Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 172 Stable Development
At the end of the dynasty, the government's armaments were lax and officials were seriously corrupt. Sun Bin bribed several officials in Quang Yen Province with seven thousand taels of silver through several Chinese businessmen. With the connivance of the Annan government, the peasant armies of all sizes scattered in Quang Yen Province quickly gathered in the Halong area.

With money and food, there is no need to panic. The people in northern Annan were all driven out by the Qing army like ducks. When they heard that Halong had abundant money and food, the Chinese who lived nearby flocked there.

Ten days after the news came out, not only did Chinese forces of all sizes in Guang'an rush to Halong to seek refuge, but Chinese from nearby areas such as Lang Son, Bac Giang, and Haiyang also came.

The increasing number of concentrated Chinese attracted the attention of officials from the nearby province of Annan. At the border between Guang'an Province and other provinces, conflicts continued to break out between the Annan garrison and Chinese armed forces.

The number of Chinese who gathered exceeded Sun Bin's expectations. As a last resort, Sun Bin once again took out money to manage the Annan garrisons in various places, and at the same time spread the news that he would temporarily stop recruiting Chinese.

With the efforts of both sides, the large-scale influx of people into Ha Long lasted for nearly a month, and the total number of Chinese exceeded 10,000.

Most of the more than 10,000 Chinese who fled here were refugee peasants who settled in villages, and a small number were remnants of the anti-Qing peasant army.

The war in Guangdong and Guangxi lasted for more than ten years. First, there was a large-scale armed conflict between natives and Hakkas, followed by the Taiping Rebellion. After the fall of the Taiping Rebellion, the peasant armies in the local areas continued to engage in tug-of-war and guerrilla warfare with the Qing army. The people living in Guangdong, Guangxi and Guangxi provinces had to worry about being involved in the peasant armies, and at the same time guard against the harm of the Qing army.

Bandits passed by like combs, and soldiers passed by like rakes. The Qing army had extremely poor military discipline, and after each battle they inevitably harmed the local people. Therefore, the border farmers who could not survive between the Qing army and the peasant army left their hometowns and fled to Annan to avoid the war.

There were many Chinese peasants of various ethnic groups who fled to Annan. After Wu Yazhong's peasant army was defeated by the Qing army, Liu Yongfu, Huang Chongying and others raised the banner of recruiting soldiers and quickly gathered a new army.

The peasant armies led by Liu Yongfu, Huang Chongying and others did not have a stable source of money and food, and the number of able-bodied soldiers under their command could only maintain a basic level. However, Sun Bin was different. In order to obtain a sufficient number of immigrants, Li Mingyuan allocated three million taels of silver as funding for the first batch, and there will be continued investment in the future.

Among all the Qing army units, Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army was the most generous. Each soldier was paid four taels of silver per month, and with rewards, he would have fifty or sixty taels a year, which was enough for the soldiers to live a sufficient life. The requirements for young and strong soldiers from the Chinese refugees who were stranded in the Annan area were naturally not as high as those of the Huai Army. Qualified soldiers were temporarily paid two taels of silver per month, and as long as they were selected, they would be immediately given five taels of silver as a resettlement allowance. The Chinese refugees who did not join the army were given a full meal, and after two months they would wait for the transport fleet to arrive and leave Annan.

After layers of selection, the weak and older Chinese were eliminated, and a total of 1,500 qualified young and strong people were selected. Some of the remaining 13,000 Chinese who were not selected were transported to Natuna Island, and the rest were recuperated nearby in Halong.

Among the 1,500 young and strong men, there were 300 Yao and Zhuang mountain people. Sun Bin organized these 300 people into a separate mountain battalion, led by Chen Shangfa as the battalion officer. The remaining 1,200 people and 300 National Defense Army soldiers were mixed into a regiment, with A Chen as the commander, and Chen Zongbai, Ye Chenglin and Wu Fengdian as the three battalion commanders under his command.

The National Defense Force's First Nanyang Regiment and the Independent Mountain Battalion, two temporarily organized forces, have a total of 1,800 soldiers. Together with the 300 militia troops left on Natuna Island, the total strength of the National Defense Force in Nanyang exceeds 2,000.

A month passed in busyness. During this period, Ye Chenglin met with Wu Yazhong and took the messenger sent by Wu Yazhong to visit the forces of Liu Yongfu and Huang Chongying. After seeing the letter written by Wu Yazhong to the two of them, Huang Chongying and Liu Yongfu, no matter what they thought in their hearts, agreed to listen to the advice of their former master, stop fighting and make peace, and no longer attack each other.

After traveling through three places, when Ye Chenglin came back, the task of recruiting displaced Chinese had been completed, and the young and strong people who had recovered after a week of recuperation also began formal training.

In the coastal area of ​​Halong, the area of ​​the originally dilapidated village has expanded more than ten times. On the wasteland flattened into a training ground, Sun Bin pointed at the young and strong soldiers who were training and said, "These are the 1,500 young and strong men that my brothers and I have recruited in the past month. What do you think of them, Brother Ye?"

"I haven't been back for a month. I didn't expect that you would recruit a group of young and strong troops. After a little training, it won't be difficult for them to surpass the troops under Chief Wu." The young and strong men in the wasteland trained very hard. Ye Chenglin unconsciously compared them with Wu Yazhong's men and praised them.

"Although the troops under Chief Wu have been through many battles, they are not regular field troops after all. The target of the troops we are training is the Qing army, and we may fight against the French army in the future. So Brother Ye should have a longer-term vision. In two months, some officers of the National Defense Force will arrive on the transport fleet. By then, Brother Ye will have great gains by communicating with them."

"My fellow National Defense Force brothers have been fighting in South America for more than a year. Our opponents are American foreigners. Their combat experience is not comparable to ours. Next time they come, I will ask you to help introduce them so that I can learn from them." Ye Cheng said modestly.

"It is a good thing to know a hero and cherish a hero. Brother Ye fought bravely. When the defense forces brothers from South America arrive, they will certainly be happy to discuss their combat experiences with Brother Ye."

Times make heroes. Ye Chenglin was confined to the mountainous area in northern Annan and was not well-known, but Sun Bin was optimistic about his future and believed that he would soon find his place in the National Defense Forces after joining them.

After talking with Ye Chenglin for a while about recruiting new young and strong people, the two walked to a high slope.

"We have just purchased 30 square kilometers of land from Annan officials. This will be our base in Annan from now on."

"Thirty square kilometers of land is not small, but there are more than 10,000 Chinese who have come to us. It is difficult to support more than 10,000 people with such a small area."

Ye Chenglin was the leader of an armed force occupying a small piece of land a month ago. He was well aware of the difficulties in supporting an armed force, so he quickly pointed out the disadvantages of developing here.

"Brother Ye is right. Halong is close to the coastal defense of Annan. If we make a big fuss here, it will arouse the vigilance of the Annan court, so we have to find another place as an immigration base."

"Mr. Sun, have you chosen a place?" Ye Chenglin asked.

"That's right, Brother Ye, guess where it is?"

"Immigrants need to be transported by sea. The main ports in northern Annan are Haiphong, Halong, Cam Pha and Mong Cai. Excluding Haiphong and Halong, Cam Pha and Mong Cai are left. Sir, do you want to choose one of these two places as a base?"

Ye Chenglin lowered his head and thought for a while, then answered.

"That's right and that's not right. Not only do we need to control Kam Pha and Mong Cai, but we also need to fully occupy Hai Ninh, Bac Giang, and Lang Son provinces soon. Otherwise, if we only occupy a few dozen or a few hundred square kilometers of land, when will we be able to complete the task assigned by the Crown Prince?"

The immigrants needed by Rio Grande do not amount to tens of thousands, but millions or even more. Li Mingyuan does not have time to slowly immigrate. To obtain a large number of immigrants, he will sooner or later have to go into conflict and war with the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, occupying several provinces on the Annan border bordering the mainland is an indispensable part of the overall situation.

"Mr. Sun, isn't it too much of a fuss to occupy the three provinces of Annan at once? Although the Annan army is not strong, the King of Annan will definitely ask the Qing army for help. In this case, our army will be trapped on both sides and the situation will be very dangerous."

"The plan to occupy the three border provinces will be advanced step by step. What we need to do now is to occupy Hai'an Province first, and then make peace with all the Han forces in Annan before moving on to the next step."

"There are over a million Han Chinese in Annan. If we unite all the Han Chinese forces and provide them with weapons and ammunition provided by His Royal Highness, we can fight against the Qing army even if they attack us from abroad."

After hearing Sun Bin's explanation, Ye Chenglin put aside his unnecessary worries and agreed.

(End of this chapter)