Chapter 88: Three Clans Alliance

Toes continued, "After the last truce, the Arapaho split into two factions, one advocating peace and the other advocating war... We naturally don't want to fight again, but some people are still keen on war, and the leader is Broken Bow."

"Broken Bow has been trying to restart the war, so he keeps in contact with the Cheyenne and Comanche. Not long ago, we got the news that Broken Bow has formed a three-tribe coalition and will soon attack Sleeping Bear."

"We don't approve of this kind of war, and we are sure that Broken Bow will fail. So we finally decided to send a warning to Sleeping Bear. At least, this can end the war faster."

Ma Shao listened and asked: "Do you have more detailed information about Broken Bow's war plan?"

Toe said: "The three tribes coalition forces of the Broken Bow Organization may attack in a few days, with at least a thousand people. This is all we know."

Ma Shao nodded: "Thank you for your reminder."

This was not too surprising. Whether it was the Arapaho or the Comanche, there was a high possibility that they would attack Sleeping Bear, and it was reasonable for the two to unite. Ma Shao had even prepared for it.

But he was still happy about the crow's warning, which showed that he had made the right decision to release the captives, and some Arapaho people changed their minds as a result.

As for the existence of pro-war factions like Duan Gong, it is also natural. There has always been a debate on whether to fight or make peace in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad.

Not only was Ma Shao not afraid of the Arapaho war faction, but he was quite looking forward to it - he needed war and believed that he could win.

In order to unify the entire Indian nation, war is indispensable. Only after the test of war can the Apaches possess the power to be feared and trusted, and only then will people come to them without going to war.

The two men talked for a few more words, then let the messenger rest, and then planned to make some preparations for the war.

Millie then asked in a low voice: "Ma Shao...will you come to see me tonight?"

"I'm sorry, Millie, we're going to war soon." Ma Shao patted her shoulder comfortingly, "I'll come back to learn English from you after the war is over."

"Okay..." Millie felt even more frustrated and left the classroom with her head down.

Looking at her leaving back, Ma Shao couldn't help but sigh secretly.

In fact, he no longer needs Millie.

His English was improving rapidly, at least Millie could no longer help him improve it.

The reason why he sometimes went to see Millie in the name of learning English was mostly out of pity - for this poor little girl, there was almost nothing to do except teaching him English.

She had trouble fitting in with the Apaches, and she didn't really fit in with the other white kids either.

Other white children would have their parents visit them from time to time, but she always lived alone, in a tent, and took care of her own life.

Ma Shao once wanted to arrange a wooden house for her, but she refused because she felt more at ease in the small and crowded tent.

…

In the next few days, Mianxiong City was busy preparing for the war. Although Ma Shao was confident that he could win, he still had to prepare.

Mianxiong City already had some defensive fortifications, mainly simple earth and stone bunkers, like a low wall, roughly surrounding the outside of the city. Soldiers could shoot outward under the cover of this low wall.

In order to deal with this attack, Mian Xiong added some chevaux de frise to block the cavalry's advance.

In reality, these fortifications were probably redundant.

Based on Ma Shao's understanding of the Indians, Broken Bow's three-tribe coalition was most likely no different from the previous Arapaho army. The fact that they could popularize stirrups was a sign of deep reflection. Their weapons were either primitive bows and arrows that were thousands of years old, or old-fashioned muskets that were hundreds of years old.

Moreover, the Indians had almost no experience in sieges. At most, they had attacked white villages and towns. Even a city like Sleeping Bear was unfamiliar to most Indians.

There is really no point in fighting this kind of war. Unfortunately, people like Duan Gong are obviously not people who can be convinced by reason, no matter how simple the reason is.

They can only be persuaded by physics.

The troops of the three-tribe coalition arrived as expected, and Ma Shao soon saw their figures. About one thousand to two thousand Indian warriors appeared in the distance.

They dressed differently and were roughly divided into three groups, naturally the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Comanche.

Ma Shao was observing them, but they were not observing Ma Shao.

Because Ma Shao has a telescope.

Although the quality of the telescope was not very good, he could still almost see the enemy's face.

"We're here! That's the Sleeping Bear Clan!" Owl pointed far ahead. There were even a few wisps of smoke rising from the Sleeping Bear City, as if they were completely unaware of their arrival.

Many people couldn't help but feel surprised when they saw this city.

"What a huge camp. I have lived for so many years and have never seen such a camp." Broken Bow said, "How did Ma Shao do it?"

"I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"Look at those plumes of smoke." A Cheyenne war chief pointed at the smoke rising from Sleeping Bear. "They're still cooking. Maybe they just woke up!"

Owl smiled and said, "It may be because these Apaches feel that they have a sure win. However, they don't know that such a huge camp, like a buffalo, only looks strong, but it is easy to be killed by keen hunters."

Broken Bow took a deep breath and said, "Warriors, prepare to harvest the Apache's scalps!"

"For the Comanche!"

"For Cheyenne!"

"For Arapaho!" The three tribes shouted their own slogans in their own languages.

Chief Broken Bow held the reins in one hand and waved his war club in the other, saying to the warriors: "Warriors, follow me!"

"kill!"

"Kill them all! Kill all the Apaches!"

"Woo-woo-woo—"

The allied forces of the three tribes shouted and screamed, and rushed towards Mianxiong City.

Soon, Ma Shao gave the order: "Caoyuan Wolf, Du Tiao, lead the cavalry to encircle them and cut off their retreat!"

"Yes!" Two centurions led two hundred cavalrymen out of Mianxiong City and surrounded them from both sides. "Ulla——"

The coalition forces of the three tribes were somewhat incredulous at this scene. They could not understand why a mere two hundred people dared to attack their coalition forces of one or two thousand people, and seemed to have no fear at all.

It was also their fault that they had not personally experienced the war south of the Colorado Plateau. In the minds of most of them, Ma Shao led a thousand Apaches to defeat a thousand Arapahos.

But in fact, the battle process of the eight hundred Apaches could almost be described as a wait-and-see situation, and the only ones who really decided the outcome were the two hundred people led by Ma Shao himself.

Just like now.

The doubts of the three-tribe coalition did not last long. Just as the two centurions led the cavalry at gallop, the militia in Mianxiong City launched the first attack.

"boom!"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Accompanied by dense gunfire, hundreds of bullets shot out from the muzzles of various rifles.