America 1881: Legend of the West

"Sir, there are no living people and no food. There is nothing left in this village."

A young soldier with short hair and a military uniform ran up to Lai Hua, gave him a military salute, and reported.

Lai Hua frowned: "How much food does the team have?"

"In a few days, everyone only has some cassava left. Tonight, Second Lieutenant Luo may take everyone to catch crabs on the beach."

The soldier shrugged and said helplessly.

"There are some wild corns at the edge of the forest that you can break off and try." A younger, middle-aged Chinese officer walked over from the burned house.

He has a thin face and thick beard, but his eyes are bright and lively.

This officer is the Second Lieutenant Luo the soldier calls him. His original name is Luo Xiangrong. He is a Hakka from Guangxi. According to legend, he is also a descendant of the Taiping Army. He is now the leader of Lai Hua's men.

"The biggest problem is ammunition. We don't have many bullets anymore. Evenly divided, each soldier has less than seven rounds."

Luo Xiangrong put his hands on his hips, looked at the sea and said worriedly to Lai Hua.

"In addition, I do not recommend that troops be stationed here. This is the seaside and there is a lack of fresh water. If the Spanish army in Santiago City rushes out, then we are afraid that we will be driven into the sea to feed the fish."

"Then what good suggestions do you have?" Lai Hua's face showed no expression for the time being.

"I think we should leave here immediately and move closer to Hood or Captain Pereiro, so that even if we are attacked by the Spanish, we will not be in desperate situation."

Luo Xiangrong gave his own suggestions.

Objectively speaking, this suggestion is rational and in line with the current situation of the Chinese insurgent army.

Their unit now has seven to eight hundred Chinese soldiers, and the remaining few hundred people are led by another Chinese general, Captain Hood, to fight guerrillas in the mountains to the north.

If the two sides do not get closer, they will not be able to match Francis's thousands of Spanish soldiers in Santiago.

What's more, they are low on ammunition now.

But if they leave here and move north, it means that the troops have to temporarily leave the Santiago area and abandon the largest port in southern Cuba.

Then he and Lai Gubei would be even more in trouble, and his son would be in danger.

It's not that his son Lai Hua can't die, but he still has a glimmer of hope for the guns purchased by his son.

"Is there no news from Santiago yet?"

After thinking for a long time, Lai Hua looked at Luo Xiangrong and asked.

Luo Xiangrong was silent for a few seconds and shook his head.

"Wait one more day. If there is no news tomorrow, we will move." Lai Hua said.

There was a hint of worry on the old man's weather-beaten face, but it was fleeting and was buried deep under the ravaged skin.

Just when Lai Hua was worried about his son.

Chen Jianqiu, Camilla and the team transporting arms are already on the road.

After the stronghold of the drug store was taken away, the originally planned transport fleet was naturally nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, Santos has been doing business in Cuba for many years.

He does have some contact information for the team.

After discussing with Chen Jianqiu, they finally chose a fleet that specializes in transporting sugar cane on weekdays.

The captain of the convoy is a local man named Diaz who looks honest and honest.

Chen Jianqiu asked his subordinates to buy some flour shipped from Mexico at the port, plus the original potatoes, to cover the wooden boxes containing the arms.

As for the route, Chen Jianqiu planned to leave Santiago City and walk a certain distance north, then turn south, make a circle and then head towards Sage, a small fishing village northwest of Santiago City.

Early the next morning, the loaded convoy set off from the port in a hurry and headed out of the city.

The members of the Long Xiang group were all dressed up as gangsters.

None of them carried weapons to avoid arousing the suspicion of the Spanish soldiers.

Only Chen Jianqiu and Camila wore a revolver around their waists. When asked, they said it was for self-defense as the situation in Cuba is complicated now.

Sure enough, when the convoy arrived at the exit of the city, it found a long queue in front of it.

Spanish soldiers set up checkpoints on the road out of the city using horse barriers, barbed wire and sandbags to screen all carriages and pedestrians leaving the city.

"You, you, take your luggage and come out!"

A Spanish soldier pointed a gun at a man carrying a large bundle.

This man looked like a mixed race at first glance. As for what kind of mixed race he was, Chen Jianqiu couldn't tell for a while.

The man looked at the soldier blankly, somewhat at a loss.

"Where to go?" The soldier held up the gun in his hand, with the tip of the gun pointed at the man's waist.

"Go to Songo, my husband." The man replied honestly. "I want to go back home. I have to take care of the tobacco leaves in the fields at home. I can't worry about it."

"If I remember correctly, the Governor should have announced a long time ago that none of you are allowed to stay in the countryside, because in that case, we can't protect you." The soldier looked at the man with evil intentions, the gun in his hand No intention of letting go at all.

"Sir, sir, we, no, don't need it." The man's waist was pressed with a gun, and he stammered for fear of offending the Spanish soldier in front of him.

"No, you need it." The soldier shook his head, "If any of you return to the countryside now, it is an act of subsidizing the enemy."

"I will not join the rebel army. Please, sir, if the tobacco harvest in the field is not good today, our family will all drink from the northwest wind!" The man looked like he was about to cry.

When the soldier saw that the man in front of him was useless no matter what he said, he completely lost his patience.

He suddenly raised his gun and hit the man on the head with the butt of the gun.

The man's vision went dark, he took a few steps back, sat down on the ground, and dropped the baggage on his back.

Blood streamed from his forehead.

"Let me see what you brought to the enemy!" The Spanish soldier who committed the crime pulled out his dagger and cut open the baggage with one slash.

Several other soldiers also came forward and began to "check" the man's baggage.

But there was almost nothing inside except some clothes and dry food.

"Damn it, you poor man, go back now." The soldier threw the torn bundle back to the ground in front of the man with a look of disgust, and the contents inside were scattered all over the floor.

In front of Chen Jianqiu, the team captain Diaz clenched his fists, changed his usual honest and honest image, and cursed in a low voice in Spanish.

"What did he say?" Chen Jianqiu turned his head and asked Camilla beside him.

"He says these Spanish soldiers are a bunch of beasts," Camilla replied.

Chen Jianqiu looked ahead and nodded thoughtfully.

Diaz's description is indeed not an exaggeration at all.

The inspecting soldiers even robbed and beat anyone who had not paid the "tolls" and found a reason to search them.