Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 524: Harvesting the Fruits of Victory
On March 1890, 3, in the coastal area east of Rio de Janeiro, nearly 28 Brazilian prisoners of war, under the supervision of the Han army, pushed various vehicles and traveled between factories, ports, and railway fulcrums, carrying out mechanical equipment that had been disassembled into parts.

Rio de Janeiro is the shipbuilding center of Brazil, with 45% of steam shipyards and 50% of ship tonnage production capacity concentrated here.

At the same time, with excellent ports and developed railway trunk lines,

Industries such as cotton spinning, grain processing, coffee processing, canning, metallurgy, rubber, tobacco, papermaking, and flour also gradually developed.

Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are the top two industrial, economic and financial centers in Brazil. Dismantling and moving industrial equipment in the two places is equivalent to paralyzing the industrial system of Brazil.

In order to plunder as many resources as possible and make up for the losses in the war, the Han State plundered the occupied areas such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo State in a very thorough manner.

Banks, vaults, gold bars, bonds, machinery and equipment, mineral resources, and even the railroad tracks under the railway are all within the scope of demolition.

Such a large-scale demolition work naturally requires a comprehensive assessment and the mobilization of a large number of manpower. In order to ensure that the comprehensive demolition work is completed before the evacuation date, the Han country specially selected technical experts from various industries such as government departments, state-owned factories, and private factories to rush to the Republic of Brazil to provide on-site guidance for the demolition work.

"Deputy Director Niu, how long will it take to dismantle and relocate the shipyards in the coastal areas of Rio de Janeiro?"

"The core machinery and equipment in the Rio de Janeiro Shipyard (formerly the Brazilian Imperial Royal Shipyard) have been dismantled, including two 2000-ton hydraulic presses, two 3000-ton hydraulic presses, four die forging machines, and five free forging machines. Of the remaining 4 shipyards, six meet the technical standards for use by Xinghe Shipyard. It is expected that the dismantling and relocation of the core machinery and equipment will be completed before the end of April."

Niu Shangzhou, deputy director of Xinghe Shipyard, introduced: "In addition to the mechanical equipment in the shipyard and dock, there are 1500 newly launched ships of various types with a displacement of more than 32 tons, and 50 steamships of various types with keels laid and construction progress greater than 60%. The total tonnage of the ships is expected to be 17 tons. Equivalent to 600 million Han yuan, if the core mechanical equipment of each shipyard is included, the total value is about 1800 million Han yuan (960 million taels of silver)."

"1800 million Chinese Yuan is a lot."

Qiu Mingzhang, the major general commander of the Second Division who was in charge of assisting in the relocation work, sighed: "The total amount of fiscal funds spent by the Empire in the Paraguayan War was less than 7000 million Han Yuan. The value of the shipyard machinery and equipment in Rio de Janeiro and the ships seized in the docks alone reached a quarter of the war expenditure. This war was really worth fighting. If there were a few more similar wars, the development of the Empire would be able to reach a higher level."

"General Qiu, that's not how you calculate the account."

Chen Shen, the Minister of Industry, smiled and said, "Rio de Janeiro is the center of Brazil's shipbuilding industry. Since the colonial era, Portugal, the Brazilian Empire, and the Brazilian Republic have been operating for hundreds of years. In addition, the Brazilian Republic, influenced by the empire, has invested a lot of funds obtained from selling minerals, railways and other fields into the shipbuilding industry, and imported complete sets of machinery and equipment from Europe, which has enabled the shipbuilding industry in Rio de Janeiro to reach its current scale. It is true that we have gained profits from fighting a war, but these 1800 million assets are the accumulation of hundreds of years of Brazilian shipping industry. It will be difficult to encounter similar good things again."

"Haha, Chief Chen is right. It's a rare opportunity to relocate the shipyard in Rio de Janeiro. If you come across it, you can't let it go, otherwise it would be a waste."

Qiu Mingzhang laughed, his eyes shining.

"Director Chen, can you tell us the total amount of machinery and equipment, mineral resources, industrial products, etc. looted from the occupied areas, how much is the total amount in Chinese Yuan?" "No, it's not looting, it's compensation. The Republic of Brazil did not pay war reparations. The Empire seized state-owned enterprises and assets in the occupied areas to offset war consumption. It was completely legitimate."

"Yes, yes, compensation. The Brazilian Republic has caused serious harm to Paraguay and the Empire, and financial compensation must be paid."

Qiu Mingzhang echoed and continued, "Director Chen, what is the total value of the compensation assets obtained in the occupied areas? Tell us about it."

"In the occupied area of ​​Rio de Janeiro, five government-run banks, three vaults, 5 mining companies of various types, and 3 industrial companies of various types were sealed and seized, with a total estimated capital of 16 million Han yuan."

Chen Shen, the Minister of Industry, explained: "In addition, there are more than 50 industrial and mining enterprises and railways. Because they have shares from powerful countries such as Britain, Germany and France, it is difficult to forcibly seal them up. We are discussing with all stakeholders to assess the value of the shares held by the Republic of Brazil in the joint ventures."

"What about the United States? Don't Americans also have a lot of businesses invested in the Republic of Brazil?"

“There were 21 U.S.-owned companies in the occupied zone of Rio de Janeiro, and all of them had been sealed and their assets and equipment relocated before the armistice agreement was signed.”

"In that case, including the American-funded enterprises that were sealed and confiscated, the war profits obtained by the Empire in the occupied area of ​​Rio de Janeiro exceeded 4000 million Han Yuan."

"Yes, the estimated amount is 4300 million Hanyuan."

"Rio de Janeiro is the capital of the Republic of Brazil. We have acquired 4300 million Han Yuan worth of economic assets. Sao Paulo State is the industrial center of Brazil. After the seizure and relocation, won't the total revenue obtained by the Empire exceed 1 million Han Yuan?"

Qiu Mingzhang estimated a rough number and said in surprise.

"The occupied area of ​​Rio de Janeiro is about 2 square kilometers, which is less than half of the total area of ​​Rio de Janeiro State. The occupied area of ​​Sao Paulo State is 13 square kilometers, and the core area and two-thirds of the population are controlled by the Empire. Moreover, Sao Paulo State is the industrial center of Brazil. If the relocation work goes smoothly, the total assets are expected to be 1 million Han Yuan. Including the seized and confiscated assets in Rio de Janeiro and other occupied areas, the total value is estimated to be 1.5-1.7 million Han Yuan."

"After deducting the war expenses from the 1.5 million Han Yuan, there will be at least a surplus of 8000 million Han Yuan. The Paraguayan War was worth it."

The war was fought for the economy. After the war, not only did they gain control of Paraguay and the entire Paraná state, but the confiscated assets not only completely covered the consumption expenditures, but also had a surplus. Both military generals like Qiu Mingzhang and traditional civil servants like Chen Shen were satisfied and happy. The only thing that made the military generals feel a little dissatisfied was that they gave up the control of São Paulo state and let the Americans take advantage of the opportunity and gain a military base in the Republic of Brazil. For some young officers, this was considered a loss.

However, due to the insistence of the Republic of Brazil and the United States, as well as the resolute attitude of the United Kingdom to promote peace talks, both sides took a step back, and the occupied areas of southeastern Goiás, southern Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul were still ruled by the Kingdom of Paraguay. The Republic of Brazil also formally ceded Paraná to the Han Kingdom. From the perspective of territorial expansion, the Han Kingdom basically achieved its pre-war strategic goals, with an actual increase of about 140 million square kilometers of land area and the border line moved hundreds of kilometers northward. It can be regarded as the biggest winner of the Paraguayan War.

(End of this chapter)