America 1881: Legend of the West

Chapter 545 Let’s Starve Them for a Few Days
Geronimo's appearance caused a commotion in the town.

The former Indian God of War rode a horse to Chen Jianqiu's side, followed by Turtle Dove and his wife behind him.

Geronimo's body was wounded and he looked much older.

But he still kept his posture upright and refused Chen Jianqiu who came up to help him.

"My children." Geronimo waved to the gathered Apaches, "I'm sorry for making everyone worry!"

At this time, he was more like a kind elder and spiritual leader than the chief of a tribe.

The tribesmen below looked at the "resurrected" chief, and many of them had tears in their eyes.

They were driven out of their homes, surrounded and suppressed by the US military along the way, and were displaced.

However, they followed the person in front of them from beginning to end.

In the eyes of these Apaches, Geronimo was no longer a simple tribal chief, but a spiritual totem.

"I asked Mr. Chen to direct this play. The purpose is to let some people show their true colors." The chief took the initiative and took over the matter. "I am not accusing them of betrayal. Everyone has their own ambitions, but this should never be done. It is premised on harming fellow citizens.”

Luo Cen and the tribesmen around her remained silent, while the people from the other two tribes looked a little frightened.

"Great Chief, these things need to be addressed by us." Passamaquoddy, the "right-hand man" of Old Malay, raised his head and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Geronimo who laid hands on him.

"This matter is in the past, and I will not pursue it any further, but you must understand that what you do will bring disaster to everyone." He said a little tiredly.

Of course Passamaquoddy knew what Geronimo meant by annihilation.

Once the American troops hooked up by Lao Malai come here, they won't care which tribe you are from.

Wiltord's policy towards the Indians has always been to eradicate them.

Sweat streamed from Passamaquoddy's forehead.

Because he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the direction of the valley entrance.

The Indians present felt as if they were facing a powerful enemy and were preparing to go back to the house to get weapons.

Chen Jianqiu climbed up to the roof in one stride.

He raised his binoculars and looked in the direction of the valley mouth.

"Don't be nervous, everyone is here!"

After seeing the people coming, a smile appeared on Chen Jianqiu's lips. He put down his telescope, jumped off the roof, and said to the nervous Apache people.

Soon, amidst everyone's doubts, a group of people entered the town and approached.

A young Indian, holding an automatic rifle in his hand, dismounted and came to Geronimo and Chen Jianqiu.

"Wiltold and his army should withdraw." Asuka said.

Geronimo stepped forward and gave Asuka a big hug:

"Hey, my good brother, thank you."

He put his arm around Asuka's shoulders, pulled him in front of everyone, and introduced:

"Everyone, it was this hero who repelled the American army that came to destroy us. He is our hero!"

Asuka was a little stunned.

As a shy person, this sudden appreciation made him a little overwhelmed.

He hurriedly looked at Chen Jianqiu who was standing to one side, only to find that the latter was clapping his hands cheerfully.

Seeing Feiniao turn his gaze over, Chen Jianqiu nodded slightly towards him.

The surrounding Apaches were a little confused at first, but when the chief and Chen Jianqiu both clapped, they also clapped.

Everything calmed down.

Klickitat died, and old Marais was banished.

Members of other rebellious tribes were forgiven, and the Indians gathered in the center of the town dispersed and returned to their peaceful lives.

Two days later.

At the altar at the entrance of the town, only Geronimo and Chen Jianqiu were left.

Geronimo was half-kneeling beside the pile of sacrifices made of stones, with his hands flat in front of him, palms facing up, eyes closed, and muttering something in his mouth.

Chen Jianqiu stood aside and watched quietly as the chief completed all the rituals and stood up.

It can be seen that the injuries on his body still have an impact on his actions.

"Are there any cigarettes?" the chief suddenly asked.

"I don't have any cigarettes, but I did bring a few cigars, but Teresa told me that smoking is not conducive to the recovery of injuries."

Although Chen Jianqiu said this, he still took out a cigar from his clothes, cut off the end of the cigar, lit it, and handed it to Geronimo.

Geronimo took the cigar and held it in his mouth.

Chen Jianqiu looked him up and down: "Why do I feel that you have changed?"

"Oh?" Geronimo glanced at Chen Jianqiu, his eyes flashing with the unique cunning of the Indian old man, "How have I changed?"

"You seem to have let go of some things." Chen Jianqiu said bluntly, "You are much more relaxed."

Geronimo smiled:

"Is there a possibility that this is my original appearance?"

He held a cigar in one hand and akimbo with the other, looking into the distance:
"I plan to leave the tribal affairs to Asuka."

"Oh? He is not from the Apache tribe." Chen Jianqiu stood side by side with the chief.

"It doesn't matter, the Apaches respect heroes with outstanding abilities. Asuka is a brave warrior. I knew it when I first met him. There are many people here who came with me. I will stay for a while and gradually Leave it to him."

"When I look at him, it's like I'm seeing a young me." The chief exhaled a puff of smoke and said with emotion, "He is kind-hearted and will lead my people into the future."

"What about you?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"Me? I plan to cross the border and go back to my hometown for a visit." Geronimo turned his head and gave Chen Jianqiu a meaningful look, "I am getting old, and I always want to go home and visit."

"If you want to go, I'm afraid Luo Cen and the others will go with you." Chen Jianqiu lit a cigar for himself, lowered his head and said in a calm tone.

"No, I told them, they have to get used to life without me." Geronimo patted Chen Jianqiu's shoulder, "I'm old, just let me retire and leave it to the young people. Let’s leave it to the young people.”

Chen Jianqiu did not answer immediately.

Two people stood there, each holding a cigar, and they understood each other tacitly.

The chief has long understood that perhaps this is the best destination for his tribe.

After a long time, Chen Jianqiu finally spoke and said slowly:
"Believe me in Asuka, he is a good young man."

Chen Jianqiu left Feiniao and Geronimo to deal with the affairs of the Apache town in Juarez Valley.

According to his plan, Apaches and even other Indians who did not want to be oppressed would come here later.

"You were a chief and you are a chief, a true Indian chief."

When they parted, Chen Jianqiu said this to Feiniao.

He and Abiote returned to Juarez with their troops.

"Boss, what about Wiltord and his border guards? I think they took the initiative to provoke me this time. Even though they suffered a loss, they won't give up."

Abiote spoke to Chen Jianqiu in his office at Juarez City Hall.

Chen Jianqiu was checking the summary of his factory's import and export trade at the Port of Juarez. When he heard what Abiot said, he raised his head:

"Sylvain? Who is he?"

After the Civil War, especially after the disappearance of large-scale Indian resistance, the status of the United States Army deteriorated.

In the past few decades, economic development has been the main theme, and America's best talents have gone into business, making money, and development and construction.

They exploited and consumed the natural resources of the West, such as mines, forests, land and rivers, at the fastest rate.

Join the army? What kind of army?

Moreover, since there are no votes in the regular army, politicians do not think of this group. Members of Congress have repeatedly proposed to continue to reduce the military and cut military spending on the army.

If it was ten years ago, when Crook was around, Chen Jianqiu would still have taken a look at him; but now this Wiltord is not even qualified to be his opponent.

Abiot waited quietly for Chen Jianqiu's order.

Chen Jianqiu continued to lower his head and look through the report.

"I have a way to deal with them." He said without even looking up, "These people can't recognize their place after they are full. Let's starve them for a few days first, and then we can talk about the rest."

After Wiltord returned to his barracks, he had a big quarrel with Burke.

He accused the latter of always holding him back.

If Burke had not returned with his infantry in advance, the outcome of the battle would have been uncertain, and Geronimo's body might have been on the way to Washington as a trophy.

Burke never had any objections to his superiors before. Even if he disagreed, he would choose to execute and obey first.

But this time, he did not indulge the stupid officer in front of him.

"As for the countless casualties caused by the cross-border attack, please go and explain to the Army Headquarters and the families of the casualties." Burke said coldly.

Wiltord was choked and couldn't say a word.

He knew that Burke was right.

If we win, we can also send a telegram to the Army Headquarters to ask for their support.

Now that he has lost the fight, not only is he in the wrong, but those bosses at the headquarters might just beat him up first.

Thortod was frustrated.

He had nothing else to do except locking himself in the command room of the fortress all day long to study how to target Chen Jianqiu.

At noon that day, Wiltord was fantasizing about the map hanging on the wall in the room.

Suddenly, he heard a loud noise outside, as if someone was arguing in the military camp.

This made the colonel very irritated.

He threw away the pen in his hand, opened the door of his room, and stood at the door with his hands on his hips.

He saw that in the center of the military camp, at the small shed where meals were usually distributed, a group of excited soldiers were gathered around the shed.

They waved their fists and seemed to be saying something.

Wiltord walked over with a frown:

"What's going on? So noisy?"

Behind the crowd, the colonel asked in a deep voice, his hands behind his back.

When the soldiers noticed their commander was coming, they all shut up.

A path separated them.

With his hands behind his back, Wiltord slowly walked in along the path that the soldiers had made way for.

His leather boots squeaked on the ground, and he looked left and right at the soldiers as he walked.

Wiltord found that these soldiers were also looking at him expressionlessly.

He walked to the front of the shed and found that the quartermaster who was in charge of distributing food was looking at him nervously.

"What happened?" asked the colonel.

Before the quartermaster could speak, a soldier next to him answered for him:

"Sir, we only eat twice a day, but now our lunch rations are cut. We used to have two pieces of bread, but now we only have one piece, and it's smaller than before. How can we live like this?"

The soldier angrily threw the piece of bread in his hand, which was less than half the size of his palm, onto the wooden table.

When Wiltord saw this, he was immediately furious.

He slammed the table so hard that the quartermaster was startled.

"What on earth is going on?" the colonel shouted, "Why is there a case of rations being withheld in my troops?"

His troops were owed some military pay, but it was not to the extent that even the soldiers' rations were deducted.

Someone must have embezzled money.
Wiltord's anger reached its peak in an instant.

He pulled out the revolver from his waist and pointed it at the quartermaster: "Tell me quickly, what's going on? Who gave you the courage to tamper with the rations?"

The quartermaster was so frightened that he nearly peed his pants.

"Sir, it's really not me who did it. It was the quartermaster who told me to do it."

"Where are the others?" Wiltold asked persistently.

"It's over at the warehouse." The quartermaster soldier did not dare to delay at all and answered quickly.

Wiltord ignored the soldiers around him and walked quickly towards the warehouse with his revolver in hand.

The door of the warehouse was ajar.

The colonel pushed the door open and found the quartermaster inside, counting the supplies with a sad face.

Seeing the colonel push the door open, he immediately stood up and saluted Wiltord.

"Sir, how did you get here?" The quartermaster glanced at the revolver in the colonel's hand and felt a little nervous for no reason.

"Jackson, I need an explanation!" Wiltord asked coldly, his finger hovering near the trigger of the revolver, "Why reduce the soldiers' rations?"

Upon hearing what his superior said, the quartermaster's face became even more bitter.

He pointed to a corner of the warehouse where a handful of bags of flour were piled.

"Sir, all our supplies are here. If we don't save them, we won't be able to hold out for a few days." He shrugged.

Wiltord's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

The quartermaster didn't say that he hadn't noticed that the warehouse, which was originally full, had become empty at some point.

"If you don't have it, just go to the nearest train station to transport it! Don't they regularly ship flour and other supplies there?" the colonel asked. "Just go through the military district to get the money!"

"The team that went to transport the food just came back yesterday." The quartermaster pointed to the empty flatbed trucks outside the warehouse and said, "The station is closed and the trains don't stop there anymore."

He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Wiltord.

The colonel opened it and took a look.

This is a notice posted on the wall of the station:

Due to route planning adjustments, this site will be closed. I wish you a happy life.

The signature is "Santa Fe Railway Company".

Are all railway companies so capricious nowadays?
The colonel wanted to tear the paper to pieces.

Their military camp is located on the border, and all supplies rely on the nearest train station. This would mean the end of his life.

"Did the military district say what to do?"

As soon as Wiltord asked this question, he felt so stupid.

The train station was closed, and naturally the telegraph station was closed as well. Where could I contact the Arizona Military District?

"I have an idea." The quartermaster suddenly remembered something.

"You said."

The colonel was a little irritated.

"We can go to the nearest town and buy it ourselves. Although it's far, it's better than starving to death here." said the quartermaster.

Wiltord's teeth began to hurt.

Because the nearest town is called Roswell.

(End of this chapter)