Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 439 Layout and Preparation

After confirming the authenticity of the Rio de Janeiro Shipyard's ability to build 4000-ton armored cruisers on its own, Li Mingyuan was a little surprised at first.

In the late 19s, apart from the European powers such as Britain, France, Germany and Russia, the only countries that could independently complete the construction of ironclad ships over 80 tons were the United States, China and Japan.
Now, with the completion and commissioning of the Admiral Mandel armored cruiser, the Republic of Brazil, a country located in a remote corner of the world and plagued by internal conflicts, has also joined the ranks of countries that independently build ironclad ships.

Armored cruisers are the product of the development of the modern industrial system and a symbol of a country's comprehensive industrial strength. The fact that the Rio de Janeiro Shipyard can build a 4000-ton armored cruiser shows that the Republic of Brazil has the industrial foundation to develop into a regional industrial power.

However, judging from the time and money spent on the construction of the Admiral Mandel, there may have been problems such as insufficient construction experience of shipwrights and technicians at the Rio de Janeiro shipyard during the ship's construction. But by comparing it with the three emerging industrial countries of China, Japan, and the United States, it is certain that the officials of the Republic of Brazil who were responsible for the ship's construction must have taken kickbacks and bribes.

The ship's displacement tonnage is lower than that of the same-class armored cruiser, and the ship's construction price is more than three times that of the same-class foreign-purchased warships. The number and caliber of the ship's main guns are only half of those of the same-class warships!
With all these problems piled up together, if you say there is no trick, I am afraid that even the officials of the Republic of Brazil themselves will not believe it.

The feudal rule of the Pedro family was overthrown and a nominally democratic and republican government was established, but in private they still engaged in bribery and power trading.

Having seen through the nature of the internal operation of the Brazilian government, Li Mingyuan's surprise and curiosity about the Brazilian Republic caused by the appearance of the Admiral Mandel armored cruiser on the Atlantic Ocean quickly disappeared.

The Republic of Brazil is like a rotten tree. It needs to go through a series of subsequent wars to gradually weaken its vitality. Before that, the most important issue that the Han State should address is to focus on the development of the domestic situation in Paraguay, formulate a positive and effective response plan, and achieve the core strategy of unifying the La Plata region as soon as possible.

Since the Paraguay Incident, the Han central government and the headquarters of the two armies have become extremely busy. Intelligence one after another has been sent to the Han country through various channels, and then presented to Li Mingyuan and the senior military and political officials of the central government as quickly as possible.

On May 1889, 5, just one week after the Paraguayan Incident, in order to coordinate the military and political forces and formulate a final solution to the chaos in Paraguay as soon as possible, Li Mingyuan specially invited relevant officials and generals from all parties to the palace and held a high-level military and political joint meeting.

The joint military and political meeting held on May 1889, 5 was a high-level meeting to unify internal thinking and respond to changes in the external situation. It can also be seen as the final rehearsal for the Han State to fully intervene in the Paraguayan situation and prepare for war.

"Paraguay's population distribution is similar to that of Brazil. The western and northern regions are vast and sparsely populated. The three western provinces and the two northern geographical regions of the former Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul and the southern state of Goiás add up to a total area of ​​90 square kilometers, accounting for percent of the total territory of the Kingdom of Paraguay.

The eastern region has a land area of ​​about 20 square kilometers.
However, the number of Paraguayans living in this land has reached 35, accounting for about two-thirds of the total population of Paraguay. Among them, the permanent population of Asunción, the capital of the Kingdom of Paraguay, which is the seat of the central government of the Kingdom of Paraguay, is about 17, accounting for half of the total population of the eastern region.

Zhao Yongzeng, the chief of the army staff, introduced to the people in the palace based on the intelligence he had sorted out and summarized: "After the death of Lopez Jr., Paraguay was generally divided into three forces. One was represented by the four-member regency committee formed by Isidoro. On May 5, they instigated the Guards and the Paraguayan Navy Fleet to kidnap Carlos and took control of the power of the Paraguayan central government. The four-member regency committee was the most powerful force in Paraguay's domestic political influence. They controlled various departments of the Asuncion central government and gained the loyalty of most government officials and farmers.

At present, according to the latest intelligence, the four-member Regency Committee has won over Major General Jose Bacon, commander of the Paraguayan Army's First Brigade, and the Paraguayan Army's First Brigade has also announced that it will accept the leadership of the four-member Regency Committee.

Including the newly surrendered First Brigade, the four-member Regency Committee nominally controls an army of about 6500 people, which is about half the number of troops in the anti-rebellion coalition, which is composed of the Third Division of the Paraguayan Army, the Second Brigade, and the Guards Cavalry Battalion. "

"Except for the four-member Regency Committee and the Anti-Rebellion Coalition, what is the attitude of the other powerful generals of the Paraguayan army?"

A general asked.

"The question raised by General Wang is related to the third military and political force in Paraguay that I will talk about next."

Zhao Yongzeng continued: "The Paraguayan Army follows the German Army model and has established four standing army divisions, two army brigades, and one guard army. The total number of standing army troops is about 4.7. In addition to the troops directly involved in the four-member regency committee and the anti-rebel coalition forces,
Among the remaining troops, Lieutenant General Hadro Peterson's Second Division was trapped in the flooded area of ​​Mato Grosso do Sul. Because the commander of the Third Division of the Paraguayan Army, Silvestre, did not follow Lopez Jr.'s arrangement and decided to lead the main force of the Third Division of the Army to join forces with the Guards Cavalry Battalion and the Second Brigade to march towards Asuncion, the supply route connecting the Second Division with the rear was completely cut off.

The Second Division is not only facing the difficulty of running out of ammunition and supplies, but may also be attacked by Indian rebel forces. Therefore, the Second Division is stuck in the quagmire of Mato Grosso do Sul and cannot protect itself. It does not have the ability to interfere with changes in the domestic situation in Paraguay for the time being.

The other two division-level units, the 1st and 4th Divisions of the Paraguayan Army, were stationed in the border areas between the Han Kingdom and the Republic of Brazil respectively. They faced military pressure from the Han Kingdom and the Republic of Brazil respectively, and it was difficult for them to withdraw decisive forces to participate in the struggle for central leadership in Paraguay.

"

"According to this statement, the power to decide the direction of the war in Paraguay in the second half of the year falls into the hands of the four-member Regency Committee and the Anti-Rebellion Coalition."

Wang Jianhua (changed his name in 1886, originally named Wang Dashan), commander of the th Division of the Han Army, looked up and thought.

"If there is no intervention from external forces, the new king of the Kingdom of Paraguay will be chosen between the two forces."

Zhao Yongzeng nodded in affirmation of Wang Jianhua's point of view, and added: "In order to increase the chances of seizing the highest power in Paraguay, the four-member regency committee strengthened its control over Asuncion's military and political aspects as soon as the anti-rebel coalition announced its march to Asuncion.

On May 5, the four-member Regency Committee announced that the land owned by the Lopez family, including Mrs. Lynch, Carlos and others, would be taken over by the government in the name of clearing up the crimes of the Lopez family.
On May 5, the scope of liquidation and forced land recovery was expanded to nobles, government officials and military officers loyal to the Lope family. In just two days, the four-member Regency Committee recovered 27 hectares of land and a total of houses in the area around Asuncion. As for easy-to-carry property such as gold, silver and precious jewelry, the amount seized by the four-member Regency Committee was not large because they had been transferred and hidden in advance through the imperial embassy.

On May 5, the four-member Regency Committee used the land they forcibly reclaimed as compensation and recruited young and strong laborers from the surrounding controlled areas as soldiers. However, according to the information obtained by the staff, Paraguay has a total population of more than 28, and more than % of men between the ages of and have been transferred to serve in the army. In the three days since the four-member Regency Committee issued the conscription notice, it has only increased the number of old and weak men by more than .

"In 1868, the First Paraguayan War caused Paraguay to lose more than 1868 people. After the Paraguayan War ended, Lopez Obrador was still obsessed with the aggressive policy of foreign expansion and did not seize the years of the truce to develop the domestic economy. Therefore, even though the population of the empire increased several times, the population of Paraguay was only less than more than in ."

With the memory of later generations, Li Mingyuan understands Lopez Jr.'s almost paranoid character better than others. He also has a clearer understanding than others about Paraguay's current situation under Lopez Jr.'s rule.

"Besides the actions of the four-member regency committee and the anti-rebel coalition, what is the reaction from the Republic of Brazil?"

After understanding the situation of various parties in Paraguay, Li Mingyuan began to shift his focus to the Republic of Brazil.

"The Republic of Brazil hasn't made any unusual moves recently, but according to intelligence we have received from the Brazilian Empire, the government of the Republic of Brazil is frequently communicating with countries such as Britain and Chile through its embassies abroad."

"The Brazilian Republic was frightened by the Imperial Army. Without the support and security guarantees from the British, the Brazilian Republic did not have the courage to risk going to war with the Empire and directly intervene in the situation in Paraguay."

Army Chief Luo Linshan analyzed.

"The Republic of Brazil has not done nothing. Combined with what General Zhao just said, I estimate that the maritime confrontation a few days ago was not a simple accidental encounter. It might be intentional by the government of the Republic of Brazil to demonstrate its naval strength and indirectly test the attitude of the imperial government towards the Republic of Brazil's involvement in the Paraguayan incident." Li Mingyuan linked the information obtained from various aspects together, and after thinking for a moment, he decided, "Whether the Republic of Brazil did it intentionally or unintentionally, the general policy of the empire towards the Paraguayan incident remains unchanged.
The Republic of Brazil will not move, and the Imperial Army will not move either. We must wait until the Republic of Brazil can no longer sit still and sends troops into Paraguay first, and then the Imperial Army will enter Paraguay as a righteous army. "

"Your Majesty, what if the Republic of Brazil doesn't take the bait?"

"It is impossible for them not to take the bait. The four-member regency committee and the anti-rebel coalition are about to engage in a battle. The defense forces in the western and northern regions of Paraguay are empty. No matter what the outcome of the Paraguayan civil war, Paraguay's defense forces will suffer heavy losses. In this case, the Brazilian government must make the decision to send troops, whether for the purpose of diverting domestic conflicts or for the purpose of recovering occupied territory and winning back the hearts of the people.

Although Fonseca, Morais and others controlled the central power of the Brazilian Republic, they did not have the final say on whether to send troops or not.

Now, since they are concerned about the attitude of the Empire and dare not send troops rashly, then we should dispel their concerns and help them make a decision. "

Li Mingyuan had a plan in mind, and immediately ordered: "Minister Tang, tomorrow your Ministry of Foreign Affairs will issue a statement to the public, announcing in the name of the central government that the Empire will strictly abide by the neutrality regulations and will not provide weapons and ammunition to any of the warring forces in Paraguay.

It also demonstrates the Empire's peace-loving attitude and persuades all parties in Paraguay to try to adopt peaceful means to resolve conflicts and differences.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will follow Your Majesty's instructions and let the Republic of Brazil see the attitude of the Han Kingdom."

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tang Jingsong took over the task assigned by Li Mingyuan, and then handed over a list while saying, "The Imperial Minister to Paraguay, Chen Jinghu, reported that more than 200 Paraguayan politicians and dignitaries have fled to the Imperial Embassy in Paraguay to seek asylum from the Empire, including Lopez Jr.'s lover, Mrs. Lin Qi, and their son and daughter. Minister Chen, please tell us how to arrange for these people?"

"The intelligence personnel of the Imperial Security Department have spent several years in Paraguay. Most of these Paraguayan officials who seek refuge in the Imperial Legation are personnel that the intelligence personnel have painstakingly developed. Their presence will help the Empire to rule and assimilate the Paraguayans in the future."

After Li Mingyuan took a quick look at the list presented by Tang Jingsong, he instructed: "Use the secret transportation channel established by the Ministry of Security in Paraguay to safely transfer the embassy staff and Paraguayan dignitaries stranded in Asuncion City. Pay special attention to the safety of Mrs. Lynch and her son and daughter. They will be useful after the imperial army enters Paraguay."

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will cooperate with the Imperial Security Department to safely transfer all personnel stranded in Asuncion City."

"Except for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Intelligence, all departments of the central government must prepare materials and transport all necessary combat materials to the designated reserve area in the north in advance. The Imperial Army General Staff must formulate multiple possible combat plans based on the intelligence collected and the development of the internal situation in Paraguay."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"…………

The officials and officers with relevant responsibilities responded in unison.

“The Navy’s First Fleet and the Coast Guard Fleet must conduct pre-war drills and strengthen the fleet’s combat response and alert capabilities.

At the same time, the selection and construction of new armored cruisers and the replacement and strengthening of ship-borne weapons on ironclad ships that are more than ten years old must also be completed as soon as possible. "

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Chen Sen, Chief of the Navy Department, and Li Han, Chief of the Navy Staff, stood up to take the task. They exchanged glances and said in unison, "Your Majesty, the Navy Department and the Navy Staff Headquarters have drawn up a preliminary plan for purchasing ships. Please review it."

"Oh, the Navy Department and the Navy General Staff are very efficient. They worked out the ship purchase plan so quickly."

Li Mingyuan took the documents presented by the two people and carefully examined them for more than ten minutes. Then he closed the documents and asked with a smile, "Among the five ship purchase plans submitted, which one do the Navy Department and the Navy General Staff Headquarters prefer the most?"

"Your Majesty, General Lee and I both believe that the Orlando-class armored cruiser is the most suitable."

"Tell me your reasons."

"The standard displacement of the Orlando class is 5600 tons.
91.5 meters long, 17.07 meters wide, 6.86 meters draft, 5500 horsepower at normal pressure, 17 knots at normal pressure, 8500 horsepower at high pressure/18 knots, endurance 10000 nautical miles/10 knots, 900 tons of coal at normal pressure,
The waterline armor belt is 254mm thick (composite armor) and 1.67 meters high; the armored deck is 50-76.2mm thick, the front and rear partitions of the armored box are 406mm thick (wrought iron), the armored wall of the exposed turret is 152mm thick, the secondary gun turret is 127mm thick, and the command tower is 305mm thick.

火力系统方面，配备2门 234mm/32倍后装线膛炮，10门152mm/26倍后装线膛炮，6门6磅速射炮，10门3磅速射炮，
The rated crew is 484 people, the cost is 21 pounds, and it has the ability to fight against large ocean-going cruisers. "

Chen Sen read out the instructions based on the collected data on the overall performance of the ship.

"The Orlando-class armored cruiser is affordable and has good overall performance. However, the length of the armored box is sufficient, but the width is too narrow. It is just a 1.67-meter-high armor belt. In actual combat, I am afraid it cannot effectively protect the engine room and boiler room.

In my opinion, it would be better to save weight and strengthen the armor deck to only 2-3 inches thick, and eliminate this symbolic armor box. "

"The armor belt is a protective device designed by the British Pembroke Shipyard. After the Imperial Navy decides on the ship purchase plan, we can go to the Pembroke Shipyard to coordinate improvements."

Chen Sen echoed.

"The overall shipbuilding level of the British is much higher than that of the three major domestic shipyards. In terms of shipbuilding technology, the Imperial Navy will take advantage of the opportunity to purchase ships to learn from them. In terms of design and weapon configuration, if we think the British design is unreasonable, we must also bravely point it out and make targeted improvements."

"Your Majesty has instructed that the Admiralty and the Naval Staff will work with the three major domestic shipyards to carefully review possible problems in the design and construction of ships."

"It's always good to spend more time studying and reflecting. Okay, your ship purchase plan has been approved. According to the main points of my last conversation with you, try to persuade Pembroke Shipyard to agree to trade and cooperate in the mode of buying one ship and building one locally. In order to achieve the purpose of purchasing ships, the central government can provide the navy with an additional ship purchase subsidy of no more than 100 million Han yuan.

Work hard and complete the signing of the ship purchase contract as soon as possible before July."…………

(End of this chapter)