Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 447 Before the War
"Your Majesty, an urgent telegram from Chang'an!" A young officer quickly ran to Li Mingyuan and hurriedly handed him a telegram: "The situation of the Paraguayan civil war has changed. Chief Liu and other central officials such as Luo and Zhao request Your Majesty to return to Chang'an as soon as possible to preside over the overall situation at home and abroad."

"I understand. Call back Chief Liu and General Luo. We will set off tomorrow morning and arrive in Chang'an in two days. Before we return to Chang'an, tell them not to contact the Paraguayan side. All issues concerning the direction of the Paraguayan war will be put on hold for the time being. We will make a decision after I return to Chang'an."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The young officer wrote down the instructions conveyed by Li Mingyuan, stood up and saluted, then quickly turned and left.

"Deputy Director Niu, after the inspection in recent days, we have a general understanding of the situation of Xinghe Shipyard. The inspection of Xinghe Shipyard will end today. Tomorrow morning, I will return to Chang'an with Chief Chen, Chief Mei, and General Chen. The subsequent development of Xinghe Shipyard requires your factory staff to work harder and more attentively."

Li Mingyuan turned to Niu Shangzhou and said, "The 5200-ton ocean-going ship has not been named yet. In my opinion, it is better to name it Fuxing, which means to revive the country and prosper the people. I hope that next time I come to inspect Xinghe Shipyard, I can see a row of Fuxing ships docked in the harbor near the ship cabin. Deputy Director Niu, you have a heavy task ahead of you, so you can't slack off or relax."

"Your Majesty, rest assured that all employees of Xinghe Shipyard will not dare to slack off until the construction of Fuxing is completed."

"Well, professional matters should be left to professionals. You are experts in shipbuilding. The central government and I have only given you rough construction goals and standards. As for how to implement and operate them specifically, you still need to think more and practice more."

After Li Mingyuan finished speaking to the shipyard managers, he looked up at the blood-red setting sun and said, "It's getting late, we should go back.

General Chen, notify the soldiers in charge of the surrounding area and ask them to prepare to leave as well."

"Yes, Your Majesty."...

The next morning, the fleet, with the 3500-ton Vanguard armored cruiser as its flagship, set out from Songjiang Port and arrived at Huaiyang Prefecture (Rosario) in the afternoon. It then took a train from Huaiyang and arrived in Chang'an (Cordoba) on July 7, which took nearly a day.

The Daming Hall in front of the Chang'an Imperial Palace was a spacious palace filled with people, including major officials from various departments of the central government and core officers from the army and navy.

Li Mingyuan came to the palace under the escort of dozens of guards. Seeing that the central government departments and the army and navy personnel had all arrived, he said, "Six days ago, the Republic of Brazil sent troops and officially announced the resumption of the state of war with Paraguay.
On July 7, the Brazilian Army divided into two groups. One group, with about 5 troops, launched an attack on the Paraguayan-controlled state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The other group, with nearly 6 troops, broke through the defense line of the 3th Division of the Paraguayan Army from the northern garrison area of ​​Goiás and quickly advanced to the central region of Paraguay along the Paraná River.
According to our latest intelligence,

As of the evening of July 7,
The Second Division of the Paraguayan Army, which was deeply mired in the Indian rebellion, was completely annihilated by the superior forces of the Brazilian Republic. The Fourth Division of the Paraguayan Army was also surrounded by the Parana troops of the Brazilian Republic in several isolated towns due to the turbulent domestic war situation and insufficient ammunition and supplies. It is only a week or two away from being finally wiped out. "

Li Mingyuan focused his eyes on a large sand table in the center of the palace conference hall. He casually took off two small flags symbolizing the Second and Fourth Divisions of the Paraguayan Army, and continued, "Excluding the Second Division of the Paraguayan Army that has been eliminated and the Fourth Division that is about to be eliminated, the number of regular troops remaining in Paraguay is only about 8500. Among the remaining people, General Whitehead's First Division of the Paraguayan Army has more than people stationed in Encarnacion, which is close to the mainland. Encarnacion is located at the southernmost tip of the Kingdom of Paraguay, and is far away from the front-line battlefield of the Republic of Brazil. Even if Whitehead and his officers want to move to resist the offensive of the Republic of Brazil's army, they cannot reverse the situation on the battlefield in Paraguay in a short time.

Excluding the more than 8500 troops of the Paraguayan Army's First Division, the total pre-war strength of the four-member Regency Committee and the anti-rebel coalition was about 27000 (including temporarily recruited soldiers). After months of fierce fighting, the total number of casualties was about 5000, and the number of soldiers left with normal combat capabilities was about 22000.

22000 people are the largest military force in Paraguay that can currently be assembled to resist the attack of the army of the Republic of Brazil. If the four-member regency committee and the anti-rebel coalition can put aside their past grudges, completely let go of their vigilance against each other, and unite to fight a defensive war against the Republic of Brazil, the Kingdom of Paraguay may be able to win some chances of survival.

However, according to the war situation simulation conducted by the General Staff Headquarters, the probability of this happening is very low. "

"The anti-rebel coalition and the four-member regency committee belong to different factions. They have accumulated irreconcilable contradictions in the previous civil war. I don't believe they will give up their hatred for each other for the so-called Paraguayan motherland." Army Chief Luo Linshan speculated according to Li Mingyuan's words.

"It is almost impossible to get them to completely abandon their hatred and cooperate sincerely. However, under the military threat of the Republic of Brazil, it is possible that they will be forced to unite and face the outside world together for the sake of their political and economic interests."

The view of Army General Staff Chief Zhao Yongzeng is different from that of Luo Linshan. He believes that under the military threat from the Republic of Brazil, even if there is great hatred between the anti-rebel coalition and the four-member regency committee, for the sake of the interests and survival of their respective factions, they will choose to resolve their past grievances and unite to deal with the crisis.

"Whether the Four-Man Regency Committee and the Anti-Rebellion Coalition reconcile and fight the enemy actually has no essential impact on the prospects of the Paraguayan War. The remaining forces of the Four-Man Regency Committee and the Anti-Rebellion Coalition add up to only more than 22000 people. In order to attack Paraguay, the Republic of Brazil has mobilized a total of 12 troops. In addition to the 9 troops used for front-line combat, the Republic of Brazil has also deployed 3 troops in Paraná State to deal with possible attacks from the mainland.

After the death of Lopez Jr., Paraguay no longer had the overall conditions needed to maintain its independence. Without the support and intervention of the local side, the failure of the four-member regency committee and the anti-rebel coalition was only a matter of time. Whether the two sides would unite was irrelevant. "

Luo Linshan stated his point of view.

"General Luo and General Zhao both have some truth in their views. The contradictions between the two Paraguayan parties are irreconcilable, and the current Paraguay is not the Paraguay when Lopez Jr. was alive. Without Lopez Jr.'s powerful rule, Paraguay has become a pile of loose sand. It is impossible for the weak to defeat the strong and fight again against the Brazilian army, which has an absolute advantage in manpower and weapons."

Li Mingyuan smiled faintly and said, "Whether the Four-member Regency Committee cooperates with the Anti-Rebellion Coalition or not, or whether the Paraguayan army is completely wiped out by the Brazilian army, is not our focus. Our focus is on how to take advantage of the opportunity of the Brazilian Republic's army fighting against the Paraguayan army to gain the greatest benefit."

As the 20th century was approaching, the mode of warfare was gradually shifting towards heavy firepower and large-scale troop operations. In Li Mingyuan's eyes, the war between Paraguay and Brazil, involving a total of hundreds of thousands of troops, was at most a war between rookies using modern weapons but with relatively backward tactics and soldier quality.

Twenty years ago, the predecessor of the Han army, the uprising force composed mainly of Chinese workers, was regarded as a war between rookies by Western powers when fighting against Bolivia, Peru and other countries. Now, after twenty years of development and the baptism and training of many wars, the Han country has gotten rid of the role of a rookie and started to participate in the wars of all parties as the controller of the international situation in South America.

The Paraguayan War is like a huge chessboard. All parties in Paraguay and the Republic of Brazil are chess pieces on the board. Li Mingyuan is like a chess player. Just by standing in front of the sand table in the meeting hall, he can influence the direction and outcome of the Paraguayan War.

"The Four-Man Regency Committee and the Anti-Rebellion Coalition will only fail under the attack of the Brazilian Republic Army. Before they fail, when the mainland will intervene in the Paraguayan War is the issue we need to focus on.

If we intervene too early, the warlord forces in Paraguay will not suffer huge losses, which will be detrimental to our established policy of peaceful occupation of Paraguay. If we intervene too late, the Republic of Brazil will completely eliminate the main force of the Paraguayan army and occupy and destroy the main cities in Paraguay, which will also be detrimental to our subsequent recovery work in Paraguay.

Therefore, the best time for us to intervene in the Paraguayan War is when the main force of the Paraguayan army is damaged and before the Brazilian Republic’s army launches the final offensive against the remaining Paraguayan army.

In order to achieve this goal, the mainland should selectively agree to Paraguay's request for assistance. In the initial stage, the troops will be concentrated in Luoning County (Formosa) and Xianghe City (Posadas). In the medium term, the garrison in Xianghe City will be mobilized to advance from the Paraná River and Encarnacion, and the troops will be divided into two groups to control the railway branch line from Encarnacion to Asuncion and the southern part of Paraguay. In the later period, when the army of the Republic of Brazil besieged Asuncion, the main force stockpiled in Luoning County went north along the Paraguay River. After occupying Porto Ayes, Lincio Town, and Porto Antequera, a detachment was sent to continue northward along the Paraguay River to recover Paraguayan territory, while the main force remained in the direction of Asuncion to launch an attack and encirclement and suppression against the army of the Republic of Brazil.

The purpose of the Paraguayan War is to severely damage the main force of the Brazilian Republic and further weaken the war potential of the Brazilian Republic. Therefore, after the war begins, the officers and soldiers of all units should make the destruction of the Brazilian Republic’s army their primary task, and not worry about the temporary gains and losses of a city or a place. "

"Yes, Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)