Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 351 Duel
next morning
In the grove on the side of the Hawaiian Royal Palace, Charles, the British representative who appeared as a notary, looked at the two duelists standing back to back with guns in hand, and suddenly felt that it was extremely funny.

This form of duel, which was popular among the upper classes of Europe such as Britain and France to maintain dignity, unexpectedly appeared on a tropical island in the vast Pacific Ocean, and there was an Oriental person among the participants.

This gave him a strong sense of dislocation in time and space, as if he was in a remote suburb of Florence or Hamburg.

In the duel, McCain's side chose to fight in the early morning, while Wang Hai's side chose to fight in the grove next to the palace.

McCain's side chose to duel with a musket, while Wang Hai's side provided two dueling muskets, which were fully loaded with ammunition on the spot.

After both parties and the notary checked that everything was correct, McCain's side had the first chance to choose the weapon and the duel began.

Agreement between the two parties
If they can't kill the opponent in one shot, they will continue the duel next time until one of them is defeated. It seems that both sides of the duel are very confident in their marksmanship.

Charles watched as both sides prepared themselves and asked one last time, "I'd like to politely ask both parties if anyone is willing to give up this irrational action. This is the last chance."

"Stop talking and get started."

"God bless me! I'll kill this damned Oriental!"

"Well then, based on the voluntary choice of both parties, I will be a fair witness to this duel to uphold dignity. May God bless you!" Charles said, looking around. Seeing that no assistants from either side were interfering with the duel, he continued speaking.
"When I say 'Go', please step forward and I will count from 'one' to 'ten'. When I reach 'ten', the duel begins.

So now
"start"……

One, two, three, four, five…”

Following Charles's words, both sides of the duel took steady steps forward, and everything seemed to be going according to plan.

As a veteran in duels, Charles clearly noticed the difference between the two, and couldn't help but worry about McCain, the American duelist.

The wealthy businessman named Wang Hai from the State of Chu held the gun in one hand with the muzzle pointing upwards, and walked forward with very steady steps, as if he was holding a basin of water in his hand.

McCain, on the other hand, was much more casual. His arm, holding the gun, swayed up and down casually as he walked forward, acting like a wild North American cowboy.

Don't underestimate this subtle detail, it shows the huge gap between the two sides.

One is from the regular army and has received rigorous training in gun handling and shooting. He embodies the demeanor of a soldier everywhere, being rigorous and calm in times of crisis.

The other one comes from a purely unconventional background and seems free and easy, but in fact he has many hidden dangers.

You should know that the short-barreled musket provided by Wang Hai's side is a short-barreled percussion rifle produced in Liege, Belgium. This type of single-action flintlock rifle is a common sight in European duels and is nothing special.

The barrel is made of octagonal Damascus steel, with a walnut handle and exquisite gold and ivory carvings on the gun body. The two muskets are a pair, engraved with numbers, and stored together in an exquisite wooden box.

This high-end firearm is a specially customized model.

The box was fully stocked with accessories, including lead bullets, which were two round lead bullets made on the spot by cutting them from the lead bars with the bullet-making pliers in the gun box.

The gunpowder also came from a brass gunpowder pot. The same gunpowder was loaded into the two guns, and on the surface there seemed to be no problem.

Actually

Veterans familiar with short-barreled percussion rifles know that after loading this type of gun with gunpowder, the lead bullet is tamped down with a ramrod, which is actually not very reliable.

Because the diameter of the lead bullet is smaller than the barrel, it cannot be moved back and forth at will after loading. The muzzle must always be kept upward to prevent the bullet from being vibrated and separated from the gunpowder, which would greatly reduce the bullet's shooting power.

It seems that the Chinese businessman Wang Hai who participated in the duel has a very complicated background.

"Eight, nine, ten..."

As the number reached "ten", McCain, the American participating in the duel, couldn't wait to take the last step, quickly turned over, and at the same time put the musket in his hand flat, ready to aim and fire.

Seeing his graceful and elegant movements, one almost cheers loudly, "Good", "One more".

On the other hand, when Wang Hai also took the last step, he turned steadily with the muzzle of the gun pointing upwards. Although his speed was not as fast as McCain's, there was almost no ups and downs of the gun.

After turning around, Wang Hai quickly lowered the short musket in his hand and took aim...

"Crack" "Crack"...

Two crisp gunshots rang out almost simultaneously, and a thin wisp of gray-black smoke rose from the scene. The two men holding guns stood still and silent like wooden sculptures for a second or two.

Then, McCain fell to the ground in despair, and a series of exclamations and incredible screams came from the side.

Sure enough
Charles, the British representative who was acting as a notary, sighed inwardly. As a veteran who had experienced more than a dozen duels, he knew where the problem lay.

At the duel scene

McCain collapsed to the ground, his white silk shirt soaked with blood. A conspicuous blood hole appeared slightly below his left chest, and it was obvious that he was beyond saving.

Wang Hai, who came over with a pistol in hand, seemed to want to express his concern, but was angrily driven away by the three white landowners on McCain's side, and quickly turned and left.

Wang Hai looked fine. The bullet fired by McCain didn't hit the target at all, and the gunshot sounded broken, not so crisp and loud.

It is very likely that when Mr. McCain turned around quickly, the musket in his hand swung violently, causing a gap to appear between the compacted bullet and the gunpowder.

This old-fashioned flintlock rifle's loose seal was a long-standing problem, and while it performed gracefully, it inevitably had serious consequences. The separation of the ammunition caused the gunpowder pressure to leak out, and the fired bullet didn't receive sufficient explosive force, leaving it soft and inaccurate, and who knows where it went.

Several well-dressed Chinese landowners surrounded Wang Hai and walked him into the carriage, then quickly left.

At the duel scene
There were several carriages not far away, and Mr. McCain's wife and daughter were in the carriages. Women were not allowed to participate in the duel, which was a convention that had to be followed.

At this time, they got off the carriage one after another, covered their mouths with their hands from a distance, cried heart-wrenchingly, and then ran all the way over.

Charles sighed softly. She had seen similar scenes too many times and they could no longer disturb her calm mood.

He looked up at the two Chinese carriages going away, his deep eyes filled with thought.

It seems that this wealthy Chinese businessman Wang Hai is not simple...

Is this duel fair?

On the carriage
Fan Zongjie, who was helping to collect the weapons, put the pistol back into the gun case with a smile. His eyes briefly stayed on the bullet clamp, and then he quickly closed the lid of the case.

"Old Fan, you guys are too nervous. I should have a fair duel with that McCain instead of doing these little tricks." Although Colonel Wang Haigou won the duel, he still looked a little dissatisfied.

Fan Zongjie casually placed the gun box on the carriage seat, took the glass of red wine handed to him by the subordinate sitting opposite him, raised it and clinked it with Colonel Wang Haigou, and said;

"Congratulations... Commander Wang, your operation has eliminated the annoying McCain. We can at least live in peace for a while."

After saying that, he picked up the wine glass and took a sip gently, then looked at the shaking wine glass and said;
“Commander Wang, I just want to remind you;
Because of your resume, position and the important mission you shoulder, your life and glory belong to the royal family, not to you personally.

The Hawaii operation cannot suffer any setback due to your personal rash actions. That would be a serious consequence that we cannot afford.

We have failed your Majesty's high hopes and the expectations of tens of thousands of soldiers.

compare with

Your personal honor and disgrace are insignificant. Please keep a positive attitude. This is a reasonable and acceptable outcome."

As a member of the Hawaiian militia, they did not do anything small.

It's just that the bullet clamp originally equipped in the gun box was replaced, which made the lead bullet a little smaller, and excessive movement would cause the ammunition to separate.

In this high-end flintlock box, both flintlock rifles are numbered, but there is only one cartridge pliers which is not numbered and can be replaced with the cartridge pliers of other flintlock rifles.

The caliber of this hand-made flintlock rifle has a slight error, and only by using the originally configured bullet-making pliers can the most suitable lead bullet be produced. This is a very important point.

Otherwise, the lead bullet will be either too big or too small, which will greatly affect the shooting power.

Captain Wang Haigou listened, took a sip of red wine in silence, and his expression quickly relaxed. He replied in a muffled voice, "I know, but it's a pity that I feel a little uncomfortable."

"As a leader, you must be able to regulate your emotions well and make reasonable decisions in the most appropriate way for your actions."

"I see. Thank you for your guidance."

"You're welcome. If my guess is correct, we'll have a long time working together in the future. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation."

"Well, it's a pleasure to work with you."

Colonel Wang Haigou quickly got rid of his previous awkward mood, and his mood improved as he looked at the coconut grove scenery receding outside the carriage window.

Two carriages, one in front and one behind, were driving quickly on the forest road towards the residence in the city, raising a cloud of dust behind them.

The Big Island of Hawaii and Oahu are the two main islands of the entire archipelago, accounting for more than 90% of the population of the entire Hawaiian Kingdom (Note: Niihau Island is under strict information blockade and is not included in external statistics). Most of the white American and Chinese plantation owners are on these two islands.

These two main islands are also where the most conflicts and frictions occur between the two sides.

Chinese businessmen are at an absolute disadvantage on the Island of Hawaii, and can barely get on par with white American landowners on Oahu, with the ratio being about 30% to 70%.

This is a comparison of power that can be seen on the surface, which also allows American white landowners to act with impunity and suppress Chinese businessmen everywhere, appearing to be domineering.

The docks controlled by white people did not allow Chinese merchants' ships to dock for loading and unloading, nor did they allow Chinese merchants to operate businesses, which often led to conflicts.

A wealthy Chinese businessman who used the pseudonym Wang Hai donated 3,000 silver dollars to the Hawaiian royal family and obtained permission to build an independent dock. He then built an independent dock, pier and warehouse on the Big Island of Hawaii.

This created a gap in the monopoly of white Americans, specifically serving Chinese businessmen, and thus attracted more targeting.

After this duel
This is not the end of the conflict between the two sides, but may be the beginning of a new conflict. The fight between them will become more unscrupulous and direct.

To this end, Wang Hai quickly expanded the warehouse wall at the Chinatown wharf and stationed 60 Chinese gunmen to closely guard against possible armed attacks by white plantation owners.

The Chinese have thousands of years of experience in struggle.

As long as they let go, the white people's little thoughts can hardly be hidden, and it is all to be expected.

(End of this chapter)