New Gods of North America.

Chapter 525 Rest
Following Tom Hagen with doubts, Wayne arrived at a manor in the suburbs of Richmond, and soon felt that he had "solved the case" again.

Tom Hagen's trip needed to be kept secret, so the two of them got on a general-purpose carriage with a blackout curtain in the cathedral. Several carriages of the same model were dispatched at the same time, and some were equipped with additional riding guards.

After leaving the city separately, they seemed to have changed direction several times. After entering the manor, they went directly into the stable, then passed through the corridor with walls and roofs, and walked towards the main house. The whole process was not even exposed to the sun. Wayne also changed his clothes in the car.

There is a kind of "sneaky" happening in broad daylight.

It was also through a brief observation when passing by the stable that Wayne roughly guessed how Bishop Corleone was able to travel back and forth from Richmond to New York City in such a short time.

This stable was even bigger than the detective agency's "big barn" in Georgeburg. Half of the horses were big and strong, living in separate rooms. At a glance, there were at least 20 "good horses" that were worth having someone take care of.

Except for a few pure white horses that were supposed to be used for ceremonial missions, the remaining good horses were all listless and some were even falling asleep while chewing grass in the trough.

Wayne was familiar with horses in the West. He had seen many horses sleeping standing up or lying down, but it was the first time he had seen such good horses that could be so tired that some of them were even lying on their sides with their eyes open, their eyes dull. They didn't even bother to glance at strangers passing by.

——I feel like even if a local tycoon like the mayor who owns a horse farm came, he would slap his thigh and shout “What a sin!”…

Apart from Bishop Corleone, no one else in the local church is qualified to do this to a good horse.

The relative positions of Richmond and New York City on the map of America are somewhat similar to Wayne's impression of "Shanghai to Tianjin", but in fact they are closer. The sea route is about 800 kilometers, and the land route does not need to go around in circles on the map, about 500 kilometers, but there will be ups and downs, and you need to climb mountains and go around valleys.
Nowadays, the average ocean-going speed of ships is about 8 knots, slightly faster in the near sea than in the far sea. If steam power is added to the journey, large ships can probably reach an average speed of about 16 knots, or about 25 kilometers per hour. If they can have priority passage all the way, the railway construction on the east coast is relatively good, and the maximum speed of steam trains can reach more than 40 kilometers per hour. In fact, the average speed should be around 30 kilometers.

Theoretically, the one-way travel time by water and land can be compressed to within a dozen hours to a day, but this is actually the maximum speed that can be achieved by professional players in areas such as intelligence transmission, and they almost completely ignore rest and supplies. If the "relay race" is played well, the time can be even shorter.

No matter how fast a normal person travels, the sea route takes at least three days on average. Ships almost always have to load and unload cargo along the way, and are also affected by the weather. The land route is even slower. Steam trains also have to change trains and give way, and they may not be available every day. It is considered quite smooth to arrive in four or five days. Generally speaking, the time taken by both routes can be considered "weeks", and this is the efficiency between the prosperous cities on the East Coast. At the same time, you also have to be "rich".
There is no time limit for riding in a horse-drawn carriage. Spending ten days or half a month is considered "traveling hard". The horses need rest, and it is inconvenient to travel at night - this is probably the pace of life these days.

When big shots are on the road, their speed cannot be compared to that of ordinary people. They can be faster, but in fact they are often slower.

However, just looking at the state of these horses, it is clear that Bishop Corleone chose the former, and it looks like he will have to behave himself in the future.

……

After the actual meeting, although Bishop Corleone seemed to have not rested well, his expression was normal.
There were a lot of fresh flowers in the living room. They were said to have natural fragrance, but the combined smell felt stronger than the perfume sprayed on the ladies at the ball.

After listening to the investigation report while sipping his liquor slowly, Bishop Corleone raised his hand and pointed at an oil painting on the wall. "Wayne, what do you think is the difference between the natives and us immigrants from the Old World?"

The content of the painting seems to be a scene from the War of Independence. Both sides are mainly white immigrants, but there are also indigenous faces in the corners. One side is being defeated by the other side waving the original Star-Spangled Flag.
Wayne quickly did his reading comprehension and then tried to answer the question: "They are all fighting for survival, so there doesn't seem to be any difference?"

Bishop Corleone seemed satisfied with the answer and took another sip of his liquor. "Continue."

Hmm...Based on the current investigation of the case, the only person who can be linked to the "indigenous people" is the arrested leader York Castallo.
There is indeed still primitive beliefs in their community. Could it be that Bishop Corleone wants to take this opportunity to reorganize it?
Bishop Corleone did not give Wayne too much time to think. He took another sip of liquor and gave the answer himself:

"Since we are fighting for survival, we should treat our enemies equally - if we can cut off the scalps of the natives, why can't we cut off the scalps of the immigrants?"

Good guy.

Wayne couldn't help but hesitate, "Because of different beliefs? Or because of lack of civilization?"

“The reality is not that complicated.”

Bishop Corleone pointed to a table next to him, then nodded at Wayne. Tom Hagen understood and went over to pick up a letter and handed it over. "This is a reward for you. Before this warrant expires, you have the same authority as exorcists in Virginia and can capture wild Beyonders who violate the rules. Whether you send them to the church for disposal or keep them for your own use is up to you."

Wayne took a quick look and realized that this was equivalent to relaxing the original concession order again.
Although the premise on paper is "violations", according to Virginia regulations, it seems that if you are not registered with the church and have no one to protect you, it can be considered a violation.

At least I had limited one "companion" before, but now it seems like I don't care whether others are happy or not... Aren't you afraid that I will force others to do something unpleasant?
And since it mentions "expiration", there is no expiration date or anything like that...

Wayne felt a little scared just looking at such a big cake.
So he thought for a moment, “Should I do something?”

"I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter."

Bishop Corleone paused for a moment and said, "I cannot interfere directly with political affairs, but I can still do some things in the church. I don't need anyone to do it for me. Go back and rest for a few days, and pay more attention to the recent newspapers. That may help you."

Wayne was still a little hesitant and couldn't help but glance at the painting again, wondering if he would get a different task reward if he gave a different answer.
Bishop Corleone glanced at where Wayne was looking and forced out a rare smile:
"Let me digress a little. Although many of the descendants of the April Grass have died and have been marginalized since the founding of the Federation, at least now and then there are still some young guys who are pleasing to the eye, so that we old guys don't feel lonely. This painting is for you. If you need it, you can tell others that it's from me. Some people will recognize it."

Wayne blinked, huh?
So you and I are from the same hometown... Not quite right. "Party"? Not quite that. "Old friend"? Yeah, that seems to be about right...

Well, why didn't you say so earlier?

Then I wouldn't be so restrained before.

Unfortunately, before Wayne could even think of opening his mouth to try to get close to him, Bishop Corleone raised his hand to stop him from talking, signaling Tom Hagen to leave:
"You go out first. Tom and I will talk alone for a while. And you need to be careful. It may not necessarily bring you good luck. Losers who stand on the wrong side usually have only one end."

Not to the extent that,

This is a painting given by the bishop of this state. Hanging it in the office is probably similar to how some people in later generations like to put a photo of themselves with a big boss on their desk.

(End of this chapter)