Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 168 Annan
From 1858 to 1862, France launched wars, ceded the three southern provinces of Annam, and forced the Annamite court to sign a trade treaty, which designated nearly half of Annam's territory as the French sphere of influence. Since then, France has gained a solid bridgehead in the South Asian subcontinent and used Annam as a springboard to annex the southwestern region of the mainland.

After the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a large number of remnant forces entered the northern part of Annam through the Guangxi border. As the main forces of the Annam government suffered heavy losses in the war with France, facing the influx of Han armed forces into the northern border, the Annam government chose to recruit them and settled them in various towns on the border as an independent armed force that was tacitly allowed.

There were nearly a hundred Chinese forces of all sizes in northern Annan, and conflicts often broke out among them for the purpose of seizing territory. Among them, Liu Yongfu entered Annan in 1865. By fighting against the surrounding Han forces, he seized the border area of ​​Lang Son as his base, and continued to expand his sphere of influence in the surrounding areas. Liu Yongfu entered Annan relatively late, and his troops frequently annexed the territories of other forces, which caused dissatisfaction among the various forces. In early 1869, Huang Chongying, who occupied the Baosheng area, summoned other Tiandihui armed forces, preparing to unite to attack Gaoping and completely eliminate Liu Yongfu's armed forces.

The large-scale transmission of information could not be concealed from those who were interested. After Sun Bin received the news, he was worried that the situation in northern Annan would deteriorate and be out of control, so he rushed to Annan without delay.

Five days later, Sun Bin and his crew arrived at Halong, a port in the northern part of the south, sailing at full speed.

Halong is an excellent port in northern Annan. As it is close to Guangxi, a large number of Han people and ethnic minorities from Guangxi migrated here, which promoted the prosperity of Halong's maritime trade.

Leaving more than thirty people to guard the ship, Sun Bin took the remaining seventy or so people into an inn in the port.

"Gentlemen, are you here to eat or stay?"

More than seventy people came ashore in a mighty procession, which attracted the attention of the innkeeper. He went directly outside to greet Sun Bin and his group.

"Let's take a rest in your store. Please prepare some food for us. We have to hurry on our way. Please deliver it as soon as possible."

Sun Bin said this as he handed out a few silver ingots.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I will deliver it to you soon."

The shopkeeper took the silver, said something flattering, and quickly walked back to the store and shouted, "Seventy-three guests, serve eight tables of good food and wine, prepare the food immediately!"

Sun Bin was very generous. Not only did the innkeeper have a smile on his face, but other people resting in the inn also looked at Sun Bin and others with surprise and envy.

Without paying attention to the gazes of passers-by, Sun Bin whispered something to one of his men beside him. After hearing it, the other man quickly left, while Sun Bin and others sat in the inn to rest.

About a quarter of an hour later, the person who went out came back with two men who had secretly braided their hair.

"Sir, the person you want to see is here."

"Well, you go down first." Sun Bin instructed his men and looked at the two men: "How is Chief Ye these days?"

"Thanks to all the good men, Brother Ye is doing fine." The man with the braid said politely, and asked directly, "What is the matter with you, sir?"

Sun Bin's group of more than seventy men were full of energy and sat in the inn in an orderly and quiet manner. It was obvious at a glance that they were not good people, so he was alert and asked this question.

"Don't be nervous, brother. I have some friendship with Chief Ye. I came here today to visit Chief Ye. I have no ill intentions."

The two men with braids looked at each other, and recalled that the code word sent by Sun Bin was indeed the slogan of the Tiandihui disciples. They suppressed their doubts and said, "Everyone wait in the inn, we will go back and report the news to Brother Ye first."

"In that case, I will not keep you two brothers any longer. Come, give each of you two taels of silver. We have come a long way to visit you, and we cannot let you two brothers make a wasted trip." Sun Bin spoke and his men handed over the silver.

"You're too polite, sir. I will bring the news to you as soon as possible." The two men took the silver with a smile, complimented him and immediately ran out.

After sending away the two messengers, the food had already been served in the inn. Sun Bin said, "Everyone, hurry up and eat. Take a rest after the meal, as we still have to continue our journey." As soon as he finished speaking, the people at the other tables bowed slightly and picked up their chopsticks to eat.

In the afternoon, after having a full meal, the group was led by two men who came back to greet them to a village five miles away.

Although it looks like a village from the outside, when you walk inside, you can see simple fortifications such as watchtowers and defensive fences. Apart from the dozens of children running around the houses, this place should be a small military camp.

Sun Bin walked while observing the layout of the village. When he came to a row of wooden houses, he saw more than a dozen young men.

"Captain Ye, long time no see." "I haven't seen you for a few years. I didn't expect Mr. Sun to have gathered a new team. I admire him."

The man in the crowd recognized Sun Bin and exclaimed in amazement.

"Thank you, Chief Ye. I am working for others now. These people were sent by the owner to protect me."

"Oh, didn't Mr. Sun take a ship to America? Did he meet a noble person there?"

"This is a long story, let's talk about it slowly inside."...

After entering the house, Sun Bin signaled others to go outside, and the man saw this and sent out those who were irrelevant.

"Now that there are no outsiders around, Mr. Sun can speak directly to you, right?"

"This matter is so serious that I have no choice but to be cautious." Sun Bin observed that there was no one else in the room, and said, "The situation in the south and north is chaotic, and the former comrades in arms of various tribes are fighting each other. Leader Ye is caught in the vortex. Have you thought about how to deal with it?"

Sun Bin did not explain his purpose at the beginning, but directly asked the other party about his situation, which hit the man's sore spot.

"There is no place for us in the country. Other forces do not want to unite to protect themselves, but attack each other for the sake of a little bit of profit. If this continues, the future of the Han forces in Annan will be worrying."

"Recently, it was rumored that Huang Chongying united various forces to attack Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army. Brother Ye, have you heard anything about this?"

"A few days ago, Huang Chongying sent someone to invite me to Baosheng to form an alliance. As a member of the Tiandihui, I couldn't refuse openly, so I could only say that I had something to do and couldn't go. This way, I could have a few days of peace."

"The various forces in Annan are like a pile of loose sand. If there is a strong person to unify the various forces, we Han people will have great potential here. However, I see that although there are many heroes in Annan, there is no one who can command the various forces. From this point of view, the various forces are unwilling to accept each other, and fighting each other is inevitable."

Sun Bin analyzed the reasons for the conflict among the Han people in Annan as an outsider, but the other party heard it as a different idea.

The man drank a bowl of inferior wine, looked at Sun Bin carefully, and said, "Mr. Sun used to be Liu Yongfu's military advisor. You think Liu Yongfu can unify the various forces in Annan, so you come to recruit me on his behalf."

Li Mingyuan sent Sun Bin to contact Liu Yongfu, but that did not mean to support him as the largest Han Chinese force in Annan. Sun Bin felt that the other party had misunderstood him, and explained with a smile: "Chief Ye has misunderstood. I am not Chief Liu's lobbyist. I came to visit Chief Ye today to thank Chief Ye for his help in the past."

"Since we are not lobbying for Liu Yongfu, everything will be easy to discuss."

The man didn't want to get involved in the mess between Liu Yongfu and other Han forces, so his emotions calmed down.

The man opposite Sun Bin was named Ye Chenglin, the leader of a faction in northern Annan. During the Taiping Rebellion, Ye Chenglin led a group of Tiandihui members to join the Taiping Army. When Ye Chenglin followed the Taiping Army to fight in the southwest, Sun Bin and he fought together for a period of time. After the failure of the Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Ye Chenglin disguised himself and fled to Annan, continuing to engage in anti-Qing activities as a member of the Tiandihui.

Ye Chenglin, Deng Shichang and others all came from the anti-Qing armed forces in Annan. Later, the whole territory of Annan fell, and generals such as Ye Chenglin were recruited by the Qing government and became famous generals under the Black Flag Army.

Ye Chenglin had shown qualities of a brave general during his time in the Taiping Rebellion, so Sun Bin contacted him first after arriving in Annan in an attempt to recruit him into the National Defense Army.

Ye Chenglin was calm, so Sun Bin began to persuade him, "The French are infiltrating the whole of Annan step by step, and their intention to annex Annan is obvious. Even the huge military force of the Qing Dynasty could not resist the thousands of soldiers from Britain and France. Half of Annan will inevitably be annexed by France.

If Annan becomes a French colony, Chief Ye and other tribes will inevitably become targets of the French. The northern part of Annan is ruled by the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing government will also be happy to see the rebellious forces being wiped out by France. In this way, the Han people in Annan will have no foothold and will eventually be wiped out by France. At that time, Chief Ye will not be spared. "

"The current situation is difficult, and we can only take one step at a time. As for the step that the teacher said, we can only leave it to fate."

The role that hundreds of thousands of Han people in Annan could play in the face of the historical trend was extremely small. Ye Chenglin did not dare to imagine the scene where what Sun Bin said became a reality, so he deliberately omitted it and became depressed.

(End of this chapter)