Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 433 Paraguay Chaos
Thousands of kilometers south of Salvador, the capital of the Brazilian Empire,

Paraguay is located in the subtropical humid climate zone. When it enters the late autumn and early winter season, the cold current from the Antarctic region to the north and the warm current from the Amazon basin to the south meet here, resulting in a period of heavy rainfall and cooling weather.

Continuous rain fell from the sky, hitting the fertile black soil and splashing out turbid water droplets.

The temperature suddenly dropped by twelve degrees compared to yesterday. On the streets of Asuncion, more than 200 soldiers who were used to wearing cool summer uniforms yesterday immediately changed into thicker autumn and winter gray uniforms after feeling the sudden drop in temperature.

Wearing warm and thick military uniforms and a batch of green rubber raincoats purchased from our southern neighbor, they did not feel the slightest bit of cold even when the big raindrops hit their bodies.

Unlike the capital's guards who were well-equipped with complete protective gear, the officials and officers in various clothes, some in suits, and some in tattered clothes who had just been driven out of their warm homes, did not receive the same treatment as Lopez Jr.'s guards.

The rain hit them without any shelter, soaking their clothes. The gentlemanly posture that they had carefully dressed in the past was no longer there under the ravages of the cold rain.

Before yesterday, no matter how prominent their identities and status were, after today, they were considered guilty by King Lopez the Younger and had only one common identity: traitors and criminals who opposed the great king!

Any Paraguayan charged with such a crime would either face direct execution or be imprisoned, awaiting the final decision of His Majesty Lopez Jr.

Standing on the dirty and filthy street, Colonel Mariano Alonso looked at the animal excrement floating on the sewage not far away. He said in disgust: "Damn it! Damn bad weather! Damn sewer pipes!"

Colonel Mariano Alonso angrily vented his dissatisfaction with the scene before him and asked the officer beside him: "How many people are still on the arrest list who have not been caught?"

"A total of 148 people were arrested in the central and northern urban areas, 6 escaped, and 72 people in other urban residential areas have not been arrested."

"Hurry up! Ignore the six people who escaped capture for now, and capture the remaining 6 people on the list first!"

Colonel Mariano Alonso urged, not wanting to stay on the sewage-filled street for even a minute.

"Yes, Colonel."

The officer next to him accepted the order, turned around and left, taking a small team of more than forty or fifty people, left the crowd and rushed towards another urban area.

Looking at the squad's figures completely disappearing in the rain, Colonel Mariano Alonso smiled.

"Major Mussman, gather up all the criminal property we collected this morning. I want to personally check and verify it."

"Yes, Colonel."

Another officer answered loudly with a flattering smile on his face: "Colonel, according to the previous rules, the collected silver dollars, bank deposits, and jewelry are classified and recorded in the book. Don't worry, not a single silver dollar will be missing."

"Come on, take me to see you."

Colonel Mariano Alonso nodded and ordered several officers to lead the soldiers to guard the captured criminals, while he and more than a dozen other officers and soldiers walked into a house next to the street.

"Give half of the jewels collected and seized this time to Mrs. Lynch, and report the remaining 60%. The remaining 40% will be divided into two parts. One will be distributed to officers below the rank of captain in the First Guards Regiment, and the other will be distributed according to the old rules to the battalion commanders of the First Guards Regiment and officers above the rank of major in the regiment headquarters."

After sending away the officers sent by King Lopez Jr. to supervise, the Paraguayan Army, which was responsible for capturing the criminals, Colonel Mariano Alonso, commander of the 1st Guard Regiment, skillfully distributed the collected and seized contraband.

Colonel Mariano Alonso's distribution plan protected the interests of all relevant personnel. Mrs. Lynch was the lover of King Lopez Jr. Because she did not have a formal status, she was not sure whether her son could successfully succeed Lopez Jr.'s power and ascend to the high position of King of Paraguay. Therefore, in order to make up for the regret of not having a formal status, Mrs. Lynch took advantage of King Lopez Jr.'s favor for her and tried her best to collect money.

Following the lead of Mrs. Lynch, Colonel Mariano Alonso got the lucrative job of arresting traitors, and while continuously paying Mrs. Lynch a share of the profits, he also used his power to amass a considerable fortune for himself. By taking care of the upper class and using some of the benefits to win over lower-level officers and soldiers, Colonel Mariano Alonso was able to find a shortcut to promotion and wealth in the chaotic and turbulent situation in Paraguay.

Of course, actions that bring huge rewards also carry huge risks. Following a suspicious and paranoid monarch like Lopez Jr. also means huge risks. A year ago, because he was worried that his generals had too much prestige, Lopez Jr. dismissed the Marquis of Istigalibi from his post and forced him to retire from active service.

Six months ago, someone reported that the commander of the Guards, Major General Pelham Horton, was disloyal to the country. He was dismissed from his post by Lopez Jr. and imprisoned in Asuncion Prison. Half a month later, Major General Pelham Horton committed suicide.

Four months ago, Lopez Jr. arrested and executed 270 soldiers, 12 colonels and 3 generals on the pretext that some people in the army were suspected of conspiracy, treason and corruption. As a result of this incident, another 47 officers and more than 1000 soldiers were detained and punished.

The objects of Lopez Jr.'s suspicion have expanded from government officials and businessmen to the military. The continuous heavy rains and dam breaches, leading to a series of Indian rebellions in the north, may increase his suspicion and anger.

Since the restructuring of the Kingdom of Paraguay, not to mention that some generals who control local military and political power have been in a state of separatism and are dissatisfied with Lopez Jr., even the close officers, lovers, and relatives around Lopez Jr. have been busy plundering money and transferring property to plan a way out for themselves.

The Chinese Embassy in Paraguay is the most popular place for Paraguayan dignitaries, because through the Chinese Embassy, ​​they can deposit or transfer the looted property abroad, and relying on the close relationship established with the Chinese Embassy in the early stage, if the domestic situation in Paraguay encounters an irreversible crisis, they will have the opportunity to obtain help from the Chinese Embassy and escape from Paraguay, which is a powder keg full of explosives.

Colonel Mariano Alonso, like other Paraguayan nobles, planned ahead and prepared a way out. He did not want the property he had worked so hard to collect and accumulate to be given to others in the end. Therefore, since he was promoted to the commander of the 1st Regiment of the Guards two years ago, he began to transfer the collected money abroad through various secret methods.

The situation in Paraguay has developed to the point where anyone with a bit of foresight knows that the Lopez family's rule will not last long.

All adult men over the age of twelve in the country were required to perform compulsory military service, while the elderly and women were used as free labor, growing grain and cotton in the fields for Lopez Jr.'s army.

Although Lopez Jr. had promised to pay his soldiers and hard-working women after the war with the Brazilians, he never did so.

Civilians in Paraguay gradually became fed up with Lopez Jr.'s brutal rule. The Indians in the newly occupied areas and areas near Bolivia were the first to launch an armed rebellion against Lopez Jr. Although Paraguayan civilians in other areas did not respond to the uprising due to their fear of Lopez Jr.'s brutality, they also resisted his oppression with a passive attitude.

Every year, hundreds of Uruguayan women who could not bear the oppression near the Uruguay River risked their lives to smuggle into the areas controlled by the Han State. However, the checkpoints near the Han border, out of conscience and with the arrangement of the Han State, deliberately relaxed the supervision of the border waters and allowed the smuggled Uruguayan women to enter the Han territory.

Because of the existence of Lopez Jr. and the apparent loyalty of most of the army, Uruguay can still maintain superficial unity. However, as the scale of floods and rebellions continues to spread, I am afraid that the situation in Paraguay will completely collapse before Lopez Jr. dies.

As a member of the Paraguayan Army, Colonel Mariano Alonso had no intention of saving the Lopez regime that was about to collapse, because when he saw that more than half of the land in Paraguay belonged to the Lopez family, he realized that trying to save such a regime was purely unnecessary.

A cool breeze mixed with rain blew in from under the house. Colonel Mariano Alonso and his officers discussed how to deal with the looted property. They were preparing to escort the prisoners to meet up with another team when they received an urgent message.

"Colonel, His Majesty orders you to return to the military camp immediately!"

“Is there a problem on the front line in Tobogganu Grosso do Sul?”

"A large-scale collapse of the Apa River embankment occurred, and the troops temporarily stationed near the Apa River basin were hit by the flood and suffered heavy losses.

His Majesty is worried that the situation on the front line will get out of control, so he ordered the 1st Guards Regiment, the Guards Cavalry Battalion, the 3rd Artillery Battalion, and the Engineer Battalion to assemble and wait for orders to go out at any time! "

The messenger repeated Lopez Jr.'s order and urged, "Your Majesty is going to personally lead the Asuncion Guards to the front to supervise the battle. Before I leave, all the scheduled troops have received the order. Your Majesty is in a hurry. Colonel Mariano Alonso, I hope you can hurry back to assemble the troops!"

"Thank you for your reminder. I will go back to the barracks now to assemble the troops and wait for orders."

Colonel Mariano Alonso thanked the messenger officer for his reminder, and then handed the remaining matters to his trusted officer Masman, and he quickly returned to the barracks with more than 200 soldiers.

(End of this chapter)