North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 182 Taking San Diego

Late that night, in the town of San Diego, California, on the same day the Coast Guard fleet broke through the blockade.

Vice President Abraham Lincoln, holding the hand of the seriously wounded Zhou Hongwen, continued to fire at the garrison soldiers who were closing in from all directions.

The pursuers were getting closer and closer, and the encirclement was getting smaller and smaller. In the darkness, Lincoln could already see the shadowy figures of many soldiers.

At that moment, Colonel Curry's voice rang out again.

"These magnificent people are actually resisting...!"

"On my command, anyone who dares to resist will be killed without exception!"

"Fire! Fire! Shoot them!!"

Prior to this, the soldiers were very cautious in firing their guns for fear of accidentally hitting Lincoln.

After all, the crime of accidentally injuring the vice president is too serious. Who can withstand the consequences when it comes to reckoning in the future?
But now, faced with the enemy's desperate struggle, these soldiers, urged on by Chief of Staff Curry, could no longer care about such things.

Dozens of soldiers raised their guns in the direction of Lincoln and Zhou Hongwen...!
At this moment, Lincoln had also run out of bullets and turned to face Zhou Hongwen.

A rare smile appeared on Lincoln's usually stern face: "Zhou, I never imagined we would die here... at the hands of American soldiers...!"

"I'm sorry, I've dragged you all into this!"

"If I hadn't been so stubborn, none of you would have died...!"

“Hehe…!” Covered in blood, Zhou Hongwen struggled to laugh, “Mr. Vice President, we have no regrets about dying to protect you…!”

"See you in heaven, Zhou...!"

"Goodbye, Mr. Vice President...!"

The two hands, which were clasped tightly together, gripped each other tightly once more.

They slowly closed their eyes, accepting their deaths with equanimity…!
The approaching, dark gun barrels were all aimed at the two men.

"Beep beep beep beep... beep beep beep...!"

Just then, a loud bugle call suddenly rang out outside the town of San Diego!

At the same time, the sound of hurried footsteps came from not far away.

What was that sound...?

The sudden commotion immediately drew all of Chief of Staff Curry's attention to the entire garrison.

The resounding bugle call and the rapid footsteps drew near quickly, soon reaching their destination.

"California National Guard is on duty. Everyone must immediately lay down their weapons and cease all resistance... or face death!"

"Kill them without mercy!!"

“What…!”

Chief of Staff Curry was instantly shocked: "The California National Guard...? How could they have arrived so quickly...!"

"Impossible... Absolutely impossible...!"

Chief of Staff Curry jolted awake, raised his Colt revolver, and roared, "Shoot! Shoot them! Kill them! Kill them!!"

Urged on by their superiors, the dozens of guards who had just lowered their guns had no choice but to raise them again.

Colonel Curry couldn't wait any longer. He rushed to the front of the group of soldiers, raised his Colt revolver, and aimed at Lincoln's unusually tall and thin body...!
"Snapped……!"

A muffled gunshot rang out from the darkness...!
"Boom...!"

Chief of Staff Curry was shot in the cheek and fell backward.

Meanwhile, in the darkness, Leonardo DiCaprio, who had secretly slipped out of the naval base during the day, led a squad of National Guard soldiers and raced towards them.

Little Li, who was leading the group, spotted Colonel Curry, who was about to shoot him from behind. Without saying a word, he fired the first shot, taking the guy down.

"Put down your weapons...!"

"Put down your weapons...!"

"Put down your weapons... or you will be killed on sight!!"

Countless National Guard soldiers surged forward from all directions like a tidal wave, disarming dozens of garrison soldiers.

It was only then that Xiao Lizi saw Zhou Hongwen lying in a pool of blood.

"Boss...you're injured...!"

Little Li grabbed Zhou Hongwen by the neck and said with great remorse, "Boss, I'm late...!"

"No, hehe, you've come at just the right time...!"

"Doctor! Is there a doctor here? Someone needs help!"

Little Li stretched his neck and shouted anxiously.

"Stop yelling! I'm not going to die anytime soon!"

Zhou Hongwen said, "Isn't Archbishop Evan's church medical team nearby? Take me there...!"

"Look at my brain... I'll carry you over right now...!"

Zhou Hongwen turned to a National Guard major standing nearby and said, "Major, the Vice President's safety is now in your hands!"

The major nodded emphatically: "Don't worry, we can definitely ensure the Vice President's absolute safety!"

"That's great... Goodbye, Mr. Vice President!"

"Goodbye, Zhou. You must survive. I want to personally award you the medal!"

"It's settled, Mr. Vice President...!"

After Leonardo DiCaprio carried Zhou Hongwen on his back and hurriedly rushed to the church medical team, a National Guard major strode up to Lincoln.

"I am Major Zeng Liwei, Battalion Commander, 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, California National Guard! Reporting to the Vice President!"

"Very good, you arrived just in time!" Vice President Lincoln, who had narrowly escaped death, patted Zeng Liwei heavily on the shoulder: "Major, if you had arrived any later, you would have only seen our corpses...!"

"Mr. Vice President, our First Battalion will be responsible for your safety from now on. We will escort you all the way until you arrive safely in San Francisco...!"

Lincoln did not answer directly, but walked to the body of Colonel Curry and looked down at the American Navy captain and chief of staff of the Pacific Fleet.

"Major...!" Lincoln exclaimed.

“Yes…!” Zeng Liwei followed closely behind him.

Even after surviving this extremely dangerous assassination attempt, Lincoln's voice remained calm and powerful: "Major, how many soldiers did you bring?"

"Report, Mr. Vice President, I have brought all the soldiers of the First Battalion, a total of 631 men!"

Lincoln looked up at the naval base in the darkness in the distance: "Major, do you have the confidence that your battalion of soldiers can completely take control of the naval base?"

The major frowned as he looked into the distance: "Mr. Vice President, as far as I know, the main force of the Pacific Fleet is already engaged in blockade operations at sea."

"Now, in addition to a battalion of base garrison, there is a fortress artillery garrison of two hundred men, as well as some logistics officers and soldiers who remain."

“On a night like this, we are not familiar with the environment and terrain of the base!” Zeng Liwei replied in a deep voice, “It will be quite difficult, Mr. Vice President. I hope that your safety will be the top priority!”

Lincoln pondered for a moment, remembering the California security personnel who had sacrificed their lives for him, and finally nodded slowly: "Very well, I can't let you risk yourselves for me anymore!"

"Let's go check on the church's medical team first, and then make a decision after daybreak."

At the church medical mission’s base, Vice President Lincoln met the rising Archbishop Evan for the first time.

“Archbishop Evan, even in the far east, I often hear your name!”

Vice President Lincoln firmly grasped Archbishop Evan's hands and said in a deep voice, "Through your efforts, the Church obtained a large amount of penicillin, saving countless lives."

"Therefore, your name is quite famous even in the East!"

Archbishop Evan, equally intrigued by the vice president he had long admired, said, "Mr. Vice President, you flatter me. I'm just lucky to have a rather good nephew-in-law!"

"Nephew-in-law...?" Lincoln asked curiously, "May I ask who your nephew-in-law is...?"

“Of course it’s that young California governor, the owner of Huamei Industrial, Li Zunian!” Archbishop Evan smiled.

"Oh...I see!"

Lincoln finally understood how the church had managed to obtain such a large supply of penicillin.

"It's a pity... I only have two sons!" Lincoln lamented. "If I had a daughter, I would also be willing to marry her off to that young governor!"

“Hehe…!” Archbishop Evan laughed heartily: “Even if you didn’t have a daughter, Mr. Vice President, you are still Azu’s staunch ally, aren’t you?”

Vice President Lincoln nodded emphatically: "Yes! A little over a year ago, I was just a former Congressman who had resigned; and Mr. Lee was just the owner of Huamei Company!"

"In just over a year, with his support, I became the vice president."

"And he became the youngest governor in history, and also the first Chinese governor...!"

"Who could have imagined that in such a short time, our lives would undergo such dramatic changes!"
-
Meanwhile, the coast guard fleet, personally led by Azu, was speeding across the sea at top speed.

After a day and a night of rapid advance, the outline of the San Diego Naval Base was already in sight when the sun rose high the next day.

Along the way, the patrol boats and shallow-draft gunboats carrying out the blockade mission were completely helpless against this incredibly fast coast guard fleet. Even the few stubborn captains who tried to intercept the fleet were all forced to retreat after the coast guard fleet fired warning shots from a distance.

Finally, when San Diego came into view, Azu on the command platform of the flagship "Zhenyuan" issued another order.

"Pass on my order: the Coast Guard fleet shall provide artillery cover, and Shi Dakai shall lead the Second Brigade to make a forced landing."

"After the 2nd National Guard Brigade lands, it will immediately disarm all personnel at the San Diego Naval Base and take full control of all personnel."

"If anyone resists, kill them without mercy!"

"If the Vice President is indeed inside the San Diego base, he must be rescued as soon as possible...!"

"Yes, sir!!"

Vic and Shi Dakai simultaneously saluted Azu, then turned and went to carry out the order.

The sudden appearance of the Coast Guard fleet outside the San Diego Naval Base immediately alerted everyone inside the base.

"Waaaaah...!"

In an instant, piercing alarms blared throughout the entire naval base.

The fortified batteries surrounding the naval base began to turn their cannons and aim at this coast guard fleet.

However, the coast guard fleet beat them to it, launching a fierce bombardment from far outside the fortress's gun emplacements.

Dozens of 155mm and 100mm naval guns began firing from 8,000 yards away.

This distance far exceeds the 3,000-yard range of the coastal fortress guns.

"Boom boom boom...!"

Heavy artillery shells rained down around the fortress.

"Impossible... How could their naval guns have such a long range...!"

"Boom, boom, boom...!"

The earth-shaking sound of heavy artillery bombardment around the fortress allowed all the officers and soldiers in the fortress to witness a powerful firepower that was beyond the reach of this era!

"Their naval guns not only have an extremely long range, but they are also incredibly powerful... Sir, what do we do...!"

"Fight back! Fight back! We are fortress guns, they are just ship guns, how dare they fire at us!!"

"But, sir, they're too far out of our range, we can't reach them at all...!"

An inch longer, an inch stronger!

All wars, past and present, in China and abroad, have proven this truth!
Just like the air battle between India and Pakistan in later years, the J-10C with a longer range, equipped with the PL-15E, utterly defeated the Indian Rafale!
Similarly, the coast guard fleet that Azu built up, with its super long range, also blasted the fortress's gun emplacements to smithereens!
This scene completely overturned the common sense of warfare that warships cannot compete with shore artillery.

Even if naval guns are not as accurate as shore guns, so what?
I can only hit you, can you hit me?

A breech-loading rifled heavy gun against a muzzle-loading smoothbore coastal gun.

This is a one-sided massacre!

"Boom boom boom boom... Boom boom boom...!"

The coast guard fleet's shells rained down on the fortress's gun emplacements as if they were free.

No matter how low the hit rate of the naval guns was, under such one-sided slaughter, the will to resist of all the officers and soldiers in the fortress collapsed one after another.

One gun emplacement after another was blown into the air by a hail of high-explosive shells!
"Boom, boom, boom...!"

At this moment, the only two shallow-draft gunboats remaining at the naval base, belching black smoke, rushed out of the naval port and appeared on the sea.

Azu immediately ordered, "Stop bombarding the forts and sink these two gunboats first!"

"Yes, sir!!"

Eight coast guard warships quickly turned, their dozens of dark cannons aimed at the gunboat that had just rushed out of the naval port.

"Boom boom boom...!"

"Boom boom boom...!"

After just two salvos, both shallow-water gunboats were sent to feed the sharks.

"Keep bombarding the fortress...!"

As soon as Azu gave the order, Vic interrupted, "Boss, we don't need to keep bombarding, look...!"

Azu raised his binoculars and saw the fort eight thousand yards away, where, sure enough, a white flag had been raised high.

"Shi Dakai, Victor...!"

"exist……!"

"Send a patrol ship to land near the fortress, and have the National Guard take control of all the gun emplacements immediately!"

"Yes, sir!!"

Half an hour later, after the landing National Guard forces had completely seized control of the fortress battery complex, the Coast Guard fleet continued to advance step by step toward the San Diego Naval Base.

Having lost its fortified batteries and its only two shallow-draft gunboats, the San Diego Naval Base is like a hedgehog stripped of its quills or a tiger without teeth.

Faced with the swaggering and advancing coast guard fleet, the San Diego naval base lost most of its ability to resist.

Half an hour later, the coast guard fleet rushed into the naval base and docked directly at the naval pier in a very high-handed manner.

More than a thousand National Guard soldiers surged out like a tidal wave, rushing towards all sides of the naval base.

Gunfire erupted throughout the base in an instant!

Fifteen minutes later, the gunfire began to subside.

An hour later, the entire naval base finally fell completely silent.

Only then did Shi Dakai, who had personally led the charge, return to the Zhenyuan.

"Report, boss, the naval base is now completely under our control!"

"We have searched the entire naval base inside and out, and all the Pacific Fleet officers and soldiers who remained there have been disarmed and taken into custody."

Azu pressed on, "Did Vice President Lincoln appear here?"

Shi Dakai replied, "Just yesterday, Vice President Lincoln did appear at the naval base and read out the president's order in front of all the officers! But...!"

"But what?" Azu raised an eyebrow.

"However, Vice President Lincoln was assassinated last night and his whereabouts are currently unknown!"

"Missing...?"

"Yes!" Shi Dakai nodded heavily and said, "I found the bodies of more than twenty brothers from the Guards, but I didn't find Vice President Lincoln...!"

"Come on, take me to see the brothers...!"

Azu, along with Shi Dakai and a group of guards, disembarked.

"Found him! Vice President Lincoln has been found...!"

Just then, cheers suddenly erupted from the naval base.

"What happened?"

"It seems they've found Vice President Lincoln!"

"Really?" Azu's face lit up with joy. "Let's go, let's go quickly!"

Ah Zu ran like the wind, heading straight towards the direction from which the cheers came.

From a distance, Azu saw Lincoln's extremely tall and thin figure, walking briskly towards him under the protection of a group of National Guard soldiers.

"Mr. Vice President...!"

"Governor...!"

The two, who were quite far apart, jogged towards each other. Then, their two large hands finally clasped tightly together.

"Long time no see, my dear Vice President!"

"Long time no see, dear Governor!"

"Ha ha ha ha……!"

The two of them burst into hearty laughter at the same time.

Lincoln pointed to the eight powerful warships behind Azu and the countless National Guard soldiers surrounding them.

"Governor, did you personally lead the troops to rescue me?"

Azu nodded emphatically: "I guessed you would encounter danger at the naval base, so I brought my entire coast guard fleet, and half of the National Guard...!"

"We traveled day and night, and in just one day we sped from San Francisco to San Diego! Thankfully, Mr. Vice President, you're still alive...!"

Even a man as resilient and indomitable as Lincoln was completely moved by Azu!
Lincoln, his eyes red and his voice choked with emotion, said, "Governor, having a friend like you is the greatest honor of my life!"

(End of this chapter)