Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 44 The Beginning of Military Reform

In the evening, Li Mingyuan ordered the soldiers to move the gold to the warehouse and then returned to his residence.

"Sir, Lord Liu has something to report to you."

"Tell him to wait for me in the lobby. I'll come right after I change my clothes."

It only took Li Mingyuan a few minutes to change his clothes. When he walked into the hall, he saw Liu Pu standing beside him.

"Sit down and tell me what happened these days."

"I dare not," Liu Pu still stood there.

"Haha, why are you so polite to me today?" Li Mingyuan took a sip of tea to refresh himself.

"Prince, what I am going to say today cannot be heard by any other person. Please call the others out."

Li Mingyuan felt that something was wrong with Liu Pu today, so he dismissed the guards in the hall and said, "You can tell me now."

"Your Highness knows that the Heavenly Father has descended to Earth. I only advise you not to become arrogant and conceited because of the soldiers' worship and ruin this army."

"How dare you suspect me of cheating?" Li Mingyuan threw the teacup to the ground and said angrily.

"Your Majesty, I am a wise man. I am only concerned about the interests of the Independence Army and have no intention of seeking personal gain. If Your Majesty does not trust me, I am willing to die to prove my loyalty."

Liu Pu was about to bang his head against the wall as he spoke.

Li Mingyuan was angry for a moment and never thought that Liu Pu would commit suicide after a disagreement. Without thinking, he stopped him immediately.

"Liu Pu, what are you doing? Do you think you will die just because I scolded you?"

"Your Highness, what I said is from the bottom of my heart. Using religion to unite soldiers can be useful for a while, but it is not a long-term way to govern a country. The lesson of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is right in front of us. I hope Your Highness will consider it carefully."

After Liu Pu finished speaking, Li Mingyuan returned to his seat in silence. He had already thought about the religious issue, but Liu Pu's previous words reminded him.

As I won more and more battles, I gradually stopped listening to other people's opinions without realizing it.

Just like when Liu Pu gave him advice tonight, if it was in the past, Li Mingyuan would definitely think for a while before answering. But when Liu Pu pointed out that he used the story of the Father in Heaven to deceive the soldiers, Li Mingyuan didn't think and instinctively vented his anger.

If you want to destroy someone, you must make him crazy. Xiang Yu, who was victorious in every battle, was devastated after being defeated just because he refused to listen to the advice of his subordinates.

French Emperor Napoleon dominated Europe but was ultimately defeated in Russia because of his overconfidence.

Thinking of the many examples of celebrities in history who rose to prominence and then fell, Li Mingyuan couldn't help but feel a little scared. A person's changes often happen inadvertently. If it weren't for today's incident, Li Mingyuan would not have noticed his own changes.

Although Li Mingyuan had experienced many life and death tests in his previous life, he was not one of those great men who had experienced the ups and downs of history. After achieving some achievements, his mentality changed, which is why what happened tonight happened.

"Liu Pu, my attitude just now was not good. I apologize to you." After realizing his own shortcomings, Li Mingyuan stood up and bowed solemnly to Liu Pu.

"Prince, you can't do that." Liu Pu hurriedly stepped forward to support Li Mingyuan.

"If you make a mistake, you must correct it. I hope Brother Liu will forgive you."

"It is my humble servant's blessing that the prince can listen to me. How dare I blame the prince?"

"Brother Liu, I hope you don't mind." Li Mingyuan didn't care whether Liu Pu was really angry or not, and took his hand to sit next to him. "Come here, bring the best tea, I want to ask Chief of Staff Liu to taste the tea."

"Sir, there's no rush to drink tea. The key is what should we do about the God Worshipping Church?"

"I have already thought of a solution for the God Worshipping Society." The two men sat down, and Li Mingyuan slowly told him his plan.

"The God Worshipping Society is a double-edged sword. The key lies in how we use it. As long as we improve the God Worshipping Society in a positive direction, it will bring benefits to our development."

Li Mingyuan took a sip of tea and continued, "For more than a thousand years, Western Christianity has strictly controlled ordinary people. However, with the advancement of science, people no longer believe in Christianity, but regard Christianity as a place to comfort their souls.

So my idea is to preserve the good ideas of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and add content that is beneficial to the unity of Chinese people in South America.
Make the God Worshipping Society a religion similar to modern Western Christianity, weaken its mythological color, and help ordinary Chinese people unite. "

"It turns out that the prince has already made plans. I was reckless." Li Mingyuan's method is very good. It not only solves the religious problem of the Chinese in South America, but also does not hinder the future construction of the country. After listening to it, Liu Pu bowed in admiration.

"Reforming the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is not an easy task. We need to do it step by step. Next, let's talk about the issue of military construction."

When Liu Pu heard Li Mingyuan talking about the army, he immediately understood and told him about the army's situation in recent period.

"The total number of Chinese is 121,000, including 100,000 combat troops, 15,000 logistics troops, and 6,000 injured and weak people."

"The number of people has reached 120,000, and we are growing very fast indeed," Li Mingyuan exclaimed.

"Sir, in addition to the number of troops, our army's weapons and supplies are as follows: 90,000 rifles, 115 large and small artillery pieces, 200 machine guns, 25,000 pack horses, 7,000 military horses, and 5,000 tons of food."

There were a large number of rifles, but Li Mingyuan knew that most of them were old and backward weapons. Only after the weapons purchased from Prussia were delivered could the Chinese Independence Army soldiers each have a rifle.

"We are well-off. Once the purchased materials arrive, we will be able to move in."

Five thousand tons of food are enough to feed 120,000 people for three months. Although the quality of weapons and equipment varies, they can meet combat needs.

After Li Mingyuan understood the weapons and equipment and logistical supplies of the Chinese Independence Army, he continued, "During the transition to Brazil, the army will be divided into two. The main force will be in the front to find and fight the Brazilian army, and the escort force will guard the logistical supplies. So I will reorganize the troops according to the needs of the war."

"Sir, the troops have just been reorganized once. Will reorganizing again before departure affect the combat effectiveness of the troops?"

"Liu Pu, you are wrong." Li Mingyuan shook his head.

"The Chinese Independence Army now has 100,000 soldiers, most of whom are laborers who have not joined the army recently. When fighting in southern Peru, we are very familiar with the geographical environment here, so we can use our numerical advantage to defeat the slow enemy and wipe out the Peruvian army one by one. However, when we move to Brazil, we are facing a completely unfamiliar environment. It is difficult to rely on the original large-scale tactic of attacking in groups. Therefore, we must select elite soldiers to form the main force to fight the enemy, and the soldiers with weaker combat effectiveness will follow behind the main force to protect the logistics supplies."

"I understand. The prince intends to use elite troops to fight a decisive battle with the enemy." Liu Pu nodded.

"Yes, I plan to divide the troops into the field army and the garrison army. The field army is the elite force of the Chinese Independence Army and will be the main force in fighting the enemy, while the garrison army will provide flank cover for the field army. After arriving in southern Brazil, the garrison army will also assume the responsibility of guarding the territory."

"Prince, what you mean is that after this reorganization of the troops, the framework of the troops will be basically determined?" Liu Pu said.

“Yes, after arriving in southern Brazil, I will also set up a national army to form a trinity of military structures including the field army, the garrison army, and the national army.

In the future country, compulsory military service will be implemented. Soldiers over the age of 18 will first serve in the field army for three years, and then transfer to the garrison army to serve for two years.

The National Army is composed of Chinese people aged 16 to 40, and they receive intensive training for two months each year.

"Chinese people are surrounded by enemies in South America and do need sufficient military force to protect their own safety," Liu Pu agreed.

(End of this chapter)