America 1881: Legend of the West

Normally, the residents of Fort Stockton do not need to be so panicked.

Because the residential areas for white people and Chinese people are not next to each other at all.

There is at least a piece of wasteland between the two sides, and even the water source uses each other's groundwater.

Even during the election, the two sides couldn't show any face.

Lin Sanshan didn't mind at all that the white mayor across the street was elected consecutively.

Because the other party's orders cannot be transmitted here at all.

The Chinese pay their fair share of taxes, but the state government basically turns a blind eye.

But this time, it seems that the memory of the ancestors has been awakened.

The residents of Fort Stockton were in panic.

In the afternoon, the bell at the entrance of the town rang.

Many people in the town gathered in the auditorium at the entrance of the town.

"Those damn Chinese are like rats. They deserve to be infected with the plague. We should drive them out immediately!" An old man with a white beard stood next to the table and shouted with his neck scratched.

"Drive them out? If they could be driven out, would they still be here now?" Next to him, a young farmer snorted, "It's not like you haven't tried it before. Four or five people died and they didn't move at all."

"Shut up! I won't allow you to insult my son!"

The old man suddenly exploded like a ignited powder keg.

He rushed to the farmer and grabbed him by the collar.

"I don't allow you to insult my son!"

His eldest son died in a fight with the Chinese ten years ago, which was an eternal pain in his heart.

"If you can't beat me, you can't beat me. What's the point of attacking me? If you have the ability, go to the other side and cause trouble for those Chinese people!" The farmer refused to be outdone and grabbed the old man's hand.

The old man's two remaining sons also pushed through the crowd and rushed over, preparing to attack the farmer.

Seeing that a fight was about to start in the auditorium.

"Pap-pap-pap-pap."

The mayor shouted for a long time and found that it was useless. He had to take off his boots and slap the table desperately.

"Can you all shut up!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Isn't this embarrassing enough?"

The people below finally stopped fighting for the time being.

"I think our top priority now is to quickly report what happened here to the state and ask for support from the state."

The mayor's words were met with boos around the table.

Calling for support when he comes up doesn't seem to be in line with the Texans' personality.

But the mayor ignored these guys at all.

"What? Are any of you willing to drive away those Chinese? No problem, stand up and I'll let you go first!" He said angrily.

No one stood up.

The Chinese on the other side of the wasteland had guns and the Black Death.

Either one of the two things could kill them.

This group of people all got scared in unison.

Since no one came forward, the mayor's proposal was considered passed.

They sent the young farmer on horseback to report what happened here to Austin, the seat of the state government.

"What? Black Death? Chinese?" After the governor heard the report, his eyebrows were twisted like ropes.

He had heard about Fort Stockton when he first took office.

But even a fool knows who is behind the Chinese there.

Without the support of the person behind them, no matter how hard these Chinese fight, they would not be able to last for so long.

The governor doesn't want to cause trouble.

Except for a fight with the local white people when they first arrived, the Chinese never caused any trouble for almost ten years.

"You go out first, I'll think about it."

The governor asked his subordinates to go out first. He leaned back in his chair, took off his glasses, and pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand.

How should we deal with this matter?

If an epidemic breaks out in a town in your own state, the state government can't just ignore it. Do you still need the votes? But how can we stop the situation from developing?

While the governor was in his office thinking about it, a well-dressed gentleman walked into his office.

The visitor didn't seem to notice anything, and sat down on the sofa in the office.

"Mr. Governor, what is it that worries you so much?" he asked.

The governor raised his head and glanced at the man sitting on the sofa.

His head hurt even more.

The person who came was John Rockefeller Jr., the youngest son of John Rockefeller.

This man was born in 1874 and is now 26 years old. He just graduated and joined his father's company not long ago. He is the younger brother of Rockefeller who sold the oil refinery in Roswell to Chen Jianqiu.

Texas is rich in oil and gas resources, and Mr. Rockefeller’s work is naturally indispensable.

And little Rockefeller came here to discuss business with the governor with his father's instructions.

The Rockefeller family has always been the governor's noble family, so the governor directly told young Rockefeller what happened.

Unexpectedly, after thinking for a while, Rockefeller gave the governor an unexpected suggestion:

"You should send out the state militia to drive those Chinese out," Rockefeller Jr. said. "After all, they were the ones who brought the plague."

"Are you crazy?" The governor stared at the noble man in bewilderment. "We have carefully investigated these Chinese. They are all legal American citizens and have spent money to buy land. What reason do we have to expel them?"

"Then surround them." Young Rockefeller said sinisterly, "Lock down and isolate their entire residential area. In the name of the epidemic, surround them until they can't stand it anymore. Then they will come and talk to us about leaving."

He leaned forward.

"Mr. Governor, you should understand that if these Chinese are there, they will always be a threat. They are not religious, so they have no bottom line in doing things. If they are allowed to develop and grow, it will be a disaster."

"Believe me, you will lose voters, you will be impeached, and your political career will be in trouble because of your inaction."

I have to say that there is some truth to what Rockefeller Jr. said.

But as a mature politician, the governor will certainly not take risks just because of a businessman's words.

"I think this decision is reckless." The governor shook his head. "Using the militia will panic our citizens and violate the freedom rights of those Chinese."

"You are wrong, Mr. Governor. We are facing a plague. What the governor should do is to prevent the spread of the plague."

"So in special times, special methods should be used. In the final analysis, most people care about their own lives, not those of alien races." Rockefey Jr. said.

The governor thought for a long time and asked the last question:

"What if, and I mean what if, Chen's troops in New Mexico came to support his countrymen?"

The combat effectiveness of the Chinese troops in the Spanish-American War left him frightened.

Little Rockefeller laughed:

"If they dare to move, it is a rebellion. If the rebellion is established, Mr. President has the right to mobilize the army to eliminate them!"

"You don't need to worry about this, we will use our influence to deal with them."

The governor remained silent.

But little Rockefeller was not in a hurry, looking confident.

He no longer talked to the governor about the epidemic in Fort Stockton, but about oil and gas business and sharing.

A few days later, rumors suddenly started flying around the cities of Austin and Houston.

The general content is that the "Death" Black Death is attacking Fort Stockton, a city in western Texas. Many people have died, and the death is extremely tragic.

This disaster is said to have been brought about by the Chinese.

There are two theories. One is that people who came from abroad carried the germs and caused the epidemic due to poor management; the other is that these unbelieving pagans offended God, and God sent down divine punishment to make them Atonement for one's own arrogance.

Incredibly, the market for the latter claim is even a bit bigger.

Many people live in panic, fearing that the plague will spread to big cities like Austin.

More and more people gathered and began to march on the streets, demanding that the government send troops to implement a blockade.

"Get those Chinese out of Texas!"

"Burn everything they have! Purify the germs with fire!"

The governor was astonished at the turn of events, but he was already being roasted on the fire.

A few days later, a proposal to mobilize the militia to Fort Stockton was sent to the state Legislature.

Although there was still controversy and discussion, the proposal eventually passed.

The Texas militia with its fine traditions was remobilized.

About two thousand people gathered in San Antonio and headed to Fort Stockton under the leadership of captain Brad Harrison to carry out the blockade mission.

At the same time, a telegram hoping that the federal government could send troops to help "maintain order in the state" was sent to the White House and placed on President McKinley's desk.