Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 205 Paying Homage to the Martyrs
"The female general with green flag and yellow robe, the beaded hat without dragon is finished; the eight hundred female soldiers are all barefoot, wearing barbarian collar and tied pants and walking as fast as the wind!"

Inside the Hall of Heroes, Li Mingyuan looked at the tablet of Su Sanniang on the altar and couldn't help but recite the poem written for her by Long Qirui, the top scholar of the Qing Dynasty.

Su Sanniang was a famous female general in the Taiping Army. In the war between the Taiping Army and the Qing Army, Su Sanniang led her female battalion to many victories and made an indelible contribution to the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

There are many men in the world, all of them are brothers; there are many women in the world, all of them are sisters. "In the early days of the Taiping Rebellion, the political program of gender equality attracted millions of poor peasants to join the Taiping Army. In order to establish the ideal heaven on earth in the program, nearly one million Taiping Army men and women soldiers traveled thousands of miles and sacrificed hundreds of thousands of young and old to capture the city of Nanjing. However, after conquering Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which were regarded as small paradises by Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing and other kings of the Heavenly Kingdom, the kings in power, especially Hong Xiuquan, quickly became corrupt and engaged in privileged behavior within the Taiping Army. They plundered and forced a large number of young women from Nanjing, Suzhou, Changzhou and other places for their enjoyment. Among them, there were thousands of concubines in the harem of Hong Xiuquan's Heavenly King's Palace, which seriously violated the political program of gender equality set in the early days of the Taiping Rebellion.

The rapid corruption of the upper class led to the short-lived Taiping regime. In just over a decade, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which had a million troops at its peak and spread across most of China, was overwhelmed by the counterattacks of the Qing court and traitorous landlords. Millions of lower-class people who were inspired to build an ideal paradise became victims of the war, and the female soldiers who had followed Su Sanniang to fight on the battlefield were also scattered in the waves of history.

Historical mistakes will naturally be evaluated by future generations. Li Mingyuan was aware that as the successor of the Taiping Army's political program, he never felt there was any benefit in concealing the mistakes made by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. On the contrary, revealing the mistakes made by Hong Xiuquan and others when leading the Heavenly Kingdom could not only clarify the responsibility for the demise of the Heavenly Kingdom, but also highlight the correctness and foresight of Li Mingyuan's efforts to save Chinese workers in South America and establish a Chinese kingdom in South America.

With Li Mingyuan's tacit approval, criticism of Hong Xiuquan gradually spread within the National Defense Army. More and more low-level officers and soldiers learned about Hong Xiuquan's corruption and mistakes in governance from the officers in charge of propaganda. Their impression of Hong Xiuquan's family also became increasingly negative.

The departure time for Paraguay is set for tomorrow. However, Li Mingyuan cannot spend the Mid-Autumn Festival the day after tomorrow in the country. Therefore, the time for formally commemorating the fallen soldiers has been moved forward from the Mid-Autumn Festival to today.

Senior officials and generals including Chen Guozhu, Li Sandou, Liu Pu and Zhang Ansong who was stationed abroad all attended the first ceremony to commemorate the fallen soldiers.

He bowed respectfully in front of Su Sanniang's tablet and placed three lit incense sticks on the incense table. Li Mingyuan moved two steps to the right and picked up three more incense sticks to pay tribute to the many sacrificed generals lined up behind him.

The ceremony of burning incense and worshiping lasted until noon. In the solemn and quiet atmosphere, even though his waist was a little sore from bowing for a long time, Li Mingyuan did not relax. After arranging some management affairs in the Hall of Heroes, Li Mingyuan changed out of the solemn dress for worship, put on a dark black military uniform and walked out of the Hall of Heroes.

Outside Valhalla, most of the people who came to watch the memorial ceremony did not leave. Under the command and maintenance of the army, dense crowds of people crowded on both sides of the cement road outside the gate of Valhalla, vying to watch Li Mingyuan and his party.

"Brother, I am from another place and have never seen the elegance of your king. Please make way for me and let me see the elegance of your king."

Among the crowd on the right side of the road, a middle-aged man in his thirties, wearing a Qing-style cloth robe, tried to squeeze forward while asking the Chinese around him for help.

"What big king or small king? My prince is the eldest son of the powerful Prince Shi who is feared in Jiangnan. You have heard of the Paraguayan War. Last year, the prince led 100,000 Han warriors and annihilated the army of the Brazilian Empire in one battle. The land we are standing on was snatched by the prince from the Brazilians!"

The Chinese man being questioned looked to be about 40 years old, with a long scar on his face. He looked a little unhappy when he heard the question.

"You don't look like a local when you're dressed like that. When did you arrive in Rio Grande do Sul?"

"Brother, you have a good eye. I used to make a living in America. Two months ago, I heard that a Chinese country had been established in South America and was recruiting Chinese immigrants, so I decided to come over and take a look."

"His Royal Highness has compassion for our brothers who are drifting overseas, and has specially sent a large number of ships to transport immigrants, but I heard that more than half of the Chinese workers in the United States are unwilling to come, and would rather stay in other countries and be bullied. It's really a waste of His Royal Highness's kindness."

When the middle-aged man mentioned the United States, a look of dissatisfaction appeared on his face.

"What the elder brother said is true. I was originally worried that Rio Grande do Sul was trying to trick the workers into coming here to do hard labor. But when I got here, I realized that I was worrying too much."

The man echoed, took a step forward and stood right in front of the crowd.

“You don’t know Rio Grande do Sul, so it’s inevitable that you might have misunderstandings about this place.”

With the other party's agreement, the middle-aged man's tone softened a lot, and when he looked at the other party again, he felt much more pleasing to the eye.

"The Manchus ruled unjustly these days, and many people deceived their own people and sold them overseas to do hard labor. The Chinese workers in America might have been harmed by them. I couldn't help but be suspicious when I heard the news of recruiting Chinese workers. But Rio Grande dothrakia is different. His Royal Highness is really doing this for the good of the Chinese workers. If you don't believe me, ask the Chinese workers who came from Cuba. Each of them has been allocated more than 30 acres of land. Believe me, settle down in Rio Grande dothrakia, and you will have a good life in the future."

"Brother, since you know the Prince of Shi so well, you must be an old man who followed the Prince of Shi, right?"

The commoner asked tentatively. "Haha, to be honest with you, I followed His Royal Highness during the Peruvian uprising, but because of my age, I have been working in the logistics department and did not catch up with the battle between His Royal Highness and the Brazilians. Otherwise, with my military exploits, I would be an officer now."

When the middle-aged Chinese talked about the past, a look of pride appeared on his face.

"So, my elder brother is also one of the earliest people to follow the Prince of Shi Wang in the uprising. I wonder if my elder brother has ever had the opportunity to meet the Prince of Shi Wang?"

"It's not easy for ordinary people to meet someone as noble as His Royal Highness."

The middle-aged Chinese pouted, but his expression changed and he said with some pride, "But before the expedition began, His Royal Highness personally saw off the logistics troops. I was fortunate enough to meet His Royal Highness once."

The middle-aged Chinese man was proud of having met Li Mingyuan in person, and began to talk endlessly about Li Mingyuan's appearance and some things he had heard about Li Mingyuan. On the other hand, the commoner carefully selected the necessary information from the other party's words, "The Battle of Duraya, the feint to the east to seize Arequipa, the single-handed expedition to defeat the 100,000-strong army of the Brazilian Empire... This so-called Prince of the Imperial Guards is indeed an extraordinary military commander, but I don't know if he is the real Prince of the Imperial Guards or a fake."

The commoner was guessing Li Mingyuan's true identity in his mind, while on the other side, Li Mingyuan walked out of Valhalla on a tall horse, escorted by two rows of soldiers.

In the crowd, the plain-clothed man walked out from the position he had squeezed into with great difficulty to the center of the road. A few minutes later, the sound of horse hooves was heard. The plain-clothed man resisted the crowd that was squeezing back and forth from behind, put his hands on the backs of two soldiers who were maintaining order, and through the gap between the two soldiers' bodies, he finally saw Li Mingyuan's appearance: eight feet tall, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a heroic and handsome appearance.

"He does look about 70% similar to Li Shixian. It seems that he is indeed the son of Li Shizi."

The man in plain clothes stared at Li Mingyuan. Li Mingyuan was riding on a horse and walking in the crowded crowd. However, the keen intuition he developed in his past and present lives made him quickly realize that someone was spying on him.

Turning his head to the right, Li Mingyuan's eyes were fixed directly on the man in plain clothes.

"He has a reserved expression and tattered clothes." Although the man in plain clothes tried his best to disguise himself, Li Mingyuan could sense the aura of a soldier from him, a veteran of many battles. Even if he took off his military uniform and stopped fighting, the characteristics formed from more than ten years of fighting would not disappear.

Most people with this kind of military trait are veterans who have experienced many battles. Although the army of Rio Grande do Sul is not small in number, Li Mingyuan rarely finds people with this kind of trait in the army.

"Liu Pu, send a few soldiers with nimble hands and feet to watch over the man in the sackcloth."

Li Mingyuan slowed down and whispered instructions to Liu Pu beside him.

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Pu followed Li Mingyuan's direction and after finding the target person, he immediately sent a soldier to convey the order.

"Your Highness, this person is probably not from the army. Judging from his attire, he looks like a laborer who immigrated from somewhere else."

"Well, he should have just arrived in Rio Grande do Sul. The clothes he was wearing were still in the style of the Qing Dynasty."

Li Mingyuan nodded and turned his eyes away from the man in plain clothes, but a doubt arose in his mind: "Liu Pu, I seem to have seen this person somewhere before. Could he be a surviving veteran of the Heavenly Kingdom?"

"Your Highness was only eleven or twelve years old when he was on the mainland. At that time, Your Highness the Prince had an army of more than 100,000 men. Maybe that man had served in Your Highness the Prince's army before, so Your Highness has some impression of him."

"No, that man doesn't look like an ordinary military general. His temperament is more like a commander who leads tens of thousands of troops." Li Mingyuan shook his head.

"Most of the famous generals of the Heavenly Kingdom died for their country, and the few generals who escaped the pursuit of the Qing court have no news. If he is a surviving general of the Heavenly Kingdom, he should take the initiative to pay a visit to the prince. Why would he hide his identity and secretly observe us?"

"Maybe he has some concerns in his heart!" Li Mingyuan looked back at the direction where the commoner was standing, and whispered, "No matter what his plan is, wait until the soldiers find him. If you have any questions, you can ask him in person. Now you should go back and prepare for the trip to Paraguay."

After Li Mingyuan finished speaking, he tightened his whip and left at a faster pace.

(End of this chapter)