February 4, 1623, the fifth day of the first lunar month, the beginning of spring, Saturday.

Last night's light snow cast a light layer of hoarfrost on the buildings and forests inside and outside West Point, and residents who were still on spring break were carefully cleaning up the snow slag in front of their homes and on the streets, while laughing loudly, and dozens of Chinese residents even continued to set off firecrackers on the trees next to their homes, causing a group of European children to watch curiously.

At the river wharf in West Point, a Navy river patrol boat carrying an organ and machine gun is slowing down and slowly approaching the wharf. More than a dozen river steamers lined up, and hundreds of Mohican or Pecot Indian hired men were busy hauling supplies.

Mayor William, who only learned yesterday that the army was going to have a big operation, is also organizing a group of residents to transport some food supplies that can only be regarded as symbolic to the docks. William's speculation as to why the army was so massively concentrated in West Point was finally verified.

In order to ensure the safety of materials, Guan Ruzhong, the chief of police in West Point Town, dispatched most of the town police to patrol near the wharf, the army also left a platoon of officers and soldiers to protect the boats, and the troops of the three companies that were about to go north were also carrying out final preparations in the northwest military base.

Serving as the commander-in-chief of this northward operation is Army Major He Yu, who has rich combat experience, and will be directly responsible for the largest military expedition since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The Northern Combat Force consists of three reinforced light infantry companies, plus a support company consisting of a machine-gun platoon, an artillery platoon, and a newly formed combat engineer platoon. The battalion had a total of 410 officers and men, 4 organ platoon machine guns, and 4 60mm light mortars.

In order to cooperate with the operation and undertake the logistics of transportation, the nearby Pecots and Mohicans also provided a servant army of more than 300 men. They will be responsible for providing reconnaissance and cover on the flanks and rear of the combat troops, and will also accompany a detachment of more than fifty packhorse wagons for the Delaware.

In this way, the total number of people heading north exceeded 800, and the number of inland river steam carriers responsible for transportation reached 18, in addition to the modified steam-powered Mayflower, a navy river patrol boat, and a number of barges.

Until this morning, except for the company-level officers. All the officers and men of the participating units learned the true destination of the operation, which secretly surprised the soldiers who had been guessing that it was only a blow to the nearby Mohoks.

Scott has been a little distracted since Chinese New Year's Eve. This is a bit different from his calm appearance in the past. After learning of the real battle plan, Scott quickly rushed to the general headquarters of the military base to meet his superiors. Lieutenant Deng Jian, acting company commander of the 2nd Infantry Company.

"Sergeant Scott, the troops are leaving next Tuesday, and you should take a leave of absence now, I'm afraid it doesn't meet the combat regulations."

Deng Jian glanced at his colleagues behind him, turned his head, and showed a stern expression at Scott.

In the general headquarters, He Yuzheng and a group of officers are conducting the latest operational analysis. The arrival of Scott, an outstanding non-commissioned officer in the army, made He Yu also temporarily announce the adjournment.

"Yes, Lieutenant!" Scott quickly straightened his chest and didn't squint. "But I can guarantee that I will be able to get back to the troops on time before departure!"

"Sergeant Scott is an excellent non-commissioned officer, and I trust his answers." He Yu walked over, patted his former old comrade-in-arms in West Point, and smiled. "No problem, even if I approve it."

Seeing that his boss also nodded, Deng Jian could only acquiesce.

"Thank you, Major!" I thought that my request for leave this time would be ruthlessly rejected, but when I heard this, Scott was overjoyed and quickly bowed and withdrew from the headquarters.

"Alright. Out of the way, everyone continues to get down to business. He Yu walked back to the conference table and clicked on the map, "The information we got from the Dutch residents who had been to Albany was also very limited, and they basically did not go deep into the western and northern lands of Albany, so they could not provide more accurate information. ”…,

"Major, with such a large-scale landing, we can't get all the supplies in place at once, and the fleet still needs to go back and forth to West Point to get all the supplies, so we must establish a defensive base in Albany to hoard and protect the baggage."

Lieutenant Deng Jian clicked on the map and drew a line from the landing site to West Point, "The round trip is more than 300 kilometers, and we have been separated from the fleet for more than 60 hours. ”

"It doesn't matter, there are naval river patrol boats to escort it, there are no safety problems with the river transport fleet, we leave a combat engineer platoon and part of the servant army to guard the landing site. The problem we need to solve is how to kill these three villages as quickly as possible on a snowy day! As he spoke, He Yu circled a few dots on the map with a pencil, "The closest to Albany is a village 10 kilometers to the west, followed by two others 30 kilometers northwest and 15 kilometers to the north. The combined population of these three villages is more than 5,000 people, and it is expected that no more than 1,500 men can fight. In addition, there was a small tribal village at the landing site, with a population of only a few hundred. ”

"Hehe, it's not that we can capture them yet, let's surround them directly, and as soon as the mortar hits, they will disperse, and the rest is to arrest people." A second lieutenant platoon commander of the 2nd Infantry Company was smiling and optimistic.

"Well, they wouldn't have thought we'd launch a sneak attack on such a cold snow season." He Yu also nodded slightly.

"What's the matter, then when will I attack here?"

Captain Feng Bin, who was in charge of the troops left behind in West Point, would command the remaining two companies and a mortar platoon, and this time they would be mainly responsible for clearing the Mohok camp north of the Xiaohe Plain northwest of West Point.

"Well, just go as planned, and when we're ready to return, you can attack and pull out their village to the north!" He Yu slammed his fist on the map, and the officers around him were full of blood.

If there is a qiē shun lì, then the Mohoks will be in a state of collapse from now on, and their sphere of influence will retreat by at least one or two hundred kilometers.

In an orchard west of West Point, apple trees and grape trellises were whitened by a night of snow, and peasant women were shoveling snow from the neighborhood into the orchard's soil with small shovels.

Next to a small single-storey residential apartment with mixed wood. Scott stood up straight, and in front of him, Brenda, dressed in a plain winter dress, led her young niece and hung her head without saying a word, while Old Ellen stood not far away smoking a pipe.

"Trouble Miss Brenda, after we go on the expedition, please take care of the families of several comrades, especially Sergeant Potter's wife. I'm four months pregnant. ”

Scott smiled sheepishly, pulled out a small cloth bag from his pocket, and crouched down. Stuffed into the little girl's little hand Jessica: "Jessica, eat candy, learn to brush your teeth with salt." Listen to Miss Brenda. ”

The little girl was very well-behaved, clutching the cloth bag full of candied blueberries and nodding desperately.

"Mr. Scott, will this war be fought for a long time?" Brenda clutched the hem of her skirt, her face a little pale, and her tone was even more subtle, "I will take care of them as you tell me, and God will bless you, Mr. Scott." ”

"Mr. Scott, I have something for you. Maybe it will help you and your superiors. At this time, the old man Alan came over and handed him a sheepskin.

Gently unfolded, it appears to be a map with several prominent dots drawn on it. There is also a Dutch annotation on the side.

"What is this?" Scott was a little confused.

"It's what I recorded in the local village when I went north to do fur business with the Indians. Maybe it's too long to be of much use......" Alan pointed to the map apologetically, "Today the big guy only knew that you were going north, your chief is so bold, at this time, the climate in the north is very bad." Especially when the snow melts in spring! ”…,

"The soldiers are heroic! Thank you for your kindness, I will hand it over to my superiors in due course. Scott put away the map, his face full of confidence, "Well, God bless you, Miss Brenda and Jessica, I'm leaving." ”

With that, Scott gave a military salute and turned to head the way he came.

"Mr. Scott!"

After walking a few dozen meters, suddenly, Brenda's voice sounded behind him. Scott was stunned for a moment, turned around slightly, and saw Brenda gently push Jessica towards Allen, and ran over with her skirt.

Snowmelted mud splashed on Brenda's skirt, and the girl almost staggered to the sergeant, blushing and bowing her head.

"Mr. Scott, will you come to see me again when you come back?" Brenda's head couldn't be lowered, and her voice was even smaller, "I mean, Jessica likes Mr. Scott, I ...... Me too...... God, what am I talking about......"

Without waiting for Scott to react, Brenda ran away.

Quietly watching the figure of the girl's family disappear into the distant door, Scott sighed slightly.

The river steamboat, which departed from West Point at noon, did not arrive in Manchu until after 23 p.m., and at Scott's request, the boat took Scott to the South Docks. After showing his soldier ID, Scott walked alone into the deserted streets of the South End.

Radio Manchester was already off work, with only a few street lights still on outside the building, and the faint sound of firecrackers could be heard across the East River in the south amid the cold night breeze and small snow shards.

Not far from the iron gate of the radio station building, on the edge of the empty square, Scott's lonely figure sat on a bench, letting the small snow slag falling from the sky scatter over his shoulders, just staring at the radio building with only a few dim lights, with a happy smile on the corner of his mouth.

A pair of Chinese policemen who were patrolling the night passed by with a slight complaint, looking curiously at the Fanyi soldiers who were still sitting in the square on this cold day, and then muttered a few more to each other and walked away.

I don't know how long I sat there, maybe an hour, maybe three hours, it seemed to be a little colder, Scott tightened his winter coat tightened, and warmed his hands with the hot air in his mouth. He simply left the bench and stood by the street lamp, his feet stomping on the ground.

"When I miss you, you are in the sky, when I miss you, when I think of you, when I think of you, you are in my heart......"

Scott warmed himself up with small movements, and his mouth repeated every song that a girl had sung in a disembodied manner.

In the morning, the Dutch nanny cleans the house, and the firewood from the fireplace warms up the beautiful apartment. On the living room table, a serving of milk, white bread, fried eggs and fruit is prepared early.

"Miss Jenny, it's still a holiday today, and you still have to go to work?"

The maiden was seen walking down the stairs from the second floor. The female nanny hurriedly greeted her and respectfully welcomed the other party to the dining table.

"Mrs. Shiram, you don't have to take care of this place these days, you should also have a good reunion with Mr. Shiram, this is the right given to you by the state." Jenny politely took the napkin handed by the other party and looked at the honest and simple nanny in front of her with a smile.

"God willing, my husband and I are doing well. Isn't Miss Jenny still working hard? The middle-aged female nanny nodded, and quickly shook her head, the Mandarin in her mouth mixed with Dutch. Looks a little nervous.

Without saying anything, after a brief breakfast, Jenny secretly stuffed a few dollar coins into the nanny's bag. I put on a beautiful Victorian dress and a luxurious fur coat and went out of the house.

On the street, more than a dozen housewives of European seafarer families with permanent settlement rights greeted Jenny, and after Jenny was broadcast on the radio program of the national celebration on Chinese New Year's Eve, her popularity became even stronger, and even several Chinese policemen passing by were embarrassed to sneak over. …,

Scott felt something move at his feet, and the numb feeling in his whole body gradually recovered, and his body shook violently, and the person woke up. Twist your head. A European cleaning lady quietly sweeps the snow slag from the side of the bench. Got up with difficulty, and quickly patted the snow slag on his shoulder, only to find that after the night, his coat was almost soaked with snow.

When I took out my pocket watch, it was already past 8 a.m. The barred door of the radio station building opposite has been opened, and two European policemen stand by the door, one on the left and one on the right, with their hands behind their backs.

Looking around, except for the cleaners who sweep the streets, pedestrians are still scarce. Seeing the expensive restaurant not far away, Scott felt a rumbling in his stomach. After thinking about it, I walked in the direction of the restaurant.

As soon as he took a few steps, he suddenly noticed that on the other side of the street in the square, a girl in a dress and a luxurious fur coat was slowly walking towards the radio station. As soon as the girl reached the door of the radio station, the two policemen greeted her with smiles on their faces.

Jenny, it's Jenny! Scott suddenly became energetic, his stomach was gone, and he hurried towards the door of the radio station.

"God forbid, great! Miss Jenny, do you really have to add another episode today? ”

"Yes, during spring break, it will be broadcast every day! Thank you and I'll keep trying! Jenny politely accepted the policeman's blessing and began to walk along the avenue towards the inside.

"Jenny!"

A strange shout with a hint of familiarity came from far behind him.

The girl turned around and looked out of the gate with a puzzled expression, where an army soldier in a military coat and armed belt was running in her direction.

"Mr. Sergeant! This is not allowed for non-staff members! The two policemen quickly stopped Scott, who looked excited, while carefully looking back at the girl who had just walked in only a dozen meters.

"Jenny! It's me, Scott! West Point! Scott took a few apologetic steps back and raised his arm.

The girl was stunned for a moment, slowly turned her body right, and stared blankly at the tall soldier more than ten meters away, with a hint of panic and surprise flashing in her eyes.

"Jenny! Don't remember me? Scott's smile stopped, his arm slowly lowered, and his voice became quieter.

Looking back at the radio building, Jenny walked towards the door, an action that made Scott excited again.

"Mr. Scott, ...... you?" asked Jenny softly as she walked under the big tree on the side of the gate, dodging away from the police.

"I'm going to fight in the North, you know?" Scott's chest rose and fell violently, and the white breath he exhaled was much thicker than usual, "I've been listening to you sing!" ”

"Yes...... Thank you, Mr. Scott. Jenny raised her head and looked at the young man in front of her with a smile, no longer as shy and shy as she was back then, "God will bless every soldier, and we will bless you!" ”

"Hmm...... Miss Jenny, it may be a long time this time. I mean, I'm going to sing those songs too. ”

As he spoke, Scott hurriedly began to hum the lyrics, which could be called a ghost crying wolf.

Jenny smiled at once, and slowly, as Scott sang faster and faster, her smile slowly settled, and a pair of big eyes looked at each other tenderly.

It felt like I was back to the day I first saw Scott, and the back of buying myself a big bag of gifts at the bar and leaving in a hurry.

"Mr. Scott, thank you for writing to me and coming to see me." After the other party finished singing the last song "Legend", Jenny took a deep breath and said in English that she hadn't used for a long time, "I'm still learning more songs from Mr. Cheng, I believe you will like it." ”

"Yes, I like ......" Scott was stunned for a moment, turning his head slowly as he noticed a young Chinese man coming through the gate. …,

"Jenny, why haven't you entered the broadcast studio yet, it's almost broadcast time!" Cheng Daxiong, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, plus a windbreaker, walked to the two of them, and looked up and down at the strange European soldiers as he spoke.

Cheng Daxiong's height was even more than half a head taller than Scott, so he looked condescendingly and quietly at the army non-commissioned officer in front of him.

"This is Mr. Scott, a former friend of West Point, who takes good care of me." Jenny quickly lowered her head and introduced gently.

"Oh, I've heard that Mr. Scott, who was awarded a commendation by the Army Command, was wounded in the fighting on Bermuda. I'm honored! Cheng Daxiong took the initiative to stretch out his hand with a smile.

“……”

Looking at the other party's hand, Scott slowly shook it.

"Miss Jenny has an important show today, next time I'll invite Mr. Scott to lunch!"

After speaking, Cheng Daxiong walked into the door with one hand on Jenny's back.

Quietly watching each other walk farther and farther, a strange feeling in Scott's heart began to heat up, and even when the two people in his sight were about to walk into the corridor of the building, Scott finally couldn't help but shout loudly and took two steps towards the door.

"Jenny, Miss Jenny, I love you!"

At this moment, even the two policemen at the door were stunned, and they didn't know what to do when they looked at each other.

Far away, she didn't seem to hear clearly, but when she looked back, Jenny disappeared into the corridor of the broadcasting building.

Scott silently turned around and walked away. Then the two policemen heard the lyrics softly read by the sergeant in the morning breeze. (Your support is my biggest motivation.) )