By the time Richard and his entourage returned to the Grape Valley, it was already twilight, and the fiery clouds that reflected half of the sky were brilliant.

Along the way, they hurried and hurried, but they did not catch up with the labor team returning on foot, which shows the speed of their footsteps, and they walked nearly 20 kilometers in more than three hours.

Richard returned to the camp, and the maids around him brought water and handkerchiefs to clean their faces, untied their weapons, changed into loose robes, and sat in the main hall to drink tea to relieve fatigue.

At this time

The guards returned to the court; "Gai Wangshan, the deputy head of logistics, came to report on the placement of Chinese workers and asked to submit it to the president."

"Pass it in."

With a faint command, Richard picked up the teacup and took two sips, and suddenly felt fragrant. After the maid refilled the tea, she waved her hand and ordered her to retreat.

Between words

Gai Wangshan had already crossed the threshold and entered, and bowed deeply to Richard, who was above him, with his hands clenched into fists, and said loudly;

"Humble Gaiwang Mountain, ordered to properly resettle the first batch of overseas immigrants, and now half of the population is resettled in Toudaoling Village and Erdaoling Village, giving enough fuelwood, rice and noodles, and is burying pots for cooking, and all the people are at peace with their hearts, and they are here to report it."

"Well, in the past two days, arrange more people to preach, boil hot water for everyone to take a bath, boil clothes in hot water, disinfect and sterilize well, and do a good job of registration."

"The subordinates understand, and they must make arrangements as soon as possible."

"Make it clear to these people that there is a golden sand in San Francisco, but each of them comes with a three-year employment contract on their backs. The promised wages will be given to them a lot of copper plates, and they must be conscientious in their work whether they are working in a factory or a farm. Don't think about those who don't have it, and don't expect to leave your job and run to pan for gold, as long as you are caught, you will be reduced to a hard labor prisoner. These ugly words must be told earlier. ”

"Understand, the lowly office must be preached again and again, until everyone knows who he is a hired servant."

"Hmm...... Except for those who are willing to join the army, as long as they pass the examination, they will be admitted, and in the future, they will be managed by military law. Explain it all to them, and you'll be fine...... Go get to work. ”

"Obey the order, and retire from your duties."

Gai Wangshan saluted respectfully, took two steps back before quickly turning to leave.

Sit above the lobby

Richard retracted his gaze, his fingers lightly tapping on the chair handle, considering the many issues that the Datang Club had faced recently.

In the future, the Chinese immigrants transported from Central and South America will mainly concentrate on setting up industries in the Grape Valley, cultivating wasteland to grow grain and fruit seedlings, and raising chickens, sheep, cattle and horses, so as to build this place into a large rear area for the Chinese in the future and a happy homeland.

Richard was not the kind of unprincipled good man who spent a lot of energy to get them from Central America, and then waved his hand and said; You're free.

These Chinese immigrants were indentured labourers, and Richard paid huge sums of money for recruitment and transportation, on the condition that:

Chinese laborers worked in factories and plantations for three years, after which they were free to come and go.

During this period

Richard will not let the Chinese workers go to the American River to pan for gold, and even if they do, they are only employees of the American River Gold Mining Company, responsible for the operation of the company's hydraulic gold panning trough, or they will stay in the Grape Valley to create wealth for the Tang Society and lay a solid foundation for development.

The first batch of 557 Chinese immigrants initially planned to select about 150 young people who were strong and able to endure hardships to join the musket team for training, and the number of musket corps increased from 400 to more than 500.

In addition, more than 50 soldiers with a certain military foundation and who can ride horses were selected to enrich the cavalry team.

In this way, the number of cavalry units increased from more than 360 to more than 410, which is exactly the establishment of 4 squadrons.

These cavalry of more than 400 people can be used as a framework to form a cuirassier regiment in the future, as the fist force of the Tang Society, and have a good fight with the US Federal Army.

After the adjustment, the armed forces under the Datang Association will further increase to more than 900 people, which basically meets the current needs.

According to the intelligence of the British adventurer Ronald Evenson;

The Mexican-American War may break out sometime in May, June, and July, a little later, maybe a little earlier, but not until August at the latest.

According to the estimation of the relevant parties in London;

The standing strength of the U.S. Federal Army is about 8,600 people, and after the initial war mobilization, the number of troops that the U.S. military can put into the war will not exceed 18,000~20,000, and it will not be more.

In addition to the frontal battlefield to deal with the Mexican army, the expansion of the flank battlefield (referring to the troops sent by the U.S. military to the remote western provinces of Mexico, Arizona, and California) will not involve much troops, presumably between 1,200 and 1,800 troops, mainly cavalry.

As for the middle and late stages of the Mexican-American War, when the United States once again mobilized a large number of volunteers for service, the number of troops that the US military may invest is innumerable, and its war potential is extremely terrifying.

London forecast; The number of U.S. troops will vary according to the changes in the war situation, but the maximum will not exceed 8~100,000.

London judged that the final outcome of the war would be that Mexico would lose, and that it would win less than one percent.

The reason is that Mexico has a population of only more than 7 million, and a large part of them are agrarian Indians, the agricultural economy is weak, the **** is rampant, the training is poor, the combat effectiveness is weak, and the officials compete with each other for power and profit, and it is difficult to twist into a rope to deal with the Americans.

Richard was secretly shocked by the intelligence capabilities of the British Empire, and the course of history was very different from the British estimates.

Sure enough, the heritage of an old colonial empire should not be underestimated.

If history has not changed

When the Mexican-American War broke out on May 13, 1846, the U.S. Federal Army initially sent 1,700 troops to the west, just 100 short of the British estimate of 1,800.

The U.S. Army marched south to Mexico in three directions, led by Colonel Stephen Carney on the west, and was tasked with capturing California and New Mexico.

The navy, led by John Snow, attacked and blockaded the ports off the coast of Mexico, and the main American army, led by General Scott, took the Mexican capital.

After the start of the war

The U.S. Army's three-way army was like a bamboo, taking advantage of the victory and moving south.

From June to August 1846, with American immigrants as the internal response, the United States occupied San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento and other important cities.

The U.S. military declared California a U.S. territory on August 17. On August 15, 1846, U.S. forces occupied Las Vegas and declared New Mexico a U.S. state.

Other words

In less than three months, more than 1,700 U.S. cavalry troops, led by Colonel Stephen Carney, occupied 1.28 million square kilometers of land in New Mexico, Alexandria, Nevada and California.

Except for marching and marching, there was not a decent battle.

The main forces of the Mexican army were concentrated in Kansas and Baja California, led by President Santa Anna and the General Staff, and confronted the main American forces led by General Scott.

It was the fiercest battle of the Mexican-American War, and after several major battles, the two sides fought for more than a year, and the U.S. Scott Division defeated the Mexican army at the Battle of Serogordo and the Battle of Chubrusco, and arrived at the Mexican capital on May 5, 1847.

After half a year of fierce fighting, the U.S. military entered Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, on September 14, 1847, and the war entered the final negotiation stage.

Review the process

It is not difficult to see that in the face of the US army, which is equipped with front-loading rifles and artillery, it has a strong mobilization capacity, and the overall strength of the Mexican army is at a disadvantage, so it is still defeated after a struggle.

These days

In his spare time in the evening, Richard would always repeatedly ponder the current situation in North America, trying to find a little opportunity to leverage the changes in the entire war situation.

There is not much time left for him, and he is only 4 months old.

The Yankees he faced were unprecedentedly powerful, and from the perspective of the current strength of the Tang Society, this was almost an invincible enemy.

With the influx of European immigrants, the population of the United States reached 17.06 million in 1840 and continues to grow rapidly every year.

By the end of 1845, the population of the United States had reached 19.71 million, only one step away from breaking the 20 million population mark, three times the population of Mexico, and the total territory area of about 5.05 million square kilometers, making it an out-and-out giant in North America.

No matter how arrogant Richard was, he could not be confident that he would be able to curry favor with the Yankees.

The disparity in strength is too great, and there is almost an unsolvable problem in front of him.

How to break the situation is a question he has been thinking about hard.

Put the favorable factors on the table, and summarize them as follows;

First, the forces of the federation have received the full support of the British side, and the British have not only given policies on issues such as weapons and equipment, materials, and immigration, but also taken out part of the stockpiles, which is a favorable factor.

Immigrants from the British Isles are not expected for the time being, and from May, more than 3,000 Chinese immigrants per month can still be guaranteed, which will continue to increase the base of Chinese immigrants and replenish valuable human resources for San Francisco (San Francisco).

As the war progressed

As long as the federation can show enough value, it will be able to continue to receive support from London.

Otherwise, they will be ruthlessly abandoned.

Second, the establishment of an independent state is supported by London, and relevant matters are in full swing, and once independence is publicly declared, it will be immediately recognized by some European countries led by the United Kingdom, and it will virtually stand on the moral high ground.

With the name of righteousness, European countries, led by Britain, can openly meddle in North American affairs, provide much-needed materials, including military equipment, and exert strong diplomatic pressure on the Yankees.

Third, the vast, sparsely populated Wild West, with the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and the Nevada Desert stretching north and south, will pose a huge obstacle to the U.S. military's military operations.

Fourth, Richard also had a secret weapon in his hands, that is, the genius weapon designer Mr. Samuel Colt, and this was the trump card by which he snatched food from the Yankees.

Advanced weapons that can compensate for the lack of the number of troops.

Richard was ready to find time to talk to Mr. Samuel Colt about a weapon of his dreams:

This weapon has a revolver-like structure and can be composed of six, seven, eight, or even nine long barrels, and can be fired by turning the hand to fire a continuous stream of hot bullets, resulting in dense firepower.

That's right, under the current heavy military pressure, Richard is ready to get the Gatling gun out more than ten years in advance and become a big killer in his hands.

In advanced weapon design, the most difficult thing is to have a flash of inspiration, which is the premise of designing a good weapon.

There are basically no technical difficulties in realizing this ingenious idea.

Break it down

The 6 or 7 barrels of a Gatling gun are simply superimposed on several rifle barrels to form a structure that rotates around the center axis, and there is no technical difficulty in achieving it.

Hand rotation is simpler, and it is widely used in machine tools and various mechanical devices, as long as a suitable structure that is both light and durable can be selected.

The rotation of each barrel to the firing position, the firing of the bullet and the firing pin, the re-entry structure of the bolt, etc., are like a mathematician analyzing the equations of a high school student for the genius weapon designer Mr. Samuel Colt, which is an interesting and re-learning process, without a high degree of challenge.

If you move quickly, you can build a Gatling gun by hand, and it will take you about ten days to die.