North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 30 The barrel of the gun is the backbone
America may lack anything, but it will never lack guns!

After some bargaining, A Zu bought fifty M1848 Colt muzzle-loading revolvers for a total price of US$1500.

This is a muzzle-loading revolver with a percussion cap. It is loaded by cocking the hammer and firing black powder and lead bullets. The fulminate of mercury percussion cap is placed in the firing port behind the cylinder.

This gun is, to a large extent, a symbol of the western pioneers and the military.

Those who are familiar with this Colt revolver call it a pepper shaker!

In addition, Azu spent $1,000 to buy fifty muzzle-loading Springfield M1842 rifles.

This was the US Army's first standard-issue rifle, replacing the flintlock. Using a mercury detonator to ignite and fire Minié bullets (conical expanding warheads), it significantly improved range and accuracy, making it the current mainstay of the US Army.

Selling one hundred guns at one time was a rare big deal, so the gun dealer was naturally very happy. He directly sold a large amount of pistol and rifle ammunition at a discount price.

A-Zu was playing with the Colt pistol he had just acquired. To be honest, he was very dissatisfied with all the rifles and pistols that were available for purchase at the moment.

These muzzle-loading guns are really too old. In a few years, they will be replaced by breech-loading guns!

But there is no way. Even if I can make a few breech-loading guns by hand, the problem of ammunition is still difficult to solve for the time being.

"We must build our own machining plant as soon as possible. Only when we have a strong gun can we have a strong back!"

A Zu did a simple calculation and found that a factory with basically complete facilities that could mass-produce firearms would require an investment of at least $100,000 just for the factory buildings and equipment.

Not to mention raw materials and manpower recruitment!
With the current financial resources, it is not possible for the time being.

At times like this, it becomes more urgent to quickly earn enough funds.

Although Huamei Company is already very profitable, in A Zu's eyes, it is far from enough.

A Zu turned to Vic and Jason and asked, "Do you know anyone who is good at shooting?"

Jason held his cherry wood pipe in his mouth and thought for a moment. "One of my foremen, Martinez, was a gunner on a Spanish warship when he was young. He's a pretty good shot."

Vic also replied: "Although Harley is a brainless guy, he is actually a good shot."

"Okay, give them both a $20 monthly salary increase and let them teach people how to shoot."

"Teach whom?"

"Go pick someone first!"

A Zu brought Jason and Vic and called out A Yan who was working on the mobile house.

A Yan is a fellow villager and clan member. He is honest and reliable. He has also practiced Cailifo for several years and looks young and strong.

"Ayan, I'm going to take you to pan for gold, do you want to go?" A Zu asked.

"Gold panning?" A Yan was slightly startled and blurted out, "Go, why not? Grandpa, whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it!"

A-Zu nodded and said nothing more.

Then he called out the names of seven or eight more people. In A Zu's eyes, these people were all reliable and in good health.

A-Zu observed silently for a long time and selected about thirty people from the newly recruited Chinese workers.

Those he personally selected were all honest people who were hardworking, not dishonest, and in good health.

Then, based on Jason's recommendation, they selected a dozen or so technicians from among the original workers in the shipyard who were reliable enough and good at carpentry.

There are about fifty people here.

Faced with such a team hand-picked by himself, A Zu did not make any solemn promises or paint a rosy picture for them with enthusiasm. Instead, he simply raised the salary of each of the fifty or so people by five dollars and asked them to practice shooting with Harley and Martinez for an hour every morning and evening.

We don't aim to train them into elite soldiers, but at least they should be able to protect themselves in the wilderness.

After making these arrangements, he no longer needed to worry about the company's affairs.

So after two days of preparation, Zu and Jason set out on their journey in their small twenty-foot wooden boat.

The small wooden boat, which had once carried more than ten people and drifted on the sea for more than a month, sank into the water again. This time, only A-Zu and Jason were on board.

However, this time they were well prepared. The small wooden boat rowed through San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, Huysong Bay and Hunk Bay, and then went upstream from the mouth of the Sacramento River.

Because we took this busy waterway, we did not encounter any Indians or bandits along the way.

Four days later, Zu and Jason arrived in Sacramento.

In a real sense, San Francisco is the destination for gold prospectors from all over the world.

And Sacramento is the real starting point of the gold rush!

Tens of thousands of gold prospectors began to enter the wilderness to pan for gold starting from Sacramento.

So, this small city, like San Francisco, is experiencing the pain of a massive influx of population and rapid urban expansion.

Azu and Jason rested for a day in Sacramento and did not stay for long.

Continue upstream along the Sacramento River!

Soon after, the boat entered the American River, a tributary.

Not far upstream along the American River, you will see the legendary origin of gold rush - Souter's Mill!
In the previous year, 1848, a large deposit of rich placer gold had been discovered at Souter's Mill.

The small Souter Mill soon attracted gold prospectors from all over the world. Then, they spread out from here and dug deep into the surrounding areas.

A year later, the gold on the surface of the land at Suter's Mill had basically been washed away.

But there were still thousands of gold diggers gathering around Souter's Mill, forming one gold digging force after another.

The small wooden boat did not attract much attention, but there were still people on both sides of the river using vigilant and fierce eyes to warn the new gold diggers not to approach their territory.

Zu and Jason had no intention of stopping at Souter's Mill and continued rowing their boat upstream along the river.

Five days later, they had left most of the gold diggers far behind.

Their current location has penetrated deep into an unknown small tributary of the upper reaches of the American River and into the depths of the Nevada Mountains.

This is an uncivilized land where no place names are marked on maps.

This place is far away from the border of civilization. It is the territory of the Indians and the lair of bandits!

The vast majority of gold diggers dare not enter such a dangerous area.

Outside the boundaries of such civilization, there are no laws or rules, and without sufficient force, gold mining is basically tantamount to suicide!

The river channel is getting narrower and the water volume is getting smaller.

The boat finally entered a small lake of several dozen acres.

At the end of the small lake is a waterfall more than ten meters high.

The turbid river water, like a silk thread, hangs down from the waterfall and falls into the deep pool of the small lake, making a never-ending "rumbling" sound.

Once you reach this point, the waterway ends, unless you have enough manpower to lift the boat up to the waterfall.

"Lee, let's stop here!"

Jason tied the boat to the shore and looked at the surrounding cliffs with extreme vigilance, as if Indians and bandits might appear at any time.

"This kind of place is so dangerous, it makes my scalp tingle!"

A-Zu also looked up to observe the surrounding terrain and water conditions, and suddenly grinned.

"Really? I think this is a wonderful place!"

(End of this chapter)