Wild North America 1846

Chapter 138 Outpost
1847 October 10

The siege troops led by General Taylor and Scott of the United States, after more than half a year of fierce fighting, finally broke into Mexico City and fought fierce street battles with the defenders.

From May 5th, when soldiers approached the city of the Mexican capital, to October 5th when they broke through the city defenses, the Mexican defenders, inspired by the victory of the Tang Kingdom, persisted for a full month longer than in the original history.

This does not mean the end of the Mexican War. Under the fierce resistance of the Mexican defenders, the street fighting caused a large number of casualties to the U.S. troops. On October 4, the fourth day of the street fighting, it reached a climax of killing and injuring more than a thousand U.S. troops in one day.

This forced the U.S. military to stop, readjust its offensive deployment, and use both soft and hard methods of military offensive and political persuasion to force Mexico to surrender.

Receive updates on the fighting from southern Mexico

Li Cha immediately ended his inspection work in the cities along the Pacific Ocean, and led 320 newly recruited guards and related military and political officials to take a boat south from Chang'an Bay to Los Angeles.

after staying here for a few days
Bring together 2000 cavalry and 3600 musketeers trained locally in Los Angeles, and take the train to Phoenix (Denver) in batches.

10/28

Richard and his party arrived at Phoenix (Denver) Castle by train, and were warmly welcomed by the people of the Kingdom along the way, which was unprecedentedly grand.

short break for a few days
Li Cha arranged for another manpower to go to Hugo Oasis, more than 200 kilometers southeast of Phoenix City, to burn the withered and yellow vegetation there on a large scale.

Bring sufficient logistics supplies to the soldiers stationed at the outpost of Hugo Oasis, and encourage the soldiers to take root in the outpost and dedicate themselves to national defense.

Hugo Oasis was originally a sunken valley with an area of ​​less than 10 square kilometers. The oasis was formed because of the convergence of streams. There was no steep terrain and no military defense value.

The kingdom stationed a light cavalry squadron here, responsible for daily covered patrols in the surrounding area, strictly preventing any US spies from passing through, which played a very important role.

Since the establishment of this eastern outpost, more than a dozen groups of American spies have been arrested, some dressed up as homeless cowboys, some dressed up as families migrating westward, some dressed up as caravans, and some simply dressed up as desert bandits, without exception. All were taken down.

These poor American spies didn't know that the Hugo Oasis and its surrounding area of ​​60 kilometers were all military restricted areas of the kingdom, and no one was allowed to enter under any pretext.

Except once every two weeks, from the Phoenix military logistics supply convoy, the others are enemies.

Hugo Oasis is also the most outpost of the Tang Kingdom's long-distance telegraph line.

The outpost was built by the stream, surrounded by low hills, and consisted of more than [-] wooden houses and two livestock fences. Stacks of haystacks were piled up beside the livestock fences.

The perimeter of the camp is separated by more than 100 meters. There are several sections of radial defensive parapets built with low wooden piles, and there are sentries on duty every day.

After entering November
The temperature dropped sharply on the Colorado Plateau, and a moderate snowfall fell, turning the world into a crystal white.

in the wooden house

Cooking "gududu" mutton soup, the room is filled with the warmth of rich meat aroma, cavalry squadron leader Lieutenant Tian Mantun, two second lieutenant officers and five or six cavalry surrounded the firepit, cutting the big white radish in their hands into small pieces, talking and laughing while chatting.

"This big white radish is good. I ate the ginseng and put it in the mutton soup. It is nourishing and delicious. Add a little chipotle pepper, and the taste is amazing."

"We need to put some pepper and wild onion flowers to enhance the freshness, but unfortunately we burned it all down here, and we can't find anything."

"You are quite particular, kid, isn't this soup fresh enough?"

"It's a pity, now it's hard to meet yellow sheep on the Gobi Desert, and those North American elk have also migrated away, so there will be no luck in the future."

"What do you know? This is called hard wall and clearing the field. If the Yankees fight over, they won't leave a single blade of grass to them."

"Hey, by the way, sir, our plateau cavalry is so powerful, do you think the Yankees can fight over?"

"The fight will definitely come. After all, our territory in Phoenix is ​​still owned by the Yankees. How can we say no? I heard from Shangfeng that the Yankee army was mainly held back by the Mexicans in the south. Come in August."

"Fuck, if the Yankee dares to kill him, we will fight with him. Brothers, wives and children are here, if we give up the territory to the Yankee, where are we going?"

"It has to be a life-threatening one! It's too cold to live in a carriage in winter. We can bear it, women can't bear it, and children can't bear it. I just bought a house in Indian Valley a few months ago, and all my wealth and money from selling food It’s all over, and it can’t be cheap for the Yankees.”

"Wow, Captain Erzhu, tell me honestly, how much did you go to the northern American land at the beginning of the year?"

"Don't be blind, you must be earning some money, but it's not as much as you think. I'm in debt now. I also borrowed thousands of dollars from the bank, and I paid it back slowly over several years."

"Aren't you worried about being in debt?"

"Don't worry, it's a preferential loan from His Majesty to our soldiers. The annual interest is only 6%, and the annual interest of borrowing 1000 U.S. dollars is 60 U.S. dollars. It would be no problem if we went to the north to plunder like last year, the key is to be good to women and children."

"Captain Erzhu's words make sense, what's the situation in your house?"

"A 4-room upstairs and downstairs townhouse, with 5 bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room and living room, a total of about 220 square meters. In winter, you can burn a fireplace for heating. There is a small yard in front of the house, with livestock on one side There is a shed, and the other side is the tool room. When I am not at home, it is enough for 4 women with a child. The key point is that there are two pregnant women in the family, and the child is small and needs to be kept warm.”

"That's great, what's the price?"

"I bought it late. Originally, a townhouse like this cost about $1760. When I bought it, it was already $1950. Now it must be more than that."

"Hey, do you want so much money?"

"Cut... don't think it's too expensive. There are already a lot of people who have already paid and waited in line. What is the name of the planned one... Residential community, it is more than 3 kilometers away from the central town. By the way, it is called Butterfly Spring Community , the more than 1600 townhouses and villas planned in the first phase are all sold out, and if you want to buy it, you have to wait for the second phase.”

"It's so far away from the central town, it's not easy for a woman and child to buy something and have breakfast?"

"Bullshit, what do you know? Other construction developers have said that in such a large community like ours, those ordinary small traders are like flies smelling fishy smell. Before they move in, the shops open on the back. Are you afraid? Nowhere to go shopping?"

"That's right... that makes sense, what was Phoenix City like before, what's it like now?"

"Officer Mantun, I heard that the house you bought in Phoenix Fortress is very expensive there, can you tell us about it?" Second Lieutenant Li Erzhu asked gossipingly.

Lieutenant Tian Mantun threw the radish into the soup pot with his hands together, took out a handkerchief, wiped the knife and put it away, and said calmly; "There are not many houses in the fortress, and the purchase qualifications have to be reviewed, but The officers all buy here, and His Majesty’s palace is also here, so the price must be very expensive, what’s so strange about that?”

"Sir, tell me!"

Tian Mantun was about to speak when he suddenly heard the sound of horseshoes coming from far and near outside the house. Immediately, his expression changed and he stood up. He walked quickly to the door and opened the door.

The cold wind from the Gobi Desert was howling, and Tian Mantun stuck his head out to look regardless. He saw a group of five or six flying horses coming, and they did not slow down when they bypassed the defensive wall.

His face immediately became serious, and he shouted loudly: "There is an enemy situation, everyone is ready to fight."

in accordance with military regulations;

Any cavalry returning through the defensive wall must slow down, and galloping horses in the camp is strictly prohibited, except for emergency military situations.

The distance of more than 100 meters arrived in an instant.

A sharp whistle sounded in the camp, and more than 40 heavily armed cavalry rushed out of the house one after another.

The galloping cavalry came to the house and reined in the horse. The horse turned over and jumped off before it stopped.
"Reporting sir, the U.S. cavalry brigade was found in Huangshitan. There are about 200 cavalry in total, one man and two horses, all dressed in daily North American cowboy clothes. Captain Li is staring at the front and ordered us to hurry up and call the police."

"It is confirmed that there are more than 200 riders, and no other enemy troops have been found?"

"Yes, sir, only these 200 or so riders were found before we left."

"Erzhu, send a telegram to the military headquarters." Tian Mantun ordered with a solemn face, then turned to face the crowd, and continued; "The first team puts on armor and prepares to fight, and the third team enters the defensive wall position. You guys continue to fight." Go forward to investigate, order the second team to retreat, and return one person every 10 minutes to report the enemy's movements."

"Yes, sir." The soldiers immediately dispersed to prepare.

Lieutenant Tian Mantun has a total of 65 cavalry, divided into three cavalry squads, the first squad is cuirassier, and the second and third squads are light cavalry.

The strength of the U.S. troops that invaded this time was unprecedentedly strong, reaching the size of a cavalry brigade, almost three times the strength of its own troops.

This made Lieutenant Tian Mantun feel heavy pressure and an ominous premonition.

in accordance with the order;

The cavalry squadron stationed at Hugo Oasis is responsible for covering the area and strictly preventing US spies from infiltrating, so as to protect the military secrets of Phoenix Fortress from being leaked.

All along, they've done a great job.

There are many folds and rifts and rolling mountains on the Colorado Plateau. There are not many roads that can pass a large number of troops, and Hugo Oasis is a must.

In the past, the number of spies sent by the US military ranged from five or six people to as many as two or 30. It has never been on such a large scale. Is this a precursor to a large-scale attack?
The enemy came very quickly, and Lieutenant Tian Mantun had no time to think about it. After Second Lieutenant Li Erzhu came out of the telegraph room and nodded to him, he walked forward and said quickly in Li Erzhu's ear;
"Move out our life-saving big guy. Remember, you must control it yourself. I don't worry about handing it over to others."

"Understood, sir, promise to complete the task, and kill the Americans."

"That's fine, it's up to you." Tian Mantun patted him on the back vigorously, his eyes full of trust.

(End of this chapter)