Emperor of america

The United States has a presidential system and has never heard of an emperor-but it is said that there has also been an emperor among the people.

That was more than a hundred years ago.

More than a hundred years ago, in the city of San Francisco, there was a man named Joshua Abraham Norton. This was a standard unlucky person. He was born in London, England in 1819, and later moved to South Africa with his family. His father was a farmer and learned to do some shipboard supplies business. After the death of the old Norton, he became a seller and went to the West to pan for gold. In 1849, when he was 30 years old, he brought 40,000 US dollars to the emerging city of San Francisco, opened a department store, and also engaged in real estate business. Within 4 years, he actually increased his wealth to 250,000 US dollars. At this time, the white rice market was optimistic, and he immediately invested all his wealth in the hoarding of Mijuqi. Who knows, due to the difficulty of shipping and the rapid changes in American tastes, the rice he hoarded could not be sold for a while. After a torrential rain, the rice piled in the temporary warehouse became moldy, and Norton had to hire someone to dump them into the sea.

As the white rice poured into the sea, Norton became a pauper. In the next few years, he relied on borrowing from the east and borrowing from the west, and he barely got in the way.

The dream of getting rich is shattered, but Norton's ambition is not dead. Like everyone who comes to the United States, he always looks for opportunities to stand out.

One day, he heard someone say in a bar: “In the United States, as long as you don’t break the law and do whatever you want, this is a paradise of democracy and freedom.” Norton returned to his dilapidated house and found a book on American law. , Shut himself at home and studied for five days. On the sixth morning, he wrote two large sheets of paper, put on a dilapidated colonel’s uniform, rushed into the editorial office of the San Francisco Newspaper, and said solemnly to the editor-in-chief: “I have searched the entire book of American law. There is a law that no one can be the emperor of the United States. I have also searched through newspapers all over the United States. So far, no one has declared that he is the emperor of the United States. I am Norton I. This is my edict. I order you. Publish it in the newspaper immediately!" Look at his bear image, the editor-in-chief and the newspaper staff almost didn't laugh. But the editor-in-chief wiped away the tears of laughter, suddenly touched his heels, stood up and said: "Your Majesty, you must do it!" Norton was taken aback by his pretense, but he recovered immediately, using his fingers. He flicked the desktop and said, "That's right. I forgive you for being so naive!" After he finished speaking, he straightened his old military uniform and walked out of the editorial department.

The editor-in-chief immediately took the "Edict" and said to an editor: "There is no explosive news, this is good! Norton is not bad at all. He took advantage of the law and took no one to claim the emperor. First. In the United States, anyone can play tricks that do not violate the law. Why can't San Francisco pop up an emperor who has no money and no palace?! This trick will definitely increase the popularity of newspapers and the popularity of San Francisco!" Norton's first "Edict" was published soon.

The lively American suddenly felt that this pauper emperor was very interesting, and he actually daydreamed in the newspaper. The United States used to be just a colony. Besides, it's almost a hundred years of independence. Is this guy going to declare war on President Washington, who has been dead for more than 50 years?

This copy of the "San Francisco Daily" was also delivered to President Lincoln. After reading it, he smiled and said: "Norton I had no army and no prison. I'm afraid I don't even know where to look for dinner. It will not pose a threat to the US government. Let him play around.” In fact, Norton was hiding at home these days, and he was very scared. He was afraid that the police station would come to the door to find trouble, but after thinking about it, he would be thrown into jail, and the US government would support him. ! Therefore, after hiding for a few days, he quietly opened the door and came to the street.

Fear of going back, he still wore his ragged military uniform.

Suddenly, two fat guys smiled and bowed to him.

Then, a few more old ladies curtseyed to him tremblingly, and several children shouted to him: "Long live the emperor of America! Long live Norton I!" Norton became excited and yelled, "Hey, you guys." Come here, I will give you a seal..." However, the children ran away in a hurry. It turned out that each of them was holding a piece of ice cream in their hands, and they were afraid that the American emperor would take the opportunity to take a bite.

Norton was beaming and strode forward until he came to a bookstore. He said to the boss: "I want a portrait of Napoleon and Queen Victoria. How much are you going to charge?" The bookstore owner had heard about the emperor's news a long time ago, and he smiled and said, "I have prepared for your majesty. And, I want to hang up in the palace for your majesty myself. I also prepared a camera to take a few photos in the palace. As for the money, how dare I take your majesty?” Norton was even more excited. He walked in front with his chest straight, the bookstore owner followed behind with the portrait, and a photographer was panting with his equipment on his back.

At this time, almost all the windows along the street opened "crashing", and men and women were vying to see the pauper emperor who was already well-known.

Norton smiled and waved to the windows on both sides. In his opinion, those people are bowing to him.

Soon, the dilapidated "palace" of Emperor Norton was photographed, printed in newspapers, and flown across the country. Many curious reporters flocked to San Francisco to dig out some "headlines" and "exclusive news."

All of a sudden, the San Francisco hotel was filled with reporters interviewing the American emperor. The circulation of the "San Francisco Daily" tripled, and San Francisco's popularity was so high that almost no one knew it.

The two paintings of the bookstore owner Hodge were not given away in vain, and his photos made him a fortune. Because, since then, Norton will never let others visit his "inner palace." He felt that the bookstore owner’s photo was just right, with portraits of Napoleon and Queen Victoria on it, as well as some mysterious dark corners, but it did not reveal the garbage in the house.

Hodge gave Norton two dogs out of gratitude. He said: "Your Majesty does not bring guards, you can probably accept these two loyal servants. They don't require the emperor's allowance, as long as you are shopping, let them freely enter and exit the restaurant." Norton nodded majesticly, factually. On, he couldn't even take out the flesh and bones.

However, the two dogs soon became mangy dogs, because Norton lived in a dirty place, and he had no time and money to clean the dogs.

Norton looked at his two mangy dogs, and suddenly became angry. He wrote another edict, saying: "The high-level congressional corruption makes the people unhappy, and even an American emperor can’t feed his dog. This kind of Congress wants him to have Why? I named it, and from now on, Congress will dissolve on its own. I will administer the country personally!" The newspapers with "Edict" spread to Washington, and some people attacked Congress with this, but more people persuaded President Lincoln to "rule this." madman". But Lincoln smiled and said, "Someone criticizes Congress. This is a good thing. The door of the White House is open, and we welcome him to come and advise." But, Norton had a meal and didn't make it. How could he get the travel expenses to the capital? However, he ordered through the newspaper: "I request the commander of the army to immediately send an army to sweep Capitol Hill!" Of course, even the Boy Scouts would not accept his order.

Norton was very angry, and immediately wrote another edict, asking the states to send representatives to the concert hall in San Francisco to meet him. He and the representatives will "make necessary reforms to the law." A lot of "representatives" have come, but they are all reporters who come to hunt for novels. However, this time the San Francisco Concert Hall has made a big splash. The photos were published in newspapers everywhere, attracting many people to visit.

One night, the mayor of San Francisco suggested to the rich people present at a banquet: “San Francisco has a famous American emperor. This is a funny thing, but it’s very good for San Francisco. Take a look, how long it is. Over time, members of Congress often talk about San Francisco. San Francisco’s tourists have tripled, and fiscal revenue has nearly doubled. These are all related to this absurd emperor. I think this pauper is a god of wealth to San Francisco. Lord, we must protect him and make good use of it." For a while, the rich people expressed their willingness to cover the food, clothing and housing of the "Emperor of the United States". A famous doctor stood up from his seat and said, "I'll go and treat his two faithful guards for free!" After that, he ran out drunk and treated Norton's mangy dog.

However, the next day, the American emperor Norton was arrested by a policeman and put in confinement!

The thing is like this-Norton is walking around the street with two of his dogs, the two dogs are wrapped in medicated gauze, which looks very eye-catching.

Many joking people followed them, saying that the gauze was "the gorgeous armor of the guards."

Others say that the emperor will soon wear this translucent "emperor's new outfit".

For a time, more and more people watched Norton and his dog. A police officer who was recently transferred to San Francisco saw it and handcuffed the famous American emperor.

At this time, instead of stopping, people laughed and made noises. The bookstore owner took the opportunity to take another photo. Everyone knows that if you catch Norton, the show is about to open.

Sure enough, in less than half a day, people saw that the chief of police rushed to the detention center out of breath, handcuffed Norton himself, bowed and apologized to him repeatedly, and announced that the policeman who "don't know Longyan" should be driven out of San Francisco immediately.

In the evening, a piece of news was broadcast on the San Francisco radio station: the city government will allocate funds to sew new clothes for Norton, and the railway company will issue Norton a lifetime gold pass, and each theater will reserve a special seat for Norton. . This self-proclaimed American emperor Norton finally made his mark in a bizarre world.