America 1881: Legend of the West

Chapter 544 A complete defeat

Wiltord could not bear the harassment of these unknown cavalry.

While they are fast, their firepower is much higher than that of ordinary cavalry, and their tactical thinking is very clear, which is zero-loss harassment.

Take advantage of speed and range to attack your own team.

If this continues, it will be impossible for his troops to move forward in this wasteland.

So the colonel decided to lead his cavalry troops to defeat the enemy quickly and see if he could take advantage of their numerical advantage to eliminate the rangers.

Therefore, when Asuka appeared again with his cavalry, Wiltord gave an order to leap forward.

A cavalry troop of more than two hundred people followed him, killing them from the head of the team. Like an attacked snake, it turned its head and bit the attacker, heading straight for Asuka and the others.

"Hey, sir, those damn guys are coming!" a Mexican soldier said to the flying bird next to him.

Asuka put the automatic rifle on his shoulder and waved to the soldiers around him.

"Brothers, retreat!"

More than a hundred people turned their horses' heads in unison and ran wildly towards the depths of the wasteland.

On the other side, Wiltord became increasingly anxious when he saw Asuka and the others preparing to run away.

He kicked the horse hard in the belly.

"Quick! Charge and bite them! Don't let them escape!" the colonel roared.

The horse in his crotch felt pain, and he raised his hooves and ran out of the team.

As the distance got closer, the colonel could clearly see the uniforms and attire of the man on the horse opposite.

This is clearly a bunch of Mexican local motley crew!

Chen Jianqiu, Chen Jianqiu, you are so determined to find these American subordinates to be your helpers in the future. After I deal with these miscellaneous troops, I will go to Juarez to kill you!
He raised his upper body slightly, clamped his legs tightly on the horse's belly, and raised his gun to aim at the last person opposite.

"Snapped!"

A shot was fired and missed.

There are too many factors to consider when shooting at such high speed. If you want to hit a target that is also moving at high speed, in addition to skill, you also need a little luck.

"Shoot quickly! What are you waiting for?" Wiltord turned his head and shouted at the soldiers behind him.

The soldiers were charging headlong. As soon as they heard the order from their commander, they stood up and fired.

They spread out their formation to better shoot.

With a crackling volley, the unlucky ones at the end of the team fell off their horses.

Some of them were directly hit by bullets, while others had their horses hit, causing them to be knocked off their horses due to the pain.

"Sir, those Americans are coming!" said the Mexican next to Asuka.

Asuka also heard the gunfire from behind, and he also saw the enemy cavalry rushing from the side and rear.

The formation on our side has just started, so it is naturally not as fast as the full charge from the opposite side.

But since Wiltord decided to get close to him, it would be unreasonable not to pour a basin of water on his face.

"Give them a ride!"

Asuka shouted.

He leaned on his horse, pressed his rifle, and shot in the direction of Wiltord.

You don't need accuracy, but you need speed. Just keep firing in bursts, as long as the bullets don't fly into the sky.

The strong men around him followed suit.

They didn't even untie the straps hanging on their shoulders. They raised their hands and fired three or four bullets in a row, quickly finishing the twenty bullets in the magazine.

Wiltord knew that the opponent would fight back, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly and so violently.

The colonel was just about to open the loading plate on the side of the rifle and load it.

But as soon as he raised his body slightly and went to pick out bullets from the bullet belt on his waist, he suddenly heard a few "swish" sounds in his ears.

That was the sound of bullets breaking through the air.

Wiltord quickly lay down again.

The person behind him was not so lucky.

The bullet struck his horse.

The horse was injured, staggering under its feet, its front legs went weak, it fell to its knees, and the owner of the horse was thrown out.

The bullets from the opposite side hit their faces like a curtain of rain, making the U.S. border guards "feel like a spring breeze" and instantly turned their backs on their backs.

If Wiltord was just "hearing is believing" at the front of the team, now seeing is really believing.

He couldn't figure out where these hundreds of people got such strong firepower.

But Asuka and his cavalry didn't care what the colonel thought.

They took advantage of this opportunity to once again widen the distance between them and their pursuers.

"Sir, should we continue chasing?" A soldier next to Wiltord shouted from behind him at the top of his voice.

"Chase! These Mexicans have become more capable! They hooked up with Chen Jianqiu, a treasonous bastard, and I want to teach them a lesson!" Wiltord shouted.

Every American officer has a dream to serve his country.

The same goes for Wiltord.

His grandfather participated in the Mexican-American War, and his father participated in the Civil War. He only resented that the federation did not give him a chance to defeat his old neighbor in the south.

Now that you are here, how can you not slap these Mexicans!

So he and his cavalry continued their pursuit.

The two cavalry teams kept a distance from each other and shot at each other. The wasteland on the US-Mexico border changed from the previous lifeless life. For a while, the dust was flying and it was really lively.

Feiniao led more than a hundred people into an area lined with barren hills according to the original route.

Due to weathering, a small Yadan landform area has been formed here, with jagged rocks and maze-like structures, similar to the Devil's City in New Mexico.

Asuka and Juarez's cavalry are all too familiar with this place.

In addition to some Chinese cavalry, there are many local Mexicans in the team who have grown up here since childhood.

Not so with Wiltord and his federal cavalry.

"Stop, stop it all!"

After the pursuers reached the mouth of the valley, Wiltord slowed down until he stopped his horse.

After a chase, the horses were tired and panting heavily.

He raised his head and glanced at the various strange-shaped hills and stone pillars in front of him, and frowned.

He still remembered how the cavalrymen of Crook's regiment died.

I'm afraid there might be an ambush in this area.

Wiltord hesitated.

He didn't want to lose his reputation and die here, but he wasn't willing to just go back home.

"Sir, I don't think there should be an ambush in this place!" An officer next to him pointed at the stones and said, "These places are bare and can be seen at a glance. There is no room to hide people!"

"You know nothing. Do you know how many cavalrymen can be killed by a machine gun stuck in the terrain?" Wiltord twisted his neck and fell into thinking.

In the end, the desire for victory triumphed over the fear of ambush.

"Follow me into the valley! Everyone, slow down, be alert in front and behind, and turn back immediately if anything goes wrong!" Wiltord gave his order.

After Wiltold left with the cavalry, his deputy Captain Burke stayed in the wilderness with the remaining infantry.

"Sir, do we really have to wait here for Commander Wiltold to come back?" asked an officer next to Burke.

Burke put down his telescope.

He looked up at the scorching sun above his head and felt extremely annoyed.

His superior was also a short-sighted person, who only thought about achieving success and killing enemies.

He actually disagreed with this cross-border attack on the Juarez Valley.

First, this operation did not receive the approval of the army's top brass. It would have been fine if they won, as they could have brought back Geronimo, the "Indian bandit leader" who had killed countless American soldiers.

Those guys in the Ministry of Defense can only turn a blind eye at best.

But what if we lose?

Crossing the border even for one kilometer is still crossing the border, and diplomatic disputes are inevitable. Even if Mexico is weaker, you, the United States, are not in the right.

Second, he didn't think that making enemies with Chen Jianqiu was a good choice.

Chen Jianqiu is no longer the same person he used to be.

It's no exaggeration to say that he is the true king of the New Mexico borderland.

At the same time, this person also has a certain influence on Congress. Without the leadership of the party to take the lead in dealing with him in the name of "anti-China", it is impossible to deal with him. We can start with the Chinese people under him and then isolate him.

But from a personal perspective.

As long as Chen Jianqiu does not lead the Chinese in New Mexico and Oklahoma to demand independence, the military will not take any action against him personally.

His business and his reputation have a great influence in America.

Even though there are still people in the upper classes of New York and Washington who look down on him, one has to admit that the interest relationship between Chen Jianqiu and the U.S. government is complicated.

How could you, a mere army colonel, have the courage to kill him?
Thinking of this, Burke became upset again.

Just as he was considering whether to adjust the formation and shrink the team to gather together for defense.

The fatal gunshot came again.

"Sir! Sir! The enemy cavalry is coming again!"

The messenger came running over on horseback.

There was a commotion in the team.

Burke's face turned livid.

That was where the baggage wagons of the entire army were located.

Since the distance of this march was not far, we didn't bring much stuff.

But the water and camping supplies are all in the car!
The attack came from another cavalry unit stationed in Juarez, led by Abiote.

Their number was even smaller, only about fifty or sixty people.

Their tactical strategy was basically the same as Asuka's, which was to carry out continuous harassment from the periphery and attack where the federal army's defenses were weak.

To put it bluntly, it is a place where there are no heavy machine guns guarding it.

Without the restraint of Wiltord's cavalry, Abiot's troops became even more reckless.

They had a lot of fun fighting, and had an exciting time, charging the baggage train at the end of the team with sabers in hand.

After draining all the water from the tin bucket on the car, he drove away.

Burke rode his horse to the scene of the attack and looked at the empty broken iron barrel, feeling like crying but unable to shed tears.

"Sir, what should we do now?" asked the officer under him.

"Retreat!" Burke gritted his teeth and said.

It might be a good idea to set up camp on the spot and wait for help, but he knew his superiors would not be able to come back for a while.

In this desert, the most fatal thing is the loss of water; the wounded also need medical treatment; in addition, this bare plain has no strategic location to defend. He once again recalled the fear of being dominated by the Indians who came and went without a trace.

However, this time, the enemy's weapons are no longer axes and shotguns.

More importantly, he no longer wanted to be blamed for his superior's stupid behavior.

Under Burke's order, the rear team became the front team, covered each other, and retreated in the direction they came from.

Wiltord, who was chasing Asuka far away in the "Devil's Valley", did not know that his subordinates had taken the lead and escaped.

He and his cavalry were still moving through the rocks that had been eroded into strange shapes by the wind.

The good news is that Wiltord did not encounter the so-called ambush.

The bad news was that because they moved too cautiously, they lost Asuka and his team.

Moreover, the terrain is so repetitive and there are too many forks in the road.

They got lost.

Even two of the outposts sent out for reconnaissance never returned.

Wiltord and his three or four hundred men gritted their teeth and wandered around in this desolate valley for a day and a night before they finally got out.

Then it took another half a day to figure out where they were.

"Sir, are we still going to Juarez Valley?" The soldiers looked eagerly at Wiltold who was pulling his hair.

Wiltord glanced at the dejected soldiers behind him.

When leaving the valley, he asked his men to count the number of people.

Excluding those who fell behind or got lost, there were more than 30 cavalrymen killed by Asuka and his men along the way, and even more were injured.

With the current morale, what will happen even if we go to Juarez Valley?

The cavalry unit that attacked him was enough to cause him trouble, not to mention that Chen Jianqiu had about a hundred men there.

To die?
"Go back and find Burke and the others!" Wiltord said unwillingly, "I'll remember these bastards. I'll find a chance to deal with them next time!"

However, when Wiltord led his troops back to the place where they had separated from their infantry.

There is no one here.

At first he thought he had remembered the wrong place and walked around in circles until he saw the broken iron barrel, footprints, horse hoof prints and wheel tracks on the ground.

"Sir, he, they may have retreated!" The soldier observed the traces on the ground, stood up, and said cautiously to Wiltod, who was sitting on his horse with a grim face.

The colonel was now furious.

He gritted his teeth:
"Let's go! Return!"

There is no mention of how Wiltord angrily went back to settle accounts with his deputy Burke.

In a house in an Indian town in the Juarez Valley.

Old Marley sat on the ground with his eyes closed and a sad look on his face.

"Has Chen Jianqiu come in?" He opened his eyes and asked his "left shoulder" beside him.

"Uh, no, they just sent people to surround our house and let us out but not in." "Left Shoulder" glanced at Old Marley and said softly.

"Only let people out, not in?" Old Marley's eyebrows were twisted like a knot.

"Well, according to what he meant, those who are willing to surrender can take their families out and will not be harmed in any way." said "Zuo Bang".

Old Marley snorted:
"This trick won't work on us. My people are united. We have been ruled by Geronimo for so many years. Can we swallow this?"

"Zuo Bang" said nothing.

Old Marley opened his eyes, looked around, and asked:

"Where's Passamaquoddy? Why didn't I see him today?"

"Passamaquoddy" is the name of his other capable general, the "right arm" with long hair.

"He, he went out with his wife and children." "Left Shoulder" hesitated for a moment, but still told old Marley the truth.

The old man was so angry that he felt dizzy and was about to fall down.

"Zuo Bang" stepped forward quickly, gave him a hand, and advised:

"Chief, why don't we sit cross-legged in the future? I'm afraid your legs will become numb and you won't be able to stand up."

Old Marley angrily shook off the hand that was supporting him:
"I'm not dead yet. What? Are you planning to surrender to the enemy? Have you forgotten how your uncle died?"

The "left shoulder" spread his hands in injustice:

"Chief, what you said is wrong. We lived well here before. As for my uncle, he was a traitor who colluded with the US military. He deserved his death. After all, we are all Apaches, and we are one family. How can surrendering be called surrendering to the enemy?"

The original intention of his words was just to refer to his uncle, and there was no other meaning.

But the speaker has no intention, and the listener has the intention.

To Old Marley, every word he said was about himself:
"You scum! Traitor! Get out! Get out here!" The old man waved his cane angrily and yelled at the young Apache.

"Just go, you're just waiting to die here alone. It's been a whole day and a whole night, has your American savior come? I'm afraid you've been made a fool of yourself!"

Since the relationship had fallen out, the "left-hand man" didn't give him much face. After saying this, he turned around and walked out of the dark room, heading outside, ready to surrender.

As he walked, he muttered:
"If I hadn't dragged this old bone out of the crowd, I'm afraid Klickitat would have torn it apart long ago."

After "Zuo Bang" left, old Marley was the only one left in the dark room.

For the first time, the chief experienced the feeling of being deserted by his friends and relatives.

He wanted to stand up.

But this time, there was no one around to help him.

His legs were numb.

There was a sudden commotion outside the house, and it seemed as if all of his people had put down their guns and walked out of the house.

Old Marley listened with his ear tilted.

But what he heard finally made the old man feel despair.

The wooden crutch in his hand fell to the ground.

"The Great Chief is not dead yet! He's back!"

(End of this chapter)