North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 162 Formal Invitation

Joking aside, Feng Zicai is already in his early thirties and Shi Dakai is twenty, so they really should be found decent wives as soon as possible.

The grand annual meeting of Huamei Company had just ended, and Azu and Archbishop Evan, among others, sat down together again.

“Azu, as required by Rome, I will go to the Vatican in May to personally present my inauguration to the Pope.”

Archbishop Evan took a sip of the vintage Margaux, a kind smile on his face: "Moreover, the Vatican has extended an invitation to you, the newly appointed first governor of California, for a formal visit!"

"A formal invitation to visit...?"

Azu was slightly surprised.

Just a few months ago, the Vatican had only extended an informal invitation to him.

And now, the Vatican's invitation to him has become a formal visit?
“Yes!” Archbishop Evan nodded with a smile: “After all, your status is different now!”

“Before, you were just a very successful businessman. Although you came to the attention of the Vatican through penicillin, a businessman is a businessman, and his status is ultimately limited.”

"However, you are now the first governor of California, elected by the people, a rising political star, and you have a very friendly attitude towards the Vatican and have made important contributions."

"Now is the right time to extend a formal visit to you."

"Going to the Vatican...?" Azu hesitated slightly. "Europe, I'll make that trip sooner or later. But the journey is just too far."

“A round trip would take at least three or four months just for the journey. If you spend two months in Europe, half a year will have passed.”

Azu pondered, "California may seem calm on the surface right now, but in reality, undercurrents are surging and dangers lurk everywhere."

"There are only three months left until May. If we travel with you, Archbishop, we must eliminate all hidden dangers within these three months."

"Three months...three months, that's a very tight timeframe!"

Azu thought for a moment and said, "Archbishop, let's do it this way: let's prepare for our departure to Europe in May. If I can't get away then, I'll have to let you travel alone."

Archbishop Evan nodded with a smile: "Alright! The Vatican's formal invitation to your visit is important, but compared to the safety of the entire state of California, it doesn't seem so urgent."

Azu turned to Vic and said, "If we really are going to the Vatican in May, in order to save time on our journey, shouldn't we arrange for a fast steamship to arrive in Colon, Panama, in advance and wait for us in the Caribbean Sea?"

"If we want to cross the Atlantic Ocean in our own fast steamship, the 500-ton Taishan is clearly not enough!"

Vic thought for a moment: "Our first 1,500-ton fast steamship will be launched in the next few days. We can arrange for this 1,500-ton ship to travel south, passing Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America, and into the Atlantic Ocean."

"Then the ship sailed north along the South American coastline and docked at the port of Colon on the other side of the Isthmus of Panama to wait for you, Boss and the Archbishop."

“I’ve sailed this route several times!” Captain Vic continued. “It’s an extremely long voyage, more than 13,000 nautical miles, even longer than the Far East route.”

"Even if we maintain a speed of 20 knots, this one trip alone will take at least a month. Therefore, our ship needs to set sail before April."

"After our ship picks up you and the Archbishop at the port of Cologne, we will set sail again for Rome, Italy. This will also be a very long journey."

"Similarly, I've also run this direct route to Europe."

"Although this route is relatively short, it is still about nine thousand nautical miles long, and at a speed of twenty knots, it will take more than twenty days."

"In addition, the more than 4,000 nautical miles of voyage from San Francisco to the port of Panama will also take about ten days."

Captain Vic did the math: "Boss, if we arrange for our ship to wait for you in the Caribbean Sea in advance, it can indeed greatly shorten the journey time."

"From San Francisco to Rome, Italy, the entire journey is more than 13,000 nautical miles. At our fast steamship's cruising speed of 20 knots, it would take about a month."

Azu nodded: "A month's journey each way can indeed save a lot of time."

Vic added with concern, "Boss, the sea voyage is only one aspect of the problem. Compared to that, I'm more worried about your safety."

"You should know that this route passes through the controlled areas of the American Continental Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet. If the Freemasons want to target you, this would be a golden opportunity!"

Azu replied, “Yes! But our ship is fast enough that there is no ship in the world that can catch up with us right now.”

"Simply by relying on speed, we can get rid of most dangers."

"However, just to be on the safe side, we should still equip this ship with naval guns."

Azu added, "The basic construction of our naval gun factory is now basically completed. Most of the equipment is being installed and tested at an accelerated pace."

"By the end of February, the naval gun factory should be able to start trial production."

"According to my design, once the naval gun factory is built, it will be capable of producing 100mm, 155mm and 203mm breech-loading rifled guns."

"Given the scale of the naval gun factory, it should be able to trial-produce at least five of each of these three calibers within March."

"Although the number is still small, it is barely enough to equip just one ship for self-defense."

Vic couldn't help but interject, "If a 1,500-ton armored ship is only equipped with 15 guns, I feel that's too few, the firepower is too weak, it doesn't even reach the firepower level of a frigate...!"

"Hehe!" Azu smiled and said, "The breech-loading rifled guns we produce are incomparable to the muzzle-loading smoothbore guns currently in service with the navy."

"Whether it's rate of fire, range, accuracy, or power, our breech-loading rifled guns are absolutely superior to any other gun of this era!"

"Although we only have fifteen guns of different calibers, I believe that we can defend ourselves, let alone frigates, or even armored cruisers!"

“What…!”

When Vic and Edgar Allan Poe, who were knowledgeable about the navy and naval warfare, heard Azu's words, they all widened their eyes, somewhat disbelieving their ears.

"Boss, do you really think that a ship with only fifteen guns, which doesn't even meet the standards of a frigate, can challenge an armored cruiser of more than three thousand tons?"

"Boss, you need to know that an armored cruiser of more than 3,000 tons is equipped with at least 40 cannons, and it is not uncommon for some to be equipped with 50 or 60 cannons...!"

Azu smiled and shook his head: "Ellen, Vic, your thinking is still stuck in the era of sailing warships. The tactical thinking that relies on the number of cannons and the tonnage of warships to determine the outcome is outdated in the face of our brand-new warships!"

"Now, whether it is a frigate, cruiser or capital ship, it is mainly equipped with 24-pound or 32-pound guns, and the range is almost limited to two or three thousand yards."

"Muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons have poor accuracy, slow rate of fire, and weak lethality of solid shells."

"From any perspective, our high-speed steamships equipped with breech-loading rifled guns are absolutely superior to those of this era, far ahead of the competition...!"

"Once our new ship is launched and equipped with our own domestically produced breech-loading rifled guns, I will let you witness the arrival of a new era!"

"Far ahead...!"

"A new era has begun...!"

Edgar Allan Poe and Vic never questioned Azu's words, because past experience had repeatedly proven that all the boasts their boss had made had become reality.

However, Ah Zu's pace of technological innovation was simply too fast. Even they were struggling to keep up with their boss's speed and frequency of introducing new technologies.

Azu continued confidently, "So, you don't need to worry about my safety! If anyone dares to lay a hand on us, I guarantee they'll be the ones who regret it."

"However, since we've finally made it to Europe, we need to plan our itinerary as soon as possible."

Vivian, her face beaming with excitement, took Azu's arm and exclaimed, "Azu, besides going to Genoa, my mother's hometown, I also want to go to Prussia, to Bavaria, to the Alps...!"

"Ahem...!" Monica coughed twice. "If I had the chance to go together, I'd like to go to Paris, Provence, Bordeaux, Champagne...!"

Victoria chimed in, "I want to go to my ancestral homeland, Barcelona, ​​Spain!"

Little Daisy also raised her hand and said, "I also want to go to Prussia, that's my grandfather's hometown...!" For America today, old Europe is still a place that everyone yearns for.

It's not just about the rich culture and beautiful scenery, but also about the prosperity and aristocratic atmosphere of Europe.

In this era, the United States, whether in terms of national character or the personalities of its citizens, still felt inferior and humiliated when compared to old Europe.

Old Europe, of course, looked down on these nouveau riche Americans... well, now America isn't even considered nouveau riche anymore, at most just a poor relative from a remote and desolate place.

So when Azu mentioned going to Europe, all the girls were incredibly excited and full of longing.

Seeing the excitement on his wife's face, Azu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Although it's not easy to go to Europe, we can't have everyone go, can we?"

"With such a large business empire, we need to leave people to guard it, right?"

Upon hearing what Azu said, all the girls immediately fell silent.

"Beep beep beep...!"

Just then, the door to the study creaked open.

The person who pushed open the door was Wu Qingfeng.

Born into a wealthy merchant family, Wu Qingfeng was always humble and always had a warm smile on his face.

But Wu Qingfeng, who appeared in the study at this moment, had a heavy look on his face, and even an indescribable grief.

Seeing Wu Qingfeng's expression, Azu couldn't help but ask, "Qingfeng, what's wrong? What happened?"

Wu Qingfeng shook his head slightly: "Boss, I'm fine!"

“A batch of our ocean-going ships just docked, bringing over two thousand Chinese laborers, as well as more than twenty young talents recommended by Lord Lin again.”

Azu asked curiously, "This is a good thing, why do you look so pale?"

"Sigh...!" Wu Qingfeng sighed softly, "This is indeed good news, but they also brought bad news...!"

At this point, Wu Qingfeng's expression became even more somber.

Seeing his expression, Azu seemed to understand something and quickly stood up to ask, "Could it be... could it be... Lord Lin... Lin Zexu...!"

Wu Qingfeng nodded heavily: "Yes! Old Master Lin passed away two months ago!"

Upon hearing this, the lively and cheerful atmosphere in the study vanished instantly.

Zuo Zongtang, in particular, was struck dumb upon hearing this and remained speechless for a long time!
After a long while, Zuo Zongtang slowly rose and, facing the direction of his homeland, kowtowed deeply with a resounding "thump!"
Azu also stood beside Zuo Zongtang, his face solemn, and bowed deeply three times!

Behind Azu, everyone stood in neat rows, bowing deeply respectfully towards the distance.

Among them were a group of foreigners, some of whom had never even heard of Lin Zexu. But since their boss was so solemn and respectful, how could they not be even more respectful?

Heaven did not grant him a long life; a virtuous minister of his generation has fallen!

The medicine that Azu specially arranged for Lin Zexu only temporarily prolonged Lin Zexu's life.

But it ultimately did not extend his lifespan completely; Lin Zexu eventually passed away at the end of 1850.

"May you rest in peace, Lord Lin!!"

"May you rest in peace, Lord Lin!!"

"May you rest in peace, Lord Lin!!"
-
After the annual meeting of Huamei Company, the Ohara siblings returned to the "Ohara Cotton Trading Company".

Tony appeared behind Susan O'Hara, who was removing her makeup.

Tony reached out and wrapped his arms around his sister's smooth, white, and delicate neck from behind, and then his hands slowly slid down...!
“My dear brother, that’s not the right way to treat your sister!” Susan O’Hara chuckled softly.

"Heh heh...!" Tony chuckled. "Weren't you already horny when you were looking at that Chinese guy? What are you pretending for now?"

Susan chuckled sweetly, "What woman wouldn't be tempted by such a young, handsome, and powerful man?"

“Only by conquering this kind of man can a woman experience the greatest satisfaction!” Susan’s tone grew increasingly seductive: “My brother, do you understand?”

"Tch...!" Tony scoffed. "You women just love chasing after these empty things!"

“My brother!” Susan turned around and asked, “That was such a rare opportunity, why did you stop me from taking further action?”

Tony shook his head slightly: "We underestimated that Chinese guy's resistance to women. He's not so easy to hook up with!"

"If you are too obvious or too eager, you will ruin our plans."

“This time, we have already piqued his interest, and there will be more and more opportunities in the future.”

“Susan, my sister, that Chinese man must be interested in you too, he just hides it very well.”

"Take it slow, don't rush this time."

Susan chuckled softly, "But the longer the mission lasts, the higher the risk of us being exposed, isn't that right, my dear brother...!"

Tony replied, "The organization has already created the perfect mission environment for us. As long as we don't launch the final attack, it's almost impossible for us to be exposed."

"You don't need to worry about that. You should focus on figuring out how to approach him step by step and eventually lure him in."

Susan pondered for a moment and said, "At the Huamei Company's annual meeting today, we met so many powerful and influential people. So, could our business perhaps consider inviting them to a banquet?"

"Including that Chinese guy?" Tony said. "I think it's perfectly feasible! As for the purpose of this party, it's to celebrate your birthday, Susan, what do you think?"

“Of course, my brother!” Susan chuckled. “He’s such a good brother of mine, he even remembered my birthday.”

Susan turned around and said, "If we can invite that Chinese guy to the birthday party this time, maybe we'll have a chance to complete our mission."

Tony, who was originally very eager to complete the mission, has now become unusually composed.

He continued, "If we can accomplish it, that would be best. But if the opportunity isn't ripe, we can't force it. We must wait until the time is right and strike decisively!"

Susan nodded: "Of course, my brother. Not only you, but I also felt a strong threat from those two Chinese bodyguards."

Tony continued, "According to Nicholson's intelligence, those two Chinese bodyguards are individually stronger than the Hidden Knights of the Solomon Temple. In a one-on-one fight, the Hidden Knights wouldn't even be a match for those two bodyguards."

"Wow...!" Susan exclaimed softly, covering her mouth. "Really? Are they that amazing?"

Susan had not experienced the long and brutal training of the Hidden Knights, but that did not prevent her from knowing their power.

In her mind, the Hidden Knight was invincible!
Hearing that even the Hidden Knight was no match for the two bodyguards, Susan found it hard to believe.

"Never underestimate any Chinese person! With their glorious civilization passed down for thousands of years, they have accumulated some powerful secret techniques that are unknown to the public."

Tony said in a deep voice, "Those two bodyguards who are always by your side possess exceptionally strong individual abilities, which is one of the main reasons why I asked you to suspend the mission."

"However, those two bodyguards are also two brigade commanders in the California National Guard. They are usually busy with military affairs and are not full-time bodyguards."

"They won't stay glued to that Chinaman forever."

"Hehe!" Susan chuckled seductively, "Of course! Especially in bed...!"

(End of this chapter)