North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 105 The Wrong, Expired Map (5000 words, please subscribe)
"It's all a misunderstanding—incorrect intelligence and outdated maps led to today's misunderstanding!"

Hearing the somewhat familiar excuse, Ah Zu felt a nameless anger rise in his heart.

"Lieutenant Colonel, I lodge the strongest protest against your unwarranted attack on legitimate business activities!"

"If such blatant criminal acts cannot be punished fairly and reasonably, I will reconsider the proposal for California to join the United States through the California legislature!"

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Colonel Walton felt a chill run down his spine!
As an intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Walton was well aware of the capabilities of the young Chinese man in front of him.

The words that came out of his mouth were far more than just empty threats!

Seeing that the matter was escalating and could spiral out of control, Lieutenant Colonel Wharton quickly replied, "Mr. Li, I think it's best to keep the impact of this matter to a minimum! Otherwise, it won't be in your best interest!"

Azu raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Why?"

Lieutenant Colonel Wharton said, "Mr. Li is a very successful businessman. Making money is your main goal, is that right?"

"Of course!"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton continued, "I believe Mr. Li would also not want to see his business operations confined to this sparsely populated and desolate place, California, would he?"

“Mr. Li, your business will eventually expand to the surrounding states, and even the eastern regions that are far more prosperous than the west.”

"Mr. Li, if you don't want your business to be restricted, you'd better not completely break ties with our Brigadier General!"

Azu raised an eyebrow: "Is Brigadier General George Phillips so powerful? Besides the military, does he also want to suppress me in the business world?"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton nodded without hesitation: "Of course, Brigadier General Li's power is far beyond your imagination!"

"Heh!" Azu sneered, "Could it be that Brigadier General has a father who is the president?"

"The Brigadier General does not have a president as his father!"

As he spoke, Lieutenant Colonel Walton pointed to his eyes at Azu: "But the Brigadier General has this!"

"Eyes?" Azu asked, somewhat puzzled.

"To be precise, it is the all-seeing eye!"

"The All-Seeing Eye!!!"

Azu immediately understood and asked in surprise, "Freemasonry?!"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton replied in a deep voice, "Yes! Brigadier General is a core member of the organization and wields considerable influence. If he so desires, he could easily cut off Mr. Li's path to business development."

Azu was surprised to learn that Brigadier General George Phillips had this other identity, and immediately fell silent.

The Freemasons, a mysterious organization with immense power throughout Western society, including the United States, are definitely something that Azu doesn't want to provoke right now.

The Freemasons' holy emblem appears on the national emblem, the Great Seal of the United States, and the US dollar!

George Washington, the founding father of the United States, was the Grand Master of the Freemasons in the United States, and Benjamin Franklin, the author of the Declaration of Independence, was the first Freemason Grand Master in the United States!

Of the 56 founding fathers of the United States, 53 were core Freemasons.

Of the founding generals of the United States, 33 were Freemasons.

Of the original 39 people who signed the U.S. Constitution, 13 were Freemasons.

13 is a sacred number in Freemasonry.

Therefore, Washington and Franklin waited until the 13 states agreed to independence before establishing the United States of America!

Since the founding of the nation, at least half of the presidents have been Freemasons.

From the very beginning of the founding of the United States, Freemasonry has been deeply intertwined with this country.

Such an unfathomable behemoth is indeed not something that Azu can afford to provoke right now!
Although he had built up some business in San Francisco and California, if he really messed with the Freemasons, crushing him would be as easy as crushing an ant!
Therefore, Azu fell into a long silence.

"So, in Brigadier General's opinion, how should today's matter be resolved?" Azu broke the silence and asked.

Lieutenant Colonel Walton replied, "Mr. Li, since you have returned our bodies and wounded soldiers, let's pretend today's events never happened."

"Hundreds of people were killed or injured, and we're just going to pretend it never happened?"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton shrugged indifferently: "These casualties are just normal attrition in the Indian Wars."

"Heh, normal losses!!!" Azu sneered, "Then what about our losses?"

“On behalf of Brigadier General George Phillips, I express my deepest regret for your loss!” Lieutenant Colonel Walton said expressionlessly.

"Deep regret? And then what?"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton spread his hands: "Mr. Li, you are the leading businessman in all of California. I think you are not short of money... to be precise, you should be short of nothing, is that right?"

"Whether I need it or not is my business. Your baseless and unwarranted attack caused us losses, and you should compensate us!"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton took a deep breath: "Mr. Li, what kind of compensation do you want?"

Azu pondered for a moment and said, "I want the brigadier general to grant me one condition!"

"What conditions?"

"Immediately cease all hostile actions against me, my Huamei Industrial Company, and all Indians in California!"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton pondered for a moment: "This condition is not excessive. I think the General will agree!"

Azu added, "Verbal promises are unreliable; I need the general's written guarantee!"

"A handwritten promise?" Lieutenant Colonel Walton frowned. "I don't think the General will agree!"

"You won't agree?" Azu sneered, "If you won't agree, then let's keep fighting!"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton quickly said, "Mr. Li, please wait a moment, I will try to persuade the general!"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton, who rode back, returned more than half an hour later and handed over Brigadier General George Phillips' handwritten letter to Azu.

"Mr. Li, with the general's personal written promise, I think it's time to put an end to this misunderstanding today?"

Having successfully persuaded Brigadier General George Phillips, Lieutenant Colonel Walton breathed a great sigh of relief.

Today's battle was incredibly frustrating; there was absolutely no hope of victory.

Therefore, the wisest choice is to let things rest and pretend that nothing happened.

After reading the brigadier general's handwritten letter, Azu handed it to Victoria beside him and said, "Lieutenant Colonel, please tell Brigadier General George Phillips that I do not want the same thing to happen again!"

"Of course, nobody wants something like this to happen a second time!"

At this point, Lieutenant Colonel Walton turned to look at the new type of rifles that the militiamen around him were holding, rifles he had never seen before.

"Mr. Li, the general and I are very interested in the new rifles you are using!"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton's eyes were glued to the rifle: "Mr. Li, if possible, on behalf of the General, I would like to purchase a batch of the same model of rifles from you!"

"Want to buy my guns?" Upon hearing that there was business to be done, Azu immediately became interested: "I'm a businessman. If the U.S. Army wants to buy my guns, of course they can!"

"However, my gun is very expensive! Can you afford it, Brigadier General?"

Upon hearing that there was something to discuss, Lieutenant Colonel Walton's face immediately lit up with a smile: "Mr. Li, don't forget the powerful force behind the Brigadier General!"

"If Mr. Li's rifle is indeed very advanced, I think the entire United States Army could become your major customer!"

“Now is not the time to talk business, nor is it the right place to do so.” After thinking for a moment, Azu replied, “If you are really interested, come to San Francisco in a month, and I will have a proper talk with you then!”

Lieutenant Colonel Walton reluctantly looked away from the HM49 rifle: "Of course, Mr. Li, we will send a representative to discuss the purchase of the rifle with you!"

That afternoon, Brigadier General George Phillips and his remaining troops withdrew, taking with them hundreds of corpses and wounded soldiers with them, leaving the city completely.

Only after the enemy had completely withdrawn did Victoria ask the question that had been bothering her: "Boss, why did you let them go? We could have wiped them out completely, including that damned brigadier general!"

Azu looked in the direction the other side had retreated and said, "Little Eighteen, we are still too weak now. It's not time to completely break with the United States!"

"Killing a general and killing a major are two completely different things! If a general dies at our hands, America will never let it go, especially since that general was a core member of the Freemasons."

"In San Francisco, and even in all of California, we seem pretty strong. But compared to the whole of America, we're still too weak!"

Although the United States Army is currently small, numbering only a few tens of thousands.

But if things really escalate into a full-blown war, America’s war potential is terrifyingly strong!
Ten years later, the Civil War saw both sides mobilize over a million troops, resulting in a bloody and brutal conflict. Now, our own power is just getting on track and is in a period of rapid development; we absolutely cannot allow it to be interrupted by momentary impulses.

Victoria pressed on, "Even if we can't take down that general, why are we selling them rifles? Isn't that aiding the enemy and making them stronger?"

Azu replied, "Who said we were going to sell them the HM49 rifles that we use to equip ourselves?"

"Then what are we selling them?" Victoria asked in surprise.

Azu continued, "We can't sell them the guns we have, but we can sell them the worse ones! Even if we don't sell, other arms factories will sell them better and better rifles."

"Don't forget, we're businessmen. Why wouldn't we make money if we can?"

"Moreover, this is also an opportunity to legitimize our arsenal. If this deal goes through, our arsenal will no longer need to operate in a small-scale, clandestine manner."

"We are the weapons supplier for the U.S. Army, so we can produce guns and ammunition on a large scale without anyone finding fault with us."

Victoria finally understood completely.

"Boss, you're so mean!"

Victoria's emerald green eyes gleamed with an unusual light: "But I'm a bad girl too...!"

"Ugh...!"

That night, Ah Zu experienced the feeling of a strong man locking up a man for the first time.

Despite their desperate resistance, Victoria, this foreign woman, was simply too unrestrained and wild, and after a fierce battle, they had no choice but to surrender completely.

The next morning, Ah Zu, whose back and knees ached, woke up and was deeply saddened.

My first time was always meant for Vivian, so why did it end up here for no reason?

However, looking at the scattered marks, Azu felt relieved.

"Bad girl, so this is the first time she's been this bad...!"

"Grandma, you're pressing on my hair...!"

Victoria, still asleep in his arms, lazily rolled over, her half-white, translucent body pressing against him.

As Ah Zu stroked her waterfall-like dark golden hair, he unconsciously became aroused again.

"Grandma, you're so mean...!"

Sensing something was amiss, Victoria woke up lazily and instinctively burrowed back into the covers…!
The next day, Azu and Victoria returned to San Francisco on a supply ship.

Three days later, they finally arrived at the base camp.

Over these three days, Ah Zu finally got to know what it was like to make sugarcane residue.

Victoria, that crazy girl, she goes way too far when she gets going!
Moreover, this foreign woman's stamina is ridiculously good!
Although I am still so young, and although I have had enough nutrition and my body has been in good condition over the past year, I have been too busy to exercise regularly.

How could this malnourished body possibly be a match for Victoria, the lone wolf of the wilderness!
After experiencing three days of inhumane exploitation, Azu secretly made up his mind that from this day forward he must strengthen his exercise so that he would not be bullied by Victoria, this foreign girl!

Vivian, who came to pick up the ship, looked at Azu and Victoria with suspicion. A woman's terrible intuition made Vivian realize that something was wrong.

That evening, as always, he held Vivian comfortably in his arms.

But the little foreign girl turned her back angrily and ignored him completely.

Feeling guilty, Ah Zu chuckled nervously, "My little angel, it's been so long, what's wrong with you today?"

"Hmph...!" Vivian's pert little nose emitted a heavy nasal sound.

"What happened?"

"Tell me honestly, did you and Victoria do *that*?"

"What are you doing?" Azu asked knowingly.

"What else can men and women do? That's it!"

"How could that be?" Azu denied it outright: "I've been with you for so long and I can still hold back, how could I possibly be with Victoria...!"

"Don't try to fool me!" Vivian turned around angrily. "I saw it all. Victoria's eyes are looking at you differently now!"

"What kind of look is that? How come it's different?"

"Victoria, like Daisy, used to look at you with undisguised admiration. And Monica, the way she looked at you was practically drooling. Oh, and Yuma, when she secretly glanced at you, it was full of adoration too…!"

Azu was taken aback, not expecting that Vivian, this little foreign girl, would have such keen senses: "They're not like that at all, don't talk nonsense...!"

"No way! You still won't admit it!"

"What else?" Vivian pouted. "Now, the way Victoria looks at you isn't just admiration, it's... it's like a little fox who's stolen a chicken. That look is exactly how she looks at her man!"

"Hehe...!" Azu said with a guilty smile, "You're just making things up without any basis."

"You're still being stubborn!" Vivian said, getting angrier with each word. "I don't care, you've already done that with Victoria, I want it too!"

As she spoke, Vivian's small hand grabbed her own private parts...!
Ah Zu also wanted to make it up to this little foreign girl, but unfortunately, he had been squeezed too hard these past few days and was really left with nothing but sugarcane residue!

……

Early the next morning, Azu hid in the secret weapons factory located on Devil's Island.

I spent another two days here, designing the Mini Gun while also taking two days to rest and recuperate.

The Minié rifle was a revolutionary rifle and the pinnacle of muzzle-loading rifles.

The Minié rifle designed by Azu was based on the British Enfield M1853. Its bullet was conical and slightly smaller in diameter than the barrel, making it easier to load.

The bottom features a conical cavity with a cork plug inside. During firing, the gas pressure forces the cork forward, causing the base of the lead-tin alloy projectile to expand and fit tightly against the rifling. This expansion reduces friction between the projectile and the rifling, while simultaneously sealing the chamber clearance to prevent gas leakage and improve range and accuracy.

The propellant uses a metered propellant package, which simplifies the loading process and greatly improves the firing rate.

The barrel has three rifling grooves, which significantly improves shooting accuracy and range.

With a caliber of 14.5 mm, an effective range of 500 meters, and a firing rate of 2-3 rounds per minute.

In later years, during the American Civil War, the British Enfield M1853 Minié rifle was widely deployed, with nearly a million imported, becoming a core mainstay of both the Union and Confederate armies and playing a crucial role.

It was precisely because of the widespread use of the Minié rifle that the traditional dense formation of line infantry was gradually phased out, and skirmish line tactics gradually emerged.

Azu named the rifle he designed the HM50.

Despite its newer model, the HM50 is at least thirty years behind the HM49 used by our own people!
This HM50 is the product that Ah Zu plans to use to earn US dollars.

After the design was completed, trial production was immediately put into operation, with the first batch consisting of one hundred guns and matching ammunition.

Back at headquarters, after resting for several days, Ah Zu finally displayed his prowess and won over Vivian in one fell swoop!
With his experience from two lifetimes, dealing with Vivian, this young foreign girl who was just tasting the forbidden fruit, would be a piece of cake.

After tossing and turning for most of the night, until the little foreign girl who had been with him the longest could no longer resist and kept begging for mercy.

In Vivian, a man finally regained his confidence.

It's not that I'm not capable, but that crazy girl Victoria is a superwoman; even someone made of iron can't withstand her relentless pestering.

Meanwhile, a completely unexpected person, from the far east, disembarked at Clarke Pier in San Francisco aboard the ocean liner "Joan of Arc".

This tall, thin, large-nosed, sunken-cheeked, long-faced, but distinguished-looking middle-aged white man, after disembarking, walked with an assistant and head held high into the magnificent lobby of the Rosewood Hotel, recommended by his temporarily hired coachman.

The distinguished-looking man walked to the front desk and asked in a steady, powerful voice, "Excuse me, are there any rooms available?"

The receptionist smiled politely and asked, "Excuse me, sir, do you have a reservation?"

The tall, thin man shook his head: "I just arrived in San Francisco this morning and haven't booked any hotels!"

"I'm sorry, all rooms at our Rosewood Hotel are fully booked and there are no rooms available!"

The tall, thin man was slightly disappointed and picked up his suitcase to leave the Rosewood Hotel.

"Excuse me, sir!" the receptionist called out from behind him. "Could you please leave your name? If so, I can reserve a room for you for tomorrow!"

The tall, thin man turned around and replied, "My name is Abraham Lincoln!"

(End of this chapter)