Wild North America 1846

Chapter 396 Going Southward to Fort Weiyuan

New York Harbor

New York, the largest city in North America, gave way to Chang'an City at the end of 1862. This is because the United States of America has a population of less than 800 million and cannot support an international metropolis with a population of more than 200 million. In order to seek job opportunities, Many urban populations have been lost to surrounding areas.

After the war, New York was still prosperous, but there were many Chinese businessmen in the city.

In this metropolis, Chinese faces mean upper-class and wealthy. Their business tentacles have monopolized banks and large trading companies, monopolized docks and railways, owned ports and a large number of urban properties, and embraced the most beautiful girls in their arms. , Living a wealthy life that everyone envies.

In today's port of New York, a grand farewell ceremony was held, and the three princes of the Tang Empire boarded a luxury cruise ship from here to start their study tour in Europe.

Wu Erbao also witnessed this grand scene at the port. He was followed by a dozen strong Chinese men, each of whom was wearing a weapon, with a Colt 1848 cavalry-style revolver stuck in his waist, and a Colt [-] on his back. The special lever-action repeater is really armed to the teeth.

This kind of dress is not uncommon in New York Harbor. Local white people know that these Chinese are going to expedition to South America. For more than a month, many Chinese teams have collected supplies in New York Harbor, and then organized a group to sail to the south.

"Ahu and Bao, go and see if our supplies have been delivered to the ship. We are about to sail tonight, let the guys hurry up and get on the ship. Don't mess with women anymore, it's important to do business."

"Understood the captain." The two strong young men responded quickly and ran towards the street on the side of the pier.

Wu Erbao squeezed the center of his brows with some headaches, and said to Tian Fuguang beside him; "When we get to the land, these guys need to train well, otherwise they won't be able to fight. They're just a group of stragglers. How can they fight?"

"Don't worry, captain, we are very good at training these guys. It only takes two months to reshape them. Just don't be idle on the ship, and start practicing after boarding the ship."

"It makes sense, let's do it."

Tian Fuguang is also one of the retired veterans. He intends to go to South America to get a share, so he volunteered to form a team and become the vice captain of this team.

The two of them were discussing, when suddenly several burly white men came from one side, which immediately aroused the vigilance of Wu Erbao and the others, and they reached out to touch the revolver at their waists.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we don't intend to cause trouble, but just want to see if you can bring us." The leader was a strong white man with a tough face and thick blond hair. He spoke English.

Wu Erbao's English was not bad, so he raised his hand to tell his subordinates not to overreact, and then stepped forward and said, "Who are you? We already have enough manpower, and we don't want Italians and Irishmen."

"We are Germans, from the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Kingdom of Hesse. I am Ferguson. These people are my partners. There are 7 people in total. We can't find a job here, and we have no money to buy bread, so I want to follow you to Go to South America, we are not afraid of war."

German?

Wu Erbao turned his head, and as soon as his eyes met Tian Fuguang, he knew what the other person was thinking.

The Germans are recognized as good workers, good soldiers, rigorous and obedient, and stubborn, much better than those loose Italians and Irish who like to form gangs.

Wu Erbao had already recruited more than 30 Germans in his team. Seeing that the white men who came to him were strong and young, he already agreed in his heart, but he still showed hesitation on his face, and said;
"Ferguson, I want to make it clear to you that our team has no salary and is only responsible for providing weapons and food. Once you join, you must obey orders. The final reward may be the land we conquered, or nothing at all."

"We would like to attend, sir."

"Call me "Captain". You must obey orders unconditionally and receive necessary military training."

"Of course, captain." Ferguson put his legs together and raised his hands in a non-standard military salute, which made Wu Erbao and a group of strong Chinese burst out laughing.

over an hour later

Wu Erbao and his men boarded a steam freighter with a displacement of more than 2000 tons. His team consisted of 63 people, and another team of 18 people jointly hired this freighter to deliver goods to the south. The destination was Weihai. far fort.

The price of such a cargo ship along the way is much lower, which is very suitable for private expedition teams and can save a lot of money along the way.

Fort Weiyuan is an emerging town more than 520 kilometers south of Buenos Aires. It is also a military stronghold along the coast of the Expeditionary Force of the Datang Empire. This freighter transported barbed wire, blue bricks and cement to Fort Weiyuan. Used for the construction of the cellar and other buildings.

There are many such cargo ships, and their destinations are mostly towns south of Buenos Aires.

From Buenos Aires to the south are Glory Port, Victory Port, Weiyuan Port, Crescent Port, Shuguang Port and Zhennan Port. There are a total of 6 ports from north to south. If you continue south, you will arrive at Tierra del Fuego.

The destination of Wu Erbao and his party is Weiyuan Port in the middle. This vast territory is closer to Argentina. It is said that there are some Indian villages and towns in the local area with a relatively long history of development and some foundations.

after boarding
Watching the freighter slowly leave the pier and the bustling metropolis of New York in front of us, Wu Erbao, Tian Fuguang, Hou Acai and the others stood side by side at the bow of the ship, all kinds of thoughts flooded their hearts, and they were deeply moved.

Starting today, they will embark on the journey of fighting for the future of the family.

All the savings for so many years have been pressed up, and the villa has been mortgaged and borrowed a large amount of money. It can be said that there is no turning back.

There are quite a lot of goods loaded on board. Wu Erbao's team has 26 horses, 150 second-hand king-style bolt-action rifles, 100 cavalry knives, and the same number of water bottles, blankets, 400 sets of clothing, 30 tents, 30 Barrels of gunpowder, 10 bullets, three tons of rice, 20 tons of hay, two tons of black beans, 100 carts, more than [-] sheep, hundreds of chickens and ducks, and other odds and ends, pots and pans, etc. of sundries.

After months of training
This team has to solve everything by itself. Wu Erbao feels that his personal ability has soared and he has become more comprehensive, but he is also more tired.

Standing at the bow of the boat, he said vigorously; "Fuguang, Ah Cai, our conquest is about to begin. We want to lay down a large pasture, so that future generations can live a good life like aristocrats."

His words also aroused the ambitions of Tian Fuguang and Hou Acai. After looking at each other excitedly, Tian Fuguang said; People took it all."

"How can it be that simple? There are more than 100 million Mapuche people. I heard that it is very difficult to deal with. These indigenous Indians have fought against the Spanish for hundreds of years. They are not obedient people."

"Hehehe... We are good at taming thorns, this should be more fulfilling."

"Don't talk big, after boarding the ship, the two of you started to focus on military training. No matter what, train the boys first. What I want is a capable military team that is banned by orders, not a mob. Everything is in accordance with our military standards. Come and ask."

"Don't worry, captain, we are good at this matter."

"That's good. As long as we train our team well, we don't have to worry about no battles and no good territory to occupy. I'm afraid you won't be able to take care of them when the time comes!"

"Hahaha, no matter how big the place is, we won't be afraid." Tian Fuguang laughed heartily.

The ancestors of the Mapuche people were the Araucan people who lived in the Andes region. They were famous for their bravery and skill in war during the Inca Empire.

Since the discovery of the New World, the rulers of the Central Plateau of South America have changed from the Incas to the Spanish conquistadors, and the Araucans have naturally become the most troublesome Native Americans for the Spaniards.

During the hundreds of years of war, the Araucans emerged as anti-Western heroes such as Lautaro, but due to backward productivity, they eventually migrated south gradually under the military pressure of Spain.

The Mapuche people still have a loose social structure dominated by tribes. The so-called "Kingdom of Patagonia" is actually a false proposition.

During the period of resistance to the military invasion of Chile and Argentina, the French adventurer Aurelier-Antoine came here in 1860 and was elected as the king by the local Indian tribe, establishing the nominal "Kingdom of Patagonia". In fact, the binding force on the Indian tribes scattered on the vast South American plains is almost equivalent to nothing.

"Patagon" also means a person with big feet in Spanish.

Patagonia, which is 2000 kilometers long from north to south, is the Big Foot of America, extending at the southernmost tip of South America.

It is located between the Colorado River and Cape Horn at the southern tip of the American continent, with an area of ​​90 square kilometers and a maximum width of about 1460 kilometers.

It is bordered by the icy and snowy lands of Antarctica to the south, and the Papanese grasslands with long grass and fat horses to the north. Patagonia is located in the middle, containing countless fertile grasslands.

This vast and sparsely populated area is also synonymous with remoteness "finisterrae" (Spanish), meaning; the end of the earth.

After 13 days sailing

This 2000-ton steam cargo ship arrived at Weiyuan Port and docked at the pier at about 2:00 pm. At this time, the sky was bluer, the sun was shining, the boundless blue Atlantic was calm, and hundreds of seagulls were flying up and down. .

A permanent reinforced concrete wharf is being built here in Weiyuan Port, and steam cargo ships arriving from long voyages are docked on wooden trestles.After getting off the boat, Wu Erbao and the others looked around in amazement at this half-surrounded port located in the inner bay, feeling that everything was so novel.

The warm sunshine on the body makes people feel comfortable. In the south of Weiyuan Port, there is a continuous mountain with a height of several hundred meters that extends to the sea and surrounds the port. A large river winds from the inland and enters the sea here. Abundant fresh water resources came.

Looking up, the forest in the distance is lush and endless, it really is a piece of fertile land!

"What to look at, work for me."

There were faint shouts and curses not far away, as well as the screams of whips hitting people. Wu Erbao saw the disharmony in this scene, so he just smiled lightly and stopped paying attention.

More than 1000 Indian slaves are working on the pier. They are building stone walls along the sea under the supervision of supervisors holding whips.

In addition, some Indian slaves were driven over to unload their goods. Not far from the wharf was the town of Fort Weiyuan. From here, one could faintly see the Shuanglong flag of the empire fluttering in the wind, symbolizing the footsteps of conquest.

Entering the town, it immediately became lively.

Most of the people who come and go here are Chinese faces, including soldiers and civilians, and there are many Indian women leaning on the door to show off their heads and pose. There are many shops in the town, and the crowds are very lively, full of the roughness and aura of the early days of colonization. Wild taste.

The common feature is that almost all of them carry firearms.

The arrival of Wu Erbao and his party caused little reaction. There were too many Chinese teams like him who came to South America to fight the world, and it was not unusual at all to catch a lot of them everywhere.

They had just arrived in the town when they saw a commotion not far away.

Dingqing looked over

It turned out that some armed Chinese militiamen on horseback came to the town. The cloth bags in front of these people's horses were full of blood, and there were many people driving cattle and sheep and young Indian women with their hands tied. , all the way to swagger through the market.

Needless to say, he must have returned from hunting.

"Boss, I like this place, and I'm ready to be stimulated." It was Ferguson who spoke, and he leaned over and licked his dry lips with his tongue, his eyes glowing with fire.

Wu Erbao rolled his eyes at him and ordered, "No rules, call the captain."

"Yes, captain, I feel that this is the place where men should come. The air is filled with the wild taste of conquest. And the brothers have been holding back on the ship for two weeks. Can you relax for us later? .I have inquired, women here only need a dime a time."

"Settle down first, don't bargain."

"Obey, Captain."

After scolding his subordinates for a while, Wu Erbao and his party quickly settled down.

Since they had brought sufficient supplies, they set up camp on a flat ground not far from the river outside the town. They surrounded a circle with more than 20 carts, unfolded 10 tents, and then cut some branches from the forest. A fence was formed, and a few earthen stoves were dug and the work was done.

The materials were concentrated in the middle of the camp, and separate fences were specially built for the brought sheep, chickens and ducks, and militiamen were dispatched to take turns on duty at night, completely in accordance with the regulations and norms of the army.

Wu Erbao hasn't been idle for the past few days. After settling down, he visits old friends everywhere, and stops by the garrison near Weiyuan Fort to make acquaintances first, and to make connections in the army.

When there is a real crisis here, you have to count on the local garrison for rescue.

After a few days, I can almost understand the surrounding situation.

The expeditionary army and the Chinese armed militia are all like wolves and tigers. Within a range of one or two hundred kilometers around Weiyuan Fort, the Indian tribes are almost extinct. If you want to find the Indians, you have to go deep into the Pampas Great Plains to find those news. Backwater Indian tribes can't hunt without horses.

(End of this chapter)