That female voice spoke.

"What is your name?"

Henry Clark asked.

"You can call me whatever you like."

The female voice replied.

"Let's call you Little Grace!"

"Are you saying I look like a ghost?"

"Don't you? Can't you really get me a Gatling gun? Even American TV shows from the sixties could do it—are you telling me you can't match the imagination of Americans from the sixties?"

"It's very difficult. First, I have to find a Gatling gun for you. Second, I have to expend a huge amount of energy to establish a temporary wormhole. Third, the two universes are not synchronized in time, which means even if I spend a day finding it for you, by then you probably won't need it anymore. In short, this kind of thing is a matter of luck, and at least for now, the chances are slim."

"I really want to kill you!"

"First, you have to come back, so you'd better focus on the present. So, what are you planning to do right now?"

"Is there even a choice? Of course I'm going to find William Scott. Do you think David Cooper is reliable, or are William Scott's Guanning Cavalry more dependable?"

"What if William Scott surrenders to the Qing?"

"Surrenders to the Qing?"

Henry Clark said with a hint of melancholy, "We'll deal with that when the time comes!"

He really didn't want to mix with that bunch from Southern Ming. Who knows, he might die of anger before the Qing army even arrives. Besides, it's not even certain whether he and Edward Harris can make it alive to Linqing. By now, the area around Beijing had completely fallen into Abraham Lincoln's hands, and who knows how many ambushes and blockades there would be along the way. Although going to William Scott meant risking the possibility that the latter might surrender to the Qing, at least the road to Shanhaiguan wasn't occupied by the Shun army yet. And William Scott would learn about the fall of Beijing in Tangshan, so they could encounter him halfway. But David Cooper was in Linqing, and it's obvious which is closer, Tangshan or Linqing.

And to be honest, William Scott is still more reliable than David Cooper. The Guanning Cavalry are at least good at fighting, but as for David Cooper, what a bunch of losers!

Sure, going to William Scott means risking Old Wu flying into a rage over a woman, but if he goes to David Cooper, isn't there also the risk of being handed over as a gift to Abraham Lincoln or the Qing army? Even if that doesn't happen, there's still the danger of Old Liu treating him like the Han Emperor Xian. In short, it's not safe to go to anyone right now. Of the four towns north of the Yangtze, aside from Thomas Reed, who had no choice but to cuckold Abraham Lincoln, the rest are all fence-sitters.

But Thomas Reed is currently in Zezhou.

That's a direction he couldn't possibly escape to, no matter what.

As for the future...

He'd think about it later!

Old Wu didn't intend to surrender to the Qing from the start. Both his soldiers and civilians under him hated the Qing deeply. His position was sandwiched between Abraham Lincoln and the Qing army, so he had to choose a side. Compared to Abraham Lincoln, it was clear that the Qing army, whom he'd fought for years, seemed more reliable. But if the Chongzhen Emperor escaped to his army at this time, then whether Old Wu would surrender to the Qing would be another matter. If Chongzhen was determined not to surrender, then Old Wu would have to risk being labeled a rebel if he wanted to surrender.

People in this era were still very wary of that.

So, going to William Scott was actually the most reasonable choice.

Of course, this was largely because Henry Clark had already given up hope. He was already in hell mode, and the launch tower was a faint hope at best. Since that was the case, he might as well go to Shanhaiguan and see if he could stop the Qing army. Whether he could restore the old empire could wait; the most important thing was not to let the Qing army enter the pass. The world could go to Abraham Lincoln, or to Andrew Jackson, or even to those Southern Ming bastards, but it absolutely could not fall into the hands of the Manchus.

That was a matter of principle.

"Your Majesty, should we change clothes first?"

Edward Harris asked cautiously.

"No, I will wear this!"

Henry Clark said, glancing at the dragon robe he was wearing.

Edward Harris didn't dare say anything more.

At the same time, Henry Clark suddenly looked at the small pavilion beside him. Before Edward Harris could react, His Majesty the Emperor suddenly lifted his foot and kicked a pillar hard. The pillar toppled without hesitation, and the entire pavilion collapsed with a crash.

"This thing is better than a sword!"

In Edward Harris's stunned gaze, His Majesty the Emperor picked up a wooden pillar nearly three meters tall and thicker than a thigh.

Eunuch Wang broke out in a sweat.

"Do you need a weapon?"

At this moment, Little Grace asked.

Henry Clark, who was holding the pillar and making swinging motions, suddenly stopped.

"You can get me a Gatling gun now?"

He immediately threw the pillar aside and asked with great anticipation.

"No, but I can give you this!"

Little Grace said.

At that moment, a meteor streaked across the sky, and a strange ball of light appeared where it landed. The next instant, the light flashed and disappeared, and a silver-white metal tube appeared out of thin air, clattering to the ground.

In Edward Harris's dumbfounded gaze, Henry Clark stepped forward and picked it up with both hands.

"This, this, this, this is a freaking streetlight pole!"

Henry Clark looked up to the heavens in exasperation.

"Yes, that's all I have nearby, but it's still better than your pillar."

Little Grace replied.