MTL - The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria’s Mandate of Heaven-v3 Chapter 23 duel
And so the new acting top California official, John von Siner, decided to fight fire with fire.
"Mr. Lincoln and you both have a very bright political future. You don't want to just be a state senator for the rest of your life, do you? I have ten thousand dollars here. I believe it is enough to save your loss of face."
Ten thousand dollars was a lot of money in 1842, and the annual salary of an American cowboy was only thirty or forty dollars.
In taverns, it is common to fight for tens of dollars or a few cents of beer. The income of a family farmer is usually only a few hundred dollars, and even the honorable Mr. Governor only has an income of 1,000 dollars.
Ten thousand dollars is undoubtedly a huge amount of money for James Shields. To be honest, he was moved, but the three biggest gangsters in the area pressed one hundred thousand dollars on him.
Of course, this was Franz's fault. After all, he couldn't send the Austrians to protect Lincoln, so he set up a gamble.
One is naturally a public game, while the other is a private game. The rules are simple and the winner takes all, but a sufficient entry fee is required.
Franz bought $100,000 for Lincoln to win, which was enough to make people crazy at the time, but not many people could bet $100,000 at that time.
So the people sent by Franz thought of a "good solution" for several local gangster families, and joined forces! That's right, in the end the three largest gangs in the area worked together to pool 100,000 US dollars, and the witnesses were the local militia commander and the governor.
The mafia bosses of course think it's their own face, but they don't know that this is the face given by US President John Taylor himself.
John Taylor dared not give "Frantz" face, and he didn't know if the other party was really mentally ill, but his behavior was weird not once or twice, and he even sailed to the North Pole. Looking for penguins, and finally returned to the Austrian Empire with a boatload of seals.
God knows, whether such a partner will one day tell the story of him helping himself and old Harris to the top.
Of course, John Taylor also confirmed the corruption and incompetence of the European royal family. It is simply nonsense to let these "freaks" and "crazy" decide the country's affairs.
Closer to home.
"Sorry, I have my honor."
In the end, James Shields resisted the temptation and refused $10,000. After all, there were at least twenty gunmen inside and outside his home.
If he refuses to fight Lincoln at this time, and the heads of these big families lose money, one can imagine his fate.
Lincoln's assistants never expected that this would happen. They thought that bringing a few more people would scare the other party. If it didn't work, there would be a settlement of $10,000. Most people simply cannot resist such a temptation.
But they never expected that they had already been on the big man's chessboard, and all their actions were beyond their control.
"Please think again, you still have a bright future. Mr. Lincoln is the party leader's fancy..."
An aide excitedly grabbed James Shields' arm, and he wanted to make a last-ditch effort to overwhelm him with the party leader.
But before James Shields could react, the gangster bodyguards around couldn't stand it any longer.
"Pay attention to your hands. If you don't want them, I can cut them off for you." A strong Chinese said in a bad tone.
Lincoln's assistants immediately became annoyed, when had they been so disrespected.
"Take care of your stinky mouth! Be careful..."
But before he finished speaking, he was picked up by a burly bodyguard like a chicken.
"Come here. Let's talk."
The assistant in charge of the clerical work still wanted to struggle, but soon three or four strong men surrounded him, and when they arrived in the yard, there was a "kind communication sound".
The remaining two assistants had no choice but to look at each other. In fact, James Shields was also very embarrassed. Although this was his home, the scene was beyond his control. The three of them could only drink tea in silence.
After the "communication" was over, the assistant in charge of clerical work had broken glasses, his clothes and face were covered with mud, and one arm seemed to be broken.
The companions didn't say much when they saw this situation, they just said goodbye to the master and left in a hurry.
Seeing the miserable conditions of his assistants and hearing the cause and effect, Lincoln could only sigh and decide to fight.
Since Franz invited a lot of reporters, the duel hadn't started yet, but the bridge where the duel was held was full of people.
Some of them were reporters, some were civilians watching the excitement, and more were gamblers who had placed their bets. Relatives and friends from both sides also rushed to the scene.
Some people began to cry bitterly because they were afraid of losing their loved ones, or because they were afraid of seeing death, but they were quickly insulted by the onlookers, who all came to see the bloodshed.
James Shields is a soldier, 1.81 meters tall, and the waist knife he carries is a weapon that has accompanied him for many years. He once hacked to death two Indians and an outlaw.
James Shields was pacing up and down the bridge, because Lincoln hadn't arrived yet, and although he had already participated in two duels, that didn't mean he wasn't nervous, and the gambling behind him kept him up all night.
However, James Shields felt a little lucky at this time, because if Lincoln himself voluntarily gave up the duel, then he could win without a fight, and he didn't have to worry about his political future after killing Lincoln.
Finally, three minutes before the duel, Lincoln arrived in his carriage. He took off his shirt to reveal the white sweatshirt inside. Lincoln, who is 1.93 meters tall, is undoubtedly much stronger than James Shields imagined.
But fortunately, the two sides chose to use waist swords to compete. If it is wrestling, boxing and other events, I am afraid that James Shields really does not have much chance of winning.
The notary of this duel is a church priest~www.novelbuddy.com~ After checking the weapons of both sides, he read a bunch of rules of the duel, and the duel officially began.
To be honest, the duel between the two sides was very ugly. Although James Shields is known as a master of swordsmanship, he only took a few fencing lessons when he was in school, and he chopped two immobile people when he was a frontier soldier.
Although Lincoln has never learned swordsmanship, he is tall and has long arms, which is not a loss in strength. When he goes up, he chops violently, but he has the advantage.
The battle between the two sides is just like fighting in Hollywood blockbusters of later generations. There are no skills and tactics at all, and it is basically hacking and chopping to compare strength.
In the end, it was James Shields who was more experienced, sneaked a sneak attack, and seized the opportunity to hit Lincoln's lower body with a knee.
The latter suddenly fell down in pain, and the former seized the opportunity to attack fiercely, and finally lifted the sword in the opponent's hand.
"You lost! You **** fool, if you can keep your mouth shut, you won't end up today."
Just as James Shields was making a declaration of victory, Lincoln suddenly jumped up and pushed him on the former's chest.
James Shields just scratched the opponent's face and arm with the waist knife in his hand, but he was accidentally pushed off the bridge.
After that, the two sides began to rush to rescue their own people. Although Lincoln suffered three minor injuries, his life was not seriously affected, while James Shields, who had the upper hand, drowned.
Even the notary was dumbfounded by this kind of duel, but in the end it was decided that Lincoln, who survived to the end, won the victory and kept his honor.
Originally, the gangsters planned to pay off their gambling debts, but the U.S. Federal Mounted Police and militiamen arrived at their homes the next day.
Ever since, Franz earned one hundred thousand dollars with tears in his eyes. From then on, the gangsters in Yinlinuo and Yinzhou remembered Lincoln, and vowed to make him pay in blood.
It seems that there is God's will in the dark.
