Chapitre 169: Chapter 170: [Private Arms]
In this war, although Mexico's overall strength was inferior to that of the United States, Santa Anna still had to bear some responsibility for Mexico's defeat.
In an effort to strengthen centralization, Santa Anna inappropriately weakened Mexico's local armies.
As a result, when the US military invaded, the Mexican soldiers' resistance was often extremely weak, or they even surrendered.
After the war began, Mexico hurried to strengthen its local army.
But unfortunately, it was too late. Even if the number of soldiers could be quickly restored, it would take time to make up for the combat effectiveness.
Within two years, Mexico was completely defeated and half of its territory was occupied by the United States.
These territories have not yet been formally ceded, but everyone understands that once the meat is eaten, it cannot be spit out.
Polk's heart is known to everyone.
Everyone knows the current US president's desire for expansion. This workaholic president will definitely expand the territory of the United States as much as possible.
"Santa Anna has always brought disaster to Mexico, and now he has plunged the country into a bottomless abyss. He even dares to compare himself to Napoleon!" Juarez was very dissatisfied with Santa Anna.
"He boasts that he is the Napoleon of the Western Hemisphere, but I don't think he is anything like Napoleon except that he was exiled!"
"I hope he will never come back after this time!" Juarez took a sip of wine.
"As far as I know, Santa Anna seems to have served as president many times? Maybe ten times?" Ma Shao asked.
"Yes, Mexico is in turmoil, but that's nothing, and changing two presidents in a month is not surprising. Many of Santa Anna's terms lasted only a few months or even less," Juarez said.
After a pause, he sighed again: "But I must admit that the people have not completely abandoned him."
"He was first seen as a hero - when Mexico gained independence. And even today, after this terrible, humiliating defeat, there are still people who see him as a hero."
Ma Shao was silent for a moment: "People are always nostalgic."
"Yes." Juarez nodded, "But nostalgia is sometimes terrible. At least Santa Anna is not worthy of our nostalgia. He should be completely abandoned, just like we abandon the mud on our clothes!"
Ma Shao smiled and said meaningfully: "There is no doubt that the Mexican people need a new leader."
Juarez smiled and said nothing.
Later, Margarita came into the room: "It's time for dinner, Benito."
"Yes, dear," Juarez responded.
Then he said, "Let's have dinner together, Ma Shao."
"my pleasure."
Ma Shao and Juarez had dinner together and tasted some of Oaxaca City's specialties.
This city has some gourmet genes, at least much richer than the Mexican food he had seen in the previous two months.
The next day, Ma Shao began to establish the Mexican branch of the Apache News Agency in Oaxaca City.
Thanks to the help of Governor Juarez, the process went very smoothly, especially in terms of procedures, which were all green lights, and the legal news agency was quickly established.
Then, the news agency needed a house.
"Come with me, Ma Shao. Not far to the north of the official residence, a man is selling his house. I think it should be suitable for the newspaper's office." Juarez personally took Ma Shao to select the office location for the news agency.
Soon they arrived at their destination, a residential area near the north of the governor's residence.
"Fernandez, have you sold your house?" Juarez asked from a distance, and then a middle-aged man in front turned around.
"Not yet, Mr. Governor," Fernandez greeted.
Juarez smiled and said, "That's great. I found a buyer for you, Ma Shao. You two can talk."
"Hello, Mr. Fernandez." Ma Shao greeted the man while looking at the house behind him.
"Are you planning on buying a house?" Fernandez asked.
"That's right." Ma Shao nodded, "This seems to be your home?"
Fernandez: "Yes, but I'm planning on moving away and I may not come back. So I have to sell this house before I leave Oaxaca. So, do you want to live in this house?"
Ma Shao: "I didn't buy it to live in."
"Aren't houses meant to be lived in?" Fernandez said disapprovingly, "Or are you planning to turn this house into a shop?"
"Almost." Ma Shao said, walked around the house and then went in to observe.
He was quite satisfied with this house.
It was spacious and the decoration was to his liking; although it was not luxurious, it was simple and elegant. More importantly, it was located next to the governor's residence.
"It looks good." Ma Shao said, "How much do you want to sell it for? It would be best if it were in US dollars. I have quite a few US dollar gold coins."
"For US dollars, um... five thousand three hundred dollars," Fernandez said, "it has to be gold or silver coins. I won't accept paper money unless it's from one of the big banks and you're willing to give me a discount."
Juarez then said, "Fernandez, five thousand three hundred dollars, I think that's a bit expensive."
Fernandez paused. "Mr. Governor, you should understand that this is the housing price nearby. It's neither too high nor too low."
Juarez: "Yes, but you should also know that not many people are willing to buy houses these days."
Fernandez: "Of course, because of the war. But the war is over and I believe the situation will change soon."
"That house is also for sale. Its area is even smaller than mine, but the price is about a hundred dollars more expensive." He pointed to a house not far away.
Ma Shao said, "Sell it to me for 5,000 dollars. It will be easier to settle the bill this way. What do you think?"
For Apache, which owns a gold mine, more than five thousand dollars is nothing to worry about, but it is not a loss to get three hundred dollars off with a few words. Besides, showing off wealth is not a good thing.
Fernandez hesitated for two seconds, and finally nodded: "Okay, for the Governor's sake, it's five thousand dollars."
Juarez smiled.
"By the way, I don't accept banknotes," Fernandez emphasized again.
Ma Shao: "Don't worry, I don't even have any banknotes."
After a brief inspection and bargaining, the deal was successfully completed. Ma Shao bought Fernandez's house for five thousand dollars.
The next step is transformation.
However, the house was well decorated and furnished, so it didn't take much effort. The Apaches added some furniture to the house and made it the headquarters of the news agency.
Twelve Apaches will remain here, including two regular editors.
The remaining ten were soldiers.
Changmao is the president here and is responsible for managing everything here.
The soldiers assigned to the Mexican branch were screened and had good writing skills.
They not only performed security duties, but also served as trainee newspaper editors and reporters, assisting Changmao in handling news and intelligence.
In addition to various daily necessities, the largest number of items in the branch are books, all of which have been selected by Ma Shao, mainly on natural sciences and history.
The Apaches left Sleeping Bear City and undoubtedly left the best learning environment, but they still had a lot to learn.
These books are a kind of compensation.
It's definitely not as good as the classes in Sleeping Bear City, but it's much better than not learning at all.
Of course, there is also the indispensable "Spiritual Oracle", which is the most important textbook and is owned by almost every Apache man, woman, young and old.
"Spiritual Oracle" concentrates on Ma Shao's most core ideas, and also concentrates on a knowledge structure that is not profound but quite complete.
In Ma Shao's opinion, apart from a small amount of religious elements, if anyone can fully understand and agree with the content of this book, he is no different from his own clone.
"These are all very good books," Juarez said, looking through the agency's collection. In his hand was a book about the Pythagorean school. "Although I don't know much about mathematics."
Ma Shao pointed at the bookshelf and said, "Most of these mathematics and natural science books do not require advanced knowledge. Strictly speaking, they should be considered as the history of the discipline."
"History of the subject?"
Ma Shao nodded: "Yes, the history of mathematics, the history of physics... and of course the history of society and politics, that is, history in the general sense."
"I can see that you are a history lover." Juarez smiled.
Ma Shao: "Hegel said that philosophy is the history of philosophy. I think this statement can be extended to all disciplines."
"It is impossible to understand mathematics and physics, or chemistry, biology, or law, without knowing the history of mathematics and physics."
"One of the important reasons why Faraday was able to achieve the scientific achievements that are well known today is that he had a deep understanding of the history of science in his early years."
When Ma Shao was a high school physics teacher in his previous life, he always attached great importance to the history of physics.
For him, it is not difficult to teach any class to be the top student in physics.
The truly challenging task is to give students a deep understanding of the history of physics.
There is a lot of content about the history of science in textbooks. For example, the experience of Faraday he just mentioned is content in the physics textbook.
But unfortunately, not many teachers and students pay attention to the history of science.
Or to a certain extent, it can also be said that there are not many teachers and students who have the energy to gain an in-depth understanding of the history of science.
It is almost never tested in exams. At most there will be one or two multiple-choice questions, which are just a brief introduction, such as "Which of the following experiments illustrates the existence of the atomic nucleus?"
In the long run, the history of science is precisely the most important.
After all, for most people, those headache-inducing formulas and problem-solving techniques will be forgotten completely soon after leaving school.
In other words, formulas and problem-solving techniques are knowledge that depreciates very quickly.
The same is not true of the history of science.
The history of science is largely stories, involves fewer formulas, is more adaptable to human memory, and is not easily forgotten.
More importantly, the history of science can help people better understand the nature of science.
People who know nothing about the history of science often view science from a mystical perspective, regarding science as some kind of indescribable New Age witchcraft.
A common example is that some people often regard science as a religion or superstition.
But anyone who has a little knowledge of the history of science knows that the history of science is a history of self-questioning, and scientific predecessors are meant to be overthrown. This is fundamentally different from religion.
Scientists can say that they are closer to the truth than their predecessors, or even say that their predecessors were wrong, but charlatans would never dare to claim that they are better than the prophets at any level.
The expression "superstitious science" is like "a triangle with four sides", which is a contradictory expression in itself. The two words should not be combined together at all.
Ma Shao never expected most Apaches to become mathematicians and physicists, nor did he expect them to master complex problem-solving skills, as there was no need for that.
But the history of science is essential.
In his view, only by making the history of science common sense to the Apaches and letting them know where the truth comes from can the nation be truly saved.
In particular, the trial and error experiences in the history of science are extremely valuable lessons that are applicable to almost all problems.
It would not be a very meaningful action if it were simply to give the Apaches stronger material weapons, defeat America, and achieve a simple revenge.
Juarez looked at the Apache soldiers moving furniture, especially the weapons they carried, and after a while he said, "Are they all soldiers?"
"Yes." Ma Shao nodded, paying attention to his expression.
Juarez pondered and said, "I personally don't care much about this. After all, I know that you have a tradition of universal military service... However, I still hope that you don't carry weapons, at least not rifles."
Ma Shao: "The rifle is indeed a bit conspicuous. They will definitely not go out with it in the future."
"I think pistols are essential. They need to protect themselves. And at a critical moment, these weapons may also help you, Juarez."
"oh?"
Juarez's expression changed slightly.
Ma Shao continued: "These soldiers only obey my orders, but I will definitely not stay in Oaxaca for long."
"When I am gone, my friend, you are their supreme commander. They will serve you as they do me."
Juárez was governor and could mobilize Oaxaca's military.
But the Oaxacan army was willing to follow Juárez's orders only because he was the governor.
If he were no longer the governor, these state soldiers would naturally no longer obey him, and it would not be surprising if they turned around and attacked him.
In other words, the state government's troops were loyal to the governor but not to Juárez.
Apart from his official position, Juarez himself did not have any powerful force, at least not an armed force loyal to him personally.
And now, Ma Shao is equivalent to lending him a private armed force. Although the number of people is small, they are obviously the elite among the elite, ten highly qualified soldiers.
Just as Ma Shao said, this private armed force will be able to help Juarez at critical moments.
Juarez naturally understood the reason and said with a smile: "I believe in these warriors. They will definitely become an important force in maintaining order in Oaxaca!"
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone