I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 173 Chen Xianzhi (4,000 words)

News of Governor Chen's arrival quickly spread throughout the entire immigrant camp.

The immigrants spontaneously gathered with their families and children along the road leading to the estate to welcome and pay tribute to Governor Chen, who was about to lead them to the west to develop a new home.

Chen Wenbin was already used to this kind of scene, and with something on his mind, he didn't have time to put on a show. He led his guards on horseback to the main building of the manor—a two-story red brick building in the Georgian style.

The estate, covering seventeen acres, originally belonged to a Quaker gentleman named William Vansen. Due to its remote location, it was worth only around £200 on the market.

Two months ago, Chen Wenbin sent David Jones and William Franklin, among others, to buy it for a premium of £260, as a base for westward migration.

Because William Franklin was a native of Philadelphia, he was primarily responsible for purchasing estates and other properties within the city, while David Jones, John Smith, and Martin Jackson of the Treasury were in charge of purchasing supplies such as grain, livestock, and horses.

As for Reverend John Davis, Hospital Director David Crane, and officers Henry Reinhardt, John Tripp, and Henry Stray, their job was to settle the immigrants, maintain order in the camp, and provide military training to the immigrants.

Now that William Franklin has suddenly fled to New Jersey to become governor, it's impossible that the other leaders of the immigrant camps didn't notice anything amiss.

Therefore, as soon as Chen Wenbin entered the manor, he did not go to see his women, but immediately sent people to summon all the responsible persons.

In the evening, all twelve leaders of the immigrant camp were present, except for James Merlin, the steel mill manager who was on a trip to inspect coal mines in the western mountains of Pennsylvania.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Chen Wenbin didn't waste any words and went straight to asking them whether the Payne family was really recruiting armed tax collectors, and about William Franklin's situation.

Upon hearing these two questions, David Jones, who was in charge of coordination, immediately replied: "Your Excellency, the Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania, John Payne, is indeed recruiting armed tax collectors. They have permission from the King and the British Parliament, but some radical members of parliament are very unhappy about this and consider it a bad policy!"

As for Mr. William Franklin—we advised him to think carefully and wait for you to come before deciding whether or not to go to New Jersey to become governor.

We all know that at this point in time, it was not a good job. Once he accepted the governor’s appointment, he would be responsible for implementing the stamp duty, which would be seen as a betrayal by the colonists!

But William insisted on accepting the appointment and left for New Jersey the next day; we couldn't force him to stay.

After all, he is Mr. Franklin's son.

Chen Wenbin nodded slightly; it was indeed inconvenient for David Jones and the others to stop them.

He turned to James Hawley, the head of the intelligence department, and Martin Walter, the manager of the integrated investigation company, who were attending the meeting, and asked, "James, Martin, have you noticed anything unusual about William? Who has he been meeting with since accepting his appointment?"

Seeing Martin Walter frown across from him, James Hawley immediately stood up smugly, cleared his throat, and reported to Governor Chen: "Your Excellency, four days ago, given the significant change in Mr. William Franklin's identity, I had to send people to conduct some routine surveillance on him—and indeed some anomalies were discovered. I sent a messenger on a fast ship back to Providence three days ago, but you should not have received it."

"I did not receive the report."

Chen Wenbin immediately urged, "Speak quickly!"

"yes!"

James Hawley bowed slightly to Governor Chen, who was seated in the main seat, and then said in a humorous tone: "Mr. William Franklin was delighted to receive the appointment as the Governor of New Jersey. He immediately decided to accept the appointment and then went to see the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House, Joseph Galloway, for a talk."

This is quite normal. Mr. Franklin and Speaker Galloway were good friends and political allies, but then Mr. William visited Chief Justice William Allen, whose relationship with his father was somewhat complicated.

When Mr. Franklin was a Pennsylvania congressman, he launched a tax investigation into the Allen family, and the two men once insulted each other in the legislature.

This is common knowledge.

Well, it's nothing. The grudges of the older generation don't necessarily have to extend to the next generation.

But the person Mr. William secretly met that night, disguised himself, was the enemy his father could never forgive!

Because of this man's family, Mr. Franklin was forced to live in exile in Boston and London for a long time!

I think everyone knows very well who this person is.

After hearing this, everyone immediately recognized the man's identity!

Their discontent with James Hawley's secret surveillance of his colleagues was replaced by shock.

"—It's John Payne!"

"William actually secretly went to see his father's enemy!"

Why did he do that?

"—What does he want to do?"

As everyone was discussing the matter, Chen Wenbin's expression turned cold.

He carefully recalled every detail of the afternoon in the council chamber, including the expressions and reactions of those three bastards.

Looking back now, they all looked somewhat surprised and bewildered when they heard themselves blaming Franklin—which essentially ruled out the old fat man as a suspect.

Upon receiving his appointment from the governor, William Franklin immediately met with two of the three carriages and also secretly met with John Payne of the Payne family.

Then, those three bastards led him to deal with the Payne family today—connecting these clues, a truth that didn't surprise him suddenly appeared in his mind!

He knew very well that William Franklin would never dare to scheme against and test him like this if he didn't have someone backing him up!

Who has the ability to make William so fearless and to get the cooperation of Speaker Galloway and his group?

The answer is about to come out!

He took a deep breath, clearing his mind of all those thoughts, then looked at James Hawley and slowly nodded, saying, "—James, you did very well! Excellent!"

Upon hearing the praise, the Irish intelligence chief immediately grinned, puffed out his chest, and looked up at Martin Walter sitting opposite him. The latter looked embarrassed, but still met his gaze defiantly.

Chen Wenbin observed their reactions, then changed the subject, saying, "But James, your intelligence isn't timely enough—how about this! From now on, the intelligence department will receive an additional fifty pounds per month. You can have someone train a batch of carrier pigeons specifically for delivering important intelligence!"

"—Yes, Your Excellency! I guarantee that I will train qualified homing pigeons as soon as possible!"

James Holly was overjoyed; an extra fifty pounds a month was much better than simply giving out a bonus.

With George Craig's investigation and audit office keeping a close eye on the accounts, he dared not embezzle too much, but an extra fifty pounds a month would at least mean that the intelligence service could add at least five to eight more staff members!

It should be noted that the entire intelligence service currently only has fifty-two full-time personnel. After deducting those in London and those remaining in New England, he can only directly command twenty-nine people.

The addition of five to eight positions at once is equivalent to a further expansion of his sphere of power!

More importantly, Martin Walter's idiot investigation company has nearly fifty employees, but they are all useless. They don't even bother to keep a close eye on important internal personnel when they are acting strangely!

Why not just cancel it altogether and keep all the funds for ourselves!

Seeing James Holly's expression, Chen Wenbin could roughly guess what he was thinking, but the competition between his two intelligence chiefs was a good thing for him.

Martin Walter was of average ability but more loyal, and being a North American, he was naturally good at dealing with North Americans. James Hawley, on the other hand, had previously made a name for himself on the streets of London, and while he was indeed very capable, he was also more ambitious.

He didn't want to be misled by a single source of information, so it was absolutely impossible for him to set up only one intelligence agency. Even if both of them were replaced, these two intelligence organizations would not be abolished or merged.

After half an hour.

As darkness fell, after briefly listening to everyone's reports, he did not invite them to stay for dinner. Instead, he announced the adjournment of the meeting, leaving only Pastor Jason, David Jones, John Smith, and David Klein—the four directors of Robin Company—as well as Pastor John Davis and Attorney Marvin, to continue their small meeting in the living room on the first floor.

Chen Wenbin briefly recounted what had happened in the Philadelphia Council Chamber and shared his speculations.

"—London has become suspicious of me! Today's events are both a test and a warning!"

By the light of the candle, Chen Wenbin's gaze swept over the six people one by one, taking in their expressions.

The four company directors were aware of his assessment of the future situation in North America and had completely aligned themselves with Governor Chen's cause, so they had no other reaction besides concern.

Reverend Davis was excited, while lawyer Marvin was panicked.

"Robin!"

Davis waved and shouted, "This is a revelation from God! We must get to the West as soon as possible!"

We're leaving tomorrow!

Let us leave this land of the East, which is destined to descend into chaos, and head to the West to create a new home for God and us!

This is your mission as a prophet!

Your excellence is bound to arouse envy!

Only in the West can you fully realize the talents God has given you!

Only you can lead humanity to a bright future!

After he finished his charlatan-like remarks, before Chen Wenbin could even speak, David Jones, David Klein, and John Smith all expressed their agreement.

"Your Excellency! You should indeed set off as soon as possible to fulfill your mission!"

"Sir, I will always support you!"

"Your Excellency! I am convinced that you are the prophet of our time!"

Pastor Jason's true faith is close to Deism, so he doesn't really believe that Chen Wenbin is the prophet Davis described. However, he also thinks that Chen Wenbin's many miraculous abilities may truly be blessed by God, so he doesn't object.

However, lawyer Marvin, as an evangelical believer, still has some doubts about whether Chen Wenbin is a prophet.

Chen Wenbin glanced at him, but didn't pay much attention to it.

In the months since returning to North America, in order to win people's hearts, in addition to talking to middle and lower-level managers in various company departments, he also instructed and tacitly approved Davis and others to carry out prophetic propaganda about him among immigrants.

To put it bluntly, it's similar to "The Book Hidden in the Fish's Belly" and "Chen Sheng is King, the Great Chu Will Rise," all of which are ways to lay the groundwork for public opinion before a rebellion and independence, and to deify the divinely ordained nature of the leader.

Because in North America, people believe in Jesus Christ, and there is also the open-source Protestantism, so various predecessors have already paved the way.

For example, the Quakers of Pennsylvania separated from the Anglican Church because they advocated the inner light, equality for all, non-violence, silent gatherings, and a simple life. Even though they suffered persecution and suppression in England, they still managed to find room for development in North America.

However, the Quakers' insistence on silence and anti-organization means that their number of followers cannot increase rapidly.

For example, the Mormon Church, due to its ideas of polygamy, the ability of everyone to cultivate themselves into gods, and its high birth rate, developed rapidly in the late 19th century and remains a church with considerable influence in modern times.

The Protestant denomination in North America that is currently the most zealous in missionary work and has the best organizational skills is the Evangelical Fellowship of Attorney Marvin.

To be precise, evangelicalism can only be described as a religious movement that has emerged from various Protestant denominations.

There are roughly five core doctrines of evangelicalism.

First, rebirth requires believers to undergo a spiritual transformation through personal repentance and trust in Christ, not merely a formal initiation into the church.

Second, justification is by faith; salvation is by faith, not by good works, sacraments, or church authority.

Third, the Bible is supreme; it is the highest authority, and we oppose rationalism and formalism.

Fourth, passionate preaching, including sermons, open-air gatherings, and emotional expression, breaks down parish barriers.

Fifth, everyone can be a priest, and lay people can communicate directly with God, opposing the monopoly of the clergy.

As long as these five core characteristics are met, whether one is a Congregationalist, Presbyterian, or Baptist, one can be considered an evangelical.

Chen Wenbin wants to establish his own independent church in the west, which will inevitably lead him to clash with the rising tide of the evangelical movement.

And the only thing that can defeat evangelicals and all other religious sects is probably a true "prophet"!

In fact, as a time traveler, Chen Wenbin does indeed possess the ability of prophecy!

He knew the general trend of world history, the large gold mines in California and Nevada, and the many oil fields in Ohio and Texas. He could even make many epoch-making inventions and put forward many world-changing scientific theories and important social ideas.

If true prophets exist in the world, then besides him, a time traveler, who else is qualified to deserve that title?

Are they just pastors and priests who only recite Bible stories?

Can they predict the future?

Can they pinpoint the locations of gold mines and other mineral deposits in advance?

Can they enable ordinary people to use electric lights and eat grains grown with chemical fertilizers?

After realizing that he was the only true prophet in the world, Chen Wenbin was full of confidence!

Since the end of last month, he has been frequently demonstrating his "prophetic" abilities in front of Baptist pastors who follow him, such as Davis, John Lee, Gavin Heywood, and Roger Weiss, as well as core followers such as David Jones, John Smith, and David Klein!

For example, God revealed to him that the rulers of London had been incited by the devil to be greedy and would levy exorbitant taxes in North America. The people of North America would inevitably choose to resist, which would lead North America into war within ten years, with the West being the only safe haven.

Furthermore, God revealed to him a fast and low-cost method for steelmaking that could quickly arm the Western Self-Defense Forces.

There are also gold mines hidden among the mountains of the west, which God has prepared for His agents and believers.

Chen Wenbin was full of confidence, but most of the people were skeptical. However, they were generally willing to cooperate with the big boss. After all, there were too many people in this era who claimed to have received divine revelation. Whether it was true or false, it would be verified in the future.