After 5 days

July 9, 1846

Denver

It is here that you can feel the great enthusiasm of the United States to expand westward, which was originally a small town of forest and coal with a population of more than 200 people. Because of the stimulation of the war, it quickly swelled dozens of times in a short period of time, bringing together tens of thousands of people from various states in North America.

On the outskirts of the city, loads of supplies and horse-drawn carriages are driven out for kilometers, and the streets of towns are filled with crowds, hundreds of buildings of all kinds are erected, and many more are under construction.

The whole city is surging with a construction boom, and the huge barracks and several material yards, more warehouses, are the biggest features of this midwestern emerging town.

George Rabiot dressed like a dusty cowboy, strolling through the streets of Denver, his eyes cautiously looking around.

Here, you can see cowboys dressed similarly and U.S. federal soldiers in military uniforms, which are the two most common types of people in Denver.

I looked left and right

Georges Rabiot pushed open the door and walked into a tavern, which was more lively than the outside, almost full of chattering guests, and a bustle of heat rushed into his face.

George Rabiot took a seat at the edge of the bar and asked for a large glass of ale to drink slowly, listening to the guests' rhetoric.

Whenever a busty bar hostess twists her hips as she walks by, there is always a whistling and screaming, filled with the smell of alcohol and hormones.

Over here

You don't need to ask to get the information you need from those resentful or ostentatious tones.

"Man, can you believe it? It took me a week's drive to get to this damn place, and when it was time to return, the quartermaster threw me a sickle and told me to go out into the countryside and mow the grass and fill the cart myself, or I could stay here as long as I liked, damn it! ”

"You're not unlucky, man, there was a guy who just cut a cart full of hay yesterday, and you know what happened when he came back with his horse? Hahaha...... The cart full of hay is gone, and an empty cart appears in its place, hahahaha......"

"Everything sucks, this damn war."

"Don't complain, I heard a few officers say that tomorrow the army will go south to deal with those Orientals, and as long as they are killed, the war will soon be over."

"I hope so, man, is your message accurate?"

"Listening to your tone, it seems that there are still questions? I drove the wagon this morning to bring General Frank freshly slaughtered lamb and rum, and heard the officers talk about the order that had just been issued. Reputedly; The army of 7,600 men will set out tomorrow for the south, with 1,200 cavalry in the vanguard, and large forces and artillery behind. ”

"Wow...... Now those Orientals are dead. ”

The cowboys in the tavern were immediately intrigued by this topic, and you started talking about it without any scruples, revealing a lot of dry goods.

Most of these cowboys are drivers of the transport wagons, and they don't have any sense of secrecy at all, just buy him a beer and talk about sex, and they will shake out almost everything they know.

George Rabiot learned from their mouths;

The commander of the U.S. Expeditionary Force was General Frank Gilhurry, who had just arrived in Denver for three days with the last troops, and was said to be an experienced veteran general and one of only three major generals in the U.S. Continental Army.

The other two were Major General Arthur Temple, Chief of Staff of the Union Army, and Major General Taylor, commander of the U.S. Southern Invasion Force.

It can be seen from this

The White House attaches great importance to this western expedition, and sends heavyweight generals to personally sit in charge, vowing to sweep away the Tang Kingdom that is blocking the road of the western expedition, and is very confident.

After sitting in the tavern for a long time, Georges Rabiot took out a roll of bills and paid the bill, stood up and went to the layman.

He is the eldest son of Lieutenant Colonel Mike Rabiot, commander of the San Francisco Cuirassiers, and is 31 years old this year, who has followed his father to run a French bakery in Yerba Buena Green for more than ten years, and was one of the first military instructors to establish an armed force in the Tang Society.

Today's Rabiot family has been tightly tied to the chariot of the Tang Kingdom.

Untying the ropes from the horse's stakes, Georges Rabiot led the horse out of the city.

on the streets

He saw James Kahn and a few other familiar faces, and everyone left without tacitly parting and galloping away.

Outside of Denver

After the horses gathered, they simply exchanged information, confirmed each other, and after knowing the bottom of their hearts, they no longer hesitated, and galloped towards the south.

In a valley and dense forest about 50 kilometers southeast of Denver, James Kahn, George Rabiot, and others, who hurriedly returned, reported to Richard the latest military information they had spied on.

In the middle of the jungle

More than 130 marching tents were set up in the open space by the stream, and the cavalry took large groups of war horses to the shallow stream to drink, wash, feed and take care of them.

It was a temporary station, not far from a place called "Castle Rock", which was already very close to Denver, and there were often caravans of horses and cavalry passing by, and Richard sent a sentry to guard it from afar.

Out of prudence, the cavalry of the Tang Kingdom did not attack these horse convoys and American cavalry, so as not to startle the snakes.

If Richard didn't make a move, he would just hit the 7-inch of the US army's Western Expeditionary Force, which made him feel painful.

Faced with a 5-fold enemy, he had to choose the timing of his shot carefully.

The core task of the cavalry led by Richard was to attack and harass the American troops, so that they would not dare to rush south to fight, and buy enough time for the construction of the fortress of Rio Rancho and Fort Highland in the rear.

From now on, the US military will be held back for at least a month and a half.

That is to say, before the end of September, the main force of the US army's westward expedition will not be allowed to move south, and the longer it drags on, the more complete the construction of the rear fortress will be, and the more beneficial it will be to the local operations of the other side.

After listening to reconnaissance intelligence from the front, Richard convened a military meeting with the participation of the main officers, at which the officers proposed several combat plans that were not ideal, much to Richard's disappointment.

Without using the "Storm Rotary Machine Gun," a weapon of mass destruction, the combat plan put forward by the officers was nothing more than a sneak attack from the flank, or the difference between attacking the US rear infantry first or the forward cavalry first.

These conventional combat methods have a common shortcoming; That is, to destroy 1,000 enemies and lose 800 self-inflicted losses. This was clearly not the outcome Richard wanted.

Helplessly, the capital in his hand is too thin.

Even if it was a 1:2 or even 1:3 annihilation of the US army, Richard could not afford to pay that price.

The Colorado Plateau is a 310,000-square-kilometer desert Gobi Desert that stretches from south of Denver to north-central and southwestern New Mexico.

On the border between the eastern part of New Mexico and Kansas, the main trunk of the famous Colorado River flows through it, creating dense forests and vast tracts of fertile land, making it an excellent location for agriculture and home to many powerful Native American tribes.

It is the traditional home of powerful tribes such as the Navajo, Apache, Pueblo, Utah, and Gicarilla among the indigenous Indians, who live a traditional nomadic life in pursuit of large herds of bison.

Located on the northern edge of the Colorado Plateau, Denver is rich in vegetation, coal and iron, and is surrounded by large tracts of fertile land for farming.

Heading south from Denver, it doesn't take long to enter the desert Gobi region.

It is empty and desolate, with sparse vegetation.

The high temperature in summer often reaches 38~42 degrees, because it is located on the plateau, the temperature difference between day and night is very large, and the night temperature is often only a dozen degrees, and you need to cover it with a blanket to resist the cold wind.

This kind of terrain is not conducive to the concealed raid of the cavalry, and the sneak attack is often a frontal encounter, and the corresponding casualties are also inevitable.

The dense forest of this valley where the cavalry team is temporarily stationed is located in a corner, and the US troops do not need to pass through this place when they go south, but will take the desert Gobi road more than ten kilometers away.

There was an open line of sight, no obstruction, and there was no way to hide people, let alone a large group of cavalry.

On the more than 740 kilometers of road south of Denver, there are very few places for the cavalry brigade to sneak up, and perhaps, the Wagen-Mend Valley can be counted as one.

And this is where Richard worries.

At the end of the military meeting, Richard asked the officers to go separately to prepare for the battle, refused Liu Wu and other personal guards to follow, and walked into the woods alone, carefully considering his thoughts.

Richard was indeed a man of great intellect, with a keen mind, and he quickly had an idea in his heart;

Since the U.S. military is moving south, then I will turn the rear upside down, such as burning Denver......

So-called; He who attacks the enemy will be saved.

Having made up his mind, Richard continued to walk deep into the woods, and soon a crested Kara eagle flew over, perched on a branch not far away, chirping crisply.

Richard stared at the crested eagle with sharp eyes, paused for a moment and waved his hand, the eagle spread its wings very spiritually and flew into the air.

This nest of crested eagles, one male and one female, was left by Richard as a sentinel over the valley, and would hover to warn if a large group of enemy men approached.

He originally had the ability to communicate birds and beasts, and now he has the blood of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast, even if it only leaks a trace of breath, the adult crested Kara Eagle has to surrender and is willing to be driven by it.

How can you not use ready-made helpers?

The male and female crested eagles were originally birds of this dense forest, and they are carnivorous birds of prey who are accustomed to nesting in mountains and grasslands.

Discovered by Richard and ambushed, it is temporarily called No. 1 and No. 2, and its main task is to guard the surrounding sky and report immediately if the enemy is found.

Since nothing unusual was found in the surrounding area, Richard turned and left, and began to prepare a battle plan for a sneak attack on Denver.