Kansas would not be a state, sparsely populated, with no local government, no governor or governor, not even a name, and almost nominal territory of the United States.

For the time being, the troops stationed nearby are of course in charge.

The closest U.S. military base to Sleeping Bear City is Fort Leavenworth, more than 500 kilometers away. To the Americans, Leavenworth already belonged to the Midlands, but to the Indians, it was no different from Missouri.

Thousands of miles away, the Sleeping Bear clan has always been peaceful, and after Ma Whistle became the chief, he never did anything like looting or slaughtering, and Fort Leavenworth naturally didn't bother to run so far to deal with him, so he didn't have any intersection with Fort Leavenworth.

Still, the horse whistle kept an eye on Fort Leavenworth. In fact, he writes down everything about this military base.

So of course he could recognize the general, Stephen Watters Carney, Brigadier General.

Don't look at it as a "brigadier general", but the regular army of the United States in this era is only a few tens of thousands, and there are only a handful of generals, and the highest military rank is major general, and the brigadier general who commands two or three thousand people can definitely be regarded as a first-line military boss.

"Are you the Sleeping Bear Clan?" The whistle knew Carney, but Carney knew very little about him.

"Nope." Ma Whistle shook his head slightly, "This is outdated news, I am now the Grand Chief of the Apache Plains Tribe, and the city behind me is Sleeping Bear City. The term "Sleeping Bear Clan" no longer exists. ”

General Carney pondered for a moment: "Plains tribe...... I have the impression that your original Great Chief seems to be called Gocohen, is he dead? ”

He didn't understand Apache and spoke a transliterated name that was clearly off.

Horse Whistle: "The Great Chief of the tent has unfortunately died from a snake bite, and I, as the War Chief, have inherited the position of the Great Chief. ”

General Carney nodded slightly: "It can be seen that you are a qualified war chief." What should I call you? ”

"Horse whistle." Ma Whistle didn't end up giving himself an official name, "If you're not used to the Apache pronunciation, you can also call me 'Isaac Albert', which is the English name I gave myself." ”

If it is the United States in a hundred years, who dares to name himself Isaac Albert, I am afraid that everywhere he goes, he will attract attention.

But for now, it's still a common name.

"All right, Grand Chief Albert." Carney chose the more agreeable title, then looked at the cavalry behind the sentry, "Your soldiers look good, but I don't think you're here to fight us." ”

"Of course." "We don't like war, and we won't go to war with an opponent who is far stronger than ourselves." ”

General Carney smiled: "Wise choice. ”

The sound of the horse's whistle was magnetic and neutral, and the English was standard, and the officers behind Carney and some of the soldiers in front of him could hear it clearly.

"Cook, do you believe me now?" Donivan looked at the officer who had laughed at him earlier.

Cook touched his chin: "Indeed, I have never seen such an Indian, this Albert is very unusual. At least, I think his English is better than yours. ”

"......," Donivan was silent for half a second, "it turns out that the Indians are not necessarily barbarians. ”

"Well, righteous Alexander Donivan barrister." Cook disagreed, gesturing behind him, "But it's just an example, it's meaningless. Look at the guys behind me, they're white too, but what? ”

He was referring to some of the soldiers behind him.

These soldiers looked a little special, they were poorly equipped, even some of them were disheveled, and their eyes wandered, and they seemed to have no will to fight, inferior to the militia.

"They just chose a different kind of faith." Donivan said.

"Faith? Is Mormonism a faith? Cook's tone was full of disdain, "I think you should say less such things, and your reputation will be ruined in the future." ”

Donivan clearly doesn't think so: "I think it's the opposite, and in the future I will be respected for my choices." I never regretted that defense. Mormons would gradually gain their freedom, just like the Negroes. ”

"You have to be careful not to let the general hear." Cook turned his head and smiled.

Donivan: "I'm not an abolitionist. ”

"Is there a difference?" Cook casually said, "Trust me, not many people will think it's a big difference, and it's going to be less and less." ”

"Absolutely." "The abolitionists were generous to others, and they did not have slaves themselves, but they wanted slave owners to give up their slaves for nothing." And I just think that abolition is the future. ”

Cook: "Maybe. But one day, there will be only two kinds of people left in America, staunch slave owners, and staunch abolitionists. ”

After a pause, he continued: "People like you, who approve of the abolition of slavery, but are slave owners themselves, have to make a choice sooner or later. ”

Donivan didn't speak.

The whites were talking.

General Carney in front also continued to talk to Ma Hou: "If the Mexicans were as wise as you, I believe there would be no war...... It's a pity that the Mexicans are so stupid that they will pay for their aggression. ”

In the American narrative, the origin of the war is the invasion of the United States by Mexicans. US President James Polk declared: the Mexicans invaded our borders, sprinkled the blood of Americans on American territory.

I say this because it was indeed the Mexicans who fired the first shot.

The Americans first stepped into the disputed area, then the Mexicans fired the first shot, and the Americans invaded Mexico in the name of self-defense. Eventually, the United States will eventually take away half of Mexico's territory and bring it under the Manifest Destiny.

Ma Whistle did not comment on this, but maintained a polite smile.

General Carney was a little surprised to see his attitude, and then continued: "As far as I know, the Mexicans are the greatest enemies of the Apaches. ”

"Traditionally, that's true." Ma Whistle said.

General Carney was stunned: "Traditionally? ”

"We have abandoned many traditions, just as the sleeping bear is no longer a clan, and we no longer see Mexicans as our primary enemies. At least that's what the Plains tribes do. ”

General Carney asked, "Then who do you regard as your primary enemy now?" Boni, Arapaho, or...... American? ”

"No one is either, or rather, the real enemy is ourselves." "Subjectively, we don't want to be an enemy of anyone, we just want to surpass ourselves. ”

General Carney listened to the silence.

Half a day.

He spoke again: "So, your attitude towards this war is neutral? ”