Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 76 Conflict
Soon after Li Mingyuan returned to the tent, he received another report from a soldier: "Three kilometers outside the camp, five or six hundred Indians are preparing to cross the river and are heading towards the Chinese Independence Army."

"Were the nine Indians sent back?"

"The doctor just treated their wounds and hasn't let them go yet."

"The Indians who crossed the river should be their tribesmen. Go and bring those nine Indians here, and we will go meet them."

The Aymara are the largest indigenous ethnic group in Bolivia. Their weapons and equipment are inferior and they are no match for the Chinese Independence Army in direct combat.
However, angering them is not a wise choice. They cannot defeat the Chinese Independence Army, but causing trouble for them and slowing down their marching speed during the transition will be a headache. Therefore, Li Mingyuan handled the matter carefully and tried not to make the Indians hostile.

At the river bank two or three kilometers away from the grassland, five or six hundred Indians built rafts and vigilantly watched the fully armed soldiers on the opposite side. They did not dare to cross the river easily, but they were unwilling to retreat without rescuing their people.

"Father, please take them to the middle of the river to negotiate with the Indians and explain that this conflict is a complete misunderstanding."

"Prince, their people were injured, and the alpacas they raised were lost. Should we give them something as compensation?" Zhao Youde said respectfully.

The Indians in Bolivia live in poverty. A dozen alpacas may be all their belongings. If they lose their alpacas, it will be difficult for those Indians to survive.

Li Mingyuan didn't want to bully these poor Indians. After listening to Zhao Youde's words, Li Mingyuan nodded and agreed: "They still have primitive bows and arrows in their hands. It seems that the local government has strict control over them. How about this, pick out 30 muskets we seized in the last battle and give them to them. I believe they will be satisfied with these gifts."

After making the arrangements, Zhao Youde took three soldiers on two rafts, sailed to the middle of the river, and then stopped moving forward.

The Indians on the other side saw their companions on the boat and understood what Zhao Youde meant. They also sent a small raft to the middle of the river.
When the two rafts met, Zhao Youde conveyed Li Mingyuan's intention to the other party. Then the Indian on the raft rowed back to the shore and said something in a gibberish to a middle-aged Indian on the shore.
The middle-aged Indian should be their leader. After listening to the report, he discussed with several old men around him for a while, and then nodded frequently.

After the Indians had discussed it, the raft sailed towards the center of the river again.

"Sir, the Indians agreed to resolve this conflict, and they are very satisfied with the guns we sent."

After sending the nine Indians back, Zhao Youde returned to the shore and reported to Li Mingyuan.

"What's with these furs?" Li Mingyuan pointed at the alpaca fur on the raft.

"The Indians said that the gifts we gave were very valuable, and that their people received very good treatment from us, so they gave us these furs as gifts in return," Zhao Youde explained.

"Prince, the temperature here varies greatly. These furs can be used to make a leather jacket to keep you warm," said Sun Bin.

Bolivia is located in a plateau area, and the temperature is much lower than that in Peru. Many soldiers have to huddle together at night to keep warm because of their thin clothes.

"No need. Give these furs to the weak soldiers." Li Mingyuan waved his hand and refused.

There are not many places in Bolivia that are particularly cold. The reason why the Chinese Independence Army suddenly felt the weather getting cold was that
On the one hand, it was because they were not used to leaving the hot area of ​​Peru and entering the Bolivian plateau. On the other hand, the Chinese Independence Army was located in the southern part of Lake Titicaca and was affected by the surrounding high-altitude climate. As long as they left this area, the climate would be much better.

After seeing off the Indians, the Chinese Independence Army set off and continued on their journey.

From the point where you enter Bolivia to the capital of Bolivia, Sucre, there are dozens of rivers of varying sizes, originating from Lake Titicaca and Lake Poopó.

The area where the river passes is a densely populated area in Bolivia, and the Chinese Independence Army also migrated along this route.

Ingavi, a tributary of Lake Titicaca,
Here, the reconnaissance battalion, which served as the vanguard of the Chinese Independence Army, encountered its first ambush on its entry into Bolivia.

More than 300 Bolivian soldiers got off the boat and blocked the reconnaissance battalion.

"Zhao Erlang, tell the Bolivian soldiers blocking the road that we have no ill intentions. I hope they won't get nervous."

The commander of the reconnaissance battalion gave instructions to Zhao Youde's son, who was acting as a guide. Zhao Erlang put down his weapon and walked towards the Bolivian soldiers who were blocking the road, speaking in a localized Spanish.

"Bang," a bullet hit Zhao Erlang in front of him. The sudden attack scared him and he jumped up suddenly.

The Bolivian soldiers on the opposite side pointed at Zhao Erlang and laughed, as if they were looking at a funny monkey.

In the eyes of the descendants of European whites, Indians are uncivilized barbarians. The attitude of whites in La Paz Province, Bolivia, towards Indians is even worse. In addition to depriving Indians of their land, they also massacre Indians from time to time.

In October 1861, the then military commander of La Paz massacred hundreds of local Indians in the name of clearing out the former president's men.
After Mariano came to power in the name of opposing tyranny, the oppression of the Indians became more severe. He imitated the American strategy, drove the Indians to places with harsh environments, and then sent his trusted subordinates to be stationed in various places to suppress the forces that opposed his rule.

La Paz, as an important city second only to Sucre, the capital of Bolivia, is very important to Mariano's rule. Therefore, he sent his younger brother Balivian as the new military commander of La Paz, responsible for the military deployment of La Paz Province.

Ingavi is directly under the jurisdiction of La Paz Province. The more than 300 Bolivian soldiers are the personal soldiers that Balivian brought from Sucre.
They each had a musket, and their weapons and equipment were the elite troops in Bolivia.

The vanguard of the reconnaissance battalion consisted of only more than 50 people. The soldiers of the reconnaissance battalion riding on tall horses initially intimidated them, but when they saw that they had sent an Indian to negotiate with them,

The Bolivian soldiers' confidence was instantly restored. The Indians were the ones they had crushed, so what could the cavalry who mixed with the Indians do?

Noticing the provocation of the Bolivian soldiers, more than 50 soldiers from the reconnaissance battalion were all enraged. Although Zhao Erlang looked like an Indian on the outside, he was, after all, a descendant of the Chinese and a representative of the escaped Chinese Independence Army. The Bolivian soldiers' ridicule of Zhao Erlang was undoubtedly a slap in their faces.

"Captain, these Bolivian soldiers are too abominable. Please give the order quickly!"

The surrounding soldiers were angry.

"Everyone, be quiet." The reconnaissance battalion commander glanced coldly at the restless soldiers around him and said, "Let Zhao Erlang withdraw first. If they don't know what's good for them, teach them a lesson."

Soldiers can vent their anger on the battlefield, but commanders cannot act on impulse. Now Zhao Erlang is between the two sides of soldiers. If a rash attack is launched, it is likely that Zhao Erlang will be sacrificed early.

Therefore, letting Zhao Erlang step down first is what we should do now.

Zhao Erlang stood between the two sides. Facing the ridicule and threats from the Bolivian soldiers, he felt angry and furious, but he couldn't get away for the time being.

After playing a trick on Zhao Erlang, the Bolivian soldiers took down their rifles and slowly approached the direction of the Chinese Independence Army.

It was already too late for Zhao Erlang to receive the order to retreat. If he ran back at this time, he would undoubtedly be shot to pieces by the Bolivians.

The Bolivian soldiers' actions clearly sent out a signal to start a war. The reconnaissance battalion commander raised his rifle and made a gesture of preparing for battle with his left hand.

The other soldiers nodded silently, gripping their rifles tightly in their hands, ready to charge on horseback.

The Bolivians advanced to about 300 meters away from the reconnaissance battalion soldiers. The reconnaissance battalion commander shouted, "Get down!"
Lead the cavalry to charge immediately.

Zhao Erlang had undergone a month of military training in the Chinese Independence Army. When he heard the word "lie down", he immediately lay down on the ground subconsciously.

At this time, several shooting sounds were heard, and the bullets hit not far from Zhao Erlang.

The reconnaissance battalion cavalry charged forward a hundred meters, then turned their horses around. More than fifty cavalrymen were divided into two groups, and they went to encircle the Bolivian soldiers on both sides.

Outflanking tactics is one of the basic tactics in cavalry drills. The reconnaissance battalion has a small number of cavalrymen, and a direct charge is likely to result in the annihilation of the entire army. Therefore, the commander of the reconnaissance battalion adopted a dispersed harassment tactic, seizing the opportunity to knock out the Bolivian soldiers on the periphery, causing psychological pressure on the enemy and forcing them to retreat.

(End of this chapter)