"Philip Cook." The bearded U.S. lieutenant colonel introduced himself and said, "Well, Grand Chief Albert, right?" ”

"That's right." The horse sentry nodded, looking at the two hundred dragoons behind Cook.

Dragoons are also cavalry, but this dragoon behind Cook seems to be a bit special, riding not horses, but mainly mules.

"We met in July, and then you went to attack Santa Fe. How, what was the outcome of the battle? Ma Whistle asked.

Cook looked calm: "We're in a little trouble. Albert Grand Chieftain, I'm curious to know, why do Mexicans also have Browning Model 1845 revolvers? ”

The horse whistle said bluntly: "Because they paid." ”

Cook was silent for two seconds: "So, it is true that you sold the pistol to the Mexicans?" ”

"Yes." Ma Whistle knew that this kind of thing could not be hidden.

Cook's face gradually became a little gloomy: "You didn't tell us in advance, as far as I know, you have promised to be a neutral party in this war, and you have signed a contract. ”

Ma Whistle remained indifferent: "We didn't tell the Mexicans beforehand. This does not violate the terms of the neutrality pact, and we really did not form an alliance with either side, nor did we attack any of them. ”

"We sell weapons to the Americans, and we sell weapons to the Mexicans. It's neutral, isn't it? ”

"......" Lieutenant Colonel Cook was speechless, and after a moment he said, "Cunning Indians." ”

Ma Whistle laughed and didn't say anything.

Cook added, "The British gave you the weapons?" ”

Ma Whistle made a brief hesitant expression, and then said, "I said it was a European company that did not want to be named, and I signed a confidentiality contract with them, so I will not tell anyone the truth." ”

Cook stared at him and said slowly, "The British are just using you as pawns, and this is the United States." ”

"Maybe, but we don't have much choice." Ma Whistle sighed slightly, "If there is a choice, who would be willing to be someone else's pawn." ”

Cook didn't ask any more: "I need a thousand revolvers." ”

"Fifty thousand dollars." Ma Whistle held out five fingers and added, "Only gold and silver coins will be accepted, not bank bills." ”

Cook frowned slightly: "This is an order for a thousand, can't you lower the price?" ”

Ma Whistle shook his head: "Unfortunately, it really can't." If there is less money, we will have to subsidize the Russian ...... out of our own pockets That company. ”

He demonstrated a tiny slip of the tongue just right.

Cook's heart moved.

Oregon, it's a damn British!

Of course, Cook didn't say anything about the slip of the tongue, after all, he had already thought that the British were behind it.

"I don't have that much money in my hands." He said.

The whistle asked, "How much money do you have?" ”

"It's only $30,000."

"Then we can only sell you six hundred."

Cook said: "You can put the accounts on the books first, and when we take down Santa Fe, we'll pay you the rest — plus interest." ”

Ma Whistle looked a little excited: "How much interest are you going to pay?" ”

"Ten thousand dollars." Cook said, "As long as we take Santa Fe City, we'll pay you another $30,000 with interest." What do you think? ”

Ma Whistle pondered for a moment: "But what if you fail?" ”

Cook paused: "It's impossible. ”

"Victory and defeat are common in soldiers, and didn't Napoleon also fail." Ma Whistle smiled, "Didn't you just have a little trouble, who knows if it's going to be victory or bigger trouble next." ”

Then he changed his words: "However, if you are willing to agree to two conditions to me." I'd rather pay $20,000 for you upfront. ”

Cook asked, "What conditions?" ”

Ma Whistle: "The first condition is that the Americans need to revoke the bounty on the scalp of the aborigines. ”

Cook thought for a moment: "First of all, we only have the power to revoke the Leavenworth bounty order, and we are not responsible for the rest. ”

"Then revoke the Leavenworth bounty order." Ma Whistle said. Fort Leavenworth, though numbered only a few thousand people, ruled over almost all of the unincorporated territories in the Midwest.

"That's not going to work." "I admit that you are a relatively civilized tribe, but most of the Indian tribes in the Midwest are ravaging savages, and we still have to fight them. Therefore, the bounty order for Fort Leavenworth cannot be revoked. ”

He then added, "Of course, we can give you a separate exemption from the Apache of the Plains tribes. ”

Fort Leavenworth certainly won't revoke the bounty order.

Not because they wanted to fight the Indian tribes, but because they made money in this way—as long as they kept the bounty on the Indians, they had one more reason to reach out to Congress for money.

Anyway, the old men of the Congress will not come over to count the scalps in person, and it is not up to them to decide how they spend this money.

Ma Whistle said: "What's the difference between this and not revoking?" Can you tell where the scalp comes from? ”

Cook: "Maybe it's a bit more cumbersome to do, but that's all we can do. ”

"It doesn't make any sense!" Ma Whistle was silent for a moment, and then changed his words, "In that case, let's talk about the second condition. ”

"The second condition is that the Apache Plains tribes want to join the United States as the twenty-ninth state."

"What?" Cook was stunned, he almost thought he had misheard.

"We understand the situation, and for the Apaches, joining the United States is the only way to civilization...... So, I hope Apache will become the twenty-ninth state of the United States of America. ”

This was a completely unexpected condition for Cook, who did not expect that the Indian tribe would voluntarily request to become a state in the United States.

"IMHO, it's almost impossible." "Even if it were possible, it wasn't something I or General Carney could call the shots," Cook said. ”

"This kind of thing, you have to talk about it in Washington."

The creation of new states is undoubtedly a major national event, not to mention a military base, and even the president cannot have the final say.

Especially in the current political environment.

The quarrel over the abolition of slavery intensified, and every new state had to face the choice of whether to abolish slavery or keep slaves.

Of course, Ma Whistle knew this, and in fact although he did intend to lie dormant as a state for a while, he never thought that it would be possible in the near future.

When he put forward this condition, he was purely "lifting the roof".

"So what can you do?" The horse whistle asked.

Cook thought for a moment: "Hmm...... We can help you make a proposal to Washington. ”