North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 138 You are a good person!
Shi Dakai tied the captured man up tightly and threw him at Azu's feet.

Azu squatted down, curiously examining the unusually unfamiliar face.

Then, Azu reached out and rubbed the face vigorously a few times, and then peeled off another thin "face" from it!

"A human skin mask...!"

Azu examined the thin mask: "I never imagined that there would be foreigners who know such cutting-edge technology!"

The thin mask was removed, revealing an even more unfamiliar face to the person at my feet.

"Is this what 'Captain Nicholson' really looks like?"

In the eyes of Azu and the others, this unconscious guy had become exceptionally ordinary in appearance. He was the kind of common face that would be impossible to find in a crowd.

After getting a good look at the man's face, Azu looked up at Shi Dakai and asked, "Was this the guy who tried to assassinate me just now? Brother Shi, how did you recognize him?"

Shi Dakai squatted down and took off the glove from the man's right hand, revealing a right hand covered in bandages.

Shi Dakai pointed to the hand and replied, "I injured this guy's right hand during the day. Although he wore gloves to hide the wound, he kept his right hand behind his back, which aroused my suspicion, so I kept an eye on him."

"I knew he was going to make a move as soon as he habitually raised his shoulder before he did!"

Shi Dakai rolled up the man's left sleeve, revealing a 20-centimeter-long copper tube, only the thickness of an index finger, tied to his arm.

After removing the copper tube from the man's arm, Shi Dakai said, "This is the mechanism for launching poison needles; it's extremely difficult to defend against. It wasn't detected during the previous body search."

Ah Zu took the copper pipe, studied its structure briefly, and then tossed the little gadget aside.

"Lock this guy up with that colonel and wait for their general to come and take them away."

Moments later, Colonel Walton and Nicholson, who was still unconscious, were bound tightly and locked in a small dark room.

"Corporal, is that Corporal Hayes?... Wake up!"

Colonel Walton's urgent voice rang out in the pitch-black room.

Nicholson, disguised as Corporal Hayes, slowly awoke from Colonel Walton's urgent call.

“Colonel…” Nicholson, who had just woken up, shook his head vigorously, trying to fully wake himself up, and then asked, “Colonel Walton?”

"damn it!"

In the darkness, Colonel Walton did not see that Nicholson's face had changed, but guessed who it was based on his clothes and build.

Hearing the voice again, Colonel Walton couldn't help but curse, "Corporal Hayes, who ordered you to assassinate that Chinaman?"

"Now, not only have you been arrested, but I've been detained too! You damned bastard, you've ruined my life!"

“Heh heh…!” Nicholson struggled to sit up. “Colonel, I didn’t want to do it, but that exceptionally strong Chinese guy next to him exposed my identity, so I had no choice!”

"Your identity has been exposed? You...who exactly are you?" Colonel Walton said, "In our Southwest Command, there is absolutely no expert as skilled as you!"

“Me…heh?” Nicholson chuckled. “Colonel, are you sure you really want to know who I am?”

"I can tell you, but after that, I'll have to kill you too!"

"Gulp...!" Colonel Walton swallowed hard. "I have absolutely no interest in your identity! Now, let's just wait patiently for Brigadier General George to come and take you away!"

“Hahaha…!” Nicholson laughed mockingly.

“Corporal, what are you laughing at?” Walton asked curiously.

"Colonel, how can someone as intelligent as you be so naive?"

Nicholson scoffed, "You really think, Mr. Brigadier General, would personally come and negotiate with these Chinamen for the sake of you and me?"

"I...I am, after all, the Chief of Staff of the Southwest Command. I have done so much for Brigadier General George and risked my life for him so many times. He...he will definitely come...!"

At this point, Colonel Walton's voice betrayed a hint of panic, and his tone lost some of its confidence.

"Colonel, don't be naive!"

Nicholson said coldly, "The general would risk his life for our two lives? Ha...maybe he'd rather we die here!"

Colonel Walton panicked immediately: "Corporal, what do you mean...?"

“Hehe…!” Nicholson just sneered and didn’t answer.

The two people in the darkness were tightly bound and sat back to back, and no one spoke for a long time.

"Corporal...!" Colonel Walton finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Do you think we're going to die here?"

“I assassinated that damned Chinese man. Colonel, if it were you, would you have let us off so easily?” Nicholson replied coldly.

"Gulp...!" Colonel Walton swallowed hard again: "What do we do? Are we just waiting to die?"

Nicholson paused for a moment, then replied, "Colonel, do you really want to escape?"

“Of course, I don’t want to die here for no reason!” Walton replied without hesitation.

After another moment of silence, Nicholson said, "We can try, but if we fail, we could very well die!"

Colonel Walton remained silent for a long time before replying, "It's better than waiting to die here!"

Nicholson listened intently for a long time, but found no movement around him, before lowering his voice and saying, "Colonel, try to untie my ropes with your teeth!"

"Uh... I'll give it a try!"

Colonel Walton fell to the ground, twisting his body to locate the knot that bound Nicholson's hands.

Then, he desperately tried to tear at the knot with his teeth, attempting to untie the unusually tight knot!
The knot that Shi Dakai tied himself was so difficult for others to untie, even with their hands, let alone their teeth!
Colonel Walton struggled for a long time, biting until his gums and lips bled, and even his teeth became a little loose, but he only managed to loosen the knot a tiny bit.

Colonel Wharton, his lips swollen from biting, mumbled, "Corporal, I'm sorry, I feel like I can't untie your knot with my teeth, it's tied way too tightly...!"

"Heh heh...!" Nicholson stretched his hands slightly and chuckled softly, "Colonel, that's enough!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Nicholson's hands twisted and turned like an eel, miraculously freeing himself from the slightly loosened rope!

"Colonel, I must thank you, you are truly a good person...!"

With that, Nicholson freed himself from his ropes, then quietly crept to the window and peered through the crack to observe the outside.

"Corporal, what are you doing? Untie me right now!"

Colonel Walton lowered his voice and said rather urgently.

In the darkness, Nicholson turned around, his voice filled with mockery: "Sorry, Colonel! I don't think I have the ability to take you with me when we escape!"

"What did you say...?" Colonel Walton's eyes widened in disbelief in the darkness.

"Heh!" Nicholson chuckled softly. "If I take you with me, we'll both die! If I escape alone, I might have a chance... Colonel, what would you choose?"

"I...I, Fuck...Fuck You!"

"Goodbye, esteemed Colonel! I hope to see you again someday!"

Before he finished speaking, Nicholson silently opened the window, leaped out, and disappeared into the night like a nimble cat!

"Fuck, fuck! Corporal Hayes, you son of a bitch, you scoundrel...!"

From the small, dark room came Colonel Walton's mumbled curses.

After a long while, Shi Dakai, accompanied by several militiamen, carrying torches, pushed open the door of the small dark room.

Upon discovering that only Colonel Walton remained in the room, Shi Dakai was immediately taken aback!
"Where is that damned assassin?" Shi Dakai lifted Colonel Walton up with one hand, raised his large hand, and slapped Colonel Walton across the face several times!

Colonel Walton's face instantly turned black and swollen to the naked eye!

"puff……!"

Colonel Walton spat a mouthful of foul-smelling blood at Shi Dakai!
"It's like a rock in a latrine, both smelly and hard!"

Shi Dakai brandished his riding whip, lashing Colonel Walton repeatedly until he rolled on the ground in agony.

In just a few moments, Colonel Walton's uniform was reduced to shreds, his body torn and bleeding, leaving him a bloody mess.

"Ah...ah...ah...!"

Colonel Walton's screams were deafening, chilling to the bone and bringing tears to the eyes of all who heard them.

"Enough...!"

Upon hearing the commotion, Azu rushed over and quickly stopped Shi Dakai: "Stop hitting him! If you keep hitting him, you'll beat him to death!"

"We must keep him alive to negotiate with those foreign devils!"

Shi Dakai said, still not satisfied, "Boss, that assassin escaped! It must have been that foreign devil who let him go!"

"A mere assassin, so what if he ran away? It's no big deal!"

Ah Zu said, "This colonel is a big shot. You all keep a close eye on him and don't let him get away again!"

"Okay, boss!"

After Azu left with Shi Dakai and the others, the militia indeed strengthened their guard over the small dark room, with several militiamen keeping a close watch on it.

"Ouch...ouch...!"

Inside the small, dark room, only Colonel Walton's agonizing screams could be heard. The screams didn't gradually subside until the latter half of the night.

"Crack...!"

A barely audible, slight noise suddenly came from the roof of the small dark room.

The militiamen guarding the area were completely unaware of this slight movement.

The wooden roof of the small dark room, which was covered with sheet metal, had a two-foot square opening that had been made at some point.

A rope hung down from the opening, and a dark figure silently slid down the rope into the small dark room.

Colonel Walton was taken aback to find that there was another person in the room.

"Shh...!" the newcomer whispered, "Colonel, it's me!"

Upon hearing this voice, Colonel Walton couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Corporal Hayes? Aren't you...?"

"Shh...!"

The person who arrived was none other than Nicholson, who had been on the run for a long time!
He moved swiftly and untied Colonel Walton's ropes.

"Colonel, can you still move?"

Colonel Walton, who continued to groan, nodded.

Nicholson pointed to the rope hanging from the roof, indicating that Colonel Walton should climb out.

Colonel Wharton was, after all, an outstanding graduate of West Point, so his basic military skills were definitely not lacking.

A moment later, the two climbed up the roof using the ropes.

In the darkness, the two tiptoed along the rows of rooftops, running for dozens of meters.

Then, in a deserted corner, they came down from the roof.

"Colonel, change your clothes!"

Nicholson somehow acquired a militia uniform and gestured for Colonel Walton to change into it.

Nicholson himself had already changed into a standard militia uniform.

After Colonel Walton changed his clothes, Nicholson lowered his voice and said, "Colonel, stay with me and don't say a word!"

Colonel Walton nodded emphatically in the darkness.

Nicholson, with Walton by his side, walked proudly through the model village.

The two men occasionally passed by on patrol.

"Password...!"

"The king sent me to patrol the mountain!"

Nicholson answered the command correctly in fluent Cantonese.

Walton was secretly surprised. This guy can actually speak Chinese?
After a series of close calls, Nicholson led Walton to the foot of a tall watchtower.

"who?"

Questions came from the watchtower.

"Hey bro, time for the shift change!"

"Password...!"

"The king sent me to patrol the mountain!"

"Okay, wait a minute...!"

A moment later, two sentries came down the stairs from the watchtower.

"Yawn... I'm leaving it to you guys!"

"Yes, leave it to us, don't worry!"

The two sentries, yawning, left without looking back.

Nicholson led Walton up the tall watchtower.

Then, Nicholson produced a rope from somewhere, tied one end to the watchtower, and threw the other end over the high wall.

"Colonel, crawl out...!"

Without further ado, Colonel Walton climbed over the high wall using the rope.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Nicholson slid down the rope like a monkey.

"Let's go, Colonel, it's time for us to head back!"

Led by Nicholson, the two men, stumbling and staggering, disappeared into the darkness.

In a direction unknown to them, Azu, Shi Dakai, and Zuo Zongtang were also standing on another watchtower, watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance through binoculars.

"Boss, that assassin is quite skilled, knows a lot of unorthodox techniques, and is both bold and meticulous. Wouldn't keeping someone like that around be like letting a tiger return to the mountains?"

Shi Dakai couldn't help but ask.

Azu smiled and said, "We staged a ruse tonight to gain Colonel Wharton's complete trust."

"He's just an assassin. As long as we're on guard, he can't cause any real trouble."

"On the contrary, Colonel Wharton is extremely important to us! After gaining their complete trust, he might bring us unexpected surprises."

Zuo Zongtang asked, "Zunian, how can you be sure that the assassin didn't leave after escaping, and that he will come back to rescue Walton?"

Azu shook his head: "I'm not sure! But I judge that because Model Village was so well prepared, Brigadier General George Phillips and that assassin guessed that there were our spies inside the Southwest Command."

“If the brigadier and the assassin both suspect there is a spy inside, then Walton will definitely be a prime suspect.”

"After all, Colonel Walton is the person in their army who has had the most contact with our side."

Azu continued, "If I were that assassin, after escaping, I should have taken this rare opportunity to secretly observe how Colonel Walton was treated."

“If we treat Colonel Walton politely, even like one of our own, then Colonel Walton must be a spy.”

"If we are ruthless and merciless towards Colonel Walton, then the suspicion against him, if not completely cleared, will certainly be mostly cleared."

"Since Colonel Walton is not a spy, it shouldn't be difficult for that assassin to rescue him."

"Colonel Wharton is an outstanding graduate of West Point. He has already risen to a high position at a young age, and given time, he is likely to become a general. Such a person is a rare talent, both in the American military and in the Freemasons."

"Therefore, I judge that the assassin will not let such a rare talent die so mysteriously. He will probably take action to rescue Colonel Walton."

"Tsk tsk tsk!" Zuo Zongtang exclaimed, "Zunian, your trick is not only like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai's self-inflicted injury, but also has a similar effect to Jiang Gan stealing the letter!"

Shi Dakai was also sincerely impressed and said, "No wonder you were able to build such a large empire in such a short time!"

Azu said calmly, "I merely anticipated that assassin's prediction!"

"However, poor Colonel Wharton suffered a beating for no reason!"

"It's tough on Brother Shi, he had to play the villain for once!"

"Haha!" Shi Dakai laughed heartily, "If I have the chance to beat those foreign devils to a pulp, I'd be willing to play the villain a few more times!"

Azu nodded and smiled: "Colonel Walton's beating won't be in vain. I've already promised him that I'll leave him one percent of the shares in Huamei Pharmaceutical Factory!"

"Don't underestimate this one percent share! Every year, this one percent share can bring him at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in stable income, equivalent to tens of thousands of taels of gold!"

Azu turned to look at Zuo Zongtang and Shi Dakai and said, "After a while, Mr. Zuo, Brother Shi, and Brother Feng Zicai, once you have made some achievements, you will all have shares in the pharmaceutical factory. From then on, you and your descendants will no longer need to worry about money."

Zuo Zongtang stroked his black beard, smiled slightly, and did not refuse.

Given Zuo Zongtang's personality, he did not value money. Later, when he was a governor-general, the Qing court paid him tens of thousands of taels of silver annually.

He kept several hundred taels for his own household expenses, and used the rest either for military funds or to develop industries, making him a rare example of integrity among officials in the late Qing Dynasty.

The couplet, personally written by Zuo Zongtang, "Aspire to the highest ideals, cultivate moderate relationships, and enjoy modest blessings," clearly articulates an attitude towards life.

Shi Dakai just grinned; he, too, didn't care much for money.

Whether you love money or not, having money is always a good thing.

"In your opinion, how should we break the current deadlock?" Zuo Zongtang asked.

Azu replied in a deep voice, "The focus of the current situation is no longer here, or even in California, but in Washington, in the court!"

"I wonder if our allies in the court have taken that crucial first step!"

"If he has already taken that step, then we still have a chance."

"If he hasn't taken that position yet... then we must prepare for a full-scale war!"

(End of this chapter)