Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 127 Meeting
A gunboat flying the yellow dragon flag docked at the southern coast of Feilong Island. Fifteen or sixteen people walked down from the gunboat. Among them, five or six were soldiers sent by Hou Taiyuan to contact, and the others were soldiers of the Chinese Independence Army who operated the gunboat.

Li Han walked in front of more than ten people, strode to Hou Taiyuan, and said, "I have contacted His Royal Highness the Prince of Shiwang. The fleet on the sea is also sent by the Prince to support the general. The general does not need to be so alert."

"Are you serious? Are those who started the rebellion in South America really the Heavenly Kingdom brothers?" Hou Taiyuan grabbed Li Han's hand and said excitedly.

“I dare not lie to the general. When my brother found the prince, the troops were still staying in southern Peru. Later, I followed the prince’s troops to migrate and transfer, passing through Bolivia and Paraguay, and finally stopped in Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil to establish a base.

After stopping for a while in Rio Grande do Sul, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally sent 500 newly formed naval brothers to escort us back to reunite with the General.

The ships on the sea now belong to the fleet under His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Mingyuan sent a total of 530 reinforcements, including 300 sailors, 200 infantrymen, and the remaining 30 were frogman troops directly under the command of Chen Sen. Chen Sen used to serve in the frogman corps, but with the capture of a large number of Brazilian warships and the rapid expansion of the Chinese navy, Chen Sen was promoted twice, from lieutenant to major, serving as the commander of the support fleet and concurrently in charge of the direct management of thirty frogmen.

Two medium-sized sailing ships, five warships converted from merchant ships and seven gunboats. The support fleet sent by Li Mingyuan not only far exceeds the remaining surface forces on Feilong Island, but is also not much different in strength from the Danish garrison navy.

The Danes' main forces were concentrated in Europe. Three years ago, Denmark was defeated in the Danish-Prussian War. Not only did it lose a large piece of land, but it also suffered a great loss in its naval power. The Danes, who were injured, did not have the strength to send a large number of navies to the Caribbean to maintain several small islands with weak economic interests. Therefore, the Danish navy stationed in the Danish West Indies had only one ironclad ship and several wooden warships. In addition to being able to defend the West Indies, the counterattack force was insufficient, and it could not compare with the navies of Britain, France, and the Netherlands in the Caribbean.

On the surface, the supporting fleet's strength exceeds that of the Feilong Island pirates and the Haitian black pirates. After listening to Li Han's introduction, Hou Taiyuan looked at the sea again, and his worries and disappointments were swept away. With the support of the fleet sent by Li Mingyuan, the threat of Haitian pirates would not be a problem. If they wanted to go further and take the initiative to attack, it would not be difficult to seize Torti Island.

Hou Taiyuan was in a good mood, looking at the boats on the sea in a trance. Li Han reminded him, "General, the brothers on the boat have been anchored on the sea for a while. It is better to invite them to disembark and rest on the island."

"Oh, I forgot about the important things when I was so happy," Hou Taiyuan slapped his head and said loudly, "The brothers on the sea are sent by the Prince of Shiwang to support us. Everyone put down your weapons and make way for the brothers to go ashore and rest."

Only a few people like Hou Taiyuan and Wang Yongtian knew that Li Mingyuan had started an uprising in South America. The lower-level Chinese pirates had never heard of Li Mingyuan. When Hou Taiyuan suddenly announced the arrival of reinforcements, many Chinese pirates were puzzled. There was only one Chinese pirate group on Feilong Island in the Caribbean. When did a new batch of Chinese pirates appear?

Many questions arose in their minds, but when they saw that Li Han, who was talking cordially with Hou Taiyuan, was one of their own, and that the dozen or so sailors who followed Li Han ashore also looked Han Chinese, the Chinese pirates who were armed with guns, knives, sticks and other weapons relaxed their vigilance and walked out of the simple fortifications that were on high alert. Then, under the leadership of several small pirate leaders, they cleared the obstacles on the coast ahead, while the ships anchored on the coast sent out two small boats to guide the support fleet into the port.

Five merchant ships converted into warships, two warships, and the remaining six gunboats entered the port one after another. Chen Sen left some sailors on the ship to perform guard duties, and then brought several officers and Hou Taiyuan to the base in the center of the island.

Walking into the simple wooden house in the base, Hou Taiyuan greeted, "The island is dilapidated, not as good as the foundation you brothers have built in South America. Brothers, please make do with it for now."

"Before we followed the prince to start the rebellion, we slept in the Peruvian mines. The environment was much worse than on the island. Why should we be surprised?" Chen Sen waved his hand generously and said with a smile, "The brothers of the Heavenly Kingdom are of the same origin. The prince heard that the brothers of the Heavenly Kingdom navy were suffering in the Caribbean Sea. He felt sad and blamed himself, so he specially sent me to lead a group of soldiers and ships to support the general."

"Your Highness is so generous and kind, and you care deeply about us, the remnants of the overseas soldiers. I am deeply grateful."

Feilong Island was in crisis and on the verge of destruction. At this time, Li Mingyuan sent soldiers to support Feilong Island, which was the most powerful support for all the pirates on Feilong Island. Hou Taiyuan sincerely thanked Li Mingyuan for his help.

"We are one family, and as the only living leader of the Kingdom of Heaven, you should find a way out for our brothers in Heaven who are scattered all over the world."

After the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, not all of the kingdom's top leaders died. Yang Fuqing, Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan's two nephews, and some other less famous Heavenly Princes hid in various places. In terms of status, they were higher than Li Mingyuan, the prince's attendant. Hou Taiyuan felt a little strange when he heard the only leader mentioned by Chen Sen.

The chief commander of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's navy, Prince Sen Hou Yutian, belonged to the Heavenly King's faction. Objectively speaking, he did not belong to the same faction as the Taiping Army led by Li Xiucheng and Li Shicheng. Therefore, as a subordinate of Hou Yutian, Hou Taiyuan felt somewhat dissatisfied when he heard Chen Sen's words. The Heavenly King's two nephews were still alive, and Li Mingyuan regarded himself as the successor of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which was obviously in line with Yue.

Chen Sen saw the change in Hou Taiyuan's expression.
"Three years after the fall of the Heavenly Kingdom, the remaining brothers of the Heavenly Kingdom either hid their identities, worrying every day about the reckoning of the Qing Dynasty Tartars, or fled overseas and sold themselves into slavery.

If the prince had not stepped forward and led the brothers to revolt, I and the brothers on the ship would probably still be mining in the mines, living a numb and dark life." Chen Sen's eyes were full of enthusiasm. He didn't care about the reactions of Hou Taiyuan and others, and continued, "The prince is wise and brave, and God has favored him. In a dream, he gave him wisdom and bravery, and entrusted him with the important task of rebuilding the Kingdom of Heaven. The prince lived up to God's gift and led us to fight thousands of miles, winning many battles, and establishing thousands of miles of foundations in Rio Grande do Sul, making the old brothers and Chinese workers in the Kingdom of Heaven, who had no food or clothing and whose lives and deaths were at the mercy of others, settle down.
In Rio Grande do Sul, every Chinese worker who followed the prince was rewarded with 300 acres of land, and the more than 2,000 Heavenly Kingdom brothers who followed the general the earliest received more land. Each family of brothers and their newly married wives received at least 1,000 acres of land, and brothers who made contributions received even more land.

The prince has treated us well, so we naturally support him wholeheartedly. As for the descendants of the king who are hiding everywhere, if they surrender to the prince, I believe he will not treat them unfairly. But if they have any inappropriate ideas, we brothers will be the first to disagree!"

Before the support fleet set out, Li Mingyuan gave Chen Sen some instructions, telling him to persuade the Chinese pirates to join the Chinese Independence Army with kind words. However, when Chen Sen entered Feilong Island and witnessed the tragic situation on Feilong Island, coupled with his dissatisfaction with Hou Taiyuan's reaction, he was so excited that he spoke directly.

"Prince Shi Wang is kindhearted and has sent us brothers to support Feilong Island without fear of the risk of thousands of miles of sea. We will remember this in our hearts."

Wang Yongtian saw the situation was at a stalemate and spoke to mediate, "General Hou has lived on an isolated island for a long time. He doesn't know the specific situation of the brothers in South America. If I have offended you, please forgive me, Brother Chen."

"It's okay. I just said a few more words in the heat of the moment. Don't take it to heart."

After the excitement, Chen Sen thought about what Li Mingyuan had told him, regained his senses, and spoke in a slower tone.

Because the previous conversation made both of them feel a little awkward, after a few polite words, Wang Yongtian found an opportunity to leave the wooden house with Hou Taiyuan and Li Han and go to the compartment at the back to discuss things.

"General, Brother Chen outside has made it clear that he will surrender to the Prince of Shi and join the Chinese Independence Army. There will be good arrangements for the brothers on the island."

"Nagata, I understand what you mean. Joining the Prince of Shi Wang will benefit all the brothers. After hearing what Brother Li Han said, the Prince of Shi Wang is a magnanimous man. The brothers will not be treated with favoritism under him. But I have a thorn in my heart. I can't get over the pain of joining the Prince of Shi Wang like this."

"General, now is not the time when the Heavenly Kingdom still exists. In the past, the Heavenly Kingdom was at its peak, and all the princes worked together to build the Heavenly Kingdom. Every battle was fought and the Tartars were defeated. However, an incident occurred in Tianjing City. The Heavenly King killed the Eastern King and the Northern King. Even His Royal Highness the Wing King was forced to leave Tianjing. Since then, the Heavenly Kingdom has been in decline and was finally destroyed by the Tartars.

The Heavenly Kingdom was not destroyed by the Qing Dynasty, but by the internal chaos of the Heavenly Kingdom. If the general is still obsessed with the idea of ​​faction, where will Feilong Island go? Where will the general put the hundreds of brothers on the island? "

Wang Yongtian joined the Chinese pirates to transport supplies and transmit intelligence for Feilong Island. Strictly speaking, Wang Yongtian and Hou Taiyuan were in a cooperative relationship. Wang Yongtian did not belong to the Heavenly Kingdom Navy system. He helped Hou Taiyuan just because he did not want the Heavenly Kingdom soldiers who were stranded in the Caribbean to die tragically in a foreign land. However, Hou Taiyuan's performance today disappointed him a little. Although Hou Taiyuan had been the leader of the Chinese pirates on Feilong Island for more than a year, and had made great progress in coordinating pirate management compared with the past, he still had not gotten rid of the identity of a middle-level officer. He only considered the problem superficially and did not consider the overall situation.

Wang Yongtian's persuasion made Hou Taiyuan feel ashamed. Feilong Island was able to gain a foothold in the Caribbean mainly because of Wang Yongtian's intelligence support and management in all aspects. Without Wang Yongtian's help, Hou Taiyuan would not even be able to get through the initial stage of gaining a foothold.

Joining Li Mingyuan is not only Hou Taiyuan's own business, but also related to the future of hundreds of Chinese pirates on Feilong Island. Hou Taiyuan does not want to let the Chinese pirates on the island continue to be in danger because of himself. After Wang Yongtian's persuasion, he agreed to join Li Mingyuan.

Hou Taiyuan agreed, and not only did Wang Yongtian feel relieved, but Li Han also felt relieved. Following the Chinese Independence Army in its campaigns, he witnessed their high morale and prosperous situation. After the Paraguayan War, he decided to join the Chinese Independence Army. His current identity is actually a mid-level officer in the support fleet, with the rank of lieutenant. The nine soldiers who contacted Li Mingyuan together with Li Han also joined the Chinese Independence Army and held different positions in the support fleet.

Hou Taiyuan agreed to join the Chinese Independence Army. Li Han did not need to feel embarrassed. He smiled and comforted him, "The Kingdom of Heaven does not necessarily have to have a descendant of the Kingdom of Heaven as the monarch. His Highness the Crown Prince has received guidance from the Heavenly Father and is the leader of the world newly appointed by the Heavenly Father. It is reasonable for the Crown Prince to lead us. General, do not worry about it."

"The Prince of Shi has created a great empire in South America. The other surviving princes or descendants of the Heavenly King can only hide. Regardless of legal principles or actual strength, the Prince of Shi is the unique successor to the Heavenly Kingdom. General, you can relax and follow the Prince closely. You may see the time when the Heavenly Kingdom becomes powerful again."

"I was confused just now. The Prince of Attendant can lead the brothers of Heaven to a good life. He is the most suitable leader for Heaven. I used to serve Heaven with His Royal Highness Prince Mori, and now I follow the Prince of Attendant to serve Heaven.

I am very grateful for your kind advice. Let's go out and tell Brother Chen that all the brothers of Feilong Island will officially join the Shiwang Prince and build a new kingdom together."

Having reached a consensus on joining the Chinese Independence Army, the three of them did not stay in the compartment any longer, but walked out and headed towards the wooden house.

(End of this chapter)