novelSusiti Chapter 123 Encounter in Panama
Chapter 123 Encounter in Panama
Chapter 123 Encounter in Panama
San Francisco.
It was already June, and the climate here was still cool, with temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius.
Zeng Tai listened to Guilliman's report while enjoying the cool shade under the tree.
"After half a month of fighting, all major cities in California have been captured, and the white people inside have either been killed, captured, or escaped. The three units are now clearing out the remaining small settlements in platoons and squads."
"The captured white men are being held in makeshift camps, sorted out, and then sent to mines, logging camps, and farms around the world to work."
Zeng Tai asked, "Should we send gifts to both men and women?"
"Naturally, I'll give gifts to both men and women; I value equality."
Guilliman said, "I've only kept some pretty and slender women, intending to send them to the brothels. If you're interested, I can pick a few of the best ones and send them to you."
"Oh?"
Zeng Tai raised an eyebrow and readily agreed: "Then remember to choose someone with fair skin, a beautiful face, and long legs."
Guilliman nodded and continued, "In terms of engineering, streetlights and sewers have been completed in a quarter of San Francisco, and cobblestone streets have been laid in Chinatown."
As for tap water, the water supply location has been selected in Presidio, 11 kilometers northwest of the city center. The canals and tunnels are expected to be completed within three months.
"Regarding the population, the first immigrant ship departing from Hong Kong should arrive the day after tomorrow. We will follow the procedures and send them to the hospital for observation first, and then allocate housing according to the families."
Guilliman closed the document in his hand and said, "Alright, my lord, I've finished speaking."
Su Song, who was not far away, put down his teacup: "Oh, so it's my turn."
He thought for a moment and said, "In terms of scientific research, there haven't been many recent achievements. Just the internal combustion engine, which you saw last time, my lord."
0
"As for the rest, mass production of sulfonamides will take several months, the next generation of weapons is still under development, and cameras are just getting started."
Zeng Tai asked, "Speaking of mass production, hasn't the production volume issue for TNT been resolved yet?"
Su Song shook his head: "The railway over Zhan Tianyou's side hasn't been completed yet, so the coal that's mined can only be transported over by horse-drawn carts. In addition, the efficiency of the coal tar plant in extracting toluene is not high, so the current output is barely enough to be considered negligible."
"Let's wait a few more months. Once the railway is repaired and the equipment is upgraded, the situation will be much better."
As the three were talking, Jian Yuan hurried in and said, "My lord, something has happened."
"What?"
"We've discovered a white resistance group in Zhangwu, calling themselves the California Salvation Army, and they're waging guerrilla warfare against our people from the Coast Mountains."
Three days ago, a platoon of thirty men from Xinghan Church advanced into a small town called Santa Rosa and defeated the local sheriff and militia.
This should have been a trivial, small-scale battle.
The town has only a little over two hundred people, of whom only half are capable of fighting, and less than a quarter are willing to come out and resist.
A platoon of soldiers, facing more than thirty militiamen armed with various rifles, used suppressive fire and flanking maneuvers to finish the battle in less than half an hour.
The remaining residents of the town either fled into the mountains or stayed obediently in their houses, too afraid to come out.
Platoon leader Zhang Desheng ordered the Xinghan Hall flag to be raised in the town square, left one squad to guard the town, and led the other two squads to continue advancing north, preparing to take the town called Sonoma.
Then the trouble started.
That evening, the class that remained in Santa Rosa was attacked.
The sentry on duty was shot from the darkness, but fortunately he dodged quickly and only suffered a cut to his skin, leaving a charred mark.
When the group rushed out to search, they didn't see a single ghost.
In addition, a supply convoy transporting supplies from the rear was ambushed on a mountain road.
The enemy was few in number, but they had chosen an excellent location. A large rock rolled down the hillside, followed by a hail of gunfire.
The five escorts were not seriously injured, but the supplies were hit by stones thrown from the other side, and the picric acid grenade exploded on the spot, turning all the supplies into ashes.
Napa Valley.
Inside a civilian house, the company commander was listening to a report from his scouts.
"In the Santa Rosa direction, two dead and seven wounded. In the Napa direction, four dead and thirteen wounded. Among the companies in the northern Bay Area, ours has suffered the most casualties and is the slowest in advance."
The company commander, suppressing his anger, said in a muffled voice, "Can't you tell me some good news? This is giving me a headache!"
"There's also good news."
The scout said, "Through interrogating the attackers, we obtained some detailed intelligence about them."
"The leader, Joseph Hook, 41 years old, a former U.S. Army colonel, served in the Mexican-American War, distinguished himself in the Battle of Cerro Gordo and the Battle of Chapultepec, and was promoted three times with honors."
After retiring from the military, he bought a farm near Sonoma and, about ten days ago, formed a group called the California Salvation Army, with about one hundred members.
"No wonder, it's no wonder they don't act like ordinary rabble."
The company commander sneered and asked, "Have you extracted anything from their stronghold?"
"The torture revealed the truth, it happened in a valley in the coastal mountains."
The scout said, "But the other side isn't stupid. By the time I got there, they had already evacuated."
The platoon leader next to him said, "Company commander, why don't we gather our forces and surround this mountain? If several companies go together, I don't believe they can fly out."
"Surround?"
The third company commander rolled his eyes and said, "Do you know how big this mountain range is? It stretches for hundreds of miles from north to south. What are you going to use to encircle it? Even if you brought the entire Xinghan Hall here, you still wouldn't be able to fill this gap."
After a moment's thought, he said, "Temporarily consolidate the defensive line, withdraw all the outer strongholds, and don't let the people in Santa Rosa push forward. Concentrate our forces to defend a few key nodes."
"What about the guerrillas? Should we let them roam freely in the mountains?"
"Let them enjoy their freedom for a few days."
The third company commander nodded: "They are familiar with the terrain here, and the supplies in the mountains are plentiful. We really don't have any good options."
"What if they come out and try to rob us?"
"Perfect timing to come out and rob it."
The third company commander smirked coldly: "If they don't come out, I won't be able to find them. But once they do, things will be much easier. We'll set up ambushes on several key routes and take them out one by one."
He looked at the scout and said, "Contact the Dark Angels and have them send a few white men over. Find an opportunity to infiltrate and locate their hideout."
In a valley deep in the Coast Mountains, Hook and his men were counting their spoils in a cave.
This is actually an abandoned mine. Years ago, people dug for gold in it, but it was abandoned after that.
The entrance to the cave is small, allowing only two people to walk side by side at a time. However, once inside, the passageways are interconnected, and the widest part can accommodate hundreds of people at the same time.
Hook chose this place as a temporary camp because of its seclusion and easily defensible terrain.
"Mr. Hooker, we've had a very fruitful day!"
A young man walked in excitedly, carrying a box, and laughed, "We stole two guns and a box of bullets while the Qing people weren't looking!"
"Oh?"
Hook's eyes lit up. He took a rifle from the young man and examined it carefully.
It is well-made with a shiny barrel, and is even more refined than the Springfield rifle used by the U.S. Army.
He was secretly astonished. Was the Qing Dynasty's military technology really that advanced?
Hook put down his rifle and walked deeper into the mine.
An oil lamp was lit there, casting a dim yellow light. On a simple wooden board lay a hand-drawn map. The map marked the Qing Dynasty's troop deployments, stronghold locations, and transport routes in the bay area. Although crude, it contained the basic information.
"The Qing people have begun to shrink back."
Hook pointed to the locations of Napa and Santa Rosa on the map, "This afternoon, our scouts outside Santa Rosa reported that the Qing people withdrew from the two outposts on the east side, and everyone retreated back into the town."
Someone exclaimed joyfully, "Are those Qing insects scared? Does that mean we can launch a counterattack and retake our homeland?"
"It's not that easy!"
Hook shook his head and said, "They're just compressing their defensive lines to reduce the risks of spreading their forces out. This reduces our chances of attacking them."
"What should we do then?"
"If they don't move, then we will."
Hook's finger moved across the map, finally stopping at Napa Valley.
"I remember this was a transit point for Qing supplies in the north. All their supplies had to be transported here by ship first, and then distributed to various outposts."
If we can take this place down, I see that our people will have to continue to shrink back.
"Napa?"
Someone exclaimed, "That's a big town, with at least a company of Qing soldiers stationed there. We can't take it down with our small force, can we?"
"Therefore, we cannot fight head-on; we must outsmart them."
Hook raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "I need a few bold and meticulous people to go to Napa to scout out the situation on the other side, and find out their shift change times and the location of their warehouse."
The group looked at each other, and no one spoke for a moment.
After a while, a man in his thirties stood up. He was wearing a worn-out denim jacket, and a scar running from his forehead to his chin made him look fierce.
"I'll go," said the scarred man.
Hook glanced at him and nodded: "Jack, pick two more people, we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."
Panama City, Isthmus of Panama.
British Consul George Aiken stood on the dock, gazing at the steamships moored in the harbor, and let out a long sigh of relief.
Starting from San Francisco, we took a boat south along the Pacific coast, enduring nearly half a month of rough seas, and finally arrived at the Isthmus of Panama.
Next, you only need to take a train across the isthmus, transfer to another ship at the port of Colomb on the Atlantic Ocean, and you will reach New York or New Orleans.
"Mr. Aiken, the train tickets have been purchased."
Secretary William Lane Booker walked over from the ticket office with two tickets in his hand. "The train departs at noon and will arrive in Colón, across the river from Panama City, at four o'clock in the afternoon."
Aiken nodded and glanced at his pocket watch: "There's still an hour left. Let's find a place to get something to eat."
The two sat down at a small restaurant near the station and ordered two grilled fish and two cups of coffee.
"Mr. Aiken, where are we going next?"
As William sliced the fish, he asked somewhat bewilderedly, "Should we go see Ambassador Clapton, or go straight back home?"
"Of course, we should go see the ambassador first."
Aiken took a sip of coffee and frowned, clearly not satisfied with the taste.
"The fact that San Francisco has been captured by the Chinese is a huge matter, and the ambassador must know about it immediately. Then we'll see how he arranges things; most likely, he'll send us back to China for a report."
"How do you think the government will handle this matter?"
Aiken was silent for a moment, then said, "It's hard to say, but there's a high probability that I'll support these Chinese people."
William asked, somewhat surprised, "Why?"
Aiken explained, "California is American territory, not British territory. If the Chinese occupy it, they are losing American land, damaging American strength, and undermining the US-Russia alliance!"
"But—" William hesitated for a moment, "if the Chinese establish a foothold there, wouldn't that threaten our interests in the Pacific? For example, in Canada?"
"Canada?"
Aiken smiled. "No matter how good the Chinese are at fighting, they can only occupy a part of the Pacific coast at most. That's just the tip of the iceberg, not important to the empire."
Even if they conquer that area, what difference would it make if we gave them the land? Would it relieve some of the pressure on the Russians in the Alaskan region?
For Britain at this time, Tsarist Russia was the greatest enemy.
Both countries are engaged in ubiquitous competition with the Russians in Europe, Crimea, Central Asia, the Far East, and even North America.
Although the US and Russia have never formally signed a military treaty, they have had many informal understandings and collaborations.
There's nothing the British won't do to contain the Russians and break this alliance.
William suddenly realized: "So when the Chinese occupied California, it was like kicking America hard in the backside. The Americans were hurt, so they didn't have as much free time to help the Russians."
As soon as the two finished their meal and went outside, they suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"George? George Aiken?"
Aiken looked up and saw a slightly overweight middle-aged man with a mustache standing not far away, staring at him in shock.
"Henry?" Aiken was also taken aback. "What are you doing here?"
Henry Spencer, a senior civil servant at the British Foreign Office, was also an old friend from his time in London. The two weren't particularly close, but they had known each other for many years.
Henry strode over and looked Aiken up and down. "My God, it really is you. I thought I was seeing things."
O
"Shouldn't you be in London?" George Aiken asked.
"I was supposed to be in London, but the Foreign Ministry sent me to Panama last month, and then I went to San Francisco via San Francisco."
1
Henry's expression turned strange as he said this, "To be precise, it's to go to San Francisco to see you."
"See me?"
"right."
Henry took a manila envelope from his briefcase and handed it to Aiken: "The orders from the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister are inside. Take a look for yourself."
Aiken took the envelope, opened it, and carefully read it over. His expression gradually became serious.
The order was not complicated; he was to investigate where the weapons in the hands of the Native Americans and the Chinese came from.
He carefully put the letter away and said with a wry smile, "This order can't be carried out now."
The two recounted everything that had happened in San Francisco from beginning to end.
From the rapid fall of San Francisco to the expulsion of consuls from various countries, and then to his own escape south by boat.
Henry was stunned: "The whole of San Francisco is lost? Are the Americans really that useless?"
"It shouldn't be just San Francisco."
Aiken said, "Before we boarded the ship, we saw a lot of Chinese troops heading out of the city. I guess many other cities in California have also been captured."
"My God!"
"So you see, you made a wasted trip."
Aiken patted Henry on the shoulder. "I'm on my way to Washington to see Ambassador Clapton. Do you want to come along?"
Henry shook his head, his expression turning serious. "No, this is a huge matter. We must report it to the Cabinet immediately. Don't go to Washington; come back to London with me."
"Back to London?"
"right."
Henry stated unequivocally, "The Chinese attack on California is not something the consulate can handle; it requires a decision from the cabinet and legislature."
You are eyewitnesses; you witnessed the entire event firsthand. Your testimony is valid against any report.