Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 6 Duraya Mine

Shortly after the gunshots rang out, Li Mingyuan heard the news from Wang Xiaoshan.

"Order Chen Guozhu and Zhang Ansong to attack the mine gate immediately."

The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and a little hesitation may destroy an army. As the gunshots sound, the troops in the mine will definitely rush to the city gate for reinforcements. The more enemy reinforcements there are, the more difficult it will be for the Taiping Army to capture the mine. Therefore, although a strong attack will result in heavy casualties, Li Mingyuan can only give the order decisively.

The reason why Li Mingyuan prepared for two months before leading the Chinese workers to revolt was actually a decision he made after careful consideration.

The Paraguayan War, which began in 1864, had been going on for more than three years, and both sides suffered heavy casualties during this period.

As the initiator of the war, Paraguay suffered more than half of its population casualties, from 520,000 before the war to only 200,000 at the end of the war, and there were only more than 10,000 adult men among them. Paraguay was almost destroyed because of this.

The current Paraguayan President Lopez Jr. is still in confrontation with Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, but a war a few months later resulted in a disastrous defeat for the Paraguayan army and the capital was occupied by Brazil.

Li Mingyuan wanted to gather together hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers in Peru while Paraguay could still hold on, and form an alliance with Paraguay at a critical moment.

The three-year war not only caused heavy losses to Paraguay, but also made the three countries of Brazil struggle to hold on. According to Li Mingyuan's memories of his previous life, in two months, Argentina and Uruguay would withdraw from the war because they could not bear the losses, leaving only the Brazilian army to attack Paraguay.

At this time, Brazil was the weakest. Although Brazil had a huge area, the more than 20 states that made up Brazil were all very independent. As the leader of the central government, the Brazilian emperor had almost no control over the states. If history did not change, the Brazilian emperor would be overthrown by the forces of the Brazilian states in a dozen years.

The Paraguayan War had its supporters and opponents as well. When the Brazilians started the war, they did not expect that the war would be so difficult. In order to wage the war, tens of thousands of Brazilians were killed or injured.

Unlike the 21st century, white immigrants now dominate South America, and only local white people can join the army. In order to maintain white dominance, each South American country will leave enough troops to deter Indians and black slaves.

If the white casualties are too great, it will shake the foundation of the country's rule, and then the oppressed Indians and blacks will rise up in rebellion.

The reason why the war can still go on is that those who advocate war see hope of victory. Moreover, if the war stops now, the Brazilians cannot bear it. The materials consumed by the war and other necessities were all bought by them from the European powers by mortgaging their national interests. If they cannot win, their losses will be too great.

In fact, the Paraguayan War can be said to be a war in which both sides suffered losses. After the war, Paraguay never recovered, and Brazil's economy also suffered a huge blow. Before the war, Brazil's economy developed rapidly, and its per capita income reached the average level of European countries. However, after the war, in addition to gaining some land, Brazil also suffered huge casualties. The country's modernization process was abruptly interrupted. The originally wealthy country was burdened with huge foreign debts, which made Brazil miss the golden time of development and become an economic colony of European countries.

The European powers did not want to see the rise of a powerful Brazil. Li Mingyuan took advantage of this opportunity to help Paraguay eliminate the main force of the invading Brazil, and then occupy the southernmost Rio Grande do Sul Province in Brazil as a base. The powers would not interfere too much.

The European powers hoped that Brazil would be as chaotic as possible. As long as the Taiping Army led by Li Mingyuan could resist the counterattack of the Brazilian army and prove its strength, the European powers would be happy to see it happen.
With the existence of Li Mingyuan's force, Brazil will become more dependent on European powers. European countries have been fighting for thousands of years, and what they are best at is maintaining a balance. If Li Mingyuan is submissive and protects their interests, they will not take action against the Taiping Army.

"Prince, the enemy's firepower is very strong. Uncle Chen requests to slow down the attack." The messenger's words interrupted Li Mingyuan's thoughts.

"Come on, follow me to the front line." Li Mingyuan waved his hand, and the reserve soldiers behind him quickly followed. In front of the position, five or six cannons on the stone tower attacked the Taiping soldiers under the city. Soldiers who were hit by cannons and muskets fell on the way of attack.

"Prince, the enemy's firepower is too strong. A strong attack will result in huge casualties." Chen Guozhu, whose face was blackened by the artillery fire, said excitedly.

Li Mingyuan looked at the cannons that were firing continuously, and said to the artillery platoon leader without turning his head, "Cannons, are you sure you can fire the six cannons on the city gate for me?"

"Sir, the city gate is too far away, our artillery can't reach it."

"Damn it!" Li Mingyuan cursed, feeling aggrieved.

The quality of the weapons purchased from the Prussians was indeed good, but there was no heavy artillery for siege. Time was running out. If the city wall could not be taken quickly, the siege would fail when the Peruvian reinforcements arrived.

"Uncle Chen, we can't wait any longer. The longer we delay, the worse it will be for us. I order everyone to prepare to attack immediately."

"Prince..., if we take over the mine like this, there won't be many of our brothers left." Zhang Ansong advised.

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath to keep his mind clear.
"Uncle Zhang, Uncle Chen, the Taiping Army soldiers sitting here are all my brothers. I know that a strong attack will result in heavy casualties, but if we don't do this, we will end up dead. There is no room for mercy in a matter of life and death. I will personally lead everyone to attack the city right now. If we fail, I will die with everyone."

"Prince, ..."

"I have made up my mind, please stop trying to persuade me."

"Dashan, check your weapons. Once my musket fires, charge!"

"Yes!" Wang Dashan shouted, looking at Li Mingyuan with firm eyes.

"Prince, look, the Peruvians are fighting each other." Li Mingyuan took out his pistol and was about to order everyone to attack when he heard an exciting voice. Looking up, he saw fierce gunfire coming from the rear of Peru. The city gate slowly opened to reveal the figures of a dozen Chinese.

"Brothers, the Chinese brothers in the city have opened the city gate, follow me." Li Mingyuan shouted, and the Taiping Army soldiers next to him noticed the changes on the city wall and immediately rushed up.

The city gate was opened, and the Peruvian army on the city wall was obviously thrown into disarray. They hastily sent more than a hundred soldiers down to provide support. Seeing a good opportunity, the Taiping Army soldiers quickly rushed up and fired a row of bullets. More than twenty Peruvian soldiers near the city gate were killed or wounded. The remaining Peruvian soldiers saw that there was no hope of taking the gate, so they fled back in a swarm.

Thanks to the help of the Chinese in the city, the Taiping Army captured Dulaya without suffering heavy casualties.

(End of this chapter)