章 135: Chapter 136: [Apache Americans]
Rainy Day couldn't help but frowned: "Why do I feel that this sentence is a little familiar?"
Ma Shao did not explain, but changed the subject: "Of course, you can still use it to explore nearby. Maybe... you can find gold mines or meteorites, right?"
For a long time, North American Indians lived in a standard Stone Age society. But a standard Stone Age society does not mean that there is no metal at all, at least there is still some meteoric iron.
Meteoric iron that falls from the sky is one of the earliest metals mastered by humans and is older than bronze.
Like most ancient civilizations, Indians regarded meteoric iron as a noble and even magical metal that was no cheaper than gold.
…
The Mexican-American War continued. Thousands of miles away from Kansas, fighting in south-central Mexico became increasingly intense, with tens of thousands of troops from both countries confronting each other.
In contrast, in the northwest of Mexico or the southwest of the North American continent, the war was basically over.
To be precise, the direct war has ended. As for the indirect war, it has intensified. Overall, the situation is similar to that in southern Mexico.
As sovereignty changed, guerrilla warfare and vigilante warfare spread like wildfire, especially the guerrillas led by Chavez, who moved around and became increasingly powerful.
There are many mountains in northern Mexico, which is the best terrain for guerrilla warfare. Guerrilla tactics are very popular here. It is conceivable that a well-armed and highly tactical guerrilla force would cause great trouble to the US military.
In addition to sporadic battles between Americans and Mexicans, Indians also appeared in various conflicts.
Sleeping Bear, as the largest Indian settlement in western North America, was inevitably affected.
Of course, slepping bear city would not take the initiative to cause trouble, but the trouble came to them.
"Big Chief, there are several outside Navajo people who want to see you." The soldier reported.
"What do you want to see me for?" Ma Shao asked casually while he was concentrating on writing.
The soldier said: "They said they wanted to seek help from Sleeping Bear City."
Ma Shao thought for a moment and said, "Let them in."
After a while, led by soldiers, a Navajo young man in his twenties entered the chief's hall with a bitter look on his face.
"Honorable Son of the Sky, you must make the decision for us!" The Navajo man knelt on the ground and said in an exaggerated tone.
Ma Shao finished writing a line of words and then closed the manuscript. On the cover of the manuscript was written "Guns, Germs, and Steel", which was exactly the book he had planned to write.
I have written half of this book so far. Although it is mainly to restore some of the content of "Guns, Germs, and Steel" from my memory, the progress is still slow.
Mainly because he wrote the book in three languages, Apache and English.
There is also a Chinese version, and he plans to send it to the other side of the ocean in the future. He hopes that this classic work of historical materialism that transcends its time can inspire some people.
Ma Shao raised his head and asked: "What's your name? What difficulties did you encounter?"
As a close ethnic group to the Apaches, the Navajos had to help to the best of their ability, not to mention that they still needed to absorb population.
"My name is 'Big Mouth'," said the young Navajo man. Just like his name, his mouth is indeed a bit big, especially when he complains.
Big Mouth continued, "The American army in Santa Fe City has kidnapped our chief Gray Bird. Honorable Son of the Sky, please save our chief."
"Why did the American army kidnap your chief?" Ma Shaoxian asked.
Big Mouth shook his head: "We don't know why. We didn't provoke them. We haven't even had any contact with them."
Ma Shao thought for a moment and said, "So, it was the American army that attacked you?"
"Yes!" Big Mouth nodded repeatedly and said hurriedly, "We absolutely did not attack or contact any American. I swear to the Great Spirit! However, not long after those Americans occupied Santa Fe, they attacked us and kidnapped our chief and some tribesmen."
"Everyone knows that the Apache Skychildren are benevolent and powerful, so we come to ask for your help."
"Please!"
Ma Shao hesitated for a moment and said, "You should know that the US military is a dangerous existence. Frankly speaking, this is beyond the capabilities of slepping bear city."
Big Mouth was stunned: "Even you can't do anything?"
"It's not a matter of method."
"We are willing to give gifts!"
Ma Shao shook his head: "It's not about gifts. We don't need any gifts."
"what is that?"
Ma Shao looked at Da Zui and said, "It is a risk. If it is to protect the citizens of our tribe, we are willing to take high risks and even consider fighting the Americans."
After a pause, he continued, "But unfortunately, you are not part of the Apache Plains Tribe, so there is no way we can risk going to war with the Americans over this."
"This..." Big Mouth was stunned, "Then, can we join the Plains Tribe now?"
"Sure." Ma Shao said, "We welcome all the indigenous people to join us. Once you come, you are Apaches."
Big Mouth immediately said: "Okay, we are willing to join the Plains Tribe."
Ma Shao nodded.
Although this was just what Big Mouth said, and it didn't necessarily represent the opinions of the entire clan, it was enough for Ma Shao.
"We will set off tomorrow and head to Santa Fe to make contact with the Americans," he said.
The next day, Ma Shao led two hundred cavalrymen, as well as Da Zui and several other Navajo people, to the city of Santa Fe.
Now the city of Santa Fe belongs to the United States - not only the city of Santa Fe, but also New Mexico, California and even the entire southwestern North America have been included in the territory of the United States.
Judging from the map, the current territory of the United States is not much different from that of later generations.
The only missing states are Alaska and Oregon. In the original history, it would not take long for these two places to be integrated into the United States.
Of course, although the United States has now gained a large amount of Mexican territory, it has not yet gained the Mexican people.
Faced with the invaders, many Mexican people are fighting unyieldingly and fighting the Americans.
Manuel Chavez, the former militia chief of Santa Fe, led his powerful guerrillas to frantically attack US military bases of all sizes, forcing the US military to continuously add troops.
It will take some years before the United States can win over the people of Mexico.
A few years later, in the 21st century, the United States no longer wanted to get the Mexican people. For this reason, a famous Sichuanese even built the "Great Wall".
Not only that, it is the Mexican people who want the United States to get them.
Later, Ma Shao often heard this sentence: Mexicans hate the United States for annexing half of their territory, and they hate the United States even more for not annexing the other half...
Ma Shao and his men arrived in Santa Fe, and soon met with the American military commander who was stationed there.
This officer is also an acquaintance - Alexander Donifan.
Ma Shao remembered Colonel Donivan. The Browning pistol on this man's waist was sold by him personally.
He was also quite impressed by the man's politeness... He seemed to be a white man without too much prejudice, at least much better than most people.
The two sides met outside the city and both rode on horseback.
"Colonel, long time no see." Ma Shao greeted politely.
"Hello, Chief Albert," Donivan said. "If you want to come to Santa Fe for a visit, this cavalry seems to be too much."
"I'm here to negotiate with you this time," Ma Shao said, "about Chief Gray Bird."
Donivan thought for a moment: "Gray Bird... is this the name of the Navajo chief?"
Ma Shao nodded: "Yes. As far as I know, you kidnapped him."
Donivan shook his head: "Then you must have been deceived by the Navajo. We did not kidnap Gray Bird, we arrested him."
"Arrest?" Ma Shao frowned slightly.
"Yes." Donivan paused. "I used to be a lawyer. I can't mistake the difference between the two."
Ma Shao asked, "You said you arrested Gray Bird, so what crime did he commit?"
"Kidnapping," Donivan said. "They committed the crime of kidnapping. They kidnapped 20 American citizens. As the US military, we are obliged to sanction them."
Ma Shao looked at the big mouth beside him and asked in Apache: "He said you kidnapped 20 Americans, is that right?"
"Nonsense!" Big Mouth firmly denied, "We definitely did not kidnap any Americans, not even one!"
Ma Shao communicated with Donifan in English again: "My people said they did not kidnap Americans."
"Your people?" Donivan was obviously surprised. "Aren't they Navajo?"
"That was in the past. Now they are members of the Apache Plains Tribe," said Ma Shao.
Donifan nodded slowly, thoughtfully, then said, "Well, they are your people now. Hopefully we can resolve this."
Then he looked at Big Mouth: "Navajo people, you should abide by the most basic honesty. Two months ago, you attacked a village and kidnapped 20 villagers. There are witnesses and evidence. Do you need me to call the victims' families before you admit it?"
Ma Shao conveyed the message to Da Zui.
Big Mouth immediately pointed at Donivan and yelled, "Shameless American, we arrested Mexicans, what does it have to do with you! You are just here to cause trouble!"
"..." Ma Shao was silent for a moment, not knowing how to translate.
Big Mouth was still cursing.
After a while, Ma Shao motioned him to stop, then looked at Donivan: "He thinks they are arresting Mexicans, not Americans."
Donifan smiled and said, "New Mexico now belongs to the United States. The former Mexicans are now, of course, American citizens. They are Mexicans, but only in the past."
He pointed at Big Mouth and several other Navajos and said, "Just like them, they used to be Navajos, but now they are Apaches. You turned them into Apaches, I admit it, then I turned Mexicans into Americans, you should also admit it, right?"
Ma Shao was silent for a while: "Do the people living in this land consider themselves Americans?"
This time it was Donifan's turn to be silent for a moment, then he shrugged his shoulders: "At least the few people who came to me for help said they were Americans."
The air was quiet for a while.
Donifan said, "How about this, we release each other's hostages and let this matter be written off, what do you think?"
It seems that this is the only way to handle things.
Ma Shao persuaded several Navajos and they agreed: "Okay, we will release each other's hostages. You return the Apaches to us, and I will return the Americans to you."
The two chatted for a few more sentences.
Donifan said: "The Southwest is in chaos right now. The rebels have irritated us, and I don't want many Indians to be involved in this chaos."
"In fact, General Kearney wants me to take the initiative with the Indians here. But I have not done so yet. I think it is neither civilized nor economical - civilization and economy often stand on the same side."
He paused and then continued: "I still consider myself a lawyer, and I don't like violence... I would prefer to quell chaos by non-war means if I can."
"Chief Albert, I know your tribe is a civilized tribe. So, you'd better restrain the Indians in the southwest. This will benefit both us and you."
"Whatever grievances they had with Mexicans in the past, now there are no Mexicans here, only Americans."
Ma Shao was silent for two seconds. "I don't like violence either. But Mianxiong is just a tribe and a small town after all. We don't have much spare energy to mediate conflicts involving indigenous peoples unless you are willing to provide some cooperation."
"Of course," Donivan said. "Just like today, we had a good talk, didn't we?"
He added: "I hope that the negotiations between us can solve the Indian...um, indigenous issues in the southwest region, so that there will be less conflict here, or at least less bloodshed."
At the end of the conversation, Ma Shao suddenly said, "Colonel Donivan, what do you think of the Browning pistol?"
Donifan patted the pistol on his waist: "Excellent, it is the king of guns, anyone who has used it will say so."
Ma Shao smiled slightly: "We got another batch of goods from the Europeans, do you want to buy some more?"
…
December. As expected, before the deep winter officially arrived, several Indian clans flocked to Sleeping Bear City.
They need to rely on the powerful Sleeping Bear City to survive the winter when everything withers.
Most of the clans that came to take refuge in slepping bear city were closely related clans, but there was also one clan that was distantly related.
"Where are you from?" Ma Shao asked the clan.
"We are Maidu people, from California," said the chief of the Maidu clan who came from afar.
"California?" Ma Shao's expression changed slightly when he heard it.
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