"You mean turtledoves?"

Geronimo put down the bottle in his hand, was stunned for a moment, and asked, "Do you think that the turtledove will go south to fight the Americans?" ”

"He sure will!" "His rule over the Indians was based on one battle after another," Juarez said. Regardless of whether such a battle was won or lost, as long as the war did not stop, his position was unshakable. He needs war, just like a peasant needs tulips! ”

"However, Stephen Carney's expeditionary force is his greatest threat!" Jeronimo said.

"Now the threat is gone!" Juarez said: "I just received the news this morning, Stephen Carney is finished! ”

】

"Finished?"

"Yes, the expeditionary force of 20,000 men is all over! On the Great Plains by the Arkansas River, there are more than 20,000 corpses, so that the vultures and wild wolves there are so full of stomach that they are almost unable to walk! Bentburg was burned clean by a fire, the Arkansas River was blocked by corpses, and the flood poured into the Mississippi River......"

"Oh my God!" Jeronimo was stunned for a long time and said, "How the hell did he do it?" ”

"I don't know!" Juarez said: "All I know is that after destroying Stephen Carney's expeditionary force, the only way Turtledove can still use his troops is to go south!" ”

"Why did he have to go south? Why didn't he stay in White Rock - I mean, he should have developed for a few more years! ”

"Jerome, how do I feel, you're afraid of him?" Juarez asked.

"Nope! How could I be afraid of him?! Geronimo flatly denied it. But he couldn't find a reason to justify it, just sullen.

"Don't think about it, he'll definitely go south!" "I'm not as good as you in war, but you're not as good as me in everything but in war – that's why we're united!" ”

About this, Jerónimo cannot deny it.

Three years ago, when he was heading north, he chose to go south alone. At first, I thought I had escaped the fence, and since then the sea and the sky have been wide.

As a result, in the southern part of El Paso, not only did it not make a name for itself, but it consumed a lot of troops.

It wasn't until it merged with Juárez, one with guns and the other with money, that it came to work and develop Mexico north of Chihuahua into a booming city.

"So what are we going to do?" Geronimo asked.

Juarez threw the butt of his cigarette into the fireplace and said, "Our best bet is 'neutral'!" ”

"Neutral?" Jerónimo looked at Juarez strangely.

"Yes!" "In the propaganda slogan of the turtledove, this is a battle between the Indians and the whites, but it seems to me that it is actually a war between the turtledoves and Zachary Taylor - our forces are still very weak, and if we rush to get involved on either side, we will be crushed by the other!" ”

"But ......," Geronimo frowned.

"Can you beat Zachary Taylor?"

Jerónimo shook his head.

"Have you ever beaten a turtledove?"

Jerónimo shook his head even more.

"Be neutral, Jerome!" "We're New Mexicans!" None of us will help! ”

Jerónimo didn't speak for a moment.

Juarez waited quietly for him, and finally heard Jerónimo finally speak, "I need to think about it...... Think about it......"

"Think slowly, Jerome!" Juarez said: "Is it to be the Turtledove of Tskatlipoca or to be the governor of New Mexico in the American Commonwealth—"

Juarez took out two letters, placed them on the stone table in the middle of the room, turned and walked out.

"—or else, stay, join me, and build a great New Mexico!"

……

After Juarez left, Geronimo slowly walked to the stone table.

The stone table must be some years old, and the pedestal under the table top is carved with many ancient patterns, and although it is very worn, the marks of the old Aztecs can still be seen.

During the time of the Spaniards, this stone table may have existed as a meat eucalyptus, with traces of a machete on it; But maybe there were other uses, such as having a slave stand on it for guests to pick from...... No one can tell.

Now, with two letters placed on it, this stone table became a turning point in Geronimo's fate.

He reached for the turtledove's letter—he slowly reached out, but when his fingers touched the envelope, it seemed to be burned, and he quickly retracted his hand.

He reached out to another—

The 'Sleepy Man', who once swore not to share the sky with white people, has experienced six years of displacement, and the hatred in his heart is like this old stone table now, which is no longer the same as before.

Distance alleviates fear, and time wears away hatred.

Now Jeronimo can eat meat and drink wine every day, and there are so many wives that he can't even remember his name, and there are hundreds of servants in and out......

He had hundreds of lives under his gun, more than the entire tribe he had back then. To some extent, revenge should be regarded as revenge.

"Dear Geronimo,"

Zachary Taylor's handwritten letter, the tone is very modest and peaceful, and the handwriting is neat and beautiful, which makes Geronimo a pleasant to read, and has a feeling that he has also entered the aristocratic class.

"I'm glad to be able to write this letter to you, to be able to write letters to the heroes of the Apache is something I've always dreamed of, and I'm even a little excited to myself......"

In his letter, Zachary Taylor complimented Geronimo, saying that he had saved the Apache, saved the Sierra Madre, and had a vision as far as the Cordillera and a heart as wide as the Pacific Ocean......

"I know that the position of governor of New Mexico is a bit of a grievance for you, and if you will, I can propose to Congress that you be the commissioner for the Indians of the West, a position of greater rank than John Ross......"

Jerónimo smiled and continued to look down:

"In order for peace to come as soon as possible, I need to send a force of five thousand men, not only brave soldiers, but also skilled craftsmen, who can greatly improve the living standards of the people of New Mexico, help you to plant and graze in a scientific way, and among them are priests, who can cleanse your tormented souls......"

Geronimo quickly read the letter and chewed carefully in his mind for a while.

Finally, he reached out to the letter from the turtledove.

……

Juárez stood outside the door of the town hall, surrounded by soldiers.

He was so beloved by the soldiers that people affectionately called him "Pablo Pablo".

The people of New Mexico liked him, but Americans didn't like him very much — Americans had a special aesthetic and liked 'warriors' like Jerónimo, or 'scholars' like John Ross.

Zachary Taylor promised to make Jerónimo governor of New Mexico, but didn't make any arrangements for him at all.

"Good news for you, children!" Sitting on the broken steps of the town hall, Juarez said: "I have received a big order from the East India Company, and the price of tulips will at least double this year!" ”

The soldiers were as happy as the children who had just received the candy.