Wild North America 1846

Chapter 87 Excellent Soldiers
The army goes all the way south

In order to avoid the hottest time of the day, the whole army got up at 2:00 in the morning every day, lit a fire to cook, and set off on time at 3:00, taking advantage of the cool weather in the early morning to move forward.

After marching until about 10:00 in the morning, they set up camp and settled down.

Since the entire army was equipped with horses and mules, they marched very fast, over 5 kilometers a day, and arrived in the southern city of Los Angeles in just [-] days.

"Your Majesty, the military situation ahead is urgent."

"Bring it up."

"As ordered."

Sitting in the big tent, Li Cha took the military newspaper in front of him and opened it. A look of relief flashed in his solemn eyes. Then he handed over the military newspaper to the officers around him for circulation.

The bloody battle in Rio Rancho is still going on, and the front task force is particularly tenacious.

Since June 6, so far.

The Rio Rancho garrison has held back the western US army for 9 days. On the 14th and 15th, it withstood the US military's crazy attack for two consecutive days and caused a lot of damage to its vital forces. The momentum suddenly weakened.

The most obvious features are;

The artillery bombardment that caused heavy casualties to the Rio Rancho defenders was unsustainable. Since the 15th, the offensive has only sporadically fired [-] to [-] shells every day, and the intensity is not as good as before.

This is obviously the lack of ammunition for the US military, and it is also the real reason why the Rio Rancho garrison has been able to hold on until now.

displayed in the battle report;
More than 560 U.S. troops were killed and injured, and 223 people were lost (the advance squadron totaled 157 people, and the statistics include more than a hundred Mexican gunmen). Among them, 97 people were killed and 126 people were injured, including 34 seriously wounded.

After the front battle report was circulated, the atmosphere in the big tent was very solemn. Everyone knew that the Rio Rancho defenders had reached the end of their strength, and the town might be captured by the enemy at any time.

"Where is the telegraph line installed?" Li Cha asked suddenly.

Since suppressing the rebellious forces in the Los Angeles area, Richard has mobilized a lot of manpower and material resources to set up the telegraph line. For this purpose, he specially allocated hundreds of convicts and buried telegraph poles along the line. With full cooperation, the daily progress is at least 20 kilometers.

"Report to Your Majesty; the telegraph line has been erected smoothly, and it has connected to the town of Flagstaff, which is about 230 kilometers east from Las Vegas, and will soon arrive at the town of Milan, which is about 550 kilometers away from the front line of Rio Rancho town. , the whole line is planned to be laid in four weeks."

"Well, the progress is acceptable." Li Cha nodded grimly.

It is about 1240 kilometers from Los Angeles to the front line of Rio Rancho Town, and it will take two weeks for the army to rush.

If Qingqi advances, only half the time is enough.

The long-distance telegraph line from Los Angeles all the way east to Rio Rancho is very important to the entire war situation and is the current priority construction project.

Current situation
The old Kahn's expeditionary force stationed in Gallup Town has drawn 200 musketeers and a cavalry brigade, and the old Kahn personally led them to the front line of Rio Rancho, more than 210 kilometers away, for reinforcements.

Its purpose is to quickly break through the US military's weak encirclement of Rio Rancho Town in the early morning of tomorrow, when the sky is about to get dark, and transport 200 horse-riding musketeers into the town, completely solving the extreme shortage of troops faced by the town question.

if given the chance

A surprise attack will be carried out on the U.S. military to further weaken its effective forces and create conditions for the final encirclement and annihilation of the main force of the U.S. West Route Army.

if there is no chance
Then fight and retreat quickly. After completing the task of transporting 200 musketeers into the town, the cavalry brigade will return with more than 200 horses. Return to Gallup Town and hold on.

Old Kahn's battle plan had been approved two days ago, and it was estimated that a surprise attack would be launched at around [-] o'clock tomorrow morning.

Li Cha's mind was spinning, and he had already grasped the current overall battle situation. Once the operation is successful and the crisis in Rio Rancho is resolved, the next step is to consider the problem of defeating and encircling the main force of the US military and its reinforcements.

Judging from the current situation, the Datang Kingdom has already taken the initiative.

The traffic in the vast western area is blocked, and the roads are extremely bad. The United States has mobilized more than 8700 migrant workers to build roads from Kansas City to Denver along the way, and even railway construction has also been put on the agenda.

But this kind of large-scale infrastructure construction, it is difficult to see any results without a year or two.

From the perspective of time, no matter how fast the US military reinforcements are, it will take 2 to 3 weeks to arrive.

This gave Richard enough time to respond, and he asked in a deep voice; "What's the latest move in Mexico?"

Foreign Minister Juan Carlos stood up and clasped his fists in his hands and replied; "My lord;
The latest news from Santiago shows that there is nothing unusual about the current city of Tijuana in northern Mexico. The entire province of Baja California in northern Mexico is recruiting volunteers, and they are quickly gathering east.

battle status display
The main force of the southern invasion led by General Taylor of the U.S. Army put great pressure on the Mexican government forces. Now the country's resources and troops are concentrated in the east.

Mexican President Santa Ana has led the general staff to the central town of Buenavista, and has assembled a large number of troops in an attempt to contain the fierce offensive of the US military.

The United States and Mexico are both dispatching troops and sending additional reinforcements on a large scale, and have no time to take care of the affairs of the Tang Kingdom.

The British special envoy Sir Brian James, who has a good relationship with the Tang Kingdom, is in Mexico City at the moment, and has extensive contacts with senior officials of the Mexican government, hoping to reach an understanding on the issue of the northern Datang Kingdom and obtain the understanding and support of the Mexican government.

Sir Brian James recently sent back a telegram stating;

It is extremely difficult to advance related work, and there is no hope for the time being.But what is certain is that the Mexican government has no intention of using force against the Tang Kingdom, and does not have the ability to do so for the time being. "

"Oh..." Li Cha had an unexpected look on his face.

Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, is more than 3110 kilometers away from Los Angeles. In the face of the danger of a large-scale invasion by the US military, the Mexican government is beyond the reach of the Datang Kingdom, let alone an expedition, and the threat of force is equal to zero.

The king of the Tang Kingdom, Li Cha, led the army in person, and the royal court naturally followed the army to the south. All the main courtiers in the army tent were on the list, so that the king could give orders.

Given the current situation
李察命令第2火枪兵团为主的800余名前军先行一步，4日内抵达拉斯维加斯，7日抵达弗拉格斯塔夫，最迟于7月1日抵达盖洛普镇。

Wang Jia is temporarily stationed in Los Angeles, and will set off in four days. He will lead the cavalry unit of the rear army, mainly the San Francisco Cuirassiers.

Due to the importance of its geographical location, Los Angeles will become the most important hub port and material transfer center of the war. The current main task is to build two wooden trestles, which can provide the ability for multiple ships to dock and unload at the same time.

The aid provided by the United Kingdom and European countries will continue to arrive at the Port of Los Angeles, and most of the Central and South American Chinese laborers transported by the Pacific Cruise Line will also be transported to the Port of Los Angeles.

due to the needs of the war

In the next few months or even longer, Los Angeles will become the main destination for Chinese laborers, and most of the factory equipment and other materials purchased from Europe will also settle in Los Angeles.

Orders were issued one after another, and all aspects of the kingdom's military and government mobilized quickly and began to carry out the orders in an orderly manner.

In every new kingdom's initial period, there is a vigorous scene, and the Tang Kingdom is no exception.

As soon as the order was given, he started working in full swing.

Today, Li Cha's military and political officials are at most three to 40 people. The king's expedition sounds majestic, but it is actually equivalent to the mayor of a small town going on a tour. After all, the population size is there.

So far, the total population of the Kingdom has not exceeded the 10 mark (excluding indigenous Indians).

Juan Carlos, who is named as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has only three people in the entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including himself. The reason why he is given such a big name is mainly for the convenience of dealing with European kingdoms.

With the poor financial resources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, not even a single envoy can be sent abroad.

This war between the United States, Mexico and Tang Dynasty, which has attracted widespread attention in Europe, has swept across the entire western and southern regions of North America. The main battlefield is in eastern Mexico.

The flanking battlefield is in the western part of North America. The two countries, the United States and the Tang Dynasty, are pecking at each other. The fight seems to be lively, but the scale and intensity are far less than that of an ordinary village fighting in the ancient eastern country.

Zhang Jixin, a veteran of the three dynasties of Daoguang, Xianfeng, and Tongzhi in the late Qing Dynasty, and Zhang Jixin, a second-class Jinshi in the Ji Chou Division in the ninth year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, recorded this in his book "Records of Daoxian Officials' Experiences";

At that time, people in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province had a custom of fighting with weapons, especially in Longxi, Zhangpu and Yunxiao.

People with big surnames set up red flags, while those with small surnames set up white flags. It has become commonplace for people with large surnames to set up red flags.

The folk customs in this area are tough, coupled with the corruption and degeneration of the local government, disregarding the suffering and disputes of the people's livelihood, they only care about amassing money wantonly.

As a result, the local clans were accustomed to resolving disputes by force. Later, the mass fighting intensified and began to kill people of other races indiscriminately, and the hatred between all parties became deeper and deeper.

The big surname unites people of the same clan to help, while the small surname gathers people from the same village to help. If the village is short of manpower, they go to other villages to recruit.

The two parties agreed on a date to gather crowds to fight on a large scale, and they must fight to the death before giving up.

Surprisingly
Instead of stopping it, the local government acts as a middleman to watch and maintain the order of the fighting, and collect taxes after the fighting is over. It is called the management fee of fighting.

One person who was hired to participate in the fight was beaten to death, and the employer paid 30 yuan in gold and silver as a pension. They also set up a plaque of loyalty and bravery in the ancestral hall, and their wives and children can be cared for and supported.

In this way, even if someone is killed in a fight, it will not lead to lawsuits and troubles. Participating in a fight will not be held accountable by the government, and you can make a lot of money. The atmosphere of gathering crowds to fight became more serious.

When Zhangzhou people fought, they were ruled by strict military orders.

Mingjin means attacking, raising fire means withdrawing, and whistling means that the cannons will be unleashed, and the battle is like a battlefield...

There are many Zhangzhou immigrants in the army of the Tang Kingdom, and they are particularly brave in combat, and their combat effectiveness is stronger than usual.Therefore, Chinese immigrants from Zhangzhou were recruited into the army with the highest priority, and were especially welcomed by grassroots officers.

(End of this chapter)