Despite the tacit and implicit support of the Mexican government, Pershing and his more than 20,000 officers and men of the U.S. Expeditionary Force did not receive courtesy from the Mexican people when they entered Mexico, to quote Pershing himself at the March 11 Expeditionary Force Command Operations Meeting:

"Angelic plan, shit road!"

Since Zapata's forces were located in southern Mexico, the U.S. forces had been divided into two routes since the beginning of the invasion, one route entering Mexico along the common border between the United States and Mexico, and then advancing south along the land route, one way landing at Puerto Veracruz in southeastern Mexico with the assistance of the navy, and then advancing to the base of the peasant army in Zapata.

The reason why the US side made such a deployment was ostensibly to "flank the Zapatista peasant army" on both sides, but its real intention was to "kill two birds with one stone", that is, to solve the two major local Mexican forces that had long plagued the US government through this expedition -- Zapatista was only one of them, and the other was the "Villa bandits" entrenched in northern Mexico and often harassing and attacking the US border.

Europeans may not know about Pancho Villa, but the name is well-known in Mexico and the United States! Pancho Villa, formerly known as Doroteo Arango, was born into a debt serf and supported Carranza in 1910 in a peasant uprising in Chihuahua, Mexico, before turning against Carranza along with Zapata when the Carranza government refused to meet the demands of the peasants. During the Mexican Civil War, the U.S. government announced its recognition of the Carranza regime and allowed Carranza's army to use the American railroad to mobilize troops to suppress the peasant rebellion, an act of open interference in Mexican's internal affairs that angered Mexicans and planted the seeds of hatred in the heart of the leader of the peasant army.

Since then, the Villa rebel army, based in Chihuahua, has from time to time attacked American targets in Mexico, and sometimes crossed the border into American territory on dozens of kilometers of mountain roads, which once caused panic among the residents of New Mexico and Texas in the United States, and residents living near the Mexican border have used "Villa" as a synonym for demons and murderers, and children will stop crying when they hear it.

In this way, the Pershing Land Expeditionary Force used 25,000 troops to encircle and suppress the two major "bandits" in the north and south of Mexico at the same time. Although the US ** team has a certain advantage in equipment, training, and numbers, in the nearly a month since it entered Mexico, the contact between Pershing's two groups of men and horses and the "bandits" has only been a small exchange of fire, and the initiative has always been in the hands of the elusive Mexican guerrillas.

Unable to find the "bandit leaders" and the main forces of the "bandits", but constantly receiving reports of troops being attacked and losing men and horses on marches and patrols, General Pershing, who was known for his strict management of the army, finally became angry.

"The War Department gave us two months, do you know why it's only two months?"

Pershing stood, staring condescendingly at the officers in front of him. The expression was unusually serious. These officers with the rank of major or higher were the backbone of the Southern Expeditionary Force, which arrived in Mexico by sea with 14,000 people, and all of them were elite units in the U.S. Army. Unfortunately, the officers and soldiers became irritated by the fruitless search for several days, and the Mexican guerrillas' hit-and-run tactics made it impossible for them to give full play to their superior firepower, so the officers were all depressed and expressionless.

In the middle of the night, a lieutenant colonel casually raised his right hand. "General. I heard that the Mexican government only gave us two months to suppress the bandits! ”

Pershing snorted coldly, "The Mexican government? Hellish with them, we won't be able to talk to them for as long as we stay! ”

Shallow laughter rang out below.

"So is it logistical resupply?" The lieutenant colonel still looked nonchalant. It's like a journalist asking a spokesman a question about an innocuous issue.

Pershing walked up to the officer with five horses in his hand, looked straight ahead, and shouted coldly, "Taylor. Lieutenant Colonel Eddie, stand up! ”

An expression of surprise and panic appeared on the lieutenant colonel's face at the same time, and he stood up with a snort, wondering whether the buttons on his clothes were all buttoned, whether his shoes were polished enough, and whether he had his hair cut not long ago, hoping that the stern boss would not be able to grasp his military appearance.

"Jack the Terrible" - Pershing's famously nicknamed was given to him privately by his men who feared him, because his requirements for military appearance and discipline were almost unbearable. He believes that the difference between a soldier and a militia is whether or not there is a well-organized military appearance. Only with a well-organized military appearance can regular soldiers fight like that and can they win.

This time, though, Pershing didn't seem to be going to pick a thorn in his appearance, he just glanced at the lieutenant colonel's orange-peeled face and nodded, "Sit down!" ”

Although he was not criticized, the lieutenant colonel did not dare to think about it as careless as he had just now, and the others also sat up straight. The battle command room suddenly became much more serious.

In this way, Pershing walked back to the front, "Let me tell you that at first, the government and the War Office agreed that it would take at least 2 months for the Germans to force Austria-Hungary into submission, and that if they were unlucky, the two countries would probably be bogged down in a long war!" During this time, countries will only focus on the situation in Europe, and no one will care about our actions in Mexico. But now ......"

Pershing's gaze swept over the officers' faces, "It took only 10 days for the Germans to go from invading to forcing Austria-Hungary to disintegrate and annex large swaths of its territory!" The whole world was shocked, as was our government and the War Department! ”

With that, Pershing picked up a piece of paper from his desk, "This is a telegram from Washington last night, and the Germans are now free to interfere with us!" ”

There wasn't a of noise down there.

"With the exception of Russia and the British, every country is trying to interfere with us!" Pershing said indignantly, "The Germans have begun to dominate world opinion and world politics!" ”

"General, is Washington going to make concessions and then let us withdraw our troops?" One of the colonels posed his doubts very seriously.

"No!" Pershing put down the piece of paper in his hand, "We in the United States of America will never bow down to any country, Mr. President personally sent a telegram, he wants us to do it freely until we achieve our goal!" So, gentlemen, it's time to prove our worth! ”

The last sentence made the officers present straighten their chests.

"General, I very much agree with you. Now it's time to fight our might! However, the bitch Mexican bandits are always hiding, and they have become smart in their attacks in the last week, our regiment has lost 6 lieutenants and 15 non-commissioned officers in a week, and 2 convoys carrying important supplies have been attacked! The colonel, who spoke, looked worried, "If we don't change this situation as soon as possible, the situation will only get worse!" ”

"Colonel Louis, I know what you said! Don't forget. It was because of Zapata's collusion with the Germans that we went on an expedition against them! If they are to develop, they will pose a great threat to our American strategy in the Americas! Speaking of this, Pershing's voice changed from passionate to cautious, "It is said that Zapata has received financial and weapon assistance from the Germans, and there are even German ** officers who are training his troops for him, and our opponents are not only those Mexican peasants!" ”

The officers understood Pershing's voice-over and were going to fight the Germans.

Pershing continued: "But don't be discouraged, farmers are farmers after all. Only guerrilla warfare can be fought. It's just a rabble to get together! Just lure them to the ground, and they'll be a bunch of stupid rabbits who can only be beaten! I have one more good news here! Washington has decided to send 2 air squadrons to help in the war, and they will arrive in Veracruz in the near future! Furthermore. Our Led Zeppelins – the USS New York, USS Georgia and USS Hawaii – will also be flying from San Antonio! ”

After Germany defeated Britain and France and blitzkrieg Austria-Hungary, the top level of the United States gradually realized the military role of airplanes and airships, but in the concept of many middle-level officers, airplanes and airships are only used for reconnaissance and calibration, and their ground attacks are more of a deterrent effect, because the power of aerial bombs cannot be compared with artillery shells at all.

Prior to this, Pershing already had one squadron of reconnaissance planes and one mixed squadron of fighters and bombers, most of which were deployed on the US side of the US-Mexico border, and only a small group of reconnaissance planes on the side of the South Road Expeditionary Force. Coupled with Mexico's many highlands and mountainous terrain, these aircraft have so far played a very limited role.

"General, isn't the War Department planning to increase troops?" Someone asked cautiously.

Pershing did not answer the question directly, "All I can say is that New Mexico, Texas and Arizona have mobilized the National Guard, and they can be quickly incorporated into active duty units if needed!" ”

After receiving this vague answer, the officers did not ask any further questions.

"Next, I would like to announce the next phase of the tasks of the troops. Colonel Trevor Clark, you and your regiment are advancing along the Santa Maria River, paying particular attention to the woods on the north bank of the river; Colonel Calebel, you and your regiment search in the direction of Leon, taking care to protect your supply lines...... Lieutenant Colonel Taylor Eddy, you and your battalion assemble a patrol to strengthen the protection of the supply line between Puebla and Veracruz! ”

After accepting their respective tasks, the officers went back to prepare for a new round of encirclement and suppression operations, and the huge operational headquarters suddenly fell silent.

Pershing closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his index fingers, and it was obvious that he had been very tired lately.

At this moment, his adjutant, a 31-year-old lieutenant officer, came up to him with a double hot coffee.

"General, have a cup of coffee!"

Pershing shook his head and continued to close his eyes.

After some psychological struggle, the officer cautiously suggested to him: "General, the situation of the Northern Expeditionary Force is not good now, why don't we temporarily stop the encirclement and suppression of the Villa Bandits, and transfer the main force of the Northern Expeditionary Force to us, first exterminate the Zapatista Bandits, and then wave our division north to attack the Villa Bandits!" ”

However, instead of making a statement about this suggestion, Pershing asked in a stern tone: "Lieutenant George Patton, what is your duty?" ”

The lieutenant put his legs together, "Report, as your adjutant, my duty is to help you convey orders, receive and receive telegrams, arrange and take care of your food and daily life!" ”

"Good!" Pershing nodded with his eyes closed.

"But General, as a U.S. citizen and U.S. Army officer, my duty is to defend U.S. national security, and whether or not this crackdown on bandits succeeds will largely determine the surrounding environment of the United States in the next ten years!"

The lieutenant's words opened Pershing's eyes, and he was surprised to look at the young officer who had only been transferred to his lieutenant two months earlier, and before that, he knew only about the lieutenant to his title of "master of swordsmanship". The young Patton won a third place in fencing at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, and was known as the U.S. Army's "No. 1 Fencing Master." In 1913, his design of the cavalry saber was adopted by the War Department, and this standard saber was also named the "Patton Sword".

Pershing suddenly felt a little abrupt, because he felt that since Patton was a "master of swordsmanship", his mission was to protect himself with a sword, but he forgot that Patton was also a U.S. Army officer, and had served in the Army Staff and the Brisburg Cavalry Regiment.

"Lieutenant, I know your feelings!" This time, Pershing's tone softened a lot, "But, if we do what you do, we'll be in Mexico longer and under more pressure, you know?" ”

Young Barton pondered Pershing's words, but could not figure it out for a moment.

Pershing looked at the pensive Patton, then took the cup of coffee from his hand, "Lieutenant, cavalry is particular about acting quickly, attacking decisively, and concentrating forces to attack the enemy's weakest points, right?" ”

"Yes, General!" Barton replied without thinking.

"But Mexico is mountainous, forested, and the bandits can easily hide with their familiarity with the environment, and from time to time attack our marching troops and supply lines, which is a big problem for us!"

With that, Pershing took a sip of coffee, and the temperature was just right.

"Yes, General! Therefore, I think that only by concentrating troops can we expand the scope of the rope and the effect of encirclement and suppression! Barton then interjected.

Pershing shook his head, "But Lieutenant, have you ever thought that although Zapata and Villa are two gangs, there is an alliance agreement between them. As long as we attack Zapata with all our might, Villa will inevitably wreak havoc in the border area, and finally let us be forced to turn to encircle and suppress Villa first under the pressure of domestic public opinion! Not only will Zapata slip away, but Villa will also be able to use the more open areas in the north to play hide and seek with us, and we will get nothing! ”

After thinking about it for a while, Barton finally understood Pershing's distress.

"Thankfully, I've paid off one of Zapata's henchmen to lead our troops in a raid on Zapata's camp. For the sake of secrecy, I did not tell you about this situation at the combat meeting just now, and I also asked the troops to search as usual! In fact, I have quietly prepared a small but capable force that will surprise the heart of the enemy, and as soon as Zapata dies, victory is within reach! As he spoke, Pershing glanced at Patton, who was full of anticipation, "If you want, you can set off with this army tomorrow!" ”

"It's an honor!" Barton couldn't wait to answer.