The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 517: Offer a reward and hang him

In the White House, Attorney General Charles Deves walked heavily into the small study on the west side of the second floor.

When President Rutherford Hayes saw the Attorney General's expression, his heart sank.

"Failed?"

"Yes, Mr. President!" Although Charles Deves tried his best to cheer himself up, it was still obvious that his spirit was almost gone.

There was a cut on his palm. Although the blood had dried, it still covered half of his palm.

But neither of them noticed this now.

"What's the situation? Is there still a chance?" Rutherford Hayes asked unwillingly.

Charles Deves was silent for a moment and shook his head slowly.

"Sherman's whereabouts are unknown. Most of the elite army troops sent were killed or wounded. William Steele, the adjutant general of the militia, was killed in the battle. Nearly half of the militia was killed or wounded. The militia has completely lost its combat effectiveness."

Charles Deves sighed again after he finished speaking: "They are defeated!"

This was because Chen Zhengwei killed too quickly and many people were defeated before they could even react.

If this battle lasted longer, with casualties at most 200, the militia would collapse.

Hearing this, Rutherford Hayes' heart sank.

"Is there absolutely no way out?" Rutherford Hayes asked again.

This time he was answered by silence.

Rutherford Hayes leaned back in his chair and did not speak for a long time.

The atmosphere in the entire study was full of depression.

Half an hour passed before someone knocked on the door.

Charles Deves stood up and walked to the door. He opened the door, took a telegram from outside, took a look at it, and then closed the door.

"Sherman is dead!"

Then the room fell silent again.

After a while, Rutherford Hayes spoke again: "He will send someone to assassinate me!"

“This year, or next year!”

Charles Deves did not speak. After receiving the news of defeat, he knew that he would definitely die.

That Chinese man will never give up on revenge.

"Before I die, I want to leave something for my successor!" Rutherford Hayes stood up and walked to the window, looking at the dark Washington and the twinkling lights outside.

Now those congressmen and wealthy people are enjoying the banquet, enjoying fine wine, delicious food, tobacco and women.

In Philadelphia, Republican members are working to elect new candidates in their own interests.

And the most powerful man in the country is worried about the future of the country.

The number of Chinese in the West was growing too fast... and with that man, Rutherford couldn't imagine what this free and democratic country would look like in five or ten years.

The army obviously has no combat capability now, and neither does the navy.

The US Navy is not as strong as the second-hand warships that the Chinese bought from the British.

He wanted to take advantage of the last time to do something, even if it meant taking on some blame.

"I will cancel all public appearances for the rest of the year and increase security at the White House!"

Rutherford knew that Chen Zhengwei would definitely send someone to assassinate him, but he still needed to do something else in this position.

He wants to pave the way for his successor and leave him a chance to fight back.

Soon, he called his staff over, and Rutherford said with a gloomy face:

"Contact the Chinese ambassador to France and ask him to visit French President Jules Grévy... I hope he can convince him..."

Rutherford knew that France was actually unable to take care of itself now. Although France now had the second most powerful navy in the world, and France once supported the American War of Independence.

But the situation in France is not as good as it seems.

The French Third Republic had just been established for ten years, and the forces of the Republicans, the Royalists and the Church were constantly struggling.

France suffered heavy losses in the previous Franco-Prussian War, and is now actively expanding its colonies and influence in Southeast Asia. They do not have many extra resources and energy.

But he still wants to persuade France to take action.

Even at a huge cost.

He was ready to bear the blame.

"If necessary, the vice president can visit France himself."

"Let the Chinese envoy to the Qing Dynasty visit the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. We can provide military, technical and other assistance to the Qing Dynasty to help them increase their international influence. But they must strictly control the population trade in the south! Block the Chinese population trade ships coming to the United States."

……

Meanwhile, Austin police were still carrying bodies off the streets.

A large number of people were mobilized to help with the transportation, and horse-drawn carriages were used to collect the scattered bodies and then sent them to the suburbs.

The police officers all looked pale.

Not only them, but also the civilians who were carrying the bodies.

The scene was truly tragic.

Until late at night, they were still washing the blood and the pieces of meat stuck on the ground in the street, and occasionally they could find some odds and ends.

From time to time, someone vomited.

As for the police chief, he was watching the scene the whole time.

Chen Zhengwei was drinking red wine in the hotel and asking for a railway map from his henchmen.

After looking at it for a while, Chen Zhengwei called Green and said, "That idiot definitely doesn't dare to leave Austin. He will take a train from a nearby town or San Antonio to New York or Washington!"

If he goes to New York, it means he is preparing to flee abroad. Chen Zhengwei thinks this is unlikely, and the other party is more likely to go to Washington.

But whether you go to New York or Washington, the route is actually the same.

"There are three routes to Washington or New York. One goes through Houston and one goes through Austin. He doesn't dare to take either of these two routes!"

"Then there is only one way! He will go through St. Louis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and there are members of the committee in all three places!"

"Send me a reward, catch him, and then hang him! Let everyone know, you want to run away after offending me?"

"Find a way to get his portrait into their hands!"

"Boss, I'll arrange it right away!" Green said immediately.

"Arrange someone to kill our President and Attorney General!" Such a big thing happened this time, and Chen Zhengwei was ready to lose his temper.

He doesn't care even if a president is killed.

Chen Zhengwei nodded, got up and went upstairs to sleep.

Chen Zhengwei woke up around noon the next day, and then he felt very heavy.

Cicely clung to him like an octopus.

"No wonder I had a nightmare last night and was almost strangled to death!" Chen Zhengwei pushed Cicely away angrily. Cicely fell under the bed with a sweet look on her face. She was a little dazed and looked at Chen Zhengwei who was sitting on the bed with a blank face.

His expression was very aggrieved and he was about to cry.

"Why are you so easy to bully?" When Chen Zhengwei saw her expression, he didn't bother to pay attention to her. He walked to the window, opened the curtains, and let the sunlight shine on himself.

There seemed to be some bloody smell outside the window.

"It will be fine after the next rain!" Chen Zhengwei said casually, and then he heard footsteps behind him.

"Hey!" Cicely jumped directly onto his back, hugged his neck with both hands, as if she wanted to strangle him.

However, Chen Zhengwei was too lazy to even raise his hand. Cicely's strength was not as good as half a goose.

"Go check if there are any cigarettes in the luggage!" Chen Zhengwei patted her on the butt with his backhand. Cecily jumped down to help him look for cigarettes, but she couldn't find any.

"Forget it!" Chen Zhengwei walked out of the room in his bathrobe, and there were thugs in the corridor outside the living room.

"Give me the cigarette!" Chen Zhengwei took the cigarette and fire from his henchman and left.

He has indeed smoked less recently, mainly because he has used up all the cigarettes in the system, and usually smokes cigars.

But sometimes I want to smoke one.

After standing at the window and smoking a cigarette, Chen Zhengwei changed his clothes and went downstairs.

Cicely immediately changed into a long dress and followed him, not wanting to leave him at all.

After Chen Zhengwei went downstairs, he saw the police chief standing on the side waiting, as well as several officers in militia uniforms.

After glancing at a few people, Chen Zhengwei went to eat.

While eating, Green came over and said, "Boss, I sent them a telegram and asked someone to send the portrait over overnight."

"Don't let that guy get away!" Chen Zhengwei nodded.

Green handed over another newspaper: "What happened last night is in the newspaper."

"War has come to Austin!"

Chen Zhengwei took a quick look and learned that a large-scale firefight had taken place in Austin last night, one side being the militia and the other side being Chen Zhengwei's men.

The situation at the scene was extremely horrific, with horse-drawn carriages coming one after another to collect the bodies at night.

"Which newspaper is this? I was ambushed! People who don't know would think I was attacking Austin!" Chen Zhengwei threw the newspaper aside.

Chen Zhengwei looked up and called a henchman over, "Go to this newspaper office this afternoon and ask them what's going on! If you don't know how to make a newspaper, then don't do it! Just hang yourself from head to toe!"

"I was ambushed by the army and militia. Not only me, but also a large number of civilians were killed and wounded. Those army and militia were the executioners."

"Didn't we leave a few rich men and dancers here yesterday? Let the reporters interview them!"

"Remember, when you do something, you must do it for a reason! Do it when it makes sense, and do it even more when it doesn't make sense!"

"But now we have a point, of course we have to let everyone know what happened."

Chen Zhengwei finished his meal and then sat down aside.

Police Chief James Lucas was brought to Chen Zhengwei and forced a smile: "Mr. Chen, the street has been cleared!"

"Please help me send invitations to the wealthy celebrities and government officials in the city in the afternoon and hold a banquet in the evening to celebrate the death of half of the militia. What do you think?" Chen Zhengwei said directly.

"I'll listen to whatever Mr. Chen says!" James Lucas said with a flattering smile.

He had no choice. There were only 20 police officers in the whole of Austin. What could he do?
If it were the Army and the Ministry of Justice, he wouldn't be that afraid of them.

The Army and the Ministry of Justice have no control over him.

But Chen Zhengwei, he was really afraid.

"Then let's celebrate that Army Commander Sherman was beaten into a sieve!" Chen Zhengwei raised his eyebrows.

He didn't even bother to think of an excuse for the party.

"Yes, they will definitely come!"

"Did any wealthy people or officials run away last night? Who ran away and where did they go? Tell me tonight!" Chen Zhengwei said this again, then waved his hand and let the police chief go.

Then Chen Zhengwei asked someone to bring the officers of the militia regiment over.

The oldest of them was in his fifties, and the youngest was in his thirties.

None of them brought any followers with them. Judging from what the captain brought back yesterday, Chen Zhengwei was not going to kill them, so they had no choice but to come.

The militia was beaten so badly yesterday that they can’t fight any further.

Especially the tragic scene on Congress Avenue. As those who experienced it at that time fled back, the militia now has no intention of fighting.

Even if they wanted to bring the militia to fight, they would probably run away before they even saw Chen Zhengwei.

Chen Zhengwei crossed his legs, looked at the people up and down and said:

"Many people say that I'm a bad person, but I don't think I am! Look, you ambushed me last night, but I didn't kill you. Am I very generous?"

"Mr. Chen, I'm sorry about what happened last night. We were just following orders!" The oldest one among them, a colonel, took the initiative to speak.

"I don't like hearing people apologize to me!" Chen Zhengwei waved his hand and looked at a few people for a moment, seeing their uneasiness and fear.

"But I can give you a chance!"

"What is your position?"

"Jonathan Taylor, Inspector General of the Texas Volunteer Corps!"

"Served in the Civil War?"

"I have served as a colonel!"

"You will be the adjutant from now on!" said Chen Zhengwei.

Jonathan Taylor was stunned for a moment, then said, "Yes."

"Who will the militia listen to from now on?"

"As you say, sir!"

Chen Zhengwei nodded with satisfaction. Keeping this militia group would still be useful.

Anyway, it is supported by Texas's finances, and the National Guard system is about to be established, and then the army will provide support.

"Where are the Texas Rangers?" Chen Zhengwei asked. They are an important force in Texas' defense.

Not only is it responsible for border defense, but it is also responsible for investigating major criminals and hunting down criminals.

"In San Antonio, sir!"

Although the Army speculated that Chen Zhengwei would arrive in Austin directly, just in case, it still deployed this more powerful Ranger unit in San Antonio.

Austin has 200 elite army soldiers and ordinary militia from Texas.

But even if the Rangers were in San Antonio, the outcome wouldn't have changed.

"They are waiting for me there?" Chen Zhengwei sneered.

"Organize all your soldiers, I'll go and take a look later!" said Chen Zhengwei.

……

More than an hour later, Chen Zhengwei took a carriage to the militia base outside the city. At this time, hundreds of militiamen were standing there dejectedly.

Seeing several carriages coming, these people became a little agitated.

As the carriage stopped, Green and some of his men got off first, followed by Chen Zhengwei.

Looking at the tall figure in the pink suit, the militia became even more agitated, and their eyes were filled with fear when they looked at Chen Zhengwei.

Especially those militiamen who managed to escape by going through Congress Avenue.

Others weren't much better.

Chen Zhengwei's presence last night left them with an indelible fear.

"Stand at attention!" At Jonathan Taylor's command, the militiamen were barely able to stand in line.

"Are you afraid of me?" Chen Zhengwei walked up to the militia groups and looked them up and down.

"It's a rare occasion that I showed my tolerance by not beating you all to death. You are lucky to still be standing here, so you must seize this opportunity!"

"Remember how you feel now!"

"You better be afraid of me all the time! That way you won't make any mistakes!"

"Did you hear that?" Chen Zhengwei glared, and everyone felt a fierce aura coming towards them.

"Yes, sir!" Everyone straightened up.

(End of this chapter)