Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 400: Great Army Expansion

On January 1889, 1, at the annual grand court meeting of the South American Han Kingdom, Li Mingyuan first announced the preparations for constitutionalism and the establishment of the order of succession to the crown prince. Later, he made resolutions on several major issues related to local development.

“The living standards of local people are improving year by year, and the conflicts between newly naturalized immigrants and local people are becoming more and more serious.

More than 95 percent of the new immigrants came from poor families before arriving in the mainland. They had no money and were in debt to the government, ship gangs, and human traffickers. After being screened at coastal ports and allowed to enter the mainland, in order to pay off their accumulated debts and to live a life with land and food, the new immigrants generally entered low-threshold, low-tech fields such as dock laborers, rickshaw drivers, and rural peddlers.

It is not easy for both new and old people to make money to make a living. It is not surprising that the people who settled down earlier are worried that the new immigrants will take away their jobs and are dissatisfied.

However, through some of the conflicts and contradictions between new and old immigrants, you should also see the essential facts that go straight to the core of the problem.

Why are new immigrants more competitive in low-tech fields than some old immigrants? The local population grows naturally by more than 400,000 people each year, and the number of immigrants entering the local area by various means reaches 600,000. The local population can achieve rapid growth just by adding new population. Why do we need to go to the trouble of introducing immigrants from the Far East across half the world?

Li Mingyuan asked two questions at once, looked at the inconspicuous He Ziyuan in the corner, and asked seriously: "Lin Shu, what do you think?"

Having been given the opportunity to attend court affairs, He Ziyuan guessed that Li Mingyuan might test him in public in the court. Therefore, after hearing Li Mingyuan's question, he quickly adjusted his mood after a brief excitement and answered in an orderly manner: "Your Majesty, I think that citizens are the foundation of a country. If the number of citizens is insufficient, the country's development will be restricted.
Looking at the fields of industry, military, and agriculture, a large number of young labor forces are needed to supplement the input.

Although most of the new immigrants are illiterate and unable to engage in skilled work, the more than 600,000 new immigrants in the fields of agriculture and low-end light industry each year can bring huge benefits to the overall development of the country. "

"Good answer."

Li Mingyuan affirmed He Ziyuan's opinion and added: "Whether from the perspective of national justice or practical needs, the policy of continuing to obtain immigrants from the Far East will not change in the next 20 years.

"

"Your Majesty is wise. The empire's territory spans thousands of miles from north to south, with countless fertile fields. Adhering to the immigration policy will greatly benefit the homeland. We cannot stop the immigration transportation operation just because of the opposition of some people."

"The number of local citizens is only over 1700 million, which is far from enough compared with the Western powers. It is a mistake to discuss the suspension of the immigration transportation plan now. I implore Your Majesty to severely punish those who proposed this resolution!"

The emperor made it clear that he supported continuing with the immigration and transportation policy, and the officials below all agreed.

"The fundamental reason for the conflict between new and old immigrants is the low level of education among the people. Some people who immigrated to the country earlier either missed the age of education or had a low ability to accept new things, which made it impossible for them to keep up with the pace of national development. They could only sell their physical labor to compete with new immigrants for low labor remuneration. This phenomenon will continue to exist while the immigration transportation operation continues.
The first generation of immigrants had a low degree of plasticity. Even if they received a simple literacy education, most of them could not meet the standards for entering the core industrial sectors. Therefore, from the very beginning of the immigration transportation operation, the central government (the word government is easy to harmonize, so it is replaced by the government) positioned the first generation of immigrants as agricultural and primary industrial workers, rather than core heavy industry builders. "

Li Mingyuan paused for a while, observed the reactions of the people in the palace, and continued to explain: "In the early days of the founding of the country, the mainland will be in a transitional stage from an agricultural society to an industrial society for a long time. In this process, agriculture, animal husbandry, and agricultural product processing are the main driving forces for promoting national development. Without the immigrants who migrate every year to invest in agricultural and animal husbandry production, and without the first generation of immigrants who account for about 90% of the total population and work hard in low-tech fields, the mainland will not be able to obtain the start-up funds needed to develop industry within 21 years.

Industry and agriculture are the foundation of a country. New immigrants who have no special skills but only labor force and international students who have received Western education are also citizens of the Han Empire. Regardless of their contributions in the economic field, they are equal in terms of law and society. This is the significance of implementing a constitutional monarchy. It is also the effort that a member of the ancient Chinese ethnic group should make for their compatriots in the Far East who are in difficult conditions.

Therefore, it is totally unnecessary to expand the conflicts between the new and old immigrants. As court officials, your responsibility is to thoroughly implement the policy of encouraging childbirth, solve the worries of the first generation of immigrants, and allow them to actively reproduce and give birth to offspring for the country. Then, based on the foundation of the new generation of babies, educate their children from elementary school, and complete the task of universal education from the second generation of local newborns, and then raise the education level of the new generation of citizens to a level that meets the requirements of industrial development. "

"Your Majesty is wise, and we will keep your teachings in mind."…………

The grand court meeting lasted for the whole morning. At about 1889:1894 p.m., the civil servants who participated in the meeting left the palace one after another, while the main generals of the army and navy were left in the hall of the Council of State. "Everyone has seen the timetable for the implementation of the constitutional system. The preparation for the constitution took place from to . During the preparation period for the constitution, the court government agencies and the army and navy agencies were to undergo large-scale reforms.
The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Navy, as the agencies responsible for the daily management of the army and navy, will be incorporated into the national government system, and the Minister of War and the Minister of Navy will become members of the Cabinet and be under the jurisdiction of the Chief Minister of the Cabinet.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask, should the daily training of the army and navy and the replacement of weapons of the troops and fleets also be reported to the Prime Minister of the Cabinet?"

"Yes, issues such as the daily management of the army and military expenditures must be reported to the Prime Minister, but the power of review and approval does not lie entirely in the hands of the Prime Minister.

In addition to the cabinet, a new Military Affairs Management Committee will be established. I will concurrently serve as the head of the committee, and its main members will be composed of the Minister of Army and Navy, the Chief of Staff of the Army and Navy, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, and the heads of various cabinet departments. All matters related to the daily management of the army and the troops' external operations will first be reported to the cabinet, and then reviewed and decided by the Military Affairs Committee, and finally handed over to the Army and Navy General Staff for unified implementation. "

The power to manage the daily affairs of the army and formulate combat plans was divided into two different departments. However, because the army and navy lacked prestigious generals, the positions of Minister of the Army, Minister of the Navy, Army Chief of Staff, and Navy Chief of Staff were always held concurrently by Emperor Li Mingyuan.
Li Mingyuan had to handle several duties and all matters, big and small, had to be handled by him. Even though he had extraordinary energy, he gradually felt overwhelmed. Therefore, taking the opportunity of the constitutional monarchy reform, Li Mingyuan planned to resign from some of his duties and delegate the four most core positions of the army and navy to military generals.

"The Imperial Army has fought hundreds of battles, both large and small. All of you generals are the backbone of the country, with rich military experience and outstanding command capabilities. Therefore, I would like to select suitable candidates from among you to take over the four important positions of Minister of the Army and Navy and Chief of the Army and Navy Staff."

Li Mingyuan spoke slowly and calmly, but it caused a huge wave among nearly a hundred generals. The Minister of the Army and Navy and the Chief of Staff are the highest positions in the army. It can be said that it is the dream of all imperial officers and soldiers to be able to hold one of these positions. As senior generals of the army, they undoubtedly have more opportunities to touch the core positions of the Imperial Defense Forces than ordinary officers and soldiers.

Nearly a hundred generals all focused their eyes on Li Mingyuan. Seeing everyone's fiery eyes, Li Mingyuan laughed and said, "I have made a preliminary decision on the candidates for the four chiefs of the army and navy. The position of Minister of the Army is planned to be held by Luo Linshan, the commander of the First Division, and the position of Chief of the Army General Staff is planned to be held by Zhao Yongzeng. The Chief of Staff of the Navy and the Minister of the Navy will be held by Chen Sen and Li Han respectively. As for the vacancies left by the four generals after they are promoted to the positions of the four chiefs, as well as the positions added at all levels in the 1890 military expansion plan, the results of the joint military exercises between the army and the navy will be used as the basis for evaluation."

A small war every three to five years and a big war every ten years. The ever-changing situation around South America and the continued penetration of the United States into the economic fields of South American countries forced Li Mingyuan to advance the military expansion plan again.

"In the army, the number of cavalry and artillery divisions remains at around 1, and the heavy artillery regiment receives locally produced 155mm heavy artillery and is expanded into an independent artillery brigade with a strength of 5200.

The number of main infantry divisions increased to twelve, four new infantry divisions were added, and the number of troops increased from 1.2 to 1.5 and 1.8 respectively.
1.8 people are organized into Class A infantry divisions, equipped with an additional 105mm artillery regiment and a heavy machine gun battalion, and are prepared to be organized into four Class A infantry divisions. 1.5 people are organized into Class B infantry divisions, equipped with standardized weapons, and are prepared to be organized into eight Class B infantry divisions.

The Class A and Class B Infantry Divisions both directly command four large infantry regiments, each of which has been expanded from 2200 to 3000 people.
Large infantry regiments use the small platoon and large company system, with an infantry platoon of 32 people.
A company consists of four infantry platoons, one heavy squad, and a company headquarters, totaling 183 people.

A battalion consists of three companies with a total of 657 people.

Each regiment will have an additional heavy machine gun company, each equipped with six heavy machine guns.

The 3000st, 9000nd and rd mixed brigades were reorganized, with each brigade consisting of two large regiments of men, with artillery battalions, guard battalions, engineering battalions and other units, totaling men.
After the great expansion of the army,
The total strength of the army has been expanded to 23. In terms of the navy, the surface ship force has 4500 people, the marines have 4000 people, and the island and base garrison and attached forces have 7000 people. The total strength of the army and navy is about 25. "

Li Mingyuan told everyone the main content of the military expansion plan, and then reminded them: "The King of Paraguay, Lopez Jr., is seriously ill. In order to cope with the changes in Paraguay, the military expansion must be completed within a year and a half!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"The joint military exercise between the army and navy is also of utmost importance. All departments of the army and navy must make good coordination and preparations, and no major mistakes can be made!"…………

(End of this chapter)