Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 152: Meeting an Old Friend Part

ps: Thanks to my old classmate Bishanyao for the reward

The fleet sailed in the designated direction and arrived at the southern port of Da Iba Island an hour later.

Iba Island belongs to the British colony in the Caribbean. After the Chinese hired British ships to transport Chinese workers, the British agreed to open the colonial ports in the Caribbean for the transport fleet to anchor and repair, and did not charge the transport fleet any docking fees.

The exemption of berthing fees was an added benefit given by the British to the transaction, and the Chinese certainly would not refuse the opportunity to save some expenses.

Iba Grande is sparsely populated, but the large-scale transportation of Chinese laborers from Rio Grande do Sul has led to a certain population growth on the island.

Near the port, a group of black freemen and Indians, under the command of the British, pulled the reins and fixed the anchors of the ships. Teams of Chinese workers with their braids cut off lined up to disembark and go to the place designated by the Chinese soldiers to repair themselves.

After all the Chinese workers had disembarked, Chen Sen and Hou Taiyuan left some soldiers on the ship to guard and were the last to disembark.

There were originally no buildings in the southern port of Great Inagua Island, but some time ago, more than a dozen free Chinese came to the island. They cut down small trees on the island and quickly built two simple wooden houses to accommodate the transport fleets sailing back and forth.

After the Opium War, the maritime ban policy that had been implemented for two hundred years was abolished amid opposition from the great powers. In the following hundred years, Chinese people, mainly the working people from the southeastern coastal provinces, went abroad on a large scale to make a living, with an average of more than 10 people going abroad each year, and the cumulative number of people going abroad exceeding 1000 million, leaving their footprints all over the world, forming a pattern of "wherever there is sea, there are overseas Chinese."

Chinese workers in North America are mainly distributed in the United States, and there are also some Chinese workers in Canada.

In February 1865, the first batch of Chinese workers hired by Americans went to the railway construction site. The hard work of the Chinese workers was recognized by the Americans. In the following years, the Americans recruited Chinese workers from the mainland on a large scale. By the time the transport fleet was operating in Cuba, there were about 2 Chinese workers in the United States, of which more than % worked on railway construction sites and gold mines.

Compared with Cuba and Peru, where Chinese workers were enslaved, the situation of Chinese workers in the United States was slightly better. Some Chinese workers who completed labor agreements were freed and began to move around the Americas as free men.

The number of Chinese workers in Peru and Cuba in South America is far greater than that in the United States. They are relatively close to Rio Grande do Sul, and given the advantage of concentrated distribution of Chinese workers there, the first two batches of Chinese workers were introduced in Peru and Cuba.

The Pacific Railway project in the United States will be completed next year. Before that, they will not allow Chinese workers to leave. Therefore, if you want to bring Chinese workers from the United States, you will have to wait until next year.

The dozen or so new free Chinese on Great Inaba Island did not come from the North American continent, but came from other islands under British rule.

The main labor force in Britain's Caribbean colonies was blacks and Indians, with Chinese accounting for only a small number.

The leader of the dozen or so Chinese was a middle-aged man in his forties named Liang Xing. He came to Jamaica, a British Caribbean colony, to make a living more than ten years ago. After working hard, he earned a substantial fortune and married a woman of mixed white and Indian descent.

Liang Xing's family, children, and property were all in Jamaica, so after hearing that the Chinese had established a country in Rio Grande do Sul, he did not make up his mind to immigrate to Rio Grande do Sul. Instead, he took advantage of the opportunity of the transport fleet docking at Great Inagua Island to open a small shop to earn new income while trying to find out the inside story of Rio Grande do Sul.

"Gui Xin, stop fiddling with your shaving equipment and come help me calculate the account book."

Liang Xing checked the goods in the warehouse and shouted outside.

"Mr. Liang, I'll be there soon."

The man outside put the shaving equipment in place and limped over, supporting his right leg.

Liang Xing was calculating with an abacus in his account book. When he saw the man coming in, he said, "Old Chen, I think you are just being lazy. Don't you see that all the Chinese workers outside are bald? Their braids have been cut off. Without braids, who would come to you to shave their heads?"

"This is not the mainland. Even a pig would dare to cut off its braids. The people are much braver than when the Taiping Rebellion broke out."

The man touched his bald head, looked at the Chinese workers outside, and sighed.

"We have settled down on an island occupied by the British, and we don't have to worry about the court's investigation. Why do we still have ugly braids?"

"Yes, it's better here. If you don't have a braid in the mainland, you will be beheaded!"

As the man observed Liang Xing's expression, he found that there was nothing unusual on his face, so he asked tentatively, "I heard that the ruler of the newly established Southern Rio Gran Kingdom is the son of Li Shixian, the King of Heaven. Brother Liang, have you ever thought about making a living there?"

"The longhairs make men and women live separately. If I go to Rio Grande do Sul, what will happen to Anna and Mary?"

Liang Xing tapped his abacus without turning his head.

"The Heavenly Kingdom has not separated men and women since it established its capital in Tianjing. Those rumors outside are all slanders against the Heavenly Kingdom by the Tartars. Brother Liang, don't believe them."

The man spoke excitedly and took a step forward with his inconvenient left leg, revealing a section of wood under the clothes storage. It turned out that the man's right leg was a wooden prosthetic leg.

"Brother Chen refused to talk about his past, so I didn't ask too much. But I guess Brother Chen had some connection with the Taiping Army in the past, otherwise he wouldn't be so excited. Am I right?"

Liang Xing put down the abacus in his hand and stared at the man. The man felt as if he was being seen through by Liang Xing. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, I once joined the Taiping Army. I was injured in a battle and had my leg amputated. In order to avoid the Tartars' pursuit, I came to Jamaica from Hong Kong."

After revealing his true identity, the man felt much more relieved: "Brother Liang treated me sincerely, and I shouldn't have concealed anything from you. However, the Heavenly Kingdom failed, and hundreds of thousands of brothers were killed. I really don't want to talk about the sad past, so please forgive me."

After the man finished speaking, he suddenly felt someone staring at him from behind. He turned his head and found a familiar yet unfamiliar person standing five or six meters away.

"Brother Chen! Is that you?"

"Hou Wu." The man subconsciously called out a name.

"Brother Chen, it's really you, you're still alive!" The man outside the storehouse was excited. He ran to the man, held his hands, and said happily: "Brother Chen, I'm Hou Wu, Hou Taiyuan. I haven't seen you since the fall of Tianjing. I thought you also died in Tianjing!"

Hou Taiyuan was particularly excited to meet his old friend.
"Brother Chen, the Prince of the Attendant has established a kingdom with the Heavenly Kingdom brothers in Rio Grande do Sul. From now on, the Heavenly Kingdom brothers will no longer have to live a miserable life of hiding and wandering overseas."

"Okay, okay! I'll go with you to see the prince right now!" The man's eyes were red and he said three "okay" words in a row, but when he finished saying this, his expression suddenly became depressed.

Hou Taiyuan noticed his mood change and was about to persuade him, but he saw out of the corner of his eye that the right leg of the elder brother he used to admire was actually a prosthetic limb.

"Brother Chen, why is your right leg gone?"

"When the Heavenly Kingdom fell, I led a group of brothers to cover the retreat of the Young Heavenly King. I was injured in my right leg in the battle with the pursuing Tartar soldiers. Later, I had no choice but to have my right leg amputated."

The man shook his head, looked at Hou Taiyuan as if he had accepted his fate and said, "Xiao Wu, I am no longer the personal bodyguard of His Highness the Eastern King. I am just a useless waste.

Go away and pretend we have never met."

"Brother Chen, no matter what you become, you are still the elder brother that I, Hou Wu, respect. If you don't acknowledge me as your brother, I will kneel before you forever!"

The brave and warlike Ah Chen in the kingdom of heaven has become a disabled useless man who is struggling to survive. Hou Taiyuan can understand the pain in Chen Xinggui's heart, but precisely because he knows the harm of losing his right leg to a soldier, he cannot continue to watch his former elder brother become decadent.

Hou Taiyuan knelt straight in front of Chen Xinggui, looking at him earnestly.

"Hou Wu, you...you are forcing me."

Chen Xinggui looked at Hou Taiyuan who was kneeling stubbornly on the ground with a complicated expression.

"You are an elder in heaven. I would like to call you Brother Chen." When the two men were in a stalemate, Chen Sen stepped forward.

He advised: "Brother Chen lost his right leg to protect the young king's retreat, which is something that every soldier of the Heavenly Kingdom should respect. Brother Chen lost his right leg for the Heavenly Kingdom and is a hero of the Heavenly Kingdom.

There are only one brother left in Heaven now, and His Royal Highness hopes to reunite with heroes like Brother Chen to create a great cause together. At this critical time when South America is in need of people, Brother Chen should not speak discouraging words lightly. "

"I appreciate your kindness, brother, but my current health is not enough to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Chen Xinggui was somewhat tempted by Chen Sen's persuasion, but when he thought of his current appearance, he refused disappointedly.

"Brother Chen is wrong.

The brothers in Heavenly Kingdom work together to create a great cause. You don’t have to charge into the front. You have an illness in your right leg and cannot go into battle to kill the enemy, but you can teach your brothers combat skills.

Ah Chen Guixin's kung fu and boxing skills are well-known in the Heavenly Kingdom. Even if you have lost a leg, you can still train batches of excellent soldiers and turn them into new Ah Chens to fight for our new country. "

"That's right, Brother Chen. His Royal Highness is different from the previous princes of Heaven. He treats his brothers sincerely. During the thousands-mile journey, the prince did not leave behind any of the injured and disabled brothers, but dispatched a special troop to escort them. Now, under the arrangement of the prince, some of those injured and disabled brothers have become civilian officials to manage local affairs, and some have become instructors to help the troops train new recruits. There is an even more powerful one, Lieutenant Colonel He Yanliang. He was originally a second lieutenant in the Big Sword Corps, and later entered the wounded camp after his left hand was amputated. Now, not only has he returned to the field army, but he has also been promoted four levels in one year.

Brother Chen, these are what Hou Wu heard from his brothers personally, and I won’t lie to you.”

"Is everything you said true?"

"It's all true. If it's a lie, I'll tear my head off and give it to you, brother."

"Hou Wu, I believe you. His Highness the Crown Prince sincerely treats the brothers of Heavenly Kingdom. Even if I lose a leg, I will not hold him back!"

(End of this chapter)