There was a sound of horses' hooves outside the valley in the distance, and Richard looked up, then got up and went to the side to untie the reins from the stake, jumped on the horse, and shouted;

"Driving ......"

The horses trotted up the hillside, and when they reached the bottom of the valley, they began to accelerate, and their hooves sprang away.

Stand on the hilly heights at the entrance to the Grape Valley

You can see the towering European-style rooftops of Parkview Green a few kilometers away, and if you have a monocular in your hand, you can even see if the man from the town has a beard.

To the east

It is an unobstructed open area, which can be seen more than ten kilometers away, with green grass on gently sloping hills, and a large area of shrubs dotted in between, and a rugged dirt road stretching into the distance.

This is the road used by gold prospectors, leading to the river of the Americas, which is 10 kilometers away.

The dirt road is accessible to horse-drawn carriages, and there is a three-way junction in front of it, which leads to the direction of the new town.

At this time, it is about 5:00 p.m

The sun was shining in the sky, and a group of more than 20 horsemen escorted more than a dozen four-wheeled carriages back, and the carriages were full of Chinese gold diggers who revealed joy, and their excitement was overflowing.

These are the gold prospectors who have made a big harvest on the riverside of the Americas, returning to the Grape Valley in a wagon, their bodies full of the harvest of golden sand, and even large and small pieces of gold, and it is no longer safe to stay overnight in the riverside shacks.

And those Chinese who did not return obviously did not gain much, so they continued to stay by the river to pan for gold.

Richard galloped on horseback, and the group of cavalry captains who were escorted by the Tang Society were called Gao Shiheng, and he was also one of the four gunners who originally followed Richard.

Gao Shiheng broke away from the convoy with a few riders to catch up, slowed down his horse halfway, and saluted with his cowboy hat on his hand when he saw Li Cha.

"The big dragon head, the brethren have returned."

"How's it going by the river?"

"It's okay today, but there are several groups of whites and Mexicans who want to harass them, trying to find the fat sheep. The largest number of people were seven or eight horsemen, and we went up and drove them away. Tell them that these Chinese with braided hair are all covered by our Datang Society, and these horse bandits see that we are outnumbered, and they retreat in disgrace after putting two hard words. ”

"Well, the brothers have worked hard, let's go back first!"

Richard nodded with satisfaction, beckoned Gao Shiheng and others to escort the convoy first, and he sat on his horse, watching the convoy pass in front of him like reviewing the army, waving his hand and nodding in return from time to time.

The riders passing by and the Chinese gold diggers sitting in the four-wheeled carriages will respectfully take off their hats and salute him, smiling with joy on their faces, and looking full of harvest.

With the protection of the Tang Society, the Chinese gold diggers felt more secure, thanks to Richard on horseback, which made him famous in the Chinese circle for a while, and his prestige soared.

In this wild west

Don't mention what qualifications are old, famous, born into a famous family or anything, it doesn't matter if you are empty, only hard fists and strong strength are the last word.

Among the 10,000 gold diggers along the River of America, there are white and Mexicans from the eastern United States, as well as Chinese and indigenous Indians.

Even among the white gold diggers, there are countries and language barriers in England, Ireland, Prussia, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, etc., most of whom are illiterate and rude.

So, in order to compete for a good gold panning area or river bay, countless fights and murders are staged here every day, and it is simply too common for a few or a dozen people to die.

Often, Chinese gold prospectors have just discovered a gold-rich area, and they are immediately beaten, driven away or even robbed by white gold diggers who have heard the news nearby, and many have died as a result.

Most of the time

The Chinese gold diggers could only leave in the midst of the white man's rampant laughter, because the white man was rich and powerful and could not afford to provoke him.

It was the early days of the gold rush in San Francisco, there was neither talk of land ownership nor mining licenses, and everything was in pristine chaos.

Anyway, all the prospectors had to do was hold a shovel and a pickaxe, or a frying pan, and start their gold panning career by the river.

Where there are people, there is society, and there are more groups, and there is competition.

Ever since the discovery of gold in the River of America, white gold diggers have quickly gained the upper hand.

This was because of the many guns of the white gold diggers, and the backing of the feared Alexander Madison, who was also the boss of another white force in the New Town, an extremely greedy and bloodthirsty fellow with hundreds of lives under his command.

Alexander Madison was originally a second lieutenant officer in the Michigan Independent Cavalry Regiment when he learned of the discovery of gold by chance from a Mexican officer who had served in Alta California after the Mexican-American War in 1845. So I started the idea of desertion.

In order to prevent the news from leaking, he secretly killed the Mexican officer, gathered a dozen friends in the army, broke away from the cavalry regiment with horses and weapons, and traveled thousands of miles all the way west, crossing the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, and finally arrived at San Francisco, the land of his dreams.

After arriving here, Alexander Madison was like a fish in water, and with his excellent military literacy and ruthlessness, he quickly mixed up and became a big man in the new town.

Alexander Madison, who regarded himself as the "patron and defender of the interests of the white gold diggers", quickly grew up through fire and other white bandits, occupied the best bays along the rivers of America, and did both gold and protection money, and secretly engaged in the pursuit of money and murder, so it quickly exploded.

In the three white forces of San Francisco

If John Sutter Sr. is the head snake in the New Town, then Alexander Madison, who is full of blood, is the Raptors who cross the river and rise the fastest.

Captain William Richardson, who founded Yerba Buena, was a standard businessman and builder, introverted and unapproachable, and valued law and order above all else, while San Francisco was a place without law.

The local sheriff force in the hands of John Sutter Sr. was appointed by himself by virtue of his huge power, commonly known as "private police".

In San Francisco, there is also a local force dominated by Mexican Juan Carlos whose influence cannot be ignored.

Juan Carlos is a native white man, a white Spanish descendant in North America, an identity he is proud of.

As the lieutenant commander of the Mexican garrison in Alta California, he had more than 200 cavalry and more than 350 infantry under his command and was stationed in the eastern part of the new town.

After the White militia took up their guns and drove out the Mexican governor, Juan Carlos took off his military uniform and became the largest local merchant, the leader of the Mexican ethnic group, and the most influential figure in the new town.

The funny thing is that the Spaniards never recognized these native-born whites, believing that their blood was as low as that of the indigenous Indians, and that they were slaughtered without mercy.

The sunset is full

Richard rode back after the convoy, and when he came to the mouth of the Grape Valley, it was a little after five o'clock.

When you get here, you can already see the smoke rising from the grape valley, and the wooden houses are located one after another, which is like a picturesque scene against the backdrop of the mountains and rivers, and it is breathtaking.

The returning gold diggers disembarked from the wagons and flocked to the hills to see the sight of the rudiments of the defensive breastworks under construction, giving people a great sense of security.

It seems that a gate has been installed at Taniguchi, so please do not enter.

I heard that there are also sentry posts, walled walls, and wooden buildings to be built here, which has aroused everyone's heartfelt attention, and the chatter is endless, all of which are one-sided praise.

If there was still an element of compulsion yesterday, then the positive image of the Datang Society today has been completely established and has truly won the unanimous support of the Chinese.

Saying a thousand things and ten thousand things is a serious lack of security.

Seeing that the time is ripe

Richard drove his horse forward, sat on his horse and said loudly;

"Brothers Chinese workers, everyone be quiet and listen to me......"

With this shout, the crowd suddenly fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to this heroic young gunman, full of admiration and joy, but also with a hint of fear.

Seeing that everyone was quiet, Richard continued to speak loudly;

"The establishment of the Datang Club will serve as a strong security barrier for the benefit of all Chinese workers in the Grape Valley.

But now

We were facing a serious threat from the Hall of Protocol, and just before noon, 16 armed bandits from the Hall of Agreement tried to sneak into the valley to commit crimes.

Three of them were killed, and thirteen others were captured......"

When Richard said this, he caused an exclamation from the crowd, and then he was interrupted by the sound of the bandits' capture, which quickly turned into enthusiastic cheers.

The Association Hall is notorious for its many evils, and it would be miserable if these horse bandits were allowed to enter the village and harm the people.

Not to mention that a small number of wealthy families in the village have wives and children, it is these single gold diggers who have more or less gold sand hidden under the bed, on the beams of the house, and in the urn jar at home.

"Thank you, young master, thank you to the brothers of the Tang Society, you are really a bodhisattva who saves suffering!"

"Isn't it, if you let these villains in, then it will really be a bloody mold, thank goodness!"

"Fortunately, with the Datang Club, we will have a ...... to rely on in the future."

"Everyone, be quiet, listen to me first......" Richard had to interrupt the cheers one after another, he reached out and pressed down, and when he had calmed down a little, he said loudly;

"As the saying goes;

Only a thousand days to be a thief, how can there be a reason to prevent thieves for a thousand days?

As you can all see, out of the immediate threat, Datang will suspend military training and take the lead in building a defensive breastwall, but this is not enough.

The agreement hall has suffered such a big loss, it is impossible not to retaliate.

Therefore, I hope that when you return today, you will bring my words to the villages.

Tomorrow before dawn

All the people in the villages who were able to climb came here to help build the wall, whether it was axes, saws, pickaxes, shovels, wagons, or other tools.

We need to repair the defenses of Taniguchi as soon as possible, and only in this way can we ensure the safety of all of us, and this matter is urgent and closely related to everyone.

As for this pass, I call it "Shanhaiguan", and only when Shanhaiguan is truly built and perfected, can all people live and work in peace and contentment, pan for gold and make a fortune.

After making a fortune, he built a beautiful mansion in the valley, married a wife and had children, and lived a stable life, without worrying about the invasion of bandits day and night.

Let's talk about it, isn't that right? ”

More than 200 people answered in unison, "yes ......," and the momentum was really not small.

After answering, thinking of the happy place, everyone looked at each other and laughed, and the laughter was full of yearning and happiness for a better life in the future, which was particularly pleasant.