Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 492 Liu Yongfu

The sound of gunfire gradually became sparse, and a team of troops in gray-black uniforms withdrew from halfway up the mountain. In the team, more than 40 stretchers were walking in the front, carrying the wounded officers and soldiers.

Guns and cannons are indiscriminate on the battlefield. Even the Han army officers and soldiers with relatively sophisticated weapons and equipment are facing the test and threat of death.
Perhaps a person who was chatting and laughing and full of energy yesterday has become a stiff corpse today, lying coldly on a stretcher.

The troops withdrawing from the middle of the mountain belonged to the 1000st Regiment of the nd Mixed Brigade, with about two battalions of more than people, commanded by the regiment's lieutenant colonel commander Zhang Kangren. Now, Zhang Kangren was retreating to the rear beside a stretcher. On the stretcher was the battalion commander of the rd Battalion of the st Regiment of the nd Mixed Brigade, Army Major Tan Yaofang. In the offensive operation that just ended, Tan Yaofang led the officers and soldiers of the rd Battalion to charge forward, but was unfortunately hit and killed by enemy heavy machine gun fire.

Tan Yaofang is 37 years old, 6 years older than Zhang Kangren. He joined the Nanyang Army during the Annan colonization period in 1869. After Annan was occupied by France, he returned to his homeland and served as platoon leader, company commander and battalion commander of the garrison army. Two years ago, he was transferred to the field force as a battalion commander and his military rank was promoted to major.

My wife is an Annan woman. She is gentle, traditional, hard-working and has raised five children, two sons and three daughters. The eldest son is 5 years old and the youngest daughter is 18 years old.

Because of his poor cultural foundation, he had spent most of his 20 years in the military in the garrison. After being transferred to the field force, his rank was only major. Compared with a group of his peers who joined the army at the same time and were lucky enough to survive, Tan Yaofang's career path was not smooth. However, at the age of 37, he was not too old. After being transferred to the field force, especially participating in the Paraguayan war, and accumulating military attacks after the victory of the war, it is very likely that his rank will be promoted by one level, and his position may also be promoted to deputy commander or even commander of the field force. Perhaps for In order to make up for the wasted military years in his early years, after being transferred to the field army, Tan Yaofang actively led his troops in training and preparation for war. Even his cultural literacy has improved to a certain extent through hard work. When the Paraguayan War broke out, the troops entered the Humeita Fortress and had the opportunity to participate in the war and make meritorious service. Tan Yaofang led his troops to charge and attack fiercely many times, and seized two outer positions from the Brazilian defenders. Then today, when attacking the Libona Mountain fortress group, he broke into the army too quickly and was out of touch with the follow-up troops, and was killed by the defenders' heavy machine gun fire.

Zhang Kangren followed the stretcher and looked at Tan Yaofang's blood-stained body on the stretcher. He felt a pang of pain in his heart and didn't know how to tell his family the news of his death.

Joining the army means risks and having to face the threat of death. It also means opportunities and the chance to succeed. Risks and opportunities coexist. If Tan Yaofang were given the choice again, he would most likely choose to join the army.

For him, if he had not chosen the path of military service, during the Annan period, he would either have starved to death, or his peasant army would have been wiped out by the Qing court, Annan officers and soldiers, or the French, with his body thrown into the wilderness with no one knowing about it, or he would have fled back to the Far East and continued to live a life of hunger. If he was lucky, he could have survived, but if he was unlucky, his identity might have been exposed, and he would have been caught and executed by the Qing court.

Compared with these options, joining the Nanyang Legion, marrying a Vietnamese wife, and then settling down in South America, even if you sacrifice yourself on the battlefield for the country's strength, it is better than dying on the roadside like a lowly ant, silently and unknown to anyone.

On the battlefield, officers have a higher survival rate than ordinary soldiers, and the survival rate of battalion and regiment-level mid-level officers is much higher than that of ordinary soldiers. However, when the battle is fierce and the military situation is urgent, even battalion and regiment-level officers may be injured or killed. Zhang Kangren was commanding the battle halfway up the mountain and was also scratched by a piece of shrapnel. After a simple hemostasis and disinfection, the medical soldier bandaged his injured left arm with gauze.

Then, looking from one side of the camp, Zhang Kangren was retreating towards his own position with his arm in a sling, supporting a stretcher. The entire team was silent and depressing except for the sound of footsteps and the painful groans of the wounded.

"Captain, the position is ahead."

A soldier walked up to Zhang Kangren and reported.

"First, carry the wounded and the bodies of the fallen soldiers to the camp for placement, and the others return to their positions for rest."

"Yes, Captain."

The team of more than 1000 people was divided into two groups. One team of about 100 people carried stretchers towards the camp, and the rest returned to their positions before departure.

Half an hour later, a team of more than ten people, all wearing field uniforms without military rank insignia, arrived at the position at the foot of Mount Libona.

"Sir, why did you come to the front line in person? The enemy's artillery shells are not very sensitive, be careful not to hurt you."

Zhang Kangren led several officers out of the position, met Chen Dechao and his group, calmed himself down, and reminded them with concern.

"Why can't I come? My subordinates are bleeding and dying on the front line. As a leader, isn't it my duty to come and inspect and visit them?
When the empire was founded, Your Majesty set an example by personally visiting the front lines in every major war, let alone me.

The enemy fortress is six or seven kilometers away from here. Even if we fire artillery shells, it is difficult to hit here. Besides, the Brazilians don’t have enough artillery shells, so they are reluctant to waste them. "

As Chen Dechao spoke, he shifted his gaze to Zhang Kangren and continued, "Don't worry about me for now. What's wrong with your injuries?"

"I was wounded by enemy shell fragments while commanding the attack this morning." "Is it serious? Does the wound still hurt?"

""It doesn't hurt. The medical soldiers have bandaged it. It's not a problem."

"Did the attack go smoothly? What are the casualties of the troops?"

"It wasn't going well. We fought for nine days and captured seven outer positions. The defense line advanced two kilometers. The troops suffered more than 9 casualties. This morning, the battle that just ended had more than 7 casualties. The third battalion commander, Tan Yaofang, was also killed in the battle."

"Is it Tan Yaofang, who is originally from Guilin, Guangxi, and once served in Annan?"

When Liu Yongfu heard the name of the sacrificed officer, he couldn't help but ask.

"Who is this officer?"

Zhang Kangren looked at a man in his fifties standing next to Chen Dechao and asked in confusion.

"I forgot to introduce you. This is General Liu, the commander of the Third Division of the Imperial Army who came to reinforce from the mainland. The two on the left are Captain Yang and Captain He of the Navy."

After Chen Dechao's introduction, Zhang Kangren recalled what he had learned about Tan Yaofang's resume and affirmed: "Yes, Battalion Commander Tan once mentioned to me that he served in the army in Annan in his early years, joined the Nanyang Corps, and was then transferred to serve in the mainland."

"No mistake, it was Tan Yaofang. He followed me for more than a year during the period of exile in Annan. He was only sixteen or seventeen years old at that time. He was not tall and thin, but he was very brave in battle and often charged at the front of the troops. Later, he joined the Nanyang Army. When the troops were adjusted, he was transferred to serve in other troops. I didn't expect that I hadn't seen him for several years. When I heard about him again, he had died."

Suddenly, he heard the news that an old friend he hadn't contacted for several years had died on the battlefield. Perhaps it was because of his old age, but Liu Yongfu, who was used to witnessing life and death on the battlefield, felt a surge of emotion in his heart.

"Another old friend is gone. Time has passed, and the world has changed. Twenty years have passed in a blink of an eye. The old friends are in different situations. For example, Wu Yazhong, Huang Chongying, Lu Zhiping and others who defected to the Qing court, the French colonists, and the Annan court have long turned into a pile of yellow earth and buried in the foreign land of Annan. After the great expansion of the army in 1888, Chen Zongbai, Chen Shangfa, Wu Fengdian, Ye Chenglin and others all held high positions.
Huang Feihong, who was previously acquainted with him, returned to the Far East in 1882 due to the influence of the Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States (mentioned in Chapter 293). After his father Huang Linying passed away in 1886, he was invited by his fellow disciples Chen Shangfa and Chen Zongbai to come to Songjiang Prefecture (Buenos Aires) in the Han Kingdom to open the Bao Zhilin Medical Clinic, and served as the chief coach of the Songjiang Prefecture militia, teaching martial arts.

Also coming with him were his disciples Liang Kuan, Deng Fang, Lin Shirong, Chen Dianbiao (Ghost Leg Seven) and others, who also lived different lives in South America.

On the other hand, he had become the commander of the Third Division of the Han Kingdom. The Third Division was one of the twelve main divisions of the Han Kingdom's Army. Moreover, because it was an A-class division, the Third Division's strength and combat effectiveness were obviously higher than the other eight B-class divisions.

Looking back on the Annan period, I was still hesitant about joining the Nanyang Army. It was only after being persuaded by the staff around me that I made up my mind to join. I couldn't help but sigh that life's encounters are so wonderful.

At the age of 52, Liu Yongfu has entered the twilight of his life. He has become indifferent to the idea of ​​forming cliques and factions, so he did not take the initiative to contact or form a group with his old friends from the Annan period.

Although forming cliques and forming factions were taboos in the eyes of feudal emperors, the Han Dynasty was open-minded and was about to implement a constitutional monarchy. As long as some officials and officers formed factions in a moderate manner, there would not be much interference. For a normal country, it is normal to have factions, and it would be incredible to have no factions. This is also true among the countries in the world in the 21st century.

Although there is no accurate basis, some politicians still divide the local military and political forces into four factions. The first is the South American Labor Faction, which is composed of the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This group of people is the founding team of the Han emperor. Most of them hold high positions, but their number is the smallest.

The second is the Nanyang Army faction represented by Chen Zongbai, Chen Shangfa, Wu Fengdian, and Liu Yongfu, or the Annan faction. Because they joined the Han Kingdom's sphere of influence in 1869, they are also regarded as the Yuancong faction. Their strength in both military and political circles is second only to the South American Labor faction.

The third is the South American business gentry faction headed by Hu Yaji, Zhang Zhenxun and others, who are mainly concentrated in political fields such as economy, diplomacy, and finance, and have relatively low influence in the military.

The last one is the immigrant group represented by immigrants from the Far East. Because of its decentralized system and lack of representative figures, it is the faction with the least influence and the largest number of people.

(End of this chapter)