Chapter 561 For Peace and Order
Historically, war was a terrible disaster for many people who had no experience at all. This also applied to the peasant armed forces, most of whom were not even militiamen and were temporarily dragged to the battlefield to serve as cannon fodder. Compared with these peasants who had only touched farm tools, the government army and police force in Chihuahua City could at least be called professionals, and at least they had fired guns.
The local vested interests were alert enough to prevent the most important weapons from falling into the hands of the enemy. Compared with the peasant army armed with old-fashioned hunting rifles and unknown weapons, the defenders were well-trained and well-armed.
However, facing the peasants who make up the majority of Chihuahua's population, many defenders are still unsure whether they can suppress them. Without external assistance, the pressure on the defenders will only increase.
With the concentration of land in Mexico, it was difficult to achieve the balance that the plantation owners wanted, but there were not enough guns and ammunition. They wanted more efficient weapons, and such weapons certainly existed. In Texas, across the river, there was a stockpile of Union Company mustard gas.
However, Sheffield, who looked down on this little profit, never prepared to use it. In Sheffield's mind, this weapon would either be used on a large enough battlefield, such as a world war, or on the most threatening enemy. No one could replace the important position of the Yankee in his heart.
The 9.5 million landless peasants in Mexico escaped disaster because of the slave owners' high standards of valuing their own kind, but how many are 9.5 million? This is a very serious question. If it is not small by European and American standards, it is not an unimaginable number in Eastern thinking.
Rodriguez assembled his troops faster than anyone had imagined. This was not a case of heroes emerging in troubled times, but rather that the United Corporation transferred hundreds of trucks from the United States across the river to Rodriguez's armed forces.
From this point of view, Sheffield is definitely a strong backing for reactionaries all over the world. It invested so much at the very beginning. It is very rare to find such sincerity among the giants of monopoly capitalism.
But conscience only matters this time. Sheffield also wants to see what kind of quality Rodriguez is through this battle. There are many people who feel good about themselves before the fight. Judging from the strength on paper, Li Chengwan and Wu Tingyan are still full of confidence.
If Rodriguez had shown his potential as a transport captain in the first battle, Sheffield could have stopped the loss in time and not wasted precious productivity in a bottomless pit by looking for reactionaries who had grown up through the war to serve as agents.
On the outskirts of Chihuahua, Rodriguez, wearing the Mexican government army badge, had already arrived at the battlefield. The support troops behind him also gave him confidence. He had seen from the slave owners that he had to go all out from the beginning. The armed forces he brought this time could be said to be the elite of the Tagore family. Although there were only more than 5,000 people, they were very trustworthy. The Tagore family was able to dominate Coahuila and become a local emperor, and this armed force played an indispensable role.
These large plantation owners in northern Mexico actually live very similar to the southern plantation owners before the Civil War in the United States. Although these families nominally have no slaves, this is a good concept in name. In fact, as long as the gap between the rich and the poor is too large, it doesn't matter whether there are slaves or not. Most people will live the same life as slaves.
Rodriguez's personal armed forces were called the Rural Cavalry. After Diaz came to power, he recruited bandits and made them police to maintain local public order. This kind of Rural Cavalry. The Cavalry's method of maintaining public order is called the execution of escape. They can capture and kill innocent people at will. There is no need for any reason to kill, just say that the arrested person attempted to escape. The bandits became official bandits. On the surface, the country was peaceful, but the peasants were deeply harmed by the Cavalry. During Diaz's rule, tens of thousands of peasants died under the guns of the Cavalry.
Rodriguez led the rural cavalry patrol team of Coahuila State to dispatch, first to deter the local situation of Coahuila State, and then quickly rushed to Chihuahua State, which was a neighboring state. As for the security of Coahuila State, someone could take care of it.
Torreón is an important city in northern Mexico. Located on the banks of the Nazas River in the southwestern end of Coahuila State, Torreón is an important center of the famous Laguna cotton region in Coahuila State. There are copper, lead, zinc and silver mines nearby. The industries are mainly steel, non-ferrous metallurgy, chemicals, textiles and flour. Cotton, wheat, fruits and livestock are abundant in the surrounding areas. It is a railway and highway hub.
Now a group of people wearing two-color armbands have appeared in the city. These people are the armed forces of the Black Gold Company. While Rodriguez is out fighting, Sheffield, as a neighbor separated by a narrow strip of water, has sent his own personal forces to help maintain order. One consequence of this is that Zhang Yintang may not have the opportunity to extort 3.1 million silver dollars from Mexico.
"The environment here is similar to that in our hometown!" Two members of the Black Gold Company walked with guns, chatting casually. So far, there was nothing abnormal in Torreon.
"You may not know, Texas and this place used to be one state, but then Texas became independent," another man who looked a little more mature replied, "and the remaining piece is called Coahuila."
When Mexico gained independence, it was in the same state as Texas, called Coahuila Tejas. The latter became the Republic of Texas. The employee who asked this question before was obviously unaware of this situation and said with some regret, "Why not annex this place as well? I think this place is no different from Texas. After the annexation, our state will be larger."
"Who knows what the federal government was thinking at the time. Let's just treat it as a vacation." The latter said with a relaxed look, "I think this city is actually quite good. If Rodriguez goes well, there won't be any danger here. Let's go to Chinatown and see some silversmiths with good craftsmanship. When you complete the mission, bring some jewelry back. Maybe my woman will be very happy."
"Now that you mention it, we should really go and take a look. At least the looks from the Chinese aren't as uncomfortable as those from the locals." The young man who had started the topic frowned and nodded in agreement.
The battle outside Chihuahua City has begun. As shells explode among those who still don't know how to hide, the heat of death and fragments of debris roll and fly on the ground. In addition to the constant rumbling sound of explosions, there are also various screams.
Rodriguez's armed forces also brought along artillery that had been transported here. This batch of artillery had a long history. It originated from the Spanish-American War more than a decade ago, as combat weapons provided by the United Company to the army. At the time, the United States Army had only 30,000 people, so the number of this type of artillery was not large, but it was well maintained. Because the 20,000 expeditionary troops had just landed in Cuba, the 300,000 Spanish troops surrendered, and many of the artillery had never been fired, and were completely new.
Now in a Spanish-speaking environment, these artillery pieces that should have been put to use more than a decade ago have finally found their place. Rodriguez is not too worried about the supply problem because of the river transportation. He knows that the Sheffield family originally focused on river transportation to avoid being blackmailed by the railway giants of the United States, and built many docks and ships on the main stream and tributaries of the Mississippi River.
The border river between Mexico and the United States not only exists in Coahuila, but also in the north of Chihuahua. With such confidence and frequent communication between the two sides, he finally listened to Sheffield's advice and made a bold offensive action.
Rodriguez held a telescope and observed the effect of the enemy's artillery bombardment. He saw the shells explode one after another. In the telescope, it was not only the flames and smoke that rose up, but also the various body fragments of these people. Blood was flying everywhere. In his sight, a lucky man among the unlucky ones was actually unscathed among a group of soldiers.
However, this lucky man was stunned by the scene before him, because his other partner had lost his life. A large gash on his neck was cut by metal fragments and blood was gushing out of it, and his face was splashed with spray-like blood.
"Well, not bad!" Rodriguez put down the telescope and patted his booted feet twice. He was obviously very satisfied with the effect of this round of bombardment. "These rogue criminals who complain about everything are always trying to bring great chaos to the country instead of working hard to survive."
As Rodriguez was speaking, the second wave of artillery fire began to fall again just a few seconds later, taking advantage of the moment when the peasant army was relieved and catching them off guard.
"Mr. Rodriguez, are you satisfied with the support you provided to us?" John Connor asked with a smile, "United Corporation is very concerned about the security of border states. If you can maintain order near the border, our boss will be very grateful. The arrival of peace on your side will also benefit us."
"Maintaining peace and order in Mexico is my greatest wish. It is a blessing to have a neighbor like William." Perhaps because of the good effect of the artillery, Rodriguez seemed to be in a good mood.
"Yes, for the sake of peace and order, some measures are unavoidable." John Connor replied in agreement, "Mr. Rodriguez can restore local order as soon as possible, because fewer people will be sacrificed in the unrest. This is what our boss means."
(End of this chapter)
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