Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 138 Chinese Workers Immigration Transit Station

On the afternoon of December 4, the 1st Mixed Brigade arrived at Passo Fundo and rested for a night. The next day, together with some newly joined soldiers, the 1st Mixed Brigade changed its route to the San Pedro area. At the same time, Liu Pu and the Paraguayans reached an agreement to exchange women for weapons. Batches of muskets, cannons, and ammunition replaced from the field troops were gathered on the Angolan side and prepared to be handed over to the Paraguayans.

On Tortuga Island in the Caribbean, the lazy and chaotic black pirates on the coast were replaced by teams of disciplined patrol soldiers.

After occupying Torti Island, the Chinese navy led by Chen Sen and Hou Taiyuan finally had a stable base.

After several months of careful construction, all the blacks on the island were cleared out. Now there is not a single black person to be seen on the entire Tortuga Island. On the contrary, the number of Chinese is increasing.

Li Mingyuan sent Chen Sen to the Caribbean Sea to establish a midway base to provide a base for recuperation and recovery for the Chinese workers who were too weak to withstand ocean voyages. Therefore, after the black pirate forces were wiped out at the end of August, Chen Sen immediately sent Wang Youtian back to Cuba to inquire about the distribution of Chinese workers in Cuba.

Wang Youtian returned to Cuba and used the connections he had accumulated over the years in the local area and some of the seized silver coins to bribe grassroots Spanish colonial officials. Through the relationship with Spanish colonial officials, Wang Youtian not only found out the main distribution locations of Chinese workers in Cuba, but also helped the immigrant fleets to purchase Chinese workers at low prices and then temporarily settled them on Tortuga Island.

The total population on Torti Island reached more than 20,000 people, and the large population crowded the coastal plain area. Chen Sen mobilized the Chinese who had been settled on the island earlier to urgently build a large number of wooden sheds, and used the stored food to barely meet the basic living needs of the people.

There was a dense crowd of people under the woods near the coast and on the east side of the island. Armed Chinese soldiers carried large pots to the open space and distributed simple meals made from rice, sweet potatoes, corn and other grains.

The crowd formed into long lines under the maintenance of the soldiers to line up to receive food. At the front of the line, a Chinese worker who received the food grabbed a rice ball and wolfed it down without waiting to leave the line.

The soldier next to him snatched the food from the Chinese worker's hand and said sternly, "Why are you eating so hastily? Six people choked to death yesterday. If you don't want to choke to death, eat slowly. No one will snatch it from you!"

The Chinese worker looked at the armed soldier with fear, carefully took the rice ball returned by the soldier, bent down and bowed, then ran to the side with the food and slowly ate it.

After solving the problem of food for the Chinese workers, the soldiers returned to their original positions and continued to supervise the Chinese workers in line.

At this time, a Chinese soldier standing next to him turned his head and said, "Brother Zhou, when do you think we can return to Rio Grande do Sul? I heard from the brothers under Commander Chen that the prince led his brothers to fight another battle with the Brazilians and seized a large piece of land from them. If the war is still going on now, we can almost reach the Brazilian capital. What's the point of us staying in this remote place? We might as well go back to Rio Grande do Sul and fight with the prince."

The soldier on duty was a senior platoon leader. Hearing what his soldiers said, he couldn't help but complain, "Who said it wasn't true! In this broken island, apart from fighting a group of pirates, all we have left is daily training. Now we have to give up our sleeping place to these uncles!"

The platoon leader surnamed Zhou said with dissatisfaction, looking at the Chinese workers in front of him, "Don't cut in line, kid in front, I'm talking to you, if you cut in line again, I'll beat you up!"

Platoon leader Zhou scolded a short Chinese worker in front of him, venting his frustration.

The Chinese worker who had cut in line immediately returned to his original position upon hearing the voice. He had been severely reprimanded by the soldier who spoke yesterday for cutting in line, and the wound on his buttocks was still painful, so he dared not offend the platoon leader named Zhou again.

"Brother Zhou, why bother with a sneaky kid? Let him live a good life for another day. When we sail back to Rio Grande do Sul tomorrow, the instructors in the army will teach him how to be a qualified soldier."

Advise the soldiers.

"That's right. When I first joined the army, I was much better than him. After going through a few hardships, I still learned to control my temper and train hard!"

Platoon leader Zhou Xing vented his frustration and dissatisfaction, and his mood improved a lot.

"In my opinion, the idea of ​​the prince is the best. All Chinese people, whether they are suitable for military service or not, should be locked up in the military camp for a few months for training. This will surely change their cowardly, sly and treacherous natures."

"Brother Zhou is right." The soldier flattered his superior habitually, but he himself was puzzled. After leaving the barracks, he was able to charge into battle, but why didn't he change the habit of speaking well of his superior?

The two soldiers were chatting excitedly, and the soldier behind them poked Platoon Leader Zhou Xing with his gun and said, "Platoon Leader, Commander Chen is here."

Upon hearing the reminder, Platoon Leader Zhou and the soldier next to him immediately stood up again.

"Commander Luo, you came from Rio Grande do Sul. What's the situation there? Is the prince still fighting with the Brazilians?" Chen Sen asked as they walked.

"The ceasefire has been in place for more than a month. When I came here, we had just reached a peace agreement with the Brazilians. The two southern states belong to us Chinese, and we actually control the area south of the Iguazu River."

After Luo Linshan finished speaking, he felt that he had missed something, and added: "Yesterday I met Director Sun who was returning from Prussia. He used the telegram set up by the British in the colony to contact South Rio Grande and learned that the prince officially established the country five days ago. The Chinese Independence Army was renamed the National Defense Army. From now on, our title must also be changed."

"The country was founded so quickly. If Commander Luo hadn't said it himself, I wouldn't have believed it." Chen Sen said with emotion.

"After the founding of the country, we will be able to settle down in South America with a legitimate reason. The brothers will also have a place to live after their hard work and struggle. We followed the prince in the uprising not just for this day."

“It was a great pity that I didn’t see the Crown Prince announce the establishment of the country. After Commander Luo led the Chinese workers back, he helped me hand this record book to the Crown Prince. It contains the division of spheres of influence of various countries in the Caribbean region, the distribution of Chinese workers in Cuba, and the crude map and explanation drawn by Wang Youtian and his team.

I have orders from my superiors and cannot go back to report the specific situation. I can only get rid of Master Luo."

After Chen Sen finished speaking, he saluted Luo Linshan cautiously.

"Brother Chen, you don't have to do this. Before we set off, the prince asked me to tell you to work hard in the Caribbean. After completing the task of transporting Cuban Chinese workers, the affairs of the Caribbean fleet will be handed over to Wang Youtian and Li Han. You and Hou Yutian will return to Rio Grande do Sul for other duties."

"Before I arrived in the Caribbean, Li Han and Wang Youtian were in charge of pirate operations and logistics management. There is no problem handing the fleet over to them."

Chen Sen nodded and agreed with Li Mingyuan's arrangement.

"Director Sun has arrived in the Caribbean. Are they going to return with the first group of Chinese workers?"

Now that he had confirmed the time of his return to Rio Grande do Sul, Chen Sen began to worry about the issue of transporting Chinese workers.

"The Prussian fleet is large in size. If it returns together with the fleet transporting Chinese workers, it will be too conspicuous and will easily arouse the vigilance of other countries. Therefore, the two fleets will not set out together. The Prussian return fleet left the Caribbean Sea in advance yesterday."

"The Prussian fleet returning home carries a large amount of machinery and equipment, so we should be careful."

Chen Sen said.

"The first batch of 2.5 Chinese workers were watched by our people on board every day. They did not meet with the Prussian fleet returning home, and there was no shortage of protection. You don't have to worry about that."

Li Mingyuan was short of people, so Luo Linshan, who was steady and had military experience, was forced to serve as the general manager of the Chinese workers' fleet and handle all matters related to the transportation of Chinese workers. Therefore, Luo Linshan attached more importance to the safety of the transport fleet than Chen Sen.

(End of this chapter)