"You're all sharpshooters in the Virginia militia, and this year's active duty training will be a month away. ”

"Why is it a month? We have to go home and farm. ”

"Because from now on, you are active soldiers. ”

The drizzle continued into the summer, and in a rural village in Virginia, hundreds of militiamen from the National Guard looked at each other.

It is normal for the militia to have half a month of active duty training in a year. But the training time has suddenly doubled, and it doesn't seem very friendly. And inexplicably becoming an active soldier again, it feels even more unruly.

"Chief Duke, the salary in the army is not as high as the income from farming, and I don't want to go into service. ”

The commander in front of him, a colonel's gaze swept over lightly, "Young man, the country needs you." ”

Despite a simple glance, the militiaman felt a mountain pressing down on him, as if he were being pointed in the chest with a large-caliber rifle.

"Excuse me, sir, what does the country need us to do?"

"America needs to expand its territory. The colonel said solemnly, "After this training, you will march westward, and you will be yours as much land as you can grab." ”

"This ......"

"So, as long as you grab a few hundred acres of land, you also have a chance to become the owner of the big estate!"

Everyone's expressions were not very excited, "Sir, our family is poor, and even if we rob hundreds of acres of land, we don't have enough manpower to cultivate it. ”

"A bunch of fools, won't you buy black slaves to farm?"

"The question is. Where does the money come from to buy black slaves?"

Virginia was a slave state, and of course everyone knew that they could buy slaves to work, but there was no surplus food at home. You have land, but you can't afford to buy labor.

"It's very simple, you kill the Indians, men, women, children, and babies, and you can go to the government with your skulls to receive a reward. ”

Everyone wondered, "How can there be such a decree?"

"There was such a decree in 1814 before you were born. The Colonel waved his hand, "So you young people now." I don't know any history. ”

"Then sir, how much is the bounty?"

"One hundred dollars for an adult male Indian, fifty dollars for the rest of the Indians. ”

"That's too little. The militiamen had disappointed looks on their faces. "The Europeans are restricting the slave trade, and the price of an adult slave on the market is already almost two hundred dollars, and we can only buy half a slave if we kill an adult Indian. ”

"And the Indians hid very quickly. In the wilderness of the West. It's hard to kill enough people. ”

"If this continues, it is a distant thing to become the owner of a large manor, and I don't know if I can buy twenty black slaves in my lifetime. ”

"Don't be in a hurry, boys. Colonel Duke said unhurriedly, "The federal government now has a new decree, and there are other ways to receive rewards besides Indians." ”

"What is it?"

"As long as you kill the buffalo in the western wilderness. You can also use the horns to get the reward. ”

Everyone immediately became excited, "Killing bison? ”

"I've heard that bison are big herds. There's nothing easier than killing these things. ”

Others asked suspiciously, "Why is it that you can get a reward for killing bison, and is there so much money from the government that there is nowhere to spend it?"

Some people couldn't sit still anymore, "Let's hurry to the west and live the life of a manor lord as soon as possible." ”

"Quiet!" said the colonel, grimacingly, "you must go through a month of training before you can go west." ”

"Sir, you know, we are all elites in the militia, we are all sharpshooters, what else do we need to train to deal with the Indians?"

"Man, you're wrong, the commander just said that we are no longer a militia, but on active duty...... By the way, as active duty soldiers, shouldn't we be issued uniform and beautiful?"

Duke said coldly, "If you want to die faster, you might as well put on your uniform and go west." ”

"Why?"

"Do you know why we won the Revolutionary War? It's because the British uniforms were so bright that they were the most obvious targets. ”

"I see, sir, you mean that we are going to the west to shoot at the Indians. ”

"Yes, this is a fine tradition of the American militia. ”

The Colonel nodded, "Shooting a hidden gun is a profound science, so you must also undergo a month of rigorous training, this is to improve your survivability. ”

Everyone was puzzled, "Fighting against the Indians, not fighting the British, and still need special training?"

"You can shoot at the Indians, and the Indians won't shoot cold arrows at you, but their arrows have poison that seals their throats with blood!" said the colonel, "You know too little about ambush and anti-ambush. If you have that kind of contempt for the enemy, you will make the same mistake as the British. ”

Virginia is located on the eastern seaboard, one of the first thirteen states in North America, and their parents drove the Indians west of the Appalachian Mountains long before these young men were born. So much so that they only heard of the concept of Indians, and only knew that they were primitive people who were not civilized at all, and did not need to be regarded as real human beings.

Thinking of those poisonous arrows, which are said to fester, the militia shuddered, and felt that it was too necessary to receive the corresponding training.

"Actually, you don't have to worry too much. The Colonel turned his head and comforted, "The range of muskets is far above that of bows and arrows, and the western part is dominated by wilderness, so it will be difficult for them to ambush you. Just be careful when chasing and don't chase into the mountains. ”

"So we should fight the Indians in the open field?"

"That's the normal tactic, you'd better act as a squad. The colonel said, "If you are one-on-one, and the bullets are fired without seriously damaging the opponent, you will not be able to defeat the Indians with cold weapons." ”

"Understood. ”

"The specific tactics will be told to you during training. ”

"Sir, I have one more question. ”

"What's the problem?"

"It's been raining for months, when will it stop?" complained the questioner, "if we go to the west and have such a non-stop rainy season, how can we fight the Indians with muskets?"

"As a true gunman, you should take care of your guns as if they were your eyes. The colonel said solemnly, "Being able to fire normally in the rain is the minimum requirement for sharpshooters." ”

"Sounds reasonable, but sir, can you do something practical?"

"Yes, from this training onwards, you will be issued breech guns. (To be continued......)