Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 569 Far East 1 - Change of Destiny
After escorting Princess Hyerong away, Zhang Chengji then led his troops back to the Han Kingdom's base in Korea to report.

"General Shen, Minister Li, the Imperial Central Government has a top-secret document to convey to you two."

After several people met and exchanged simple greetings and got to know each other, Zhang Chengji said seriously.

"Captain Chen, Counselor Zhao, you lead the others to guard outside. No one is allowed to approach the room without my order."

Shen Dehui, who was demoted from the attendant's office and promoted to commander of the Korean garrison, gave the order.

"Yes, Commander, I promise not to let anyone get close."

The two people whose names were called stood up and saluted, then turned and left. A moment later, only Zhang Chengji, Chinese Minister to North Korea Li Guipan, and Major General Shen Dehui, Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in North Korea, were left in the room.

"The Imperial Central Government has ordered that, in order to cooperate with the overall strategy of the mainland, all expansion activities in the Korean region be stopped. At the same time, the garrison troops are ordered to assist the embassy in implementing the plan to win over Russia. If necessary, they can trade interests with Russia and transfer some of the commercial industries and peripheral forces in Korea to Russia in order to achieve the purpose of intensifying the conflict between Japan and Russia."

Zhang Chengji narrated.

"Is the Imperial Center ready to give up its interference in the Korean Peninsula? Transfer the benefits to Russia?"

Shen Dehui said to himself.

"The Korean Peninsula has two main functions for the empire. One is to obtain female immigrants of marriageable age, and the other is to serve as an economic market. At present, after 90 years of continuous migration, the potential of Korean female immigrants of marriageable age has been fully tapped. In the Far East mainland, the number of immigrants has doubled, and the number of self-funded immigrants has exceeded twice the number of official immigrants. The number of immigrants of marriageable age and girls exceeds the government's planned share. The number of women of marriageable age in the Far East mainland who voluntarily apply for immigration alone reaches per year. The capacity of ocean-going ships is tight, and they cannot transport all the Chinese female immigrants of marriageable age. There is no need to continue to allocate a share to the Korean region.

Moreover, affected by the expansion of the economic market in the Far East mainland, the market share that North Korea can provide has become insignificant. "

Li Guipan pondered, "The situation on the Korean Peninsula is becoming increasingly tense. Russia and Japan border North Korea, which gives them a geographical advantage. If they continue to stay on the Korean Peninsula, it will be difficult for them to maintain North Korea's independence."

After listening to Li Guipan's analysis, Shen Dehui understood why the central government made the decision. South America had the highest priority, followed by Songkhla, Lan Fang, and Congo, the third was the Far East, the fourth was Thailand, and the fifth was North Korea.

In order to complete the local expansion strategy and exchange interests with Russia, Han State deliberately guided Russia to increase its military and economic penetration into the Korean Peninsula, accelerated the intensification of conflicts with Japan, and then disrupted the situation in hot spots in the upcoming local war, tied down part of the power of Western powers, and ultimately created a relatively peaceful external condition for the expansion of Han State, which was undoubtedly in line with the core interests of Han State.

Understanding the profound meaning of the central government's decision, Shen Dehui's frown gradually relaxed and he said seriously: "The North Korean garrison will resolutely implement the orders of the central government and fully cooperate with the embassy in carrying out its work."

“The embassy will also negotiate and trade with Russia in accordance with the orders of the central government.”

After announcing the order, Zhang Chengji sat down and discussed the follow-up plan with the two. After several hours, the three of them had initially sorted out the plan ideas. Afterwards, Zhang Chengji briefly recounted what happened on the way to report to the garrison base.

"We met Princess Huirong on the road, and Princess Huirong was stopped by the American army?"

Shen Dehui asked.

"Yes, the Americans forcibly stopped all the North Koreans who got off the bus and searched them under the pretext of searching for a lost pistol."

"The Americans have stretched their hands too far. They were not satisfied with the right to station troops last year and are now deliberately creating trouble. Their appetite is too big and they are not afraid of overinflating it."

Shen Dehui said dissatisfiedly.

"Fortunately, nothing happened to Princess Hye-yong, otherwise where would the face of the imperial family be? The situation in Korea is becoming more and more turbulent. After the British gave up their dominance in America, the Americans frequently created trouble in the waters of Cuba. The Spanish-American War might start at any time. Once the United States and Spain go to war, the Empire will not stay out of it. By then, the main focus of the imperial government will be tied up by the Americans, and the forces in Korea are gradually withdrawing. If during this period, the contradictions between Russia and Japan intensify and a war breaks out, and the Korean Peninsula becomes a battlefield, the safety of Princess Hye-yong will probably be difficult to guarantee.

Should we suggest to the mainland to escort Princess Huirong back to the mainland in advance so that her safety can be guaranteed?

"Li Guipan suggested. "That's a good idea. Princess Huirong is 16 years old, so she should return to South America two years in advance. She should first adapt to the local life, and then marry His Highness Jingying two years later. It will be just right."

Shen Dehui agreed.

"Then send a telegram to the mainland, suggesting that they bring Princess Huirong back in advance."
In the waters off the coast of Shanghai, Zhu Zhankui stood alone on the deck of a ship, looking towards the distant coast.

Nine years had passed since he returned to Jiaozhou in 1890. During these nine years, Zhu Zhankui, with the help of the Han State, first gathered the remnants of the peasant uprising he knew and established the first underground armed stronghold in Jiaozhou. From 9 to 9, the armed stronghold grew from nothing to a large one with more than 1890 people.

After 1895, local order was close to collapse. The major powers of various countries increased their expansion of power, exploitation and oppression in China. The invading forces represented by missionaries forcibly destroyed traditional religious buildings in various places and plundered and exploited in the name of missionary work.

Ordinary people not only suffered oppression from the Qing government, but also had to face exploitation by foreigners. Moreover, because of the privileges enjoyed by foreigners, local Qing government officials did not dare to provoke them, which led to an increasingly severe degree of exploitation of ordinary people by foreigners.

If you offend the local government, you can spend some money to get out of it, but if you offend foreigners, it will be difficult to get out of it. Therefore, the contradiction between ordinary people and foreigners became more and more intensified. In the situation where local governments were unable and unwilling to protect, and civil order was out of control, groups represented by poor people spontaneously carried out association movements, united into small groups, fought against foreigners, and protected their own interests and safety.

Various types of grassroots self-help organizations such as the Qing Gang, Cao Gang, Hongmen, Hongdengzhao, Landengzhao, and Quanpai emerged rapidly and grew in size.

Under this trend, Zhu Zhankui's underground forces, in the name of the folk secret society Yongxingtang, on the one hand vigorously developed members and expanded their influence, and on the other hand constantly contacted folk self-help organizations in Qilu, Yanzhao and other regions, constantly absorbing and assimilating them into peripheral forces or partners.

With the financial, weapon and manpower support provided by the Military Intelligence Department of the Han Kingdom and the Taiping Society, as well as his participation in the peasant uprising, his generosity and righteousness, and his identity as a Jiaozhou native, Zhu Zhankui's troops developed rapidly, and successively absorbed the self-help organizations of the districts and counties in Jiaozhou, such as Jimo, Yongcang, Taidong, and Huiqian, and then expanded their influence to other areas of Qi and Lu in 1896. In 1898, their influence even expanded to the Yanzhao area.

In the process of absorbing secret societies, gangs, and boxing factions from all over the country, Yongxingtang also gained a group of core members with outstanding abilities. Lin Heier and Miao Sanniang, who were only in their twenties, were the best among them.

Both of them were born into poor peasant families and made a living by performing juggling shows since childhood. When folk mutual aid organizations emerged in various places, the two of them also stepped forward to organize a mutual aid team composed mainly of young women.

In March 1898, Zhu Zhankui, who had personally entered the Yanzhao region to expand his power, heard of the two men's reputation and went to invite them to join. After learning about the purpose of Yongxingtang and seeing the various weapons and methods displayed by everyone, the two were convinced and decisively announced that they would join Yongxingtang.

Because they came from the lower class and had strong organizational skills, after joining Yongxingtang, the two first quickly increased the number of female members to 400, and then led their female members many times to organize activities to resist foreigners and foreign religions.

In August 1898, due to their outstanding performance, Lin Heier and Miao Sanniang were promoted to heads of women's self-help organizations in the Qilu and Yanzhao regions, responsible for developing female members, advocating for female immigration, and protecting women's interests.

In November 1898, the deeds of Lin Heier and Miao Sanniang were reported to South America, causing strong response among the local people, and the two became celebrities in the local area.

In February 1899, the two were granted national status.

In April 1899, the two successfully entered the Military Intelligence Department and were awarded the rank of lieutenant.

The fate of Lin Heier and Miao Sanniang changed because of Zhu Zhankui, and Zhu Zhankui's own fate also took a different direction the moment he entered South America and accepted the call of the Han government.

He successively served as the leader of the Taiping Society's Jiaozhou region, entered the Military Intelligence Department, was promoted to deputy leader and leader of the Taiping Society's Qilu branch, was awarded the rank of lieutenant, and then was promoted to leader of the Taiping Society's Shanghai branch, with his military rank raised to major.

Along the way, there have been difficulties and challenges, as well as progress and breakthroughs.

Zhu Zhankui sometimes wondered what would have happened if he had not gone to South America, but instead followed the advice of his brothers and gone to Guandong.
The climate in the Guandong region is cold, with temperatures often dropping to minus 40 to 50 degrees Celsius. Although the population is sparse and the land is vast due to the early Qing Dynasty's ban policy, it is also threatened by the Russians and bandits are rampant. Even if you go to Guandong, enter a gold mine, and luckily find gold, buy hundreds of acres of land, and survive, can you live a stable life?

The Qing court had completely lost control of the local areas. The core ruling areas such as Qilu, Yanzhao, Luyu, Jianghuai, etc. were already unable to take care of themselves, so how could it take care of the Guandong region far away in the border area.

After a little thought, Zhu Zhankui denied the feasibility of going through Guandong.

Looking into the distance, seeing the Wusong River estuary getting closer and closer, and the increasing number of warships and merchant ships from various countries on the sea, Zhu Zhankui stopped reminiscing and turned to thinking about the implementation of his plan after taking office in Shanghai.