1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 660: Not Using All Your Strength

The West Camp was located to the west of North Platte City. According to the plan, 2300 Taiping prisoners of war received the most basic training in the West Camp. The three regular brigades, 101, 102, and 103, were responsible for selecting non-commissioned officers to train them. After the basic framework was built, they were reorganized into the Guangxi Regiment for use as a second-line force.

Unexpectedly, an accident happened just as the training work began.

There were about a thousand people fighting in the West Camp, and the number of people joining the fight was still increasing. Of course, the number of people who heard the news and rushed to watch the fun was also increasing rapidly.

It is said that the military commanders of both sides participated in the fight. Since the establishment of the Western Army, there has never been such a large-scale, fierce and vicious fight.

To prevent the situation from getting worse, the Machine Gun Regiment, the 101st Cavalry Regiment (formerly the Indian Cavalry Regiment) and the 3rd Regiment of the st Brigade stationed in the West Camp had to step in to maintain order and form a human wall to separate the Taiping prisoners who tried to enter the West Camp to participate in the fight, as well as other Solon Camp and Mongolian Regiment cavalry.

The head of the machine gun regiment, Washington, took the tin trumpet handed over by the orderly and shouted loudly: "Stop it! Kekudi! Uliji! These newcomers just came to North Platte and don't know the military regulations. Don't you veterans who have been trained in North Platte for two years still understand the military regulations?!"

Washington hoped that the battalion commander of the Solon Cavalry Battalion and the commander of the Mongolian Cavalry Regiment would take the lead and stop the fighting.

But both sides were already furious. Kekudi and Uliji grabbed Zhu Yidian, whose hair was half shaved, and wrestled with Peng Dashun respectively. The fight was so intense that they had no time to listen to what Washington said.

The commander of the 1st Cavalry Regiment was the Indian Maquik, who was one of the first two Indian chiefs to join the California system.

Maquik didn't understand why Kekudi and Uliji had such a big grudge against these recruits and had to fight in the barracks.

However, it must be said that these new recruits with long hair are also quite capable. As cavalrymen, Maquik has sparred with the Solons and Mongols on a daily basis.

The close combat skills of the Saurons and Mongols, including hand-to-hand combat, locks, and wrestling, are all first-rate, especially the Saurons. Even if he attacks personally, it would be difficult for him to gain an advantage.

"Washington! Stop the fucking noise in my ear! I'm going to teach these long-haired guys a lesson today!" Kekudi threw a powerful right fist straight at Zhu Yidian's face.

Zhu Yidian also refused to give in and stepped forward to protect Kekudi, not giving Kekudi any room to perform: "Qing Yao! I will send you to hell now!"

"Beat them to death! These Guangxi Longhairs have slaughtered all the Longhairs in Jiangning!"

"Bah! You still have the nerve to say that! As for massacring a city! The blood on your hands, Qing Yao, can never be washed clean!"

"It can only be said that Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang and others failed to capture the Beijing Demon Cave during the Northern Expedition. They killed all the shaking heads in the Beijing Demon Cave!"

While riding his horse to the West Camp, Liang Yao had already understood the whole story.

It turned out that the non-commissioned officers who were sent to the Taiping Army prisoner camp were shaving the prisoners' heads and changing them into military uniforms. The Taiping Army prisoners were already resistant to shaving their heads. However, when the Solon people learned about this, they brought the Mongols to watch the fun and teased the Taiping Army prisoners who were shaving their heads.

At first, there were only some quarrels and sporadic conflicts of support between the two sides, but in the end things escalated and turned into a large-scale conflict involving thousands of people.

Fortunately, neither side has used weapons so far. Friendly troops also rushed to control the situation, and the conflict did not spread further.

"President, you're finally here!" When Washington saw his brother-in-law coming, he ran over to hold Liang Yao's horse as if he had seen a savior.

Liang Yao frowned at the scene before him. He saw thousands of people wrestling with each other. The surrounding canvas tents, kerosene lamps and other stuff were all dismantled and became their weapons in the fight.

The Taiping prisoners, Solon soldiers, and Mongolian soldiers who were blocked outside the fighting circle and were eager to squeeze in became obedient when they saw Liang Yao and the presidential guard riding their horses and waving their whips. They dared not to continue to squeeze forward.

"Fire!" Liang Yao said to Washington. There were thousands of people fighting in a group, and they would definitely not be able to stop shouting if they just used their throats.

Washington was a smart man and quickly understood Liang Yao's intention. He pulled two 101-pound Sacramento infantry guns from the 6rd Regiment of the st Brigade and fired two blank bullets on the spot.

Accompanied by two deafening bangs, the fighting crowd was finally frightened.

Liang Yao signaled Washington to take people to bring out all the senior military officers involved in the fight.

Soon, Washington led his troops to bring out the officers of the Solon Cavalry Battalion and the Mongolian Cavalry Battalion, who were wearing blue-green uniforms, colonel collar badges, and epaulettes.

As for the Taiping prisoners, since they had not yet been formed into an army, no one was awarded a military rank. Washington could only bring out Peng Dashun and Zhu Yidian, whom he knew.

"You haven't accomplished anything! You are brawling in the barracks! What a talent!" Liang Yao said gloomily. He swept his cold eyes towards the culprits and shouted, "Take off their collar badges and epaulettes!"

The guards around Liang Yao stepped forward and took off the epaulettes and collar badges of several Solon and Mongolian officers.

"These long-haired people are calling us Qing demons!" Kekudi was very unwilling to be stripped of his lieutenant colonel rank, which he had worn for only two months and was not even warm enough to wear.

Kekudi was a regular cavalry lieutenant colonel who had completed training. He knew what it meant to be stripped of his rank. Even if he could continue to stay in the barracks, he would have to start over as a private.

"You Qing demon, you still have the nerve to talk about us? Don't you always call us long-haired people?" Zhu Yidian saw that Kekudi and others were stripped of their military ranks, and he covered his swollen left eye and said with glee.

"Don't be too happy too soon, you two." Liang Yao scolded Zhu Yidian and Peng Dashun, "You two have been with Liang Zhitai for almost two years. The people below don't understand the military regulations, don't you two understand them either!"

The original team of the Guangdong Brave was originally built by Liang Yao, and the military regulations of the Guangdong Brave were largely borrowed from the Western Army.

Furthermore, gathering to fight in the military is a taboo in any army. Liang Yao didn't believe that these two people didn't even understand this rule.

"The Guangdong brothers under Liang Zhitai never called us long-haired people to our faces, and there aren't that many Tartars in our team." Zhu Yidian argued, "Besides, the brothers don't understand why we had to shave our heads in the Qing Dynasty and why we have to shave our heads here."

"It has been a rule since the founding of our army that soldiers have to shave their heads. It is for the convenience of treatment!" Liang Yao took off his hat, revealing the stubble on his head. "It is not mandatory for civilians to shave their heads. Anyone who cannot accept this rule and does not want to be a soldier can get out now!"

The American Republic has no strict regulations on hair styles. People can shave their heads or grow their hair long as they like. However, the army has required short hair since its establishment to make it easier to manage and to treat head injuries.

Peng Dashun, who was standing by, pulled Zhu Yidian's clothes and reminded him to speak less.

Zhu Yidian was speechless. A newly-served private in the regular army's infantry company could get 18 US dollars in salary every month, without any deduction. It was either 18 US dollars or directly paid in gold coins. His treatment was better than that of the Guangdong Brave Soldiers.

These old brothers from Guangxi who were brought here had no other skills except fighting in battle. If they left the army and went to the civilian world, where they were unfamiliar with the place, how could they find a living with $18 a month? After much deliberation, they decided that staying in the army was the best option.

"I acknowledge my crime and am willing to accept the punishment!" Zhu Yidian and Peng Dashun knelt on the ground and admitted their guilt. Thinking that Kekudi, Uliji and others had already been punished and that shaving their heads was not directed at them, they both felt much better and decided to stop while they were ahead.

"Get up! We can't kneel down here!" Liang Yao said gloomily, "Those who participated in the fight will be dealt with according to military regulations. Clean up here. From now on, this will be the base for you, the Solon Cavalry Battalion, and the Mongolian Cavalry Regiment."

The punishment for private fighting in the National Defense Army of the American Republic is a three-month salary forfeiture for non-commissioned officers and below, a six-month salary for non-commissioned officers and above, and a demotion in rank. The punishment for gang fighting is much more severe, with the fine doubled and officers demoted by two ranks. Of course, if someone is disabled, the case will be handed over to the military court for judgment based on the specific circumstances.

"What?! We want us to live together with these rookies?!" Kekudi muttered dissatisfiedly. Obviously, he was unwilling to live in the same room with these Guangxi soldiers with whom he had new and old grudges.

Zhu Yidian and Peng Dashun were not happy when they heard that they would have to live with these Solon and Mongolians, seeing them every day.

However, they were newly recruited soldiers and had just caused a big disaster, so they did not dare to say much, for fear that Liang Yao would kick them out.

"If you are not happy, I will strip you of your skin and get you out of the barracks." Liang Yao pointed at the gray-green military uniform on Kekudi and scolded him.

Soon, Elvis brought the gendarmerie to West Camp. Liang Yao then handed over the aftermath work to Elvis and his gendarmerie and left West Camp.

"Aren't you afraid that they will fight again if you put the two groups together?" Kruger still had some concerns after following Liang Yao out of the West Camp.

As a senior general of the American Republic, Kruger still maintained a high degree of attention to the outside world. He also knew about the grievances between the Taiping Army and the Qing Army factions. Kruger was worried that similar incidents would occur if the two groups of people were placed together.

"No weapons were used and no one was killed, which shows that they still have some sense of propriety. The hatred between them can be resolved." Liang Yao said.

"Separating them will only deepen their prejudices. It is better to let them live under the same roof to increase their understanding of each other. If something goes wrong, just station a regular regiment next to the West Camp."

The Taiping prisoners were not issued weapons, but the Solon Cavalry Battalion and the Mongolian Cavalry Regiment were regular cavalry units that had completed training and were equipped with complete weapons and equipment.

No weapons were used and no one was killed, which shows that these Solons and Mongols remained rational and knew where the bottom line was. Otherwise, Liang Yao would definitely punish severely for such a large-scale fight.

The reason they fight is that they just don't like each other. If you put them together, they will see each other every day, and after a long time, they will naturally like each other.

"Will this affect our next military operation? Our military strength is not sufficient to begin with." Kruger rode his horse closely following Liang Yao.

"We don't need to use our full strength to deal with Mason, our defeated opponent." Liang Yaoyun said calmly.

(End of this chapter)