North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 207 Suddenly Assigned a Great Responsibility
"Governor, shall we hand over all the prisoners to you?"

Ah Zu sneered, "Are you treating me like a fool?"

"Your New Grenada Republic Army has openly ambushed me."

"Then I'll hand the prisoners over to you, the new Governor of Panama of Grenada, for interrogation?"

Azu said coldly, "Are you the stupid one, or am I the fool?"

The obese Governor-General of Panama was sweating uncontrollably, and his face turned extremely red.

“Governor, please believe me, the New Grenada Republic has absolutely no plans to harm you!”

"The Republic of New Grenada and the United States of America are staunch allies and will absolutely not do anything that would affect the relationship between the two countries."

The Governor-General of Panama, wiping the sweat from his brow, said urgently, "Although I don't know where these disguised soldiers came from, they are definitely not from the army of the New Grenada Republic...!"

"Heh!" Azu sneered, "Governor, can you represent the New Grenada Republic? Can you represent the army?"

"I was ambushed by what appears to be the New Grenada Army, that is an undeniable fact!"

"As for the purpose of this ambush and who is behind it... I will find out the truth myself, so I won't trouble you, Governor!"

"Your Excellency the Governor...!"

"No need to say anything more!" Azu interrupted the Governor-General of Panama directly, and said in a deep voice, "What's done is done, and anything you say here is completely superfluous."

"Once I personally uncover the truth, if there really is a conspiracy targeting me and America...!"

"Then prepare to face the wrath of America and California!"

After uttering these words, Azou, without waiting for the Governor of Panama to say anything more, took all the prisoners, wounded, corpses, and evidence and left the Isthmus of Panama as quickly as possible.

On the other side of the isthmus, on the Pacific Ocean, the armored frigates "Zhenyuan" and "Jingyuan" were already on high alert, waiting in the port of Panama.

Only after Azu and his entourage boarded their own warship and slowly left the port of Panama did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

On the vast Pacific Ocean, after sailing hundreds of nautical miles, the Zhenyuan and Jingyuan met another inconspicuous merchant ship.

The three ships met on the sea, and Victoria and Harley, along with hundreds of National Guard soldiers, boarded the Zhenyuan and Jingyuan.

Harley, whom he hadn't seen for six months, said the first thing to Azu after they met: "Boss, that ambush we did, it was a real fight, wasn't it?"

Azu patted Harley's increasingly broad shoulders: "If it's not a real fight, it can't be hidden from other people's eyes!"

Azu then asked Shi Dakai, "Have the casualty statistics been released yet?"

Shi Dakai nodded and said, "There were more than thirty people who were truly injured, most of whom were not seriously injured. But there were a few brothers whose injuries were too severe and they could not be saved..."

Azu nodded: "According to our compensation regulations, the brothers who were injured or killed and their families will receive three times the compensation."

"Sacrifices are unavoidable in order to capture the Isthmus of Panama."

Ah Zu then turned to Victoria and said, "While we're on the ship, make the most of the time to organize all the evidence we've collected."

"This evidence must not only be made public in California, but also transmitted to the East as quickly as possible, to our representative office and to President Lincoln."

"This time, we must mobilize the entire United States as quickly as possible to launch a war against the Republic of New Grenada and seize the Isthmus of Panama in one fell swoop."

"This concerns the future of California, and there is no room for error!"
-
Ten days later, the Zhenyuan and Jingyuan finally docked at Clarke Pier in San Francisco.

After a six-month-long journey, the California delegation led by Azu finally returned to their homeland.

Here, Azu and his delegation received the warmest welcome from the people of San Francisco and the Huamei Company.

Edgar Allan Poe, Feng Zicai, Peter Parker, Vic, Jason, Old Martinez... and so on, everyone who was supposed to come, came.

As soon as he disembarked, Azu gave Edgar Allan Poe a big hug, patted him hard on the back, and said, "Edgar, you've had a tough six months!"

Allen laughed and said, "Boss, you've been traveling all this way, you must be exhausted! What hardship is it for us who stayed behind to guard the house?"

Ah Zu hugged everyone one by one.

Seeing these familiar faces again after half a year feels so reassuring and so heartwarming.

When the long procession of carriages finally returned to the headquarters of Huamei Company, a seven-story building, which seemed particularly magnificent for that era, had already stood in the heart of the headquarters.

This is the Huamei headquarters building, which began construction more than a year ago.

It wasn't until a few days before Ah Zu returned that this magnificent headquarters building was finally completed.

"Boss, this headquarters building is now fully completed and just waiting for you to come back for the ribbon-cutting ceremony!"

"Our first 3,000-ton fast armored cruiser has also been completed and is waiting for you to come back to name and launch it."

"In the past six months, six more frigates and patrol vessels have been launched and have now been incorporated into the Coast Guard."

"In addition, eight steam-powered fast merchant ships with a capacity of 1,000 tons have been launched and are already operating on the Far East route."

"With more and more fast merchant ships, the number of immigrants brought in from China will increase."

"To date, the number of Chinese people in California has exceeded 100,000."

"Apart from the Chinese who were resettled in the various factories and industries that were constantly expanding, the rest were resettled in the newly built model village."

"Now, we have more than fifty model villages, which have resettled more than 50,000 Chinese and nearly 10,000 Native American women."

……

Upon returning, Azu was greeted with one piece of good news after another.

"Also, our first batch of twenty Hidden Knights have completed their training and are ready to begin secret missions!"

Hearing this, Azu couldn't help but ask, "Is that guy named Sean still alive? Has he been behaving himself these days?"

Edgar Allan Poe nodded and said, "He's still alive! Because of his long-term closed training on the island, he still doesn't know that the Freemason headquarters has been bombed."

"What he didn't know was that the Master Powell he was so desperately trying to protect was already dead."

"So, he put in a lot of effort when training us Hidden Knights."

After thinking for a moment, Azu said, "Our own Hidden Knights have completed their training. Keeping this guy around would be a destabilizing factor."

Edgar Allan Poe understood immediately: "I understand, I'll arrange it right away."
-
During the brief but solemn ribbon-cutting ceremony, Azu named the headquarters building of Huamei Company "Zhenhua Building".

The first fast armored cruiser built and launched, equipped with a 203mm main gun, was named "Guangzhou".

After the ceremony, in the newly completed "Zhenhua Building" conference room, Azu personally presided over the first important meeting since the handover.

Azu spoke first: "This trip to Europe not only brought me a title, but also a large arms order."

"The $15 million arms deal with Austria and Prussia needs to be completed as soon as possible."

"This is a matter of our business reputation. If we can complete the huge arms order quickly and well, I believe we will be able to continuously receive more orders in the future."

"Although the profit margin of arms is not as high as that of penicillin now, in the long run, arms will definitely be more profitable than penicillin."

"Of the $15 million worth of arms, our profit is nearly $10 million."

"Tsk tsk tsk...!" Everyone couldn't help but click their tongues in amazement. "They made nearly ten million from fifteen million... So selling arms is that easy?"

"Hehe!" Azu smiled and said, "What's a little bit?"

"There are no major wars in either Europe or North America right now."

"If a major war breaks out in the future, our arms business will definitely make a fortune and become one of the most profitable industries of our Huamei Company."

Azu added, "It is now December 1851. We must complete these two arms orders in Europe within 1852."

Uncle Nine, who was in charge of arms production, and Vic, who was in charge of ship construction, nodded in unison: "Don't worry, Boss, completing the order within a year is no problem!"

Vic continued, "Boss, we're now building warships for both the US Navy and the Prussian Navy simultaneously. That will affect our own warship and merchant ship construction plans...!"

Azu asked, "How many shipyards do we have in total? How many ships are under construction?"

Vic replied, "There are currently twenty-two shipyards capable of building fast steam frigates and merchant ships of 1,000 tons each."

"There are eight dry docks capable of building 3,000-ton fast steam cruisers." "These thirty dry docks are almost all operating at full capacity."

"For our own warships under construction, there is also a cruiser, three frigates and four patrol ships."

"The fast steam merchant ships built for the Huamei Shipping Company consisted of fifteen 1,000-ton merchant ships and five 3,000-ton merchant ships."

"Most of these ships can be completed within three or four months. By then, the shipyard will be freed up."

“That makes thirty in total…!” Azu pondered. “We already have fourteen frigates and patrol ships at our disposal. With the eight under construction, that should be sufficient given the unlikely occurrence of a large-scale naval battle in the near future.”

"As long as there are spare docks, we will do our best to build warships for the United States and Prussia."

"Once all the warships in the United States and Prussia have been built, we will suspend the construction of warships for ourselves."

"All production capacity will be put into ocean-going steam merchant ships of 1,000 and 3,000 tons."

"We must continue to work hard to develop new dry docks. And the new dry docks should mainly be for ships of three thousand tons or even six thousand tons."

"Whether it's merchant ships or warships, we need to build them as big as possible!"

Azu pondered, “In present-day China, a devastating peasant uprising has broken out, and the flames of war are burning and spreading in full swing.”

As he spoke, Azu turned his gaze to Shi Dakai.

Shi Dakai understood the meaning in Azu's eyes and couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

Azu continued, "This destructive uprising will cause countless Chinese to die in war, famine and plague."

"In order to save more people, we must do everything possible to transport Chinese people from the other side of the ocean to this side."

"And California is in dire need of a large population right now."

"Therefore, both the California government and Huamei Corporation must focus their thinking and work on this top priority."

At this point, Azu said, "Wu Qingfeng...!"

"exist……!"

Having traveled to Europe with Ah Zu and broadened his horizons, Wu Qingfeng immediately stood up.

Ah Zu said to him, "In order to better transport immigrants and to promote our business interests in China, I plan to send you back to Hong Kong...!"

"Back to Hong Kong?" Wu Qingfeng asked in surprise. "Boss, do you mean you're planning to set up a California representative office in Hong Kong as well?"

“Yes!” Ah Zu nodded and said, “The primary responsibility of this California representative office in Hong Kong is to do everything possible to transfer as many compatriots as possible.”

"As for commercial interests, the most important thing at this stage is to use penicillin to save more lives."

Azu stared at Wu Qingfeng and asked, "Are you confident you can complete these two tasks?"

"Boss, don't worry! I promise...!"

Azu continued, "Don't rush to make any promises! Next year, I require you to transfer at least 200,000 of your compatriots to California."

"Two hundred thousand people?" Wu Qingfeng pondered. "Those thousand-ton ocean-going vessels would require at least four hundred voyages...!"

Azu said, "Ships are not a problem! Our own shipping company now has nearly two hundred ships."

"Nearly a hundred of them are capable of operating long-distance ocean routes to the East."

"Even if you make two round trips a year, that's two hundred ship trips."

"Not to mention our high-speed steamships, which can make four round trips a year."

"We will launch more and more high-speed steamships next year."

“In addition to our company, other ocean-going vessels can also transport large numbers of immigrants.”

Wu Qingfeng nodded and said, "Yes, boss, the ships shouldn't be a problem. However, ocean-going steamships need to have several coal and water supply ports set up along the way."

Azu looked at Wu Qingfeng with satisfaction: "Xiao Wu, you're considering things more and more comprehensively now, that's excellent!"

Azu got up and walked to the huge Pacific Ocean map hanging behind him.

Azu pointed to the locations of several island groups in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and said, "We need to establish several key supply ports: the Aleutian Islands in the north, the Hawaiian Islands in the middle of the Pacific, and Guam in the western Pacific...!"

"The Aleutian Islands are currently under the sovereignty of the Russian Empire, but the actual development and operation are carried out by an organization called the Russian-American Company."

"The only way to establish our supply port in the Aleutian Islands is through leasing."

Azu then pointed to the central Pacific Ocean: "As for the Hawaiian Islands, they are still an independent kingdom."

"We will also try leasing the port first to build a supply port."

"If a lease doesn't work out, we might as well send a fleet to force the Kingdom of Hawaii to lease or cede a piece of land to us for the construction of a port."

Finally, Azu pointed to the location of Guam: "As for Guam, it is now in the hands of the Spanish."

"Now is not the time to turn against the Spanish. We can sign a supply agreement with them and resupply at their ports."

"However, this is not a long-term solution."

"The Spanish could grab us by the throat at any moment...!"

Ah Zu sat back down in his seat: "But for now, this is the only way!"

"Wu Qingfeng, this time when you return to Hong Kong to set up a representative office, I will assign you the only fast armored cruiser, the 'Guangzhou,' and then pair it with two other frigates, as well as several fast steam merchant ships that will be launched in the future, to form a fleet."

"It's time to show the fangs of the California Coast Guard!"

"Whether it's the Aleutian Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, or Guam, we'll talk to those who are willing to cooperate and lease!"

“If you’re unwilling to talk…!” Azu turned his gaze to Wu Qingfeng: “I’ll allow you to demonstrate our military strength appropriately… but it’s best not to provoke a war!”

"Because we still have another battle to fight!"

Upon hearing that a fleet would escort him back to China, Wu Qingfeng immediately straightened his back even more.

"Boss, with the fleet's support, we guarantee the mission will be completed!"

"This fleet's main objective is to capture the supply port. After sending you and the representative office personnel to Hong Kong, they will return," Azu continued. "In the Far East, you might as well make direct contact with Commodore Matthew Perry of the American Far East Squadron."

“He has good relations with California, and he should be able to provide you with the necessary military support if necessary.”

"I understand, boss!"

After arranging matters concerning the Hong Kong representative office and the supply port, Ah Zu added, "As for the affairs of the state tax bureau and state customs left behind after Wu Qingfeng takes over as director of the Hong Kong representative office... Fu Shanxiang!"

"I'm here, boss!"

Ah Zu said, "Miss Fu, the girls' night school is now on the right track. It would be a waste of your talents to continue having you work as a teacher."

"You'll be in charge of the state tax and customs affairs!"

"Ah...this...?" Fu Shanxiang's pretty face showed considerable surprise.

"What? No confidence?" Azu asked with a smile.

Fu Shanxiang hesitated slightly, then shook her head and said, "It's not that I lack confidence, it's just... taking on such a great responsibility all of a sudden, I need more time to familiarize myself with it!"

“Okay!” Azu nodded in agreement: “Before Wu Qingfeng leaves, I will personally guide you through the business for a period of time.”

"With Miss Fu's intelligence, she should be more than qualified for these two positions, without any problems."

During her time in California, Fu Shanxiang spent most of her time studying, except for attending girls' night school.

Azu gave her a large stack of books and told her to teach herself Western philosophy and science and technology.

After traveling around Europe with Azu, Fu Shanxiang not only broadened her horizons but also learned a great deal.

Having witnessed Fu Shanxiang's growth firsthand, Azu had the confidence to let her take on important responsibilities.

Fu Shanxiang bowed slightly to Azu and said softly, "This humble woman will do her utmost to live up to your expectations, sir..."

(End of this chapter)