North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 112 Kill him? That's too easy on him! (5,000 words)
This tall and beautiful figure is none other than Adele, the most popular dancer in all of California, whom the 18th Division had recruited at a very high price!

Once, at Victoria's arrangement, Adele appeared in Monterey, which was also the location of Brigadier General George Phillips' headquarters at the time.

Adele deliberately gets close to Walton, an intelligence lieutenant colonel, and Walton plays along, using Adele to pass on a series of false intelligence.

At the time, Lieutenant Colonel Walton was extremely infatuated with Adele. How much of this was genuine affection and how much was feigned is something only Lieutenant Colonel Walton himself probably knows.

But since the failed attack on Elephant Mountain, when Brigadier General George Phillips and his headquarters had to return to New Mexico, Lieutenant Colonel Walton had not seen Adele for a long time.

At this moment, Adele, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, suddenly appeared in front of him. How could Lieutenant Colonel Walton not be shocked?

Adele has a very tall and well-proportioned figure, estimated to be at least 1.72 meters tall. Her long-term career as a dancer has given her exceptionally beautiful figure, without an ounce of excess fat.

Her face was exceptionally beautiful, with shiny brown hair, a pointed oval face, gentle light blue eyes, a small and pert nose and cherry lips, and delicate, fair skin that could be broken with a touch. She was a femme fatale who could bring ruin to a country!

Before this, Ah Zu had never seen what his top courtesan looked like. Upon seeing her, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "What a seductive little vixen!"
"Lieutenant Colonel, you are truly heartless!"

Adele's eyes welled with tears: "When you left, you didn't even say goodbye! You just left Monterey without a word, left me!"

"I...I...!" Faced with the tearful beauty, Lieutenant Colonel Walton was also a little at a loss.

"Lieutenant Colonel, do you know how long I've waited for you in Monterey? I just wanted to see you one more time, but... Waaah!"

Adele cried and threw herself into Lieutenant Colonel Walton's arms: "You know, I've waited for you for so long, so very long...!"

With a beauty in his arms, even Lieutenant Colonel Walton, with a heart of iron, couldn't resist turning into a soft, yielding woman in an instant!
"Miss Adele, I had orders to follow, please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye back then, I... I actually missed you very much!"

"No, you never even thought of me! You never even wrote me a single letter! You liar who stole my heart, you liar...!"

Adele kept pounding Lieutenant Colonel Walton's chest with her pink little fists!
Adele added, "When I heard you were in San Francisco, I rushed here from Monterey just to see you!"

"I begged Mr. Li to let me see you, and he finally agreed after much difficulty! Waaah...!"

With his clothes soaked by Adele's tears, Lieutenant Colonel Walton was filled with sorrow: "My dear Miss Adele, please don't cry. It's all my fault. I think I will make it up to you!"

"How will you make it up to me?" Adele asked, tears streaming down her face, as she looked up from Lieutenant Colonel Wharton's arms.

"This...!" Lieutenant Colonel Walton was momentarily at a loss for words.

In New Mexico, Lieutenant Colonel Walton had a wife, children, and elderly parents, and he also had military duties to attend to, so he couldn't stay in San Francisco for more than a few days.

With Lieutenant Colonel Wharton's monthly salary of $180, he could barely afford to provide a decent life for his family, let alone support a canary like Adele.
It offers neither emotional nor material value!
Therefore, Lieutenant Colonel Wharton was speechless for a moment and did not know how to answer.

At the time, Lieutenant Colonel Wharton was indeed playing along, putting on an act with Adele.

However, after playing along with so many casual encounters, Lieutenant Colonel Walton inevitably developed some genuine feelings, especially when faced with such a stunning beauty; it would be a lie to say he wasn't moved.

Even though he knew Adele was a spy, Lieutenant Colonel Walton was unsure how to respond.

“Lieutenant Colonel, I believe this belongs to you!”

At this moment, Azu spoke, took a beautifully gilded jewelry box from Vic, and handed it to Lieutenant Colonel Walton.

Lieutenant Colonel Walton took it, opened it, and found a pure gold necklace inlaid with a huge red diamond!
"Mr. Li, what do you mean by this? This...this...this is far too precious!"

Azu smiled slightly at him: "Isn't this a gift that the lieutenant colonel prepared for Miss Adele?"

Adele looked at the exquisite and extremely expensive necklace and immediately beamed with joy: "Lieutenant Colonel, is this really a gift for me? Thank you so much!"

"Lieutenant Colonel, I wish you would put it on me yourself!"

As she spoke, Adele turned around and tossed her cascading brown hair, revealing her long, white neck to Lieutenant Colonel Walton.

In this situation, what else could Lieutenant Colonel Wharton say?
He had no choice but to bite the bullet and put the extremely expensive necklace on Adele's beautiful neck.

"Does it look good?" Adele turned around, displaying herself and the necklace to Lieutenant Colonel Wharton without reservation.

"Miss Adele, you are so beautiful!"

Lieutenant Colonel Wharton exclaimed in genuine admiration!
"Giggle!" Adele couldn't contain her joy. "Smack!" She gave Lieutenant Colonel Walton a light kiss on the cheek, leaving a faint lip print.

Adele tactfully replied, "Lieutenant Colonel, you and Mr. Li still have business to discuss. I'll wait for you in the room..."

With that, Adele drifted away, her swaying figure disappearing into the living room.

Upon hearing Adele's hint, Lieutenant Colonel Walton was immediately filled with excitement!
Before this, although he had been playing along with Adele and engaging in ambiguous relationships, he had never actually succeeded in getting her.

A top courtesan like Adele moves effortlessly among all sorts of men, yet never lets any man succeed easily.

Now that such an opportunity was right in front of him, how could Lieutenant Colonel Wharton not be excited?

But he managed to suppress his surging emotions and sat down at the table again.

"Thank you so much for getting me out of that predicament, Mr. Li!"

Lieutenant Colonel Walton said sincerely, "Regarding the procurement of rifles, I think as long as they meet our army's requirements, there shouldn't be any problem!"

Lieutenant Colonel Wharton knows the rules; he must have something in mind for paying such a high price.

Ah Zu smiled faintly: "It's just a piece of jewelry, nothing to brag about!"

"Lieutenant Colonel Walton, ever thought about becoming a general?" Azu suddenly dropped a bombshell.

“Ah… Mr. Li, what… do you mean?” Lieutenant Colonel Walton asked in great surprise.

“I say, Lieutenant Colonel, have you ever thought about becoming a general?” Azu smiled and answered himself, “I think you definitely have!”

"A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier!"

"Besides, Lieutenant Colonel Wharton, an outstanding graduate of West Point?"

As he spoke, Azu took another file from Edgar Allan Poe, opened it, and read it aloud: "Reuben Wharton, born on July 4, 1810, in downtown Boston. Haha, Lieutenant Colonel Wharton was born on Independence Day, what a lucky day!"

Azu continued, “My father, Jackson Walton, was a first-generation Scottish immigrant and worked as a fishing boat crewman; my mother, Gwynne Flake, worked as a laundry and sewer to supplement the family income.”

"Ruben Wharton had two older brothers and a younger sister. His family was poor, but he was intelligent from a young age and studied exceptionally hard."

"In 1827, at the age of seventeen, Reuben Walton was admitted to West Point Military Academy with excellent grades, majoring in tactics and intelligence. Four years later, he graduated second in his class of twenty-nine from West Point."

"In 1831, Ruben Walton was awarded the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Army and transferred to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment as a cavalry platoon leader."

"In 1833, he was stationed at Jefferson's Barracks in Missouri, where he was responsible for surveying the border terrain and participating in border negotiations with Native American tribes. In 1835, he was promoted to lieutenant and appointed as deputy cavalry company commander."

"In 1836, he participated in the Second Seminole War. He was transferred to the Florida Command and served as a staff officer to Brigadier General William Worth. He pioneered the design of rapid maneuver tactics in the swamp and was awarded the 'Distinguished Service' award."

"He was promoted to captain in 1838 and commanded an independent cavalry company in the raid on Lake Okechobi, for which he was commended again."

"In 1843, he was transferred to the Southwest Command Staff Office as a major and deputy director of the intelligence office." "In 1848, he participated in the Mexican-American War, and was awarded the 'Medal of Merit First Class' for his military achievements, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel and director of the intelligence office."

"In 1840, Captain Reuben Walton married stenographer Ariel King, and they currently have two sons and two daughters!"

After reading through all the information about Lieutenant Colonel Wharton in the file, Azu looked up and smiled, "Lieutenant Colonel, is there anything wrong with the information we collected about you?"

Upon hearing all this information related to himself, Lieutenant Colonel Walton's mood sank lower and lower. Unconsciously, the seven or eight parts of alcohol he was under completely disappeared along with the cold sweat covering his body.

“Mr. Li…!” Lieutenant Colonel Walton said in a deep voice, “What exactly do you want to do by going to such lengths to collect the personal information of an active-duty U.S. Army officer?”

Azu shrugged: "Lieutenant Colonel, although you have secretly planned a series of hostile actions against me, I actually have no personal animosity towards you."

“After all, you are different from Brigadier General George Phillips and interim Governor Brosnan. I have no personal grudges or conflicts of interest with you.”

Azu said calmly, "On the contrary, I'm prepared to help Lieutenant Colonel Walton!"

"Lieutenant Colonel, you were born into poverty and have no connections in the military. Your wife is the same; she can't offer any help for your career advancement!"

"Lieutenant Colonel, your educational background and military career are impeccable! But that is far from enough to make you a high-ranking general!"

"At the end of his life, perhaps his rank of colonel will just be gone!"

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Colonel Walton's expression darkened.

Because everything Ah Zu said is true! To become a general, without a powerful backer or connections, even with the most perfect education and professional experience, the chances are extremely slim.

Azu continued, "However, I intend to make you a general!"

"Oh...?" Lieutenant Colonel Walton looked at Azu with a half-smile: "Mr. Li, what are you planning to do?"

Azu waved the file in his hand: "Of course, we have people in the military too! Otherwise, where do you think your intelligence came from, Lieutenant Colonel?"

“Besides the military, we also have people in Washington!” Azu said calmly. “With my financial resources, it wouldn’t be difficult to get you promoted to the rank of general!”

In the army, it was naturally Edgar Allan Poe's mysterious and influential friend.

In Washington, of course, it refers to Abraham Lincoln!

Upon hearing that Azu had people in both the military and Washington, Lieutenant Colonel Walton was genuinely moved!
"As far as I know, Mr. Li has only been in San Francisco for a year. How could you possibly have people in both the military and political circles? This is simply unbelievable!"

"Hehe!" Azu smiled faintly: "As long as you have great financial resources, is it difficult to make some friends?"

As he spoke, Azu snapped his fingers.

Jason remained silent, got off the table, and took out a briefcase.

Jason opened the briefcase and pushed it in front of Lieutenant Colonel Walton!

As expected, the suitcase contained neat stacks of one hundred-dollar bills!
"Lieutenant Colonel Walton, there's $300,000 in cash here!"

Azu calmly replied, "As long as you, Lieutenant Colonel, are willing to become our friend, this cash is entirely yours!"

"A lieutenant colonel or colonel only earns a little over two thousand dollars a year! But this briefcase contains wealth you could never earn in a lifetime!"

"Gulp...!" Lieutenant Colonel Walton couldn't help but swallow hard as he stared at the glaringly large amount of cash in the briefcase, unable to look away!
Ah Zu added, “Lieutenant Colonel, you can also use these funds to smooth things over with your superiors! If you don’t have any connections to rely on, you can create them yourself!”

"As long as you become our friend, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, and are willing to do some very simple things for me, I will continue to provide you with a steady stream of funds!"

"Of course, Lieutenant Colonel, you are perfectly free to refuse! I believe you are an upright person who is not tempted by money!"

"However, not everyone in the American military is as upright as you, Lieutenant Colonel! I believe there are many officers who prefer dollars and gold, and their ranks may even be far higher than yours!"

"I believe that with my wealth, I can buy the loyalty of many high-ranking military officers! Anyone who opposes me, whether in the business world, the political world, or the military, will not have a good life!"

"And...!" Azu concluded, "As far as I know, the lieutenant colonel's one-year-old daughter is very, very cute, but unfortunately... she suffers from a very serious congenital disease. The lieutenant colonel needs money, a lot of money, to treat his lovely little daughter!"

"Otherwise, that lovely little girl would almost certainly not have lived past the age of three...!"

"Stop talking!" Lieutenant Colonel Walton closed his eyes in anguish. "Mr. Li, please stop!"

“Alright!” Azu shrugged. “Then you should think it over as soon as possible, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. After all, Miss Adele is still waiting for you in her room!”

Then, a long silence fell over the room.

After a long while, Lieutenant Colonel Wharton, who had been keeping his head buried in his chest, finally slowly raised his head and looked at Azu, saying, "Mr. Li, I want to know, why are you targeting me?"

Azu said calmly, "Lieutenant Colonel, do you really think no one knows about the conspiracies you discussed with Interim Governor Brosnan?"

"If your schemes were exposed, they could absolutely send you to a military court and completely destroy everything you and your family have now!"

“Once those conspiracies are exposed, do you think Brigadier General George Phillips can protect you? Perhaps he won’t protect you at all, but will use you as a pawn, as a scapegoat…!”

"What? You all know? You know everything?" Lieutenant Colonel Walton was once again completely shocked.

He believed that everything he had discussed with interim governor Brosnan the previous night had been leaked.

If this matter were to leak out, it could indeed easily ruin everything for him!
Just as Ah-Zu said, the matter was too big for the Brigadier General to protect him. He would only throw him out like a dead dog and make him the scapegoat for all of this!
Azu neither admitted nor denied it, but simply said, "Lieutenant Colonel, have you thought it through? Will you continue to be my enemy, or will you become my friend?"

Walton turned to look at the huge sum of cash in the briefcase, thinking of the beauty waiting for him in the room, and the cute little angel at home who needed a lot of money to survive...!
At that moment, he wavered!

"Mr. Li, I'd like to know, what do you need me to do for you?"

At this moment, Lieutenant Colonel Wharton finally compromised with himself, with money, and with this young Chinese man!

As expected, Azu smiled and said, "What did you and the interim governor discuss last night on that fishing boat? I need the details!"

After a moment of silence, Lieutenant Colonel Wharton told everything without reservation, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

Upon hearing their plot, Vic, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jason almost simultaneously changed their expressions drastically and gasped sharply!
This conspiracy is incredibly insidious, and almost impossible to thwart!

It's so insidious, so ruthless, and so impossible to guard against!
Once they put it into practice, our side has no good countermeasures at all; no matter what we do, it will be wrong!
Only Ah Zu remained unfazed!

"It must be said that this method of framing and manipulating public opinion is not very clever!"

Azu said in a deep voice, "Although it's not particularly clever, it's certainly very effective! Without preparation, we will be extremely passive, and if we're not careful, we'll be completely overwhelmed by the surging public opinion!"

After his initial shock, Edgar Allan Poe exclaimed, "That old dog Brosnan is absolutely ruthless! Perhaps we should take this opportunity...!"

Edgar Allan Poe made a throat-slitting gesture and continued, "If we don't get rid of this old dog, he'll continue to plot against us...!"

After pondering for a long time, Azu finally spoke.

"No, simply killing him would be too easy on him. We need to make good use of this opportunity...!"

(End of this chapter)