Chapter 874: Building a Road (2)

The monthly expenses of the veterans of the road protection team are not cheap. To put it bluntly, there are too few people in North America. The land is everywhere, it depends on how much you can plant and how much you can save the harvest. After the North American Railway Company was established, the army was ordered to cooperate, but it was definitely not enough. This place was a foreign land for the Ming people. In order to ensure the smooth construction of the road, the road protection team came into being. North American soldiers served for five years, and most of them were willing to stay. A few of them were used to being a soldier and couldn't adapt to the fact that they could only get by. They joined the road protection team when they recruited people at high prices. These people are veterans in war, and they knew what to do after ordering.

Several squadron leaders met Qi Heng, one, two, three, four, five, and how to fight was clearer than Qi Heng. A combat opportunity was released in three or two, and the troops were also ready to be in place. Mortars were a bit out of the blue in this era. After solving the fuse and fire technology, with the current smelting technology of the Ming Dynasty, seamless steel pipes could definitely be made, but the output was lower. Fortunately, in a certain warehouse, 60 mm diameter steel pipes were piled up like mountains, so they could be pulled out and used directly.

Qi Heng was very glad that no cannons were found on the hills on both sides so far. Even the backward cannons were the only weapon that could pose a major threat to the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. Especially as the attacking side, the power of the cotspear can be ignored.

Eight mortars opened fire, and a rain of bullets caused smoke to be fired from the hill on the left. During the explosion, you could see someone getting up and running, and then killed by your accomplices. Qi Heng's telescope could see clearly. This thing is not an indigenous? Could it be that Europeans intervened? It is not difficult to imagine that the indigenous people in this area were very cooperative, and they would not cause trouble as long as they trade normally. In the past two months, large and small destruction incidents have gradually increased. Is it true that the indigenous people also talk about Feng Shui?

The smoke of gunpowders had not dissipated, and the guard team holding rifles began to advance forward. The speed was not fast and the formation was not dense. The two people were at least two meters away from each other. Each of them hooked their waists and trot slowly forward, which was not the kind of rushing forward with all their might. The blockers on the mountain unexpectedly remained calm and watched the approaching guard team not firing for a long time. This was simply incredible for the natives. They were already about eighty meters after all. If it were the natives, they would have opened fire.

There are temporary low walls on the hillside, which seems to be the position set by the enemy. It is not clear how the shelling effect is now. Although the trench is not new, it is said that trenches are not practical for Europeans equipped with winning guns. The only thing Qi Heng is worried about is the grenadiers. This thing is hidden, even if it is the original version, it can hurt people if it explodes.

The road protection team was very orderly, with some covering and some trotting forward quickly. There were no dense shooting targets on the top of the mountain to hit, and it was difficult to hit them. "Bang bang bang!" A piece of white smoke suddenly appeared on the hillside, and the volleyball finally rang. A row of people stood behind the low wall and immediately became the target of the cover team. The road protection team members of the two squadrons. About three or four people were shot at the critical moment, but the opponent suffered even more casualties, and at least thirty or forty people were hit.

The enemy's firepower suddenly stopped. The road guard team that was lying down to shoot suddenly stood up, bent down and continued to rush forward for a while. When they started queuing again, they immediately fell down. This time, as for two or three people, the gunfire sounds of the cover group were like raindrops, and the formation of the queuing behind the low wall was torn to pieces, which was difficult to pose a threat.

At this time, the grenade flew out. The landing point was right in front of and behind the low wall, with dozens of blow-off spots in succession. When screams continued, the subsequent road protection team had already begun to rise in full swing. The firepower gap was too big. The tough battle that I thought would be more difficult to fight was unexpectedly relaxed in front of this group of veterans.

More than a hundred enemies fled in scattered and did not have the courage to fight to the death. In fact, it was not that they did not have the courage, but that they were completely defeated. European countries in this era had never fought such a battle. The escaped enemies ran to the woods a hundred meters away, where their horses were hidden. At this time, Qi Heng moved and chased after a company of cavalry. In North America, there are no real infantry at present. Everyone asked to be able to ride horses, and they all asked to be able to play sabers and shoot on horseback.

Because he had long foresaw the collapse of the enemy, Qi Heng's actions were very timely. After rushing up the hillside, the escaped enemies were still more than ten meters away from the woods. The cavalry who had already started speeding up chased after him. Everyone had a revolver in one hand and a saber in the other hand, and there was a shotgun or rifle behind him. The pursuit was fruitful, and there were only a dozen enemies who escaped in the end. Others were either killed and injured, or they were kneeling down and raised their hands to surrender. At this time, when they looked at the hillside on the other side, there were no blockers, and they ran away consciously.

"Get the time to move forward and hand over the prisoners to the militia." Chen Pu was not idle either, and arranged for the Ming soldiers to leave a squadron to escort the prisoners and collect the wounded. In this place of North America, population resources are too precious, and the prisoners who catch large ones are reluctant to kill, and they have to keep them to work until they die. A healthy white prisoner can be sold for 100 yuan to the mine. How can he be willing to kill?

When the troops were packing up, the general results of the battle were found, and the interrogation results were also found. About 500 people set up an ambush here, and even divided the troops, occupying the hillsides on both sides. There were about fifty enemies directly killed, and many injured, including 133 people, and 107 prisoners captured. About 200 people ran away on the hilltop on the other side.

The captives confessed that they all came from the east coast of America. Last year, colonists from various countries in North America held a joint conference and unanimously agreed that the colonial actions of the Ming Empire in North America posed a huge threat to the interests of various countries. Therefore, the governors of various countries discussed a result and formed an expeditionary force with the purpose of curbing the development of the Ming Empire in North America.

Is this expeditionary army as large as 3,000 people! This number of people was collected by the governors of various colonies, and the equipment was pretty good. There were even a thousand flintlock troops. As for how the arms came from, the captives were not clear. The only thing they knew was that the expeditionary army's plan was to collude with local indigenous people and obstruct the construction of the railway of the Ming Empire. By sneak attacks, they attacked various settlements of the Ming Empire in North America.

This news was quite shocking, and Qi Heng and Chen Pu felt that it must be taken seriously. If they were simple natives, the threat was not very big. But it was different for Europeans. Their backwardness was not too great. If they were facing a head-on battle, it would not pose a threat at all. However, for some residential areas with only one or two hundred people, it would be too terrible. Also, they could defend the residential areas and the crops in the fields? Where was the road? The other party came to destroy it. It was always more efficient than the construction.

In such a huge North America, it is 1,500 kilometers from Salt Lake Town to Kingsoft, and the roads are mainly dirt roads, so it is difficult to destroy them all. It is not difficult to destroy a section, right? It is not difficult to blow up a bridge, right? North America is so big, it is very difficult to find so many sneak attackers who are deliberately trying to attack. Not to mention, the indigenous people are involved.

For Chen Pu, it was really a bit worse. Building a road was originally a difficult thing, but now there is another stage of work. It was originally planned to build both ends together, and to build an easy section of the road first. This plan must be changed. At least you must kill these Western colonists first, otherwise you will not be able to build a road with peace of mind.

This is a very far-reaching move. No matter what the reason behind it is, it has had an extremely adverse impact on the Ming Dynasty's development strategy in North America. It is not the turn of Chen Pu to worry about how to deal with this situation. However, from the perspective of the interests of the railway company, we must make the decision he thinks is the correct one.

The reinforcements continued to march. When they arrived at Wushilipu, the besieged enemies had withdrawn from the battle. This small village with only five or six hundred people persisted in the siege. Chen Pu and Qi Heng chose to be cautious about this unexpected situation. They did not enter the village as soon as possible, but sent a reconnaissance force to check the situation.

The news feedback from the village was also very strange. Some houses on the periphery were burned out. The besieged enemies did not launch too fierce attacks. It can even be said that they were siegeing but not fighting. This situation made the two confused. Could it be that the blocking enemies were not in the same group? Is they a group of people? The answer soon came out. Before nightfall, reinforcements entered the village, and the scouts sent out came back in the middle of the night and captured two living people. The results of the interrogation showed that the besieged the village were a group of natives, while the Europeans blocked them. In advance, after the Europeans defeated the reinforcements, the natives attacked the village together. These natives acted like this, and when they found that the Europeans ran away, they took the initiative to retreat.

The next morning, the road protection team set out. After the damaged telegram was repaired, they contacted Kingsoft. The garrison who received the news also sent a company of troops to conduct a net-like search around. The natives retreated very resolutely and ran away without a shadow in one night. Within a radius of thirty miles, there was no ghost.

As the director of North American Railway, Chen Pu could not sit idly by and waited for the current situation to worsen. He immediately took dozens of people to stay overnight in the morning and rushed back to Kingsoft. When he arrived in Sacranmento, the railway had been built here. As for why this place was called this name, no one could explain it clearly. Anyway, this name was on the map provided by his superiors. (The result of Chen being lazy.)

After Chen Pu reunited the senior management of the railway company in this place, the result of the emergency consultation was that he had to persuade the Governor's Office to engage in a large-scale war. Clean up the indigenous people within 50 kilometers on both sides of the railway, cooperate if they are willing to cooperate, and resolutely eliminate them if they are unwilling to cooperate. Of course, the government will pay for the money for this war. At most, the North American Railway Company will spend a small part. This idea seems ridiculous, but it is not actually the case. The capitalists of the Ming Empire are becoming increasingly arrogant now. If Dai Zhiyuan does not cooperate and Congress initiates the impeachment of distrust, he will be removed from the cabinet.

How fat is the position of Governor of Kingsoft, how many eyes are staring at him, how many people are eager to step down, and it is not clear at all. In short, capitalists cannot offend, especially these big capitalists. Whoever tells Dai Zhiyuan about this matter is undoubtedly Chen Pu. At this time, the identity must be revealed. I didn’t tell you that I was low-key. Now it involves investment of several million yuan, and it is an investment for the interests of North America. It is not surprising that you can do anything to do.

The benefits were too great, and personal will could not play much role. After the agreement, Chen Pu took the car overnight and bypassed Kinmen Bay. It was noon the next day when the train arrived in Jinshan. Chen Pu, who had been resting on the train for a night, was in good spirits. He shaved his beard and looked at his appearance in the mirror. After changing into a clean Tang suit with a black flying eagle pattern on the cuffs. This was the eighteenth birthday, and the old man sent someone to send a set of purple-red clothes.

After the inspection, Chen Pu got off the train and drove directly into the temporary station to wait for him. Before getting on the bus, Chen Pu found that the coachman looked familiar and seemed to have seen it somewhere, so he couldn't help but take a look. As a result, this seemingly ordinary man took off his hat and greeted him.

"Japanese?" Chen Pu asked, and the man raised his head slightly and said, "I am from the Ming Dynasty now. You can call the villain Shi. A member of the special resource investigation team under the railway company." Chen Pu smiled and immediately got into the carriage. He didn't want to say anything to him. There was no good thing in this group of people. Chen Pu had heard of them. He should be affiliated with a special department, all of whom were doing dirty work. It was related to a secret organization in Japan that is said to be very ancient. The leader was two women who had been with the old man for a long time. It was unclear whether he had left a few short uncles for himself.

Chen Pu has always been away from such a thing, for fear that he will be stuck and cannot be shaken off. Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived in Kingsoft, he encountered people from this organization. Closed his eyes, and Chen Pu said to the front: "Governor's Mansion."

The Governor's Office of Kingsoft is no longer the dilapidated wooden two-story building in the past. Now it is a large area surrounded by a tall wall. It has an area of ​​five or six hundred acres, right? The roads in the city have been hardened, and you can feel the closest smell to the Ming Dynasty in this city. Although the buildings on both sides of the road are still made of wooden, you can always see one or two houses with steel and concrete structures every now and then.

Behind the wall is a tall building. Chen Pu has been there once. The five-story building is the only one in North America. Such a building is not common even in the Ming Dynasty. It can be seen how rich the North American Governor's Office is, otherwise how could there be so many steel bars to build such a large building, let alone the construction cost here is very high. (~^~)
Chapter completed!