usatvline Chapter 117 The Capture of Sacramento and the Commencement of Mineral Production
Chapter 117 The Capture of Sacramento and the Commencement of Mineral Production
Chapter 117 The Capture of Sacramento and the Commencement of Mineral Production
Sacramento.
This city, built at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, the capital of California, has long lost its former peace and prosperity.
Supporters of the Democratic and Republican parties marched through the city, which subsequently turned into riots. Countless shops were smashed and looted, and it became commonplace for isolated supporters from both sides to be beaten and even shot.
The situation in Sacramento became even more complicated as 500 Southern California militiamen arrived by boat.
Governor Mike Doug did not hesitate and immediately sent troops to surround the American Party leaders who were firing inside City Hall, hoping to capture them and destroy the American Party in one fell swoop.
However, with the help of numerous guards hired by the American Party and American Party supporters who arrived at the scene, the arrest was successfully repelled.
And then, the two sides remained deadlocked.
That's the situation.
The older man recounted the information the Dark Angel had provided and asked, "John, how do we fight?"
After resting the wounded in Benicia and adding dozens more men, the total number of Van der Linde gang members returned to eight hundred.
After an eight-hour journey, the group could already see the city in the distance.
John slowed his horse down and picked at his ear: "What else can we do but split up?"
"I led the charge, attacking the state capitol and taking down Democratic politicians. You led the charge, attacking city hall and taking down American politicians."
"Once the city is headless, then take over the banks, docks, post offices, telegraph offices, and large warehouses in turn."
The middle-aged man nodded upon hearing this: "Then let's do it that way."
Eight hundred cavalrymen galloped through the Central Valley, heading straight for the capital of California.
Inside the governor's office at the state government building.
Governor Mike Doug stood on the balcony, looking in the direction of City Hall.
The city hall and the state government building were on the same street, so he could clearly see the rifles mounted on the rooftops and the figures of people walking back and forth behind the barricades.
"Mr. Doug, we can't wait any longer."
In the room behind, a Democratic congressman got up from the sofa, paced back and forth, and then sat back down.
"It's been three days. The reinforcements from the American Party are increasing, but we're still sitting here like idiots, waiting for Benicia's fate to end."
"If Colonel Sheridan fails to take the arsenal, this waste of time will be tantamount to murdering ourselves and the entire California Democratic Party!"
Doug turned to the senator: "Relax, Anderson."
"Sheridan sent me a telegram yesterday. They will be able to break into the arsenal in two days at most, and then bring over a large number of guns and artillery."
As soon as the cannons arrive, we can blast open the doors of the city hall and drag out all of Johnson and the American Party bastards!
""
Anderson was still a little nervous: "Are you sure they can get here?"
"Sure."
Doug walked back inside from the balcony. "Besides," he said, "there are still five hundred people downstairs. Even if the American Party attacks today, we can hold out until reinforcements arrive. Don't worry."
Suddenly, a commotion arose downstairs, with the sound of horses' hooves approaching and people shouting.
Doug frowned, opened the window, and looked down.
On the street in front of the state government building, several dusty-looking people were rolling off their horses and running up the steps.
Their clothes were tattered, their faces were covered in dust, and some of them had bloodstained strips of cloth wrapped around their arms.
"Halt! Who goes there!" The guards at the door raised their guns.
"We are Southern California militia members, from Benedictinea!"
The leader raised his hands, his voice hoarse. "We failed to capture the arsenal, and we were ambushed from behind. Our troops suffered heavy losses!"
The guards were stunned, and Doug upstairs was also stunned.
"Let them up here!" Doug shouted.
The fleeing soldiers were led upstairs and stumbled into the governor's office. The leader collapsed to the floor as soon as he entered, panting heavily, his lips cracked and his throat gurgling.
"Tell me, what happened!" Doug took a glass of water from the table and handed it to the leader.
The leader, without even offering thanks, took the water glass and gulped it down. After a moment, he said, "Thousands of American Party cavalrymen have stormed into Benicia from the north."
The enemy firepower was too intense; our men couldn't hold them off and were scattered. Colonel Sheridan led us to the docks, where he was killed in the explosion. A few of us managed to escape and immediately came here to report the news.
The office was deathly silent. Several Democratic lawmakers were ashen-faced.
"Several thousand men? And they're cavalry?!"
At this moment, Doug laughed instead, as if he had heard the most absurd joke.
"Kid, do you know what this means? If the American Party had this kind of power, that bastard Jason would never have sent anyone to Benicia; he would have just come here and killed me."
"Mr. Governor, I'm telling the truth!"
The man hurriedly said, "The equipment on the other side is frighteningly good. They're all breech-loading guns, and they also have grenades that can be thrown far and are very powerful."
Doug felt that the description of the weapon looked familiar, but before he could remember, a loud bang suddenly came from outside the window!
boom!
Everyone quickly looked out the window and saw a building in the distance burst into a brilliant flame, with dust filling the air.
Immediately afterwards, the ground began to shake. The sound of thousands upon thousands of hooves surged from outside the city, growing closer and louder.
On the dirt road outside the city, a gray torrent was surging towards the city.
It was a torrent of hundreds and thousands of cavalrymen, charging into the city in wedge formation.
The person at the front was holding a white flag with red lettering. The afternoon sun shone on the flag, revealing two square characters he couldn't understand.
Doug whirled around and yelled at the people inside, "Go! Get the Southern California militia to line up in the square! Now!"
Downstairs, it's already a complete mess.
The Southern California militia's camp was located in the plaza behind the state capitol building, and it was filled with tents. Apart from some who were on patrol, the rest were resting inside.
Upon hearing the order, they hurriedly scrambled out of their tents, some pulling up their trousers, some barefoot, some without even their guns. The officers shouted at the top of their lungs, herding them together.
By the time they had lined up, the cavalry had already stormed into the city, just one street away from the state government building.
"kill!"
Four hundred cavalrymen accelerated simultaneously, their hooves thundering, shaking the windows on both sides of the street.
The first row of militiamen raised their guns, looked at the charging cavalry, and pulled the triggers.
Fire!
Amidst the swirling smoke, over a hundred lead bullets flew out, heading towards the cavalry. But the cavalrymen at the forefront remained unmoved, simply lowering their bodies to reduce their chances of being hit.
The first dozen or so riders fell off their horses, but the cavalry behind them skillfully maneuvered around them and approached the militia.
They still used the same old method of firing rifles in volleys and throwing grenades, but it still worked. In just a few seconds, the square turned into a slaughterhouse.
"Run!"
Upon witnessing the loss of over a hundred comrades in an instant, the militia collapsed.
Doug stood by the window, watching helplessly as his team was swept away and scattered.
The militiamen scattered and fled across the square, while the cavalrymen weaved through the square, herding them like sheep. With each charge, another layer of corpses appeared on the ground.
"Mr. Doug! Let's go!" A congressman grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the window.
Downstairs, the main entrance to the state government building was rammed open by cavalry.
Dozens of soldiers rushed in, rifles in hand, and opened fire on everyone they saw.
The guards in the hall were shot to the ground, and some people who had just run down the stairs were shot several times.
Doug and the congressman climbed out of the second-floor bathroom window and jumped into the haystacks in the alley below.
But just as he climbed out and ran a few steps, a troop of cavalry emerged from the other end of the alley.
The cavalryman at the front saw him and raised his rifle. Doug didn't have time to dodge, and the bullet struck him in the chest, causing blood to splatter.
"Watch out around the building, don't let Democratic politicians get away!"
town Hall.
John Neely Jensen stood at the window on the second floor of the city hall, looking at the smoke and fire in the distance.
He heard the sound of cannons, the sound of horses' hooves, and saw chaos in the direction of the state government building.
"Where did those cavalrymen come from? Are they our men?" he asked his secretary.
"I don't know," the secretary replied blankly, clearly also at a loss.
Jason frowned; his intuition told him that this cavalry force was likely up to no good.
"Call the councilors, let's go."
Jason turned and took a revolver from the drawer. "Move to the villa. It's on slightly higher ground and has a wall; we can hold it for a while."
The secretary paused for a moment, then asked, "Sir, the city hall is no longer under our control?"
"How do we defend? Rely on the carriages and sandbags outside? Those can only stop bullets, not explosions." Jason walked out without looking back.
Upon receiving the order, the American Party leaders in the city hall gathered their guards, exited through the back door, and ran along the alley towards the villa district in the north of the city.
"Uncle, there's no one in the city hall."
The cavalrymen who broke through the barricades turned their horses around and went back to report.
"There are footprints at the back door, and they seem to be heading north."
"Chase them! Don't let them get away!"
The cavalrymen followed the footprints.
The villa district in the north of the city is located along the Sacramento River. It is a large area of garden villas and is home to the city's wealthy people and politicians.
The walls here are very high and thick, and the gate is made of wrought iron. With the patrolling guards, ordinary robbers simply cannot break in.
When the older man and his men caught up from behind, the high-ranking members of the American Party were still on their way. A large group of people were jogging down the street, as if they were moving house.
"Kill!" the uncle calmly ordered.
The cavalry scattered, flanking from both sides. Hearing the sound of hooves, Jansen turned around and his face turned deathly pale.
Among the crowd, the guards began to draw their revolvers or rifles and fire at the cavalrymen.
However, the gunfire was sporadic, and the casualties were minimal.
The cavalry continued their charge at full speed.
The first cavalry charge into the crowd from the front, their horses knocking over several bodyguards and breaking their leg bones, their screams heart-wrenching.
The second cavalry unit cut in from the side, splitting the crowd in two. The third cavalry unit then surrounded them from behind, blocking their retreat.
The sounds of rifles, revolvers, and screams mingled together. The leaders of the American Party scattered and fled, but the streets were lined with walls, cavalry were in front and behind them—there was nowhere to escape. Some tried to slip into alleyways, only to be caught by cavalry and hacked to death.
Someone climbed the wall and was shot down. Someone knelt down and raised his hands, and was driven past by cavalrymen who didn't kill him but didn't stop either.
Jason was escorted by several bodyguards as he ran towards the back of a house. He ran very fast, his boots making a rapid sound on the stone pavement. But the uncle on horseback caught up from the side, turning his horse's head to block his path.
"Hello, Mr. Jensen." The man looked down at him, his rifle pointed at his chest.
Jason, panting heavily, raised his hands.
Who are you?
The older man looked down at him and pulled the trigger.
Gunshots rang out, and Jason's body swayed before he fell backward, dying with his eyes wide open.
The man sheathed his gun, turned his horse around, and shouted to the cavalry behind him, "Count the battlefield. Leave no one alive."
The gunfire gradually subsided.
The afternoon sun shone on the streets of Sacramento, on the corpses lying scattered about, and on the prisoners kneeling on the ground.
On the docks, cavalrymen were counting the ships. Outside the bank, several soldiers were using explosives to blast open the vault door. At the post office...
Soldiers were present at every telegraph office.
John stood on horseback in front of the state government building.
The building was burning, flames leaping from the windows and licking at the stone carvings on the exterior walls. The square was littered with corpses, and prisoners were lined up and squatted on the street, their hands covering their heads.
"John."
The middle-aged man rode over on horseback, covered in blood. "The city hall is all taken care of. All the leaders of the American Party are dead, not a single one escaped."
John nodded and slowly said, "Report to my lord that Sacramento has been captured!"
In Nevada, steam billows and water gurgles in the mountain mines.
A dozen or so miners stood in waist-deep water, scooping water out with buckets, but the water rose too quickly; for every bucket they scooped out, two more buckets rushed in.
Jingde stood at the entrance of the mine, looking at the water flowing out, his face ashen.
They finally found a rich ore layer and thought they could start production, but they ended up breaking through an underground aquifer, and hot water kept gushing out.
"Jingde, report this to the lord."
One of the assassins said, "The water down there is not only voluminous, but also scalding hot. We definitely can't drain it all by manpower alone; we'll need a pumping machine."
"It's already been reported," Jingde said. "The lord said he would send over several large steam-powered water pumps to help us drain the water."
Even as he said this, the worry on his face remained.
A water pump can solve the problem temporarily, but it's not a long-term solution.
The underground water volume is too large. Even with more water pumps, it can only maintain the current situation and cannot completely dry out the mine. Moreover, the water pumps require coal, which needs to be transported in from outside, increasing costs.
"Interested in trying an even crazier approach?"
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Jingde's mind. His consciousness projected through the network and he realized who the speaker was.
Lu Ban, the leader of the civil engineering team.
Do you have a solution?
Lu Ban said, "How about we dig a drainage tunnel?"