Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 71 Greetings
"Li Han, commander of the Taiping Navy, pays his respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Li Han bowed and saluted inside a military tent.

"This brother claims to be a subordinate of King Mori, but as far as I know, His Highness King Mori was killed by Qing army spies in Hong Kong." Li Mingyuan said the news about King Mori and said calmly: "Tell me, what are your identities?"

"I am indeed a subordinate of King Mori. After King Mori was killed, I followed General Hou to America..."

Li Han's narration was detailed and credible, so Li Mingyuan dispelled his doubts about their identities and said with a smile: "Recently, the army is investigating Peruvian spies, so they are a bit strict. Don't be offended, brother Li Han."

"Your Highness, you should be cautious when leading an isolated army into a foreign land." Li Han said respectfully.

After entering the tent, Li Han carefully observed Li Mingyuan and found that although the man sitting in the upper position in front of him had a slightly immature face, his behavior was mature and his every move was very similar to the young commanders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom such as King Ying Chen Yucheng and King Zhong Li Xiucheng.

Li Han had never met Li Mingyuan before. He subconsciously believed that the reason why Li Mingyuan was mature at a young age was because he inherited his talent from Prince Shixian. Therefore, his doubts and confusion about Li Mingyuan disappeared.

In the later period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, there were many factions within the Taiping Army, and each prince had his own independent force.

Although Prince Hou Yutian was dead, his navy was still entrenched. Li Mingyuan was not sure whether Li Hanlai was sincere in coming to him, so after a few words, he asked directly: "The Heavenly Kingdom was destroyed, and the soldiers of the Heavenly Kingdom were scattered all over the place. I want to revive the Heavenly Kingdom flag. I wonder what General Hou plans to do?"

Li Mingyuan's words were very clear. After the demise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Chinese Independence Army led by Li Mingyuan was the last large-scale Taiping Army, so Li Mingyuan wanted to reunite the remaining Taiping Army and establish a new country with him as the head.

After listening to Li Mingyuan's words, Li Han did not make a decision immediately. According to traditional legal principles, the ruler of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom should be the descendant of the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan.

After the fall of Tianjing, Hong Xiuquan's son was executed, but his nephews escaped. If Li Mingyuan's Chinese Independence Army could become stronger again and regain control of China, Hong Xiuquan's descendants should be made emperors.

Li Mingyuan's intention was obviously to abandon Hong Xiuquan's descendants and set up his own faction. This choice made Li Han feel embarrassed. After thinking for a while, he still couldn't make a decision, so he declined, saying, "My humble position is low and my words are not important. I can't make a decision on behalf of my general. I hope that the prince will allow me to go back and report to General Hou and then give a reply."

The Chinese Independence Army was established from scratch by Li Mingyuan, and the top leaders of the Chinese Independence Army were also promoted and appointed by Li Mingyuan. In addition, due to Li Mingyuan's mythical influence in the Chinese Independence Army, in the hearts of the generals and ordinary soldiers of the Chinese Independence Army, he was the only leader. As for Hong Xiuquan's two nephews who ran away to unknown places, no one recognized them at all.

Li Han's tactful refusal caused dissatisfaction among the army. Zhao Yan was the first to stand up and say, "Your Highness has single-handedly saved the situation and rebuilt the destroyed Taiping Army. He is the savior of the Taiping Army and deserves the support of all the Taiping Army. Could it be that Commander Li still cannot understand the situation and is counting on the two nephews of the Heavenly King to rebuild the Heavenly Kingdom?"

As soon as Zhao Yan spoke, the others in the tent followed suit and expressed their dissatisfaction, blaming Li Han for not being appreciative. "Forget it, everyone, stop talking," Li Mingyuan raised his hand to stop the noise of his men, and said, "Since brother Li Han can't make the decision, let's talk about it later. However, in a few days, the Chinese Independence Army will leave, and it's not safe for brother Li Han to go back now. It's better to leave with our fleet and wait until the troops are settled before leaving. What do you think, brother Li Han?"

One army, one leader. The Chinese Independence Army has more than 100,000 soldiers. It is no longer as small and weak as when it was first established. So at this time, Li Mingyuan pays more attention to the unity of the army.
Although Li Han and the hundreds of Chinese pirates behind him were also talents needed by the Chinese Independence Army, Li Mingyuan would not give up his standards just because of a few hundred pirates.

Adding a group of troops who have different ideas from his own to the Chinese Independence Army would only lead to disharmony among the troops. Therefore, Li Mingyuan was not in a hurry to recruit them before they officially expressed their support for him.

As for not letting Li Han leave now, it was for their safety. It was not easy for a dozen unidentified Chinese to cross the ocean again and return to the Caribbean island.
If they were to be interrogated by the local military police, they would most likely not be able to escape. Li Mingyuan did not want the few remaining Taiping troops to die in vain, so he asked to keep them. …

The deal between the Chinese Independence Army and Peruvian President Pedro was completed step by step. Three days later, the Peruvians handed over 5,000 Chinese workers and 2,000 pack horses, and the Chinese Independence Army gave up Cusco and surrounding towns.

After the first transaction between the two parties was successfully completed, in the next ten days, the Chinese Independence Army withdrew from all occupied areas except the area south of Arequipa.
Peru also delivered 20,000 pack horses, 20,000 Chinese laborers, and ten large merchant ships. Only 10,000 Chinese laborers were still in their hands to be used for the final transaction with the Chinese Independence Army.

The ten days of trading with the Peruvians were the busiest period for the Chinese Independence Army. After receiving ten large merchant ships from Peru, Li Mingyuan ordered more than a thousand skilled workers who were forcibly relocated from the occupied areas to board the ships first, followed by the dismantled machines in the Arequipa military factory and 20,000 Chinese.

Among the 20,000 Chinese who were transferred by sea, there were 10,000 combat troops, including more than 3,000 Chinese Independence Army naval troops and a division of 6,000 under Luo Linshan. They would form an assault force to attack Rio Grande do Sul.

When Li Mingyuan led the main force to fight a decisive battle with the Brazilian army, he occupied Rio Grande do Sul as the base of the Chinese Independence Army. The remaining 10,000 Chinese workers with weaker combat effectiveness would cooperate with the battle of Luolin Mountain, and finally stay behind as a security force to guard the newly occupied land.

Apart from the 20,000 Chinese workers who left by sea, the remaining 130,000 Chinese were divided into two groups and set out by land.

Liu Pu and the steady Zhang Ansong were in charge of the 90,000 Chinese troops in the rear, ensuring that the troops could arrive at their destination safely.

Li Mingyuan personally led Chen Guozhu, Li Sandou, Li Dawei and other generals to command the 40,000 main force of the field army to seek an opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the Brazilian army.
On the second day after the Chinese fleet set out under the escort of Prussian warships, the cavalry brigade and reconnaissance battalion, as the vanguard of the entire army, set out first to explore a path for the march of the large army.

(End of this chapter)