Reborn in 1878: America's Number One Bandit

Chapter 82 The Destruction of Ryūshīdō
Mai Ling crawled two steps on her knees to Long Zhi and looked up at him slightly.

Long Zhi leaned back in his armchair and hummed comfortably.

He looked up at the smoke swirling above the roof and murmured, "One advantage of getting old is that you can see things more clearly."

"These Americans are talking about some bullshit bill again, trying to kick all of us yellow-skinned people out of California. Something's not right here!"

"That black soil is too hot to handle, you can't touch it."

"That 10,000-mu farm, what a pity, what a pity."

He sighed, "That's an excellent way out. It's just a pity that the Chinese have such a low status in Jinshan. Those white devils can't stand us owning land..."

The woman did not respond and continued to bury herself in her work.

Long Zhi slowly placed his hand on the top of her head, stroking it gently, and she closed her eyes comfortably.

"puff!"

Without warning.

A stream of scalding, viscous liquid was suddenly poured over Mai Ling's head.

The movement stopped abruptly, and Mai Ling stared wide-eyed, his mind blank.

The liquid flowed down her head and finally dripped onto her chest.

It took her two seconds to realize, could this be Master Long's...?

She hurriedly looked up.

Long Zhi was still leaning back in his armchair, but his usually half-closed, cloudy eyes were now wide open, staring intently at the ceiling.

A thin, dark red line ran across his throat.

Fresh blood was gushing out from that line with the last few weak contractions of the heart.

Behind Long Zhi, a towering figure, as tall as an iron tower, had appeared out of nowhere.

The man stood there, holding a short, dripping knife in his hand, and casually wiped it on Long Zhi's silk jacket.

Mai Ling covered her mouth tightly, not daring to make a sound.

The man shoved Long Zhi's corpse off the armchair and then sat down in his place.

He looked at the woman covered in blood with great interest.

"It's good that you didn't scream in terror after such a sudden change."

"No wonder you dared to have an affair with your lover Li Yong behind Long Zhi's back in the woodshed, and you dared to secretly contact white politicians and steal from the black soil business!"

"You are no ordinary woman."

After the initial shock, Mak Ling finally calmed down, but an even greater fear crept into her heart.

He knows, he knows everything.

Mak Ling's lover is Li Yong, the top henchman of Lung Chi Tong, who is her greatest asset.

The shady dealings she and Li Yong did in private were her biggest secret.

Now this secret has been casually revealed by a stranger who just killed her master.

Mai Ling kept her head down, so her expression was not visible.

next second!
"Buzz!"

A cold light burst forth from beneath her curled-up body.

She pulled out a sharp dagger from who-knows-where, gripped it in her hand, and thrust it straight at the man's throat!

But the other person was faster than her.

"when!"

The tip of the knife was firmly held between two fingers.

Mai Ling's thrust, imbued with all her strength, stopped in mid-air, less than three inches from the man's neck.

Mak Ling looked horrified. How could someone catch a knife with their fingers?

She tried to pull the knife back, but found that the short knife was as if it had been welded to the other person's fingers and wouldn't budge!

"Too weak."

The man leisurely made his assessment, then grabbed Mai Ling by the neck with his other hand and lifted her off the ground!

"Ugh! Let go of me!"

The dagger fell to the ground, and she desperately scratched at the man's arm with both hands, but the hand was like an iron hoop, tightening its grip more and more!

At that moment, the door to the back room was violently kicked open.

Mai Ling then realized that the room was now filled with strange, burly men who looked just like that man.

The remaining core members of Long Zhitang, including her lover Li Yong, were all dragged in with their hands tied behind their backs and rags stuffed in their mouths, like dead dogs.

"Whoa! Whoa!"

When Li Yong saw everything in the room, he was so shocked that he struggled desperately, his throat still screaming.

The man seemed annoyed by his noise and casually tossed Mai Ling onto the carpet.

Mai Ling didn't care about anything else and greedily took deep breaths.

"Break his neck."

The man gave the order calmly.

A burly man holding Li Yong suddenly pressed down on the top of his head with one hand and supported his chin with the other.

"No! No!"

Li Yong's roar immediately turned into a terrified sob.

The strong man's arm muscles slowly tightened!
"Crack!"

Mai Ling watched helplessly as the man who had been intimate with her and plotting their future just two days before died.

Li Yong is the top expert of Longzhitang.

The man stood up, and the shadow cast by his tall figure enveloped Mai Ling.

“My name is Aoyama. Starting tonight, I will take over Ryushido.”

He waved his hand, and the burly men immediately knocked out the members of the Dragon Hall one by one and dragged them out.

They were loaded onto a truck outside and driven away.

In just a few minutes, only Qingshan and Mailing remained in the room once again.

Mai Ling glared at him fiercely: "You're not from Chinatown, are you from Heweitang? Or did Feng Haitang invite you? How much did they pay you?"

"Ah!"

Aoyama grinned crookedly: "They think they're worthy?"

He used a dagger to lift Mai Ling's chin, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"Now it's your turn. Give me a reason not to kill you."

Under Qingshan's intense gaze, Mai Ling's delicate body began to tremble uncontrollably.

But a few seconds later, the resentment in her eyes slowly faded, replaced by a hint of allure.

Her body began to twist slightly, rubbing her blood-stained chest against the blade of Qingshan's knife.

"This, this gentleman."

Her voice was cloying and trembling: "I can make you feel good. I'm very skilled, better than any other girl in the brothel. Master Long... he likes me the most!"

Aoyama stared at her performance with a blank expression.

"Your acting is very good."

"Unfortunately, your heart is as venomous as a snake, and this trick won't work on me."

Qingshan kicked her in the shoulder, sending her tumbling over.

"If all you can offer is that frivolous stuff, then you can go down and keep that old man company."

Mai Ling finally realized that this man was completely different from any man she had ever met before!

He doesn't want money or sex.

He seems to care only about his life.

One day, the beauty and body that I was so proud of will completely fail.

Aoyama gave a dangerous smile, and the blade drew near once more.

"and many more!"

Mai Ling suddenly screamed.

She scrambled to the corner of the wall, grabbed the silk robe that had slipped off, and hastily wrapped it around herself.

But his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't even fasten his belt.

She gave up, grabbed a cigar from Long Zhi's table, lit it with a match that was trembling so much she could barely hold it, and took a deep drag.

The acrid smoke made her cough violently, but that puff of smoke finally calmed her down a lot.

"You want a reason? I am the reason!" "You killed Long Zhi, you killed Li Yong, and you think you can take over Long Zhi Hall? Not so fast!"

"Do you know how Lung Chi Tong's casinos operate? Do you know the shady dealings in Fan Tan and Pai Gow? Do you know which pimps are paid off, and how much they pay each month?"

"Also, do you know how many ranks the prostitutes in this brothel have, who the top courtesan is, and who has venereal diseases? Do you know which ones are the private possessions of the San Francisco council members?"

A series of chips were thrown out, but Qingshan remained expressionless, as if he had no interest in them at all.

Mai Ling's heart sank.

Are you interested in the piglet business?

Aoyama's eyes finally moved.

Mak Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief; she had made the right bet!

"All of Long Zhitang's accounting records and even his network of contacts regarding the piglet business are in my possession!"

Mai Ling pointed to her head: "You killed me, and you have none of these things! Long Zhitang is just an empty shell!"

"very good!"

Qingshan slowly said, "Then hand over everything you know. Including those channels and the contact information of the smugglers."

"Once I've got everything in place,"

He slowly approached and tapped Mai Ling's chest with the tip of his knife: "I will give you a good ending."

Mak Ling slumped down in despair.

"it is good!"

She closed her eyes: "I'll cooperate."

……

Lawson's consciousness returned to his original body.

Replacing Ryuseido is only the first step.

Even without Liang Kuan's affair, he would have taken action against gangs like Lung Chi Tong sooner or later, those gangs that grew by selling off their compatriots and sucking their marrow.

However, he would not stop using the channels from the Qing Dynasty's transporters.

That land was already in dire straits, and the people were living in misery.

What Lawson wanted to do was to give them a way to find a job in North America.

Moreover, his apple orchards, the vast amount of land to be developed, and the countless industries to be established in the future all require a massive labor force.

Everything was under his control.

From now on, all Chinese people who come to the United States through his channels must accept his arrangements.

The Chinese Youth Association will be the guild and protector of all Chinese laborers.

The Chinese Youth Association will be responsible for their safety, accommodation, employment, and even their salaries.

In the past, Chinese laborers had no bargaining power with white business owners; they were like meat on a chopping block.

But from now on, you'll have all of these.

The Chinese Youth Association will represent all Chinese laborers in negotiations with the railway companies and mine owners.

I'm not afraid of their disagreement.

Because these Chinese laborers had more than one option.

Lawson's own farms and estates have enough jobs to absorb this huge workforce internally.

As for the white bosses, they can certainly choose other workers.

Irish? Mexican? Or a newcomer from Russia?
Lawson gave a cold laugh.

These groups also included his loyal followers.

If those bosses dare to lower the price or refuse the Chinese Youth Association's conditions, Lawson can make the Mexicans or Irish create a sensation across California at those construction sites in no time!

Lawson would not trust these Chinese laborers unconditionally.

He understood better than anyone the principle that you can't see into someone's heart and that even the greatest kindness can turn into enmity.

He also planted assassins among the Chinese laborers.

They will be his most secretive eyes.

He would give these Chinese laborers enough respect and dignity, so that they would not be bullied by those white devils, so that they could have enough to eat, receive their due wages, and have their lives and most basic dignity guaranteed.

What he wanted was for this group of people to have respect and awe for the Chinese Youth Association.

This is enough.

As for improving their quality, teaching them how to break free from servility, and enhancing their cognitive abilities?
Lawson doesn't have that much energy to put into this.

That's not something that can be achieved overnight; it may require several generations of iteration.

A person's life is fleeting, like grass and trees in autumn; he was very busy.

In the early morning in Malin County, the birdsong outside the window is crisp and clear.

After a deep philosophical discussion with Mrs. Marlene, he was now refreshed and invigorated.

He stood by the study window, coffee cup in hand, his gaze passing over Strawberry Town and Sonoma, and fixed on the true golden city in the south.

San Francisco.

Saint Francis.

This city, built on the bones of the gold rush survivors, is the jewel of the West Coast and its giant casino.

In that forest of desire, where bright lights, telegraph lines, and bank vaults intertwine, every day some people go bankrupt while others become rich overnight!
Railroad tycoon, silver king, shipping giant...

In their luxurious private boxes there, they used knives and forks stained with the blood of Native Americans and the bones of Chinese laborers to carve up America's future.

Lawson was very interested in that place.

The petty squabbles in Marin and Sonoma counties are nothing more than robbing a few desperate gamblers outside the gates of this massive casino.

The real poker tables are in San Francisco!
Once the play in Saint Raphael is over, it's time to head into town.

Judging by the time, the telegram from Chicago should have already reached that small town.

……

San Rafael town, militia command post.

Kane and Thorne were arguing heatedly with Buck around a spread-out map.

"I'll say it again, Lieutenant Buck!"

Thorne pointed sharply at a dot on the map with his finger: "The main force of the gang could never have come this way! They're not stupid!"
We should deploy Gatling guns on the high ground on both flanks of the town, creating a crossfire network to force them into a trap!

"Bullshit pocket!"

Buck slammed his hand on the table: "You detectives, all you know is these fancy tactics! In the face of absolute power, all conspiracies are just paper tigers!"

My four hundred-plus men, plus your three hundred, nearly eight hundred guns! We should take the initiative and crush them like bedbugs!

"Do you even know where they are, you idiot..."

"okay!"

Kane couldn't take it anymore and interrupted their argument.

A telegraph operator rushed in, clutching a telegram sheet in his hand.

"Sir! An encrypted telegram from Chicago headquarters! S1 level!"

Thorne snatched the telegram and quickly glanced at it.

The next second, his entire face was almost contorted!

"What the hell is going on?!"

"what happened?"

Kane leaned closer.

When he saw the contents of the telegram, he was stunned.

[Immediately cease all operations in Northern California. Lead Iron Fist and the entire Avengers team back to Chicago immediately. Headquarters has a more urgent mission. This is a personal order from Alan Pinkerton.]

"A more urgent mission?"

Thorne growled incredulously, "What could be more urgent than the capture of the entire Wolverine team and the slaughter of twenty-eight brothers? Has headquarters gone mad?"

"This is impossible!"

Kane grabbed the telegram and checked it several times: "If we leave, what will happen to our Wolverine brothers? Where will Pinkerton's reputation be? This will be a stain on our careers! An indelible stain!"

He rushed towards the telegraph operator: "Return the telegram immediately! We need an explanation! We refuse to evacuate!"

"I'm afraid it's too late, sir."

The telegraph operator handed over another telegram sheet: "This is the second one that just arrived, A1 level."

This is not a request! Depart immediately! Disobedience will be treated as defection. - Robert Pinkerton

(End of this chapter)