Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 498 National Ideal
The darkness was dispelled by the dawn, the sun shone on the earth, and the primitive and remote Paraguay was once again ravaged by war.

In the area of ​​dozens of kilometers surrounding the Hume Tower Fortress, the two troops gathered in long streams in different directions.

Mountain cannons, field guns, and heavy machine guns were dragged slowly forward. Artillery shells, bullets, and grenades were loaded onto horse-drawn carriages. Tall horses were harnessed to pull the heavy vehicles, foaming at the mouth, as they struggled forward toward the foot of the mountain.

At the foot of Mount Libona, the Brazilian troops that arrived first advanced to a flat area less than 3 kilometers away from the Han army's position on the top of the mountain and deployed temporary artillery positions. The heavy 75mm field guns were untied from the horses, and groups of seven or eight people carried the parts from the carriages, quickly assembled and fixed the gun positions.

Mountain cannons, mortars, and heavy machine guns were unloaded one by one and placed in locations that were conducive to support and had a wide field of vision. In order to facilitate transfer, the wheels of several Gatling hand-cranked heavy machine guns were removed, leaving only the short and thick barrels and gun bodies, which were placed on two-wheeled carts.

At 8:15 in the morning, under the supervision of dozens of gendarmes, nearly a thousand Brazilian soldiers launched another charge towards Mount Libona.

Artillery, heavy machine guns, rifles and other light and heavy weapons continuously sprayed bullets and shells. No matter whether it was the attacking or defending side, they no longer spared the shells and weapons and operated the artillery, heavy machine guns and rifles as if their lives were at stake. They did not care at all about the permanent damage caused to the artillery and heavy machine guns by the excessive firing speed.

Dense artillery shells and bullets fired at the attacking Brazilian soldiers like a rainstorm, quickly taking away lives.

The Brazilian soldiers on the battlefield had no choice: either advance and die under enemy fire, or flee backward and be shot dead by the supervising gendarmerie. Going forward or backward was a dead end. The difference was that if they fled backward, they had almost no chance of survival, while if they charged forward, they might be able to capture the enemy's position and live another day.

Before setting out to attack the Han army's position, some Brazilian soldiers might have comforted themselves with this idea, but when they set out on the charge, life was calculated in minutes and seconds. The piercing screams of bullets and shells breaking through the air, the painful wails of their injured comrades around them, and the cruel and compact battlefield where both their bodies and brains were dominated by the war left them with no time for independent thinking.

Perhaps it was the madness under helplessness, the catharsis under despair, the expressions on the faces of each Brazilian soldier who climbed up and charged were different. Some were nervous and afraid, some were crazy and entangled, some were numb and bloodthirsty. However, when time was prolonged and the vision was filled with blood, even the most cold-blooded and fearless soldiers would be deterred by the cruelty of war, leaving only the fear that pierced the soul and the subsequent strong desire to survive on their faces.

The descendants of European immigrants in South America, who are blessed by God, have not experienced such a cruel test of war. Before joining the war, most of the Brazilian soldiers lived a mediocre and idle life. Their ancestors crossed the ocean and seized the right to possession of the South American land from the Indians without paying a heavy price. Now, when the land they snatched from the Indians is being coveted by another group of ethnic groups, even if they make what they think is an effort to fight, unfortunately it does not play much of a role. Perhaps they are just like the Indians before, the strong snatching land and wealth from the weak, and then being snatched away by the stronger ones. Only when they are on the battlefield to resist the enemy will ordinary Brazilian soldiers truly appreciate the feeling of powerlessness after the desperate struggle of the Indians when facing the European colonists.

To the north of Mount Libona and to the east and west of Mount Mal, another equally fierce battle was taking place, except that the attacking side was the Han navy and army.

Several naval warships were anchored on the water 4 to 7 kilometers away from Malshan, firing shells and adjusting the attack angles based on the attack effects.

Artillery shells came and went from the water and the top of the mountain, exploding one after another in the water and on the top of the mountain, venting their power. In the continuous attack, heavy artillery and warships were damaged one after another, but neither side retreated or stopped, and they all persisted in firing until one side fell completely.

In the east of Malshan, more than 4,000 Han troops were divided into seven or eight echelons and launched an attack on Malshan in a wave-like attack formation.

The vanguard troops successively broke through the three outer defense lines set up by the enemy at the foot of the mountain and advanced to a position about 40 meters from the ground. For this, the charging troops also suffered more than 300 casualties. Looking at the winding road above their heads, with at least two-thirds of the journey left, the Han soldiers who stopped to rest during the interval between battles had fatigue, fear, determination, and fanaticism on their faces.

To expand into foreign territories and to give parents, wives and children a good life, one must compete and fight with the enemy, seize the land from them to settle down and feed the whole family.

Land is the foundation of survival. Without their own land and regime, overseas Chinese cannot protect their land even if they have tens of millions of assets in a foreign country.

Every overseas Chinese who has experienced the hardships of surviving in a foreign land truly understands one thing: only by uniting into a force and fighting with the swords and guns in their hands can they safeguard their own interests and win the respect of Westerners.

The Chinese have been wandering overseas for hundreds of years, and have been repeatedly bullied and massacred by other ethnic groups. Only under the leadership of Li Mingyuan, all people, regardless of region, wealth, or age, formed a country, a country belonging to overseas Chinese and all Chinese, and their fate was changed.

Looking back, when I first left the Far East, crossed the ocean and came to a foreign land, all I thought about was gambling my life for a chance to eat, survive and stay alive. Now, I have joined the South American Han Kingdom and joined the army. Not only do I have land, property and respect, but I also have the hope of being upbeat and not afraid of sacrifice!

What's so scary about guns and cannons? What's so scary about dying on the battlefield? Compared to the past, when one could sell one's life for a bowl of rice, now, for the sake of a good life for one's family and for the sake of making a name for oneself, it is totally worth it even if one dies once, twice, or three times.

Chinese people have always been full of passionate warriors who dare to sacrifice. Due to the influence of 5,000 years of history and the education of family responsibility, as long as they risk their lives, they can get equal rewards. Even if they know that the road ahead is a dead end, many Chinese people will not hesitate to embark on the journey of death for the sake of their families, their descendants, and their ideals. Unfortunately, due to the unique natural environment of the mainland and the greed of the ruling class, the lower-class people cannot get the rewards and treatment they deserve even if they sacrifice ten times.

When grassroots soldiers go to war, if they win, they will be rewarded with a few taels of silver, or even nothing at all. If they lose, not only will they not receive any reward, they may even die in battle innocently.

When the input and output are totally disproportionate, or even worse, when even paying the price of one's life, there is no hope, people's hearts gradually become cold and numb, and naturally they lose the will to fight and kill the enemy.

Giving and receiving are two-way. Only talking about giving without talking about receiving is the biggest lie and the most sinister conspiracy. It is precisely because the Han Emperor Li Mingyuan used the most direct land and property to reward meritorious people and gave them the benefits they deserved that in all the wars, even a grassroots private could fight for the country, family, and himself without worries!

From leading the Chinese workers to launch an uprising to establishing the country, Li Mingyuan fulfilled all the promises he made to the soldiers. Even though he followed the uprising from Peru and fought for nearly ten thousand miles without killing a single enemy, and was only an auxiliary soldier responsible for cooking and transporting supplies for the entire army, he was rewarded with 300 acres of land.

The 300 acres of land are similar to the permanent fields in the Far East, which can be passed down from generation to generation. In order to reward the contributions of the first batch of Chinese workers who participated in the uprising, Li Mingyuan specially stipulated that before the death of the first generation of Chinese workers who were granted land, the 300 acres of land would not have to pay any agricultural taxes. Only after their death, the land exceeding the normal area would be subject to agricultural taxes.

The core of the Han Dynasty's agricultural policy was to safeguard the land interests of small and medium-sized farmers and farm owners. Households with per capita land of less than 20 mu were exempt from any agricultural tax. A small amount of agricultural tax was levied on small farm families with per capita land areas between 20 and 100 mu. For medium and large farm families with per capita land areas of more than 100 mu, the proportion of agricultural tax payment was increased gradually according to the land area.

The national policy and core of the Han Dynasty's development was to focus on farmers and small farm families, develop industry and agriculture simultaneously, and protect the economic and social interests of the property owners.

With the rapid development and progress of industry, the proportion of agriculture in the country's economic development will gradually decrease. However, whether it is the end of the 5th century or the st century, land is still undoubtedly the most important means of production. Food, real estate, and industrial production are all based on land. Therefore, in the ruling policy of the Han Dynasty, there is a bill included in the national constitution, which is to firmly guarantee the minimum amount of land reserved by citizens. It stipulates that the per capita land reserve for each household shall not be less than mu. When the family is divided or the population increases and the land is insufficient, the state can be applied for to increase or change the land. The minimum registered land area of ​​each household shall not be traded or transferred. Even if they enter the city to live and engage in industrial and commercial industries, the land originally owned can only be leased to others for cultivation and cannot be bought or sold.

The countryside or the land is a country's pressure relief pool. Compared with the so-called real estate, land is the means of production that will never change. Ensuring the minimum land ownership area for every citizen and allowing them to become real property owners who control the means of production is the most important cornerstone for maintaining national stability and social tranquility. In order to achieve this goal, Li Mingyuan and Han soldiers, workers, farmers, teachers and other practitioners from all walks of life are contributing their strength, because in their view, the desire to establish a paradise on earth for the Chinese in South America and for everyone to live a good life is real and will definitely be realized.

For the sake of this ideal country that has never appeared in the history of the Far East, they are willing to work hard, devote their efforts, and even sacrifice together with Li Mingyuan.

The fighting will and combat effectiveness of an army with firm beliefs and pursuits, and well-guaranteed supplies and pensions, are immeasurable.

On November 11, the first batch of 3 reinforcements sent by Asuncion to the Humeta Fortress were completely wiped out, and still failed to capture the Libona Mountain position where the Han army was stationed.

On November 11, the second and final batch of 5 reinforcements were deployed to the Libona Mountain counterattack and the Mar Mountain defense.

On November 11, the heavy artillery positions at the Malshan position were completely destroyed, a Yongxing-class light cruiser of the Han Navy was severely damaged, two gunboats were sunk, and a Yangwu-class cruiser was slightly damaged.
On November 11, the Malshan position was lost, and more than 7 Brazilian defenders were wiped out, 2000 were killed or wounded, and more than 800 were captured.

On November 11, the remaining warships of the Han army launched an attack on Ulami Mountain.

On November 11, two groups of more than 9 reinforcements were exhausted. The Brazilian garrison commanders Davis and Miller abandoned five outer fortresses, assembled more than 7000 troops, and once again launched a counterattack against the two positions of Mar Mountain and Libona Mountain.

On November 11, about 10 people from the 1.1rd Division and part of the 3000nd Mixed Brigade of the Han Army used tunnel operations to extend the tunnel underground to the enemy's fortress, and then buried explosives to detonate and destroy the enemy's Tielaka and Lencia fortress groups, annihilating enemy troops.

On November 11, the Carapegua defense line was surrounded by the Han army, and the communication channel between the defenders of Humeta Fortress and Asuncion was cut off.

On November 11, Mount Ukami was captured. Since then, the Hume Tower Fortress was completely surrounded by the Han army and lost the possibility of breaking out and retreating.

(End of this chapter)