Chapter 1627 - 1533: You Really Guessed It Right

Chapter 1627: Chapter 1533: You Really Guessed It Right

Wilkinson knew very well that ordinary people find it hard to resist the temptation of getting rich overnight, so it was no surprise that the states failed to complete the recruitment tasks.

He pondered for a moment and instructed the staff officer, "Immediately send people to blockade the border, prohibiting anyone from going to Louisiana."

The latter paused for a moment, cautiously saying, "General, I’m afraid this is beyond our authority, unless the Federal Congress issues a ban..."

Wilkinson said coldly, "Just say that a large number of Spanish spies were recently discovered, to prevent them from returning to the West Bank."

"This... yes, General." The staff officer stood at attention and responded, then reminded, "General, there are many ferry ports along the Mississippi River, and even private cargo boats can ferry at slightly flat places. To achieve a complete blockade, at least five to six regiments are needed."

A regiment of the American Army has over 900 people, and it’s absolutely impossible to waste so many troops to block the displaced people.

Wilkinson said without hesitation, "Mobilize the sheriffs from Mississippi and Tennessee areas, even the smuggling team, plus Mackenzie’s infantry regiment."

He had long wanted to kick Mackenzie farther away, and now he could just use the excuse of "intercepting spies at the border." If public dissatisfaction arose in the future, he could also shift the responsibility onto him.

...

October 11, 1801.

East Bank of the Upper Mississippi River, Cahokia.

Napoleon rode his horse up the straight steps of that artificial hill, listening to the sound of the hooves on the solid tamped earth, and turned to Dalmagne with satisfaction, "If we fight here, this hill is really an excellent position for setting up artillery."

Under his feet, the hill was a "pyramid" built by the Ancient Indian Empire, later known as "Monk Mound."

There was originally a French immigrant-gathered town of Cahokia nearby, but in recent years they have all moved to the West Bank of the Mississippi River, causing Cahokia to become a desolate place again.

Napoleon glanced down at the queue of soldiers detouring from the "foot of the mountain," then looked eastward, smiling, "The next dozen kilometers are plains, we can finally speed up the march."

A week ago, the US Hampton Army invaded eastern Florida under the pretense of "catching escaped slaves."

The Governor of Florida immediately declared war on the United States in the name of the King - Madrid had authorized him four months ago.

When the news was sent back to Louisiana, Napoleon did not wait for the Spaniards’ request for help to arrive and led 5,000 soldiers from northern Illinois across the Mississippi River according to the pre-arranged battle plan.

Yes, the route he chose to attack from was precisely the northern route that Wilkinson and other American commanders deemed "impossible."

Dalmagne muttered softly hearing this, "But by tomorrow morning, we will enter the jungle again... God, we never had to endure these hardships originally..."

He had always advocated for a frontal attack on the American Alabama River defensive line.

He had charged across the European battlefields with the Regent, daring to fight Prussia, Austria, such powerful countries with fewer soldiers, let alone the weak Yankees.

But what puzzled him was that General Bonaparte, who had been pushing to Richmond a few years ago, appeared overly cautious this time, choosing to bypass the main American forces by detouring from the upper Mississippi River.

He frowned at the forest near the horizon and thought to himself: Being away from the fierce European battlefields for too long makes one lose their sharp edge.

Just then, Napoleon’s brother Lucien climbed up the other side of the hill, saluted Napoleon with his hat, and then handed over a Sharp Signal Tower document, "Commander, this was just sent by Lieutenant Colonel Brasser at noon.

"Just as you anticipated, the Americans, using Adams Fort as the core, have set up a tight defensive line. According to the reconnaissance by the hussars, there are four to five thousand people just on the opposite side of the Alabama River.

"Lieutenant Colonel Brasser speculates from the intelligence that Wilkinson has gathered at least 20,000 soldiers this time."

"Damn, where did the Americans get so many troops?" Dalmagne looked at Napoleon with eyes no longer filled with contempt—if he really launched a strong attack on the American defensive line as he suggested, the soldiers would surely be falling in front of the American fortresses in batches.

Napoleon nudged his horse, heading down the hill, casually saying, "If I’m not mistaken, the Americans started mobilizing as early as a year ago.

"They have nearly 400,000 people just in the East Bank area, recruiting seven or eight thousand soldiers is not a difficult task.

"You must understand, their ambition for land is even greater than the Russians."

Well, he was slightly off in one aspect this time. Wilkinson’s original plan was indeed to recruit 7,000 soldiers in the west, but only about 3,000 actually reported.

The power of the gold rush was greater than Joseph anticipated. Currently, over half of the able-bodied young men in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi State are already on their way to Louisiana.

Because the news from the West Bank of the Mississippi River said that the Spanish Government was indeed providing loans, and someone was indeed escorting people to the West Coast. For those with a gold rush dream, this was simply a costless business opportunity.

If they didn’t go for it, they would be doing themselves a disservice.

Napoleon pointed forward with his whip and shouted to the soldiers, "Make sure to reach the old town site before dark!"

The surrounding soldiers immediately responded with excited cries of "Ororo."

Napoleon also skillfully made a series of "Ororo" sounds from his throat, merging with the surrounding thousands of soldiers.

The advance speed of the French Army was very fast, covering more than 27 kilometers in that plain area just now in a day.

It’s worth noting, there is only one "King’s Avenue" here. Not the 50-meter-wide King’s Avenue as in France, but the "avenue" built by the ancient Indian King, where only two people can walk side by side, and it’s uneven.

Moreover, this was the easiest section to traverse on the entire marching route of the French Army.

The road ahead over seventy percent zigzagged through dense forests, so this time Napoleon left all the twelve-pounders just brought from Europe in Baton Rouge, only taking six six-pound cannons with him.

At twilight, the French Army finally reached the abandoned small town.

A cavalry unit found a lot of planks in the town, and piles of campfires quickly appeared throughout the camp.

Dalmagne and a group of scattered soldiers sat around the fire, personally prying open a can of garlic-flavored oyster canned food with a bayonet—the instant version of "Crown Prince Oysters"—and directly placed the tin can on the charcoal fire.

A rich aromatic fragrance quickly spread, causing the surrounding Indian soldiers to widen their eyes, momentarily forgetting to smoke, and swallowing their saliva continuously.

A few minutes later, Dalmagne signaled the sergeant beside him to distribute the boiling oyster meat equally to everyone.

A group of Indian soldiers immediately grabbed tortillas to sandwich oysters, eating with ravenous pleasure.

Yes, at present, Saint Louis still sends some tortillas and dried pumpkins and such from the logistics camp. Half a month later, their rations would be almost only canned food left.