Chapter 56: Reverse Colonization

With the introduction of armed forces and the establishment of laws, Clark Town became a horse whistle territory, or colony. This sounds a bit magical - Indians colonized an American town.

Now that he has implemented colonization, he certainly won't rob the residents here again.

There will be no looting.

But according to legal documents, some things that should be "confiscated" must of course be "confiscated". For example, most of the nearly 100 muskets confiscated last night will be taken back to the clan, and some will be left for the town police.

For example, if a white family was wiped out in a resistance, their property would naturally be "confiscated".

He seemed to be the richest man in the town, so it took a lot of effort to count and confiscate his property, and Ma Shao also participated.

Not far from the town office, in an exquisite small building.

Several people were busy counting and moving property.

"1,145 Spanish silver dollars, 514 U.S. dollar gold coins of various denominations, as well as banknotes, gold bars, jewelry... these alone are worth seven or eight thousand dollars. He is such a rich man!" Ma Shao couldn't help but say as he held the inventory list in his hand.

These are just currency, gold, silver and jewelry, not including the houses, land and a sawmill owned by this family.

"Is this family your former owner?" Ma Shao turned and looked at Mary.

"Yes," said Mary Freeman.

Ma Shao thought for a moment and said, "Before enough houses are built in the town, those who have no place to stay, including the garrison and the blacks, can live in this house and the house left behind after the gunsmith moved out, plus the town hall. If that's not enough, we can put up a few tents."

"Mary, you will serve as the temporary tax officer first."

"Temporary tax officer?" Mary asked puzzledly.

Ma Shao explained: "Because this is not your official mission. Now I need to return to the clan. I will come back in a few days to arrange a formal mission for you."

"During this period, you need to do three small things. First, you need to find a few people who know how to keep accounts..."

Mary suddenly said, "I can keep accounts."

Ma Shao was a little surprised at first, then nodded: "In that case, I think I don't need to say more about this. I will come directly to check your work results when the time comes."

Mary said confidently, "No problem, what are the other two things?"

Ma Shao continued, "Gather some workers who can sew trousers. Not too many for now. Also, buy some old canvas. I will give you some money."

"You're going to make trousers out of old canvas?" Mary guessed what he was thinking.

"That's right." Ma Shao indeed planned to do so.

More precisely, he was going to design jeans.

Historically, jeans were originally made from old canvas to meet the needs of western exploration.

The biggest feature of these pants is that they are strong and durable. They were soon warmly welcomed by adventurers and workers, quickly became popular, and eventually became one of the most mainstream clothing in the world.

According to the original history, a few years later, a shrewd western businessman would launch jeans and make a fortune.

But now, Ma Shao can design jeans before that guy, and he certainly won't miss such a good opportunity.

The production of jeans may be the easiest way to make money in this era. The technical content is sewing pants, and the resources are old canvas that can be found everywhere. The customers of jeans are all over the world, and all adventurers and workers will fall in love with them.

Mary hesitated. "With all due respect, this doesn't seem like a good idea."

"Maybe." Ma Shao did not explain, but said, "Now that we have the workers and the canvas, don't rush to sew the pants. When I come back, I will tell you what to do."

Although making jeans is not difficult, there are some tricks to designing the styles, and he knows clearly what styles will become mainstream.

Although Mary was very skeptical about the value of the canvas trousers, since Ma Shao had already given the order, she naturally did as he ordered and turned around to get busy.

After leaving the small building, Ma Shao strolled around the town again, and then the following scene came into his sight.

Two Apache warriors were walking down the street when they suddenly noticed a strange crop piled up in front of a townsman's door.

garlic.

They seemed to have never seen garlic before, so they immediately came over, picked up two bunches of garlic and started discussing.

Upon seeing this, the man of the house couldn't help but reveal a look of horror on his face. Then he forced himself to put on an attitude of flattery and smiled as he handed all the garlic in front of the door to the two Apache warriors. His meaning was self-evident.

Seeing his enthusiasm, the two Apache warriors did not refuse and accepted it with a smile.

Ma Shao, who was not far away, frowned immediately, walked up to the white townsman, and took out a Spanish silver dollar: "How much is this garlic?"

"Uh... no charge." The white townspeople didn't dare to collect money.

Ma Shao directly gave him the silver dollar: "Then take this silver coin. Don't do this kind of thing in the future. No matter you are a civilian, a policeman or a garrison soldier, you have to pay when you buy things in the town. If you insist on giving it as a gift, I have reason to suspect that you are offering a bribe."

One Spanish silver dollar was worth about one US dollar, which was more than enough to buy some garlic. But Ma Shao was too lazy to count the money and threw the silver dollar over without any explanation. The townspeople could only accept it in fear.

"Thank you, In..."

"Call me Chief."

The townspeople quickly changed their words and said, "Thank you, respected chief!"

Then Ma Shao talked to the two Apache warriors for a while: "You are stationed here and are the law enforcers, and the most important law enforcers. You must not only abide by military discipline, but also set an example and abide by the laws of the town. Don't rob, don't accept bribes, and don't conflict with others..."

He was very worried that armed conflict would break out in the town. Clark Town might be the only reverse colony in the world, with very complicated personnel and conflicts.

Once a conflict occurs in such a place, it is likely to turn into a tragic bloodshed.

No matter what the result is, he will suffer heavy losses, at best a reduction in personnel, at worst the colonization plan will fail directly. In the worst case, it may even attract the attention of the US federal government.

Therefore, Ma Shao must restrain all parties here, not only the white people, but also the black people and his tribesmen, so that this colony can be stabilized and continue to produce value.

The Apaches did not have a deep understanding of military discipline and law, but fortunately they were respectful enough to Ma Shao's personal authority.

Under Ma Shao's repeated emphasis, they all promised to abide by military discipline and laws.

That afternoon, Ma Shao prepared to leave Clark Town with the Comanches, the gunsmith Browning's family, the white children, and most of the Apache warriors.

"Is he a Comanche?" As they were about to leave the town, Ma Shao noticed an Indian standing on the street corner not far away.

This person was obviously not an Apache, but he was not with Chief Two Wolf and the others. Instead, he was standing on the corner of the street, looking at them timidly.

"He is a traitor to the Comanche people," said a Comanche coldly.