1840Indian rebirth

"Philip Cook." The bearded U.S. Army lieutenant colonel introduced himself, and then said, "Well, Chief Albert, right?"

"That's right." The horse whistle nodded and looked at the two hundred dragoons behind Cook.

Dragoons are also cavalry, but the dragoon behind Cook seems to be a bit special. They do not ride horses, but mostly mules.

"We met in July, and then you went to attack Santa Fe. How was it? What was the result of the battle?" asked the horse whistle.

Cook looked calm: "We have encountered a little trouble. Chief Albert, I would like to know why the Mexicans also have Browning 1845 revolvers?"

Mashao said bluntly: "Because they paid."

Cook was silent for two seconds: "So, it was indeed you who sold the pistol to the Mexicans?"

"Yes." Mashao knew that he couldn't hide this kind of thing.

Cook's face gradually became gloomy: "You didn't tell us in advance. As far as I know, you have promised to be a neutral party in this war and signed a contract."

The horse whistle remained calm: "We did not tell the Mexicans in advance. This does not violate the terms of the neutrality contract. We did not form an alliance with any party, nor did we attack any party."

"We sell weapons to the Americans and we sell weapons to the Mexicans. This is very neutral, isn't it?"

"..." Lieutenant Colonel Cook felt speechless, and it took him a while to say, "Cunning Indians."

Ma Shao smiled and said nothing.

Cook asked again: "Did the British give you the weapons?"

Mashao made a brief expression of hesitation, and then said: "I said it was an anonymous European company. I signed a confidentiality agreement with them, so I will not tell anyone the true situation."

Cook stared at him and said slowly: "The British just treat you as pawns. This is the United States."

"Maybe, but we don't have too many choices." Ma Shao sighed slightly, "If there were choices, who would be willing to be someone else's chess piece."

Cook asked no more questions: "I need a thousand revolvers."

"Fifty thousand dollars." Ma Shao stretched out five fingers and added, "Only gold and silver coins, no bank notes."

Cook frowned slightly: "This is an order for a thousand pieces, can't you lower the price?"

Mashao shook his head: "Unfortunately, it really can't be done. If there is less money, we will have to subsidize the Russian... company out of our own pockets."

He demonstrated a tiny slip of the tongue just right.

Cook's heart moved.

Oregon, he is indeed a damn British guy!

Of course, Cook did not express any opinion on this slip of the tongue. After all, he originally believed that the British were behind it.

"I don't have that much money," he said.

Ma Shao asked: "How much money do you have in your hand?"

"Only thirty thousand dollars."

"Then we can only sell you six hundred."

Cook said: "You can record the account first, and when we capture Santa Fe City, we will pay you the remaining money-plus interest."

Ma Shao seemed a little moved: "How much interest do you plan to pay?"

"Ten thousand dollars." Cook said, "As long as we capture Santa Fe, we will pay you another thirty thousand dollars with interest. How about that?"

Ma Shao thought for a moment: "But, what if you fail?"

Cook hesitated: "This is impossible."

"Victory and defeat are common things in military affairs. Didn't Napoleon also fail?" Ma Shao smiled, "Didn't you just encounter a little trouble? Who knows whether it will be victory or a bigger trouble next."

Then he changed the topic: "However, if you are willing to agree to my two conditions, I will be willing to advance $20,000 for you."

Cook asked: "What conditions?"

Ma Shao: "The first condition is that the Americans need to cancel the reward order for the scalps of the Aboriginal people."

Cook thought for a while: "First of all, we only have the power to cancel the reward order in Leavenworth. We are not responsible for other places."

"Then revoke the reward order for Fort Leavenworth." The horse whistle said. Although Fort Leavenworth only has a few thousand people, it controls almost all the unincorporated territory in the Midwest.

"This is not possible." Cook added, "I admit that you are a relatively civilized tribe, but most of the Indian tribes in the Midwest are savages who are keen to plunder, and we still have to attack them. So, Leavenworth

The reward order for the castle cannot be revoked."

He then added: "Of course, we can grant you a separate exemption so that the Apaches of the Plains tribe are not included in the bounty."

Of course Fort Leavenworth will not revoke the reward.

Not because they want to attack the Indian tribes, but because they can make money by doing so - as long as the bounties on Indians are maintained, they will have one more reason to ask Congress for money.

Anyway, the men in Congress won’t come here to count their scalps in person, so it’s not up to them to decide how they spend the money.

Ma Shao said: "What's the difference between this and not revoking it? Can you tell where the scalp comes from?"

Cook: "Maybe it is more troublesome to implement, but we can only do this."

"This is completely meaningless!" Mashao was silent for a moment, and then changed the topic, "In this case, let's talk about the second condition."

"The second condition is that the Apache Plains tribe wishes to join the United States as the 29th state."

"What?" Cook was stunned. He almost thought he heard wrongly.

The horse whistle said slowly: "We understand the situation. For the Apaches, joining the United States is the only way to civilization... Therefore, I hope that the Apaches can become the 29th state of the United States of America."

This condition was completely beyond Cook's expectation. He had never thought that an Indian tribe would take the initiative to request to become a state of the United States.

"With all due respect, this is almost impossible," Cook said. "Even if it were possible, it is not something that I or General Carney can decide at all."

"You have to go to Washington to talk about this kind of thing."

There is no doubt that the establishment of new states is a national matter. Let alone a military base, not even the president can have the final say.

Especially in the current political environment.

The debate over the existence and abolition of slavery has intensified. Every new state has to face the choice of whether to abolish slavery or keep slaves. The government and the opposition are constantly fighting. It is not easy to establish a new state.

Of course Ma Shao also knew this. In fact, although he did plan to stay dormant as a state for a while, he never thought that it would be possible in the near future.

By raising this condition, he was simply "raising the roof."

"Then what can you do?" Ma Shao asked.

Cook thought for a moment: "Well... we can help you propose to Washington."