Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 123: Mission to Prussia and Reinforcement of Chinese Pirates
On August 1868, 8, Li Mingyuan and a group of senior Chinese Independence Army officials arrived at the port of Porto Alegre to see off Sun Bin and his entourage who were visiting Prussia.

"On the way back to Europe, you will pass through the coastal areas of Brazil. You must be careful on the ship and don't let the Brazilians find out your flaws."

Before the envoys boarded the ship, Li Mingyuan gave them final instructions.

"We are on a Prussian merchant ship. The Brazilians should not forcibly board and inspect the ship. Moreover, there are two Prussian warships escorting the merchant ship. Even if the Brazilians find something wrong, they will not dare to forcibly clash with the Prussian warships."

The Brazilian Navy had a total of five ironclad ships. Three of them fell into the hands of the Chinese Independence Army during the Paraguayan War. The Brazilian Navy, with only two ironclad ships left, did not have the strength to force the Prussian merchant ships to anchor and be inspected.

Two ironclad ships, dozens of small gunboats and some sailing warships posed a great threat to the Chinese Independence Army, which had just come into contact with modern naval warfare. However, compared with the old Western powers, they were not up to par at all.

An ironclad ship with a displacement of more than 4,000 tons takes at least half a year to complete from the beginning of construction. In addition to the performance inspection of the warship and the adaptation of the seamen to the performance of the warship when it leaves the factory, the strength of the Brazilian Navy can only be maintained at the current level within a year. That is why Sun Bin is not worried about the threat from the Brazilian Navy.

"I am confident in the strength of the Prussian fleet, but this time the purchase of machinery and equipment is a private transaction. We can avoid alerting the Brazilians by not letting them discover any flaws during the voyage to Europe. The Chinese Independence Army can also improve its fortifications in Rio Grande do Sul as much as possible."

"I understand that during the voyage, I will strictly order the diplomatic personnel not to leave the deck at will to avoid being discovered by the Brazilians."

"It's better to be cautious. When the Chinese Independence Army is weak, we must be careful in everything. Otherwise, attracting the attention of hostile forces in advance will lead to disastrous consequences."

Accompanied by Prussian warships during the voyage, the possibility of the envoys being discovered by the Brazilian Navy was extremely low, but Li Mingyuan still had a sense of vigilance. It had only been two months since the end of the Paraguayan War, and the general Western powers might not be clear about this news, but Britain and France must have known the news long ago.

South America in the 19th century was Britain's sphere of influence. The Paraguayan War and the subsequent Guano War broke out with the secret support of the British.

Paraguay's Lopez Jr. refused the British demand for free navigation on the Paraguay River, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the British and led them to support the alliance of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay to fight against Paraguay.

The Paraguayan War failed, Brazil lost its main force, and Paraguay's Lopez regime still existed. It can be said that the original purpose of Britain's support for the war was not achieved.

According to Li Mingyuan's impression, the British should have sent someone to contact the Chinese Independence Army just after the end of the Paraguayan War, first issued a verbal warning, and then cooperated with cannon diplomacy to drive British warships to the gate of Porto Alegre and fire demonstrations to force the Chinese Independence Army to surrender.

Because of the fear of armed intervention by the British, Li Mingyuan never relaxed the construction of defensive fortifications even though he knew that the Brazilian army was unable to counterattack Rio Grande do Sul in the short term. Bunkers, artillery towers, and the logistics base moved to Hexi County were all intended to prepare for armed intervention by the British army.

There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. The British did not send diplomats to issue threats. Either they intended to completely destroy the Chinese Independence Army or they were busy with other matters and did not pay attention to the Chinese Independence Army for a while.

The Chinese Independence Army was isolated from the outside world, and its relations with neighboring countries were either hostile or delicate. Brazil imposed a comprehensive blockade on the Chinese Independence Army, and food, medicine, and daily supplies were not allowed to flow into Rio Grande do Sul.

Argentina and Uruguay deployed troops on the border, alert to the surprise attack of the Chinese Independence Army and Paraguay, and the wealth accumulated by Paraguay for decades was lost in a war by Lopez Jr., and it was even more wishful to want to obtain supplies from him. Moreover, Lopez Jr. was still upset about the Chinese Independence Army kidnapping Paraguayan women in Paraguay. If it were not for the serious loss of strength and the threat from Brazil, Lopez Jr. might have turned against the Chinese Independence Army.

None of the surrounding countries were trustworthy allies of the Chinese Independence Army. Facing the possible armed intervention from Britain, Li Mingyuan could only seek help from outside by spending money. In order to ensure the safety of the 500 tons of gold and jewelry excavated from Peru, they did not choose the more convenient and fast sea transportation, but followed the logistics troops on the journey.
The gold treasure was the foundation for the Chinese Independence Army to grow and develop in Rio Grande do Sul. Li Mingyuan did not dare to take the risk of transporting it by sea. On the one hand, he was worried that the ships transporting the gold would sink and be damaged due to storm accidents. On the other hand, he was worried that they would be discovered by the escorting Prussians. If they found that there were a large amount of gold treasures on the escort fleet, the most likely thing to happen was to kill the accompanying Chinese and swallow up the treasure.

Li Mingyuan's worry was justified. A few days ago, he discussed and finalized the transaction details with the Prussians. When the first batch of 10 tons of gold used as a deposit was taken out, the greed and enthusiasm in the eyes of the Prussians present were revealed without restraint.
The total amount of money required to order various mechanical equipment is a huge figure. The Chinese Independence Army needs a total of one hundred tons of gold to exchange for gold. Mechanical equipment worth equal to one hundred tons of gold may be just a number in the eyes of Prussia who is negotiating the transaction, but the shock caused by ten tons or even one hundred tons of gold in front of them is unparalleled.

The gold arrived safely in Rio Grande do Sul. Li Mingyuan no longer worried about the Prussians' possible theft. After seeing the ten tons of gold, Li Mingyuan took them to visit another place where ninety tons of gold were stored. He told the Prussians clearly that the Chinese Independence Army had sufficient funds to purchase machinery and equipment, and that there would be a lot of room for cooperation between the two sides in the future. The Chinese Independence Army would purchase important weapons such as warships, artillery, and heavy artillery from Prussia.

The golden gold in Li Mingyuan's hand impressed the Prussians. After receiving the deposit of ten tons of gold, the Prussians quickly recruited merchant ships and two warships. The travel treatment of more than 100 people including Sun Bin was also much higher than the last sea voyage.

For the sake of gold, Prussia could secretly sell weapons and equipment to the Chinese Independence Army, but it would not risk offending the British by providing overt support to the Chinese Independence Army. Not only Li Mingyuan understood this, but Sun Bin, who was carrying out the diplomatic mission, also knew it.

When Sun Bin was sent to Prussia, he was fully responsible for the purchase of machinery and equipment, and he also had to privately inquire about the situation in Europe, especially intelligence about Britain.

Li Mingyuan is stationed in Rio Grande do Sul and cannot leave easily. Moreover, his understanding of Britain mainly comes from historical records of later generations, which is quite different from the current real situation. If he wants to find out the true intentions of the British towards the Chinese Independence Army, he can only send people to Europe in person to investigate the situation in Britain, and then make a judgment based on the interests of Britain in South America.

The details of the mission to Prussia had been arranged in advance, but Li Mingyuan was concerned about a group of Taiping navy soldiers who were pirates in the Caribbean.

The Taiping Rebellion failed, and only one in a hundred surviving Taiping veterans survived. As the only remaining Taiping force, Li Mingyuan felt it was his responsibility to gather the other Taiping remnants under his command and lead them to build a new Chinese country in South America.

"The brothers of the Heavenly Kingdom Navy are stranded in a foreign land, facing constant threats from foreign warships and pirates around Haiti. Thinking of the brothers of the Heavenly Kingdom in danger, isolated and helpless, I feel really uneasy.

I will send a team of naval soldiers to follow the Prussian fleet on this voyage to Europe. They will separate from the fleet in the Caribbean and join the Heavenly Kingdom Navy Brotherhood. "

Li Mingyuan paused, thinking that Hou Taiyuan and others might not accept his kindness, and added, "If the brothers of the Heavenly Kingdom Navy are unwilling to join the Chinese Independence Army, I will not force them. The weapons and supplies delivered by the reinforcement fleet will be left to them. The reinforcement fleet will find another island in the Caribbean as a base, and then participate in the task of transporting Chinese people in Cuba and North America."

"Your Highness is a wise and brave man. You defeated the Peruvian army with only a few hundred remnants and have developed to the point where you now occupy an entire state in Brazil. I think when the navy brothers hear about your deeds, they will definitely join the Chinese Independence Army without hesitation."

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has become history. Sun Bin does not believe that the remaining naval soldiers will still hold the idea of ​​relying on Hong Xiuquan's descendants. Accepting the leadership of the Chinese Independence Army and joining Li Mingyuan's army is the most appropriate choice.

"I hope so. The power of the Chinese in South America is very weak. If the country does not unite and stick together, it will be swallowed up by other forces sooner or later."

They are amateurs in external fighting but experts in internal fighting. The Chinese have missed too many things because of their disunity and loss of courage. Li Mingyuan does not want to see this happen again.

(End of this chapter)