บท 167: Chapter 168: [Oaxaca City]
"Bang bang bang——"
The first shot was fired, and the subsequent gunshots became more and more frequent.
Guerrillas moved through the streets of Mexico City, firing sniper shots and attacking U.S. troops.
The Americans realized that even though Santa Anna had evacuated his troops, the city was not within their grasp.
They immediately began to fight back and launched a security war in Mexico City.
For a moment, the whole city was filled with gunfire and people fled in panic.
During this period, the prisoners released by Santa Anna naturally caused trouble.
Compared to others, the criminals have a richer and more unrestrained style.
Some criminals took the opportunity to smash, loot and burn even more wantonly, some joined the camp against the invaders and fought with the Americans in corners of the city, and some mixed in with the people, trying to find ways to escape from this city that had completely lost its order.
This violent chaos lasted for about a day.
Although the stragglers were brave, they were ultimately no match for the regular army. Under the mopping-up efforts of thousands of US troops, most of the rebels were killed or captured on the first day.
In an open space in the city, there were some bloodstains and body parts on the ground...
A slightly plump old man in military uniform came on horseback, and an officer immediately came forward to salute him.
"Commander Scott, these dozens of people are from the St. Patrick Battalion. They used to be our soldiers." The officer pointed to the dozens of prisoners in the open space.
"Commander, what should we do with them?"
Commander Scott looked calm, glanced at the prisoners of St. Patrick's Battalion, and said calmly: "Treat the St. Patrick's Battalion the same way you treated the mutinous soldiers. Sentence them to death by hanging."
"yes!"
Scott then led his troops to the Plaza de Zecalo in front of the National Palace of Mexico, where the remnants of the Mexican government were waiting for him.
"What's your name?" He rode on his warhorse, looking down at the leading Mexican official.
"Manuel Peña." The Mexican official lowered his head when being questioned. "Santa Anna has been removed from office by us. I am now the acting president of Mexico."
Winfield Scott nodded. "So, President Peña, is the war over?"
Peña: "It's over..."
…
Bypassing the state of Mexico where a war might be going on, Ma Shao and his men continued on to Oaxaca.
In central and southern Mexico, there has been a trend of integration between whites and Indians, and the trend becomes more obvious the further south you go.
It was not uncommon to see Indians speaking Spanish and having Spanish names, such as in the village of Chief Lucas that they had passed by earlier.
A more typical example is Juárez, the governor of Oaxaca.
Juarez is a legitimate Indian, but he was able to become the governor of a Mexican state and even become president in the future.
It can be seen that in southern Mexico, Indians have gained a considerable degree of recognition, at least much better than in the north.
Northern Mexico and the United States have basically no intention of treating Indians as human beings, and the scalp bounty policy remains to this day.
"...Although Mexico's strength is not that good, it must be said that they are still stronger than the United States in terms of 'civilization'." Luanfa said on the road.
"It's normal to be more civilized than the United States. It's surprising to be less civilized than the United States - the United States is the most evil country!" Sebastian said in a strong tone, "Both Canada and Mexico abolished slavery earlier than the United States and respected indigenous people more. The United States is simply a disgrace to civilization!"
In later generations, the Civil War was praised by the whole world, but Canada and Mexico abolished slavery decades before the Civil War.
They abolished slavery earlier, but no one cared.
But they are not that pitiful. Some countries abolished slavery thousands of years in advance, but they were still regarded as barbarians.
"It's really hard to understand why the United States is so evil?"
"It must be a system problem..."
People were talking.
After more than two months of journey, Ma Shao and his team finally arrived at their destination, Oaxaca state in southern Mexico.
Arrival in Oaxaca.
Ma Shao first ordered: "Luanfa, take some people to the northeast to find a ship. I hope that by the time I leave Oaxaca, you have contacted a ship to Europe."
"The rest of you follow me to Oaxaca City."
Luanfa took a group of people to contact the ship, while Ma Shao and others went to Oaxaca.
Oaxaca City to be exact. There seem to be many such place names in Mexico, where the state name has the same name as the city where the state capital is located.
Oaxaca City, the capital of the state of Oaxaca.
Campeche City is the capital of the state of Campeche.
The capital of the state of Puebla, the city of Puebla…
For example, Mexico City, as the capital, has the same name as the country.
This is the case in areas that are heavily influenced by Spanish culture. Place names are often repeated, and the same is true for people's names. Many people will continue to use names used by their ancestors.
As a former Spanish colony, Mexico is naturally no exception.
The same is true in all European cultural areas. Although there are many surnames, there are relatively few given names, which is exactly the opposite of the situation in China.
Oaxaca City is considered a large city, with a population of over 20,000, similar to Sleeping Bear City.
However, as a city in southern Mexico and the capital of a state, Oaxaca City has a much larger floating population than Bear City, so it looks much more prosperous and lively.
The racial mix here is also more prominent, with about two-thirds white and one-third Indian.
There were also blacks, but in small numbers. Due to the different economic structures, slavery in Mexico was much less severe than in the southern United States, which had a large number of plantations.
It is precisely because of this difference in economic foundation that Mexico was able to abolish slavery earlier and more easily, while the United States had to go through a violent civil war more than a decade later to do the same thing.
Although there are many ethnic groups in Mexico, spiritually speaking, these people are generally Catholics who believe in God and respect the Pope.
It is precisely because of their spiritual proximity that people of different races get along relatively harmoniously.
Various forms of discrimination and hostility are inevitable. To be honest, racial relations here are more tense than black-white relations in the United States in the 21st century.
But compared with northern Mexico and the United States, where scalp bounties are being implemented, discrimination and private violence are undoubtedly very harmonious.
Due to the state of war, censorship in Oaxaca City was very strict.
Most of the team led by Ma Shao were strong men and fully armed, so of course they would not be allowed to enter the city.
In fact, they came close to clashing with the Oaxaca defenders.
"Stop, who are you?" a Mexican officer shouted.
Ma Shao stepped forward and said, "Hello, we are the Apaches from the north. I am Ma Shao, the great chief of the Apaches. Or you can call me Albert."
"Apaches?" The Mexican officer frowned. "What are you doing here?"
Ma Shao: "We came to Oaxaca to do business, and of course, we want to visit the respected Governor Juárez."
"You can't just meet the governor whenever you want!" The officer didn't respond well. "Get out of here! You are not welcome here!"
Among the many Indian tribes in North America, the Apaches have a stronger presence, and Mexicans have heard of them to some extent.
However, even the nearest Apache activity area is more than a thousand kilometers away from Oaxaca City.
A group of Apaches suddenly ran here, and they were all armed, which made people feel uneasy.
What's more, it is difficult for the Indians to remain immune to various large-scale conflicts in North America and they basically participate in them.
For example, during the American Revolutionary War, many Indians helped Britain, and some helped the United States.
The same is true of the Mexican-American War.
The Apaches remained neutral and advised other Indian tribes to do the same.
But there are still Indians who choose to join the war, form an alliance with the United States or Mexico, and happily rush to the battlefield as cannon fodder. I don't know what they are thinking. Maybe it's just for a little bit of tobacco, alcohol, gold and silver, but this sounds even more difficult to understand.
The defenders probably were not aware of the positions of the North American Indian tribes in this war, so they certainly would not allow Ma Shao and others to enter the city.
When the Oaxaca defenders saw that Ma Shao had no intention of leaving, they were almost enraged.
The officer shouted rudely again: "If you don't disappear from my sight immediately, I will confiscate your weapons!"
"Sir, I understand your concerns. For you, our presence in wartime is indeed unreliable." Ma Shao tried to reason, "But this is a complete misunderstanding. We just need to talk a little bit..."
The other party obviously had no intention of talking, and interrupted: "There is nothing to talk about. Or, put down all your weapons, and I might consider it."
Ma Shao naturally had no intention of laying down his weapon. The other party's attitude made him suspicious. Once he laid down his weapon, he might be in danger.
For a moment, the atmosphere became a little tense.
Fortunately, there were some Indians among the defenders. Compared with the white people, these Mexican Indians were much friendlier to the Apaches, and some of them were fans of Ma Shao.
Just as the atmosphere became increasingly tense, another young officer came forward. He had yellow skin and black hair and was obviously an Indian.
"The Apache chief...horse whistle?" he hesitated.
Ma Shao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and smiled, "Yes."
The young officer immediately became enthusiastic and said excitedly: "It is an honor to meet you, respected son of the sky, I am Captain Fernando Asoron from Zapotec."
The Zapotec is an Indian tribe that is common in Oaxaca, and Governor Juárez is also a Zapotec.
"Let me talk to them. I believe they have no ill intentions." Asolon first turned to his companions and then looked at Ma Shao again, becoming a little excited again.
"I never expected to see you here! I almost thought you were just a legend!" he said with quite excitement.
Ma Shao smiled and said, "I never thought that people living in Oaxaca could hear my story."
Captain Asolon: "Of course, from California to Quintana Roo, your reputation is known to everyone. Even the enemy is impressed by you, let alone us!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Captain Asolon."
Ma Shao paused for a moment, then continued: "There is no doubt that we are not Americans, nor are we allies of the Americans. We have no ill intentions and hope that you will allow us to enter Oaxaca City."
Captain Asolon sighed slightly: "I know, but I can't make the decision. After all, this is a war time... There are too many of you, and you are all carrying weapons."
Ma Shao: "No, I don't mean to let us all go into the city. I came here mainly to visit Governor Juarez. Just let me and some of my men in, and most of the others can stay outside the city."
Asoron was startled at first, then nodded: "That should be no problem. I'll help you inform him, I believe Mr. Juarez will be happy to meet you."
"Thank you very much." Ma Shao said.
Captain Asolon turned and left to report to the city of Oaxaca.
Oaxaca City, Governor's Palace.
Governor Benito Juárez was sitting at his desk, reading a legal document, saying nothing, until there was a knock on the door.
"Knock, knock."
"Come in."
Captain Asolon pushed the door open and said, "Mr. Governor, there is an important guest who wants to see you."
"who?"
Captain Asolon took a deep breath, "Son of the sky in thunder, nemesis feared by the Arapaho, leader of the Apache tribe, Chief Horsewhistle."
This series obviously made Juarez a little confused, frowning: "What did you say?"
"The great chief of the Apaches, Horse Whistle," Captain Asolon said in a shorter way. "I remember you talking about him."
Juarez nodded in realization: "It's him. What is he doing in Oaxaca?"
"He came to do business and visit you, Mr. Governor." Captain Asolon said, "But he brought a lot of people with him, and they are being stopped outside by the city defense troops. Do you want to let them in?"
Juarez thought for a moment and said, "Are you sure it's really the Apache chieftain and not someone pretending to be him? After all, as far as I know, the Apaches are thousands of miles away from here."
"No doubt about it," said Asoron. "Chief Ma Shao is a giant. I think he is probably ten inches taller than me. It should be difficult for anyone to impersonate him."
"Ten inches taller than you, is that true? He wouldn't be taller than me even when he's sitting." Juarez smiled. "Well, Asolon, let him in. As a Zapotec, I also want to meet this legendary indigenous hero."
"Yes," Captain Asolon replied, then turned around.
"Wait." Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, Juarez called him again.
"What else, Mr. Governor?" Asoron asked.
Juarez hesitated for a moment, then stood up from his seat and walked quickly to Asoron with his short legs: "I'll go out and greet him."
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