Chapter 1517: Smuggling into Mexico

The winter on the great plains of North America would soon arrive. Because they were now in the cold Little Ice Age, the cold that ravaged the great plains and the eastern regions of North New Continent every winter was even more terrifying than in later ages. Temperatures of several tens of degrees below zero, a world of ice and snow — this was no joke!

So before the spring of the 27th year of Hongxing arrived, the three brothers Zhu Hehao, Zhu Hekun, and Zhu Hezhen could only watch helplessly. At most, they could sell quotas for "joining the team to pan for gold" — and with ten thousand quotas to sell, it was no easy matter either!

After all, in California, Bozhou, Huazhou, Meizhou, and other places, new gold deposits kept appearing from time to time, and they were all shallowly buried, gold that was very easy to pan out — this showed that the gold deposits of the four provinces of California, Bozhou, Huazhou, and Meizhou were far from exhausted.

Since the gold resources right at their doorstep were not yet exhausted, the number of people willing to travel all the way to the Mississippi River to look for gold was naturally not too large.

Of course, the ten thousand quotas could still be sold. After all, the gold mines currently being worked in the four provinces of California, Bozhou, Huazhou, and Meizhou were already "packed to overflowing." Moreover, gold mining had always had the saying "the first arrivals eat the meat, the latecomers drink the soup." That is, the first batch of gold panners to reach a gold mine and start digging could often pan out a sudden windfall! But those who arrived late, only after others had already panned out all the easy gold, could only pan out a little gold dust.

So a freshly discovered large gold mine was still very attractive to the eyes of gold panners, and it was still possible to hoodwink ten thousand people into going.

But in this winter, paying two hundred silver coins to go pan for gold on the Mississippi River was not the only tempting investment project before the nobles and commoners of the United States of the New Continent. The grand project of invading the Kingdom of New Spain was likewise laid out before them.

And this project had rewards even more tempting than gold and silver. White women and mixed Indian-European women, for many bachelor gold panners who had panned gold, did not plan to return home, and had no wives, held an attraction far stronger than any great Mississippi gold mine.

Solve the wife problem, then find a plot of land in the four provinces of California, Bozhou, Huazhou, and Meizhou, open a farm or ranch or something, and this life could be considered complete.

So this grand project of marching into Mexico, led by the Prince of Jiaqing, had by the 11th and 12th months of the 26th year of Hongxing already raised sufficient military funds, and had also recruited over ten thousand "volunteer soldiers."

But with such a vigorous, noisy preparation for invasion, if Mexico City still got no word of it, then Don Juan José would have to be truly incompetent.

Therefore, news that the Kingdom of New Spain was fully preparing for war also reached Angel Fort City in the 12th month of the 26th year.

"From the very beginning, we should never have pinned our hopes on that mob in the United States of the New Continent who only know how to rob money and women! The future of the Kingdom of Jiaqing still needs us warriors of Japanese origin!"

The speaker was a fierce-looking young samurai, his face covered with a wild, unkempt beard. His face was also tanned dark — whether he was born that way or had sunbathed too much on the beaches of Angel Fort, no one could tell.

Listening to him was the Princess Consort of Jiaqing, Shimazu Nogi. She was not wearing the formal court robes of a Ming Prince Consort, but a clean dark kimono bearing the dragon crest symbolizing the Prince of Jiaqing. She knelt sitting in the main keep of Angel Fort City, hands on her knees, listening quietly.

"After the great victory at Golden Gate Bay, we should have immediately marched south. We could certainly have caught Don Juan José off guard. But they kept delaying, and in the blink of an eye it is already the 27th year of Hongxing. New Spain must be preparing for war with all its strength, and the chance for an easy victory is slipping away bit by bit."

Shimazu Nogi's face was grim, and she merely nodded stiffly: "Nobuhisa, the Prince of Jiaqing and I also know we should have struck quickly after the great victory at Golden Gate Bay, but the King of the United States is not enthusiastic about southward expansion, so we..."

"We do not need the cooperation of the King of the United States at all! Perhaps he simply does not want us to grow strong right beside his bed. Because after we seize the Valley of Mexico, we will surely grow strong there quickly. Perhaps in only a few generations, a great army from Mexico will..."

"Nobuhisa, hold your tongue!" Shimazu Nogi shouted angrily. "If your words were to reach the King of the United States, the end of the Shimazu family would not be far off!"

The young samurai called "Nobuhisa" had the surname Shimazu. He was the current head of the Shimazu family, and held the official post of Minister of the Right of the Kingdom of Jiaqing.

He was the direct grandson of Shimazu Mitsuhisa and the nephew of Shimazu Nogi. His father Takatsuna had died young, so after his grandfather Mitsuhisa retired into seclusion, he became the head of the Shimazu family.

Having finished scolding her nephew Nobuhisa, Shimazu Nogi turned to explain to Hoshina Masateru, who held the post of Minister of the Left: "Lord of the Left, my nephew is young and hot-blooded, and likes to talk nonsense. His words must not be taken seriously."

Hoshina Masateru smiled faintly: "Actually, what the Lord of the Right said has some merit. We do not need the help of the United States to seize much of New Spain's territory."

"But how do we march?" Shimazu Nogi asked. "We have no navy. The navies of the United States and the Great Ming are not under our command. Do you intend to have the samurai of Keishu board merchant ships and sail south without escort?"

"Of course not." Hoshina Masateru said. "France, Holland, and Spain still have some naval strength on this side of the Pacific."

"Then that settles it?" Shimazu Nogi bit her teeth lightly. "I will go to Washington City and beg that King of the United States. If he refuses to send out the navy, I will cut my belly open in front of the White House!"

"Your Highness! You must not!"

"Your Highness, you cannot do this..."

"You must not!"

When the senior ministers of the Kingdom of Jiaqing in the main keep heard that their Princess Consort wanted to commit seppuku, they all began clamoring at once. Only the Minister of the Left, Hoshina Masateru, smiled without speaking.

"Lord of the Left," Shimazu Nogi asked, "what do you think of this plan?"

"This is nonsense!" Hoshina Masateru shook his head and said, "Under heaven, the only person who can make Your Highness cut your belly is His Highness the Prince himself! Would His Highness agree to your seppuku?"

Shimazu Nogi shook her head. "Then what other way is there now?"

"We can go by land!" Hoshina Masateru said.

"What?"

"By land?"

"How is that possible? It is over two thousand li!"

"And we would have to cross the Sonora Desert. How could our great army get through?"

Immediately, someone raised objections.

Shimazu Nogi looked at Hoshina Masateru. Hoshina Masateru smiled and said: "The Sonora Desert is not impassable, especially in winter. That desert gets rain every winter, and after the rain all things revive — it is still quite full of life.

Moreover, starting from San Diego, crossing the Sonora Desert, and reaching the comparatively humid land that can be cultivated is only eighteen hundred to two thousand li. If the great army can march sixty li a day, it can be done in a month. If we begin moving now, we can take Xizhou by the first month of next year — far better than sitting here in Angel Fort City fretting."

Shimazu Nogi furrowed her brows. "You mean the army marching south should also carry two months' marching rations? That would be several tens of jin no matter what. Can they carry it?"

"There is no need to carry that much grain." Hoshina Masateru smiled and shook his head. "Thirty-five days' marching rations will suffice... thirty days of marching, five days for the decisive battle. After victory, we can seize the enemy's grain. And we will be marching along the coast the whole way — we only need to capture one port, and we can get sufficient supplies from the Keishu Peninsula."

This plan sounded risky the moment one heard it!

"Is the risk not too great?"

"Yes! What if the thirty days are not enough to finish the march?"

"What if the enemy strengthens their walls and clears the fields, and refuses to fight a decisive battle with us?"

Among the senior ministers present, some raised objections.

"Do not think about 'what ifs'!" Hoshina Masateru smiled. "Instead, we must strive to accomplish the plan. Besides, our chances of success are still quite high... because marching two thousand li overland through the desert is not impossible, but it would certainly completely defy Don Juan José's expectations. In effect, we would be launching a surprise attack on Mexico. Therefore, this subject's plan has an extremely high probability of success! I beg Your Highness the Princess Consort to support us!"

(End of Chapter)