Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 312 Peace Talks with Britain
The British expedition withdrew to Brazil for rest and recuperation for more than a month. From Gordon onwards, every British soldier became a idler with nothing to do. Ordinary British soldiers received their salaries from the London government and went to Rio de Janeiro to have fun and get drunk. The street shops and pubs that had been doing poorly became bustling and flashy again because of the influx of new guests.

The power of the expeditionary force's combat command was handed over to the British minister, and the training arrangements of ordinary soldiers were also handed over to his deputy. Gordon did not have to rush back to the barracks. He walked around the city of Rio de Janeiro at a slow pace.

In the center of the Imperial Square there is a huge statue of the imperial emperor, Pedro I. The statue was built when Brazil just gained independence from Portuguese colonial rule to commemorate Pedro I's contribution to national independence.

Normally, many Brazilians who visited the Imperial Plaza would look up at the landmark building in the square. But when Gordon approached the statue, he saw a group of protesting students standing under the statue and giving passionate and indignant speeches.

The bureaucrats and nobles of the empire were corrupt and incompetent, and foreign wars were repeatedly defeated. The empire was in crisis. The government officials who stole high positions only knew how to echo the views of the Europeans, arbitrarily depriving the native white people of their land and wealth, liberating the black slaves who were originally private property and making them free citizens, and forcing the native white landlords to sell the land inherited from their ancestors to the new immigrants and the freed black people at low prices...

The students who gave speeches criticized and refuted the policies promulgated by Pedro II since he took power, and the native white Brazilians around them applauded as if they were not afraid of causing trouble.

More and more Brazilians gathered near the statue, and the students' increasingly violent words and actions finally provoked the patrolling Brazilian police, who first loudly warned the crowd and students to end the demonstration and quickly disperse. After receiving no effective response, the police chief ran out of patience, swung his stick and hit one of the most noisy students directly in the stomach. When other policemen saw their chief taking action, they also stepped forward to disperse the crowd.

Gordon was accustomed to what was happening in front of him. Under the reforms advocated by Pedro II, the political situation in Brazil was more unrestrained than that in Britain and France. The members of the two houses of the British House of Representatives had different political views and at most they could only argue with each other. The London police only expelled the workers who were demonstrating for their labor rights. However, in Brazil, police and demonstrators were often killed in demonstrations, and there were also many riots and separatist movements caused by demonstrations.

After standing near the statue for more than half an hour, when the demonstrators were dispersed, Gordon turned around and prepared to go back.

"Sir, the Minister invites you to the embassy to discuss important matters."

Gordon walked out of the Empire State Plaza and ran into an embassy staff member.

"Did the boys get in trouble in town?"

When British soldiers stayed in Rio de Janeiro, it was inevitable that things beyond friendship would happen with some of the married ladies. More than 40 similar incidents occurred in the barracks in the past month. Therefore, Gordon's first reaction was that another young man had failed to control his exuberant energy and accidentally got into trouble, having his relationship with the Brazilian ladies exposed by others.

"No, the soldiers have been behaving themselves in the city recently and haven't caused any trouble."

The young British embassy official sat in the carriage and explained, "The peace envoy sent by the Han people has just arrived at the embassy. Mr. Minister, please go to the embassy area to participate in the negotiations with the Han people."

……

At the British Embassy in Brazil, Hu Yaqi and several Chinese diplomats sat in the lobby waiting for more than an hour before they met the British Minister, Austin.

"Your Excellency, the Han Kingdom and the British Empire are thousands of miles apart, and the outbreak of the Argentine War was just an unfortunate accident. His Majesty sincerely hopes to restore friendship with the British Empire, and the two countries can have frank discussions on the differences and misunderstandings over the Argentine War, and reach a compromise and ceasefire that is acceptable to both sides." "No, sir, South America is a peaceful and tranquil continent. It was only after you Chinese came to South America that wars and conflicts broke out between countries. The war was provoked by you in advance. The brave young men of the British Empire came to South America from faraway Europe to rescue the white Americans who were invaded and humiliated by you. If you truly realize the disaster that the invasion of Argentina and Uruguay has brought to the people of the two countries, then your Majesty should immediately order his troops to leave the illegally occupied land and return Argentina and Uruguay to their original owners."

"The Han army has strict military discipline. During the Argentine War, our army strictly abided by the warring duties between civilized countries and never threatened or oppressed ordinary people in Argentina and Uruguay. If you don't believe it, you can go to the Han territory and experience it for yourself. His Majesty the King of Han is magnanimous and treats Chinese, whites, and Indians in the country equally. He will not treat whites differently from Chinese because of their different skin colors. Your accusation is completely groundless."

Hu Yaqi refuted the British envoy's point of view with righteous words, and continued, "The Han army has not harmed the people of Argentina and Uruguay. No matter how the outside world slanders the Han army, the Han army's determination to defend its territory will not change. The people of Argentina and Uruguay have voluntarily joined the Han country and naturalized as Han citizens. As long as they are within the territory of the Han country, they can choose the area they like as their place of residence according to their own wishes. Similarly, the Chinese in the Han country can also choose to move to other areas to live.

So you should understand that there are not only white residents in Argentina and Uruguay, but also Chinese people who immigrated there a few months ago. Whether Argentina and Uruguay are willing to accept Han rule depends not only on white people, but also on the millions of local Chinese people who have a say. "

"Stop your brutal and barbaric behavior immediately, or the British Empire's fleet will make you pay a heavy price!"

Hu Yaqi's tough reply made the British envoy angry and he shouted, "Orientals who don't know their own limits, the cannons and ships of the British Empire will make you give up your ridiculous greed!"

"Sir, please do not be angry. The Han Kingdom has no intention of overestimating its own strength and becoming an enemy of Britain. What we need to do is to protect the results obtained by the bloodshed and sacrifice of the Han army under the current circumstances.

The British Empire is the most powerful empire in the world. We have no doubt that if you want, you can send 10,000, 20,000, or 100,000 troops to South America to fight again. But may I ask, Your Excellency, is there any practical benefit to the British Empire by doing so? "

"In order to maintain peace in South America and allow the Christians of Argentina and Uruguay to be bathed in the glory of the Lord again, the British Empire is willing to send an expeditionary force to fight any enemy!"

The British ambassador said proudly, holding his neck high.

"I don't deny that your answer sounds very exciting, but today is no longer the era of the Crusades. It is not very rational for your government to distinguish between enemies and friends based on skin color, religious beliefs and cultural differences. Because the skin color and culture of Argentines are similar to those of the British, your country helped the Argentines attack the Han country in the war.

The Argentine War has ended. Your country also paid the price of thousands of casualties in the battle more than a month ago. If your country continues to send reinforcements to interfere with the merger of Argentina and Han, how much more do you think it will cost to defeat the National Defense Army with more than 50 reserve troops? "…………

The first day of negotiations degenerated into a complete war of words between Hu Yaji and the British Minister to England, Austin. The British side asked for too high a price and showed no sincerity in the negotiations. Faced with the aggressive attitude of the British, Hu Yaji responded with neither arrogance nor servility, which showed that the Han State was unwilling to get involved in a long-term war dispute with Britain, and also fought back against the British blackmail of sending reinforcements again, showing the Han State's potential for war and its firm belief in protracted warfare.

Recommend a good book I found: "The Blood Age of the Five Barbarians"



(End of this chapter)