Mexico

At Mr. Van der Linde's command, the dense crowd at Saint Denis Port moved to their respective positions.

Ten British warships had already docked around the port, and 1,700 of Mr. Van der Linde's private armed forces orderly boarded the warships. Following the procedures they had been trained in, they began to operate the warships, one after another slowly sailing out of Saint Denis Port.

Five of the ten diesel Tanks mass-produced by Vulture Factory had been transported by train. These five Tanks would be secretly loaded onto oil tankers as firepower, becoming a powerful weapon for Mr. Van der Linde's troops to break through enemy lines in Mexico and achieve their breakthrough.

Before the establishment of the United States, European warfare was actually quite abstract.

For example, both sides would stand in dense, neat lines and fire at each other to ensure the accuracy of their flintlock rifles. This brain-dead operation led to most battles nowadays being trench warfare.

Typically, one side would dig trenches and defend, striking at the other side's charge. In such a situation, Mr. Van der Linde's troops would surely suffer immense losses during a charge. Therefore, the appearance of Tanks would directly change the type of warfare, rendering the previously effective trench warfare completely useless. Using mobile iron fortresses to strike at soldiers in trenches would be incredibly satisfying.

As the ten warships departed,

the oil tanker, already loaded with cargo, let out a heavy whistle. Then, as the gangway was retracted, the massive oil tanker slowly began to move, accompanied by rolling steam.

Mr. Van der Linde, Arthur, Hosea, Sean, Javier, Bill, and John all stood on the oil tanker's deck, waving to the port below.

Mary, Miss O'Shea, as well as Abigail, Charles, Flying Eagle, Davey, and Mac, stood at the port, bidding them a reluctant farewell.

Going to Mexico this time didn't actually require so many core members of the Van der Linde Gang. Given the current size of the Van der Linde Gang, Dutch could lead the team himself and oversee the entire operation, bringing Arthur at most.

However, Hosea, John, and Lenny insisted on coming along because they wanted to drive Tanks, while Javier came along because he wanted to visit his old hometown.

It's quite ironic, actually; Javier in the first game eventually worked for the Mexican government, but now he's following Dutch into Mexico to fiercely crush it, engaging in forced buying and selling of military supplies. Truly, circumstances change.

"John, remember to take care of yourself! Don't let me see your big beard and long hair when you come back!" Abigail jumped up, making a dramatic farewell to John on the oil tanker's deck.

With a touch of theatricality.

"Gosh (John's pronunciation of 'gosh')! Is that a swimming pool? Oh, sh*t!, and coconuts, gosh, there's even a sun umbrella?"

However, John's attention on the deck was clearly not on the group at the port. After all, in his opinion, it was just a trip of at most half a month to a month; such a short time didn't warrant a farewell.

John turned around and ran to the swimming area on the oil tanker's deck, which was meant for sunbathing.

With Dutch and Hosea around, he didn't need to fear anything, didn't need to worry about anything. When there was work, he'd follow orders, and when there wasn't, he could play however he wanted.

Dutch and Hosea would handle everything.

"Mary, goodbye!" Arthur stood on the deck, looking at Mary at the port and waving. He wanted to be sentimental but couldn't find anything to be sentimental about.

He racked his brains for a long time but couldn't find anything sad that had happened recently, so he couldn't conjure any sadness of parting.

"Arthur, be careful there. I'll wait for you to come home!" Mary waved her arm, looking at Arthur on the oil tanker, and pulled out a small handkerchief, pretending to wipe her eyes, but she couldn't actually cry.

The thought that after seeing Arthur off she could go back and play mahjong, which Dutch had invented, with Miss O'Shea and the others, made her feel that the oil tanker was moving a bit too slowly.

"O'Shea, don't play too much mahjong at home, and don't say those damn stupid things while playing mahjong, damn it! If I come back and hear any bad news, you just wait!"

Dutch cursed loudly from the oil tanker's deck, but Miss O'Shea, standing at the port, paid him no mind.

Originally, she should have been the most reluctant to see Dutch leave, but it was different now. Dutch had invented mahjong, and what made mahjong addictive wasn't its gambling or luck, but the endless chatter among the players while they played; all sorts of family gossip would spill out.

Miss O'Shea was now addicted to this; she wasn't addicted to mahjong itself, but to chatting about their men's family gossip with Abigail, Mary, and Sadie while playing mahjong. The four of them would take turns complaining, and after a round of complaints, they felt refreshed. The speakers were happy, and the listeners were happy, and Sadie could even reminisce about her deceased husband. It was a case of getting engrossed in gathering intelligence.

It was Miss O'Shea who blurted out that Dutch had a birthmark on his butt while playing mahjong, that damn woman never knew how to hide embarrassing things!

Watching the exasperated Dutch, Arthur, standing nearby, chuckled unexpectedly.

"What are you laughing at? Arthur." Dutch's displeased gaze swept over him.

"Nothing, Dutch, I was just wondering if those colored oils the Indian tribes use on their faces could be used on one's butt."

"F*ck you, Arthur! F*ck you!"

Dutch's angry roar echoed on the oil tanker's deck, the sound even overpowering the oil tanker's whistle.

"Hahaha, alright, Arthur, don't tease Dutch anymore." Hosea stepped forward as a peacemaker, smiling and curbing Dutch's fury.

"Don't you know Dutch's heart has always been very fragile?"

"F*ck, Hosea, sh*t!"

Amidst the Van der Linde Gang's bickering, the oil tanker at the port gradually receded into the distance. The ten surrounding warships also slowly spread out, forming a protective formation around the oil tanker in the center, and sailed slowly towards the Mexican territory across the lake, facing the rising sun.

---

Compared to the United States, Mexico at this stage was actually more like the cowboy era. Although Mexico was currently under a dictatorial government, and would remain so until 1911, internal warfare had actually never ceased.

Whether it was factions supported by Britain, France, or even the United States, Tsarist Russia, or Germany, despite the presence of a government and government forces in Mexico, a large portion of the territory could not be fully controlled, and anti-government organizations had always existed and were rampant.