Wild North America 1846

Chapter 4 Grape Valley

Li Cha and his group drove the horses with guns and live ammunition, and there were two dead bodies on the saddle, and they hurried on the road in silence, which did not seem to be a good match.

Pedestrians and cowboys met along the way gave way one after another, keeping their distance with alert expressions.

No one approached them without opening their eyes, asking questions about this and that, but watching them leave silently.

San Francisco has a Mediterranean climate, warm in winter and cool in summer, with plenty of sunshine. Chinese immigrants also call it "San Francisco".

This is an encircling bay terrain, with several settlements scattered throughout the bay area, distributed along the coast like a string of pearls.

Europeans first arrived in the Bay Area in 1542, which belonged to the Spanish province of Alta California in the 16th century. Due to its remote location, it has not been developed.

On March 1776, 3, the Spanish explorer Juan Bautista di Anza came here and selected two construction sites in the Bay Area, one for military use and the other for missionary and living purposes. Spend energy building vigorously.

The dangerous highlands in the northern part of the bay area are called fortress areas, and there are still remains of military fortresses built by the Spanish.

Now this place is deserted, and the weeds grow taller than people. There are often some horse bandits and gangsters haunting it, doing some illegal activities of murder and robbery.

The church and living area originally built by the Spaniards was the new town that Richard and others had just left, and it was also the main urban area of ​​San Francisco.

With the continuous influx of white immigrants, the urban area expanded rapidly, and all kinds of monsters and monsters were mixed in it.

Among them, there are mainly three white forces and one Mexican force. There are also some other lone rangers and adventurers, sailors and gold diggers from Britain, Holland, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and other countries. complex.

The grocer and plantation owner John Sutter is a white force in the city, and the sheriff John Sr. is his sharp minion, a very difficult old thing with a bad temper.

Li Cha blatantly killed people on Old John's territory, which was tantamount to a naked slap in the face, which undoubtedly touched Old John's sensitive nerves.

The dozen or so gunmen who chased after him should be his men. Although they were startled by the gunshots, this matter is not over.

Now that he has embarked on this dangerous road to fame, Li Cha is not afraid of offending people, in fact he cannot escape.

The identity of "protector of the Chinese gold diggers in San Francisco" is destined to be in the same pot with the white and Mexican forces, and sooner or later they will fight with swords and guns.

The awesomeness that I blew out, even with tears in my eyes.

The west of the peninsula, about 10 kilometers away from the new town, is a continuous hilly area. The British captain William Richardson built the first private house here in 1835, and later began to plan the street market near the house. , and called this area "Fang Grassland".

"Fang Grass" is mostly stone buildings with a strong British style. It is a high-end residential area dominated by British people. Most of the merchants, captains, ranchers and dentists from Britain and France live here. It is independent of the new city. Another white force in the town.

Richard's destination is not here, but Napa Valley, which is a few kilometers away from "Fang Grass". Because of the large number of wild grapes produced here, it is called "Grape Valley" by the Chinese, where Chinese and Indians live together The land is also where Li Cha's lair is.

not long
The beautiful Grape Valley is in front of you. The Grape Valley is a long and narrow hilly valley with snow-capped mountains in the distance. A clear river with plenty of water meanders through here. The green grass on both sides of the river is dotted with wooden houses. .

More than half of the Chinese in San Francisco live here, about 1400 people, as well as some Mexicans and Indians, forming more than ten villages of various sizes, stretching tens of kilometers in depth, and living by the water.

Generally speaking

The Chinese village is near the mouth of the valley, and closer to the new town, while the Indian camp is deep in the Grape Valley, with clear divisions between each other and few contacts.

back to the village
Li Cha and his party immediately attracted the attention of the crowd. He rode forward silently on the horse, playing the image of aloof, while his subordinate Dai Changfu and others couldn't wait to yell loudly;
"Everyone, come here, listen to me...

Master Li Cha has already said it;
We Chinese must stick together when we go out, otherwise we will be oppressed and bullied by the white people. If we don’t stick together, even those Mexican gangsters will ride on our necks and shit, domineering.

Haven't we Chinese suffered less bad breath these years?

What do you get in exchange for resignation?
The humiliation and contempt were doubled, the hard-earned gold dust was taken away, and people were beaten to death.

If one is unlucky and loses one's life, one cannot even leave a whole body when thrown in the mountains, one can only be a lonely ghost in a foreign land, how tragic is that?
When did white people ever think of us as human beings?
When we arrive in the new town, we will be exploited and squeezed, and the price of some rice oil will be doubled, and women dare to pull our braids and make fun of them. What kind of life is this?
Look at these two, it was already too late when the young master took us to rescue them, one had already been tortured to death, and it was hard to say whether the other would survive.

What capital crime did they commit?
Wasn't it because you picked up a piece of dog's head gold that you ended up killing yourself? Think about it, if such a thing is placed on you, what kind of consequences would it be?
Master Richard has revealed his new identity, which is "Protector of Chinese Gold Diggers in San Francisco". From now on, we have a backbone and are no longer afraid of being bullied.

None of you know...

Today, the young master took us to the town, that's awe-inspiring. Aren't Ferguz and his gang arrogant?Isn't he beaten into a dead dog now?
At that time, when we broke in..."

Dai Changfu was surrounded by more and more Chinese, and the other three gunmen also spread out to preach hard, which alarmed hundreds of people in the village. There was also the faint cry of a woman, which seemed to be the family of the deceased.

Li Cha didn't pay attention to these things, as long as his subordinates can do these things, since he offended the Sheriff Old John, he must expand the team as soon as possible and strengthen his strength.

If he fights alone, how many nails can he hit even if he is covered in iron?

Li Cha rode alone to a wooden house near the woods, then got off his horse, led the horse to the straw shed next to the wooden house, unloaded the cowhide saddle, and tied the horse in the shed.

Then he fetched water, cut grass, and brought a small pot of black beans to give the horse some nutrition. After finishing these tasks, he wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, put the cowhide horse bag over his shoulder, and carried the bib The flintlock musket entered the cabin.

The furnishings in the wooden house are very simple. In the main room is a firepit, where food and water are cooked. Some gray wood ash remains in the firepit that has been dark for many years. There is an iron shelf in the middle, which can be used for both kettles and iron pans.

Li Cha walked to the water tank, scooped up a scoop of cold water and drank it with a "gulp" gulp. This is the clear mountain spring water flowing out of the Sierra Nevada. It has a slightly sweet taste and is very thirst-quenching.

He drank more vigorously, cold water overflowed from both ends of the ladle, Li Cha didn't care to wipe the water stains with his hands, feeling refreshed all over.

At this time, his stomach gurgled unsatisfactorily, obviously hungry.

Li Cha took out a match and lit the fire, and placed the wooden blocks by the fire pit one by one, and the bonfire burned blazingly.

Put the iron pan on the rack, put a few scoops of cold water, cut a large piece of salted beef into pieces, throw it into the water and blanch it, and then pour out the hot water in the iron pan.

Put the iron pot back on the firepit, put a large piece of boiled snow-white lard, add ginger and chipotles to fry the washed beef, and finally put a few ladles of water, then cover the pot and cook slowly.

busy

The red bonfire reflected Li Cha's young face, and his eyes showed a calmness that did not match his age, showing a particularly heroic charm.

A pot of beef soup was already simmering. Li Cha looked out through the door opening of the main room. In the distance, under the grassy slope, there were crowds of people around Dai Changfu and others. It seemed that this intuitive demonstration effect was very good.

The dead Chinese gold digger had been placed on the door panel, and the seriously injured one was sent to the village Chinese medicine doctor "Er Dao" to see if he could be saved?
According to Richard's estimate;
This person's injury has already spread to his internal organs, and he coughed up blood non-stop along the way, and it is very likely that he will not be able to bear it.

He shook his head lightly, stood up and walked towards the back room.

This wooden house has three rooms lined up in a row, the main room is in the middle, Li Cha's bedroom is on the left, and the bedrooms of four of his subordinates are on the right.

Next to the wooden house is a stable and hay shed, where large bales of fodder are piled up, and on the other side is a utility room, where some tools and food are placed.

Li Cha's bedroom is also very simple, with a bed, a chair and a table. The bed is covered with thick sheepskin. It is very warm to sleep on such a soft bed in Francisco, which is cold in early spring and March.

Sitting in a chair, he put together the two revolvers and the captured Fergus leather belt, then leaned the heavy muzzle-loading double-barreled fusiliers against the edge of the table, and took out the oil and cleaning rods. , gun cloth, and began to carefully maintain the gun.

Fixed bullets have not yet appeared in this era, and it will take a few years. Revolvers use black powder and iron pellets. Gunpowder compacted, spacers, and finally iron projectiles.

These tedious and meticulous tasks cannot be completed during battle, and can only be used with confidence by doing it by yourself in your spare time.

If too much black powder is poured, it is easy to cause the chamber to explode, and the fun will be great.

Li Cha was very focused on doing these things. He carefully removed all gunpowder residues, lubricated the barrel, trigger and hammer with gun oil, wiped them clean with a gun cloth, and carefully loaded the bullets one by one.

After all the three revolvers were loaded, he began to carefully maintain the double-barreled flintlock rifles. These are life-saving guys, so don't be careless.

Just when Li Cha had done all these things, the room was already filled with the strong smell of beef soup, seducing the gluttons in his stomach to scream, he couldn't bear it, and finally put down his work and stood up.

uncover the pot
The beef soup is thick and fragrant. The large pieces of beef are rolled in the milky white soup, sprinkled with some salt, pepper and chopped wild onions. The beef soup seems to have a soul and becomes more attractive.

Putting a big bowl full, Li Cha impatiently blew on the heat from the side of the bowl and took a sip. He couldn't help but groan intoxicated, it was so delicious.

The bison beef from the Sierra Nevada and the clear spring water make this pot of beef soup show the original flavor and richness. The pepper and chopped wild onion are just the finishing touch, absolutely perfect!
after it cools down

Swallowing the beef soup, gorging on the chunks of beef splashed with soup, dipping the bread in the beef soup was equally delicious, Li Cha killed three big bowls like a storm, and ate 4 pieces of bread before he was satisfied. I patted my stomach and was full.

(End of this chapter)