Chapter 130: [Proposing Conditions]

"Philip Cook," the bearded American lieutenant colonel introduced himself, then said, "Um, Chief Albert, right?"

"That's right." Ma Shao nodded and looked at the two hundred dragoons behind Cook.

Dragoons are cavalry, but the dragoons behind Cook seem a little special. They don't ride horses, but mainly mules.

"We met in July, and then you went to attack Santa Fe. How was the battle going?" Ma Shao asked.

Cook said calmly, "We are in a bit of trouble. Chief Albert, I'd like to know why the Mexicans also have Browning 1845 revolvers?"

Ma Shao said bluntly: "Because they paid."

Cook was silent for two seconds: "So, it was you who really sold the pistols to the Mexicans?"

"Yes." Ma Shao knew that this kind of thing could not be concealed.

Cook's face gradually darkened. "You didn't tell us in advance. As far as I know, you have promised to be a neutral party in this war and signed a contract."

Ma Shao remained calm: "We didn't tell the Mexicans in advance. This does not violate the terms of the neutrality agreement. We have not formed an alliance with any party, nor have we attacked any party."

"We sell weapons to the Americans and we sell weapons to the Mexicans. That's pretty neutral, isn't it?"

"..." Lieutenant Colonel Cook was speechless. After a long while, he managed to utter, "Cunning Indians!"

Ma Shao smiled and said nothing.

Cook added: "Did the British give you the weapons?"

Ma Shao hesitated for a moment, then said, "I said it was an unnamed European company. I signed a confidentiality agreement with them, so I won't tell anyone the truth."

Cook stared at him: "The British are just using you as pawns. This is America."

"Maybe, but we don't have many choices." Ma Shao sighed slightly, "If we had a choice, who would be willing to be someone else's pawn?"

Cook asked no more questions. "It's up to you. Now, I need a thousand revolvers."

"Fifty thousand dollars." Ma Shao held up five fingers and added, "Only gold and silver coins, no banknotes."

Cook frowned slightly: "This is an order for one thousand units, can't you lower the price a little?"

Ma Shao shook his head: "Unfortunately, we can't. If there is less money, we will have to pay out of our own pockets to subsidize the Russian... company."

He demonstrated a minor slip of the tongue just right.

Cook's heart moved.

Oregon? It's the damn British!

Of course, Cook did not express any opinion on this slip of the tongue. After all, he had already determined that the British were behind it.

"I don't have that much money," he said.

Ma Shao asked: "How much money do you have?"

"Only thirty thousand dollars."

"Then we can only sell you 600."

Cook said, "You can put it on the account first, and when we take over Santa Fe, we'll pay you the rest of the money—plus interest."

Ma Shao seemed a little tempted: "How much interest do you plan to pay?"

"Ten thousand dollars," Cook said. "If we take Santa Fe, we'll pay you another thirty thousand dollars, principal and interest. How's that?"

Ma Shao thought for a moment: "But what if you fail?"

Cook paused: "This is impossible."

"Victory and defeat are common in the military. Didn't Napoleon fail as well?" Ma Shao smiled. "You just encountered a little trouble. Who knows whether you will win or face bigger trouble next."

Then he changed the subject: "However, if you are willing to agree to my two conditions, I am willing to advance you $20,000."

Cook asked, "What conditions?"

Ma Shao: "The first condition is that the Americans need to cancel the bounty on the scalps of the indigenous people."

Cook thought for a moment and said, "First of all, we only have the power to revoke the Leavenworth bounty order. We are not responsible for other places."

"Then cancel the bounty order for Fort Leavenworth," said Ma Shao. Although Fort Leavenworth only has a few thousand people, it controls almost all the unincorporated territories in the Midwest.

"That won't work either," Cook said. "I admit that you are a relatively civilized tribe, but most of the Indian tribes in the Midwest are barbarians who are keen on looting. We still have to fight them. Therefore, the bounty order of Fort Leavenworth cannot be revoked."

He then added, "Of course, we can give you a separate exemption so that the Plains Apaches are not included in the bounty."

Fort Leavenworth certainly won't rescind the bounty.

It's not because they want to attack Indian tribes, but because there is money to be made - as long as the bounty on Indians is retained, they have one more reason to ask Congress for money.

Anyway, the guys in Congress won't come here to count the scalps themselves, so it's up to them to decide how to spend the money.

Ma Shao said: "What's the difference between this and not revoking it? Can you tell where the scalp came from?"

Cook: "It may be more difficult to implement, but we have no choice but to do it this way."

"This is totally meaningless!" Ma Shao was silent for a moment, then changed the subject, "In that case, let's talk about the second condition."

"The second condition is that the Plains Apache Tribe wishes to be admitted to the United States as the 29th state."

"What?" Cook was stunned. He almost thought he had heard it wrong.

Ma Shao said slowly: "We understand the situation. For the Apaches, joining the United States is the only way to civilization... So, I hope that Apache can become the 29th state of the United States of America."

This condition was completely unexpected for Cook. He had never thought that the Indian tribes would take the initiative to ask to become a state of the United States.

"With all due respect, that's almost impossible," Cook said. "Even if it were possible, it's not something I or General Carney can decide."

"You have to go to Washington to discuss this kind of thing."

The establishment of a new state is undoubtedly a national affair. Not to mention a military base, even the president cannot have the final say on it alone.

Especially in the current political environment.

The dispute over the abolition of slavery intensified. Every new state had to face the choice of whether to abolish slavery or to retain slavery. There was constant fighting between the government and the opposition, and it was not easy to establish a new state.

Ma Shao certainly knew this. In fact, although he did plan to lie dormant as a state for a while, he never thought that it would be realized in the near future.

The condition he proposed was purely "lifting the roof off".

"Then what can you do?" Ma Shao asked.

Cook thought for a moment and said, "Well...we can help you propose it to Washington."

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