Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 327 Songkhla III

"The first batch of 1000 imitation Dresser breech-loading rifles are all here. Please inspect them, City Lord Song."

After landing at Songkhla Port, Mei Dongxing, Liang Xing and Chen Xinggui led more than 1200 soldiers from the Nanyang Legion to the City Lord's Mansion, greeted by Wu Jin and others.

"About two-thirds of the troops stationed in the Natuna Islands will be withdrawn to China to receive new weapons. The batch of imitation Dresser breech-loading rifles they are equipped with are already a bit outdated. These weapons will be disposed of for free to the Songkhla Army. Lord Wu, just treat them as waste and don't laugh at our Nanyang Army for being stingy."

"Master Mei is joking. General Li knows the situation of Songkhla's army's weapons and equipment. I am very grateful to you for sending a thousand breech-loading rifles for free."

Looking at the breech-loading rifles on the Zibo heavy vehicles, Song Jin's face was full of smiles.

Southeast Asia was a hunting ground for colonial competition among Western powers. Britain, France and the Netherlands had very strict control over foreign weapons. At the same time, due to the long distance and inconvenient transportation between European industrial countries and Southeast Asia, a second-hand muzzle-loading rifle could be sold at a high price of 6 taels of silver in Southeast Asia. As for various breech-loading rifles, the starting price would be at least 15 taels of silver.

Although the Dreiser rifle was invented in 1841, its performance is quite different from the Remington rifle and Mauser 1871 rifle equipped by Western troops in recent years. However, the Dreiser rifle imitated by the Han Dynasty is also a breech-loading rifle after all. It has absorbed and borrowed the production skills of other types of breech-loading rifles. After being improved and perfected on the basis of the original version, the army equipped with the imitated Dreiser rifle can also fight against the Western colonial army.

Songkhla's family was small and his business was insignificant. When Mei Dongxing sent him a thousand imitation Dreyse rifles that were discarded by the Nanyang Corps, he was so happy that he didn't mind at all.

"The problem of armed separatism in Songkhla needs to be solved urgently. The Nanyang Corps has not yet equipped itself with Hanhua 1875 rifles. In order to help the Lord of Songkhla unify the military and political affairs of Songkhla as soon as possible, we can only make do with the imitation Dresser rifles. In another two months, when the transport fleet departing from South America arrives in Nanyang, the Nanyang Corps will select a batch of 1875 Hanhua rifles for the new Songkhla army to use."

Mei Dongxing spoke in a gentle manner as he handed over a thin list.

"The next batch of weapons, equipment and mechanical supplies to aid Songkhla are all on it. City Lord Wu, please take a look."

"Hand-cranked machine guns, 75mm field guns, 105mm howitzers, rifle production lines..."

Wu Jin carefully scanned the names of the weapons and equipment on the list. He was a little skeptical and said, "Master Mei, are the weapons and equipment on the list real? How could Songkhla get so many weapons and supplies at once?"

"It's true. Every weapon on the list will be included."

"But Songkhla's fiscal revenue is only 100,000 silver dollars a year. So many weapons and equipment, especially the three imitation Dresser production lines and two rifle ammunition production lines, are extremely precious. Songkhla cannot afford to buy them."

Rifles, hand-cranked machine guns, and cannons all made Wu Jin envious, and the rifle production line and the accompanying ammunition production line were beyond description. With the rifle and ammunition production lines, Songkhla would be able to independently produce the weapons and equipment needed by the army, and be self-sufficient in major weapons and equipment. When facing danger again in the future, even if the Nanyang Corps could not provide timely assistance, relying on the weapons and ammunition produced independently, the reorganized Songkhla new army would be able to resist the invading army alone for a period of time, thus buying precious time for the Nanyang Corps to provide support and for the Han Kingdom to intervene in the situation.

"Haha, City Lord Wu doesn't need to worry about the price. His Royal Highness the King of Han said that he doesn't want a penny for the weapons and equipment on the list. This batch of weapons and equipment can be regarded as a betrothal gift to Miss Wu a year ago, and it is given to City Lord Wu for free." "How can this be allowed? It is a blessing for my daughter to marry His Royal Highness the King of Han. I dare not accept such a precious betrothal gift from His Royal Highness the King of Han."

If his daughter marries Li Mingyuan, as long as the relationship between his daughter and Li Mingyuan does not change, Songkhla will always receive support and help from Li Mingyuan. After realizing this, Wu Jin, who was overly excited after seeing the weapons list, gradually regained his senses and quickly declined the offer to avoid giving Li Mingyuan the impression that he was greedy, which would in turn lead to Li Mingyuan's neglect of his daughter.

"Lord Wu, please don't refuse again and again. It is very difficult to obtain this batch of weapons and supplies in the Nanyang region, but in South America, it only takes two more months to produce another batch of rifles and artillery. Moreover, the local area is already able to independently manufacture the production line of Hanhua 1875 rifles. The three imitation Dresser rifle production lines and two ammunition production lines are of little significance to the local area. So Lord Song can accept it without worry. After all, this is also the intention of His Highness. If the Lord keeps refusing, His Highness will not look good."

"Thank you, Master Mei, for your advice. Due to matters concerning Songkhla, I cannot leave to go to South America to attend His Highness's coronation ceremony. I can only ask Master Mei to convey my gratitude to His Highness on behalf of Songkhla."

"Don't worry, City Lord Wu. I will definitely convey your message."

Mei Dongxing persuaded Song Jin to accept the weapons and supplies given by Li Mingyuan, and continued, "The competition between the English, French, and Dutch for colonization in the Nanyang region is becoming increasingly fierce. In the next ten years, the focus of the Han Kingdom will be on the construction of industrial and agricultural facilities and economic development in South America. It may not be possible to send more armed forces to the Nanyang region. Therefore, after eliminating the separatist armed forces in the Central Malay Peninsula, Songkhla must strengthen internal military and economic construction and establish a reliable new army to prevent future war crises."

"The situation in Songkhla is extremely precarious. If it weren't for the support of His Royal Highness the King of Han and the help of the others, Songkhla would have fallen into the hands of the British just because of the Argentine war."

Mei Dongxing's words aroused Wu Jin's sense of crisis. He frowned and said, "Thailand is pressing forward step by step. The British are constantly inciting local indigenous chiefs to provoke in the border areas. To be honest, since I inherited the position of Lord of Songkhla, I have never slept well. I am afraid that when I wake up, the Thai army or the British colonial army will attack and I will lose the century-old foundation passed down by my ancestors."

“The situation in Songkhla is indeed not optimistic.”

Mei Dongxing nodded in agreement with the other party's concerns and said, "Songkhla is surrounded by enemies. If it wants to protect itself, it can only carry out reforms and innovations, strengthen the army and enrich the country. There is no other way."

"Wu also had the idea of ​​emulating local reforms, but was unable to put it into action due to the small area and many internal entanglements."

"Lord Wu, don't worry about the internal armed separatism in Songkhla. We will start to solve it after the troops have been reorganized for three days. As for the economy and domestic affairs, we will remove the constraints of the internal armed forces and cut off the tentacles of Thailand reaching out to Songkhla. You can use the reason that the war is too costly and the people are exhausted to reduce the fiscal revenue submitted to Thailand. At the same time, we will imitate the local military system and establish a complete reserve system in the four prefectures and one state of Songkhla, recruit young and strong people of appropriate age to join the army, and increase Songkhla's reserve military potential."

"Master Mei is right. Military strength is the foundation of reform and innovation. Only by building a solid new army can we ensure the solidity of reform and innovation measures."

Liang Xing stood up, bowed to Wu Jin, and suggested, "The army, military system, military facilities, and military industry are important criteria for the comprehensive strength of a country's army. The army and military construction can be completely imitated from the local army for reform. In terms of military industry, in two months, a group of military factory technicians will arrive in Nanyang by ship to assist Songkhla in the construction, installation, and operation of rifle and ammunition production lines. As for military facilities, Songkhla is surrounded by the sea on both sides and has many mountains inland. We can take advantage of the geographical location and choose dangerous areas to build fortifications and fortresses to resist threats from the sea and the land in the north and south."…………

Under the persuasion and suggestions of Liang Xing and Mei Dongxing, and seeing the brilliant performance of the Han State in the Argentine War, Wu Jin quickly made up his mind to imitate the Han State model and carry out reforms.

(End of this chapter)