Chapter 118: Prisoners and Visitors From England 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 quickly that Elvis and Deng Yan couldn't believe it.

Neither Elvis nor Deng Yan were people who were greedy for merit and reckless, and they were both cautious.

On the contrary, Ffflagg seemed very anxious.

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

In addition to these two main targets, the bounties of other captives were calculated according to their military ranks.

Even ordinary soldiers had a bounty of 20 ounces of gold.

Before the discovery and development of new large gold mining areas, California's gold production was generally declining slowly. Scarcity makes things valuable. The same ounce of gold is now more valuable than it was six months ago.

Flagg had served in the army and retired with the rank of colonel. He knew that the results achieved in hunting down fleeing soldiers were far greater than those achieved in fighting.

And his cavalry had a greater advantage than the infantry of the California Infantry Regiment in hunting down fleeing soldiers.

Elvis and Deng Yan were skeptical and suspected that there was a trick. The light at night was very dim, and they didn't know whether the enemy in the camp was setting an ambush or had really fled.

Elvis sent some scouts to conduct reconnaissance, while stabilizing the formation of his own troops and slowly advancing towards Colonel Mason's camp.

"Sir! The enemy has 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 cavalry had already ridden out, and those fleeing soldiers were now golden in their eyes.

In Tingtao Garden, Liang Yao had been sleepless all night, and he was a little nervous.

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

This battle was of great significance to California. If they won, the federal government would not be able to send troops to directly threaten California in the short term.

Even if the federal government sent troops, Liang Yao believed that with the previous experience of Colonel Mason, the commanders of infantry regiments in other states would weigh their own weight before sending troops to California to fight Liang Yao.

Most people are bullies who are afraid of the strong. If he failed to defeat Mason in this battle, it would be a different story.

Even without waiting for the orders of the government and Congress, the commanders of infantry regiments in other states would take the initiative to ask to send troops to California.

There was no other reason, the gold in California was too tempting.

Liang Yao flipped through the second letter sent to him by President Fillmore.

Although he was the president, Fillmore's tone in the letter to Liang Yao was very humble, and his completely arrogant attitude made Liang Yao feel very comfortable.

After all, Fillmore was a politician who climbed from the bottom to the presidency. He was more smooth and flexible in dealing with people.

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

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

At this time, the prominent figures in California gathered in the reception room of Tingtao Garden and circulated the letter written by the President to Liang Yao and Robinson, while waiting for the war report from the front. They wanted to know the latest news as soon as possible.

So that they can make the most favorable choice based on the facts.

"At least the President supports us."

After reading the letter, Sartre handed the letter to the impatient Jim.

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

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

Fremont said with his legs crossed.

"So far, according to the latest news we have received, under pressure from the public, the Senate had to hold a second vote. Although the result of the second vote is still unsatisfactory, the number of senators supporting us has increased significantly."

"This is a good sign." Liang Yao took 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 be able to get enough votes against this bill."

Unconsciously, the east was getting white, and the sky was already bright. Liang Yao invited these friends who had not slept all night like him to enjoy breakfast together.

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

"We won!"

This short sentence excited everyone. They defeated half of the elite infantry regiment of the US Army.

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

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

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

The two men were riding on the same horse, which was overloaded and moved slowly, so they were caught by Flagg and several of his mounted policemen.

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

Our 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. This 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 Flagg, 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 the crime you committed."

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 argue, 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 somewhat unconvinced and difficult to accept.

"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 misjudged you. Not only did you surrender and become a lackey, you also became an executioner and a war fighter. criminal."

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

"Is the killing of civilians also an execution of 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."