America 1881: Legend of the West

Chapter 564: Queen of England
Everyone present, including Camilla and the Longxiang group, were stunned.

They had never heard Chen Jianqiu speak Hakka and felt a little strange.

And these words shocked Lai Hua and Luo Xiangrong even more.

Lai Hua's attitude has obviously improved a lot.

He himself was not a Taiping soldier.

When Prince Li Shixian and Prince Kang Wang Haiyang were officially active in eastern Guangdong, it was already the end of the Taiping Army. At this time, Tianjing (Nanjing) had been destroyed and there was no leader.

Lai Hua's Hakka family raised a banner to revolt in response to the Taiping Army, but they never thought that the Taiping Army would fall apart before they could reach them.

The Prince Shi and Prince Kang had internal strife, and were dealt with one by one by Zuo Zongtang.

The flag was carried, but the heavenly host did not come.

The local landowners and Hakkas did not deal with them at first and kept fighting. Taking this opportunity, they even organized group training and joint officers and soldiers to fight.

The Hakka uprising was quickly suppressed.

Lai Hua also had to flee overseas with his tribe and came to Cuba to become a piglet.

It was here that he met many remnants of the Taiping Army, such as Luo Xiangrong's father.

Growing sugar cane is considered a side job for this group of people, and rebellion is their main occupation. So when Marty, one of the leaders of the Cuban rebel army, found him, Lai Hua and the Chinese workers around him decisively started their old occupation.

"Who are you, King of England?"

Lai Hua took a deep breath, looked at Chen Jianqiu and asked.

"He is my father." Chen Jianqiu replied, "My original name is Chen Changluo. When Tianjing City was destroyed, my father's old men fought desperately to escort him out of the city, and then lived in the southwest. Fortunately, I was protected by an old man from the Tiandihui and became my disciple."

"Unfortunately, my master was killed by my senior brother, and I narrowly escaped death and came to the United States."

Chen Jianqiu connected the fragments of his memories and told them in a eloquent way, which convinced Lai Hua.

He has experienced so many things that he can distinguish what is true and what is false.

Lai Hua's reaction was okay, but some people couldn't hold it any longer.

A cry suddenly came from behind Lai Hua.

"Oh~ The King of England died miserably! He was chopped to death with one knife after another. He didn't even say a soft word until his death."

Chen Jianqiu was taken aback.

He wondered which Taiping Army veteran he thought was over 60 years old, but found that it was Luo Xiangrong.

The man turned his back to the sky and cried bitterly. He seemed to be in a lot of pain in his heart.

Chen Jianqiu was a little ashamed.

Although King Chen Yucheng of England was his father in this body, although he inherited memories and some feelings, it was not at the level of deep affection between father and son.

But Luo Xiangrong behaved as if the King of England was his biological father.

Moreover, this burst of emotion is so intense that it doesn’t look like a fake.

"Well, sir, I don't know why you are so sad. Do you also have an old relationship with my father?" Chen Jianqiu coughed and asked.

It was okay if Chen Jianqiu didn't ask. When asked, Luo Xiangrong immediately wiped away his tears and snot with his sleeve, walked up to Chen Jianqiu and cupped his fists and raised his hands:
"The King of England saved my father's life."

He sniffed his nose and told the whole story.

Luo Xiangrong's father was originally one of the first batch of Hakka veterans to come out of Guangxi. He rose from officer to soldier commander. When breaking through the Jiangbei camp, he failed to arrive at the attack site on time due to a misjudgment.

Logically speaking, he should be executed according to military orders, but Chen Yucheng thought that because he was from Guangxi, he fought bravely, saved Luo Xiangrong's father's life on the execution platform, and stayed with him.

The Taiping Army fought all the way from Jintian to the Yangtze River. The elite Hakkas who came out of Guangxi were basically dead. The King of England really couldn't bear to kill these loyal veterans of hundreds of battles again.

Later, Chen Yucheng moved to Shouzhou, planning to unite with Miao Peilin, the king of memorial in Shouzhou City, to kill in Henan.

The King of England did not listen to the dissuasion of his subordinates and left the guards, including Zhang Danian and Luo Xiangrong's father, outside the city. He entered the city alone. Unexpectedly, the King of England rebelled, detained the Queen of England and transferred her to the Qing army. She was eventually arrested in Yanjin, Henan Province. .

"Your father knows Zhang Danian?" Chen Jianqiu asked with a thought, "He is at my place now."

"I have never met him, but I heard my father mention it." Luo Xiangrong said, "Since I can remember, my father has been telling me about the King of England. Whenever he felt sad and angry, he would clench his hands into fists and burst into tears. .”

He looked at Chen Jianqiu, his eyes becoming firmer:

"Young Master, our family was born as members of the Taiping Army and died as members of the Taiping Army. Even after my father dies, I will still do my best for you."

Chen Jianqiu glanced at Luo Xiangrong.

He was in no hurry to express his opinion.

Since coming through time travel, many former Taiping troops and descendants scattered in the Americas often respect him as their master due to his identity in this body.

But the Taiping Army has long been a thing of the past. This group of people originally came for them mainly because of the charisma of the King of England.

He has always adhered to the principle of strong dragons not overpowering local snakes.

That was true in Chile and now it is true in Cuba.

Chen Jianqiu observed Lai Hua's expression.

The old man had a calm expression on his face, showing no particular displeasure and no intention of getting too close to him.

"The Taiping Army has passed, and you are now a soldier fighting for the freedom of the Chinese in Cuba." Chen Jianqiu patted Luo Xiangrong on the shoulder, "Under the leadership of General Lai."

He looked around: "Not only you, but me too."

"Over the years, I have been working hard to improve the living conditions of Chinese overseas."

"But the power of an individual is always weak and limited, and the honor and disgrace of an individual is always closely related to the entire ethnic group."

"We don't have the backing of a strong ZG, but that doesn't mean we are weak and can be bullied. It doesn't mean that we as a race are worse than others. As long as we unite and work hard for a goal, we will still have a future."

"New Mexico proved it, Juarez proved it, Oklahoma proved it, Hawaii proved it! Chile proved it too!"

Chen Jianqiu's words made Lai Hua fall into deep thought.

He initially led the Chinese workers in the sugar cane plantations to join Cuba's independence movement. He really didn't think too much about it simply because he and the Chinese workers had no way to survive under the Spanish colonization.

But what happens after independence is successful? What if the new Cuban government is just like the previous Spaniards?
He hadn't even thought about it.

Chen Jianqiu seemed to see what he was thinking.

"General Lai, believe me, you have the capital. Currently, the rebel army has a total of five to six thousand people, and there are more than a thousand Chinese soldiers. You have hundreds of people here, and Captain Hood also has hundreds of people."

"If the capital is not enough, I am here to buy it for you."

He pointed to the carriages filled with ammunition and flour behind him:

"These are just the beginning."

"There is no problem with Cuba's unanimous goal of independence, but this does not mean that the Chinese only deserve to sit in the audience."

Lai Hua was not stupid and had extremely rich experience. He quickly understood what Chen Jianqiu meant.

In troubled times, whoever has the bigger fist has the final say.

He had made up his mind.

Chen Jianqiu found the answer in his eyes.

He waved at the Longxiong soldiers and Santos behind him:

"Everyone, unload the flour and potatoes from the car and get some food for everyone first!"

"Yes! Brothers! Let's eat!" Lai Hua clapped his hands.

The Chinese volunteers in the camp quickly cooperated to move the supplies on the vehicles into the camp.

Except for the rotten potatoes, the rest was a timely help. After wandering in the wild for so long, they could only catch wild game to fill their stomachs. The soldiers were so hungry that their faces were pale and their eyes were almost green.

So those in the team who can cook have already started preparing dinner.

They baked bread in a large black iron pan found in the ruins, and then distributed the bread to the hungry soldiers, one bread for each person to eat, and three breads as dry food.

"Eat quickly. After you finish eating, you will be given guns. My people will teach you how to use guns."

Chen Jianqiu and Lai Hua walked side by side, holding a piece of bread in their hands. While chewing on it, they spoke to the soldiers who were also chewing on the same bread.

When they passed by the "cooking team" that was still making pancakes, the pot was steaming and the firewood underneath was burning brightly.

"Shouldn't we light a fire here?" Luo Xiangrong suddenly said from behind, "Although there are trees ahead, it's too easy to expose our target."

"Well, don't worry." Chen Jianqiu swallowed a bite of biscuit, then took a sip of water, and said slowly, "The location here has been exposed a long time ago, otherwise how would we find this place."

Lai Hua and Luo Xiangrong looked at each other:

"How did they know?"

"It's possible that your spy in the San Diego pharmacy was caught, or it's possible that their scouts found out something." Chen Jianqiu looked back at the soldiers who were still eating their cakes, "Plus, I took care of another group of their soldiers when I came out, so I guess the enemy is on the way."

"Then I'll let them prepare for battle immediately!" Luo Xiangrong said as he was about to give the order, but was quickly stopped by Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu waved his hand:
"Don't worry. Just select eighty veterans with strong combat capabilities and follow me with guns. The others can move to a safer place at the foot of the mountain in the north to rest."

After saying that, he looked at Lai Hua again and asked:

"General Lai, what do you think?"

Lai Hua nodded:

"I'll let He Jianshun take his men with you. His soldiers have always been the vanguard and are very experienced."

The old man said.

He Jianshun was another extremely capable general under Lai Hua besides Luo Xiangrong. He was always the first to rush into battle and was extremely brave.

The most important thing is that he was brought up by Lai Hua.

Unlike Luo Xiangrong, his attitude towards the man in front of him was much calmer.

He is not a person who trusts others easily.

Just by being able to speak a few words of Hakka and claiming to be the son of the King of England, it is not enough to convince him.

This thing is too magical.

Lai Hua judged that Chen Jianqiu was unlikely to be a Spanish spy.

His son had already told him the whole story in detail.

But it is unknown whether his plan is feasible or whether he has any other purposes.

Besides, what if?

He had no doubt about Luo Xiangrong's loyalty, but this kid had been fooled by Chen Jianqiu and there were some things he couldn't say.

If something really goes wrong, it will undoubtedly cause considerable losses.

"Luo Xiangrong should lead the remaining soldiers. He has always been my deputy, so he is more suitable." Lai Hua tried his best to make his reasons sound more reasonable.

Luo Xiangrong opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but Lai Hua glared back at him.

Unexpectedly, Chen Jianqiu didn't care at all.

"no problem."

"What a big head!" Lai Hua turned around and yelled at the soldiers who were eating bread.

A strong man suddenly stood up from the crowd.

He was very tall among southerners. He was only wearing a sleeveless cloth jacket and his muscles were strong and muscular.

The sturdy man held half a piece of cake in his mouth. He patted the dust off his butt, tightened his belt, and ran quickly to Chen Jianqiu and Lai Hua.

"Take your 80 men and follow Mr. Chen. Remember, follow his command!" Lai Hua gave an order to He Jianshun.

He Jianshun didn't hesitate at all.

He stuffed the remaining half of the cake into his clothes, turned around and shouted to the group of soldiers behind him:

"You bastards, stop eating and pack up quickly to get ready to go!"

The soldiers who heard the order stood up in unison and lined up in front of Chen Jianqiu with their weapons.

The soldiers quickly lined up on the beach.

Although many of them were dressed in rags and holding a variety of weapons, they were in good spirits and seemed to have undergone considerable training.

Chen Jianqiu nodded slightly.

The combat effectiveness of such troops should not be too weak, at least they will obey orders.

This was already very difficult in the rebel army.

"Follow me and line up to get weapons." Chen Jianqiu led them to the carriage.

Each of these men received a bolt-action rifle and thirty rounds of rifle ammunition, as well as two grenades.

Chen Jianqiu and He Jianshun discussed it and divided the eighty people into four small teams. The soldiers of the Longxiong group were also broken up and joined the small teams to cooperate with them.

The soldiers of the Longxiong Group were also carefully selected, and most of them were Hakkas, so there were not many obstacles to communication.

"On the way, my people will simply teach you how to use these guns!" Chen Jianqiu said to them.

He Jianshun's volunteer soldiers indeed have strong execution capabilities.

They quickly organized their team, lined up on the beach, and were ready to set off at any time.

Chen Jianqiu checked his equipment.

Two gold revolvers, a "BAR" in his hands and a bolt-action rifle on his back.

He turned and looked at Camilla again.

The woman took out a long package from the carriage and put it on her back. She was wearing a dark red skirt and smiled at him, just like when they first met.

Chen Jianqiu turned his head and nodded at He Jianshun.

"Let's go!" He Jianshun cleared his throat and gave the order.

The mixed team quickly walked out of the village camp.

"Uncle Lai, are we going to move as well?"

Luo Xiangrong looked at the backs of Chen Jianqiu and the others as they left, feeling somewhat unwilling.

He didn't know what Lai Hua was thinking today.

Normally he is the one who does this kind of thing.

"Hmm." Lai Hua finally started to eat the cake, and the crumbs stuck to his beard.

"Brothers, pack up and get ready to go to the mountain." Luo Xiangrong had just said half of his words when he was stopped by Lai Hua.

"You lead the large force and keep some distance from them. If any problems arise, provide support immediately," Lai Hua said.

Of course, his support has multiple meanings.

Of course, the old man really hoped that what Chen Jianqiu said was true, just like the Taiping Army soldiers he knew, and that they were his friends and comrades-in-arms.

(End of this chapter)