I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 74 The Immigration Problem

After the carriage returned to Courtesy mansion, Franklin greeted the two men and then locked himself in his room. Diana watched his retreating figure with some concern and asked Chen Wenbin, "...Darling, is Mr. Franklin alright?"

"It's fine!"

Chen Wenbin sat on the sofa, took a sip of the coffee personally served by the butler Richard, and waved his hand, saying, "He's just going through a process that every man has to go through... Although it's a bit late for him, it's not too late!"

Diana sat down beside him, puzzled, and said, "...What do you mean? I don't understand!"

Chen Wenbin thought for a moment and patiently explained, "It means letting go of the special illusionary halo that you once attributed to certain things, and realizing what the real world is."

This is actually quite painful; many people live their entire lives in a halo of illusion without realizing it, which ironically becomes a kind of happiness.

Diana thought for a moment, then shook her head and smiled, "...Darling, you mean Mr. Franklin is disappointed with England? Is that right?"

"...You could say that!"

Chen Wenbin kissed his wife and sighed, "He's a very smart man, but he's always been unwilling to believe certain things and still harbors illusions about certain people, thinking that he's one of their own with the big shots in Whitehall and Parliament in London..."

Of course, in a sense, he was not wrong!

However, when it comes to huge interests, even among close friends and family, there are differences! Close friends and family can be sacrificed, and costs can be paid for them!

This is truly a cruel world!

"...Darling, you're being too pessimistic!" Diana said earnestly, holding his hand. "I believe there will always be a way to resolve the conflict between Britain and North America!"

Didn't you say before that the Jenna spinning machines could generate hundreds of millions of pounds in value? With the UK's fiscal pressure eased, North America wouldn't have to pay the price!

"It's too late!"

Chen Wenbin sighed, "North American cotton plantations will need at least two years to produce cotton, and India will need another year to supply more cotton to Britain."

However, in order to alleviate financial pressure, Britain will turn its attention to North America this year, perhaps with a sugar tax, a tea tax, or a crackdown on smuggling... in addition to the already issued Land Proclamation of 1763.

The conflict between North America and Great Britain will only continue to deepen. If another enemy nation were to exploit the discontent of the North American people towards Britain and support unruly elements in the colonies to instigate a rebellion… the situation could become quite dire!

When Diana heard him say that, she subconsciously thought of the Adams brothers, especially the political consultant Samuel Adams, who seemed to be a rather restless person with radical ideas.

"So what do we do? How do we stop all of this?"

Diana, being of British aristocratic birth, asked instinctively.

But she soon realized that this was not something they could change... Under the enormous debt pressure of nearly £140 million, the British Parliament would never give up on raising taxes on North America!

The North American colonies, accustomed to freedom, would regard such taxation as a tyranny imposed upon them!

The escalation of conflict between the two sides is inevitable!

"...We must develop ourselves well!"

Chen Wenbin said calmly, "Besides Providence and Robintown, we will also go to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Great Lakes, Mississippi, the Gulf Coast, Florida... These places will be our future business focus."

If we had to pinpoint a core area, it would be New Orleans on the Mexican coast and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

The former, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the French had lost their legal right to New Orleans, and the Spanish were unable to send anyone to govern it. The order there was blank, and there was a certain business foundation. To the south were Cuba and the Caribbean islands, which were rich in sugarcane and tobacco, making it suitable for developing trade and serving as a distribution center for cotton and grain in the south.

Pittsburgh possesses high-quality coal mines, coupled with the iron ore deposits of nearby Lake Superior, making it a natural center for the coal and iron industry…

As Chen Wenbin introduced himself to Diana, he was also outlining his future plans.

Taking advantage of the precious decade before war broke out between Britain and the North American colonies, he focused on industrial and agricultural development in Pittsburgh and New Orleans, as well as the vast central plains and the Mississippi River basin, to accumulate strength. This was his best strategy, which he constantly adjusted and optimized.

If initial development results can be achieved, neither Britain nor the United States will be able to ignore the power of the West in the future.

However, the key issue remains population; he must increase the population he can control as much as possible.

However, an unfortunate fact is that even if he owned a dozen or so 500-ton clipper ships ten years later, specifically for transporting Han Chinese immigrants from Asia, he would only have around 10,000 Han Chinese immigrants after ten years.

This is still based on the ideal scenario where everything goes smoothly, without excluding adverse factors and casualties such as shipwrecks, obstruction by the Qing Dynasty, loss of immigrants at sea, and plague.

The reality is that only five thousand, or even fewer, Han Chinese immigrants successfully reached North America.

Logically speaking, five thousand people is not a small number in North America, where the white population is only two million.

As long as you can have offspring, your wealth will surely triple in twenty years!

But Chen Wenbin felt it wasn't enough at all!

The direct solution is to build more and faster ships, improve the manufacturing process of clipper ships, and train more professional sailors to win by sheer volume!

只要有10艘500吨飞剪船，每年就能保证至少1000名汉人移民，20艘就是每年2000人，50艘就是每年5000人！

And the indirect solution... He glanced at Diana, who was already pregnant, beside him.

Perhaps he could try giving each of those single immigrant men a German or Irish woman, so that 2000 families could have 2000 children a year, which would amount to 20,000 in ten years!

With the addition of new immigrants, the population could easily reach 70,000 to 80,000 in a decade or so. If they were all armed, they would have enough resources to resist the British or to establish new states and annex the United States.

Moreover, his western territories could not be entirely populated by Han Chinese immigrants. Germans, Southern Europeans, Spaniards, Irish, even Northern European Vikings and Slavs, and even Japanese and Annamese could be appropriately absorbed.

Anyway, America is a country of immigrants, so as long as they convert to Protestantism, it won't be a big problem... But we must find a way to control this religious authority!

...Davis!

Suddenly, the face of a somewhat neurotic middle-aged pastor popped into Chen Wenbin's mind. He didn't know what had gotten into him. He had been claiming that Chen Wenbin was a blessed and chosen person from God, and that he had come with a mission from God. He had annoyed Chen Wenbin to no end on the ship. But now, he thought that this Davis might be able to help him start his own church.