The sun never sets in America

Chapter 106 Mexican Peace Army
"Work quickly..."

"Don't be lazy..."

On a mountain road leading from Nogales to Arizona, thousands of prisoners of war are building the mountain road with simple mountain digging tools.

On the roadside, there were hundreds of mighty battalions who had just arrived from the rear, and were supervising and directing these Mexican prisoners to work.

An observation post was also photographed on a high ground near this road. The observation post was very high, and it was already at a high position, making it easy for the Han soldiers who were standing guard to observe all the situations below.

In addition, there were a large number of cavalry roaming nearby to prevent prisoners from escaping without noticing.

"Damn, someone ran away again..." The sentry who was observing with his mouth noticed two Mexican prisoners who were sneaking around in the crowd and trying to escape towards the back mountain, with an ugly expression on their faces.

beep...

Then the soldier on the observation post immediately blew the whistle hanging on his chest, which immediately attracted the attention of the patrolling cavalry below.

The sentry in the observation post also used the command flag to hit the back hill and the right side, which meant that someone was escaping from the right back hill.

"The mountain on the right... chase!!" The leading patrol cavalry immediately issued an order to pursue after seeing the order flag.

"Huh..." The two young Mexican prisoners panted and ran towards the back mountain. They had just observed that as long as they entered the mountain, they could basically run out.

"Bota... run slower, I can't keep up..." Shete, who was running behind him and was out of breath, couldn't run anymore and called his companions in front to run slower.

"Shet... hurry up, or you'll be caught." The whistle just made Bota realize that they might have been discovered, so he ran even harder.

"Ah..." Shete accidentally fell to the ground because he couldn't keep up with the pace of Bota in front of him. His knee was cut by the gravel and blood flowed out.

"Damn..." Bota turned around and saw the injured Xie Te, with an anxious expression on his face. "Hurry up, as long as we run past the front, we will survive." Bota pointed to the woods in front and said to Xie on the ground. Te said, his tone full of urgency.

"Bota, I can't run anymore." Shete endured the pain and panted and replied to Bota, "You should leave quickly, I may not survive. When I go back, I will tell my family that I will always love them." !!" Xie Tesheng said to Bota helplessly, his eyes full of pleading sadness.

"Shet, you..." Bota just wanted to persuade Shet to keep getting up and running for his life, but he didn't expect the sound of horse hooves behind him to wake him up. "Shet, I will tell your family..." Bota looked at it for the last time. Xie Te glanced at the ground and quickly walked forward and continued running.

The moment Porta entered the woods, Yu Yu heard Shet's screams from behind, and was already searching for the sound of his horse's hooves. Without any time to think, Porter dove into the complex jungle.

With the experience of hunting in his hometown, Bota easily figured out the escape route. After several hours of going around and around, he finally left the blockade of the Han army and headed towards his hometown.

Bota was lucky, but most of the prisoners were not so lucky, such as Shet who had just been hanged from a tree.

Xie Te hanging from the tree became the biggest deterrent to the Han guards. From then on, for a long time, no prisoners escaped.

"It's time to eat, it's time to eat..." Around twelve o'clock at noon, a few former Mexican army cooks who had been selected to cook for the prisoners arrived at the construction site carrying several large buckets.

The prisoners who were already hungry quickly gathered around him.

"Quickly line up, line up..."

However, they were quickly dispersed with sticks by the surrounding soldiers from the Mighty Battalion who were in charge of guarding them. Out of fear of the Han people, even if they were hungry, they still lined up honestly.

"Damn..." The Mexican cook scooped up a spoonful of vegetable soup and poured it into the ceramic bowl of the Mexican soldier on the opposite side. "And this." Then he stuffed a fist-sized corn tortilla, and finally said that. What Mexican prisoners were driven away.

"yours……"

One after another, the Mexican prisoners received the food, leaned under the tree, and devoured it.

As for the taste of the food, I'm sorry, it just needs to be salty enough. For the Mexican prisoners who needed to do a lot of physical work, the Han Chinese who guarded them chose the cheapest and most effective food, which was to put more salt in the food to ensure that their bodies would There is enough salt.

The advantage is that you have enough energy to consume, but the disadvantage is that the food is unpalatable.

But for these Mexican prisoners who have long been accustomed to it and are hungry, some food is good. At this moment, the taste is not so important, what is important is to fill their stomachs.

However, the Han Dynasty's meal standard for captives was a ration, which was basically enough for the work. After working, if you didn't eat, you would be hungry. Especially at night, many people would be so hungry that they could not sleep and could only drink cold water. belly.

For this reason, many prisoners suffered from diarrhea, and some even died of diarrhea.

Because of this, the guards of the Han Dynasty would add an extra half meal before going to bed every night. What is a half meal? It is half of the main meal. It is basically a corn tortilla, pumpkin pie, etc. Pumpkin pie has sugar content. , so it is very popular.

However, the frequency of eating was relatively small, and coupled with the deliberate indulgence of the Han people, several large and small groups appeared in the prisoner-of-war camp.

They were composed of former Mexican officers and soldiers with charisma, and they monopolized the transactions in the prison camp.

Similar to pumpkin pie, the occasional cigarettes handed out became hard currency in the prison camps.

Even later, there was a trade of one cigarette for one hour, that is, one cigarette was used in exchange for other people to help work for one hour.

With the passage of time and the deliberate indulgence of the Han people, the entire prison camp has completely changed.

Those opportunists who wanted to please the Han guards used the supplies provided by the Han to climb to high positions, and with the help of those supplies, the thugs who had been bribed with supplies occupied the entire prisoner-of-war camp.

All prisoners of war had to pay protection fees to them, and they also sold goods to those prisoners that they could not usually see.

Such as cigarettes, spirits that can numb oneself, even candies deliberately distributed by the Han Dynasty, and even the most basic pumpkin pie, became the common currency in prisoner of war camps.

What is this concept? It is equivalent to a prisoner of war camp with thousands of people having its own currency and transaction system, and even internal operating laws.

The Han military officers behind these were happy to see the results.

"Boy, what are you holding in your hand?" A Mexican prisoner who was kicking something in his arms was blocked by a few careless prisoners who were fatter than the average Mexican prisoner and had a rosy face. They were one of the prisoners of war in this camp. Gang thugs specialize in suppressing prisoners who try to resist the boss.

"No... I didn't take anything." The Mexican prisoner Hu Ya replied with some fear, and unconsciously tightened the things in his arms.

"Huh, there's nothing..." One of the gang prisoners laughed disdainfully, "I just saw what you were talking about with a Han officer. He seemed to have given you something. Hand it over quickly!!" The prisoner glanced at Hu Ya's chest and said grimly. "That's what I got in exchange for helping..." Hu Ya retorted immediately, but as soon as he said it, he shut up. What he said just now was equivalent to self-defeating.

"Okay... there is indeed something." Originally, I just wanted to blow up this kid, but I didn't expect that there was something good. "Take it out quickly!!" The gang prisoner looked at Hu Ya with fierce eyes and ordered.

"No..." Hu Ya hugged the things in his arms tightly, but soon received a burst of punches and kicks. In the end, he still failed to keep what he had just obtained.

"Okay, keep the cigarettes privately." Looking at the warship brand cigarettes found from Hu Ya, the gang prisoner immediately showed a smile of success, "Do you know that all cigarettes have to pay taxes to the boss? If you carry cigarettes without paying taxes, now on behalf of the Ram Gang, I will confiscate them..." The gang prisoner smiled and put the cigarettes with sails and battleships in his arms.

He even found a reason not to pay taxes. The so-called tax payment is actually a rule determined by gangs within the prisoner of war camp. Everything brought back from the outside must pay 30.00% tax. There are ten cigarettes in a pack, which means that Three out.

As for the gang prisoner just now, the so-called confiscation actually did not exist at all. It was just him using the name of the gang to bully the weak and enrich himself.

"Let's go..." The leading gang prisoner carried the cigarettes he had just seized and left here with a flourish.

Only Hu Ya was left looking at the backs of those people leaving with an angry expression.

Situations like this were common throughout the prisoner-of-war camps. For a while, the prisoners at the bottom were full of complaints. Soon, the hatred for those gang prisoners exceeded the Han people who had been letting them work.

"Come on, come on... take a look."

A few days later, at the playground of the Drum Camp, several officers who had been bribed by the Han State, in cooperation with the Han army, gathered everyone in the playground.

"Everyone, Mr. Zhao just said that he will select 2000 people from outside to join the Peace Army." Former Mexican Major Luo Zexi smiled and said to everyone in the playground in Spanish, "Do you know what the Peace Army is? It is to protect The Peace Army..." Luo Zexi boasted about the Peace Army, as if he would be sorry if he didn't join the Peace Army.

The prisoners of war on the playground looked at the enthusiastic performance of Luo Zexi with indifferent expressions. In their hearts, this man named Luo Zexi had been working for the pagans and was simply a traitor. What such a person said, Can you believe it? ?

"The Han people have said that as long as you join the Peace Army, you will not only receive two Chinese dollars in military pay per month, but also a supply of five packs of cigarettes per person per month, and half a catty of toffee per person." Luo Zexi said Talking about the preferential treatment of Han Dynasty, "Everyone, two Chinese dollars, and there are also cigarettes and toffee. When you were in the Mexican army, your life was not that good!!" Luo Zexi continued to seduce those present. Those prisoners who were already a little tempted.

You must know that as the situation in Mexico becomes more and more chaotic, prices soar. In some areas controlled by the Han Dynasty, it is even possible to exchange a pack of cigarettes for a night for a few Chinese dollars for a big girl.

This was still an area controlled by the Han State, and the situation was relatively stable. You must know that as the Mexican army formed a large number of troops and imposed violent levies, the situation in many parts of Mexico was basically chaotic. If it were not for the deterrence of the army, rebels would have been everywhere.

In many places, there have been massive shortages of materials, and the peso has devalued. Although it is said to be devalued, it actually means that prices have increased, suppressing the value of the currency.

You must know that no matter how bad the peso is, it is still a metal currency, made of silver, but it has depreciated like paper money, which shows how scarce supplies are.

Chaos has been a common theme throughout Mexico, except for a few areas like Mexico City.

What the Han State was offering at this moment was real hard currency. Not to mention anything else, the five packs of cigarettes alone were enough for them to covet, not to mention the toffee that was now a weapon for picking up girls.

(Many Han soldiers took care of many Mexican girls with toffee and cigarettes. Among them, toffee was the most popular. After all, it is sugar!!)

And humans crave sugar even more during times of famine! !

"Everyone, what are you waiting for? With this condition, if I hadn't already joined and couldn't join again, I would have enlisted a second time..." Luo Zexi said in a very exaggerated tone to the Mexicans on the playground who had long been tempted. The prisoner said, "If you want to sign up, you can get money to eat here..." Luo Zexi pointed to a large box of Huayuan with Liu Yantou's face printed on it, which was already prepared, as well as the stewed rice balls, which were very rotten and fragrant. Overflowing braised pork and big steamed buns.

The white steamed buns and the fragrant braised pork constantly stimulated the throats of each prisoner, and the sound of swallowing could be heard from time to time.

"Damn it, I did it..." Hu Ya couldn't bear it at first and stood up directly.

"Okay, okay... go here to collect money from the painting, and eat..." Luo Zexi looked at Hu Ya, who was the first to stand up, and was so happy that he opened his mouth from ear to ear. He immediately warmly greeted Hu Ya to sign the contract, and then took him with him go to eat.

After Hu Ya took his fingerprints for joining the army, he sat directly at the tables and chairs prepared by the roadside and ate steamed buns and braised pork. More and more Mexican prisoners could not stand the temptation and gritted their teeth and stamped their feet.

I'm a traitor! !
"Well, it smells so good!!" This sentence came to the minds of a group of Mexican prisoners eating braised pork.

The Han guarding officer who had been observing them from behind showed a satisfied smile.

Scenes like this appeared in many prisoner-of-war camps. The Han State first deliberately indulged the order in the prisoner-of-war camp. After the prisoners of war transferred their hatred because of the evil done by insiders, the Han people descended from the sky in the form of saviors.

He came as a Mexican prisoner of war and left as a Peace Corps officer.

.............................................

At the Second Army headquarters in Nogales, Li Zhaowu was checking the recent recruitment status of the Peace Army.

"Tao Wang..." Li Zhaowu looked up at Tao Wang, who was sitting opposite him, and shouted with relief, "You did a good job, really good... so quickly, you got more than [-] peace troops. , I think, in a while, there will probably be [-]." Li Zhaowu praised Tao Wang with an excited expression.

"It's all supported by the general. Tao Wang just fulfilled some of his due obligations." Tao Wang modestly replied to Li Zhaowu, "Even if there are more prisoners, we will consume more." Tao Wang sighed with some meaning. .

"What are you afraid of? We don't need to pay for this money anyway." Of course Li Zhaowu understood what Tao Wang was thinking. It was nothing more than the cost of raising these peace troops. "I have given the final order to the local wealthy households, asking them to pay in advance. This year it’s taxes, it’s okay if you can pay them, but if you can’t pay them, don’t blame us for being ruthless…” Li Zhaowu replied with sharp eyes.

"The rich local Mexican nobles have been working in Mexico for hundreds of years and have mastered a large amount of silver mines. It is impossible that they have no money..." Tao Wang did not think that the wealthy households could not pay the money, "But, the above is what it means... "Tao Wang said to Li Zhaowu hesitantly, with a complicated expression on his face.

"I understand, and I will definitely comply with the above request." Li Zhaowu heard what Tao Wang just said and immediately understood what he meant, "I mean try not to do it locally, do that kind of thing, It's best to be inland." Li Zhaowu then said something to Tao Wang that both of them understood.

"Indeed, after all, this matter is not something we can decide. We still have to leave it to the Crown Prince to handle." After hearing this, Tao Wang nodded in agreement to Li Zhaowu.

"Speaking of which, His Royal Highness and the others should be arriving tomorrow, right??" Tao Wang suddenly asked Li Zhaowu about Liu Peng, "Should we arrange a welcome dinner for local Mexican celebrities and nobles..." Tao Wang said to Li Zhaowu Li Zhaowu suggested.

"Welcome dinner??" Li Zhaowu looked at Tao Wang with some confusion. He didn't understand what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd. It was the time of war, so what kind of welcome dinner was there? ?
"Your Excellency General, our army has just arrived. After all, it is captured by violence, which is ultimately detrimental to the rule." Tao Wang explained to Li Zhaowu the reason why he did this. "The first reason for organizing the welcome dinner is to test the attitude of the local Mexican dignitaries. Our attitude, secondly, is to demonstrate the prestige of our Han country and deter those who hide behind it." Tao Wang continued to explain to Li Zhaowu the benefits of holding a welcome dinner.

"And more importantly, His Highness the Crown Prince also has an explanation!!" Tao Wang continued to speak to Li Zhaowu with a suggestive look, with an inexplicable meaning in his tone.

"It's up to you to take care of this matter. Today I'll have people send invitations to the local reputable people..." Li Zhaowu understood Tao Wang's intention to please Liu Peng. He happened to have the same intention and directly agreed to what Tao Wang had just said. Ideas for hosting a welcome dinner.

"By the way, who are you going to put in charge of the Peace Army?" Li Zhaowu then suddenly remembered the Peace Army and asked Tao Wang.

"I think Newt, the former commander of Nogales, is pretty good..." Tao Wang replied to Li Zhaowu in a mocking tone.

(End of this chapter)