Wild North America 1846

Chapter 66 The Unsolved Problem

By the time Li Cha and his party returned to the Grape Valley, it was already sunset, and the burning clouds that reflected half of the sky were extraordinarily gorgeous.

Hurrying along the way, he failed to catch up with the returning labor team. It can be seen that his footsteps were so fast that he covered nearly 20 kilometers in more than three hours.

When Li Cha returned to the camp, the maids around him brought water and handkerchiefs to wash his face, took off his weapons, changed into a loose Taoist robe, and sat in the main hall drinking tea to relieve his fatigue.

At this moment

The guards under the hall reported; "Gai Wangshan, the deputy logistics captain, came to report the resettlement of Chinese laborers, and asked to present to the chairman personally."

"Pass it in."

After giving an order in a light tone, Li Cha picked up the tea cup and drank a couple of sips, feeling the fragrance on his lips and teeth.After the maid refilled the tea, she waved her to leave.

Talking room

Gai Wangshan has already crossed the threshold and came in, and gave a deep salute to Li Cha, who is above him, with both hands clasped, and said loudly;
"Gaiwangshan, a humble official, was ordered to properly resettle the first batch of overseas immigrants. Now, half of the population is resettled in Toudaoling Village and Erdaoling Village. There is enough firewood, rice and noodles. They are burying pots for cooking. All the people feel at ease. Come here to report."

"Well, arrange more people to give lectures in the past two days, boil hot water for everyone to take a bath, boil all clothes in hot water, disinfect and sterilize properly, and do registration work well."

"The subordinate understands that it must be arranged as soon as possible."

"Tell these people clearly that San Francisco does have golden sands, but each of them came with a three-year employment contract on their backs. The promised wages will be given to them, whether it is in a factory or a farm. You have to be conscientious in everything you do here. Don’t think about those who have what you have, and don’t expect to leave your work and go to pan for gold. As long as you are caught, you will be demoted to hard labor. These ugly words must be said first.”

"Understood, the humble job must preach repeatedly until everyone knows the identity of their employees."

"Well... Except for those who are willing to join the army. As long as they pass the examination and are included, they will be managed according to military law from now on. Tell them all this clearly, that's enough... let's do things."

"Obey, I will resign from my humble position."

Gai Wangshan saluted respectfully, and took two steps back before quickly turning around and leaving.

sitting on the lobby
Li Cha withdrew his gaze, tapped the chair handle lightly with his fingers, and considered the many matters that Datang Club had recently faced.

The Chinese immigrants transported from Central and South America will mainly focus on setting up businesses in Grape Valley in the future, reclaim wasteland to grow food and fruit seedlings, and raise chickens, sheep, cattle and horses, and make this place the future rear of the Chinese, a happy home.

Richard is not the kind of unprincipled and kind person who spent a lot of energy to get them from Central America, and then waved his hand and said; you are free.

The status of these Chinese immigrants is contract labor, and Richard paid a huge amount of recruitment fees and transportation costs, on the condition that according to the contract:

The Chinese workers had to work in the subordinate factories and plantations for three years, and after the three-year period expired, they were free to come and go.

During this period
Li Cha will not let the Chinese workers go to the American River to pan for gold. Even if they pan for gold, they are only employees of the American River Gold Panning Company, responsible for the operation of the company's hydraulic gold panning tank, or they will stay in Grape Valley to create wealth for the Tang Dynasty. , laying a solid foundation for development.

The first batch of 1 Chinese immigrants initially planned to select about 557 strong, hard-working young people to join the musketeer training, increasing the number of musketeers from 150 to more than 400.

In addition, more than [-] soldiers who have a certain military foundation and can ride horses are selected from them to enrich the cavalry team.

As a result, the number of cavalry increased from more than 360 to more than 410, which happened to be the establishment of four squadrons.

These more than 400 cavalry can be used as a framework to form a cuirassier regiment in the future, and as the attacking fist force of the Tang Dynasty, they have done a good job with the US Federal Army.

After adjustment, the armed forces under the Datang Club will further increase to more than 900 people, basically meeting the current needs.

According to the intelligence of the British adventurer Ronald Evanson;

The Mexican-American War may break out on a certain day during the three months of May, June, and July. It may be later or earlier, but it will not be delayed until August at the latest.

According to estimates by relevant parties in London;
The U.S. Federal Army has about 8600 standing troops. After the initial war mobilization, the U.S. military will have no more than 1.8 to 2 troops, and no more.

In addition to dealing with the Mexican army on the frontal battlefield, the expansion of the side battlefield (referring to the troops sent by the US military to remote western provinces such as Mexico, Arizona, and California) will not invest too many troops. It is estimated that it will be between 1200 and 1800. Mostly cavalry.

As for the U.S.-Mexico War in the middle and later stages, the U.S. once again mobilized a large number of volunteers to join the service, so the number of troops the U.S. military may invest is countless, and its war potential is extremely terrifying.

London predicted that the number of U.S. troops would vary according to changes in the war situation, but would not exceed 8 to 10 at most.

London judged that the final result of the war was that Mexico must lose, with less than [-]% chance of winning.

The reason is that Mexico only has a population of more than 700 million, and a large part of them are agricultural Indians. The agricultural economy is weak, corruption is rampant, training is poor, and combat effectiveness is weak. Officials compete for power and profit. It is difficult to twist a rope against the Americans. .

Richard was secretly astonished by the intelligence capabilities of the British Empire, and the trend of history was very different from what the British had estimated.

Sure enough, the background of an old colonial empire should not be underestimated.

if history doesn't change

1846年5月13日，美墨战争正式爆发以后，美国联邦军最初派到西部的军队是1700人，与英国人估计的最多1800人仅仅相差100人。

The U.S. troops marched south to Mexico in three ways, and the west was led by Colonel Stephen Carney, who was responsible for capturing California and New Mexico.

The navy was led by John Snort to attack and blockade the coastal ports of Mexico, and the main force of the US army was led by General Scott to go straight to the Mexican capital.

after the war started
The three armies of the U.S. Army are like a broken bamboo, taking advantage of the victory and going south.

From June to August 1846, with American immigrants acting as domestic support, the United States successively occupied San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento and other important cities.

美军于8月17日宣布加利福利亚为美国领土。1846年8月15日，美军占领拉斯维加斯，并宣布新墨西哥为美国的一个州。

That is
In less than three months, more than 1700 U.S. cavalry troops led by Colonel Stephen Carney occupied 128 million square kilometers of land including New Mexico, Alexandria, Nevada and California. Under the support of U.S. armed immigrants, This journey is as easy as eating and drinking.

In addition to marching or marching, there was no decent battle fought.

The main force of the Mexican army was concentrated in Kansas and Baja California, led by President Santa Ana and the General Staff, to fight against the main force of the US army led by General Scott.

This is the most intense battlefield in the entire US-Mexico War. After several major battles, the two sides fought for more than a year. The Mexican army approached the capital of Mexico on May 1847, 5.

After half a year of fierce fighting, the U.S. military invaded Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, on September 1847, 9, and the war entered the final stage of negotiations.

Replay the process
It is not difficult to see that in the face of the U.S. military equipped with front-loading rifles and cannons, with strong mobilization capabilities, the overall strength of the Mexican army is at a disadvantage, so it still suffered a disastrous defeat after the struggle.

these days
In his spare time at night, Li Cha would always ponder over the current situation in North America, trying to find a little opportunity to change the situation of the entire battle.

There is not much time left for him, and it is only 4 months at full cost.

The Yankee he faced was unprecedentedly strong, and from the perspective of the current strength of the Tang Dynasty, this was an almost irresistible enemy.

With the influx of a large number of European immigrants, the population of the United States reached 1840 million in 1706, and it still maintains a rapid population growth every year.

By the end of 1845, the population of the United States had reached 1971 million, only one step away from breaking through the 2000 million population mark. The population was three times that of Mexico, and the total territorial area was about 505 million square kilometers. It was an out-and-out giant in North America. .

No matter how arrogant Li Cha was, he still didn't dare to be confident that he could get good from the Yankees.

The disparity in strength is too great, and what is placed in front of him is almost an unsolvable problem.

How to break the game is a question he has been thinking hard about.

Put the favorable factors on the table, and there are probably a few of them in summary;
First, the federation received strong support from the British side. On issues such as weapons and equipment, materials, and immigration, the British not only provided policies, but also took out some stocks of materials. This is a favorable factor.

Immigrants from the British Isles are not expected for the time being. From May onwards, more than 5 Chinese immigrants per month can still be guaranteed. This will continue to increase the base of Chinese immigrants and supplement San Francisco (San Francisco) valuable human resource.

As the war progresses
As long as the federation can show enough value, it can continue to receive support from London.

Otherwise, it will be ruthlessly abandoned.

Second, the establishment of an independent country has been supported by London, and related matters are under intense preparation. Once independence is declared publicly, it will be immediately recognized by some European countries headed by the United Kingdom, virtually standing on the moral high ground.

With a righteous name, European countries headed by the United Kingdom can openly intervene in North American affairs, provide urgently needed materials including military equipment, and exert strong diplomatic pressure on the Yankees.

Third, the vast and sparsely populated western wilderness, together with the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada Desert, will pose huge obstacles to the military operations of the US military.

Fourth, Richard also holds a secret weapon in his hand, that is the genius weapon designer Mr. Samuel Colt, and this is the trump card he uses to snatch food from the Yankees.

Advanced weapons can make up for the lack of army numbers.

Richard is going to find time to have a good chat with Mr. Samuel Colt, a weapon of his dreams:
This weapon has a rotating wheel structure similar to a revolver. It can be composed of 6, 7, 8 or even 9 long barrels. It can be fired by hand-cranking and firing continuously hot bullets, thus forming intensive firepower.

That's right, due to the current heavy military pressure, Li Cha plans to make the Gatling machine gun more than ten years in advance and become a big killer in his hands.

In the design of advanced weapons, the most difficult thing is the flash of inspiration, which is the prerequisite for designing an excellent weapon.

And to realize this ingenious idea, basically there is no technical problem.

take it apart
The 6 or 7 barrels of the Gatling machine gun are just a simple superposition of several rifle barrels to form a structure that rotates around the central axis, and there is no technical difficulty in realizing it.

It is easier to rotate by hand, and it is widely used on machine tools and various mechanical devices, as long as a suitable structure that is not only light but also durable is selected.

And each barrel is rotated to the firing position, the firing of the bullet is linked with the firing pin, the recoil structure of the bolt, etc., to the talented weapon designer Mr. Samuel Colt, it is like a mathematician Solving the equations of high school students is a fun and re-learning process without high levels of challenge.

If the action is fast, it will take ten days to build a Gatling machine gun by hand.

(End of this chapter)