Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 214 1878 years

After attending the meeting held by Lopez Jr. and returning to Rio Grande do Sul, Li Mingyuan immediately turned to handling domestic affairs, and time passed slowly in the busyness.

At the end of September 1869, Hou Yaoguang, the leader of the Ghee Xing Tang in the Malay Peninsula, was accidentally hacked to death by a Chinese subordinate of the opposing party in a fight. Five days later, the leader of the Ta Kung Tang was killed by a traitor among his subordinates. The remaining forces of the Ghee Xing Tang and the Ta Kung Tang were soon taken over by a newly emerging Chinese gang called the Tai Ping Hui, which thus became the most powerful Chinese gang in Southeast Asia.

After the Taiping Society officially appeared in the Southeast Asian Chinese circle, it rapidly expanded its sphere of influence and successively annexed more than 30 Chinese gangs. It also secretly controlled more than 30 gangs in the Malay Peninsula. In just half a year, the Taiping Society completed the unification of Chinese forces in the Malay Peninsula, and in the name of more than 60 Chinese gangs under its control, it dispatched personnel to Thailand, Annan, the East Indies and other regions to establish local branches of the Taiping Society.

On October 1869, 10, Huang Shenggui, who had the support of more than 5 Chinese members, took the initiative to retaliate against Ruishengtang. At this time, Ruishengtang had expanded its power for nearly two months, and the gang had more than 10 members. Ruishengtang defeated Huang Shenggui again with its numerical advantage. On October 12, the representative of Rio Grande do Sul to the United States went to San Francisco in person to meet with Huang Shenggui and had a one-hour conversation with Huang Shenggui. Two days later, Huang Shenggui announced that he had joined the Taiping Society and reorganized Hongshuntang into the American branch of the Taiping Society. After Huang Shenggui announced the reorganization of the gang, Ruishengtang, thinking it had got an opportunity, launched a strike against Huang Shenggui in the name of fighting against the Hongmen traitors, but was attacked by a group of unidentified Chinese militants. Most of the Ruishengtang members were lost, and even the hall master was injured by the other side in the fight and died of his injuries three days later.

After Liu Xing's death, the remaining 200 or so Chinese members feared retaliation from Huang Shenggui, so they either joined other Hongmen gangs or disbanded and left San Francisco. With the fate of Ruishengtang as a comparison, other Hongmen gangs did not dare to criticize or attack Huang Shenggui for joining another gang, and stayed out of the matter, watching Huang Shenggui's strength grow step by step with the support of Rio Grande do Sul.

In early 1870, Rio Grande do Sul drew on the experience of introducing Chinese workers to Peru and reached agreements with the authorities of the United States, Canada and Australia to repatriate Chinese workers.

The Rio Grande do Sul government successively appointed Huang Shengui, Huang Liangpu and Long Xingbang as immigration representatives to the United States, Canada and Australia, who were fully responsible for local Chinese workers' immigration affairs.

Among the three, Huang Liangpu was Huang Shengui's nephew. After Huang Shengui stayed in the United States, he recommended Huang Liangpu to Wang Youtian as the immigration representative of Rio Grande do Sul to Canada. Wang Youtian reported to the local government and obtained Li Mingyuan's approval. Huang Liangpu quickly opened up the situation with the foundation laid by Huang Shengui in Canada and sent the first batch of 1870 Chinese workers to Rio Grande do Sul in February 2. Although the number of Chinese in Canada is not as large as that in the United States and mainland China, because Canada is closer to South America than the Far East, the cost of obtaining immigrants from Canada is much lower than directly from the mainland. Therefore, Li Mingyuan also attaches great importance to Canada's immigration work and is satisfied with Huang Liangpu's rapid development of Chinese workers in Canada.

Long Hongbang was the leader of a Chinese gang in New South Wales, Australia. He enjoyed great prestige in the local area and was trusted by Chinese workers. Long Hongbang himself was extremely disgusted with the Qing government. After going overseas, he continued to promote anti-Qing ideas. Later, he led his subordinates Zhong Shao, Xue Yizhong and others to establish an anti-Qing revolutionary organization. He was the earliest overseas Chinese to engage in revolutionary work.

When the representatives of Rio Grande do Sul found Long Hongbang, Long Hongbang was discussing with his subordinates Zhong Shao, Xue Yizhong and others to protest against the anti-Chinese policy promulgated by the Australian government. The representatives of Rio Grande do Sul promised to properly resettle the Chinese workers and allocate land to each Chinese worker, which really touched Long Hongbang. After the two sides got along for more than half a month, Long Hongbang witnessed with his own eyes that Rio Grande do Sul and the Australian government reached an agreement on the resettlement of Chinese workers. Long Hongbang decisively led his men to join Rio Grande do Sul and became the head of Rio Grande do Sul's Chinese workers in Australia.

In July 1870, the Franco-Prussian War broke out as usual. Four days after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Li Mingyuan personally issued a general mobilization order, conscripting all the garrison troops and reserve militia to gather near Xinjing. A week later, the assembled troops began to advance in batches towards northern Argentina. Another regular troops and garrison troops were stationed in the Santa Catarinma border area to guard against the threat of the Brazilian army.

On August 8, when the Franco-Prussian War was still undecided, Argentina and the Defense Forces had their first large-scale encounter. Four thousand Argentine encirclement and suppression troops engaged in battle with the 2-strong vanguard of the Defense Forces. Two hours after the battle, the follow-up troops of the Defense Forces arrived at the battlefield and quickly wiped out the Argentine troops.

The news of the annihilation of 4,000 Argentine troops reached the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. The Argentine president was furious and directly declared war on Rio Grande do Sul. Three days later, Uruguay, forced by the Argentine government, also declared war on Rio Grande do Sul.

On August 8, a coalition of Argentine troops and Uruguayan troops marched toward the northern provinces, and the war seemed to be sliding in an uncontrollable direction from the beginning.

The reaction of the Argentine government exceeded Li Mingyuan's expectations. After receiving the news that a total of 70,000 troops from Argentina and Uruguay were heading to the front line, Li Mingyuan quickly adjusted the deployment. While ensuring the minimum manpower requirements for the operation of Rio Grande do Sul, he expanded the scope of mobilization and conscripted all 100,000 Chinese workers who had immigrated in the past year into the local army to perform national defense tasks. At the same time, the second-line troops freed from local defense tasks were deployed to the border area between Rio Grande do Sul and Uruguay to prevent Argentine and Uruguayan troops from launching a flank attack from the southern part of Rio Grande do Sul.

The military operation in Rio Grande do Sul became a risky adventure due to the strong reaction of the Argentine government. On August 8, when the National Defense Forces and the Argentine troops were in a stalemate on the front line, the Brazilian Empire suddenly announced a strike against Rio Grande do Sul's aggression. A day later, the Brazilian army stationed in Curitiba launched a fierce attack on Dongsheng County (Joinvia). In three days, the Brazilian army broke through the outer positions of Dongsheng County and the first and second lines of defense. The vanguard troops approached the core area of ​​Dongsheng County and posed a huge threat to the Dongsheng County naval base.

Dongsheng County is the former capital of Santa Catarina State, Brazil, and is also the core support point of the National Defense Force in the northern region. Once the Brazilian army breaks through the National Defense Force's defense and occupies Dongsheng County, there will only be one barrier between Dongsheng County and the new capital, which is Xinghe County (Florianópolis). The Brazilian Navy can then cross Xinghe County and threaten the security of the new capital from the sea.

The telegram for help from the Dongsheng County defenders reached Xinjing City. Despite opposition from many generals, Li Mingyuan insisted on dispatching 8,000 troops responsible for the safety of Xinjing City to the front line, leaving only 2,000 field troops and 7,000 temporarily formed Chinese labor troops to defend Xinjing City. The 8,000 field troops were Li Mingyuan's last strategic reserve. After sending out the 8,000 troops, Li Mingyuan stayed at the National Defense Army headquarters without leaving, always paying attention to the situation on the front line.

Time passed as planned. At the end of August, reinforcements arrived in Dongsheng County and resisted the attack of the Brazilian army. On August 27, Lopez Jr. of the Kingdom of Paraguay issued a bland announcement, persuading Rio Grande do Sul, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay to stop the war and resolve the dispute through negotiation.

On August 29, a fierce battle broke out between the main force of the National Defense Navy and the Brazilian Navy off the coast of Dongsheng County. Two of the five main ironclad ships of the National Defense Army were sunk, one was seriously damaged, and six sailing ships sank. The three warships purchased by the Brazilian Navy from France and the United States malfunctioned frequently during combat and were finally sunk by the National Defense Navy. Only two ironclad ships successfully left the battlefield, and all the sailing ships were lost.

The Battle of Dongsheng Off the Coast was an important turning point in the war. The National Defense Navy defeated the Brazilian Imperial Navy at the cost of losing nearly half of its main force, destroying the Brazilian Navy's ability to threaten the National Defense Army's rear from the sea, and creating an opportunity for the Dongsheng County defenders to hold out until the main force won the decisive battle.

The victory in the Battle of Dongsheng eased the crisis of the National Defense Army, and on August 1870, , a -man force that suddenly appeared behind the main Argentine force heralded the dawn of victory.

The National Defense Force that crossed the rugged mountainous areas in southern Argentina and broke into the rear of the Argentine troops was a surprise force prepared by Li Mingyuan. Ten thousand National Defense Force troops used newly produced bicycles as their means of transportation, traveled more than 800 miles in a week, and in one fell swoop occupied the supply base set up by the Argentine troops in the rear, and blocked the Argentine troops' retreat.

On September 1870, , Argentina withdrew troops from the front line to attack the occupied supply base in the rear, but was repelled by national defense forces.

On September 1870, , the French emperor on the European continent formally surrendered to the Prussian army. Five days later, the main forces of Argentina and Uruguay, cut off from ammunition and logistical supplies, were completely defeated by the full-scale attack of the Wehrmacht. Two days later, the commander of the Argentine coalition forces surrendered. The Wehrmacht achieved a decisive victory, annihilating enemies and capturing .

After annihilating the main force of Argentina, the National Defense Army swept southward and not only occupied all five provinces in northern Argentina designated by Li Mingyuan, but also occupied approximately two-fifths of the land area in Santiago del Estero Province and Santa Fe Province.

If it were not for the dispersed forces, the National Defense Forces would probably have reached the capital of Argentina.

After the decisive battle, the balance of victory quickly shifted to the Defense Forces. Seeing the opportunity, Lopez Jr. quickly joined the battlefield. On the one hand, he sent troops to occupy the Argentine Misiones Province. On the other hand, he launched a surprise attack on the Brazilian army in the name of the Brazilian local army violating the peace agreement. Within a month, he occupied the under-manned Mato Grosso do Sul state of Brazil, forcing the Brazilian Emperor Pedro II to withdraw the troops attacking Rio Grande do Sul back to the country to guard against further attacks by the Paraguayan army.

The South American War that occurred in 1870 presented a chaotic situation due to the dramatic changes in the European landscape and the successive participation of countries such as Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Bolivia.

After the main force of Argentina was wiped out, the Argentine president was executed by angry military personnel. After the National Defense Force stopped in the northern part of San Felipe Province, Urquiza, Ferna, and the remnants of the Argentine president, after a brief period of peace, quickly fell into a struggle for control of the central government. Because of Uruguay's defeat in the war, the National Defense Force occupied about 60,000 square kilometers of its territory. Fearing the attack of the National Defense Force, the white people in the country fled to other places.

The Defense Forces need time to digest the newly occupied territories, and the various forces in Argentina have not yet completed their unification. Therefore, although the two forces are still in a state of war, neither side is willing to expend energy to continue the war. As a result, the war between the Defense Forces and Argentina has become a sit-in mode, with the two armies stationed in their respective controlled areas, and except for small-scale conflicts that often break out, there has been no large-scale fighting.

Although the war against Argentina that Li Mingyuan was determined to launch went through many severe tests, it was ultimately victorious, expanding the area controlled by the National Defense Forces from 40.3 square kilometers before the war to 111.7 million square kilometers, becoming an important territorial power in South America. There were more than 5 white people in the newly annexed six provinces in northern Argentina, 6 square kilometers of land in Santa Fe Province, and square kilometers of land in Uruguay. With the expansion of Rio Grande do Sul's power, it would be easy to attract British intervention if the policy of expulsion was adopted blindly. Therefore, Li Mingyuan did not intend to move the white people in the newly occupied areas for the time being, but waited until the number of Chinese people occupied an absolute advantage, and then adopted targeted policies to force some white people to leave, and then assimilated the white people who were willing to naturalize as Chinese, using the policy of boiling frogs in warm water to solve the white problem.

(End of this chapter)