1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 118: Prisoners and Visitors from Britain and France

The counterattack from the camp suddenly stopped, which surprised Elvis, Deng Yan and others. Google search reading

Colonel Mason's troops collapsed too quickly, so fast that Elvis and Deng Yan couldn't believe it.

Neither Elvis nor Deng Yan is a person who is greedy for success. Both of them are more cautious.

On the other hand, Ffleger seemed very anxious.

Liang Yao had promised them in advance that anyone who captured Colonel Mason alive would receive a bounty of 800 ounces of gold. Since Sherman was the architect of the Los Angeles massacre, even though he was only a captain, Liang Yao also offered him a bounty of 700 ounces of gold. bounty.

In addition to these two main targets, other prisoners were rewarded based on their military rank.

Even an ordinary big-headed soldier has a bounty of 20 ounces of gold.

Before new large-scale gold mining areas were discovered and developed, California's gold production was generally slowly declining, and the same 1 ounce of gold was worth more than half a year ago.

Flagg had served in the Army and retired with the rank of colonel. He knew very well that the results achieved when hunting rout soldiers were far greater than those achieved during battles.

And his mounted policemen had a greater advantage than the infantrymen of the California Infantry in hunting down broken troops.

Elvis and Deng Yan were skeptical and suspected that there was fraud. The light at night was very dark, and they did not know whether the enemies in the camp were setting up an ambush or had really fled.

Elvis sent some scouts to conduct reconnaissance, and at the same time stabilized the formation of his own troops and slowly advanced towards Colonel Mason's camp.

"Your Excellency! The enemy troops have fled!"

Soon, the scouts brought back exciting news that Colonel Mason's troops had fled.

"Chase!"

Elvis and Deng Yan gave the order to pursue without hesitation.

Flagg and his mounted police had already galloped out, and the defeated soldiers were now like shining gold in their eyes.

In Tingtao Garden, Liang Yao had a sleepless night, and he felt a little nervous.

This was the first battle he commanded and the most critical battle in California.

This battle is of great significance to California. If it wins, the federal government will not be able to send troops to directly threaten California in the short term.

Even if the federal government sends troops, Liang Yao believes that based on Colonel Mason's experience, infantry regiment commanders in other states will weigh how much they have before sending troops to California to fight against Liang Yao.

Most people are bullies, and if he fails to defeat Mason in this battle, it will be a different story.

Without even waiting for orders from the government and Congress, infantry regiment commanders from other states would volunteer to send troops to California.

Otherwise, California gold is too tempting.

Liang Yao looked at the second letter sent to him by President Fillmore.

Although he is the president, Fillmore wrote to Liang Yaoxin in a very humble tone and completely arrogant and arrogant attitude, which made me feel very comfortable after reading it.

After all, he is a politician who climbed from the bottom to the presidential throne. Fillmore is more tactful and flexible in dealing with people.

It is no wonder that under the mediation of President Fillmore, all parties were able to reach an agreement and pass the compromise bill in just two months.

You know, this is something that President Taylor failed to do in eight months.

At this time, prominent figures in California gathered in the living room of Tingtao Garden to circulate letters from the President to Liang Yao and Robinson. At the same time, they were waiting for the battle report ahead. They wanted to know the latest news as soon as possible. .

So that they can make judgments based on facts and make choices that are in their best interests.

"At least the president supports us."

After reading through the letter, Sutter handed it to an impatient Jim.

The dignitaries who had read the letter nodded in agreement with Sartre's point of view.

"The president once told me that as long as more than one-third of the Senate votes against it, he would veto the bill submitted by Calhoun."

Freemont said with his legs crossed.

“So far, according to the latest news we have received, due to pressure from the people, the Senate had to hold a second vote. Although the results of the second vote were still unsatisfactory, the number of senators supporting us has significantly increased. .”

"This is a good signal." Liang Yao picked up a cup of coffee and took a few sips to refresh himself.

"As long as we stick to our position, I think we will soon have enough votes to defeat this bill."

Unconsciously, the east turned white and the sky was already dark. Liang Yao invited these friends who had stayed up all night like him to enjoy breakfast together.

Just after breakfast, a signal soldier came to report to Liang Yao the latest battle situation on the front line.

"we won!"

A brief sentence that cheered everyone up. They defeated half an elite infantry regiment of the American Army.

In the afternoon, Elvis, Deng Yan and others escorted the captured prisoners and reported the results to Liang Yao.

128 enemy soldiers were killed and 287 enemy soldiers were captured. The only regret was that the remaining dozens of enemy soldiers ran away, including Sherman.

Fortunately, they still caught two big fish: Colonel Mason and Major Oliver.

Because the two men were riding on the same horse, the horse was overwhelmed and moved slowly. Therefore, Flagg and several of his mounted policemen caught up and captured them.

In other words, the officers above the school level brought by Colonel Mason this time were either killed in battle or captured.

Our own side also suffered a certain amount of casualties, including those incurred when capturing prisoners. A total of 74 were killed and 165 were wounded. 27 of them were casualties caused by being trampled by their own people while chasing the defeated troops at night. Two of them were injured. The unlucky guy was trampled to death by his own people.

Fortunately, the casualties caused by these stampedes came from private armed forces provided by those gold mining companies and organizations, not from Liang Yao's California Infantry Regiment.

Sure enough, there is still a gap between armed forces that have undergone professional professional training and private armed forces.

"Colonel Mason, I'm sorry. Chief Flag, please remove the handcuffs of Colonel Mason. He is not a criminal and should not be treated like this."

Sutter had a relationship with Colonel Mason and asked Flagg to remove the handcuffs on Colonel Mason's hands.

For Sartre's sake, Flagg still unlocked Colonel Mason's handcuffs.

"He is a criminal." Fremont did not agree with Sutter's statement. He said coldly, "Colonel Mason, your troops are indeed extraordinary. They actually massacred innocent people in the town of Los Angeles. It is really an embarrassment to the American Army. You will pay for your crimes."

Fremont, who was also born in the Army, was deeply disgusted by the crimes committed by Colonel Mason's troops in Los Angeles.

Fremont walked up to Colonel Mason and put the handcuffs on Colonel Mason again, feeling that Colonel Mason was not qualified to remove the shackles.

"You also served as the commander of California. Don't you have any sympathy for the residents of Los Angeles? How did you do it? During the war, they provided a lot of help to the American army."

Mason did not choose to defend himself, because what Fremont said was indeed true. During the Mexican-American War, the early American immigrants in California did provide them with great help.

Although Sherman was responsible for the atrocities committed against the town of Los Angeles, as Sherman's boss, Mason was indeed responsible for the incident.

"I'm sorry," Colonel Mason said darkly.

He looked at the yellow-skinned colonel who was slowly walking towards him. The colonel was about six feet tall and looked very young, even a little immature.

Perhaps this is the youngest colonel in the United States. Losing to such a young opponent made Mason feel somewhat unconvinced and unable to accept it.

"Are you Colonel Liang?" Colonel Mason, a prisoner, asked.

"Exactly, Colonel Mason, I know you are not convinced." Liang Yao said to Mason unceremoniously.

"Before you killed the people of Los Angeles, I always thought you were a respectable soldier. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Not only did you degenerate yourself into a lackey, but you also became an executioner and a war fighter. criminal."

"I'm a soldier, I'm just following orders." Mason defended.

"Is killing civilians also executing orders?"

Liang Yao said disdainfully, then waved his hand and ordered Mason and the prisoners to be taken into custody.

These prisoners will be his bargaining chips on the negotiation table in the future.

In the evening, two guests from afar came to visit. Two steamships flying the Union Jack flag of the British Empire and the blue, white and red tricolor flag of the Second French Republic sailed into the port of San Francisco.

The arrival of Britain and France had been expected by Liang Yao. Fremont told him that before returning to California, he visited the British Embassy and the French Embassy in a private capacity to visit the two ambassadors.

It's just that Liang Yao didn't expect that Britain and France were so enthusiastic about America's domestic affairs, and they actually came earlier than the people from the American government.

"It should have been sent by someone from the embassy."

Fremont said, looking at the Union Jack and tricolor flags fluttering in the wind.

"It seems that the two ambassadors are very concerned about what is happening in California."

Liang Yao said with his hands behind his back.

At this time, the American trans-Pacific cable had not yet been laid, and the efficiency of information transmission between North America and Europe was not high. Transoceanic communication was still through letters.

The British and French people came so early, so they must not have received instructions from the top leaders of the two countries. It should be the intention of the two countries' ambassadors to the United States.

It has to be said that at this time, Britain and France were still very flexible in their external policies, giving their ambassadors considerable powers abroad.

"It's a bit too caring. I only went to visit them to chat with them and show it to Congress." Fremont frowned and said, "I never mentioned anything about California to them."

"No matter what you talk to them, as a California senator, it is enough to make them think wildly. What's more, it is already well known in the United States that California and the Washington Congress are not at odds." Liang Yao stared at the port. , "Get ready to welcome guests from the UK and France."

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