In this war, although Mexico was not as strong as the United States as a whole, Santa Anna still had some responsibility for Mexico's defeat.

In an effort to strengthen the centralization of power, Santa Anna inoplaborately weakened Mexico's local armies.

As a result, when the U.S. forces invaded, the resistance of the Mexican state soldiers was often extremely weak, or even surrendered altogether.

When the war began, Mexico rushed to re-strengthen its local army.

But alas, it was too late, and even if the number of soldiers could be quickly restored, the compensation for combat effectiveness would not be completed in a moment and a half.

Within two years, Mexico had completely failed and half of its territory had been taken up by the United States.

These lands have not been officially ceded, but everyone understands that the meat eaten will no longer be spit out.

Polk's heart, known to passers-by.

Everyone knows the current president of the United States, who is eager for expansion, and this workaholic president will certainly expand the territory of the United States as much as possible.

"Santa Anna has always brought disaster to Mexico, and now he has plunged the country into a bottomless abyss, and he dares to compare himself to Napoleon!" Juárez has a big opinion of Santa Anna.

"He got carried away and said that he was the Napoleon of the Western Hemisphere, but I don't think he resembles Napoleon in the slightest except that he was exiled!"

"I hope after this time, he will never come back!" Juarez took a sip of his wine.

"As far as I know, Santa Anna seems to have been president many times? Maybe ten times? Ma Whistle asked.

"Yes, the situation in Mexico is volatile, and it's not unusual, and it's not unusual to change presidents twice a month. Many of Santa Anna's terms were only a few months or less. Juarez said.

After a pause, he sighed slightly: "But I must also admit that the people have not completely abandoned him. ”

"He was first seen as a hero – at the time of Mexico's independence. To this day, after this painful and humiliating defeat, there are still those who regard him as a hero. ”

Ma Whistle was silent for a moment: "People are always nostalgic. ”

"yes." Juarez nodded, "But nostalgia is sometimes terrible, at least Santa Anna is not worth our nostalgia, he should be completely discarded, just like we throw away the sludge on our clothes!" ”

Ma Whistle smiled and said meaningfully: "There is no doubt that the Mexican people need a new leader." ”

Juarez smiled and didn't say anything.

Later in the evening, Margarita came to the room: "It's time for dinner, Benito. ”

"Okay, dear." Juarez replied.

Then he said, "Let's have dinner together, Horse Whistle." ”

"Gladly."

Ma Whistle and Juarez had dinner and tasted some of the specialties of Oaxaca.

The city had some gastronomic genes, at least much more than the Mexican food he had seen in the previous two months.

The next day, Ma Whistle began to form the Mexican branch of the Apache News Agency in Oaxaca.

Thanks to Governor Juárez, the process went smoothly, especially in terms of formalities, and the legal news agency was quickly established.

And then, the news agency also needs a house.

"Come with me, Ma Sentinel, not far north of the mansion, there is a man who is selling his house, which I think should be a suitable place for a newspaper." Juárez personally took the horse whistle to choose the location of the news agency's office.

Soon they came to their destination, a residential area near the north of the governor's residence.

"Fernandez, has your house been sold?" Juarez asked from afar, and then a middle-aged man in front of him turned around.

"Not yet, Mr. Governor." Fernández greeted.

Juarez smiled: "That's right, I got you a buyer, Ma Whistle, you can talk." ”

"Hello, Mr. Fernández." The horse whistle greeted the man, looking at the house behind him.

"Are you going to buy a house?" Fernandez asked.

"That's right." Ma Whistle nodded, "This seems to be your home?" ”

Fernandez: "Yes, but I'm planning to move out, and probably won't be coming back." So before I left Oaxaca, I had to sell this house. How about it, do you want to live in this house? ”

Ma Whistle: "I didn't buy it for residence. ”

"Isn't the house just for living?" Fernandez disagreed, "Or are you planning to convert this house into a shop?" ”

"Almost." The horse whistle said, circled the house, and then entered it to observe.

He was quite satisfied with the house.

The area is spacious, the decoration is also to his liking, although it is not flashy, but it is simple and elegant, and more importantly, the location, which can almost be said to be next to the governor's mansion.

"It looks good." Ma Whistle said, "How much are you going to sell?" Preferably in US dollars, I have quite a few US dollars in my hand. ”

"Dollars, huh...... Five thousand three hundred dollars. "It has to be gold or silver, and I don't take paper money, unless it's a note from the big banks, and you're willing to discount it." ”

Juarez then said: "Fernandez, five thousand three hundred dollars, I think it's a bit expensive. ”

Fernández froze: "Mr. Governor, you should understand, this is the housing prices in the neighborhood, not high or low. ”

Juarez: "Yes, but you should also know that not many people have been willing to buy a house lately. ”

Fernandez: "Of course, because of the war. But the war is over, and I'm sure things will change soon. ”

"That house is also for sale, and it's not even as big as mine, but it's about a hundred dollars more expensive." He pointed to a house not far away.

Ma Whistle said, "Sell me five thousand dollars, so that it is more convenient to settle accounts, what do you think?" ”

For Apache, who is sitting on a gold mine, more than 5,000 dollars is not enough, but it is not a loss to cut 300 dollars in a few words, not to mention that it is not a good thing to show wealth.

Fernandez hesitated for two seconds, then finally nodded: "Well, for Mr. Governor's sake, it's five thousand dollars." ”

Juarez smiled.

"By the way, I don't accept paper money." Fernandez stressed again.

Ma Whistle: "Don't worry, I don't even have banknotes." ”

After a short period of investigation and bargaining, the deal was successfully completed. For five thousand dollars, Ma Whistle bought Fernandez's house.

The next step is the transformation.

However, this house is well decorated and comes with furniture, so you don't have to think too much about it. The Apache added a little equipment to the house and made it the headquarters of the news agency's branch.

Twelve Apache people will remain here, including two official editors.

The remaining ten were soldiers.

Long Hair is the president of the place and is in charge of everything here.

The soldiers assigned to the Mexican branch were selected and had good writing skills.

They perform security duties and are trainee newspaper editors and reporters, assisting Longhair with news and intelligence.

In addition to the various daily utensils, the most important items in the branch are books, which have been selected by the horse whistle, mainly in the natural sciences and history.

Apache is undoubtedly out of the best learning environment when they leave Sleeping Bear City, and they still have a lot to learn.

These collections are a way to make up for it.

It's certain that it can't be compared to the classroom in Sleeping Bear City, but it's much better than not learning at all.

And, of course, the indispensable Apache oracle, which is the most important textbook, almost every man of all ages, has a copy of the Spiritual Oracle.

The "Spiritual Message" concentrates the core ideas of Ma Whistle, and also concentrates a set of knowledge structures that are not profound, but quite complete.

In Ma Whistle's opinion, if anyone fully understands and agrees with the content of the book, without a small religious element, he is tantamount to a clone of himself.

"The collection of books is very good." Juarez looked through the news agency's collection of books, and in his hand was a book about the Pythagorean school, "although I don't know much about mathematics. ”

Ma Whistle pointed to the bookshelf: "Most of these books on mathematics and natural sciences do not require advanced knowledge, strictly speaking, they should be regarded as subject history. ”

"History of the discipline?"

Ma Whistle nodded: "Yes, the history of mathematics, the history of physics...... And, of course, the history of society and politics, that is, historiography in general. ”

"You can tell you're a history buff." Juarez smiled.

Ma Whistle: "Hegel said that philosophy is the history of philosophy. I think this can be extended to all disciplines. ”

"If you don't know the history of mathematics and physics, you can't understand mathematics and physics, and chemistry, biology or law are the same."

"One of the important reasons why Faraday was able to achieve the scientific achievements that people are known for today is that he had an in-depth understanding of the history of science in his early years."

When Ma was a high school physics teacher in his previous life, he always attached great importance to the history of physics.

It is not difficult for him to teach physics in any class to be the first in his grade.

The really challenging task is to give students an in-depth understanding of the history of physics.

There is a lot of content in the textbook about the history of science, such as Faraday's experience, which he just mentioned, which is in the physics textbook.

Unfortunately, there are not many teachers and students who value the history of science.

Or, to a certain extent, there are not many teachers and students who have the spare time to delve deeper into the history of science.

There are almost no tests in the exam, at most one or two multiple-choice questions, such as "Which of the following experiments illustrates the existence of atomic nuclei?"

And in the long run, the history of science is precisely the most important.

After all, for most people, those headache-inducing formulas and problem-solving skills are forgotten soon after leaving campus.

In other words, formulas and problem-solving skills are knowledge that depreciates very quickly.

This is not the case with the history of science.

The history of science is generally a story, less involved in formulas, more adapted to the way humans remember, and not easily forgotten.

More importantly, the history of science allows people to better understand the nature of science.

People who are ignorant of the history of science tend to view science through the lens of mysticism, as some kind of unspeakable new age witchcraft.

A common example is that some people often think of science as a religion or superstition.

But anyone who knows a little about the history of science knows that the history of science is a history of self-questioning, and that the predecessors of science are used to overthrow, which is fundamentally different from religion.

Scientists can say that they are closer to the truth than their predecessors, or even that their predecessors are wrong, while the gods never dare to claim that they are superior to the prophets on any level.

The term "superstitious science" is like a "triangle with four sides", which is itself a contradictory expression, and the two words should not be combined in the first place.

Ma Whistle never expected most Apache people to become mathematicians and physicists, nor did he expect them to master complex problem-solving techniques, which was not necessary in the first place.

But the history of science is essential.

In his view, only by making the history of science common knowledge of the Apache people, and letting the Apache people know how the truth came about, can the nation be truly saved.

In particular, the trial-and-error experience in the history of science is an extremely valuable lesson that can be applied to almost any problem.

It doesn't make much sense to simply give the Apache a stronger material weapon to overthrow America and achieve a simple revenge.

Juarez looked at the Apache soldiers who were moving furniture, especially the weapons on their bodies, and after a while said, "Are they all soldiers? ”

"Yes." The horse whistle nodded, noticing his expression.

Juarez mused, "Although I don't really care about these things personally, after all, I also know that you have a tradition of all people being soldiers...... Still, I hope you don't carry weapons, at least rifles. ”

Ma Sentinel: "The rifle is indeed a bit conspicuous, and they will definitely not go out with it in the future." ”

"I think pistols are essential, they need to defend themselves. And these weapons might be able to help you at a critical time, Juarez. ”

"Oh?"

Juarez's expression moved slightly.

"These soldiers are only on my orders, but I certainly won't stay in Oaxaca for long. ”

"In my absence, my friend, you are their supreme commander. They will be as loyal to you as they are to me. ”

Juárez was the governor and could mobilize Oaxaca's army.

But the reason why Oaxaca's army was willing to obey Juarez's orders was solely because he was the governor.

If he wasn't the governor anymore, it would be natural that these state soldiers would no longer obey him, and it wouldn't be surprising that they even turned around to attack him.

In other words, the army of the state government is loyal to the governor, but not to Juárez.

Aside from his official position, Juárez himself had no formidable force, at least not an armed force loyal to him personally.

And now, the horse sentry is equivalent to lending him such a private army, although the number is small, but it is clearly the elite of the elite, ten high-quality soldiers.

As the whistle said, at a critical moment, this private army will be able to help Juarez.

Juarez naturally understood the reason, and said with a smile: "I believe that these warriors, they will definitely become an important force in maintaining the order of Oaxaca!" ”

(End of chapter)