers who lend money don't care about the impact of natural disasters and man-made disasters. If you can't pay the penalty, the house and land used as mortgage will no longer belong to you.

It is not unusual to borrow money to farm land in the United States today. Many farmers are carrying debt. After all, the price of land in the United States is relatively cheap at this time, but the cost of development is astonishingly expensive.

As Steven noted, in just a few months potato late blight spread throughout Ohio.

All potatoes, whether harvested or in the field, are all presented as sticky solid lumps like soap. The stench fills the air and floats to the surrounding farmland.

At first, there are only some irregular spots on their leaves, but soon, the spots will expand rapidly, making the entire diseased plant appear water-soaked, and then white mold or brown mold will appear.

Once it catches up with the rainy season, the onset will be faster, and even a large area of ​​land can be destroyed in one or two days.

The fields are filled with farmers hoping to find uninfected potatoes. But this was undoubtedly in vain, as the natural disaster came so suddenly and violently.

The crying farmers did not attract mercy from God, but only the ridicule of the surrounding farmers who grew other crops and the contempt of the bankers for the losers.

After all, if the potato harvest fails, other crops can be sold at a better price. In the eyes of bankers, those farmers who suffered sudden blows are just numbers whose investments have failed.

These timid guys don't have the courage to accept failure. They are really a bunch of useless trash.

The tragedy in Ohio did not attract the attention of Washington. The mainstream economic thought at the time was free trade and the government should reduce its intervention.

The local government report also concluded with an extremely understatement: "A large number of farmers failed to invest, resulting in a large area of ​​land waste."

John Tyler was an efficient leader who could not accept farmers' waste of American land.

Therefore, instead of introducing a relief policy, the U.S. government imposed fines on those farms that were affected by the disaster because they wasted the precious resources God gave America and cultivated some worthless commodities on the land that was supposed to be planted with crops. .

What's more, it has caused a further decline in potato production in the United States, and at the same time changed the structure of its crop cultivation; making the potato planting area less than one-half of France, less than one-third of Austria, and only four-quarters of the area in Germany. A little more than one third.

For the United States, these bankrupt farmers are not completely useless. They could go into factories, or go to the Great West to develop new lands.

For example, at this time, there was fierce competition between Britain and the United States in Oregon. Although Britain was strong, the United States had an advantage that the other side did not have - manpower.

Thousands of Americans would migrate to the area after the Oregon Trail became the main route into the area in 1842.

On the other hand, the British could not even gather enough colonists to effectively control the area, so they could actually only be in a state of strategic contraction.

But even this cannot escape the encroachment of the Americans. John Taylor's plan can be said to be very successful.

However, it was not all smooth sailing, such as the Abinnon Massacre; 13 white men accidentally broke into Indian territory and cut down their sacred trees, leading to serious conflicts between the two sides.

In the end, all thirteen "warriors" were unfortunately killed in the colony. After learning the news, John Taylor immediately delivered a eulogy for them at the White House and vowed to take revenge on the savage Indians.

Approximately 360 immigrants died at the hands of Native Americans in Oregon between 1840 and 1860. Between 1830 and 1840 alone, the number of Indians in Oregon dropped by 100,000.

Of course, the Americans have not given up infiltrating the California area, but they have been resolved by the newly appointed Austrian governor in the area in the most primitive and bloody way.

The number of Americans killed so far in California has exceeded 3,000, but neither side admits this fact on the surface.

In fact, Franz doesn't really agree with this approach, but it is undoubtedly very effective and cheap. But this method of raising red flags can be used by Austria, the United States, and even the Mexicans.

Once the door to hell is opened, it is difficult to close.

Of course, introducing American immigrants to jointly develop California can also be considered. After all, turning enemies into friends is the wisest method in theory, and what California is most lacking at this time is labor.

But bloody historical experience and lessons tell us that this kind of behavior is tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house and is not worth the risk.

Although there were four forces entrenched in the North American continent at this time, the British focus had shifted to Asia and their ambitions were not here, so the world was still divided into three parts.

Theoretically, the French are the strongest, and neither the quality of their military nor their national strength can be compared with that of the other two countries. But it is a continental country after all, and is constrained by Britain and other continental powers, preventing it from exerting its full power.

Although the United States has a large population and a vast territory, its organizational efficiency is low, and even one John Taylor cannot make a difference. But even so, it is still the country with the most potential and the most threat in North America.

After all, in history, the United States gradually became the world's hegemon after opening up the two oceans, but it was not so easy in this life.

Mexico had always thrived under Franz's special care, but as the saying goes.

"The incompetence of one general exhausts the three armies."

Neither Tasang Anna nor the top management in Mexico City were very talented and ambitious people, and they began to enjoy themselves without shame within a few days of settling down.

The collective treason of the elite class is nothing new in Mexico.

Austria can bribe these people, France can bribe them, and the United States and Britain can also copy them.

It's just that the Tasan Anna faction in power now has good relations with the Austrian side, but this cannot stop some warlords from coveting the California region.

As a result, there are always some people who overestimate their own abilities and feel that they are the real owners of gold.

Although the Austrian Empire only has more than 10,000 troops in California, they are still not comparable to those motley troops in Mexico.

The battles are bloody and brutal, but also absurd and boring.

The Mexican army in the plains under the banner of the US military was attacked with unprecedented violence. The panicked soldiers routinely surrendered, but they were treated not as Mexicans but as invaders.

Prisoners of war were sent to the mines and wastelands to perform the most dangerous and arduous labor.

Consul John Sina felt that he was one step closer to the goal set by Archduke Franz.