North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 148 I Don't Want You to Go Back Alive
"Captain, what exactly is going on?"

Faced with Brigadier General George Phillips's persistent questioning, Nicholson, who was barely clinging to life and had only managed to return here by sheer willpower, showed no reaction whatsoever.

Brigadier General George, impatient, put his hands on Nicholson's shoulders: "Captain, say something!"

Blood was slowly seeping from Nicholson's seven orifices, and there was a deep, bone-revealing gash on his forehead.

Nicholson's injuries were so horrific that his listless gaze finally managed to focus on the brigadier general's face.

"Heh heh...!" Nicholson chuckled bitterly, his voice slurred, "General, what are you saying? I'm deaf...!"

"What...what did you say? Are you deaf?"

Nicholson was exceptionally agile; even though Shi Dakai injured his hands and feet, he jumped into the sea and escaped with his life.

The naval staff fired wildly, but Nicholson was not harmed in the slightest.

Unfortunately, the two grenades that Azu threw into the sea dealt a critical blow to Nicholson!
The shockwave from the explosion causes damage in seawater that is a hundred times greater than that in air.

The shockwaves from the two grenades caused Nicholson very serious internal injuries and even shattered his eardrums, leaving him deaf!
If it weren't for his body, which had undergone rigorous long-term training, those two grenades would have killed him instantly!
Nicholson vaguely saw George Phillips' lips moving rapidly, but he couldn't hear a sound.

For Nicholson, the whole world was deathly silent!
"General, stop talking! I can't hear anything you're saying!"

Seeing that Brigadier General George's lips were still moving, Nicholson could only say weakly, "General, shut up, I'm talking, you listen!"

Having heard this clearly, Brigadier General George Phillips barely managed to suppress his impatience and shut his mouth.

"General, our plan has completely failed!"

"I crashed into that damn Chinese ship! Brigadier General Paparo King, and a whole bunch of naval staff officers were on his ship."

"I was lucky to escape back, but most of the witnesses and physical evidence fell into the hands of the navy and that Chinese guy."

"It's over, everything's over... Haha!"

Nicholson gave a bitter laugh: "Those captains and soldiers were only forced into this by orders; they can't keep any secrets."

"So, General, our flawless plan has failed completely."

"Now, I'd better hurry up and think of a way to clear my name!"

After listening to Nicholson's account, Brigadier General George Phillips was stunned!

He never imagined that he would be defeated so completely!
Why did this happen? How did it get like this?
The plan failed, and the navy and that Chinese guy had all the witnesses and evidence in their hands, which meant that he couldn't escape the fate of being disgraced!

No, no, no... I absolutely cannot sit and wait to die. There must be another way, there must be another way...!
Oh, right! Chief of Staff Wharton…!
Brigadier General George Phillips said urgently, "Captain, we can pin all the blame on that guy Walton!"

"What are you saying? I can't hear you!"

Brigadier General George hurriedly grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down all his thoughts.

Seeing Brigadier General George's thoughts, Nicholson listlessly raised his head and continued with a bitter laugh: "General, you are a ruthless and heartless fellow! Colonel Wharton is now one of our Freemasons, and you just sell him out like that?"

Brigadier General George had made up his mind and wrote on the paper again: "It's better for one person to die than for all of us to die!"

"Ho ho...!" Nicholson said, "General, what are you going to do?"

Brigadier General George wrote again: "I will immediately write a report to the War Department, Congress, and the President, exposing all of Colonel Walton's conspiracies! This is the only way at the moment!"

Nicholson pondered for a moment and replied, "General, you're right, this is the only way now."

Seeing that Nicholson agreed with his idea, Brigadier General George Phillips did not hesitate any longer and immediately called the medic to carry Nicholson away for treatment.

Meanwhile, he himself was hunched over his desk, personally writing this crucial report.

Brigadier General George Phillips meticulously crafted this report, working through the night until the morning of the following day, when he finally finished it.

Just as they were about to have the communications officer deliver this crucial report to Washington as quickly as possible, they heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

With a loud "Bang!", the door to the general's office was pushed open very roughly.

Brigadier General George Phillips looked up, about to erupt in anger, when he saw another army general, wearing a single star, standing before him.

Brigadier General George recognized the general in front of him; they had fought together in the Mexican-American War.

“Pebel Thomas…!”

Brigadier General George Phillips asked incredulously, "You, aren't you in Washington? How did you end up at my headquarters?"

“I’m sorry, George…!” Brigadier General Pepper Thomas took off his hat and then took two letters from the staff behind him.

"Brigadier General George Phillips, you have been officially relieved of your command of the Southwestern Army Command by the President! As ordered by the President and the War Department, you are required to return to Washington immediately to accept a new appointment!"

With that, Brigadier General Thomas handed a letter of dismissal to George Phillips.

"What...? Thomas, what are you talking about...?"

Brigadier General George Phillips could hardly believe his ears!

Brigadier General Pepper Thomas then repeated what he had just said.

"The president personally relieved me of my command?"

Brigadier General George Phillips remained incredulous: "Who is the new commander of the Southwest Command? Why haven't I received any information about him?"

Brigadier General Thomas unfolded an appointment letter in front of Brigadier General George: "George, I am the one who will succeed you as commander! Otherwise, why would I be here?"

“This…this is impossible!” Brigadier General George Phillips looked at the appointment letter clearly, but still said incredulously, “The president is one of our men, and there are so many of our men in Washington. Why haven’t I received any news?”

Brigadier General Thomas said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry, President Taylor passed away on October 28th! The current president is Fillmore...!"

"What...?!!"

Brigadier General George Phillips slumped into his chair, looking utterly dejected.

If President Taylor, a Freemason himself, were still alive, his crimes would be more likely to be exonerated.

But the current president is Fillmore... Brigadier General George Phillips knows very well that this former vice president, now the president, has absolutely no goodwill toward the Freemasons!
President Fillmore was even an activist against Freemasonry in his youth!

What does it mean that President Fillmore dismissed himself from his post as commander of the Southwest Command as soon as he took office?
If I were still in command, perhaps I could still cover up what I did.

But if I'm transferred, how can I cover it up? How can I escape punishment?

It should be noted that Brigadier General Pepper Thomas, who is standing in front of us, is not only not a Freemason, but also deeply resents the Freemasons' secret manipulation of power!
Upon seeing his former comrade-in-arms in such a dejected state, Brigadier General Thomas felt a pang of pity.

“George, don’t be like this!” Brigadier General Thomas comforted him, “Although the president has relieved you of your command, you will surely be reappointed when you return to Washington.”

Little did Brigadier General Thomas know that George Phillips had no worries about that at all!

Seeing that his former comrade-in-arms remained silent, Brigadier General Thomas could only say, "George, please cooperate with my work, hand over everything as soon as possible, and then return to Washington!"

With that, Thomas turned to his staff officer behind him and said, "Immediately convene a meeting of all officers of major rank and above in headquarters!"

Brigadier General Pepper Thomas, as always, acted swiftly and decisively, immediately summoning the principal officers to a meeting to announce the order relieving Brigadier General George Phillips of his command and his own appointment as commander of the Southwest Command.

Pepper Thomas moved so fast that even if Brigadier General George Phillips wanted to make some underhanded moves, he simply wouldn't have had time.

Moreover, his repeated reckless actions have caused heavy losses to the troops under the command of the Southwest Command, and officers at all levels have long been resentful of him as their commander.

In fact, if Brigadier General George Phillips didn't leave soon, many of his officers were prepared to court-martial him! So, even before Brigadier General George Phillips left, the situation had already cooled down!
The officers and soldiers who used to obey him and follow his orders without question now not a single one of them has come to visit their former superior, and many even treat him with cold indifference.

At this moment, Brigadier General George Phillips, who was once high and mighty, finally felt what it meant to be disloyal and what it meant to be cold-hearted!
Several days later, Brigadier General George Phillips, having finally handed over everything, boarded the "Flying" mail ship bound for the East, accompanied by his only personal guard and his entire family, in a great hurry.

Following behind Brigadier General George and his family, quietly boarding the "Flying" mail ship, was an inconspicuous hunchbacked, white-haired old man with a limp in his right leg, leaning on a cane. Occasionally, after a violent cough, he would cough up traces of blood.

The "Flying" sailed south for ten days before docking at the port of Panama City.

After disembarking at the port of Panama and crossing the Isthmus of Panama, which is only a few dozen kilometers wide, we boarded another cruise ship, the "Grand Republic," at the port of Colon in the Caribbean Sea on the other side.

The Grand Republic cruise ship, departing from the port of Colon, Panama, will travel directly to the port of Baltimore, which is only about 60 kilometers from Washington, D.C. This will be another voyage of approximately two weeks.

The only resupply stop on this voyage was in Miami, Florida.

When the "Great Republic" was halfway through its voyage and docked at the Port of Miami, the hunched, limping, white-haired old man followed the crowd ashore for a stroll.

When he returned to the "Grand Republic", he had a small box in his hand.

Back in his cabin, the old man opened the small box. Inside was only a letter and a small copper tube about twenty centimeters long.

After reading the letter, the old man showed a complicated expression, then lit the letter on a candle and burned it to ashes.

The following day, the "Grand Republic" set sail again.

The weather was exceptionally fine that day. Brigadier General George Phillips, who had just stepped down from his post, made a rare appearance outside his cabin on the deck to breathe in the fresh sea breeze and relax his depressed mood.

Brigadier General George leaned against the ship's railing, gazing blankly at the distant blue sea and sky, where the sea and sky met in one color.

"Ahem...!"

A lame, hunched old man, leaning on a cane, appeared beside him.

"I'm sorry, General, I didn't want to do this...!"

"What...? Who are you...?"

Before Brigadier General George Phillips could react, a soft "plop...!" was heard.
The hunchbacked old man slightly raised his hand, and with a flash of cold light, a thin, black needle pierced Brigadier General George Phillips' neck!
"you you……!"

Brigadier General George Phillips' face turned a terrifying deathly gray in the blink of an eye.

"I'm sorry... General!" the hunched old man whispered in his ear, "Your friends don't want to see you go back alive...!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the hunched old man gave a gentle push with his palm, and Brigadier General George Phillips' tall body flew straight off the ship's side and into the sea!

"Plop...!"

Brigadier General George Phillips's tall frame created only a tiny ripple on the sea before disappearing completely.

Soon, even this small ripple was left behind by the "Grand Republic" cruise ship, which was riding a favorable wind and traveling at extremely high speed.

"General, the series of crimes you have committed are far too serious and have already affected the organization's reputation."

"So, I'm very sorry, but we cannot let you return to Washington alive to face trial!"

"But don't worry! My organization and I will avenge you!"

"That damned Chinese guy, I will personally kill him for you... cough cough!"

The hunched, lame old man covered his coughing mouth with a handkerchief, staring at the sea where Brigadier General George Phillips had disappeared. After a long while, he sighed softly, turned, and vanished into the cabin.
-
This occurred in mid-November, more than two weeks before Brigadier General George Phillips disappeared.

Washington, the Vice President's office!
"Beep beep beep...!"

It was that familiar assistant who knocked on the door of the vice president's office.

"Come in……!"

The assistant pushed open the door and placed an urgent letter on the desk.

"Mr. Vice President, this is an urgent letter from San Francisco. As you instructed, we have not opened any mail sent from there and have handed it over to you personally for immediate processing...!"

Upon hearing the letter from San Francisco, Vice President Abraham Lincoln looked up from the piles of documents and said in a steady, powerful voice, "You handled it very well. You may leave now!"

"Yes, Mr. Vice President."

After his assistant left the office, Lincoln used a paper cutter to cut open the urgent letter from the far west.

The letter was short, but after Vice President Lincoln read it, his thick eyebrows involuntarily furrowed.

"Bang...!" A flash of anger crossed Lincoln's face as he slammed the text message heavily onto his desk.

"I never imagined that Brigadier General George Phillips would be so audacious!"

"Commanding the U.S. Army to openly attack the legitimate properties of the China American Company."

"Those villages were only inhabited by farmers who had settled and reclaimed the land, yet this brigadier general commanded more than three thousand American soldiers in a massive offensive!"

"This general is not only incredibly audacious, but also utterly incompetent!"

"Even when facing a group of farmers clearing land, more than three thousand regular troops suffered a defeat, resulting in more than a thousand casualties! This is simply outrageous, utterly outrageous!"

Vice President Lincoln grew increasingly angry: "Luckily, he was replaced in advance, otherwise, who knows what a ridiculous situation would have arisen."

"According to the letter, Brigadier General George will definitely use the Freemasons' influence to hype up this matter, portraying China Industries as a heinous rebel force in order to seize penicillin and California's gold...!"

"Beep beep beep...!" Vice President Lincoln's fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk as he fell into deep thought.

"Other parties in Washington should not have received the news yet. Otherwise, with the power of the Freemasons, they would have already made it public."

"We absolutely cannot let the Freemasons gain the upper hand in this matter. However, we also cannot resort to administrative power...!"

With that in mind, Lincoln picked up a pen and paper and personally drafted a letter.

After writing it, Lincoln signed his pseudonym on the letter.

"Ding ding...!"

After finishing, Lincoln pressed the bell on the table.

After his assistant entered, Lincoln instructed, "Send this dispatch immediately by telegram to all the newspapers, especially our own five. Have them report it on the front page immediately."

"Yes, Mr. Vice President!"

"Keep this a secret. Don't let this get in my way," Lincoln instructed.

"Please rest assured, Mr. Vice President."

After doing all this, Lincoln pondered for a moment and still felt it wasn't enough, so he got up and went to the Presidential Office himself.

On this matter, relying on our own strength is not enough to contend with the Freemasons; we must reach an agreement with the President.

After listening to Lincoln's account, Fillmore, who had only been president for a little over twenty days, frowned just like Lincoln.

Lincoln continued, "Mr. President, we absolutely cannot allow the Freemasons to take advantage of this situation. If we let them continue to act recklessly for their own selfish desires, the United States may have no choice but to formally declare war on California!"

(End of this chapter)