Wild North America 1846

Chapter 10 Trading
Captain William Richardson had a very good impression of this Chinese boy. He was young and decisive, with outstanding key skills, and he also knew how to build his own power, which is quite commendable.

The gunmen in the wilderness are like weeds, which grow wildly without anyone paying attention. There may be a brief moment of glory, but they will soon wither in the cold wind before the snow.

Li Cha has the potential to become another kind of person. If he is cautious enough to get rid of the fate of dying in the wilderness or the back alley of the tavern, he can thrive and have a bright future.

Just for this possibility, it is worth taking a gamble.

He really needs the new force of Li Cha very much to break John Sutter's commercial monopoly on New Town. Regardless of the beautiful appearance of Fangcaodi, there are only more than 2300 people in total, which is less than ten percent of the total population of New Town. one.

This limited the manpower that Captain William Richardson could use. If he died, it would look like a hundred people. If he found other captains to join forces and come out in full force, it would probably be less than 300 people.

Such strength is not enough to defeat John Sutter.

The captains of Fangmeadow controlled the commercial shipping routes of San Francisco, but John Sutter was not a vegetarian. He had his own sailing team, and the two sides had taken a step back in the years of competition.

The captains no longer attacked John Sutter's armed merchant ships. In return, John Sutter defaulted to the agent of the new town and could sell the captains' goods, provided that they did not cross the border.

That is, selling outside John Sutter's territory, the two sides reached a tacit balance and temporarily ceased fighting.

In addition to John Sutter, there were three other forces in the new town. The captains of Fangcao Land sold their goods through them, but they had to endure the lower prices of the other party, resulting in unsatisfactory profits.

Over the years, there has been a bad breath in my heart.

Now that the two sides had negotiated, things went surprisingly smoothly in the next few hours.

Li Cha inspected the firearms one by one, including 41 9-year-old smoothbore flintlock rifles. Although these second-hand rifles have gone through 37 years of vicissitudes, they are still in good condition. It seems that they can be used for another half century.

The preferential conditions are the same as the Colt revolver, and 100 rounds of thin oiled paper bullets are given away for free.

The so-called thin oiled paper fixed bullets are bullets that use thinner and more fragile oiled paper to wrap black powder and warheads.

When in use, there is no need to tear the thick oiled paper package with your teeth, pour out the black powder, and then put it into the warhead for compaction, which saves these steps.

Thin oiled paper fixed bullets can be directly inserted into the barrel of the gun. Under the action of pressure, the fragile oiled paper package shatters to reveal black powder. It only needs to be compacted together with the bullet, which is very convenient to use.

Seeing the 41 rifles loaded into the carriage, as well as 27 Colt revolvers, gunner's belts, bullets and other items, the two parties successfully completed the transaction, and Li Cha was in a good mood.

He had just chatted with the French veteran Mr. Russell mentioned. This former lieutenant veteran of the French Cuirassier Regiment named Mike Rabiot was an ordinary resident of Fangcaodi and opened a family shop in the town. A bakery selling French baguettes.

Although he is 55 years old, Mike Rabiot is still fit and talkative, and he doesn't mind making some extra money while baking bread.

The Rabiot bakery in the town is run by his three sons and his wife, and even the hired labor is saved. If there is a chance to earn a decent income, why not do it?

In today's world

The French Army, which once followed Emperor Napoleon across Europe, is well-deserved the strongest army.

The cuirassier regiment is the best in the French army. It was once the best cavalry in the world and made great achievements in the establishment of the French Empire.

Time flies
The once glorious Second French Empire has come to an end, but this group of French veterans who have been through war for a long time are still old and strong.

The Prussian army, represented by the Junker military aristocrats, had suffered enough from the French during many years of fighting.

The Prussian officer Decker once said with lingering fear: "If the trajectory of the bullet is an arc, the French army may rely on ordinary charges to hit 1000 steps (732 meters). The French are experts in this area. They can injure Our soldiers, we don't know where the bullets come from."

Under normal circumstances
The smoothbore rifle under the condition of flat fire can achieve effective strikes on enemy targets at a distance of 200 to 300 meters.

The Infantry Manual, published in 1807, states:

"The rifle's (effective) flat-firing distance can be estimated at 260 meters, beyond this distance, shooting is not sure.

And at half the distance, the shooting effect is especially good.

At a distance of [-] meters, the infantry should aim at the target's knee.

For a target 200 meters away, shoot at the waist. For targets 300 meters away, shoot at the enemy's head.

Target 400 meters away, aim at 32.5 cm above the enemy (about a head)..."

During the conversation with Richard, Mike Rabiot revealed these hard goods without any concealment, and he was very familiar with the strict military regulations of the French army.

When the two were talking, Mike Rabiot spent more than half of the time talking. It could be seen that this old guy was very interested in the position of military instructor, and he was even more interested in the high salary of $85 per month.

"...Well, I appreciate your rich professional knowledge very much, and this is exactly what we need. Welcome to instructor Mike Rabiot, and welcome you to join the big family of Datang Club."

"It is my great honor, Mr. President."

"You can call me Li Cha."

"You can also call me Mike."

"So... happy cooperation! Instructor Mike." Li Cha took the initiative to reach out his hand and shook the callused hand of the other party.

Not to mention, Mike Rabiot's hands are as strong as iron tongs. He is not so much a cuirassier regiment officer with a sword in his hand, but a blacksmith.

Li Cha asked curiously, but he didn't expect it to be true.

Mike Rabiot was born in a family of blacksmiths in Compiègne. He helped his blacksmith father since he was a child, until he was admitted to a priest's school when he was a teenager, and he has since embarked on the road of a professional military officer.

After immigrating to North America, Mike Rabiot returned to his old career.Among other things, the toaster oven in Rabiot Bakery is his masterpiece.

"Dear Mr. Richard, your goods are all packed, and Russell's Grocery Store is responsible for delivering them to your home. Don't worry, as long as I have the goods here, I will give you a preferential price." Seeing that the carriage was tied firmly, Russell walked over with a smile on his face and said.

Li Cha put his hands on the brim of his hat to express his gratitude; "Thank you, Mr. Russell, I am very satisfied with this transaction, this is a pleasant experience, and I look forward to deepening the in-depth cooperation with Fangcaodi in the future, and welcome you at any time Visiting Grape Valley."

"Thank you for your invitation, Mr. Richard." Russell suddenly thought that the other party seemed to need an experienced architect, so he cast his eyes on Captain William Richardson who was standing aside.

Captain William Richardson understood what he meant, took two steps forward, patted the firmly bundled four-wheeled carriage and said; "Take these goods back first, young man, Mr. Architect should have some fun in the new town, When he comes back, I will let him find you. Maybe... you can level the ground first, it's not difficult."

"Then our in-depth cooperation..."

"There is no rush for these few days. As long as Datang will show enough strength, it will not be a problem to need any supplies. Let us give the other party some time."

"OK, I agree with your proposal."

it's almost noon
Richard didn't delay anymore, and bid farewell to Captain William Richardson politely, and the group of seven returned to Grape Valley.

Although the distance was not far, the Russell Grocery Store still sent two guard gunmen to deliver the goods together with the coachman, and with the addition of military instructor Mike Rabiot, the return team grew to 7 people.

10 minutes later
As soon as the group arrived at Taniguchi, they saw many people gathered in the distance, as if some conflict had occurred.

This made the two white gunmen escorting the cargo nervous, and immediately loaded the guns with bullets, ready to respond, and asked in a hurried tone; "Master Richard, do you want to escort the cargo back first, so as not to..."

The white gunman did not say the following words, because the carriage had no time to turn around.

The group of people with fierce faces surrounding the valley mouth, about fifteen or six riders, found that Li Cha and his party were coming with the carriage, and immediately sent half of the people to ride over, and soon took Li Cha. The police and others surrounded them.

Li Cha could see these people clearly, they were all Chinese gunmen in gray and black double-breasted coats, riding tall horses, with revolvers in their waists, and sabers straddling their faces, with rebellious expressions on their faces.

Needless to say, I can already guess eight or nine points.

This guy must be a thug from the agreement hall's gang. He came here for Lin Ada and his party yesterday. I didn't expect the news to leak so quickly. It seems that this matter is difficult to deal with.

The corpses are all buried, can they still be dug out, washed and returned?

Compared with the thugs of these Jianghu gangs in the Agreement Hall, there were more people in the Datang Society. Dai Changfu led more than 60 people to block the valley entrance, pushing and shoving each other and yelling at each other, just to prevent the other party from passing.

Although there are many people in the Tang Dynasty, there are only seven or eight people with guns. Facing the fierce and domineering armed thugs, it is inevitable that they will lose their momentum.

A group of eight riders came at a gallop and circled around the four-wheeled carriage. When a big man with scars saw four white men guarding the carriage, his expression softened.

But when he saw Li Cha and the other three, his expression became ferocious again, and he shouted, "Where are you coming from, what are you delivering, please report your name?"

"I don't know what to call this hero?"

"A certain company doesn't change its surname or name. Lin Zhanhao, the eldest brother of the North American Branch of the Agreement Hall, is called "Brother Hao" by friends in the Jianghu. We are here for the brothers in the club." He turned his head, and his eyes stopped on the fully loaded carriage, showing a greedy look.

The cargo of this carriage is obviously not food. Judging from the outline of the cargo under the canvas, it seems that it should be mining tools or... guns.

"Great, great, the big leader is back."

At this moment

Among the members of the Datang Society blocking Taniguchi, a reckless guy saw Li Cha's figure and couldn't help shouting.

The distance between the two sides was only five or sixty meters. When the voice came over clearly, Li Cha's expression was terrified, while Lin Zhanhao's expression changed dramatically, and he immediately reached out to draw a gun from his waist...

(End of this chapter)