North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 246 The bird is gone and the bow is hidden
For a man as resolute as Feng Yunshan, Wu Qingfeng gradually eroded his psychological defenses.

Wu Qingfeng said, "King of the South, even if my boss's prediction is wrong, or even completely wrong, what if one day your Taiping Army really achieves great things?"

"I've said it before: it's easy to share poverty and hardship, but difficult to share wealth and prosperity!"

"Throughout history, it has always been the case that once the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; once the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked!"

"Among those who started as commoners and eventually achieved great success, only Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang did."

"After these two founded the country, what became of those meritorious officials from the past?"

"The greater the merit, the faster the death!"

"Han Xin, Li Shanchang, Lan Yu, Hu Weiyong... The King of the South is also a scholar; he should know the fate of these meritorious officials!"

Wu Qingfeng sneered, "Even with the great talents and strategies of Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang, they were still like this. As for that Mr. Hong... Hehe, although I don't know him well, I have learned a lot of his secrets from Shi Da's words."

"It's not that I look down on him, Mr. Hong, but he has no ambition, is narrow-minded... He has no qualities of a leader, let alone the talent, strategy, and tolerance of one!"

Wu Qingfeng asked, "No one knows Hong better than you, Prince Nan!"

"In the eyes of the Southern King, once that Hong has gained power, will he tolerate you old brothers who have overshadowed him with your merits, or even take away his power?"

“This…!” Before this, Feng Yunshan had never thought about these things in depth.

Upon hearing Wu Qingfeng's words, Feng Yunshan recalled his past experiences and felt a chill run down his spine!
Let alone becoming a force to be reckoned with or achieving great things, even before the Taiping Rebellion, the God Worshipping Society was rife with chaos, infighting, and power struggles.

Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui both pretended to be possessed by the "Heavenly Father" at any time to elevate their status and seize power.

These two colluded to exclude the power of the Wang family of Cigu and the Zeng family of Dachong, which Feng Yunshan had personally developed in the early days.

Once the Wang and Zeng families were sidelined, Xiao Chaogui joined forces with Wei Changhui to engage in intrigue and power struggles with Yang Xiuqing.

As for Feng Yunshan himself, he used to work with Shi Dakai to maintain the power balance within the God Worshipping Society...!
After Shi Dakai left without saying goodbye, Feng Yunshan found himself in a precarious position within the God Worshipping Society, feeling isolated and helpless.

……

The more Feng Yunshan talked with Wu Qingfeng, the more he felt that this was a mistake!
It wasn't that the conversation itself was wrong, but rather that I had embarked on the wrong path from the very beginning.

At this moment, Feng Yunshan wavered like never before.

Wu Qingfeng added, "King Nan, please reconsider the suggestion I gave you the other day. Our California fleet is about to set sail."

"I'm going to California to recuperate for a year or two, but it's not like I'm never coming back."

"Taking advantage of this time to recover from your injury to go out and see the world is a rare opportunity, isn't it?"

Feng Yunshan remained silent for a long time, hesitated repeatedly, and finally nodded.

“Mr. Wu, you have invited me so earnestly time and time again. If I were to refuse again, I would be completely ungrateful.”

Feng Yunshan said in a deep voice, "These past few years, I've stayed in the deep mountains and forests for too long. It's time to go out and see the outside world and broaden my horizons."

“I will write a letter right away and have Shi Xiangzhen and the others take it back to the Heavenly King.”

"I'll set a one-year deadline. I will definitely return after one year...!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Qingfeng's face lit up with a relieved smile.

When I left California, my boss personally told me that although the Taiping Army was a motley crew, there were still many talented people among them.

The most talented person in the group is none other than the Seven Thousand Years Old Prince of the South!
If given the opportunity, my boss wants to try to get all these talented people to go to California.

……

Three days later, the flagship "Guangzhou" led two escort ships and more than a dozen merchant ships on its voyage back to California.

When traveling from California eastward, the route is the northern route. But on the return trip, the route is the southern route.

Starting from Hong Kong, we will exit the Bashi Channel into the Western Pacific Ocean, and then proceed to Guam for our first resupply.

Here, Wu Qingfeng once again stepped forward to discuss with the local Spanish colonial authorities the matter of leasing land and building a port for resupply.

For the local Spanish colonial authorities, as long as they paid, leasing land in remote places like Guam was no problem at all.

Soon, the two parties reached an agreement and signed it.

California leased more than ten square kilometers of land for $30,000 a year to build a supply port.

……

After Guam, the next stop is Wake Island in the central Pacific Ocean.

At this time, Wake Island had been occupied by the U.S. Navy, and a rudimentary port had been built there.

Although the port was rudimentary, it was sufficient for supplying merchant and immigrant ships.

Although California has a high degree of autonomy, it is still a state of the United States.

Moreover, the relationship between the California and Far East Fleet Commander, Commodore Matthew Perry, has always been good.

Therefore, California's merchant and immigrant ships have no problem resupplying here.

……

After a second resupply on Wake Island, the next stop is Hawaii.

Hawaii is still the independent Kingdom of Hawaii. The ruler of the kingdom is Kamehameha III.

This 39-year-old king is the first Christian king of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Under the rule of this Christian king, the Kingdom of Hawaii had just adopted the Constitution of 1852, establishing a parliamentary system consisting of a House of Lords and a House of Commons.

At the same time, the constitution also allows foreign immigrants to own land.

Prior to this, the United States had already acquired a large amount of land in the Kingdom of Hawaii through gradual infiltration.

By 1852, 75 percent of the land in the entire Kingdom of Hawaii had been purchased by American merchants.

The Hawaiian Kingdom's economic lifeline—sugar—was monopolized by American businessmen.

This means that although the Kingdom of Hawaii still maintains its independence in name, in reality, its land and economic lifeline have long been controlled by the United States, making it an economic colony of the United States.

By the time Wu Qingfeng led his fleet to the scene, the land suitable for building a fine port had already been completely controlled by American merchants.

If California wanted to have its own supply port here, it had to buy land from American businessmen.

For businessmen, buying port land is not a problem at all, as long as they can afford a high price.

After personally surveying the area, Wu Qingfeng finally bought Pearl Harbor for $150,000... or rather, the natural harbor where Pearl Harbor is located in later generations.

Pearl Harbor remains a pristine, undeveloped natural harbor.

Continuous investment and vigorous construction are needed to develop this area into a port.

……

With the attack on Pearl Harbor completed, Wu Qingfeng's mission was thus fully accomplished.

After bidding farewell to Feng Yunshan, who was recovering from his injuries, Wu Qingfeng boarded a merchant ship and returned to Hong Kong alone.

Meanwhile, the "Guangzhou," carrying Feng Yunshan and leading the remaining fleet, continued its voyage back to California.

Several more days passed before San Francisco finally came into view.

……

Upon arriving in San Francisco, the first person Feng Yunshan saw was not the legendary young governor, but... Shi Dakai!

Shi Dakai joined the God Worshipping Society because of Feng Yunshan's personal involvement.

In order to persuade Shi Dakai to join the society, Feng Yunshan went to great lengths, visiting him three times to persuade him to leave the mountain.

Within the God Worshipping Society, Feng Yunshan absolutely relied on and valued Shi Dakai, a boy in his teens.

Shi Dakai, who was only sixteen years old at the time, had already become Feng Yunshan's right-hand man.

It was also through Feng Yunshan's personal recommendation to Hong that Shi Dakai entered the core leadership of the God Worshipping Society.

Shi Dakai also greatly respected Feng Yunshan, his elder brother who was both a teacher and a friend. In the God Worshipping Society, where people's hearts were unpredictable and all sorts of people were mixed together, the two of them were rare exceptions.

Therefore, when Shi Dakai heard that Feng Yunshan had also come to California, he was overjoyed and immediately dropped everything to see his long-lost brother as quickly as possible!

"Mr. Feng...!"

Shi Dakai, who was riding a horse at full gallop, jumped off his horse and, extremely excited, hugged Feng Yunshan, who had just disembarked and was still sitting in a wheelchair!
"I dare to accept...!"

Feng Yunshan also hugged Shi Dakai tightly. Although it aggravated his wounds and caused him a dull pain, Feng Yunshan held on to his long-lost younger brother tightly and was unwilling to let go for a long time!

……

After a long while, Shi Dakai, with tears in his eyes, released Feng Yunshan, looked him up and down, and said excitedly, "Mr. Feng, I never expected that you would come to California too!"

"Hehe!" Feng Yunshan, his eyes reddening, replied, "I came here for three reasons: first, to recuperate from my injuries; second, to see you; and third... to broaden my horizons..."

Shi Dakai nodded vigorously, filled with remorse, and said, "Mr. Feng, if I hadn't left without saying goodbye, perhaps you wouldn't have suffered such serious injuries...!"

A smile appeared on Feng Yunshan's face: "What does this have to do with you? You're still the same as before, taking everything upon yourself!"

Feng Yunshan looked Shi Dakai up and down, then laughed, "You're something else! You've grown taller, stronger, and more mature... Heh, you've even cut your braid!!!"

Shi Dakai reached out and smoothed his short hair, replying, "Mr. Feng, you look much more refreshed after cutting your braid!"

“That’s true…!” Feng Yunshan continued to scrutinize Shi Dakai: “But cutting off one’s queue is a capital offense in the Qing Dynasty!”

Since the God Worshipping Society started its uprising, its members had all let their braids down. But since their bodies and hair were given to them by their parents, no one dared to easily cut off a buzz cut like Shi Dakai's.

Therefore, seeing Shi Dakai's buzz cut at first glance was quite a shock to Feng Yunshan.

"Hahaha...!" Shi Dakai slapped his head and laughed heartily, "This is California, even if the Qing devils come, they'll have to behave themselves. In our California army, whether Chinese or foreign, everyone has to shave their heads like this, it's convenient...!"

"I see……!"

Feng Yunshan's gaze fell on the guards behind Shi Dakai, and sure enough, they all had the same inch-long uniform as Shi Dakai.

Feng Yunshan immediately sensed a completely different kind of fierceness and wildness, yet also a chilling aura, in these California soldiers!
This quality is so strong and undisguised.

This had a profound and direct impact on Feng Yunshan, who had only recently escaped the environment of the Taiping Rebellion!

(End of this chapter)