America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 535
Chen Jianqiu and his group got off the train from Juárez and went straight to the Juárez Valley.

The Juárez Valley is located on the border between Mexico and Texas, parallel to the Rio Grande.

It is also the water of the Rio Grande that makes this valley different from the barrenness of the surrounding land, and has soil available for planting.

Under the arrangement of Chen Jianqiu, Geronimo settled here with the Apache people.

It's not far from Juarez City. A dirt road connects the valley and Juarez City. It only takes half a day to drive a horse-drawn carriage.

Daily necessities can also be purchased in the city at any time, and Indians who go to Juarez to work can also travel between the two along this road.

It is not easy for Indians to give up their original living habits.

However, between the improvement of living standards and sticking to old habits, they still choose the former.

After all, everything has to look forward.

As for security, Geronimo no longer brought his own people to continuously attack the territory of Texas due to the increasingly stable life.

Colonel Nelson Myers, the former head of the Federal Frontier Forces, couldn't have wished for it.

He declared to the outside world that he had completely solved the Indian problem in southern America during his term of office, and later wrote it in his autobiography.

But Colonel Wiltord, who took over, disagreed.

The latter is a staunch white racist.

Not only was he very dissatisfied with these Indians living close to the border, but he was also very dissatisfied with New Mexico becoming a state dominated by Chinese.

And the attitude of the Mexican side towards the Indians living here is even less indifferent.

To put it bluntly, Juarez belonged to Chen Jianqiu.

Mr. Chen has brought prosperity here, local Mexicans and Chinese have jobs and pay taxes.

He himself was also a guest of the Prime Minister of the Mexican Cabinet and President Díaz.

According to Mexican tradition, as long as Chen Jianqiu does not declare independence, or lead the army to Mexico City, he can do whatever he likes.

Chen Jianqiu felt a little emotional.

If nothing else, this Apache Indian should be able to thrive here.

It's just that Geronimo died, and he died very strangely.

The news that came did not even specify the cause of death.

Whether it's because of the friendship of old friends for many years, or the sympathy of comrades-in-arms, or for the stability of Juárez's surroundings, he has to come here.

The procession marches along the Rio Grande.

After walking for a while, the outline of the mountain gradually emerged on the horizon in the distance.

Juárez Valley, almost there.

In a clearing at the mouth of the valley, Asuka and his men set up camp, waiting for Chen Jianqiu and the others to arrive.

Asuka took his beloved Ma Huey and looked in the direction of Juárez from a distance.

Time has passed, and this young chief who followed Chen Jianqiu from Shiquan Town has grown into a strong man in his thirties in a blink of an eye.

His long hair was over his shoulders, his eyes were less green and more determined.

Over the years, Asuka has been leading the militia in Roswell, and Abiot has maintained order and security in Juarez and New Mexico.

When Chen Jianqiu and Hei Luobo appeared in his field of vision, Asuka greeted them.

"What's the specific situation?"

Chen Jianqiu flew off his horse, handed the reins of the black radish to an attendant who came with him, and walked quickly towards the camp with Asuka.

"I got the news that when the chief was collecting medicine on the cliff, he accidentally stepped on the ground and fell down." Asuka replied, "But I think there is something strange."

"Where is the strangeness?" Chen Jianqiu stopped in his tracks.

"The chief's body has never been found." Asuka said, "But according to your instructions, I didn't intervene too deeply. I just stationed the militiamen at the mouth of the valley to deter."

Chen Jianqiu was lost in thought.

He raised his head, covered the sun with his hands, and glanced at the hills covered with weeds.

"The big troops don't move yet, you order twenty capable people to enter the Juarez Valley with me."

Chen Jianqiu and Asuka led twenty or so people on horseback, carrying guns into the valley.

Geographical location aside, this valley can be called a paradise.

The tributaries of the Rio Grande pass through the valley, making both sides of the valley lush and green, forming a conspicuous green in the grayish yellow at a glance.

Soon, an Indian town came into view.

On the outskirts of the town, there is a large field of corn and other crops.

The original Apache Indian group was used to living together in villages, even in the reserved land allocated to them.

However, in order to make these Indians live better, Chen Jianqiu specially supported a Chinese engineering team and built some houses for them.

Since there are not many trees that can be used as building materials, most of the houses are made of mud and stones, and some hay is used to pave the roof.

There is not much rainfall here, basically enough.

When the Indian residents in the town saw Chen Jianqiu and Asuka, they made way for them one after another.

They stood apart on both sides of the road, with sadness on their faces.

Those who were busy with their hands also stopped their work, put their hands on their hearts, and saluted the Indians to Chen Jianqiu and the others.

The other part, on the other hand, looked a little uneasy.

For this Mr. Chen.

Most of them are grateful as well as in awe.

He is the "Heavenly Brave" of the Apache, and has literally saved the Apache tribe time and time again.

The Apache Indians owed him too much, too much to repay, and this, more or less, became an invisible psychological pressure.

Now, he came in with soldiers, what is he going to do?

Chen Jianqiu's expression was very serious. He nodded slightly to the Indians who saluted him, without a trace of a smile on his face.

Under the watchful eyes of those Indians, Chen Jianqiu and his party came to an open space on the other side of the town.

There are piles of stones piled up here, arranged in a mysterious pattern, and there are some animal skulls and the like placed on top of the stones.

The open-air sacrificial site of the Apache people is now full of people.

These people were divided into three parts, and at a glance they belonged to three different tribes.

Chen Jianqiu saw several familiar faces among the group of people.

Lotzen, Turtle Dove.
"I think the most urgent thing now is to wait for Mr. Chen to come, and then recommend someone who can maintain the overall situation, otherwise everything will not go on." A middle-aged Indian man with tied hair raised his hands and talked .

He is the leader of the Ikitai tribe, named Klikitat, who also belongs to the Apache tribe.

"No, I don't think so." Another old man wearing a feather crown paused the wooden crutch in his hand on the ground and shook his head, "This is our own business for Apache people, there is no need to let Mr. Chen Get involved."

He frowned and looked at Clikitat: "Besides, the chief's body hasn't been found yet. I don't believe he died just like that!"

"Old Marley, I don't agree with what you said. Didn't Mr. Chen give us everything we have now? He provided us with a place to live and shelter! He also gave us jobs. Chance! Without him, your old bones would have died in the Carlsbad Valley?"

Klickitat looked at the old man mockingly.

He spoke English, and the old man answered in English.

The languages ​​of the Apache tribes also differ to a certain extent, and there is a lack of vocabulary.

Sometimes, they are really used to communicating in English.

Clikitart pointed to the turtledove standing beside Roczen, and continued:

"What's more, he saw the chief fall from the cliff with his own eyes. The cliff at that height would have been smashed to pieces long ago. Even Geronimo has no chance of surviving."

The old man called "Old Marley" was the chief of another Apache tribe.

The former leader, Coloradas, participated in the last rebellion against Geronimo. After being suppressed by Chen Jianqiu who arrived, he lost his head, so old Marley became the new leader.

He ignored Clikitat's provocation, and looked at Turtledove expressionlessly:

"Is that so, Turtledove?"

Turtledove nodded:

"Yes, the chief fell off the cliff in front of us. I went to look for it under the cliff, but I only saw a bloodstain, but did not find the body. Chief Clikitat is right. Falling from such a high cliff is not at all Can't survive!"

Old Marley walked up to Turtledove leaning on his crutches.

His eyes are slightly cloudy, but it does not hinder the release of a pressing pressure:

"Can you explain why there is no body?"

"Perhaps, dragged away by hyenas or coyotes or something," Klickitat interjected.

"Nonsense!" Old Marley couldn't bear it anymore, and slammed the ground with his crutch, "Anyway, I want to see the chief's body, and besides, I don't approve of Mr. Chen's involvement in this matter! "

"He gave us a lot of help. We are grateful to him, but this is our own business. Besides, he himself said that he will not take care of our business."

The old man said in an old voice.

"Then what if I come to pay tribute to my good brother who was born and died with me?" A voice rang out.

Chen Jianqiu appeared at the entrance of the sacrificial place.

He had already dismounted, followed by Asuka and about twenty fully armed soldiers.

The expressions of the Indians here are not much different from those in the town, full of awe.

Chen Jianqiu walked into the inner circle and walked towards Luo Cen and Turtle Dove.

He found that Luo Cen was watching the discussion between the two tribal leaders coldly the whole time, but he didn't say a word.

"Mr. Chen! You are finally here!" Krikitat quickly walked to Chen Jianqiu's side, bent down and bowed to him.

Chen Jianqiu looked up and down the Indian leader in front of him.

I don't know if it's because he has dealt more with the modern society after settling down, but the leader in front of him is very worldly in both his clothes and his words and deeds.

He was wearing a gray suit over a white shirt, his hair tied back and spoke fluent English.

If you don't look at the skin color, he looks like a perfect American or Mexican gentleman.

"you are?"

Chen Jianqiu didn't have a deep impression of the person in front of him.

In fact, he was not very impressed with the Apache Indians except the Geronimo tribe.

"Oh, Mr. Chen, have you forgotten? We met in Albuquerque. I used to work for your railroad company." Klickitat said with special respect.

Chen Jianqiu looked at him carefully again, and finally remembered.

The person in front of him had indeed worked in his railway company, but he was fired from the company because he liked to gamble and often made mistakes; now he didn't know how he got here, and became the leader of a tribe.

"After I left the company, I returned to my tribe, and I regarded you as an idol, guided by your teachings, and led my tribe to join the ranks against the US military." Klickitat "licked" .

Chen Jianqiu felt both physical and psychological discomfort.

"Don't you hate me?"

He raised his eyebrows and asked Clikitart.

"No, no, no, it is because of your strict requirements on me that I realized my shortcomings and changed my past." Klickitat said with a low eyebrow, "I am now leading my people in China. Rice's cotton mill."

Chen Jianqiu suddenly fell silent.

"Shameless." The old man on the side snorted and said angrily.

"Geronimo was a great chief, and whether he died or not, he will always be the leader of the Apache people."

Chen Jianqiu said loudly to everyone present.

"As his good friend, I felt very sad after receiving the news of his death. I couldn't accept it for a while, so I came here overnight to see if I could see him for the last time."

"But now, his body has not been found. This is a very regrettable thing. Therefore, I will lead people to look for it and try to bring his body back."

When he had finished speaking, there was silence among the Indians.

They didn't know what to say for a while.

Klickitat's "dog-licking behavior" was interrupted, and he didn't get positive feedback, so he was speechless for a while.

He originally thought that Chen Jianqiu would pat him on the shoulder and say something encouraging.

But no, Chen Jianqiu's attention was not on him.

Therefore, he had no choice but to leave with his clansmen first.

And the old man's face eased a bit:
"Okay, I hope our people can search with you and bring back the chief's body."

Chen Jianqiu's temple moved again:
"Oh, ok, I'll let you know, but we might have a break today."

Seeing this, the old man had no choice but to leave with his clansmen.

Luo Zen and Turtle Dove were soon left in the open-air sacrificial ground.

Luo Cen remained silent, which made Chen Jianqiu very strange.

This Indian woman fought side by side with Geronimo from a very early age, and she was extremely heroic, and she was regarded as one of his most capable subordinates.

No one had a deeper affection for the chief than she did, and they were not brother and sister, but better than brother and sister.

At the same time, she is also a straightforward person.

It was impossible for her not to have no opinion of Geronimo's death.

It's not quite right to be so silent.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He walked up to Lozen and asked in a low voice.

Luo Cen waved at the people behind him, signaling them to leave first.

Wait until the crowd has dispersed.

Luo Cen and Chen Jianqiu walked aside, behind an arched stone pile, they just spoke, their faces were full of sadness:

"Mr. Chen, do you believe the chief will fall to his death?"

"I don't believe it, but the world is unpredictable." Chen Jianqiu gave an ambiguous answer.

"If he really died, he must have been killed by someone." Luo Cen sighed, "I really don't believe that with his skill, he would fall off the cliff so easily."

"Are you suspicious of Turtledove?"

Chen Jianqiu took out a cigar from his clothes, put it in his mouth after processing, and asked while lowering his head to light the cigarette.

"I really don't want to doubt him. Turtledove has always been loyal." Luozen was very tangled, "But when the chief fell off the cliff, only he and the armadillo were there. The armadillo came to report the news, and the only one who went to find the corpse was Turtledove."

"It's okay, let me handle this matter." Chen Jianqiu said.

He turned around and waved to Asuka who was chatting with Turtledove:
"Let's go to the place where the chief fell off the cliff and take a look."

Bird nodded.

"Going to call people from other tribes?" he asked.

"No, let's take a look first." Chen Jianqiu walked towards his horse with a cigar in his mouth and his belt.

But when he had just walked a few steps, he suddenly turned around, stared at the turtledove watching them, and suddenly asked:
"Is the chief really dead?"

Turtledove was stunned for a moment, but then replied very calmly:

"I saw him fall with my own eyes. You will know when you go to that place. At that height, you can't live."

(End of this chapter)