Colm and Cornwall

"Alright, Dutch. But is Mr. Colm that formidable now?" Arthur spat out the cigarette butt from his mouth, watching it fly far away with the wind.

Although Arthur had improved during this period, he still couldn't see through the problems or Dutch's true intentions. After all, he hadn't said anything.

Not only could he not see through it, but Hosea couldn't either. They still thought Dutch was, as always, simply acting like a pitiful hero who didn't want to see other innocent people ravaged by the O'Driscoll Gang.

After all, according to Dutch's teachings and philosophy, it was normal for him to go and pick up people from Blackwater at this time; not picking them up would be abnormal, because Dutch would not stand idly by in the face of others' suffering.

"Yes, Arthur. We've been cleaning up New Hanover and Lemoyne, leaving these gang members nowhere to go but to flee into West Elizabeth. Now the entire West Elizabeth is in chaos. If we don't save the people in Blackwater… I think you know how cruel and disgusting those sh*t! from the O'Driscoll Gang are." Dutch patted Arthur's shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"That's true, Dutch. Alright, we really should get these folks out as soon as possible… Let's just consider it atonement for our past sins!" Hosea nodded heavily, no longer having any opposing thoughts.

"Very good, Hosea, that's the first thing. And the second thing is our overseas expansion.

Davey, during this time we've partnered with the Morgan Family, taking out a loan of ten million dollars to buy British warships, forcefully land in Cuba, and engage in arms trade.

But besides that, we also need to establish arms trade outposts simultaneously in neighboring Mexico and Canada.

I need you to take Mac and lead our gunmen to Canada for a period, clearing out an open area there to serve as our arms trade outpost.

As for Mexico, Javier and Bill will go there.

Remember, take enough men when you go! We are not ordinary arms dealers; we don't need to be nice to them. When the time comes, you'll bring Maxim guns and artillery. If anyone resists, dismember them directly!

Damn it, if they dare to lay a hand on you, then our army will enter the fray!

If they don't want to do arms trade with me properly, then I'll make them fight a war of liberation!" Dutch waved his arms, his words decisive.

He was truly qualified to say that now. The Wright Brothers had already arrived, bringing their latest experimental aircraft that could fly for over half an hour and land safely.

Although it was still low-altitude flight and not fast, it still meant that he, Dutch Van der Linde, had completely controlled air superiority in this era!

Next, he just had to wait for the bug-like figures, the beloved Marko Dragic and his research team, to complete the final modifications and machine assembly, then mass production could begin.

Anyway, occupation also brings wealth, and mines are new resources. To be honest, these things are far more valuable than dollars or pounds. So he, Dutch Van der Linde, is now qualified to say: what he likes most are those who don't genuinely trade with him!

"Oh, sh*t! Dutch, your tone of voice is really terrifying now, Dutch!" Davey exclaimed, listening to Dutch's unquestionable voice.

Previously, Dutch's words were also unquestionable, but that was unquestionable to them, not to others.

But now, he was unquestionable to others, not even allowing them to question the Van der Linde Gang.

Damn it, is this what it means to be full of confidence?

----

Dutch was indeed full of confidence, but Mr. Colm was not bad either during this time.

While Dutch and others were plotting to rely on Colm to gain West Elizabeth, their old friend, the one-legged Colm, was also plotting to rely on West Elizabeth to fight Dutch and plunder all his wealth.

At this moment, Ewing Ranch.

Inside the wooden cabin, the kerosene lamp flickered, casting a dim, yellow light on Mr. Colm's face, which was weathered but full of vigor.

His pupils reflected the light of the kerosene lamp wick, like his restless, uncontrollable ambition.

"Binny, how many people do we have now?" Colm's voice was low. He took the last puff of the cigarette from the corner of his mouth, then took the butt and pressed it into the stump of his leg, extinguishing it on his flesh.

This was a new method he had recently devised to display his ruthlessness. Such a cruel display to himself would undoubtedly heighten the tension and fear in his subordinates' hearts, thereby better controlling them and preventing them from having any disloyal thoughts.

After all, he was missing a leg, and now felt even less secure than before.

Sizzle...

The burning cigarette butt on his flesh made a faint sizzling sound, and a slight burnt smell emanated. This sound and smell made the faces of the three people standing opposite the table twitch, their eyes filled with dread.

Humans are such strange creatures. Even though Colm had lost a leg, and even though they could kill Colm and take over the gang at any time, these few people dared not entertain any such thoughts.

It was clear that Colm's authority was deeply ingrained.

"There are five hundred and thirty-three now, boss." Binny quickly said, barely daring to look into Colm's wolf-like eyes.

"Not enough." Colm closed his eyes, coldly uttering a single word.

Blackwater's population had once reached 120,000. Even though a large portion of them were merchants who came to invest, this still represented Blackwater's prosperity.

However, the Van der Linde Gang's battle in Blackwater not only completely depleted Blackwater's police reserves but also thoroughly destroyed Blackwater's future development.

These investing merchants had witnessed a group of bandits brazenly shooting at Blackwater police and Pinkerton Detectives in broad daylight, with Maxim guns firing wildly and bombs exploding. This made them completely lose their sense of security in the West. From then on, there was a severe outflow of people.

Before Dutch and others cleaned up New Hanover, the population was only 80,000.

And after gangs started fleeing there one by one, that number decreased daily. As of today, only a mere 30,000 people remain in Blackwater.

But this was still a strength that their five hundred people could not contend with.

"Keep recruiting, keep robbing, keep killing!" Colm's eyes were tightly shut, feigning some kind of pretense.

"But there's no one left to kill around here, boss. All the scattered households and small villages around have been plundered by us, only Blackwater remains untouched." Binny cautiously warned.

"The brothers below are very restless now, I'm afraid…" Binny was somewhat fearful.

If these people got desperate, they might really kill them.

"Then go rob a train! Use the train to go to New Austin, and rob that damn Van der Linde Gang! Steal all their territory and money, and bring all their people back to me!

Blackwater, I've waited too long, Binny, too long!"

Colm's voice was as cold as an abyss.

Mr. Colm had waited too long.

He was too impatient; he would never forget the pain of his broken leg. Of course, more important than his broken leg was his inability to tolerate doing worse than Dutch Van der Linde!

For a man who cared so much about his reputation, he could not accept it! He did not believe that the path he chose could be worse than that of Dutch Van der Linde, that hypocritical, despicable scoundrel! This was a disagreement in ideology.

This situation of mutual struggle, a fight to the death, was set as early as when the two parted ways due to their differing ideologies.

In comparison, Mr. Cornwall was truly the one who had waited too long.

A small boat descended the Dakota River from the Indian tribe, heading straight for the mouth of Flatiron Lake. There, it would switch to a small yacht, then cross Flatiron Lake and enter Mexico.

Ever since Miss Camille informed Mr. Cornwall that Dutch had led a force of three hundred men to occupy Annesburg, Mr. Cornwall had become a wanted man in New Hanover and Lemoyne.

That's right, the Western tycoon Cornwall was now a genuine wanted man in two major states, with a bounty as high as five thousand dollars.

The charges included, but were not limited to: racketeering, rape, murder, complicity in murder, oppression of the working class, illegal fundraising, illegal land occupation, forced land occupation, illegal business operations, illegal commencement of work, illegal lending, illegal renting, and one hundred and thirteen other charges under the new Van Der Linde Government laws established after Mr. Van der Linde took power.

Because of this, he dared not travel by road and could only escape these two major states by water, in a panic.

The map in Red Dead Redemption is completely different from the real-world map of America, but Dutch had noticed this a long time ago; he even specifically found a world map to look at.

Firstly, the appearance of Ambarino in the game is simply too strange.

It is practically a natural barrier that completely separates the eastern and western parts of America, which has greatly affected the transmission of information, the movement of people, and the development of ideas between the two parts. (I have seen the map, it is very strange; Ambarino completely isolates New Hanover along with Lemoyne.)

If it weren't for a railway built through the snow mountains, the gap between the eastern and western parts would probably be an even greater chasm now; it's very possible that the East would already be full of skyscrapers and have entered modernity, while the West would still be in a cowboy era.

Moreover, compared to reality, the corresponding area of Mexico in this place is too large.

Because Saint Denis roughly corresponds to New Orleans, a city built during the French colonial period, it was able to become the light of civilization in the West.

In reality, it's still far from Mexico; at the very least, it should correspond to the Gulf of Mexico, not Mexican land.

However, in the game, the land of Mexico is across the lake from Saint Denis, which leads to a very important problem.

That is, Mexico's land area has greatly increased, and its internal interests have also greatly grown.

Therefore, not only has Dutch set his sights on Mexican territory, but these wealthy and powerful people in the West also like to focus their development on Mexico.

For example, the Western tycoon Mr. Cornwall has half of his industries in Mexico.

This is also why he had to cross Flatiron Lake by water.

"Mr. Cornwall, your invitations have been prepared," the worker on the small fishing boat respectfully reported to Mr. Cornwall from the stern.

He held three paper invitations in his hand.

The names on these invitations were not ordinary people; these three were all Western tycoons, of similar or even greater stature than Mr. Cornwall.

These people were Mr. Cornwall's partners, and their joint businesses included, but were not limited to, oil, mining, and railways.

Of course, there was cooperation, but also competition.

Among them, the two most important were, first, the Van der Linde Gang.

These Western tycoons united to establish a gang, the Van der Linde Gang, in New Austin, to arrest the people of New Austin and force them to work as black slaves in mines, forcibly occupy their land, and militarily seize the natural resources on the vast land of New Austin, thereby intimidating other bosses who had ideas about this area and preventing them from coming to compete for the mines in New Austin.

Business warfare in this era was actually more like gang turf wars; the more capitalist one was, the stronger the black hand behind them.

Like the triads in Hong Kong dramas, in this era, organized, disciplined, and large-scale gang groups were essentially the black hands of these capitalists.

For example, the Lemoyne Raiders were actually puppets supported by some people behind the scenes; Mr. Henry knew about this but did not express any opinions.

And Colm's idea was also to act as a black hand for others to earn extra money, but unfortunately, not many people dared to use him.

The so-called business wars of these capitalists were outrageously direct. For example, Mr. Cornwall, in order to seize railway business, sent people to forcibly occupy positions, preventing the railway from continuing construction.

For example, Mr. Cornwall, for the sake of gold mines, allowed the Van der Linde Gang to commit atrocities in New Austin, intimidating the populace, causing some to flee and others to be captured, forcibly occupying the gold mines.

Their actions are very consistent with the history of the American's rise to power, running through ancient and modern times, showing the style of their fathers.

And second, were the small-scale Mexican forces.

Mexico was still in turmoil in this era; firstly, internal strife was severe, with various warlord forces emerging one after another, and each warlord force had various supporters behind them.

For example, there were the Spanish's unextinguished ambitions, the British's support, the Americans' meddling, the German, the Russian...

In short, this place was even more chaotic than Cuba.

At this time, Mexico, except for a few major cities, was still in a cowboy era. In addition, there were warlords carving up territories everywhere. Countless small and medium-sized forces occupied a small village, a small town, or a small castle in the wilderness, daring to rule independently, claiming to be the legitimate government of Mexico, and then capturing Mexicans to mine or cultivate opium poppies.

Mr. Cornwall's industries in Mexico, to put it nicely, were industries, but in reality, they were just a few people who united and supported a gang similar to the Van der Linde Gang, occupying a piece of land in the desolate wilderness of Mexico, where few people ventured, to grow opium poppies, just like Guarma was too small and no one wanted it, so he had a chance to get his hands on it.

Of course, there was also mining.