Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 503 Railway Planning and National Identity
After a hearty lunch, the Chinese immigrants took a short break and then returned to the intense and busy work of moving the goods.

A whistle sounded, and the brothers Zhao Derong and Zhao Demao, like other Chinese immigrants, quickly came to the train platform and prepared to move the goods unloaded from the train.

By the end of 1889, the total mileage of Han Dynasty railways had increased from 1879 kilometers in Argentina in 2000 to nearly 1 kilometers. However, during the Paraguayan War, the frequent and high-intensity demands for material transportation and troop mobilization put great pressure on railway transportation.

More than 60% of the transportation of materials and the migration of people between various parts of the Han mainland was carried out by water transportation. The inland waterways were well-connected, and the ports near the Atlantic Ocean were numerous, with inland and ocean-going ships in countless numbers.

The developed and increasingly mature water shipping industry is the main means for commercial transportation, personnel migration, and immigration transit between the Han Dynasty and the outside world. However, with the increase in population, the expansion of the controlled territory, the flow of people, commerce, and the increasingly close exchange of goods, the demand for land transportation mainly based on railway transportation is also increasing. If the railway branch lines left over from the old Lopez era in Paraguay are not destroyed, the time for the Han Dynasty to occupy the entire Paraguay is likely to be shortened by one month. Don't underestimate a month. After the outbreak of the war, especially in the later stages of the war, the total number of field troops and garrison troops sent by the Han Dynasty to Paraguay reached 18, and the number of auxiliary militia and civilian workers responsible for material transfer and ammunition supply transportation also reached more than 40.

Wars are fought to test a country's comprehensive strength, its weapons and equipment, the combat effectiveness of its troops, and also its logistics, transportation and supplies.

Among the more than 40 militiamen and laborers dispatched to Paraguay, more than 30 were new immigrants from the Far East Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi regions who had migrated to the mainland for more than three months and less than two years and had not yet passed the probation period.

The climate in southern Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi is similar to that in Paraguay. After arriving in the mainland for more than three months, they have basically adapted to the local climate and environment. At the same time, they are in the two-year probation period. They only need to be provided with food, accommodation, medical care, and land, but not wages. The Han government has already cut spending as much as possible, but every additional month the war continues will result in huge material consumption and financial expenditure.

The war lasted less than three months, from mid-September to early December. The fiscal expenditure on weapons, ammunition, daily necessities, medical supplies, pensions, rewards, etc. was close to 9 million Han yuan, equivalent to about 12 million taels of silver.

The transportation in Paraguay is primitive and backward. In the future, it is necessary to go deeper into various places and strengthen the control over the grassroots areas of Paraguay. By then, the demand for transportation, especially railway transportation, will be greater and more vigorous. The current total mileage of railways in the local area can no longer meet the development needs. Continuing to increase the intensity of railway construction has also become an imminent issue on the table of the Han government.

On the basis of the three main railway lines in the mainland, after field research and investigation, the Ministry of Railways submitted a grand plan of 5 miles to Li Mingyuan. According to the plan, from 1890 to 1900, the Ministry of Railways planned to plan five new railway trunk lines in the mainland and Paraguayan occupied areas, and then build 5 miles of railways in the first three years, 5 miles of railways in the middle three years, and 1 miles of railways in the last four years around the newly planned five railway trunk lines. By 1.8, the first year of the new century, the total mileage of railways in the area controlled by the Han Kingdom was expanded to 4 kilometers.

Considering the current population, coal and steel of the Han Dynasty, the plan to complete the construction of 10 kilometers of railway in 5 years is somewhat exaggerated and unrealistic.

Moreover, the Han State was in a stage of rapid development and needed to invest in many areas. The government's precious fiscal revenue, manpower and material resources had to be used in chemical industry, machinery, electricity, shipbuilding, military, immigration, medical care, education and other aspects. The funds that could be allocated to railway construction were limited, and it was impossible to use most of the funds on this. However, on the other hand, transportation was an indispensable investment for a country to complete industrialization. A developed railway transportation network would not only facilitate the mobilization and rotation of troops, but also inject momentum and vitality into the development of industry and commerce.

Furthermore, compare it with the Han Dynasty’s biggest enemy, the United States.

In 1830, the first railroad in the United States was completed and opened to traffic.

From 1850 to 1880, the construction of railways in the United States entered its first peak, with a total of 30 kilometers of railways built in 10 years.

From 1880 to 1889, stimulated by the development of domestic industry and commerce, the surge in foreign immigration, and the partial influence of the Han Dynasty, the construction of railways in the United States entered its second peak. By the end of 1889, the total mileage of railways reached 19 kilometers, and the construction speed increased by nearly 1850 times compared with the period from 1880 to 3.

The peak of railway construction in the United States was also accompanied by a large influx of immigrants. From 1820 to 1860, the United States received a total of approximately 500 million immigrants. Among them, due to wars, unrest, famine and other reasons in Europe, approximately 200 million Irish and 170 million Germans chose to immigrate to the United States to escape the war.

About one million black people were sold to the United States because of the slave trade.

In the end, 20 to 30 Chinese workers were lured to the United States under the guise of gold mining.

The influx of a large number of young and middle-aged immigrants brought abundant labor to the United States, which in turn led to the prosperity of railway construction.

The Irish and Chinese workers became the main force in building the railway. A large number of Chinese workers died during the construction process due to exhaustion, beatings by white supervisors, and disease. Their bodies were buried under the stacks of timber and became part of the railway bed.

The Chinese workers who managed to survive were envied and expelled by ordinary Americans because of their hard-working and patient qualities. Their jobs were taken away and they were despised and expelled.

This disgust and malice reached its peak after the end of the second wave of immigration.

From 1861 to 1880, the American Civil War ended, the domestic market was unified, the Industrial Revolution reached its peak, and the demand for labor became even stronger. During this period, the number of immigrants from Europe further increased to 500 million. In addition, due to the First Paraguayan War and the rise of the Han Dynasty, the originally quiet and peaceful situation in South America became turbulent and chaotic. About 100 million white people and mixed-race descendants of whites in South America sold their local assets and immigrated to the United States with their families.

The two waves of immigration brought more than 1100 million young and middle-aged workers to the United States.

With abundant labor resources and the demand for industrial development and expansion being met, the Chinese workers who had originally been exploited through deception, trafficking and other means and had traveled thousands of miles to come here have become dispensable consumables.

In May 1882, the United States enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited Han Chinese from entering the United States and legally deprived Chinese workers of their status as American citizens.

As a follow-up to the Chinese Exclusion Act, the United States also tightened its immigration policy for non-white groups from Japan, Korea, and Latin America. Even though they were not prohibited by law, the number of non-white immigrants from Japan, Korea, and Latin America allowed to enter the United States each year decreased year by year.

On the contrary, European immigrants, especially Eastern European immigrants, who had historically had their entry thresholds raised due to opposition from conservative ideas at home, have not been affected.

From 1881 to 1889, the United States welcomed about 300 million immigrants from southeastern Europe, including Italy, Russia, and the Balkan Peninsula. As for traditional immigration-importing regions in northwestern Europe, such as Britain, Germany, and Sweden, the number of immigrants dropped to more than 100 million.

Perhaps stimulated and influenced by the substantial increase in the number of Han immigrants, the United States also welcomed a larger increase in immigration than in the same period in history. Even though there was no competition on the battlefield, Han had already launched a full-scale competition with the United States in immigration, railways, industry and other aspects.

The speed and total mileage of railway construction lagged behind those of the United States, which was naturally not a situation that Li Mingyuan and a group of Han officials were happy to see. Therefore, they made a discount on the plan submitted by the Ministry of Railways, shortening the total mileage from 10 kilometers in 5 years to 4 kilometers. Then Li Mingyuan signed the plan and agreed to the construction plan.

Due to the war, the ambitious railway construction plan could not be implemented immediately. However, as an important part of the railway construction, tens of thousands of prisoners of the Republic of Brazil have begun to be transported to the country and will be used as an important labor force in the front-line work.

Group after group of Brazilian prisoners and officers were urged off the train by the Han soldiers guarding them. Among the prisoners were white people, white-Indian mixed-race people, white-black mixed-race people, black-Indian mixed-race people, and a large number of pure black people.

Looking at the rows of Brazilian prisoners of different skin colors walking out of the carriage.

Like many Chinese immigrants, the brothers Zhao Derong and Zhao Demao poked their heads out and looked at them curiously, as if they were looking at something rare.

"Brother, this is a foreigner. Why is it different from what the officials back home said? Not only are there scary white foreigners, but there are also dark black foreigners?"

Zhao Demao looked at the Brazilian prisoners with their heads drooping and numb expressions, his face full of curiosity.

"Little brother, you have just arrived in this country not long ago, right?"

In the crowd, a Chinese man in his 30s who looked much older looked at Zhao Demao who was full of excitement and took the initiative to talk to him: "Let me tell you, these foreigners, bah, are not, according to the official statement of the government, Brazilians. Among these Brazilians, except for those Yin people whose skin is yellower and worse than ours, the other white barbarians and black ghosts are all foreign robbers. They robbed the Yin people of their land, property, and women. Our Han country is a distant relative of the Yin people. When our relatives are bullied by outsiders, we naturally have to help them get them back."

"But Indians, no, according to the government, they are Yin people. There is still some difference between Yin people and us in appearance. They are not as similar to us as Koreans and Annan people."

"What do you know? Thousands of years ago, when the Far East was still under the Shang Dynasty, these Yin people migrated to the American continent. After thousands of years of exposure to wind and sun, the climate of the American continent is different from that of the Far East, so the appearance of the Yin people has naturally changed. In any case, although their appearance is different from ours, since we are from the same lineage, we naturally cannot watch them being bullied by outsiders."

"Brother is right. These white barbarians are used to doing bad things. Someone should stand up and uphold justice."

The new immigrants pointed and talked at the cars full of Brazilian prisoners. Even the brothers Zhao Derong and Zhao Demao, who had never seen foreigners in their hometown, felt proud.

What do foreigners, or white people, symbolize in the Far East? They symbolize superior privileges and super-national treatment.

Even the officials of the Qing court had to bow down and scrape before foreigners, smiling and trying to please them, but what about the Han country in South America?
The arrogant foreigners were driven off the train in groups as obedient as cattle and sheep. Some well-informed immigrants nearby said that these Brazilian prisoners would be assigned to various parts of the mainland to build railways, just like the Americans built the Pacific Railway, and the most difficult and dangerous work would be assigned to them. In the past, this kind of work was done by Chinese workers, but now the roles have been completely reversed and the burden is now on the so-called foreigners.

If it were in the Far East, those foreigners who were showing off their might would probably not have thought that on the other side of the ocean, white Brazilians with the same skin color and cultural background as them were actually engaged in what they considered to be the dirtiest, most dangerous and most despicable jobs.

What goes around comes around. The humiliation inflicted on the Chinese will eventually be repaid in equal measure.

The brothers Zhao Derong and Zhao Demao looked at the continuous influx of Brazilian prisoners, and their expressions gradually changed.

The captives and the ongoing Paraguayan War made them experience firsthand the power of the Han State and also aroused the blood in their hearts that had been extinguished by the cruel life.

The Han Dynasty fought wars with the descendants of Westerners time and time again, proving with victory that the Chinese were not the inferior, ignorant, and uncivilized race as the Westerners said. In this age of blood and fire, the Chinese in South America were also able to use the guns in their hands to win land for their ethnic group to survive!

The decision of superiority or inferiority will be made on the battlefield. The land they stand on is the one that the Han soldiers snatched from the foreigners with their blood and sacrifice.

In the eyes of the brothers Zhao Derong and Zhao Demao, they may not be clear about the difference between Brazil and traditional European countries such as Britain, Germany, and France. However, they also have a concept in their hearts that although countries such as Brazil and Argentina do not have enough foreign content, they are still foreigners. If they can defeat foreigners, snatch land from them, and trample them under their feet, they are great heroes. It has always been foreigners who oppressed the Chinese and snatched land and wealth from them. Now the situation is reversed. What are they if not heroes?
New Chinese immigrants like Zhao Derong and Zhao Demao, after witnessing the new and novel scenes of the Han native land in South America, gradually regained their sense of pride and established their new identity as Han citizens and their new country.

(End of this chapter)