Colorado Estuary.

General Francisco de Rivera, the general command of the Spanish army, summoned all his generals, including Lieutenant General Alvarez and Major General José de Rivera, the former commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army.

They had also won the welcome of Francisco Rivera, the commander-in-chief of the Spanish colonial forces, who, after a busy time, had brought 20,000 reinforcements, as well as fifty cannons, and corresponding rockets.

The previous battles had depleted the rockets in the Western Route Army, and now these are the latest ones to be produced in the rear.

"We had a good start before, when the Chinese were caught off guard by our rockets, they lost the place, and fled back to San Diego in embarrassment and panic. Countless Chinese migrants fled north, abandoning large numbers of houses and land they had carved out. But we made a mistake in San Diego, and we were terrified by the huge casualties, so we tasted defeat and failed to retake San Diego in one fell swoop, cutting off the overland link between Upper and Lower California. ”

DeRivera said as she waved her arms to reinforce her persuasiveness.

"Now we have new reinforcements, and we have more and stronger troops than we did before."

"We also have artillery and rockets to replenish it, and we don't need to be afraid of each other."

"However, we must admit that the Chinese army has a strong fighting capacity, and our army has not yet recovered to the highest morale," De Rivera paused and then accentuated, "although we don't want to admit it, as a general, we must face up to our opponents." It is true that our soldiers are not as competent as the Chinese. ”

"But we have more troops than they do."

"We have at least three times their strength."

"Look at the scale of the counterattacks launched by the Chinese on the battlefield?"

"Two thousand, three thousand, no more than five thousand."

"What does it mean that they didn't come to attack the Colorado Estuary with great fanfare, but only fought back at the regimental and brigade level on the front?"

DeRivera shouted, eyes like a burning flame scanning the room.

"Your Excellency, I think the Chinese are not sure of victory. They don't dare to fight us. Alvarez said.

A smile appeared on Diveira's face, and the whole person was like the host of a successful, pleasant, and joyous dinner, "Yes, Alvarez is right. The Chinese are not sure of victory. Therefore, they only dare to send a small force to fight a tactical counterattack, but they do not dare to gather all their forces to overwhelm the Colorado estuary and fight us to the death. ”

"But we have to admit that San Diego is a tough nut to crack."

Although DeRivera really did not want to recognize the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the battles during this period of time made him see very clearly, not to mention the colonial legion in the Americas, or the Spanish Army composed of simply peninsulars, and it was not an opponent of the Chinese in terms of combat will.

The latter's patrols, which had been ambushed by superior Spanish troops on more than one occasion, stubbornly persisted until reinforcements arrived or fought until they were completely annihilated, making the Spaniards often pay the same tragic figures.

The Spanish army rarely captured Chinese soldiers alive, and the rumors that the Eastern army was ashamed of surrendering were not believed by De Rivera before, because it was too common in Western wars, but now he could not help but believe it.

Therefore, although De Rivera had a large army in his hands, he thought that it would be a disaster that would send everyone present to hell if the Spanish colonial army was to fight the Chinese soldiers, who numbered more than 20,000.

"Stop denying their fighting power, the facts have proven their strength, our enemy is a strong army. But they also have weaknesses that they can't overcome. ”

"Their numbers are too small."

"There are only 20,000 Chinese across from us."

"The number of Chinese soldiers on the entire West Coast will not reach 30,000."

"So we have to get started at this point, to make them as dispersed and dispersed as possible."

"The combat strength of 1,000 Chinese soldiers is a sheep, the combat strength of 5,000 Chinese soldiers is a bull, and the combat strength of 20,000 Chinese soldiers is an evil dragon. We don't need our enemies to be a ferocious dragon, but to turn them into a herd of sheep, even if we ourselves go from a god-killing Fenrir [Norse wolf] to a pack of hyenas. ”

DeRivera's attitude is already obvious, and with the support of reinforcements, he is about to divide his troops.

Now the situation of the war on the west coast is that the Chinese can divide their forces more easily, their fleet can completely destroy the Spaniards, they have the strength to occupy any port on the west coast of the Spanish American region, but the Chinese have no extra troops, they can only find scattered port cities to carry out surprise attacks, or artillery bombardment of some heavily guarded port cities, and that's it.

As for the Spaniards, they had far more troops than the Chinese, but the lack of sea routes made them have to think about it by land, and this method was to divide the army.

The Chinese expeditionary force did not dare to come to the mouth of the Colorado River to fight a decisive battle with the Spaniards, and De Rivera did not dare to lead the Spanish army and the Chinese expeditionary force to fight a protracted battle in San Diego.

The wolf was afraid of the hemp rod at both ends, and all sides were afraid in their hearts.

But De Rivera didn't dare to delay for long, that wasn't the solution. DeRivera's subconscious told him that the Chinese would not sit idly by and ignore the North American battle, and that the Chinese had now developed a route from the East to the west coast of North America, which was no more difficult than transferring troops from Europe to the Americas.

Over the years, the Chinese have built countless supply depots and ports on the sea routes, and De Rivera is well aware of the timing of the trip between the two sides.

Time was running out for him, and in winter, Chinese reinforcements would arrive in North America.

It's still not a long way off.

Rivera was keen to win a certain victory before reinforcements from China arrived, so that the two sides would be better off negotiating at least getting the Gulf of California and Baja California back.

De Rivera had of course dreaming of sweeping the West Coast before the war, but the defeat of the Eastern Route Army and the defeat of San Diego brought him to his senses.

It is more realistic to completely sweep the Chinese out of North America's 'ambitions', or to regain a little interest and re-establish Spain's prestige.

Rivera's eyes were fixed on a cavalry major general, Artesa de Segre, a middle-aged officer from an aristocratic family in Madrid.

"Mr. Major General, I need you to lead your cavalry to the north, to the north, to ...... north"

Crossing San Diego, the cavalry unit's target was Los Angeles, San Francisco [San Francisco].

"These two cities are the centers of Chinese domination on the west coast, and your surprise attack will inevitably cause panic in both cities. I don't need you to take these two cities, but you have to be there for them. ”

"Those Chinese immigrant villages will be your best targets."

"Burn everything you encounter, drive the Chinese to wander, and deprive them of all their wealth."

Rivera shook his fist, and then his gaze turned to Alvarez......

……

"Tell Mr. Wang that the all-out counteroffensive presided over by De Rivera this time is not trivial, at least 3,000 cavalry are advancing towards Tokyo and Hanjin, and the capital of the people on the peninsula is very large."

The narrow waters of the Gulf of California are a haven for Mexican smugglers, much more refreshing than overland transportation. At the same time, useful and useless news is also coming to the expeditionary force.

"Mr. Casado's information is very important, please rest assured that we will not forget our friends."

"Haha, I hope it helps you. You know, the people of the Peninsula are not only your enemies, but also ours. A mulatto with distinctly Indian blood laughed heartily.

He and the forces behind him were clearly on the opposite side of the Spaniards.

Two days later, Gao Yuanhou of San Diego received urgent news from a patrol that a Spanish cavalry unit was heading north on the southwestern edge of the Salton Basin. Fortunately, his troops have increased their vigilance, otherwise there is a high probability that this hungry wolf will be ignored.

In addition, this also let Gao Yuanhou know that the patrol rules of the patrol force must be changed, which made the Spaniards feel a little regular.

……

Atessa de Segre leaned back in his chair and looked up at the roof of the tent, his gaze seemed to be able to look through the tent's cover, and a quarter of an hour earlier his mood had suddenly turned terrible.

Today is the day when he will lead his army out of the Salton Basin, and the distance from Salton is not long, only one hundred and twenty or thirty miles from south to north China, plus the distance from the mouth of the Colorado River to Salton, it is only four hundred miles.

And this distance is precisely the distance from the Salton Basin to Los Angeles.

Just an hour earlier, they had captured a small convoy of Chinese, and De Segre did not hesitate to pounce on it and eat up the Chinese convoy of only thirty or fifty people.

The Chinese were still very brave, and only seven of them were captured alive.

Then after five people were executed, the rest finally spoke.

But what Desay Gray got from it was very painful news for him, the Chinese had already known about his move, and it took him seven days to travel four hundred miles before, and in these seven days, the news had spread throughout the West Coast.

Large numbers of Chinese troops left San Diego, and large numbers of Chinese immigrants abandoned their houses and fields outside the city, fleeing into nearby towns with only livestock and food.

Desegre's forces had not yet reached Los Angeles.

He didn't know if this counted as 'causing panic in the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco', whether it was the completion of DeRivera's mission, but he knew that his danger was skyrocketing, and his strategic objectives were faintly likely to fail.

The Chinese not only knew about their own troops, but also prepared for them. The news gave him a headache and chagrin.

The movement of the Chinese expeditionary force was obvious, and even this low-status logistician had heard the news that a large number of troops had returned to Los Angeles and San Francisco by boat, and now they were probably in their pockets and waiting to get into them. He had only more than 3,000 men under his command, which was not enough to eat a Chinese regiment.

If you are really trapped by the Chinese, how can you resist their attack with such a little military strength?

Atesa de Segre was going to die.

He is not the same as he was before the war, when he despised the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and still equated the animal 'monkey' with it in his mind. But now he was going to think like this, he was a monkey himself.

The Chinese are not indigenous to Nanyang, and the image of 'China' that has been circulating in Spain for two hundred years is like a joke.

For two hundred years, countless Spaniards laughed at the Chinese, and now they themselves have become a big joke.

Not because of the defeat of the Eastern Route Army, nor because of the trouble that the Western Army encountered in San Diego, it was not as shocking as the one he encountered when he led the cavalry to attack the Chinese patrols.

He was feared by such a strong army.

But he didn't dare not advance towards Los Angeles, otherwise Rivera's plan would go awry, and the blame for the failure would be entirely on his head.

"Los Angeles, San Francisco; Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Francisco — "With a slap on the table, Artesa de Segre made up her mind.

It's just a breakthrough, men have to be courageous, and cavalry officers have to be courageous.

They are cavalrymen, men galloping on horseback, warriors like the wind.

Los Angeles, Los Angeles, straight into Los Angeles. Taking advantage of the fact that the Chinese cavalry units are still at a disadvantage, give them a knife fiercely!

The wind was blowing, and more than 3,000 Spanish cavalry turned out of the valley floor, went around a perfect half-arc, and slaughtered towards the palm grove without knowing it.

It is one of China's closest settlements to the Salton Basin, with a number of sulphur hot springs and countless ancient palm trees under the snow-covered foothills.

These naturally occurring palm groves became a settlement point for Chinese as soon as they were discovered by the Chinese.

The wood of the palm can be used to make utensils. The palm leaf sheath is a fan type, with brown fiber, and the leaves can be used to make fans, hats and other handicrafts, and the roots are used in medicine. The abundance of natural palm groves is a godsend, and it can also be used as a support point for the Salton Basin, and the tactical location is also important, although the abundant sulphur resources here are also a major necessity for the expeditionary force.

So, Palm Grove was one of the first towns to be established in China on the West Coast, and there are still two to three thousand people living here today.

Palm Grove Town is only more than 300 miles away from Tokyo [Los Angeles], and the sulfur mines and various palm products here are still competitive, which also ensures the healthy development of the town's economy.

Temperatures in the state are not as hot as in Mexico, and the weather is a little cooler in October, especially after the rains.

It was a coincidence or something, but the day after Artesa de Segre made up her mind, the drizzle was already falling before dawn. As a result, this Spanish cavalry force of more than 3,000 people, regardless of dignity or inferiority, was all soaked in the rain. The horses' hooves stomped on the rain-soaked ground, splashing boundless muddy water.

Seeing the drizzle, there is still a little green on the road that has not been trampled in the distance, and it is gratifying. De Segre could only choose a good place for the troops to camp and rest, otherwise the troops would fall before he could lead the army to the palm grove.

"This rain couldn't have come at the right time." Desegre's adjutant complained.

"It's okay, the rain doesn't stop, and it also helps us to march and hide."

There are not too many roads that can quietly approach the palm grove, but the wide road entrances should now have Chinese guards. The number of people may not be much, but the position is critical, and if you take it by surprise, your whereabouts will be exposed.

It was too risky for Desegre to take it.