North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 135 Bear the consequences!

"Dong dong dong...!"

"Beep beep beep...!"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...!"

To the rhythm of military drums, bugles, and Scottish Highland bagpipes, more than three thousand regular soldiers of the United States Army, marching in orderly steps, appeared in the distance within the sight of Zuo Zongtang, Shi Dakai, and others.

"They really are after us!"

Zuo Zongtang, Shi Dakai, and others clearly saw the enemy's formation through their binoculars.

Both Zuo Zongtang and Shi Dakai were facing such a battle formation for the first time.

Shi Dakai had organized at least hundreds or thousands of peasants to fight against local tyrants and smash statues of gods.

As for Zuo Zongtang, he had never even experienced a similar situation before.

Therefore, when facing a real war, both of them were inevitably a little nervous, but more than that, they were filled with irrepressible excitement and exhilaration.

In their sight, the imposing American regular army suddenly stopped two thousand yards away.

"What are these foreign devils up to?"

Shi Dakai couldn't help but whisper.

"Don't rush. Even if they're going to fight, they'll need a reason. They won't just charge in and start a chaotic massacre!"

Zuo Zongtang was considerably older, more educated, and more composed.

Sure enough, a moment later, three riders carrying white flags slowly approached from the opposite camp.

The three riders, holding a white flag, finally stopped about a hundred yards from the trench.

The man in the lead was none other than Major Campbell from the Southwest Command!
Major Campbell roared, "Who's in charge here? We're from the Southwest Command of the United States Army. Get the leader out here and let him speak!"

Upon hearing this, Zuo Zongtang was about to get up from the trench when Shi Dakai grabbed him and pressed him down.

"Mr. Zuo, you don't know kung fu, be careful they don't try anything funny, I'll go instead...!"

After saying that, Shi Dakai, accompanied by two militia members fluent in English, emerged from the trench and walked unhurriedly to the three riders opposite him.

Shi Dakai said in a deep voice, "I don't care who you are, this is the private territory of Huamei Industrial Company, and you have no right to trespass!"

The militiamen nearby translated this sentence into English.

Major Campbell surveyed the heavily guarded model village not far away and the trench a hundred yards away before finally fixing his gaze on Shi Dakai in front of him.

“I’ll say it again, we are troops from the Southwest Command of the United States Army, and we suspect that these villages are harboring criminals who killed U.S. Army soldiers!”

"We demand—no…not demand, but we demand—that all villages be entered and every suspected criminal searched!"

"If you dare to refuse, you will bear all the consequences!"

The militiamen translated these words in full for Shi Dakai.

"A criminal?" Shi Dakai's thick eyebrows and large eyes suddenly flashed with a terrifying light.

"Our model villages have been established for no more than three or four months at most, and for the shortest only one or two months!"

“In our village, there are only farmers who clear land for farming, and no criminals!”

"I would like to reiterate that the land beneath your feet is entirely the private property of Huamei Industrial Company. Your unauthorized trespassing has infringed upon our company's legitimate rights!"

"If you dare to force your way in, we will exercise our legal right to self-defense, and you will bear all the consequences!"

Shi Dakai was extremely firm and completely resisted, leaving no room for negotiation.

Major Campbell looked down at them condescendingly: "Damn Chinamen, do you dare obstruct the U.S. Army from arresting criminals?"

"I'll say it again! There are no criminals in our village! If you have any evidence that we are harboring criminals, then produce it immediately."

"If you can't produce it, then go back to where you came from!"

“Evidence…!” Campbell sneered. “The U.S. Army doesn’t need any evidence to arrest criminals.”

Shi Dakai replied, "To dare to barge in without any evidence, I truly admire the recklessness and courage of your American Army!"

"If you dare to trespass, you will all be considered intruders and will be killed without exception!!!"

"Hmm...?" Major Campbell's tone grew even colder: "Kill without mercy? Against the United States Army...!"

Shi Dakai interrupted him without hesitation: "I don't care if you're American or stupid, if you want to fight, then come on, otherwise get out of here!!!"

"Alright, alright!" Campbell, seeing that the negotiation was going nowhere, simply turned his horse around and left.

At that moment, an ordinary-looking cavalryman standing next to Campbell suddenly drew his Colt revolver from his waist with lightning speed!

"Sergeant Cohen, stop...!"

Campbell caught a glimpse of Sergeant Cohen's actions and was instantly startled, quickly calling out to stop him!
Unfortunately, it's too late!
This unassuming Sergeant Cohen was the guard assigned to him by George Phillips.

Who would have thought that this unassuming guard would move with such frightening speed!
Drawing the gun, loading it, raising it, aiming... all done in one smooth motion!
Major Campbell could absolutely guarantee that he had never seen anyone draw a gun so incredibly fast!
But he was fast, and someone was faster than him!

Just as Sergeant Cohen raised his shoulder, intending to draw his gun, Shi Dakai, who was already on high alert, did not hesitate and swung his hand away forcefully!
"call out……!"

"what……!"

A cold glint flashed, followed by a scream!
"Clap!"

Sergeant Cohen, who had just drawn his gun and raised it to aim, instantly dropped his Colt revolver to the ground!
And on the back of his right hand, there was a small, gleaming knife more than three inches long!

The knife was small, but it was powerful and heavy, piercing right through Sergeant Cohen's palm!

A gun is fast from seven paces away; a knife is accurate and fast from seven paces away!

"Tick-tock, tick-tock...!"

Fresh blood dripped down the knife!

"Sergeant Cohen, you, you...!"

Sergeant Cohen didn't even glance at Major Campbell. With his left hand covering his injured right hand, he thrust his riding boot and spur into the horse's belly without hesitation and galloped away.

"Still want to run?"

Shi Dakai drew his Colt revolver from his waist and fired a shot at Sergeant Cohen's back.

"boom……!"

After the shot rang out, Sergeant Cohen did not fall from his horse as expected. Instead, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he hid in the stirrup and narrowly escaped the shot!
"Huh……!"

Shi Dakai, who thought he had a sure hit, missed with his first shot. He was about to fire again when Sergeant "Cohen" escaped from his range.

“Gurgle…!”

Major Campbell, who witnessed all of this, was so overwhelmed by the sheer number of things that happened in that instant that he didn't even have time to understand what was going on!

Major Campbell only came to his senses after seeing that Sergeant Cohen had already fled far away.

He looked at Shi Dakai in horror: "It has nothing to do with me, I was just ordered to negotiate...!"

Shi Dakai also noticed the unusual behavior of Sergeant "Cohen" but did not make things difficult for Major Campbell. He simply growled in a low voice, "Get out!"

Major Campbell dared not linger any longer, and quickly spurred his horse and rode off at full speed.

Shi Dakai, accompanied by two militiamen, returned to the trench and was met with Zuo Zongtang's concerned gaze: "Brother Shi, are you alright?"

"It's nothing!" Shi Dakai grinned. "Someone on the other side is trying to cheat. Such a petty trick, yet they dare to show it off!"

If Shi Dakai hadn't personally intervened, anyone else would probably have been shot dead by that "Cohen" sergeant.

Zuo Zongtang took everything in, and said in a deep voice, "Judging from the soldier who suddenly launched the attack, he is very skilled and must not be an ordinary person."

“Indeed!” Shi Dakai nodded in agreement: “That guy’s horsemanship is even better than mine, and his movements are only slightly slower than mine.”

As he spoke, an identical small knife appeared in Shi Dakai's left hand, which he played with between his fingertips.

Zuo Zongtang continued, "The problem is that in war, envoys are not to be killed! This has been the case throughout history and across the world! Why did that soldier suddenly start a fight? I think the leading officer doesn't seem to be on his side."

"That's really strange!"

Now was not the time to ponder this matter. The two raised their binoculars again and began observing the movements two thousand yards away.

When Campbell rode back to his own camp, he saw Brigadier General George Phillips and Chief of Staff Walton and others standing on a small hill, observing the situation on the other side with binoculars.

"Colonel, where is that damned Sergeant 'Cohen'?"

Campbell dared not question the general directly, so he lowered his voice and asked Walton.

Walton lowered his binoculars and asked in surprise, "What Sergeant Cohen?" "That...that guard the general assigned to me!" Campbell said fiercely, "That damned guy, while we were negotiating, he suddenly drew his gun and tried to shoot the other leader...that guy almost killed us!"

In fact, everything that just happened was clearly seen through the binoculars by Brigadier General George Phillips, Chief of Staff Walton, and others.

They were too far away to figure out what had happened.

“Sergeant Cohen…!” Colonel Walton’s expression immediately turned amused.

Brigadier General George Phillips also lowered his binoculars and asked, "Major Campbell, that's what I was just about to ask you, where is Sergeant Cohen?"

"This... he was injured in the hand, he ran ahead of us, and disappeared in the blink of an eye!"

Major Campbell could only report the facts.

“Hmm?” Brigadier General George Phillips raised his eyebrows: “Who could possibly make him… Never mind, just a sergeant, ignore him.”

As he spoke, Brigadier General George Phillips raised his binoculars again and said, "Major Campbell, quickly report the results of your negotiations."

So Campbell recounted his conversation with Shi Dakai almost verbatim, not daring to make a single mistake, for fear that if he did, the blame for the misinformation and the resulting war would fall squarely on his head.

After listening to the report, Brigadier General George Phillips showed no anger, but said in a deep voice, "Major, you observed them up close. What do you think of their combat capabilities?"

Major Campbell glanced at Colonel Wharton before saying, "They seem to have been prepared all along; they don't look like they were caught off guard at all!"

"Moreover, they didn't seem like farmers who had just picked up guns! Especially the Chinese guy who negotiated with me, he was so fast, my eyes couldn't even keep up with his movements...!"

"Too fast? How fast? Faster than Sergeant Cohen?" Brigadier General George Phillips pressed.

"Yes!" Major Campbell answered truthfully, "Sergeant Cohen clearly drew his gun first, but the Chinese guy's knife was faster than Sergeant Cohen's gun! So, the one who was injured could only be Sergeant Cohen."

Upon hearing this, Brigadier General George Phillips wore a serious expression for the first time.

Of everyone present, only he knew the true identity of the so-called "Sergeant Cohen"!

That's right!

Sergeant "Cohen" was none other than Captain Nicholson!
While Captain Nicholson's identity may very well be fake, his status as one of the Thirteen Hidden Knights of the Solomon Temple is absolutely undeniable!

As the most secretive and powerful Hidden Knight in the entire Freemasonry, Captain Nicholson's strength is beyond question. He was a top expert who emerged from countless people after a long and brutal training.

But how could such a top-notch expert be defeated by a farmer who had just picked up a gun?

Moreover, this farmer was actually a seemingly weak and dull-witted Chinese man, which made Brigadier General George Phillips unable to believe it.
But the facts were right in front of him, leaving him no choice but to believe them!
But Brigadier General George Phillips's immediate concern was not whether Captain Nicholson was injured, but something far more pressing.

"Major Campbell, based on your close observation, those damned Chinese were really prepared all along?"

Major Campbell nodded without hesitation: "Yes! Neither those high walls nor those trenches could be built or dug in a short time."

"Furthermore, those Chinese guys showed absolutely no panic or fear when facing us, the regular American troops."

"This is enough to show that they are prepared to go to war with us, both in terms of fortifications and psychologically."

Brigadier General George Phillips' eyebrows furrowed: "We only entered California the day before yesterday, and only informed you of the destination of this operation the night before last. We only started marching on these villages this morning. How could they have been prepared?"

“Could it be…!” Brigadier General George Phillips recalled that when Captain Nicholson suddenly approached him last night, he had warned that there was a very likely spy planted in his headquarters by that damned Chinese man.

Last night, Brigadier General George Phillips simply couldn't believe it!

Until he saw these model villages that had been prepared in advance, he had no choice but to believe it!

If there weren't enemy spies in his own headquarters, how could the purpose of his operation have been exposed in advance?

Prior to the night before last, only Captain Nicholson knew that these model villages were the destination of this operation.

I couldn't have leaked the secret, and Captain Nicholson couldn't have either, so where did the problem lie?

wrong!

There was another person who knew the specific target of this operation, and that was that old man, De Sandis!
Rather than believe that there were spies in his headquarters, the brigadier general preferred to believe that the problem lay with that old man, de Sandis.

However, the die is cast and the arrow is already on the bowstring; there is no turning back!

Even if these villages were prepared, so what? On this plain with no natural defenses, could they stop the advance of the American army?

I used the binoculars to carefully observe the village two thousand yards away once more.

Brigadier General George Phillips finally gave the order.

"Order: The 16th Infantry Regiment shall deploy on the spot and launch a frontal attack on the village opposite."

"Order, Arizona Independent Artillery Battalion, to conduct a ten-minute bombardment before the infantry begin their attack, targeting those damn trenches."

"Order: 2nd Independent Cavalry Battalion of Arizona, deploy to the left; 3rd Independent Cavalry Battalion of Arizona, deploy to the right. Cut off any possible reinforcement routes from other villages, and prevent those damned Chinese from escaping."

"Order: 18th Infantry Regiment, deploy into a defensive formation behind our rear to protect the artillery battalion and our rear!"

"Order: The 2nd Independent Cavalry Battalion of New Mexico, as a reserve force, is ready to support all directions at any time."

"Yes Sir!"

Upon receiving the order, all officers immediately sprang into action, each leading their respective troops and deploying into battle formation.

Colonel Walton, however, never put down his binoculars, keeping his gaze fixed on the two villages further away.

The nearest village is two thousand yards away.

The two more distant villages are about four thousand yards apart.

A distance of four thousand yards far exceeds the artillery range of that era, and even more so the engagement range of infantry and cavalry.

However, Colonel Walton's worried expression did not diminish in the slightest.

But he didn't say anything; he simply silently planted two red flags on the sand table.

A little over fifteen minutes later, the various units had already deployed their formations.

"Dong dong dong...!"

"Beep beep beep...!"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...!"

The rhythmic drumbeats, bugle calls, and the sounds of Scottish Highland bagpipes rang out once more.

Guided by the military flags, the troops marched in orderly steps toward their respective positions.

In particular, the 16th Regiment, which was launching a frontal attack on Model Village, had a force of more than 1,000 men. They were divided into three waves and, in skirmish formation, kept approaching the frontal battlefield, which was several hundred meters wide.

"Boom, boom, boom...!"

Behind them, the artillery battalion began to roar!
One after another, dark shells ripped through the tranquility of the sky, whistling as they crashed into the trenches where the militiamen were positioned.

“Bang, bang, bang…!”

Shells exploded around the trench, sending up clouds of earth, rocks, and sand that rained down on the militiamen inside.

However, these solid shells might still be quite effective against densely packed line infantry formations.

However, its lethality against the militia in the trenches was extremely limited.

Not only is its lethality poor, but its accuracy is also poor!

Zuo Zongtang and Shi Dakai, in their specially fortified command post in the trenches, watched the approaching American infantry through binoculars.

The two had specifically studied the recent battle at Elephant Mountain, and although the current situation was slightly different, it was similar.

"Do you think these foreign devils will learn anything after suffering a loss!"

Zuo Zongtang put down his binoculars and sneered, "Now it seems, it's nothing special!"

Shi Dakai continued, "They changed their line infantry tactics to skirmish tactics, and that's the only improvement they've made!"

"But they were still using old-fashioned smoothbore guns, which had very limited firing range and accuracy."

"If they are line infantry, they can rely on the advantage of concentrated fire to kill the enemy."

"Now, this kind of mixed-race skirmish tactic is even less effective at utilizing the power of their rifles."

At this point, Shi Dakai put down his binoculars and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Zuo, they have entered our 500-yard firing range. Should we open fire?"

"Not urgent!"

Zuo Zongtang calmly replied, "Their rifles can only fire at a distance of no more than two hundred yards. Once they get closer, our accuracy will be even higher!"

"Dong dong dong...!"

The drumbeats accompanied the footsteps, along with the roar of cannons... The real war had finally begun!

(End of this chapter)