Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 196 Return
When the news of the battle near Iarreta reached the besieged troops a hundred miles away, the Argentine commander had to give up the victory that was about to be achieved, abandoned the continued siege of Sun Qisheng's troops, and led his troops to retreat to reinforce Iarreta.

As the initiators of the incident, Ma Jizu and Davis, after completing their goal, quickly evacuated with the weapons and supplies seized from inside the fortress. Then, after meeting up with Sun Qisheng and others, the two troops separated again. Davis led his men to continue mobile combat, while Ma Jizu and Sun Qisheng returned to Rio Grande do Sul along the secret path opened along the border to report to Li Mingyuan on the changes in northern Argentina.

A week later, the busy spring plowing season came to an end. Agriculture in Rio Grande do Sul had its first year of stable development and entered a new stage.

In terms of industry, with the trial production of the only large steel plant in Rio Grande do Sul two days ago, all the factories built with the help of the Prussians have been completed and put into production.

In Rio Grande do Sul, from Rio Grande in the south to Joinville in the north, 400,000 square kilometers of land are covered with green rice and pastures. Brand new factories are scattered along the rivers and coasts, and tall chimneys emit thick black smoke...

With vast land, sparse population and lush greenery, Rio Grande do Sul presented a scene of mixed industry and nature in the early days of the Second Industrial Revolution.

A lot can change in a little over a year. The Chinese who had been living overseas have settled down in Rio Grande do Sul. Rows of low wooden houses are scattered across the vast plains. The worn and dirty linen clothes have been replaced by brand new short jackets and trousers. After a year of recuperation and adaptation, the thin and sallow-faced Chinese laborers have regained their normal skin color. Groups of men and women are scattered along the river banks, pastures, and training grounds. They are either naturalized white women washing clothes and chatting by the river, or retired soldiers carrying out prescribed training tasks after the busy farming season.

Everyone had something to do, and this new country displayed a unique vitality in many small ways.

About a year has passed since the first group of white women married Chinese men. In the past two months, 4,000 white women have given birth to offspring with their Chinese husbands. With the increase of 4,000 newborns, Rio Grande do Sul, a country that was born one year ago, looks more like a normal country.

Riding casually along the riverbank outside Porto Alegre, Li Mingyuan smiled and teased Luo Linshan beside him, "General Luo, I heard that many brothers in the Fourth Division have children. You, as the division commander, can't always fall behind. How about it? General Luo, do you have a favorite girl? When do you plan to consider starting a family?"

"Thank you for your concern, my lord." Luo Linshan shook his head, his expression somewhat bitter, "I originally had two sons in my hometown of Minhou, but four years ago there was a famine, my wife and two sons starved to death, and I was the only one left who survived by venturing overseas." Recalling the sad things in the past, Luo Linshan became even more depressed, "As a man, I can't support my wife and three children. I feel guilty, and for the time being I have no intention of marrying again and starting a family. I hope my lord will forgive me."

Providing a family and protecting the safe growth of wife and children are the responsibilities and missions given to men by Han tradition. Although Li Mingyuan never married and had children in his two lives, he could understand Luo Linshan's feelings.

"Natural disasters are merciless. Even if you and I start a new business in South America, we are just mortals in the face of the great trend of history and natural disasters. Four years ago, you were just an ordinary citizen. It is not entirely your fault that you failed to save your wife and children in the face of the disaster."

The person who tied the bell must untie it. Only Luo Linshan himself can untie the knot in his heart. Li Mingyuan could only try to persuade him with a few words, but couldn't say much more.

In times of war, ordinary people are like tiny ants in the face of the trend of the times. They can only drift with the waves and cannot control their own destiny. In this era, Li Mingyuan is just a slightly larger ant, but he has gathered a group of people around him. As more and more people gather together, his power will become stronger and stronger, until it reaches a point where he can influence the trend of history and change the fate of ordinary Chinese people.

Li Mingyuan has been working towards this goal. Therefore, even though he also yearns for beauty, wealth and a comfortable life, he restrains his desires and shifts his energy to the governance of Rio Grande do Sul.

The tour along the river bank was just a short break in the busy schedule. After returning from the river bank, Li Mingyuan received reports from Ma Jizu and Sun Qisheng.

"Are you sure Argentina is sending more troops to the north?"

After listening to Sun Qisheng's report on the situation in northern Argentina, Li Mingyuan asked, "I dare not deceive His Royal Highness. A week before the Argentine troops attacked our base, the soldiers who went out to investigate reported the situation of the Argentine troops' mobilization. At that time, I thought that the Argentine troops only increased the defense force by 300 people and could not pose a threat to the base, so I did not check it carefully. When the Argentine troops attacked the base, not only did the main attack force reach nearly 2,000 people, but there were also more than 2,000 Argentine soldiers deployed near the base, blocking the retreat route of the base defenders. I and my brothers who broke through the encirclement tried their best to break out of the Argentine encirclement, but were finally trapped in the valley by the Argentine troops who caught up. If it were not for Captain Ma persuading Davis to feint to attack the city of Iareta, more than 200 brothers would have been buried in my hands.

Your Highness, I am responsible for the failure of the base operation. I just hope Your Highness will give me another chance to collect the bodies of my brothers who died and help them avenge themselves."

"With the loss of troops and generals, all the arrangements in northern Argentina for nearly a year have failed. Sun Qisheng, do you think you can make up for the mistakes you made in northern Argentina?"

Argentina secretly dispatched a large number of troops to reinforce the northern region. Sun Qisheng, as the local commander of the National Defense Force, did not notice it beforehand. In any case, he must bear the main responsibility for the loss of the base.

A small failure in a battle could not shake Li Mingyuan's determination to interfere in northern Argentina. At the same time, he was not unable to forgive his subordinates' defeat. However, Sun Qisheng's defeat this time was too tragic. Among the more than 200 selected elite soldiers, only more than 60 people came back alive after a battle. Li Mingyuan sent Sun Qisheng to northern Argentina not only to harass the Argentine troops, but also to establish a guerrilla base and collect intelligence. However, Sun Qisheng actually stumbled in the most important intelligence aspect, which made him angry.

After coldly reprimanding Sun Qisheng, Li Mingyuan felt that this incident would not be so simple. The main force of the Argentine troops was fighting with the Paraguayan troops on the front line. The southern part of Sun Qisheng's base was the Antillerios Province controlled by Urquiza and the Corrientes Province controlled by Ferna. Urquiza and Ferna were old rivals of Argentine President Sarmiento. They could not help Sarmiento solve the troubles in the northern region. That would not only benefit Sarmiento's rule, but also consume the interests of their faction.

Excluding the possibility of Urquiza and Ferna, the reinforcements for the northern region can only be drawn from the front line. Thinking of this, Li Mingyuan immediately reacted, "Lopez Jr. personally led troops to reinforce the Misiones front line. Argentina dared to draw troops from the front line. It must have reached a ceasefire agreement with Lopez Jr. Otherwise, the Argentines would never risk the front line war getting out of control and dispatch troops to help quell the rebellion."

Li Mingyuan vaguely realized the truth, and left Sun Qisheng aside. He immediately ordered the soldiers around him, "We will hold a meeting in the National Party Hall in half an hour. All senior generals must not be late!"...

"Your Highness, is Lord Sun..." The soldier accepted the task and was about to leave when he thought of the guilty Sun Qisheng and asked.

"He..." Li Mingyuan glanced at Sun Qisheng with his peripheral vision, "Let him stand in the hall and listen."

"Yes, sir." The soldier took the order and left quickly.

"Thank you, Prince!" Sun Qisheng had originally lost hope for his future, but after hearing that Li Mingyuan allowed him to sit in on the class, he became enthusiastic again and hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

"No need to thank me. You need to seize the opportunity yourself. Whether you can continue to serve in the National Defense Force depends on your subsequent performance."

"I understand. I will never let the prince down next time!"

Sun Qisheng said solemnly.

(End of this chapter)