Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 548 New Territory Development Iron Ore Far East Layout
"We can start arranging the development and construction of the newly controlled areas now. Based on the principle of voluntariness, we will give priority to resettling new immigrants, civilians, and militia reserves who are stationed in Paraguay, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, and other places. The resettlement policy will be based on the difficulty of land development, climate, geography and other factors in various places. On the basis of allocating 10 to 15 mu of land per person, an additional 5 to 10 mu of arable land will be awarded. For areas with insufficient arable land or arable land with soil fertility below the local average standard, additional forest land and grassland will be allocated as compensation.
In principle, one mu of arable land with average fertility is converted into 30 mu of forest land or 50 mu of grassland. The specific conversion standard can fluctuate up and down based on the proportion, but the fluctuation range shall not exceed 20%, especially the floating lower limit. It is better to allocate a few mu or dozens of mu of forest land and grassland to immigrants than to reduce the land area that the people who move to the new control area should be allocated for various reasons.

Paraguay, Paraná, and Mato Grosso do Sul suffered from war damage, and it can be said that all industries have withered. Especially Paraguay and Mato Grosso do Sul, which have experienced several wars. Even Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, was burned to ashes by the Brazilian army. The total population of the original territory of the Kingdom of Paraguay and Mato Grosso do Sul, with an area of ​​120 million square kilometers, is estimated to be less than 30. Excluding the black and black mixed population, it is considered good to have 20 people left.

Since Paraguay's independence, the wealth accumulated over half a century has been completely squandered by Lopez Jr. Within the original Paraguayan territory, there are probably only 20,000 to 30,000 young and middle-aged male laborers, and the railways and factory equipment have also been completely destroyed.

The newly migrated people are faced with a completely poor situation and need to start from scratch, reclaiming land, building houses, and growing food. In the early stages of reclamation, there are many difficulties and obstacles. The government must not set restrictions on the division of land to dampen the enthusiasm of the people to build their new homes. "

Li Mingyuan instructed: "The number of immigrants in each settlement is controlled within the range of 500 to 1000 people. The settlements are under semi-militarized management. In principle, every male resident between the ages of 18 and 50 must take three and a half months each year to participate in centralized training in addition to completing the settlement construction tasks. Each settlement will form a standing militia reserve platoon with a personnel number of 3 to 30 people. The garrison will select 50 to 1 retired officers to serve as grassroots commanders. They will be responsible for militia training, drills, public security maintenance, weapons and ammunition management, etc. After the settlement construction is completed and transformed into a formal township, the militia reserve units will be merged into other areas according to the needs of the situation, and then the training tasks will be transferred to the county and state administrative units.

This work is coordinated and undertaken by the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Police, the Militia Reserve, the Garrison Army and other departments.”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Several heads of relevant departments who were named responded.

"Also, Chief Chen and the exploration team sent back a telegram saying that a giant iron ore mine was discovered in Mato Grosso do Sul. The reserves are astonishing. Currently, the proven iron ore area is over 600 square kilometers, and the proven iron ore reserves are 1 million tons. It is estimated that the total iron ore area may exceed square kilometers, and the iron ore reserves exceed billions or even tens of billions of tons. Because the iron ore site is huge, the reserves are astonishing, and the mine is not far from the border with Bolivia, Chief Chen and the exploration team requested the central government to send more reinforcements.

Before the telegram came back, General Chen had already dispatched a battalion of troops to the mining area to perform security duty, but one battalion of troops was still not enough. I planned to order the Army stationed in Paraguay to dispatch another infantry battalion, an engineering battalion, and dispatch 100 mining-related technical personnel from the mainland to reinforce Chief Chen and the exploration team.

The estimated reserves of a giant iron ore are billions of tons, tens of billions of tons. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the largest iron ore found in South America so far. After it is officially mined, this iron ore alone can meet the amount of steel needed for the empire's railway construction in the next few years. This is great news."

"Your Majesty, during the reign of Pedro II, Brazil and Bolivia had territorial disputes in the border areas of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso do Sul. Now, the Empire has discovered a giant iron ore mine in Mato Grosso do Sul. In order to prevent sovereignty disputes over the iron ore mine area, do we need to make plans early and order the troops to move forward to control some of the disputed areas that may contain iron ore in advance?"

Army Chief Luo Linshan suggested.

"It is necessary. Commander Luo, send a telegram to General Chen and order the troops stationed on the border of Mato Grosso do Sul to cooperate with the exploration team and move forward to take actual control of the land that may contain the giant iron ore mine."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Luo Linshan stood up and answered.

"Your Majesty, the war in Paraguay has just ended. If there is a conflict with Bolivia over border disputes, will it affect the economic development of the empire?"

An official spoke up.

"The border between Mato Grosso do Sul and Bolivia is a no-man's land. Whether it was during the Brazilian Empire or the Paraguayan Kingdom, neither country set up a standing military base in the border area. Advancing into the border area will not lead to direct military conflict with the Bolivian garrison. In addition, the two countries already have a dispute over border territorial sovereignty. Even if an armed conflict breaks out, there are reasonable and legal excuses. There is no need to worry about the impact of Bolivia."

Li Mingyuan said with a smile.

"During the Paraguayan War, Bolivia responded to the military action of the Republic of Brazil and sent more troops to the border area. Later, when they saw that the situation in the Republic of Brazil was not good, they withdrew again. Now, even if the Empire advances to the border area, it is a necessary move, and there is no need to worry about the opinions of the outside world."

"They should be secretly happy that the Imperial Army did not directly send troops to punish Bolivia's provocation. How dare they cause trouble for the Imperial Army in the issue of recovering legitimate territory?"

Several army officers expressed their views on Bolivia. "General Chen and the exploration team said in the telegram that most of the giant iron ore discovered in Mato Grosso do Sul is distributed on the surface and is easy to mine. However, because the iron ore is located in the primeval forest area, transportation is inconvenient, so the site selection of the steel smelting plant and the choice of transportation methods still need to be carefully studied, and work in this area must be studied and handled immediately."

"Your Majesty, rest assured. The Ministry of Railways, in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, is collecting and collating climate and geographical information from Mato Grosso do Sul to the Kingdom of Paraguay. Once the results are available, we will report them to the higher authorities as soon as possible."

The Minister of Railways reported.

"Your Majesty, the entire territory of the Kingdom of Paraguay has been recovered and the war is over. What should the Paraguayan royal family do?"

"Asuncion was burned to ashes by the Brazilian army, and the Paraguayan palace was also reduced to a wasteland. The Paraguayan royal family had nowhere to go, so they stayed in Chang'an City and bought a house in the west of the city as the official residence of the Paraguayan royal family. The Kingdom of Paraguay was ruined by the Lopez family, and the ordinary people hated them to the core. It would not be easy for them to live after returning. It would be better for them to stay in Chang'an City and become nobles. The government affairs of Paraguay will be managed by officials sent by the empire, so they don't have to worry about it."

Li Mingyuan arranged: "After the construction of the Paraguayan settlement is completed, the 10th Division, the 1st Mixed Brigade, and the 3rd and 5th Brigades of the Security Army will be placed under the jurisdiction of the Northern Theater Command, and the other troops will be withdrawn to the mainland.
General Pang, I have handed over 3.4 troops and 120 million square kilometers of land in Paraguay to you. After you go there, cooperate with the local government departments to do a good job in Paraguay's reconstruction and the mining and construction of the giant iron ore mine in Mato Grosso do Sul. I hope that in a few years, we can see a stable and prosperous Paraguay. "

"Your Majesty, rest assured. With the 10th Division, the 1st Mixed Brigade, the 3rd and 5th Security Brigade here, there won't be any trouble in Paraguay!"

The new commander of the 10th Division, Pang Zhenyun, stood up and expressed his position.

"I believe in the capabilities of the troops in the Northern Theater Command and General Pang's determination."

Li Mingyuan waved his hand and asked Pang Zhenyun to sit down.

"In order to cooperate with the Nanyang light industry transfer and construction plan, we will increase our efforts to explore overseas markets.
The empire's presence in the Far East, especially in coastal areas such as southern Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, needed to be strengthened and expanded.

Minister Liu, I authorize the Military Intelligence Department to recruit new immigrants who are familiar with Far Eastern mainland intelligence in the mainland. After the recruitment is completed, we will send capable personnel to the Far East. First, they will meet with local intelligence personnel in the concession areas such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Gulangyu Island to understand the situation in various places. Then, they will go deep into the destination in batches to win over the local enlightened elements and use them for the empire, and then gradually establish a stable base to await subsequent orders. "

"Your Majesty, according to the feedback from the personnel at the Shanghai Concession and Gulangyu Concession, in recent years, the activities of armed personnel such as secret societies, gangs, and bandits have been rampant in the foreign concessions and coastal areas. In order to maintain the security and stability of the intelligence base, should we increase the amount of weapons supplied to the Far East mainland?"

Liu Jiazhao, Director General of the Military Intelligence Department, asked for instructions.

"The Royal Arsenal has developed a new batch of automatic pistols. During the Paraguayan War, a number of revolvers were also captured. We have selected 400 revolvers and 100 new automatic pistols and delivered them to the Military Intelligence Department for use."

"Thank you for your permission, Your Majesty."

“In addition to light weapons such as pistols and grenades, if necessary, we can apply for heavy weapons support such as heavy machine guns, mortars, mountain artillery, field artillery, etc. from the nearby Nanyang region.

In the next ten years, the mission of the Military Intelligence Department is to establish ten to twenty permanent strongholds with 100 to 300 armed personnel in the coastal areas of the Far East, relying on mountains and forests for cover. Weapons, ammunition and food reserves will be equipped according to the standards required to maintain three years of normal life and combat.

The maintenance of commercial interests requires the support of military force. In the Far East, it is inconvenient for the Empire to intervene directly, so the existence of hidden military force is indispensable. "