1840 Indian Rebirth

Chapter 168 [The end of the war]

"You're right. In fact, I'm going to Europe." Horse Whistle said, and then asked, "Mayo, you're from England. I wonder if you can be my guide in Europe?"

"Now?" Mayo was taken aback.

Horse whistle: "First I'm going to Oaxaca, and then I'm going to Europe. But it's almost the same, I can't go to Boston to take a boat. So you can think that I'm already on my way to Europe."

"Okay." Mayo nodded without thinking too much.

After staying in Clark Town for a day, the horse sentry gathered everyone and prepared to continue to set off.

There was one more person in the line, Mayo, and some extra goods—the line would be ostensibly a caravan.

It cannot be said that on the surface, these goods can indeed make some money, such as the products of Clark Garment Factory.

The Clark Garment Factory, whose main product is jeans, has already gained quite a reputation.

Even though there are a large number of counterfeit products on the market, Clark Garment Factory, as the origin of jeans, is still the most popular in the market.

Leaving Clark Town, Ma Shao and others headed south all the way into Mexico.

Much of the so-called Mexican territory is actually the territory of the United States. A large area of ​​northern Mexico fell during the war, and American troops are stationed there.

It wasn't until about a month later that they entered the proper territory of Mexico.

As the team advanced, the population gradually became denser, and it was no longer as desolate as the Midwest.

From time to time, they could see villages and even cities.

In addition to whites, Mexico also has a lot of Indians.

Compared with the Midwest of the United States, the Indians in Mexico are much more developed, and this has been the case since ancient times.

The team of the horse post often stops at the settlement of the Indians, rests, and also does business.

March.

He led the crowd to an Indian village in the state of San Luis Poto, where he took a rest, traded goods, and inquired about news.

"Welcome, Sky Son of Apache." Obviously the Indians here have also heard of the reputation of the horse post. When he arrived, an old Indian came out to greet him.

With a smile on his face, the old man continued: "I am the chief here, and you can call me 'Lucas'."

He spoke not-so-true Spanish, and he looked very different from the typical Indian, with no feathers on his head or paint on his face.

"Hello, Chief Lucas." The horse whistle also greeted him in Spanish, and then called for an interpreter.

After exchanging a few polite words, Ma Wiao first asked the tribe to bring some jeans: "Chief Lucas, this is a kind of trousers we have there. It is very durable. We want to use some trousers to exchange something with you. What do you think? ?”

Chief Lucas took the jeans and looked them over: "It looks good, it is really strong, I think it should be very suitable for farm work."

"That's right." Horse Whistle nodded, "These are called Clark overalls. They are very popular in the Midwest of the United States. Workers and farmers like them because they are sturdy and reliable."

"What do you want to trade it for?" Chief Lucas asked.

Horse Whistle: "Some supplies, or some specialty products."

After exchanging some goods, he said again: "My clan and I are going to the south, how is the war there?"

Chief Lucas: "I heard not long ago that the Americans have reached Mexico City."

"When?"

"Well, it should have been a week ago." Chief Lucas thought for a while, "I don't know what's going on now, maybe Mexico City has already been breached, or maybe the battle is continuing. I haven't heard the latest news yet."

The horse sentry looked at the map in his hand.

San Luis Poto is not far from Mexico City, and further south of Mexico City is the destination of his trip, Oaxaca.

If the war had ended, Horse Post had the option to head south through the State of Mexico.

But now that the war seemed to be going on, it seemed he'd better take a detour, from San Luis Potosian to Oaxaca.

They rested for the night in Chief Lucas' village and had a small party, sharing food and singing and dancing.

"Children of the Sky, people are saying that Sleeping Bear City defeated the plague. I think this should be true." Chief Lucas asked with some expectation, "How did you do it? Is it God's blessing?"

"No." Ma Shao said slowly, "Our ancestors taught us with their blood that gods don't pay attention to suffering in the world. We can only rely on ourselves."

Chief Lucas: "But...how can man defeat the plague?"

Horse Whistle: "Discipline, and hygiene."

"Discipline and hygiene?" Chief Lucas frowned, obviously not understanding.

Ma Shao explained: "With the help of strict management and sanitation measures, we isolated all items that might be contaminated with the plague, and then after the sick people recovered, the plague would naturally end."

Chief Lucas was silent for a while, but finally said: "This sounds too simple. I think you are still blessed by God."

Ma Shuo didn't say much, and changed the subject: "What god do you believe in?"

Chief Lucas said: "Of course it is God. Most people believe in Catholicism, not just us, but Mexico and the whole world."

Ma Shao asked again: "What about your traditional gods?"

"I also believe it." Chief Lucas's answer did not surprise the horse whistle. Many believers do not have strict beliefs.

Ma Shao smiled and said nothing.

"Children of the sky, I heard that Sleeping Bear City is willing to accept all Indians?" It was a middle-aged man sitting next to Chief Lucas who spoke, his Spanish was a little more idiomatic, and he moved closer.

Horse Whistle: "Yeah, not only the aborigines, people of other nationalities can also be accepted as long as they are willing to abide by Apache's laws. Why, do you want to move to Sleeping Bear City?"

The other party obviously had such thoughts, but after hesitating for a moment, he shook his head: "It's too far, farther than Saltillo."

"No matter how far away we are, don't we come here?" Ma Shao said, "If you are willing to come, Sleeping Bear City welcomes you at any time."

……

Mexico City at dusk.

As the capital of Mexico, this place is originally a bustling place, but at this moment, the air in Mexico City is filled with a depressive atmosphere.

The light and shadow at dusk adds a bit of stagnation. Most pedestrians on the road are in a hurry, and acquaintances will not talk much when they meet.

"Boom...boom..."

There was the faint sound of gunfire in the distance.

People followed the sound of the cannon, but it came from the short hill outside the city, where there was a castle.

"Is the fighting going on at Chapultepec?" some Mexicans in town thought.

Meanwhile, the Mexican Presidential Palace.

Santa Anna paced the room anxiously, limping with a prosthetic left leg that made pacing seem like a luxury to him.

But he was still pacing.

Until a general hurried in from outside.

"How is it, Carrera?" Santa Anna asked hastily.

"Mr. President... we lost, we lost Chapultepec Castle, and our military academy." Carrera gasped.

Hearing this news, Santa Anna couldn't help being stunned for a moment, as if it was a very unexpected news.

But in fact, most people have expected this, including himself.

It's just that he is a little hard to accept.

Santa Anna managed to make a comeback and served as the president of Mexico for the tenth time. Now it seems that his tenth term will come to an end, and it will be another hasty few months.

Prior to this, Santa Anna lived in exile in the United States for many years.

When the war broke out, U.S. President James Polk approached him and helped him return to Mexico. Naturally, the purpose was to hope that he could "mediate".

When confronting Polk, Santa Anna fully agreed, saying that he would be a good mediator.

However, as soon as he returned to Mexico and became the president, this talent who compared himself to Napoleon immediately turned his face and turned around and led the army to fight the United States.

His military prowess and resources were clearly no match for his ambitions.

So the war has continued to this day, and the American army has reached the capital of Mexico and captured the residence of the Mexican Military Academy, the Chapultepec Castle.

Losing Chapultepec Castle, the next war seems to have no suspense.

General Carrera went on to report on the battle at Chapultepec Castle: "...there were some brave cadets who fought to the end and died for their country. Juan Escutia, who wrapped the Mexican flag at the last moment On himself, jump off the castle and die."

"They are heroes..." Santa Anna said for a while, with a clouded face.

General Carrera asked, "Mr. President, what do we do next?"

Santa Anna said nothing.

Carrera hesitated for a moment, and finally took a deep breath: "I think we should retreat, Mr. President."

"Retreat." Santa Anna murmured, "Leave our capital?"

Carrera: "This is the only way to do it now. With the loss of Chapultepec Castle, it is almost impossible for us to defeat the Americans, at least not here. For us now, the best way is to bring the army The main force, withdraw from Mexico City as soon as possible, and come back to counterattack later.”

Santa Anna was still hesitating.

Carrera continued: "Mr. President, if you don't withdraw, it may be too late. The Americans may call tonight!"

Santa Anna finally made up her mind and sighed: "Well, you go and prepare, and you will leave Mexico City with the army later."

"Yes." General Carrera turned and walked away.

"Wait a minute." Santa Anna suddenly remembered something and said suddenly.

Carrera: "Anything else, Mr. President?"

Santa Anna hesitated. "Release the prisoners on the streets before we evacuate."

Carrera was taken aback: "Why?"

"After the Americans occupy Mexico City, these prisoners will definitely give them a headache for a while!" Santa Anna said bitterly, "They can't easily occupy this place!"

As he said, the Mexican army released all the prisoners and then retreated in the dark, leaving the Mexican capital.

Despite the cover of night, it is an army of ten thousand people after all, and it is impossible to cover up the movement no matter what.

So as soon as Santa Anna left, the streets and alleys of Mexico City began to be filled with riots.

"The president is gone!"

"Santa Anna is gone!"

Panic permeated the people.

But not everyone panicked. After hearing the news, some people immediately rushed into the National Palace and opened zero yuan purchases.

Beating, smashing, looting and burning spread in Mexico City, which was already in chaos before the US army invaded.

There is no doubt that at this point, the war has come to an end.

Later, American troops came to Mexico City.

They soon discovered that Santa Anna had deserted the city, leaving them with a capital at their fingertips.

So the next day, a large force of U.S. troops officially entered Mexico City.

Thousands of them lined up, carrying weapons, and stepped in from the outside of the city. Facing the terrified residents, their faces were all full of arrogance and showing off their might.

However, in some corners of the city, there are also many people armed with weapons, secretly observing the US troops entering the city.

Some of them were not Mexican, at least not before, but they were fighting for Mexico at this time.

"That's William Voss, and John Garland...I've seen them before!" A young man with a rifle looked at the two generals in the US army and said angrily.

"Where have you seen them?" someone asked.

"In the barracks." The young man replied, "The barracks of the US military."

He was a deserter from the U.S. Army. After defecting from the U.S. Army, he joined the St. Patrick's Battalion.

Although he is a deserter from the U.S. Army, he is not an American, but an Irishman.

Many members of the St. Patrick's Battalion were in a similar situation. After the outbreak of the Great Irish Famine, they first came to the United States in order to escape. They listened to the propaganda and promises of the United States and joined the American army.

However, they soon realized that the American propaganda was false, and the benefits of joining the army had not been realized.

The reason why it was not fulfilled is that from the very beginning, American Protestants did not treat these European Catholics as human beings, and discrimination, embezzlement, and insults were commonplace.

These fed up European Catholics eventually defected to the U.S. Army, joined St. Patrick's Battalion, fought for Mexico, and became the bravest group of fighters, fighting the Americans harder than the native Mexicans.

Following Santa Anna, Mexican government forces largely withdrew from Mexico City.

But these St. Patrick's Battalion fighters who stayed behind did not intend to be caught without a fight.

"Look at the way these Yankees are swaggering, we gotta blow their heads off!"

"That's right, blow up these Protestants!"

The soldiers of St. Patrick's Battalion, as well as the various stragglers and civilian armed forces in Mexico City, quickly made their decisions.

"boom!"

The man who shot first was naturally daring, and with the sound of a gunshot, the American general John Garlandon screamed and fell off his horse!

(End of this chapter)