Abyss Express

Chapter 502 Interlude·Going to San Francisco to dig for gold

August 27, 1837, the seventeenth year of Daoguang.

Xiangxing Bay, Linggu Temple, Xiachuan Town, Taishan County.

Wen Bucai boarded a steamship across the ocean. The sun had just risen from the sea level, and the sea breeze had a salty smell. The fishermen watched the sky for food. They all said that the layered clouds in the sky were a sign of the arrival of a typhoon. If you save enough food before the typhoon, you won’t be able to go to sea for the next few days.

In the past few days, more and more officers and soldiers have come from the county to the villages and towns to arrest people. It seems that there has been a change of governor. They say that the new officer has three major goals in taking office: to catch water bandits.

Wen Bucai is a water bandit and he has to run for his life.

There is also a priest on the steamer who came from America to preach. His children are businessmen. In the early years, this priest did business with merchants in Wuyi District and did everything——

——Sell Chinese silk, ceramics, and tobacco to the United States.

Later, when the priest got older and joined the Charity Monastery, the family property was left to his children to take care of.

Wen Bucai originally wanted to ask the abbot of Linggu Temple to help him. He wanted to become a monk and avoid being searched by the government, but I couldn't save the poor. He had to ask foreigners for help. By chance we caught up with this steamship, so we escaped to the American continent with the priest, thinking about the future.

The priest's name is Kevin Richard, and he is an old American. His family settled in Colombia after the founding of Washington. He was very curious about Wen Bucai. This young man had a strong learning ability. He learned English in less than half a month and could barely communicate in English.

On the day of departure, as soon as the ship left port, Kevin pulled Wen Bucai to the deck, deliberately avoiding his children.

He believed that this was an important test. God sent this young man to him, and there must be some kind of mission to be completed.

So old man Kevin asked.

"Were you a robber before?"

Wen Bucai replied with a playful smile: "That was before, that was before, uncle. Can you not mention this?"

Kevin: "The monk at Linggu Temple is not willing to help you, but I am willing, as long as you are obedient and do not use violence to harm others."

Wen Bucai: "Okay, okay! Of course!"

Kevin: "Wen, can you tell me the reason? Why do you want to be a robber?"

Where is the reason? Wen Bucai hardly remembers these things. He doesn't remember them clearly, only some fragmentary memories.

Even though these things happened just half a year ago, he still couldn't quite figure out the whole story. He had been awake for too long, and the memory area of ​​his cerebral cortex had reached its limit, and he could only remember some unforgettable important events.

At this moment, his mind returned to that of sixteen or seventeen years old, and he looked the same on the outside.

"Oh, Uncle Kevin. Let me stroke it carefully first! Let me stroke it carefully first."

Wen Bucai said this and began to try hard to recall the cause and process of the incident.

"It was during that period of the New Year! A young man came to Guangzhou. I was doing business as a salesman. I had to travel over mountains and ridges between counties and towns, delivering seafood to Taishan, and sending back black beans and shrimps from Taishan. here."

Kevin mused: "That must be very difficult and dangerous."

Wen Bucai immediately said: "No matter whether there is danger or not, it's all about livelihood."

Kevin: "What do you think happened to this young man?"

Wen Bucai: "This brother is from Guangzhou. He failed the imperial examination and failed. He didn't have much money left, so he wanted to go back to his hometown of Huaxian by water, but he couldn't afford the boat fare, so he wanted to take a short walk. "

With that said, Wen Bucai and Father Kevin asked for some tobacco leaves and rolled them skillfully.

"This little brother was traveling alone on a heavy rainy day. I met him in a dilapidated temple next to the official road. The dilapidated temple was a small post station where I usually used to shelter from the rain and spend the night. Occasionally, there would be carriages and horses on their way who would come to me to buy something. thing."

"He contracted a cold at the time and seemed to be seriously ill. I used to work as a barefoot doctor in the village. He looked fair and clean like a scholar. He liked to grow a beard. The mustache was trimmed and looked very beautiful. He shouldn't be a robber, so I guarded him all night."

Kevin: "God will definitely reward you. This is a very good and beautiful thing."

"Hi!" Wen Bucai puffed out his words and couldn't laugh or cry, and waved his hands quickly: "Don't talk about rewards, uncle. Something happened in the middle of the night."

"At the fourth watch, the rain became heavier and heavier, and the ruined temple was still leaking. Seeing that it was about to flood, I climbed on the roof to fix the leak. I picked a few bunches of large lotus leaves from the nearby Bailong River and came back. The raincoat on me was all wet. It started to stink, all sweat and mud.”

"At first, I didn't find anything strange. I patched up the roof, and the rainwater flowed along the leaves to the shack. My little donkey was tied up in the shack, but I couldn't hear the donkey's sound anymore."

"The thunder was so loud that my donkey was frightened and should have roared all night long. It was very lively."

"But I couldn't hear anything anymore, so I finally became alert, moved a few steps toward the shack, and hid next to the window of the ruined temple. Half of the temple's caisson (ceiling) collapsed."

"I was hiding behind the wooden sculpture of the caisson. It was drooping, and I could see the shack from the hollow painting of Arhat subduing the dragon."

When Wen Bucai said this, he asked Kevin for a portion of tobacco leaves, and continued to roll cigarettes.

"Hey guys, I just saw a rabbit lying on my donkey sucking blood!"

Father Kevin didn't seem to understand: "Rabbit? What is that?"

"It looks like a cat, but it's not a cat!" Wen Bucai said, nervously describing: "I was frightened, and my heart was about to pop out of my throat."

Kevin smiled and said, "Can a little kitten scare you?"

"No, no, no! No, no, no, no, no! Uncle Kevin." Wen Bucai described in a serious manner: "The rabbit is five feet long and eight feet high. My donkey holds it in its mouth, and it holds it with me. It's like living a cigarette - the rabbit's mouth is so weird that it can swallow half of the shack when fully opened. It has a thick tail, a fleshy face, bright and fat hair, and a fierce look."

"Ah!" Kevin responded in surprise: "This is the devil from hell! God!"

"Yes!" Wen Bucai said viciously: "My trip was in vain! I was angry at that time! But I was afraid - I hid under the caisson, for fear that the smell would waft into the rabbit's nose. I was worried Be thankful."

"The rain saved me! If the rain hadn't washed away the smell, I would have been eaten by the rabbit this time!"

"But I couldn't get angry. I heard a strange crunching sound from the other side of the shack, and I thought the rabbit was chewing the donkey's bones."

"I raised my head and took another look. I was so angry that my hair stood on end. This beast not only eats meat! It also eats my bucket!"

Kevin said with shame and hesitation: "This devil is really not picky about food."

"Who do you think can bear this?" Wen Bucai explained with a wink: "I can't make a lot of money this time. I prepare medicine for the failed scholars. When I get back, I have to find a drug store to replenish the goods. I work all the time for nothing. Less than half a month."

Kevin: "You rushed out?"

Wen Bucai immediately gave up: "How can that be done? I don't dare."

Kevin: "What happened next?"

"I'll just wait, grit my teeth and wait." Wen Bucai pursed his lips, took the opportunity to fish out tobacco leaves from the old priest's cigarette case, and then continued to have sex, "I must have waited for a stick of incense before I remembered the small coal stove. Still sitting on the water!”

"I was so frightened that one of my souls rose to heaven and two souls left my body. Medicine was still being boiled in the clay pot. If this monster smelled the smell, both the scholar and I would die. So I immediately went to put out the fire!"

"But once the fire goes out and the cold wind from outside the ruined temple pours into the house, it will be bad! It will be bad!"

"The scholar was lying in front of the Buddhist altar. He seemed to feel cold. He coughed twice and turned over. I immediately ran to the caisson to see that the rabbit was gone! I don't know where the monster went?"

Wen Bucai's eyes became extremely frightened——

"——I've thought about it for a long time, but if it happens in such a short time, I'm afraid it's too late!"

"Originally, I was asked to repair the tiled roof with lotus leaves, but it started to leak again, so I carried the scholar to the door. As I looked back, I saw green eyes. I looked straight towards the Buddhist niche from the top of the tiled roof and discovered that We’re gone!”

"I ran wildly outside, hugging my friend and running for my life together, and ran to a big elm tree on the north side of Bailong River. The elm tree was very tall. Maybe this rabbit was not like a tiger or a big insect. It was so fat that it probably couldn't climb trees. "

"Fortunately, I run fast!"

Wen Bucai clapped his hands and almost dropped the cigarette from his mouth. He straightened the cigarette and continued.

"When I ran to Bailong River, I hugged the boy and hid in the lotus leaves. I heard the sound of water behind me, and the rabbit was chasing after him. He pushed forward with his mouth wide open, and his fluffy hair also absorbed the water. , it seems like he can’t run.”

"It stepped into the mud and let out a deafening howl, which made my head buzz. The thunder and beast's roar drove me crazy."

"It was approaching the fifth watch. I carried the scholar up a tree and frightened away a few horse-faced monkeys. I don't know if these monkeys were afraid of me or the monster."

"The rain hasn't stopped yet, but it's just getting light in the northeast. I think it's almost over? The monster must be afraid of the sun, right?"

"The surroundings are not completely bright yet, and we can't see what's going on under the trees. The scholar hasn't woken up yet, and he sleeps like a dead pig."

"I heard the sound of carriages and horses, and the sound of steel swords being unsheathed from under the trees——"

Wen Bucai still tightened his grip.

"——Someone was shouting, it's the police from Bianzhou Beibu Bay Yamen who are here and want me to get down."

Father Kevin exclaimed: "Someone is coming? Are you saved?"

"No way!" Wen Bucai cursed: "Bailong River is just an official road! Which policeman would drive a horse over this dirt road! I walk this road every day! Don't I know how bad it is? ? You want the official to go to the barren mountains and ridges to save people at midnight? It’s the most ridiculous thing in the world!"

"At that time, I didn't believe the person under the tree at all. That guy was either a mountain bandit! Or a water bandit!"

"He scolded me, forced me, and even knew my name! He knew I was doing business in Xiangxing Bay!"

"That's when I came to my senses! This is obviously a monster!"

"This rabbit can recognize the ledger in the warehouse! It can read! It can talk! It's going to trick me into falling out of the tree and eating me!"

"It was probably halfway through the fifth watch, and the sky and the earth seemed to have turned white. I finally could vaguely see under the tree, and saw a bright red cauldron! It was covered with steel knives!"

Wen Bucai described it with trembling fear.

"Only when I saw it clearly did I realize what kind of pot was there! That's the mouth of the rabbit! It's like a big bag! It's been waiting for me under the tree!"

"It scolds me, and I scold it too!"

"It couldn't scold me anymore! I laughed out loud! I said you should eat two more scholars! The scholars scolded me hard!"

"It wants to negotiate terms with me and wants the scholar in my arms——"

"Of course I won't agree. I still think this scholar can make me rich. After all, this is a life-saving grace!"

Wen Bucai searched for the last bit of inventory from Kevin's cigarette case. The steamer had gone far away, his hometown behind him was getting further and further away, and the road ahead became increasingly bleak.

"It brags to me again, saying it is a ferocious beast! It is a gluttonous demon that devours the sky and the earth!"

When the fire was lit, Wen Bucai looked disdainful——

"——I scolded it. It's five feet tall but can't even climb a tree. What a monster! Isn't it just a monster stuck in the quagmire?"

Kevin said with a smile: "This devil must be afraid of you, so you scolded him away?"

"No." Wen Bucai pursed his lips and looked strangely: "It is true that two teams of officers and soldiers came to find someone."

"When the rabbit heard the soldiers and horses banging the gong to clear the way, it immediately ran very fast. Its big fluffy tail dragged a ravine in the field and disappeared."

Kevin: "Oh"

"That's what happened." Wen Bucai scolded fiercely: "These officers and soldiers are looking for two missing government servants in Yuan County. They said they were killed by water bandits - I think it is nonsense. It is all nonsense."

"After I saw the token, I carried the scholar down from the tree and followed them back to the ruined temple. These ten or so people tied us up, but the scholar still didn't wake up."

"I shouted, it's obviously me who is in trouble! I'm not a thief! I'm not at fault!"

"The leading yamen officer didn't say much. I heard from several knowledgeable veterans in the county that if they want to chop off my head, they will treat me as a water bandit so that I can do business easily when I go back. The scholars around me have fair growth and well-groomed beards. However, it doesn’t seem like a robber. If he doesn’t have the money to buy his life, he will have his head chopped off.”

"At this time, I was extremely angry, so I broke away from the rope and went to grab the knife to kill."

Speaking of this, Wen Bucai's eyes were red and his expression was very scary.

Father Kevin lamented: "God will punish them."

"What a bullshit god! The Bodhisattva in this ruined temple has never shown any spiritual power!" Wen Bucai scolded: "I slashed at them with my sword. The slow ones were killed by me, and the fast ones were just about to mount their horses. I picked up stones and threw them, hitting the horses in the eyes. These timid horses scattered, some hit the tree and threw their master to death, and some rushed towards me. The last one went to Shiliupu. I ran in the same direction, but I knew the way to go, so I took a shortcut, jumped on the horse and chopped off the beast's Tianling Cap."

Father Kevin immediately stopped talking.

"When I wake up again, I wonder whether I should kill the scholar and silence him." Wen Bucai looked embarrassed, and Father Kevin's cigarette case was also empty.

During this gap, the old priest’s daughter had been listening. She could understand both Cantonese and Hokkien, and was too frightened to say anything. She originally thought Wen Bucai’s story was a joke, but then she thought about it— —What if it’s true?

So the youngest daughter ran to the steamship's warehouse and brought her father a new cigarette case.

Wen Bucai was smoking, and he didn't seem so manic anymore.

"I can't do this. The scholar is right. God's way is clear, and retribution will not be good."

"I finally rescued this kid from the hands of monsters, and I rescued him from the sword of villains and scumbags."

"So I made some medicine for him, and he woke up at noon. When he saw the corpses on the ground in the ruined temple, he almost went crazy with fear."

"After I told him the whole story, he still couldn't believe it, but the scholar calmed down and told me this -"

"——My benefactor, no matter what, it's fate, and my foolish brother is also destined to have this calamity."

"Today, the general trend is that the court is corrupt, and the soldiers are inferior to the bandits, all because of the word [greed]. Even the rabbit and the leopard dare to use the reputation of the gluttonous beast to go around doing evil and eating people."

"After today, you and I will never be free again. These seventeen lives are sins that cannot be escaped or washed away."

"Binzhou Prefecture says we are water bandits, so we can only be water bandits."

Father Kevin asked cautiously: "What happened next?"

"The scholar told me later." Wen Bucai frowned with disgust on his face: "He said that last night, he dreamed of Heavenly Mother, Heavenly Sister, Heavenly Brother, Heavenly Sister and the Emperor God. The Emperor God also gave him a sword and a sword. Seal. Send him down to earth to slay demons and bring order to chaos - to take charge and save people on the orders of heaven."

"I just feel that this scholar is infected with wind evil and is delirious. He wants to discuss rebellion with me. I am just a salesman!"

"Don't let me think too much, just knock this hysterical mustache unconscious, and I'll run away!"

Father Kevin thought thoughtfully and guessed——

"——Wen, your story is really bizarre. No one will believe it. That young man probably doesn't believe it either. He is afraid that you will be cruel, so he will kill him too, right? That's why he tells you so many strange things. Weird story.”

"It's not impossible!" Wen Bucai had been smoking and wanted to use nicotine to wake up his memory: "This guy said I was crazy, and I also said he was crazy. I also said these officers and soldiers who were hacked to death by me were crazy. Finally, They’ve all gone crazy.”

After a while, Wen Bucai finally stopped smoking. He leaned on the guardrail and looked at the thunderstorm in the distance. He finally realized that this journey was not easy, and he didn't know how dangerous the waterway to America was.

"Uncle Kevin, I am a newborn now. I need to be reborn and become a new person."

"I can only become a water bandit when I go back, killing my fellow villagers and robbing my parents. I can't do this kind of thing. My conscience is still there."

"Please ask the priest to give me a Taoist name? A Dharma name?"

"Ah" Kevin had heard the meaning of Dharma name and Dao name. Wen Bucai probably asked him to help him come up with another name. Fortunately, merchants on the other side of the ocean can make a living in Chinatown. "Then I'll call you Vincent." special."

Wen Bucai: "Sure."

The wind and rain gradually became fierce, and Wen Bucai and Kevin hid in the cabin below the deck.

At this time, Wen Bucai asked about his future livelihood again.

"Where am I going? What am I doing?"

Father Kevin knew that Wen Bucai was capable and planned to recommend him to the Chamber of Commerce as a translator.

"The Black Hawk Chief surrendered to the U.S. government, so the last piece of Indian territory will be owned by the United States. If it wants to become a prosperous country, it must first have transportation roads connecting all cities - I will take you to Washington first. , and then return to San Francisco, you will help extradite young laborers from Wuyi to work."

Wen Bucai didn't think much and asked innocently, "What kind of work do you do?"

Father Kevin made the sign of the cross, did the worst thing, chanted the best prayer, and asked God for forgiveness.

"Digging for gold."

Meanwhile, on another steamer.

En route to Fort Monroe, Washington's harbor, George Joshua had just returned from a conference.

He was young and promising, and he and his colleagues came to the capital to meet President Jackson and established a relationship with the artist Charles Bird King.

In a beard salon, Joshua and Charles had a good chat.

"The Indians surrender, Mr. Charles."

Charles responded: "I know about this. I was painting a portrait of the leader of the Black Hawk tribe this morning. It was requested by the president."

Two beard groomers came to the hero to tidy up George Joshua's appearance.

George Joshua then said: "Hey, these prisoners are simply the embodiment of evil. They are so ugly! How could such monsters be born in the world?"

"Hehe." Charles laughed and said, "Going all the way to the east, Black Hawk and Rolling Thunder (the son of the Black Hawk chief), as well as Niyapapu and Woboji Silko (the other Indian chiefs) will be paraded through the streets. .”

"The soldiers were exhausted, but these natives were quite happy when they came to me after signing the surrender agreement."

George Joshua felt strange: "Oh?"

Charles explained: "People on the east coast think that the Indians who voluntarily surrendered deserve sympathy. They prevented a more brutal war and are heroes. They treat these captives as trophies and little pets. But let me tell you, if Detroit, these bastards should be skinned and taxidermied."

George: "Are they happy?"

Charles: "Yes, this is my first time in civilized society! I drew portraits of them. It seems that these not-so-smart natives haven't realized what will happen in the future."

George: "Oh"

"A great country is about to rise! Land is the source of wealth! The next era belongs to industry, electricity, railways, and advanced civilized society!" Charles stood up excitedly, but was pushed back by the beautician.

He gathered his emotions and said to Joshua: "In short, hahahahaha! George Joshua! You have to be prepared!"

George Joshua said: "President Jackson and I proposed building a railroad across the American continent. Isn't it bold?"

Charles: "Who's going to do this?"

George Joshua: "We want the rich man Stanford to come to the platform and ring the construction bell with a golden nail! We say there is gold in San Francisco! Just build the railroad westward! Everyone can become a rich man!"

Charles: "What a great idea!"

George Joshua: "Catch all the criminals in Australia, go to Asia to get slaves, and let the colored bastards build the railway. There will always be a way. This railway will become the blood vessel of the United States, and it will turn Washington's The heartbeat reaches every land.”

Charles: "The factory owners in the North want to see it, but the plantation owners in the South don't necessarily want to see it."

George asked in a low voice: "Do you think there will be a war in the future?"

"Only fire can make true gold. Mr. Joshua, let me arrange a date for you! There are a lot of talents in West Point Military Academy, let's not think about the future! Let's have a party, and you will finally return to New York. State, only when you stay with young people can you have vigorous vitality."

“If you want to build a railway, you have to have money, power, and connections.”

"I know a lot of people, and this guy is a good fit."

A photograph was sent to George Joshua.

That's the black and white photo of Jack Martin Lee Enfield.

Charles made the introduction——

"——This is the child of a gun-making lord in London. He intends to come to America to seek new ways of making money. His title cannot be hereditary and he is so poor that he only has money. An old American like you will definitely be able to run into something with him. spark."

This was followed by another business card.

"This is a priest on the shipping trade route to East Asia. He is quite prestigious among the Chinese community and is a representative of the Priory of Charity. If you want to find a translator to introduce workers to dig gold in San Francisco, you are right to find him. If If you want black people to work as slaves, go to Kansas, I’m not familiar with that place.”

"The new railway can be put into trial operation for a period of time. Citizens, legislators, and entrepreneurs from all over the state capital will definitely vigorously promote it after they taste the benefits."

Speaking of this, Mr. Charles patted George Joshua's hand with an ambiguous expression.

"It's just hard to say whether there will be a war in the next ten years or not. It's hard to say."

"This was originally a beautiful thing. The territory expanded, the natives surrendered, and everything became better."

"But can this railway wake up America? Can it surpass England and France? Can it make Europe fall under our crotches?"

"Greed, the most important thing is greed. Greed will destroy everything. Greed will make everything happen."

George Joshua was deeply grateful: "Mr. Charles, you think so highly of me, what do you want me to do for you?"

Charles whispered into George's ear.

"Come to my room tonight."