Wild North America 1846

Chapter 80 The Federal Army is Coming

4 days later
The Indian camp at the back was blazing, and the lying corpses were shocking. The burning red light reflected Li Cha's stern face, showing a daunting killing intent.

"His Majesty, the outpost light cavalry has searched the surrounding area and found no other Indian tribe camps, and the front is not far from the mountain, and the mountain rises abruptly. There is only one trail that can pass through the mountain and lead to the central plain area. Only then did we realize that this place is not far from the American River, which is about [-] to [-] kilometers away."

"A narrow path?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, this native Indian tribe will enter the central plains from the sheep trail, chasing the bison and deer herds on the Great Plains, but this sheep trail is very steep and difficult to walk, and you must walk through it with a horse. Many people and horses fell off the cliff and died, so they called it the "Death Trail" and sacrificed to ghosts and gods before passing through."

"Oh, then send a squad of light cavalry to escort the native guide to walk through, pay attention to marking the terrain, and set up fortress defenses in dangerous places if necessary in the future, have you written it down?"

"I've made a note of my humiliation, and I must do as His Majesty ordered."

"That's good."

Li Cha turned his head, his eyes slightly narrowed to show a cold light, he looked at these captive Indian men and women, pondered for a while, and ordered: "All the women and children will be escorted back, and the men will be left behind and sent to the hard labor camp. The Department will take over and start road construction from now on, and the entire Grape Valley Highway needs to be completed within two months."

"I will obey your orders."

"Also, the steel factory, cement factory, and textile factory are all located in Sunshine Valley, where the terrain is more open. In the future, a large number of people will migrate to Sunshine Valley as a key construction area. The original factory buildings will be used by other factories. Make a note of this."

"Understood, I will adjust the plan immediately."

"Ah."

Li Cha nodded to express his approval. This large-scale operation to wipe out the Indian tribes in the depths of Grape Valley has completely removed the last hidden danger, stabilized the rear base, and obtained a large amount of labor.

Counting from Wudaoling Village, the depth of Grape Valley is about 130 kilometers long, and the largest valley basin is the Sunshine Valley not far from Wudaoling Village, covering an area of ​​about 5 square kilometers.

Going deeper, there are two smaller valley basins, one is the Moon Valley, with an area of ​​about 110 square kilometers, and the other is the Calabash Valley, which is composed of a series of small plains, with a total area of ​​about 70 square kilometers.

The indigenous Indian tribes living here for generations are far beyond imagination. There are a total of 11 Indian tribes, large and small, with a total population of more than 1.3. After the Qing Dynasty, there are still nearly [-] people.

As a result, more than 5370 strong Indian male laborers were obtained, ranging in age from 13 to 50. These people were all sent to hard labor camps, responsible for building roads and bridges, canals, building factories, digging mountains and cutting rocks, mining and logging, etc.

The addition of so many laborers will greatly speed up the construction process of Grape Valley, which is undoubtedly a good thing.

In addition, about 3136 young Indian women of childbearing age will be given priority to army soldiers and some Chinese foremen as part of the rewards for war surrender, thereby boosting the morale of army soldiers.

There are nearly a thousand Indian children left, about six boys and four girls, all under the age of 12. Independent schools will be established to train them, focusing on boys under the age of 10.

Boys and girls over the age of 10 will work in factories as helpers, and they can do some easy work within their ability.

Boys grow up to work, girls grow up to marry.

Officers of the Royal Army squad leader and above can communicate with the Chinese women stranded in Sandaoling Village through blind dates. After the two fall in love, they can register for marriage and form a happy family.

Officials of the administrative department of the Tang Kingdom can also participate in blind date activities. This is because Li Cha is extraordinarily kind to his subordinates, adding officials to nobles and dividing wives. Although the method is simple and crude, the effect is surprisingly good.

In the army of the Tang Kingdom, many grassroots officers from Central and South America have gone overseas for three or four years or even longer, working hard in the dense forests of Central America and the mines of South America, watching their companions die one by one. Falling down, the future life is gloomy.

At that time, the biggest wish of all the Chinese workers was to endure humiliation and survive under the difficult environment.

Everything changed, starting from their decision to go to North America to seek a way out, and their lives entered a new chapter.

The Chinese here are generally treated preferentially. They have only been in the army for more than a month and have shown their talents. Many of them serve as grassroots officers. Not only can they enjoy relatively generous military pay, but they are also generally respected.

Changes in circumstances have also changed people's psychological expectations. Survival is no longer the primary issue. How to live a happier life, start a family, marry a wife and have children, and continue the family incense has become the desire of every officer and soldier.

In line with the situation, the officers and soldiers were given wives, and the army promised to build houses. As long as they made contributions, they could also get a large amount of land rewards. Since then, fate has undergone earth-shaking changes.

All these are the favor bestowed by the King of the Tang Dynasty, Li Cha, which changed the lives of these Chinese workers, gained widespread support, and gained unprecedented prestige among grassroots officers and soldiers.

Everyone is not blind, of course they know who is really good to them.

In the ensuing construction boom, rounds of marriage waves broke out again, and 3136 Indian women were divided up within two days, and the bridal chambers were full of joy.

And Sandaowan Village became the hottest place. Officials and military officers under the kingdom flocked to chase the Chinese women here. In one day, more than 200 couples were successfully registered and married in the temporary office of the city hall. .

Li Cha has strict requirements on his subordinates. For example, anyone who marries a Chinese woman must be a regular wife. He needs to go through the formalities of marriage registration at the city hall, and then a marriage certificate will be issued. The marriage relationship between the two parties is protected by law.

However, Indian women are different. They can serve as concubines and servants, and they can register for marriage if they want to.

According to their different positions, the officers were more or less assigned some Indian women, one squad leader, two squadron leaders, four battalion leaders, and eight cavalry regiment commanders. According to the distribution of positions, the officers were selected first.

Either as a wife, or as a concubine, or as a servant, it's up to you.

This cannot be blamed for the low status of the native Indians. In fact, this ending is already very good. At least there is a sheltered family that can be relied on.

If the Americans came, they would only hunt and kill these native Indians as wild beasts and get a government reward of ten dollars for each scalp. They would not treat them as human beings at all.

Li Cha did give preferential treatment to the officers under his command. From the cavalry commander, the captain to the squadron leader and the squadron leader, they basically settled the housing. There were quite a few houses seized from the John Sutter and Alexander Madison gangs. , There are as many as hundreds of private police properties that follow John Sutter, which are completely available for officers to choose to live in.

The rest will be allocated to officials at all levels of the Kingdom government, so that people can have their own houses and enjoy a stable and happy life.

Soldiers do not have such good conditions for the time being. Their Indian women work in textile factories or construction sites on weekdays, and they can get a Weibo salary, which is about 1/3 of the level of Chinese workers.

Soldiers, on the other hand, are serving in the army, and they can apply for a vacation room when it is their turn to be on vacation. Only then can they reunite with their Indian women and continue to serve in the army after the vacation.

The houses of the soldiers are not considered by King Richard. They must obtain rewards through military exploits, or save their salaries and rent houses to live in, and slowly build a warm nest for themselves.

more than 10 days later

Sandaowan Village
Now the place has become deserted, and the four to five hundred Chinese women who were temporarily placed here have gone to the empty building, and most of them have gone to live in the new town, becoming officers' wives who do not have to work, and there are Indian servants at home to take care of them. Live a happy life.

The vacancies of female workers in the original garment factories and weaving factories were filled by Indian women, and the production order gradually returned to normal.

Nowadays, houses and factories are being built everywhere in Sandaowan Village. The commonly used masonry and concrete buildings are fast, good and strong to build houses. According to the blueprint design in the plan, a prototype of a new industrial town has appeared. .

Li Cha led a group of officials to inspect and saw a messenger galloping towards him in the distance, so he stopped involuntarily, waiting for his arrival.

The orderly reined in the horse at a distance of about 50 meters, then got off the horse and came running. He took out an official letter sealed with a red paint seal from his leather bag, knelt down on one knee, and presented it with both hands. Said; "The Holy Spirit, from the military situation in New Mexico."

When the officials around Li Cha heard the messenger's words, their complexion suddenly changed, and they secretly speculated in their hearts; could it be that what everyone is worried about is still coming?

Li Cha reached out to take the thousand-mile express, and after seeing the stamp of the San Francisco Long-distance Telegraph Bureau, he understood something in his heart.

The latest thousand-mile military intelligence report from the New Mexico area should be the outpost of the cavalry squadron stationed in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, sending a thousand-mile flying cavalry warning to the rear.

In the middle, it passed Gallup, Flagstaff and other small towns to relay and evacuate, and finally arrived in Las Vegas. The whole distance was about 820 kilometers, so there was no moisture in the police.

On this route, there is basically a small town every 200 kilometers, which can be used for cavalry to take a short rest and transfer, and horsemen are not resting.

In this case, the fast horse can reach Las Vegas in one day and one night.

Now the 420-kilometer road from Los Angeles to Las Vegas has been repaired with a long-distance telegraph line. The old Lieutenant Colonel Kahn in Las Vegas can report military information through long-distance telegrams. After the San Francisco Post Office receives it, he will hurry up immediately to report.

In other words, the urgent military situation ahead received now is a message from a day ago.

After Li Cha took the letter and opened it to read, it was as expected;
Nov. 1846, 6

Among the federal troops that the U.S. troops marched southward to Mexico in three routes, the western cavalry led by Colonel Stephen Carney of more than 1700 troops, with about 340 forwards making rapid progress, has now arrived in the town of Rio Rancho.

It had a brief exchange of fire with the cavalry squadron garrisoned by the local Datang Kingdom. After losing more than a dozen soldiers, it retreated voluntarily, waiting for the main force in the rear to arrive.

Currently, the Rio Rancho Outpost Squadron, headed by the cavalry captain of the Tang Kingdom, James Kahn, has built a solid barricade with stones and wooden fences, and is ready to stand by for help relying on solid buildings.

Old Kahn had expected the attack of the U.S. Army, so he deployed 84 musketeers and 73 cavalry in the outpost squadron, and sent his sixth-ranked son, James Kahn, to defend the town.

Rio Rancho is a small town with a population of more than 600. Since the area is located in the arid region of the Gobi Desert and the vegetation is scarce, the buildings are all made of earth and stone, and the defense is relatively strong.

It is impossible for the U.S. military to carry artillery and other heavy weapons from afar, and the cavalry is generally not strong in attacking fortified positions, and is best at long-range mobile operations.

157 soldiers stood firm in the area, equipped with enough ammunition and supplies, and could kill horses to solve the food supply if necessary. Most of the town's population had retreated to Gallup Town, leaving only a few Mexicans who were willing to help fight. There are probably close to a hundred people.

With such power, Old Kahn has the confidence to persist for at least four to five days.

in the letter
Elder Kahn requested to personally lead the army to the front line of Gallup Town, which is about 191 kilometers away from Rio Rancho. If necessary, it can be reached by emergency march in one day.

Old Kahn's combat intention was to cause a large number of casualties to the U.S. military through the Rio Rancho defensive battle, greatly weaken its combat capability, and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.

If necessary, the outpost squadron can be sacrificed, that is, his son James Kahn can be sacrificed in order to win the victory.

At the cost of the loss of all members of the outpost squadron, in exchange for severely injuring the enemy several times, severely attacking the arrogance of the enemy, and creating opportunities for the main decisive battle.

When the conditions are not met, the old Kahn plans to lead the rest of the troops to stick to Gallup Town, and will not rush to reinforce the front line of Rio Rancho.

Instead, adopt the tactics of blocking every step of the way, slow down the pace of the U.S. military, and greatly weaken its effective strength. It is expected that His Majesty will send additional reinforcements to annihilate them in one fell swoop.

These Germans are really ruthless. In order to complete the task, they can even give up their sons.

(End of this chapter)