Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 302 Kismayu II

In the Somalia outpost of Kismayo, groups of young Chinese men who had just cut off their braids were working shirtless in the khaki sand fields, sweating profusely under the scorching sun.

Kismayo has a hot climate all year round. After the National Defense Force occupied the area, the indigenous Sabu people were expelled to the inland areas of Somalia. Now in Kismayo, except for a few young and strong black people who were forced to work as coolies, it is difficult to see concentrated Somali black people settling there.

The Kismayo stronghold was built near the mouth of the Juba River. After several expansions, the city's circumference expanded to 600 meters and its width reached 180 meters.
The city wall is 7 meters high and can accommodate about 15000 people.

In order to meet the needs of the garrison troops and civilians in the base,

The stronghold is surrounded by basic livestock slaughterhouses, small meat and fish canning plants, flour mills, hospitals and other industrial facilities.

In 1878, the garrison in the stronghold completed the port expansion project on the Juba River, allowing gunboats sent as reinforcements from South America to enter the Juba River port even during the dry season. They also relied on the port's fortifications and the Kismayo Fortress to resist attacks by foreign armed forces.

The Kismayo stronghold is isolated overseas, facing siege from Britain and Italy to the south and north. The strategic situation is dangerous. Once the war in South America spreads to Africa, Kismayo will be the first target of attack by European colonists.

Taking into account the possible attacks that Kismayo might face, one hundred regular troops, two domestically built gunboats and accompanying weapons and ammunition arrived in Somalia one after another to reinforce Kismayo after the first battle with the Italian colonial army.

At this point, the armed forces of the Kismayo stronghold included two companies of 300 regular troops, 800 armed militiamen, and 200 sailors, with a total strength of more than 1300 people.

Han has three colonies in Africa, of which Congo is the largest and the central government attaches the most importance to it. The garrison includes two foreign mercenary battalions with 800 people, three national defense field battalions with 1400 people, and 11 armed militia companies with 1700 people! A Congo River waters garrison with 500 people, with a total force of about 4400 people, followed by Kismayo with 1300 people and Mtwara in Tanzania with 700 people.

Among the three colonial strongholds, Kismayo did not have an advantage in terms of military strength and was the most vulnerable to attack by the Italian colonial army. Therefore, when the South American continental war broke out again, the stronghold garrison commander Cai Jiu immediately ordered his troops to enter a state of combat readiness and mobilized the young and strong militia in the stronghold to harvest cassava, sweet potatoes, wheat and other food crops planted in the oasis along the Juba River.

The men in the oasis were busy harvesting food crops, while the Chinese women who had to stay in the Kismayo outpost because of delays at sea, joined the working team under the unified command of Cai Jiu after resting for two days.

Young women, wearing headscarves and some even wearing bound feet, walked in the scorching sand fields, working hard to push carts of grain into the stronghold. Their loose, coarse linen clothes covered their thin bodies, and even though their clothes were soaked with sweat, the women did not have to worry about exposing themselves because of the loose, ill-fitting clothes.

Influenced by traditional culture, the Chinese society tends to be conservative, especially in mainland China under the rule of the Qing Dynasty.
Before the mid-19th century, it was almost unthinkable for Chinese women to go abroad to Southeast Asia. In a traditional agricultural society, men were the main labor force and the backbone of the family, shouldering the burden of the entire family's economic life. Women had no political, economic and social status, but they still had to bear responsibilities no less than men. Rural women worked tirelessly in the fields all day long, exposed to the sun and rain, leaving early and returning late, and had to bring their families and children with them. What's more serious is that the Qing government has always prohibited women from going abroad. Anyone who dared to offend would be punished with a serious crime once caught.

The Qing government's policy of isolation was not broken until the outbreak of the Opium War, when it was forcibly broken by Western powers. As a result, young Chinese men and women who could not survive in the mainland had the opportunity to go to Southeast Asia with their families or even directly board transport ships to South America to find a way to survive. The area around the Kismayo stronghold was a busy scene. At the same time, as the armed command core guarding the stronghold, Cai Jiu and others were discussing how to deal with the upcoming attack by the Italians.

"Everyone, the war on the mainland has been going on for several months. Because the Argentine government was in a critical situation, the British first dispatched reinforcements to South America and delayed attacking Kismayo. But now the situation has changed. The Italian colonial army has been receiving support from the mainland for the past two months. According to the reconnaissance in the past week, the total number of Italian colonial troops in Somalia has exceeded 2300, of which about 2500 to are stationed at the Marka forward base to attack us."

Cai Jiu stood up and said seriously, "Four days ago, our reconnaissance troops fought against a small group of Italian reinforcements. Their combat effectiveness is more than half that of the Italian colonial army that fought against us earlier. So I remind you that this time, the enemy we face is no longer the inferior Italian colonial army, but the regular army of Italy. Our army's current situation is likely to be more dangerous than the last battle, and the responsibility on your shoulders is heavier. I hope that whether before or during the war, you must fulfill your duties as a Han soldier to ensure that the Kismayo stronghold will never be lost!"

"Commander, I have something to say."

"explain."

"We have a total of 1300 armed forces in the area around Kismayo, and Captain Liu's fleet has more than 4000 young and strong men. If we select half of them to join the militia and give them a little training, our army will not be at a disadvantage compared to the Italian army in terms of the number of troops."

"Keep talking."

"Kismayo is a small area. If we wait until the Italian army completes its pre-war preparations and launches a siege on our army from both land and sea, our army will have no choice but to defend the stronghold. However, Kismayo is isolated overseas, and the connection between the stronghold and the mainland has been cut off since the outbreak of the Argentine War. It is still unknown what the situation on the mainland will be, when the National Defense Forces will be able to occupy Argentina, and when the Central Government will cease fire with England. If we simply defend the stronghold, the stored ammunition and supplies may not be able to support us until the end of the Argentine War, and our army will be wiped out due to lack of ammunition and food.

Commander, I am not a coward, but Kismayo is located at the hub of immigration from the mainland and South America, and we cannot afford to lose it. Our lives are not important, but the mission assigned by His Highness is important. For the sake of safety, I suggest that we take the initiative while the Italian army has not yet assembled, concentrate the main forces in the stronghold, and conduct an external battle against the Italians. After destroying part of the Italian manpower, we will return to the stronghold to defend against the enemy. "

"Our army has no advantage in terms of military strength and weaponry over the Italian army, and a concentrated decisive battle would be disadvantageous to our army."

Cai Jiu did not accept the other party's suggestion. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "But what Captain Zhao said is not without reason. Although our army is at a disadvantage strategically, we should take the initiative tactically. I decided to draw 150 people from a regular company and select 300 people from the militia. With a 500-ton gunboat and three 200-ton gunboats, we will form a guerrilla force and go north along the Juba River to the inland areas of Somalia to destroy the supply camps set up by the Italian army in the coastal areas and wait for an opportunity to attack the Italian transport team."

"Commander, I request to lead the team to carry out guerrilla missions."

"Okay, I'll leave the guerrilla force to you. Go back and rest for the night, and lead the team out the day after tomorrow evening!"

(End of this chapter)