Detroit

Michigan's largest heavy industrial city quickly regained its prosperity after the war, with a large influx of new Chinese immigrants reaching 417,000 in October 1862, surpassing its peak.

Among them, there are more than 50,000 retired officers and soldiers, who occupy many important industries in the city and become one of the dominant and important social forces.

Captain Wu Erbao also retired, and settled his home in this beautiful industrial city on the banks of the Great Lakes, where he owned a villa and two golden shops in the bustling downtown area, and he also had a sum of money in his hands when he retired, and his life can be said to be enjoyable.

In the downtown area of Shengli Street, the original investment of 4,500 yuan to purchase two gold shops, now the value has doubled, has been close to 10,000 yuan, and is extremely popular.

The annual stable rental income alone is as high as more than 800 yuan, and the rent of the store is showing a steady upward trend. After paying municipal taxes, there are still more than 650 yuan in Wu Erbao's pocket.

This rental income alone is enough to sustain a middle-class family's affluent life.

Today's Wu Erbao has one wife and two concubines, and the Chinese wife has three children, two boys, one girl and three children, the eldest is 5 years old.

The two concubines are young white girls, one has already given birth to a big fat boy for him, and the other has a big belly, which is expected to add another son to the Wu family, which is a sign of prosperity!

Together with two Mexican servant wives and a coachman, the family of 11 lives in a single-family house not far from the lake. This villa has two floors of more than 320 square meters, as well as several auxiliary rooms, stables, and green trees, and the environment is extraordinarily elegant.

this day

The coachman drove the carriage to the main entrance of the courtyard, it was an ordinary carriage with an eye-catching 401 number and a knight's logo engraved on it, which meant that the carriage belonged to a certain knight from the 401st Division, and it was a mark of glory in the past.

In the Tang Empire, knights or barons were to be honored with the title of "Mr. Sir" to show respect.

"I've seen Lord Sir, the carriage is ready."

"Hmm!" Wu Erbao, who was wearing an elegant woolen coat, walked out of the room, wearing a top hat on his head, a mustache, and a beautifully carved noble cane in his hand, standing at the door and looking at the fallen leaves in the courtyard, and casually commanded; "Send me to the Victory Street Military Club, clean the courtyard when I come back, and remember to prune the bushes."

"Yes, Lord Sir."

"Let's go, then."

While speaking, Wu Erbao took a cane and got into the carriage, and the coachman closed the door, quickly climbed into the front seat and raised the whip, and shook the whip with a "horn", driving the sturdy horse forward.

The carriage drove out along the road at the door, and made a nimble turn into the street.

It's a cold and bleak October in Detroit, and the trees on both sides of the road are yellow and the leaves are falling everywhere, but there is a constant stream of horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians.

As soon as you enter the main street, you can see the tinkling of trams, and the number of shops along the street suddenly increases, and the bustling city scene is in full swing.

More than 20 minutes later

The carriage arrived on bustling Victory Street, one of Detroit's busiest streets, home to banks, theaters, department stores, and trading companies, and there were no traces of the brutal war left except for bullet marks still on some of the buildings.

Perhaps the biggest change is that the flow of people on the streets is mainly Chinese, mixed with a small number of whites.

The carriage stopped at a tall courtyard on Victory Street, where the 401st Division Veterans Club had not yet arrived, but the long carriages lined up on the side of the road could no longer move forward.

Take a closer look, many carriages are engraved with the emblems of the 401st Division and the Baron or Knight, and a small number of carriages engraved with the family crest of the nobles also have the imprint of the 401st Division, representing that the owners of the carriages have had the glorious experience of serving in the 401st Division.

For retired officers, this is an indelible glorious chapter in life.

"The Jazz Club has arrived, but there are too many carriages here, I'm afraid I can't get in."

"Just stop here." Wu Erbao got out of the carriage and tidied up the clothes on his body.

He had expected this for a long time, so he waved his hand to the coachman; "Drive the carriage back," said Madame Hui; The lord didn't go back at noon, so he ate in the club, and he didn't have to wait for me for lunch. ”

"Understood, Sir Sir." The coachman replied respectfully.

Wu Erbao nodded, took a step and walked down the street, and after walking a short distance, he came to the front of the tall courtyard, where more than a dozen well-dressed gentlemen were chattering about something?

On the tall courtyard, there are several vigorous and powerful big characters "401 Division Retired Officers Club", which is a place for leisure and recreation for retired officers of the 401st Division.

As long as you are a retired officer and soldier in Room 401, you can get help here.

This kind of military club has blossomed everywhere in the Tang Empire, and in those big cities in Chicago, it is a place where retired soldiers gather, and "a certain regiment club" is very popular, and there are even a certain battalion and a certain company club, of course, the scale is much smaller.

"Yo, Sir Wu is here, you haven't been to the club for a while, what kind of wind blew you here today?"

"What's so hilarious?"

"Don't you know such a big deal? His Majesty passed on the imperial order, and the ace 104 Hongyan Valley Division, which was originally subordinate to the Northern Military Region, was transferred to the Royal Navy as a whole, and now these guys with high heads have all become Marine Divisions, and the War Department has gone crazy, and I heard that there is a big operation overseas. ”

"Oh my God, so hot?"

"Do you need to talk about that? Today, the old commander of our division will come to the club to sit down, maybe there will be exciting news, isn't that ...... The brothers are all waiting here, and they are more or less waiting. ”

"Then this kind of thing is indispensable to me, Wu Erbao, let's wait together."

"That's it, it's ......"

Whenever an empire expands and colonizes, it brings endless business opportunities and opportunities for wealth, which has formed a general consensus in society. All of us present are beneficiaries and do not need to mobilize at all.

The 401st Division is a mobilized division from Paradise Island, and the whole is a B-level division under the overseas military region, from 401 to 413, there were 13 overseas divisions at its peak, and all of them were retired without exception after the war, and the temporary establishment of the division was cancelled.

However, the glory of the 401st Division has been passed down in the officers' club, and these officers and soldiers who landed in North America, after seeing the vastness and richness of North America, and seeing this more colorful and splendid world, almost without exception chose to stay.

These retired officers and soldiers who have traveled more than half the world are generally broader-minded, more active-minded, more open-minded, more confident, and more receptive to new things than Europeans in today's era.

How did such a change happen?

Maybe it's just that you go far, see more, see more, and everyone is undergoing an indescribable metamorphosis, becoming keen on conquest, keen on adventure, keen on seeing the wider world.

Therefore, even the fact that the new colonization direction that went viral above was located in distant South America did not dampen the enthusiasm of these retired officers in the slightest.

What's wrong with South America?

It's only a little more than 20 days by boat, how far can it be?

From Detroit, you can take a boat directly from the Great Lakes, take the Toronto Canal into the Atlantic Ocean, and go all the way south, almost two and a half weeks and a half, you can reach Buenos Aires, an important city in South America.

Alternatively, you can take the train to the East Coast and sail from New York.

Alternatively, you can take the train all the way south, passing through Mexico City and turning east to sail in the Gulf of Mexico at Port Verac-Bruce or Port Medellín, and then head south to South America.

From Panama, the southernmost province of the empire, it took less than 10 days to sail.

I didn't have to wait long

There was a loud noise in the crowd, and some people shouted "Coming, coming......", and many well-dressed retired officers ran out of the club, and soon forty or fifty gentlemen gathered at the gate.

This is a heavy aristocratic carriage engraved with the logo of the viscount, two horses and two wheels, the handsome horse is draped in a velvet horse coat, the horse coat is also embroidered with the noble family crest, and the horse neck is fished with a brass gilded horse bell, which looks extraordinary in style and full of aristocratic atmosphere.

The carriage drove closer, and the crowd gathered around with a "whoop".

"Greetings to Your Excellency, Good Season, Sir."

"Master Shizuo, I'll be courteous here when I wait for my old ministry to come here."

"Ouch, you've been waiting for a long time, I'm ashamed!"

The carriage door opened, and Zhu Shanhe, who was dressed as a straight general, got down from the carriage with a smile, waved his hand to greet the old department, and then made a group of fists, and after a little greeting, he was hugged into the club.

The courtyard in the club is deep, the silk and bamboo cloud boards are endless, and there is a faint laughter from time to time, and the atmosphere is very harmonious and lively.

A few hours later

Wu Erbao was sent home by the carriage with a drunken face, and the concubines and servants of the family hurriedly greeted him, took the master's top hat, coat, cane and other things, and offered hot towels and tea, and was really courteous.

"Okay, don't all gather around the master, take the children to the house to play, the master is tired, let the master rest for a while, one by one there are no rules." His wife, Wu Chen, looked at the chaotic scene, and her face sank and she spoke out to drive people away.

The two white concubines didn't dare to talk back, and obediently left with the children.

Wu Chen saw that the old man was sitting on a chair in the hall and sipping hot tea, his brows were furrowed, and he was silent, so he stepped forward and asked with concern; "Master, is there something difficult to do in your heart?"

"Exactly." Wu Erbao took another sip before putting down the teacup in his hand, gently tapping his fingers on the desk, and said in a deep voice;

"Today, I met the old chief in the club, and heard a major event that is now disturbing the upper echelons of the Empire, that is, the Empire intends to launch a wilderness expedition in distant South America."

"South America, where is that?"

"Anyway, if you know it's in the south, it's about 20 days by boat."

"My God, isn't it as far away as we were from Paradise Island here?"

"Almost, it is said that it is as vast and fertile as the Great Plains in the middle of North America, with a mild climate, which is very conducive to the development of large pastures and large farms, sparsely populated, and is another piece of heaven chosen treasure land given to the Tang Empire!"

"But...... Master, we don't have to worry about food and clothing now, so why do we have to go so far to fight hard? What if something goes wrong? ”

"Hmph, the woman's opinion, the rat's eyes are inch."

Wu Erbao looked displeased, knocked his fingers on the desk and said; "If I had been a little rich and peaceful, and I was only willing to covet and enjoy the small farm that I had on Paradise Island, how could I have the glory and wealth I have now?

And my honorable status, sir?

Shangfeng said;

This time, the Wilderness Expeditionary Empire only prepared two divisions, which were mainly used for frontal combat and targeted attacks on the cavalry of the Mapuche royal court, and carried out large-scale mobile operations.

This wilderness expedition allows the volunteer army to follow, and when you get there, there is a lot of land, whoever occupies it is whoever, if you can afford to occupy a piece of land of 100,000 hectares, then the empire will issue you a land ownership certificate, which can be passed on from generation to generation.

With such generous conditions, many military compatriots are red-eyed, and they are ready to get a piece of the pie!

It's time for the beginning of spring next year

That's really a response, I don't know how many people will participate in this wilderness expedition, even if I go, sir, I can only be regarded as a small head. ”

"That'...... Are all the expenses of the Volunteer Army considered Empireal? ”

"Hmph, what do you want to daydream...... How is this possible? Wu Erbao was completely defeated by the woman's ignorance, and shook his head with a wry smile and said;

"The Volunteer People's Army bears all its own expenses, casualties and weapons, of course, the territory it has won also belongs to itself, whether it can defend it or not depends on itself, and the empire does not ask.

But don't worry

Because the Mapuche people were nomadic Indians, the productivity was backward, and they did not have any decent knives, guns and weapons, and the early army exterminated many such Indian tribes, and they were very experienced in dealing with them;

It is said that the Patagonian kingdom established by the Mapuche there was quite backward in terms of productivity, and its main weapons were still swords, arrows and cold weapons, and only the royal court cavalry was equipped with a small number of old smoothbore guns, which was completely fearless.

Over the years

The Wu family also has more than 10 young and middle-aged students coming to join me one after another, and I am going to take them with me, gather some old troops, and then go to New York to recruit a group of white immigrants who have just arrived, and make up a team of fifty or sixty people.

Many of our 104th Division are tempted, and when the time comes, we can form a team in South America.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I want to build a large pasture for the Wu family, with an area of at least 10,000 hectares, and future generations will have enough grain to chew. ”

Between words

Wu Erbao showed great ambition, this is not for others to fight, but for the descendants of the Wu family, but also to realize the dream of Jin Ge Iron Horse in his heart.

He now has a sum of money in his hand, and when the time comes, he will mortgage the villa and borrow a sum of money from the bank to prepare weapons and supplies for the desert expedition, and a team of fifty or sixty people is almost enough.

It's not that there is no opportunity to make money when you go to South America, as it said, cut an Indian scalp for 50 yuan, and if you have the ability, you will get it.

It is said that the Kingdom of Patagonia has a population of more than 1.4 million, so how many scalps do you have?

As long as you surround an Indian Mapuche tribe, all the expenses will be returned, and you may be able to make a lot of money.

The key is the boundless expanse of land, which is said to be equivalent to the area of more than 10 states in the Great Plains of Central North America, and runs more than 3,000 kilometers from south to north, and the longest from east to west is 1,460 kilometers, which is really vast.

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