*
“Accept the newbies!”
Max appointed Nathan Lore and Joe Jim Jr. as instructors.
“You two, recruit more new recruits. We can train them well while you’re in Utah.”
“Old story!”
There was a parade ground within the fortress, and the dormitories were more than 80% complete, so they planned to increase the number of regular members as scheduled.
“Are you finally going?”
“How about gathering a few kids?”
With the arrival of Pinkerton, Colin, Peach, and Hickok are finally free from the suffocating work of the sheriff.
Leaving the city’s security and mine security to the Pinkerton detectives, Max led a force of fifty men into Utah Territory.
As the California Gold Rush went into decline, the number of people using the Oregon Trail from east to west also plummeted.
Instead, you would see wagons coming from western California or Nevada, their destination being the mines of Colorado.
– What are they? They don’t even look like soldiers.
– Are they Mormon militia?
– Don’t make eye contact. Don’t you know about what happened last year?
The Mountain Meadows Massacre was so shocking that even ordinary people who did not know about Mormonism viewed them as evil heretics.
Because of this, people were afraid of Max and his group, mistaking them for a Mormon militia.
However, the real perpetrators of the massacre were very nervous, watching Max and his group from afar.
Past the towering King’s Peak, on the western edge of the Rocky Mountains, one of the group gathered on the ridge muttered with a serious expression.
“You said you were coming to see Brigham Young, but how many people did you bring with you? By the way, is that Oriental saint in the lead?”
‘They’re not some beggars. They just threw me some meat. They’re not saints.’
As one man watching from behind sneered, the leader of the group looked at him and asked.
“Max, you know that Asian face? Check it out.”
The man handed the telescope to Max.
It was not clear and the face was covered by a scarf, so it was impossible to confirm. However, after looking at the people around him, I was able to confirm who it was.
‘I said I had no intention of meeting you yet!’
It was when Max frowned.
At that moment, Max slightly turned his head toward me. Then he stared at me intently.
‘Damn, you didn’t know that, did you?’
It must have just been a coincidence. It wasn’t even an eagle’s eye, and there was no way he could have seen it from that far away.
Max was so scared that he could only put the telescope away after Max turned his head again.
“Max Joe. That’s the cocky Asian kid from Lawrence.”
“Then is there anything to see? Let’s attack right away!”
Max shook his head at someone’s words.
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. The number of enemies is evenly matched, and if we make a mistake, we’ll be wiped out. Just watch. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future.”
Everyone looked half-believing and half-doubting at Ryan Max’s words. Some laughed at Max and suggested attacking him, and soon opinions became divided.
‘You pathetic little bastards. If you want to die, die among yourselves.’
After all, the only person who knew Max’s abilities best was himself.
William Clark Quantrill.
He changed his name to Ryan Max and looked at the unit he was leading.
‘If I go out now, it’ll be a dog’s death. How did I raise you?’
No matter what the conclusion, I had no intention of moving the unit.
< The End of Max's Way >
Author’s Note
Ryan Max…..
I won’t forget Ryan Hold and Max.
You can see it as William Quantrill’s will….;;;
< Half true, half false >
A slightly downward bend on the Oregon Trail.
What else could be glittering on the mountainside but a telescope reflecting sunlight?
It was no accident that Max turned his head.
‘Mormon militia?’
As soon as they entered the so-called Mormon Road, there were eyes watching them, so it was likely that they were related to the Mormon Church.
Max followed the same path where the massacre took place to provoke them.
The Meadows, which are highlands, are wide valleys sandwiched between mountains.
Jo Yoo-gang, who was traveling through the United States in a previous life, had passed through this place, and the names of the victims of the massacre were engraved on a memorial stone erected somewhere here.
When he arrived at the scene of the massacre, Hickok was spewing curses.
“These crazy kids just left the body!?”
Five months have passed since the massacre.
The wreckage of broken carriages and corpses that were eaten by animals during the cold winter are strewn everywhere.
There was also a woman’s hair tangled in a brush and the bones of a child still in his mother’s arms.
The corpses, dismembered beyond recognition, emanated a foul stench, and the faces of the agents were distorted at this horrific sight.
At the scene, several objects were visible, including arrows used by the Indians, as well as clothing and ornaments worn by them.
Max spoke calmly to the men.
“The bodies are all civilians trying to migrate from Arkansas to California. Over 120 people died in this massacre. Who could have done it?”
Some of the men looked at the Indians’ belongings.
I wanted to say that it was their doing, but I could only move my lips and not say anything. The habit of avoiding the white man’s fault was still deeply ingrained in the members. Perhaps because of their reaction, Max continued to speak with a bitter expression.
“The Indians are just a camouflage tactic to hide their true identity. This is the work of the white Mormon militia.”
A question arises here.
If you had planned to kill them all from the beginning, was it really necessary to disguise yourself as an Indian?
Max solved this mystery.
“They tried to kill and exterminate them because their true identities were revealed. That’s why they only spared the children. They are too young to know what’s going on, and they can just deny what they say.”
Max, who only knew fragmentary information, looked around the scene and put the puzzle together. And this guess was quite accurate.
In fact, the Mormon militia called the Nauvoo Legion (the name of a region in Illinois) recruited members of the Paiute Indian tribe and even disguised themselves as them. However, when they were caught during the raid and found out that they were white, they resorted to the worst possible means of silence: massacre.
Additionally, it was recorded that 18 children survived until the end of the massacre.
However, there was also a tragic record of a 10-year-old girl who was killed because she was unusually tall and it was difficult to tell whether she was an adult or not.
“Why on earth did you do this?”
Peach asked, her voice cracking. Max stared at the Salt Lake beyond the mountains.
“Go and ask and you’ll find out.”
I plan to ask Brigham Young directly whether the answer Max knows is correct.
*
Max and his party entered Salt Lake.
Mormons began to gather, one by one, fearing that these were federal soldiers threatening their regime.
Despite the rumors spread by the Indian chief Kanosh, the people still had guns, axes, and farm tools in their hands. They looked at the group with eyes full of distrust, hatred, and wariness.
And among them, there were those who recognized Max’s face after he took off his scarf.
“Oh, you’re that Oriental guy from back then!”
“The Saint of the Oregon Trail has appeared!”
The hospitality of the people. The agents who had seen the horrific scene of the massacre were disgusted by the Mormons’ reaction.
But at this moment, Max shouted with a broad smile on his face. It was more important to gain favor than hostility at the moment.
“It is an honor to meet the great Mormons again! It is refreshing to see the people I met back then. I am so glad that you are in good health!”
“Thanks to you, our family was able to arrive here safely!”
“I still remember that favor!”
‘I really wonder what’s going on in the captain’s head.’
As the eyes of the agents wandered, a crowd of people gathered around Max and his group.
The road to the temple in downtown Salt Lake City was short but took quite a while.
And the eyes watching this from afar.
‘Is it true that timing is important even when serving just one piece of meat?’
I wonder if I’ll get treated like that if I throw meat to beggars. Ryan Max observed Max like a student thirsting for knowledge.
Mormons who migrated west to escape religious persecution.
The most important thing to them is faith, and isn’t life a means to maintain that faith and reach heaven?
‘In the end, is this the meat that that kid gave me as a gift of a life of faith?’
Although he had only thoughtlessly used Mormonism to prevent someone’s attack, Ryan Max, who was delusional about himself, attributed meaning to each and every one of Max’s actions.
Ryan Max watched Max, surrounded by the crowd, with complex eyes filled with admiration, envy, jealousy, and love and hate.
*
Mormon temple.
Max got off his horse, stared at the building, and then shouted to the people following him.
“From today onwards, we will resolve the conflict so that your great life of faith will not be interrupted!”
Blind Mormons who could change at any moment depending on the results. Max drew applause from the people by making a lot of goodwill remarks. This was a temporary effect added to the rumor of an Oriental saint.
Max, disarmed, entered the temple alone. He was guided to a small conference room.
As I opened the door, I saw a middle-aged man wearing a robe that a judge might wear.
Brigham Young, the second leader of the Mormons.
Could it be that he, who leads a religious sect, met Max because of the rumor that he was an Oriental saint?
‘You’ve probably already done your background check on me.’
You probably know what’s been going on in Lawrence. You probably know that I’m in charge of the mining company and the city of Juntu. Of course, you won’t show it.
There are differing opinions in Yuan history about the causes of the massacre.
The biggest debate is whether Brigham Young was involved.
He claimed that he had tried to write a letter to stop it, but it arrived too late, which led to the massacre.
On the other hand, those who carried out the massacre denied their guilt, saying that it was Brigham Young’s orders.
In the end, the case was buried with only one person punished.
Max, who had gone back in time to meet the central figure of the controversy, looked at Brigham Young while recalling information from the past, future, and present.
‘Whatever it is, let’s get it right now.’
After a brief greeting, the kind-looking Brigham Young asked,
“What instructions did you receive from the federal government that prompted you to request a private meeting?”
“I came here of my own free will. I didn’t come under anyone’s orders.”
“Then by what authority do you come here to resolve our conflict with the federal government?”
“Do I really need authority? I am just here to suggest a solution that will benefit both parties.”
Brigham Young shook his head, saying such a thing could not be possible.
“If there had been a way in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened. Our position is firm.”
Their position is to refuse the president’s appointment of a governor and to make Utah a separate state for Mormons. In addition, they have an intention to avoid responsibility for the massacre.
‘Their intentions are obvious.’
Max swallowed his laughter and spoke calmly.
“Why would Texas, an independent nation after the Mexican War, have tried to join the Union? Rather than living in fear of not knowing when it would be eaten, it would rather be within the Union’s fold. But you claim the opposite.”
“Texas and Utah are different. We have God’s protection.”
“…… The government will block all supplies heading here, and will advance with increased troops. How can we handle that? It will be spring soon. Last time, we retreated because it was winter, but this time, the damage will be severe.”
“Did you come here to make threats like that?”
How long can Utah, defended by Mormons, hold out when Mexico has lost the war?
Brigham Young would not be unaware of this.
A protest aimed at protecting their own interests, even if only a little.
It looked just like that.
Brigham Young, who was already feeling uneasy, was provoked once again by Marx.
“The recent massacres have made people view Mormonism as a cult.”
“Where the hell do you think you are! How dare an Oriental say something like that!”
“It’s not something you should be mad at me for. It’s white people thinking like that. Anyway, with this public opinion, what’s the president’s next move?”
Now that he has withdrawn from the first war, the President will bet his life on attacking the Mormons.
This is also why Brigham Young compromised in the history of the original nation.
Before Brigham Young could get any more excited, Max continued. It was time to persuade rather than push.
“The president blames the Mormons for the massacre, but I disagree. There is no way they would have done this unless there was a conspiracy.”
Brigham Young’s eyes narrowed.
“Let’s go back to the beginning of this incident.”
This is where the massacre began.
More than a decade ago, Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, was assassinated by a mob.
But then last September, rumors began to spread among the immigrants heading from Arkansas to California that Joseph Smith’s murderer was behind it.
As a result, the Mormon militia planned a raid to seek revenge, which resulted in the tragedy known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
“I also know that you knew about the attack and tried to stop it. So that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the will of the Mormon church as a whole.”
“……”
Brigham Young swallowed and sank into his chair. According to the records, he had written to the militia commander to try to stop the attack. I don’t know if that was true, but that’s what he claimed.
“But the letter arrived late. Aside from that, why did the militia launch the attack before your orders as their leader were given?”
“….How do you know these facts?”
Brigham Young asked, his eyes narrowing even further.
Although this was information he had obtained in a previous life, Max presented it in a different way.
“It was a mistake to mix with the Indians and disguise ourselves as them.”
“Is that what you heard from the Indian that was there that day?”
Max hired Indians for his mining company.
Moreover, it was not unusual for him to come into contact with the Indians, as he had arranged today’s meeting through Ute Chief Kanosh.
“Actually, I also thought that this incident might be a conspiracy by someone… At first, I suspected the involvement of the federal government.”
The government’s goal is to tarnish the image of Mormonism and create an excuse for attacks.
“But the more I looked into it, the more I realized that it was a problem with the militia itself. When I asked them why they did such a thing, they always said the same thing. They said it was an act of faith.”
Brigham Young rubbed his forehead with a puzzled expression. He said he didn’t know, but it was hard to tell if it was true or not. If it was a lie, wasn’t Brigham Young a natural actor?
Anyway.
‘It’s about time to make a deal.’
It doesn’t matter right now whether Brigham Young’s words are true. What’s needed is to find the whereabouts of the surviving children, eliminate the evildoers, and use the conflict between the government and the Mormons.
In the history of the Yuan Dynasty, only one of the masterminds of this massacre was hanged, and that was only after more than a dozen years.
Max had no intention of letting them live.
“I will take care of the dark secrets of this matter.”
“……Do you know who it is?”
A pretext to dispose of the evildoers. In addition, it was necessary to cleverly mix truth and lies in order to reduce the power of the Mormons and use them.
To achieve this, Max brought in an unexpected force.
“The leader of the militia and his associates. And behind them, the brother and widow of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, may be involved.”
“William and Emma?”
Perhaps because of the unexpected name, Brigham Young’s eyes shook greatly.
It is a historical fact that the leaders of the militia were villains. However, the widow and brother of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, are completely unfounded stories made up by Marx. This was intended to sow discord between the two factions of Mormonism and gain control.
“Why on earth would William and Emma do something like this?”
“You have succeeded Joseph Smith, but what about them? They were not chosen and are trying to establish their own religious order in Missouri instead of Utah.”
This is a fact known to all Mormons.
However, since the degree of conflict was not great, Brigham Young did not care.
‘I’m going to start caring from now on.’
“Dragging you down for the genocide. Isn’t that the intention behind taking back control of Mormonism?”
Brigham Young’s hands shook and he could not hide his shock and anger. Was the presence of those two more concerning than the massacre?
