North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 82 is just a terrifying coincidence! (4,000 words, please subscribe)
The name Matthew Perry immediately piqued Azu's interest.

This naval commodore is currently the commander of the U.S. East India Fleet, primarily responsible for escort missions in East and Southeast Asia.

In Azu's plan, he will inevitably have many interactions with this naval commodore in the future, and the sooner he establishes a good relationship with him, the better.

So, with a smile, Azu took the initiative to walk towards the brigadier general's son.

"Lieutenant Klein, hello! I am Li Zunian!"

"You are...?" Lieutenant Klein was a little confused by the sudden appearance of this young Chinese man, but he still politely shook hands with Azu.

Harley, standing nearby, quickly introduced, "Lieutenant, this is my boss, the owner of Huamei Industrial! Our 10th Militia Company was built up by my boss!"

Lieutenant Klein suddenly realized what was happening, and immediately gripped Azu's hand even tighter and more enthusiastically.

"Mr. Li, I never expected that the owner of Huamei Company would be such a young Chinese man as you!"

"Your 10th Militia Company, as the only one that maintained its structure and combat effectiveness, played a huge role last night."

"Your 10th Militia Company undoubtedly deserves the greatest credit for retaking San Francisco from the gangs. I will report this truthfully to my superiors and apply for merits and rewards for you!"

"No, no, no!" Azu shook Klein's hand vigorously: "Last night, the greatest credit belongs to you, Lieutenant! It was under your leadership that San Francisco was saved in one fell swoop."

“But…!” Lieutenant Klein looked at Azu in front of him with confusion, not understanding why he should give the credit to him.

“That’s right!” Harley chimed in, “If it weren’t for Lieutenant Lieutenant’s leadership, our 10th Company would have barely been able to hold the dock area, and we certainly wouldn’t have been able to drive the gang out.”

"Haha, Lieutenant Klein, you see, no one can take your credit away!"

Azu patted Klein's hand, then suddenly seemed to remember something.

Then, he pulled out a pure gold pocket watch from his pocket: "Lieutenant, this is a watch I found on the way here. It must have fallen off accidentally when those bandits were escaping."

"So, this should be your spoils of war, Lieutenant, and should be returned to its rightful owner, right?"

As he spoke, Azu stuffed the valuable pocket watch into Klein's military uniform pocket.

"Well... Mr. Li, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Klein took out the pocket watch, looked at the pure gold engraved case, opened it to see the gorgeous dial and ruby ​​hands, and immediately fell in love with it.

"Cough cough...!" Klein silently put the pocket watch back into his pocket, and his gaze toward Azu immediately became much more affectionate.

“Mr. Li, your tenth company deserves a great deal of credit for last night, no matter what. I think you should receive a reward that matches your contribution.”

"Hehe!" Azu chuckled indifferently, "I'm just a businessman. Compared to my friendship with Lieutenant Klein, rewards and such are really not important!"

Klein shook his head: "According to the preliminary information we have gathered, Acting Mayor Locke, Speaker Cox, Police Chief Hawke, Militia Commander Hamilton, Chief Justice Lawrence, and others all tragically died last night!"

"What?" Azu appropriately displayed his shock: "Really? They're all dead?"

Klein replied, "And most of the adult males and servants in their family died violent deaths! Last night, a large number of members of parliament, wealthy businessmen, officials, and so on were also killed. The preliminary death toll is already more than 700! I think the final death toll will be far higher than that."

"It can be said that the entire upper class of San Francisco was almost completely wiped out! The wealth looted is even more incalculable!"

"If you hadn't happened to be hosting a ceremony for the bishop's niece, the death toll last night would have been far higher!"

"This coming-of-age ceremony undoubtedly saved the lives of many women and children! In this respect, Mr. Li, you are the one who saved their lives!"

Azu frowned deeply: "I never imagined that such destruction could occur overnight! Lieutenant Klein, who do you think orchestrated all of this?"

"Who? Heh...who else could it be?" Klein sneered. "Didn't the Standard newspaper predict all of this a few days ago? What's the difference between last night's tragedy and what old Cameron did back then? It's just that it's on a larger scale and the methods are more cruel and bloodier!"

Azu seemed to be thinking: "You mean... Major Daniel Cameron?"

Klein nodded: "Our Major Daniel is incredibly audacious and ruthless! He wants to wipe out all the enemies in one fell swoop and take back everything that belongs to the Cameron family!"

"But I find it strange that he hasn't shown up yet. Logically, he should be the one to thoroughly clean up San Francisco and drive out the gangs, not us!"

"A man like him would never miss such a golden opportunity to personally kill the enemy and seize the credit!"

After thinking for a moment, Azu guessed, "Perhaps Major Daniel was held up by something?"

"Heh!" Lieutenant Klein chuckled. "He's really unlucky!"

The two felt an instant connection and had a very pleasant conversation!
"Look, our ship is back!"

As they were talking, the unique and graceful silhouette of the "Joan of Arc" appeared on the distant sea.

With a dozen or so huge white sails and a hull entirely of peach wood, the "Joan of Arc" glided gracefully across the sea and soon came to a stop at Clark Pier.

At the bow of the "Joan of Arc," Vivian's stunningly tall figure came into view.

Vivian's gaze fell upon the figure she had been waiting for most among the crowd waiting to board the ship at the dock, and her beautiful eyes lit up instantly.

Immediately, she pouted and turned her head away from Ah Zu in a huff.

Besides Vivian, there were countless other jeweled and flamboyant figures standing on the ship's railing, excitedly chattering and discussing.

The unprecedented event last night has left these high-society ladies still immersed in excitement.

At this moment, they were unaware of the calamity that had befallen their respective families the previous night!

As soon as the boat came to a stop, Vivian was the first to step off. When faced with Azu's smiling greeting, she turned her head away and gave a soft hum.

"My little angel, are you still angry that we didn't attend your birthday and coming-of-age ceremony?"

"Hmph...!" Vivian didn't speak, but let out another soft hum.

Ah Zu laughed and said, "Luckily we didn't participate. You don't know, do you? Something big happened in the city last night!"

Vivian's curiosity was successfully piqued: "Tch, what big thing could happen?"

So, Ah Zu briefly recounted the catastrophe that had occurred in San Francisco the previous night.

"What...?" Upon suddenly learning what had happened last night, Vivian was completely shocked and remained in shock for a long time!
Almost at the same time, the hundreds of socialites and noblewomen who had just disembarked burst into tears upon hearing the news, and many of them fainted!
Azu quickly pulled Vivian aside, watching with great interest the chaotic scene of these socialites and noblewomen, all dressed in flamboyant clothes and adorned with jewels, wailing and crying, with some even fainting.

It's not that these socialites and wealthy women are physically incapable, but rather that in this era, these upper-class women wear excessively tight corsets!
Whenever these socialites and noblewomen needed to dress up for an occasion, several maids would work together to tighten the corsets made of whalebone, wire, and metal as much as possible.

Wearing a waist trainer can cause breathing difficulties, internal organ damage, and even rib deformities and fractures!
Chinese women bound their feet with all their might, and Western women wore corsets with reckless abandon – both were forms of torture!
Because the corsets caused breathing difficulties, these socialites and wealthy women didn't need to put on an act; they genuinely couldn't bear such a devastating blow!
Seeing this, Azu couldn't help but reach out and hug Vivian's small waist.

Well, it's alright, it's a bit tight, not too harsh!

Supported by numerous servants, these upper-class ladies and socialites, along with the underage boys, hurriedly returned to their respective homes a few moments later, each to face the blows of fate.

Only then did Bishop Even, with a somber expression, step off the "Joan of Arc".

He had just learned of the tragedy that happened last night!

This was absolutely terrible news for him.

From the young priest who came to greet him, he learned that the church had not suffered much damage. Even the most ruthless bandits of this era would not dare to easily invade God's territory.

But the massacre of the entire upper class in San Francisco meant that the church suddenly lost many devout believers and generous donors.

Therefore, Bishop Evan was not happy at all!
Azu, arm in arm with Vivian, went to greet them and whispered to Bishop Evan, "Congratulations, Your Excellency, I think you've solved a big problem!"

"Li, what did you say... what do you mean?"

Bishop Evan raised an eyebrow and asked with a cold face.

"I heard that last night, those damned gangs looted the church, causing it a huge loss of more than half a million dollars!"

Azu smiled slightly at him: "Is that so, Your Excellency?"

“You…I…!” Bishop Evan’s eyes and mouth gradually widened as he stared at Azu in disbelief, unable to utter a word.

"Is that so, Your Excellency?" Azu winked at him and repeated himself.
“That’s right!” Bishop Evan finally realized what was happening and nodded in anguish. “You’re right! It was those gangsters who robbed the church of more than half a million dollars!”

Bishop Even, suddenly enlightened, found the best way to clear up the debt, and immediately felt that the boulder pressing on his chest had turned into insignificant sand!

This feeling of relief made Bishop Evan let out a long sigh of relief!

Ah Zu then asked, "What about my plans to buy church property...!"

Bishop Evan thought for a moment and replied, "San Francisco has become very unsafe after such a catastrophe! Moreover, without the upper class, the value of real estate will definitely be greatly reduced."

"At this time, selling some properties before real estate values ​​completely collapse is, I think, the wisest move!"

Bishop Evan looked at Azu meaningfully and lowered his voice, saying, "Tomorrow, bring thirty... no, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the Dolores Church, and I will prepare everything for you!"

Azu smiled and said, "As you wish, Your Excellency!"

Bishop Evan glanced at his little niece and whispered in Azu's ear, "Li, you should have known about last night's events beforehand, right?"

Azu raised an eyebrow: "Your Excellency, why do you say that?"

"Vivian's birthday and coming-of-age ceremony are in October, not last night! Why are you in such a hurry to hold a ceremony for her?"

"As far as I know, you're also the mastermind behind The Standard, right? You're the one who brought down Bay Area Bank! Right? You should also have had access to know in advance that Daniel Cameron made his move last night."

"That's why you had me step in and invite all the women and children of San Francisco's high society to the Joan of Arc, so they could escape to the sea and avoid this disaster!"

Bishop Evan patted Azu on the shoulder: "Lee, your mercy saved the lives of hundreds of women and children!"

“But…!” Bishop Evan’s tone shifted abruptly: “If you’re going to save people, why don’t you save everyone? Why let those distinguished gentlemen die at the hands of the bandits?”

Azu spread his hands: "Your Excellency, I think you've really misunderstood! It's all just a terrible coincidence!"

“No, no, no!” Bishop Evan shook his head slightly: “Li, although you are very young, your wisdom and methods are terrifying to me!”

"You used this opportunity to kill all those gentlemen who held power. Next, you should have your people replace them and take control of all of San Francisco, am I right?"

Azu frowned and glanced at Vivian beside him.

What exactly did this little girl say to her maternal uncle that made Bishop Evan suddenly understand so many things?
Bishop Evan patted Azu on the shoulder again: "Don't look at my lovely little niece. She didn't tell me anything, but she casually mentioned that you saved Mr. Edgar Allan Poe's life. She is also very familiar with Mr. Edgar Allan Poe!"

Well, that's enough!
An old fox like Bishop Evans could understand a great deal once he understood the relationship between Edgar Allan Poe and Azu.

For example, how did Bay Area Bank collapse?

How did Azu know about the bishop's financial situation?

Why was The Standard able to predict Daniel Cameron's revenge?
Why did Ah Zu hold this birthday and coming-of-age ceremony in advance?

"Don't worry!" Bishop Evan smiled knowingly. "I'm on your side! Whatever you want to do, as long as it doesn't violate the doctrine, I'll help you."

Azu noticed the bishop's choice of words: as long as it doesn't violate doctrine... well, that doesn't include the law?
"Li, your wisdom and methods are truly terrifying. No one who knows you, including myself, wants to be your enemy!"

Bishop Evan turned to his niece, his face full of loving kindness: "Take good care of her for me and her parents!"

Azu didn't hesitate: "Of course, I definitely will!"

May God bless you, my child!

After kissing Vivian on the forehead, Bishop Evan boarded the church's white, gold-plated carriage and sped away.

"You two have been whispering for so long, what did Uncle Evan say to you?" Vivian couldn't help but ask curiously.

"It's nothing!" Azu smiled. "I think he's saying... Uncle is still your uncle!"

As Azu, Vivian, and the others left Clarke Pier.

Major Daniel Cameron, who had just endured many hardships, led more than twenty cavalrymen from south to north, their faces weathered and weary, as they traveled along Market Avenue.

(End of this chapter)