Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 426 Germans

On March 1889, 3, Li Mingyuan, together with the main generals of the army and navy, took a train from Chang'an Station and headed towards Huaiyang along the main railway line.

The next day, accompanied by dozens of young officers, Lieutenant General West, head of the German Officer Training Corps, Baron Roberts, the German Minister to China, and a group of nearly 100 people, followed different routes, crossed the Pampas Plain and headed towards the final destination of the exercise - Xinjing.

The Pampas Plain is flat and has few rugged hills, so long steam trains rarely encounter bumps and shakes during their journey.

A thick white smoke billowed out of the dark chimney and the rapidly moving locomotive made a "puff puff" sound of steam. The scenery outside the window seemed to be still and hardly changed as the train moved quickly.

The Pampas Plain is so large that the train has been running for several hours but has still not gotten out of the plain area where there is endless green and villages.

Green meadows, neatly planned brick and tile houses, and rows of unique willow and oak trees next to the settlements, these three different landscapes combine to form the most common scenery on the Pampas Plain.

Green grass, green trees, and villages. Although the scenery outside the train is harmonious and beautiful, it always feels monotonous and boring to keep watching the same scene for thousands of kilometers.

The rural scene in the central plains of the Han Kingdom has many similarities with that in the East Prussia region of Germany. Both the Pampas Plain and East Prussia have fertile black soil and rich local agricultural resources. They are both important agricultural production areas in the two countries. The only difference from the Han Kingdom is that East Prussia has an area of ​​only 3.6 square kilometers, while the Pampas Plain has an area of ​​76 square kilometers. The entire Pampas Plain black soil area is within the territory of the Han Kingdom.

Whether in industrial society or traditional feudal society, fertile agricultural land is the fundamental element of national strength.
Although the world is vast and has hundreds of countries, there are only four black soils with the best quality. The first is the East European black soil area, which includes the Ukrainian plains, the Polish plains, Belarus, and East Prussia in Germany, with an area of ​​about 190 million square kilometers; the second is the North American black soil area, which is distributed in the Mississippi River Basin in North America and covers an area of ​​about 120 million square kilometers; the third is the Northeast Black Soil Area, which is distributed in the Northeast Plain of the mainland and covers an area of ​​about 103 million square kilometers. It is an important commercial grain base on the mainland known as the "Northern Granary". The fourth is the Pampa prairie, which is located in the original Argentina connecting Uruguay, with an area of ​​76 square kilometers.

In the four black soil regions, Russia began to expand from the time of Vasily I (1371-1425), gradually annexing the Principality of Novgorod, the Khanate of Kazan, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and other countries, expanding the country's territory from a corner of Moscow to the entire Siberia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. The former powerful enemies, the Ottoman Empire and the Far Eastern Tatars, were trampled underfoot, and the Polish Kingdom, which was also of European race, was completely destroyed. The Ukrainian Plains originally occupied by Poland became the foundation for the rise of the Russian Empire.

The Russian Empire occupied about 80% of the territory of the Black Soil Region of Eastern Europe. In the competition with Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and other countries, it was inherently in an advantageous position. Even if it experienced one or two defeats, it would hardly threaten the foundation of the country.
Like the Russian Empire, other countries occupying three black soil areas also have inherent strategic advantages. Under this strategic advantage, as long as there are no extremely incompetent monarchs and arrogant and corrupt ruling classes in their own countries, even if they encounter several serious setbacks, they can use time to quickly recover. On the other hand, the neighboring countries that are enemies of the world's four major black soil areas can only achieve national rise if there are particularly wise monarchs and opportunities coincide with the domestic political chaos of the other party, and then decisively send troops to occupy the other party's black soil area. However, this probability is extremely rare throughout history. Even among the countries that now occupy four black soil areas, only the Russian Empire and the South American Han Kingdom have taken advantage of their latecomer advantage and used their military advantage to take the black soil area from other neighboring countries step by step in the hundreds of years after 1500. (The Northeast has been China's sovereignty since ancient times, and the United States has inherited the colonial rights of Britain and is not included.)
Where there is water, there are fish; where there are mountains, there are countless wild delicacies and endless fertile land.

Recalling what he had learned about the natural geography of the Han country since taking over the position of head of the German Officer Training Corps, Lieutenant General West could not help but feel a little worried about Germany's future strategic situation while feeling envious.

The Russian Empire occupied the Black Earth Region at a good time. In the 1500s, there were many small countries in Europe, which gave the Russian Empire time to grow stronger.
Although the Han Dynasty in South America missed the best opportunity to rise, fortunately, the Chinese in South America had a leader with excellent vision. The emperor of Han Dynasty not only possessed superb military talents and was good at gathering all kinds of talents around him for his use, but more importantly, he seemed to have a pair of eyes that could see through the future. Before every event involving changes in the situation in South America, he was always able to prepare a year or even several years in advance, and then at the most appropriate time when the incident broke out, he led the army to make the most correct decision in hindsight.

This was the case with the Peruvian Uprising in 1868, the Paraguayan War, and the subsequent First Argentine War, Second Argentine War, and First Anglo-Chinese War.

Win in the chaos of South America, take advantage of the wars and conflicts between Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Britain and the United States, and gradually expand the strength of the South American Han Kingdom.

Sometimes, West couldn't help but wonder, could it be that Li Mingyuan was really the Son of Taiyi as the Han people called him, the God Taiyi they believed in, who came down to save the Chinese in South America?

If this is not the case, how to explain Li Mingyuan's prophetic decisions every time?
West couldn't understand why Li Mingyuan always anticipated the enemy's advance, but he was also unwilling to attribute this reason to false claims such as divine enlightenment.

Because in his opinion, the so-called destiny theory advocated by the current Han people is exactly the same as the arrogant "God's favorites" of American whites. Of course, the difference between the two is that Americans inherited the colonial legacy left by Britain, and then shamelessly regarded the bullying and massacre of Indians as their own achievements, while the rise of the Han country in South America was just an accident of history. It enabled the Chinese in South America to have a rare leader like Li Mingyuan, who completed the transformation from wandering and helpless laborers to citizens of the great South American country.

Compared to the first time he met Chinese people in Peru 21 years ago, the impression West had of the Chinese people in Hanguo was completely different.
Twenty-one years ago, the Chinese laborers who occupied the Peruvian mines were all pale and thin, wearing labor clothes that barely covered their bodies, with braids on their heads and pessimism and fear about the future situation in their eyes. At that time, West believed that it was impossible for such a group of numb and thin slaves (Chinese workers at that time were slaves in the eyes of Westerners) to survive the encirclement and suppression of the Peruvian army. Therefore, West did not give the rebellious Chinese workers a chance to meet for the first time, but only sent a priest on the ship to negotiate with them.

Afterwards, the changes in the situation in South America completely exceeded West's expectations. The rebellious Chinese workers not only defeated the Peruvian army that came to encircle and suppress them, but also eventually established a country in South America.

Twenty-one years later, I set foot on South American soil for the third time.
Feeling the changes in the Chinese in South America, he recalled a Western myth. It is said that the phoenix will appear every five hundred years.
Immolate myself once in the fragrant wood, and then rise again from the ashes after death,

During the period of being sold as indentured laborers, they experienced tortures like death, and then after following the guidance of a leader, they awakened their will to fight. This may be another reason why the Chinese in South America were reborn from the ashes.

Thinking of the changes in the mental outlook of the Chinese in South America, West casually asked the naval officer Xu Zhixuan who was accompanying him, "Major, why did you choose to be a soldier?"

West's sudden question made Xu Zhixuan, who was also watching the scenery outside the window, feel a little strange. After a moment of silence, Xu Zhixuan replied seriously: "My motherland is suffering. My compatriots not only suffer from hunger and disease, but are also often bullied by foreigners. Now, in South America, the people outside the train window can eat white rice and fresh beef and mutton every day, children can get the opportunity to go to school, adults and children can be reunited, and there is no need to worry about oppression from the government and humiliation from foreigners. This is why I joined the army!" "Mr. Major, you are a real soldier, and I admire your spirit."

West felt that he had gotten the answer he wanted, and continued, "I have been to many places before. When I was in the mainland and Southeast Asia, I also encountered some cases where the British, Americans, and French bullied the Chinese. Although I am also white, I do not agree with their practice of bullying ordinary people."

"Thank you for your approval."

Xu Zhixuan said: "I am a soldier of the Han Kingdom, and also a Chinese. As long as overseas Chinese are still discriminated and humiliated by other countries, as long as our compatriots on the mainland are still under the brutal rule of the Qing court, and as long as the Han Kingdom cannot obtain the same international status as other countries, I will never take off my military uniform!"

The young soldiers were full of passion and were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of national rejuvenation. Eighteen years ago, like many Prussian soldiers, they held on to Xu Zhixuan's passionate belief and threw themselves into the all-out decisive battle against the French Empire.
In the Franco-Prussian War, Prussia won the victory and promoted the establishment of the German Empire, but the Second German Empire was only a small Germany. It did not complete the final unification of the German nation. Traditional German regions such as Austria, Bohemia, and Luxembourg were still independent. Moreover, the Franco-Prussian War did not hurt the foundation of France. The French Republic was recovering rapidly after the defeat.

In 1875, the Chancellor of the Empire, Bismarck, intended to launch a war against France to slow down the recovery of the French Republic, but he failed due to obstruction from Britain and Russia.
After 1875, the French Republic quickly recovered its strength. The colonies it controlled, which accounted for the second largest area in the world, provided nutrients for the development and growth of France. More than ten years later, France, which was even stronger than before the war, not only posed a threat to Germany again, but also used its huge economic power to continuously win over the Russian Empire to jointly fight against Germany.

Located in central Europe, the German Empire faces two powerful enemies, France and the Russian Empire, to the north and south. Although it is stronger than before unification, the pressure it faces is also greater!

Surrounded by powerful enemies, the situation faced by the German Empire is even worse than that of the South American Han Dynasty. If the South American Han Dynasty fails in its external expansion, it can still use its vast territory to resist the imperial attack, but once Germany weakens, it will inevitably face the situation of being divided up by the surrounding powers.

A number of small countries surrounding France and Germany are afraid of the threat from Germany. They will not give Germany a chance to rise again and take revenge. Therefore, there are only two paths before the German government. One is to defeat France and Russia and seize the black soil region of Eastern Europe and the land in the Rhine River basin that lay the foundation for the country's prosperity. The second is to accept the fate of being divided and be content to be a small country. As for developing peacefully and being a harmless good man, it can only be regarded as a dead end. France and the Russian Empire will not give Germany this opportunity.

With more contact with the Han army in South America, West also saw the shadow of Germany in the traditional history of the East.

Germany is similar to the Wei Kingdom during the Warring States Period, and Qin and Zhao are similar to the Russian Empire and France in Europe.

When Wei was strong, the surrounding countries united to attack it. When Wei was weak, it was attacked by other countries because of its central location and gradually faced the fate of being divided.

Because Wei State did not seize the opportunity to seize the Guanzhong region during its heyday, it gave Qin State a chance to overtake, and Germany also lost the opportunity to completely weaken the strength of the French Republic.

Wei is located in the center of the world, so it is difficult for it to maintain its strategic advantage over neighboring countries. Germany is located in the center of Europe. In order to suppress France's revenge, in addition to maintaining the growth of national strength, it must also seek more allies for support.
During the country's development, the Russian Empire was the most powerful ally, but under the inducement of France's economic big ticket, the Russian Empire became increasingly inclined towards France, and because of the conflict between Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the relationship between Germany and the Russian Empire was increasingly affected.

Outside of Europe, the Ottoman Empire was one of the allies that Germany favored. By winning over the Ottoman Empire, Germany could contain the Russian Empire from the side. By winning over the Han Empire in South America, Germany could provide much-needed overseas markets for its domestic industrial development.

The population and industry of Han State developed rapidly. The large number of industrial machinery ordered by the Han government and private sector from Germany each year brought considerable economic income to the German industrial sector. At the same time, the technological exchanges between Han State and Germany in emerging fields further improved the market competitiveness of Germany's emerging industries and provided strong support for Germany's chemical, electric power, and internal combustion engine industries to occupy the European market.

The countries and markets outside Europe were almost completely divided up by Britain and France. Although the closer Ottoman Empire had vast territory, more than 90% of its controlled area was desert. Its local resources were scarce and its total population was comparable to that of the Han Empire in South America, its industrial development level was far inferior to that of the Han Empire in South America, and the market share it could provide for Germany's local industry was limited. Therefore, in the field of overseas investment, the Han Empire in South America played an irreplaceable role for Germany.

Taking Germany's import and export volume in the past decade as an example, in 1880, Germany's total exports amounted to 29 billion marks and its total imports amounted to 28 billion marks. Among them, the import and export volume to China accounted for one seventh of the total, about 8.14 million marks.
In 1888, Germany's total imports and exports increased to 70 billion marks.

The total import and export volume with China climbed to 17 billion marks, accounting for about a quarter of Germany's total import and export volume.

China is Germany's largest overseas importer of agricultural and livestock products and processed agricultural products, and is also Germany's largest overseas exporter of industrial products. Among foreign-funded enterprises in South America, German capital accounts for about 65% of the market share. For Germany, German capital in China accounts for about 72% of Germany's entire overseas investment market.

Whether in the economic or political field, the cooperation between Germany and Han has real benefits for both sides. Moreover, after Han restored its political relations with Britain, in order to avoid the relationship between Han and Germany being influenced by the British, the ties between Germany and Han were strengthened again. In some aspects that Han cared about more (such as restrictions on overseas students and the issue of the Berlin Conference in 1884), necessary explanations and a certain degree of compromise were given. These were the main purposes of West and Roberts, the Chinese Minister to Han.

(End of this chapter)