Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 43: Welcoming at the City Gate
Two days later, in front of the city gate of Arequipa, Liu Pu and a group of senior generals of the Independence Army stood in front of the city gate to welcome Li Mingyuan's return.

"Chief of Staff Liu, did the prince really bring back a large sum of gold?" asked Captain Wu Feipeng of the Big Knife Team.

"Yes, you will see it soon when the prince comes back." Liu Pu said with a smile.

The news that Li Mingyuan discovered gold under the guidance of God has spread throughout the Chinese Independence Army in the past two days.

Because of the first incident of the Father’s message in a dream, the soldiers of the Independence Army quickly believed it.

There is no doubt about the Heavenly Father's instruction to move to southern Brazil. Now the independence army soldiers are not anxious about settling down in the Barranca, but when to move to southern Brazil.
We learned from the soldiers who returned early that there are few people and much land in southern Brazil, and every Chinese soldier who arrives there can get 300 acres of land.

The concept of 300 mu of land was clear to the Chinese workers, most of whom were farmers.
In the plains of the mainland, a small village has only two or three hundred acres of land in total, and one thousand acres is the land area of ​​a village.

When all the Chinese Independence Army soldiers heard what the returning soldiers said, they were excited. Three hundred acres of land was enough for a Chinese to become a big landowner.

"Chief of Staff, is the land distribution true? Has the prince told you about it?" Wu Feipeng asked like a curious baby.

There is no way around it. Land is of great significance to the Chinese. No matter in the past or now, once the Chinese have money, the first thing they think of is to buy land.
The Chinese are a hardworking farming people with a natural affinity for the land. However, due to five thousand years of development and population growth, the soil on the mainland has degraded a lot, and each person has even less land.

"Prince, I discussed this matter with you before we set off. The area of ​​Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil is 28.1 square kilometers, which is almost twice the size of Shandong Province, but the population is only . After we arrive there, each person will occupy acres of land, and there will still be a lot of land left to be distributed."

After the Battle of Arequipa, Li Mingyuan and Liu Pu agreed that in order to motivate the soldiers to move to southern Brazil, before leaving Peru, they would spread the news that each ordinary soldier would receive 300 acres of land.
So after Li Mingyuan found the treasure, he moved to southern Brazil without any worries. Li Mingyuan and Liu Pu spread the news together.

"Chief of Staff, ordinary soldiers can get 300 acres of land, so how much can I, the captain of the big knife team, get?" Wu Feipeng looked at Liu Pu eagerly.

"Captain Wu, of course it's three hundred acres of land." Liu Pu said with a smile.

Liu Pu laughed lightly, but Wu Feipeng couldn't laugh.

"Chief of Staff Liu, why do I have so little land? An ordinary soldier has 300 acres of land, and I, the captain of the big knife team, also have 300 acres. Wouldn't my previous contributions be in vain?"

"Haha, Captain Wu, don't be so angry. Just listen to what I have to say."

Liu Pu was in a good mood today and teased Wu Feipeng for a rare moment. But when he saw that Wu Feipeng was really about to get angry, he immediately stopped teasing him.

"It is true that officers and soldiers are given 300 acres of land each before departure. These 300 acres of land belong entirely to the soldiers themselves and can be bought and sold freely. However, in addition to the 300 acres of land, the prince will also reward land based on military rank and merit."

"That's more like it. By the way, what is a military rank?" Wu Feipeng nodded and asked again.

"Military rank is a title given to military officers by the Crown Prince, just like the titles of Baihu and Qianhu in the Ming Dynasty."

The transition to southern Brazil requires a long march, and the current loose command system is not competent for the combat requirements during the march, so Li Mingyuan decided to reorganize the troops systematically before the transition. And this reorganization will serve as a model to lay the foundation for the country's main national defense force system in the future.

Liu Pu and Wu Feipeng were having a lively conversation, when they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves.

"The prince is back."

The soldiers in front of the city gate shouted excitedly. In the middle of the desert ahead, Li Mingyuan and a dozen cavalrymen first appeared in everyone's sight, followed by thousands of carriages. Li Mingyuan rode slowly in front of the convoy, and the fiery red sunset reflected on him, adding a touch of mystery.

"May God protect us, and long live the prince." Under the setting sun, Li Mingyuan's figure was like a god of war walking out of the sun. The shocked soldiers who came to greet him knelt down and shouted "Long live the prince".

At this moment, in the eyes of the Chinese soldiers, Li Mingyuan was no longer a mortal, but a god sent by God to save them.

Li Mingyuan looked at the scene in front of him with satisfaction. Although he used the Heavenly Father's descent to the earth to deceive the Chinese soldiers, he did not regret it.

In the desperate situation where the Chinese in South America are surrounded by enemies on all sides, and there is no so-called Heavenly Father to save the people who believe in him, Li Mingyuan is willing to pretend to be the God in the hearts of the Chinese in South America, lead them out of the desperate situation and establish a new Chinese paradise.

Liu Pu knelt on the ground like other soldiers. He did not believe in the trick of God descending to earth, but he did not want to question Li Mingyuan's use of God descending to earth to maintain people's hearts.

Liu Pu was in a very conflicted mood at the moment. He could imagine the expressions of the Chinese soldiers without even looking up.

From this moment on, the soldiers' admiration for Li Mingyuan became indelible.

Li Mingyuan had complete control over the Chinese troops. If someone opposed Li Mingyuan's transfer to southern Brazil during the occupation of Barranca, perhaps a small number of soldiers would follow him.

But from now on, if anyone said anything bad about Li Mingyuan, he would be beaten to death by the soldiers around him, not to mention inciting the soldiers to rebel.

Li Mingyuan was young and kind to others. He would ask about the well-being of ordinary soldiers who were injured. When transporting gold, Li Mingyuan personally moved the gold onto the car box by box.

Therefore, Li Mingyuan's image in the soldiers' hearts is full and vivid.

Unlike the previous Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan who was high and mighty, in contrast, the soldiers treated Li Mingyuan as the true one chosen by God, while Hong Xiuquan became a failure.

The soldiers' fanatical belief in Li Mingyuan was exactly what Liu Pu was worried about.

Hearing only one side of the story leads to error, while hearing both sides leads to enlightenment. Liu Pu was worried that Li Mingyuan would become arrogant because of the soldiers' fanatical beliefs and would not listen to other people's advice.

Overconfident rulers never have a good ending. Although the Chinese Independence Army won victory after victory, the Chinese were still rootless in South America and could not withstand any blows. A careless failure during the transition could lead to the demise of the entire army.

Liu Pu knelt on the ground and thought hard, and finally decided to talk to Li Mingyuan in the evening and tell him his concerns.

"Brothers, please stand up quickly. We are all equal brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of Heaven. I declare that from now on, the kneeling ceremony will be abolished." Li Mingyuan had no idea what Liu Pu was thinking and was still using means to win people's hearts.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom called for equality for all, but in reality it was still a feudal system of rule. Not only did subordinates have to kneel and kowtow to their superiors, but there were still many inequalities between ordinary Taiping soldiers and officers.

Absolute fairness is the greatest injustice. Li Mingyuan has never thought of promoting complete egalitarianism, but he still wants to abolish insulting etiquette such as kneeling.

Li Mingyuan wanted to build a new country full of vigor and self-improvement, with self-respect, self-confidence and self-reliance. He wanted to abolish and change all the bad dregs of humiliating and enslaving education.

It will take some time to establish the country, but based on the soldiers' reactions today, Li Mingyuan can't wait to reach southern Brazil to implement his plan. He plans to provide new education to the soldiers in the period before the transfer.

(End of this chapter)