Wild North America 1846

The army marched south

In order to avoid the hottest time of the day, the entire army would get up at 2:00 a.m. every day, light a fire to cook, break camp at 3:00 a.m. and set off on time, taking advantage of the cool weather in the early morning to move forward.

We marched until about 10:00 a.m. and then set up camp.

Since the entire army was equipped with horses and mules, they marched very fast, exceeding 100 kilometers per day. It took only 5 days to reach the important southern town of Los Angeles.

"Your Majesty, please report urgently on the military situation ahead."

"Send it up."

"As commanded."

Richard sat in the big tent in full military uniform. He took the military report from the front and unfolded it. A look of relief flashed through his solemn eyes, and then he handed the military report to the officers around him for circulation.

The bloody battle of Rio Rancho is still in progress, and the forward task force squadron is performing particularly tenaciously.

Since June 11th, to date.

The Rio Rancho garrison had held off the U.S. marching troops to the west for nine days. After withstanding the U.S. military's frenzied attack for two consecutive days on the 14th and 15th, causing a large number of casualties to its forces, the U.S. military began to attack on the 16th.

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, only one or twenty rounds of artillery shells were fired sporadically in the attack every day, and the intensity was not as strong as before.

This is obviously due to 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.

Shown in the battle report;

More than 560 U.S. troops were killed and wounded, and 223 of their own were lost (a total of 157 people in the advance squadron, statistics include more than 100 Mexican gunmen), of which 97 were killed and 126 wounded, including 34 seriously wounded.

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

"Where are the telegraph lines installed?" Richard asked abruptly.

Since suppressing the resistance forces in the Los Angeles area, Richard has allocated a large amount of manpower and material resources to set up telegraph lines. For this purpose, he specially mobilized hundreds of convicts and buried telegraph poles along the lines. With full cooperation, the progress was at least 20 kilometers per day.

"Your Majesty, the telegraph line is being set up smoothly. It has connected the town of Flagstaff, which is about 230 kilometers east from Las Vegas, and is about to arrive in the town of Milan, which is about 550 kilometers away from the front line of Rio Rancho.

, the entire line is planned to be laid in four weeks.”

"Well, the progress is acceptable." Richard nodded sternly.

The front line from Los Angeles to the town of Rio Rancho is about 1,240 kilometers, and it would take two weeks for the army to rush slowly. After all, it has to take into account the slow-moving baggage carriage convoy. No matter how fast it is, it can't go faster.

If Qingqi makes a sudden advance, it only takes half the time.

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 battle situation

Old Kahn's unit of the expeditionary force stationed in the town of Gallup has removed 200 musketeers and a cavalry brigade, and Old Kahn personally led it to the Rio Rancho front line more than 210 kilometers away for reinforcements.

The purpose is to quickly break through the weak encirclement of the U.S. military on the town of Rio Rancho early tomorrow morning, when the sky is still dark, and transport 200 horse-mounted musketeers into the town, completely solving the extreme shortage of troops faced by the town.

question.

If there is a chance

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

If there is no chance

Then fight quickly and retreat quickly. After completing the task of transporting 200 musketeers into the town, the cavalry brigade will return with more than 200 horses. They can change horses on the way and use sufficient horsepower to get rid of the long-distance pursuit of the main force of the US cavalry.

Return to Gallup Town and hold on.

Old Kahn's combat plan had been approved two days ago, and a raid is expected to be launched at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning.

In an instant, Richard's mind was spinning, and he had a clear overview of the current overall war situation. Once the operation was successful and the crisis in Rio Rancho was resolved, the next step was to consider issues such as defeating and annihilating the main force of the US military and its reinforcements.

Judging from the current situation, the Tang Kingdom has taken the initiative.

The vast western area has traffic congestion and extremely poor roads. The United States has mobilized more than 8,700 migrant workers to build roads from Kansas City to Denver, and even railway construction has been put on the agenda.

However, it is difficult to see any results from such large-scale infrastructure construction within a year or two.

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

This gave Richard enough time to respond. He asked in a deep voice, "What are the latest developments in Mexico?"

Foreign Minister Juan Carlos stood up and clasped his hands and replied: "Your Majesty;

The latest news from San Diego shows that there is nothing unusual in Tijuana, the important town in northern Mexico. The entire province of Baja California in northern Mexico is recruiting volunteers and is quickly gathering to the east.

Battle status display

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

Mexican President Santa Anna has led the general staff to Buena Vista, a key town in central China, and is massing troops in an attempt to contain the ferocious U.S. military offensive.

Both the United States and Mexico were deploying troops and reinforcements on a large scale, and had no time to take care of the affairs of the Tang Kingdom.

Sir Brian James, the British special envoy who has good relations with the Tang Kingdom, is currently in Mexico City, having extensive contact with senior officials of the Mexican government, hoping to reach an understanding on the issue of the Northern Datang Kingdom and gain the understanding and support of the Mexican government.

Sir Brian James recently sent a message back stating;

Relevant work is extremely difficult to advance, and there is no glimmer of 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 it does not have the ability to do so for the time being."

"Oh..." Richard had an expected look on his face.

Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, is more than 3,110 kilometers away from Los Angeles. Facing the danger of a large-scale invasion by the US military, the Mexican government is beyond the reach of the Tang Kingdom, let alone an expedition, and the threat of force is zero.

King Richard of the Tang Dynasty personally led the army to the expedition, and the royal court naturally followed the army southward. All the main court officials were present in the military tent so that the king could issue orders.

In view of the current situation

Richard ordered Dai Changfu to lead more than 800 former troops, mainly the 2nd Fusilier Regiment, to go ahead and arrive in Las Vegas and Flagstaff within 4 days, and to Gallup Town by July 1 at the latest.

Wang Jia was temporarily stationed in Los Angeles and would set off four days later. He would lead the rear cavalry force, mainly the San Francisco Cuirassiers, and march day and night with light cavalry. They would arrive in Gallup Town on July 1 to meet up.

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

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

due to the needs of war

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

As orders were issued one after another, all aspects of the kingdom's military and political affairs mobilized quickly and began to execute the orders in an orderly manner.

In the initial period of every new kingdom, there is a vibrant scene, and the Tang Kingdom is no exception.

After giving the order, he started working enthusiastically.

Nowadays, there are only thirty or forty military and political officials under Richard at best. The king's expedition sounds majestic, but it is actually equivalent to the mayor of a small town going on patrol. After all, the population size is there.

So far, the total population of the kingdom has not exceeded the 100,000 mark (excluding indigenous Indians).

Juan Carlos was the nominal foreign minister. There were only three people in the entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including himself. The reason why he was given such a big name was mainly to facilitate dealings with European kingdoms.

With the poor financial resources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it cannot even send a single envoy abroad.

This U.S.-Mexico-Tang War, which attracted widespread attention in Europe and swept across the entire western and southern regions of North America, had its main battlefield in eastern Mexico. The United States and Mexico each sent large armies to fight fiercely head-on.

The flanking battlefield was in western North America, where the United States and Tang Dynasty were fighting each other. The fight seemed lively, but in fact the scale and intensity were far less than an ordinary rural battle in an ancient eastern country.

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

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

People with big surnames set up red flags, while people with small surnames set up white flags. They kidnapped people for ransom and bought them with ransom. When the people were moved, tens of thousands of people gathered and massacred, which became a common thing.

The local people's customs are fierce, coupled with the corruption of the local government, they ignore the people's livelihood and disputes and only focus on amassing money.

As a result, the local clans were accustomed to using force to resolve disputes. Later, the armed fights intensified and they began to kill people of other ethnic groups indiscriminately. The hatred between the parties became deeper and deeper.

The big surnames unite people of the same clan to help, while the small surnames gather people from the same village to help. If the village is short of manpower, it goes to other villages to recruit.

The two sides agreed on a date to gather together for a large-scale fight, which would end with a fight to the death.

Surprisingly

Instead of putting a stop to it, the local government acted as a middleman to maintain the order of the fighting, waiting for the fight to end and then collecting the tax, which was euphemistically called the fighting management fee.

When someone was hired to participate in a fight and one person was killed, the employer paid them a pension of thirty yuan in gold and silver. They also set up a memorial tablet for them in the ancestral hall, and their wives and children were taken care of and supported.

In this way, even if someone is killed in a fight, there will be no lawsuits or troubles, and those who participate in the fight will not be held accountable by the government, and can make a lot of money. Therefore, brave and fierce people from all over the country gather and actively participate, and even

The trend of crowd fighting has become more serious.

When people in Zhangzhou fight, they are governed by strict military orders.

Ringing the gold means attacking, raising fire means withdrawing, and blowing the whistle means the artillery fires. The formation is like a battlefield...

There were many immigrants from Zhangzhou in the army of the Kingdom of Tang Dynasty. They were particularly brave in fighting, enforced orders and prohibitions, and their combat effectiveness was much stronger than usual. Therefore, Chinese immigrants from Zhangzhou were the first to be recruited into the army, and were especially welcomed by grassroots officers.