The vanguard troops repaired in Port Casado for a day. The next morning, some soldiers were left to guide the follow-up troops. Li Mingyuan led the large troops to continue marching along the river.
The water in the Paraguay River was stable, and the Chinese troops used the plundered boats to transport soldiers and weapons, traveling an average of 100 kilometers a day. Three days later, at noon on May 19, 1868, the outpost troops arrived in Concepción and had an encounter with the Paraguayan troops.
First contact.
Due to the tense war, most of Paraguay's troops were concentrated in the Humeta Fortress. Only a few garrisons remained in important areas. Concepción is located in the upper reaches of the Paraguay River, still some distance from the capital Asuncion, so the local troops left behind
There were not many people there, a rough estimate of only five hundred people.
The five hundred defenders suddenly discovered that a group of tens of thousands of unknown armed forces appeared in front of them, and the panic effect caused was self-evident. A small fleet belonging to Paraguay on the river hurriedly gathered in the port, and the shore defense artillery also turned its muzzle.
, aiming the attack at the Chinese fleet coming downwind.
Although the Chinese fleet is huge, with hundreds of ships lying across the water, most of them are small wooden boats that were plundered after entering Paraguay, and some are small boats built by the Chinese troops themselves to transport soldiers.
It's okay, but conflict with the other party will still cause a lot of damage.
The purpose of the Chinese Independence Army was to join forces with Paraguay to fight against the enemy. A fight here would be of no benefit to anyone. Therefore, in the face of the hostile behavior of the Concepcion defenders, the Chinese Independence Army maintained restraint, and the accompanying fleet docked along the coast, and then
Soldiers were sent to negotiate with the local defenders and explain the intentions of the Chinese Independence Army.
Hearing that the Chinese Independence Army wanted to cooperate with Paraguay to fight against the Brazilian coalition, the local defenders immediately became uneasy. The defender commander did not dare to neglect and immediately dispatched the only steam gunboat in the base to transport the representatives sent by the Chinese Independence Army to the capital.
Asuncion, and sent a telegram to President Lopez Jr. to report the situation.
Thanks to the foundation laid by Lopez Sr., Paraguay taken over by Lopez Jr. can be regarded as a small power in South America.
Railways, shipyards, steel plants, telegraph communications, and many advanced technologies from European countries were introduced to Paraguay by Lopez Sr., which increased Paraguay's war potential. Relying on Paraguay's pre-laid telegraph communication facilities, Lopez Jr. was also able to stay in the Fortress of Humeita.
It was possible to receive military intelligence from other areas. Shortly after the Concepcion garrison sent the telegram, Lopez Jr. received news that the Chinese Independence Army had entered Paraguay.
The Chinese Independence Army has been in revolt for nearly half a year. Although Lopez has been busy dealing with the attack of the Brazilian coalition and has not paid much attention to the external situation, he still knows some information about the Chinese Independence Army.
Less than two months after the Chinese labor uprising, they occupied the mining areas in southern Peru and annihilated no less than 50,000 Peruvian troops. This information that was difficult for outsiders to know came to Lopez’s ears through other channels. It was originally puzzling that the Chinese Independence Army withdrew from Peru and entered Bolivia.
, now with the reappearance of the Chinese troops who had disappeared for several months, Little Lopez probably guessed the thoughts of the Chinese Independence Army. Like Little Lopez, they all took a fancy to the fertile land near the sea in southern Brazil, but
Little Lopez has proven with practical actions that if you want to swallow up the land of the four southern states of Brazil, you must first have a good mouth, otherwise being killed by others at once will be the fate of a greedy person.
The water in Paraguay is already muddy. Lopez Jr., who originally planned to fight a quick victory, does not have much hope for victory. At this time, the Chinese Independence Army takes the initiative to participate. Lopez, who lacks troops, naturally wants it. As for the so-called worry of attracting wolves into the house,
It is better to wait until the Brazilian coalition forces are defeated, otherwise Paraguay will be eaten up by the attack of the three-nation allied forces.
The decision to admit the Chinese Independence Army to fight against the Brazilian coalition did not mean that the Chinese Independence Army would immediately join the battlefield. Lopez Jr. also wanted to whet the appetite of the Chinese Independence Army to prevent them from making excessive demands.
The Chinese representatives on a small gunboat arrived in Asunción two days later, and then arrived at the Humeta Fortress under the escort of the local defenders. After arriving at their destination, the Chinese Independence Army representatives immediately asked to see Lopez Jr., but were repeatedly rejected by Lopez.
Three days later, the Chinese representatives who waited to no avail finally met Lopez Jr., but at this time, it was Lopez Jr. who was really anxious.
Under Garcia's arrangement, 5,000 Brazilian troops bypassed the closely guarded river defense line of the Paraguayan army, landed at a river crossing without military garrison, then passed through hundreds of miles of dense mountain forests, appeared behind the Humeta Fortress, and occupied
The link between Hume Tower and Asunción,
Less than a day after this incident happened, the news reached little Lopez's ears, and he immediately felt that the situation was not good.
Detouring for hundreds of miles and cutting off the passage between Asunción and Humeta, the Brazilian army wanted to eat the main force of Paraguay in one bite!
Thinking of the danger that the defenders of the Humeta Fortress were facing being surrounded, Lopez immediately became nervous. He should not have stopped the Chinese Independence Army from advancing out of selfish motives, otherwise there would not have been the danger of the Paraguayan defenders being surrounded.
In the original history, Lopez Jr., who was forced to retreat by the Brazilian military uniform, quickly made the choice to abandon the Humeta Fortress and led part of the army to retreat into rural areas of Paraguay to play guerrilla warfare with the Brazilian army. It was not until 1870 that he was defeated by the Brazilian army.
Caught and executed, although the Humeita Fortress is also surrounded by the Brazilian army, but with the variable of the Chinese Independence Army, little Lopez did not choose to break out, but asked for help from the Chinese Independence Army, urging the Chinese Independence Army to set off as soon as possible for the tiger
The defenders of Meita Fortress relieved the siege.
When the news that Lopez Jr. urged the Chinese Independence Army to set off reached Concepcion, five days had passed since the Chinese Independence Army arrived in Concepcion. During these five days, nearly 40,000 Chinese independence fighters
The military field troops were assembled and repaired one after another, and the 90,000-strong logistics force also crossed the Bolivian plateau and entered Paraguay along the path taken by the vanguard.
Lopez Jr.'s deliberate delay in meeting with representatives of the Chinese Independence Army means that the current war has not yet become clear, so Lopez Jr. is in the mood to play hard-to-get with the Chinese Independence Army.
Since little Lopez is not in a hurry, Li Mingyuan doesn't have to worry about intimidating others. Anyway, the Humeta Fortress is still in Paraguay's hands. Even if Brazil quickly forms a siege around the Humeta Fortress, the fortress will not fall for a while.
Therefore, while Li Mingyuan was slowly waiting for the rear troops to gather, he sent a small team to carry food, medicine and other supplies to attract Paraguayan women to join the Chinese Independence Army.
Under the guidance of bribed local whites, more than a dozen small teams of two to three hundred people spread out and went deep into the villages along the river. Within a few days, half of the teams sent back news that about a thousand Paraguayan women of appropriate age were willing to join the Chinese Independence Army.
.
Within just a few days of departure, nearly a thousand women were willing to join, which was indeed higher than Li Mingyuan expected. He learned from the returning Chinese soldiers that these Paraguayan women were not forced to come, but agreed after seeing the trucks of food.
met the demands of the Chinese soldiers.
Li Mingyuan didn't quite understand this situation at first. Later, with the explanation of the local guide, Li Mingyuan finally understood.
The Paraguayan women who are willing to join the Chinese Independence Army are descendants of early white immigrants from poor families. If they do not follow the Chinese Independence Army, they will starve to death in the future. Joining the Chinese Independence Army may not only give them hope of living, but also their future.
Relatives can also receive urgently needed food and medicine. It is easy for Paraguayan women to make choices about the life and death of a family and a person's future happiness.
The recruitment of a thousand new Paraguayan women is a good start for the Chinese Independence Army. The eyes of the Chinese soldiers in the military camp obviously changed when they looked at the Paraguayan women who were separated in the camp.
A cow with five acres of land, a wife and children on the hot bed, the ideal life of farming people is similar. Whether it is European farmers or Han people, most people hope to live a life with sufficient food and clothing, a wife and children. The Chinese Independence Army soldiers followed Li Mingyuan to raise troops.
Righteousness, even if it is a forced choice due to the inability to survive, is not the hope of gaining freedom and living a prosperous life.
Land, Li Mingyuan has promised each of the Chinese soldiers who participated in the uprising three hundred acres. Although the land has not yet been obtained, Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil is not far away. After defeating the Brazilian army, the Chinese soldiers can harvest their land, woman
It is more difficult for the time being. The hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers are all old men. When they were working in the mines, they did not dare to expect a wife. But after joining the Chinese Independence Army and under the influence of successive victories, who would not want to hold his wife and stay with him?
Living on his family's 300 acres of land.
In the past, Li Mingyuan promised everyone that he would find a wife for every soldier who followed him, but after all, it was just a empty promise. Now, a thousand Paraguayan women have entered the Chinese army camp, and their graceful figures have really appeared in the eyes of the Chinese soldiers.
, many soldiers had ripples in their hearts. What the prince said is true. If I fight well, I can find a wife as beautiful as a flower.
The reaction of the soldiers was in Li Mingyuan's eyes, and this was exactly the effect he wanted. Victory in the war was one aspect, and gaining immediate benefits for his soldiers was another aspect of gaining their loyalty.
All changes are developing in a good direction. The negative effects of Chinese casualties and harsh environment during the thousands of miles of migration gradually disappeared in the face of the visible happy life, and the soldiers of the entire army gradually recovered.
The benefits of recruiting Paraguayan women are obvious. If they stay for a while, more women of the right age will join the Chinese Independence Army. However, Li Mingyuan cannot stay any longer. The message of distress from Little Lopez proves that the Humeita Fortress has been surrounded by the Brazilian coalition forces.
If the delay lasts too long, Lopez Jr. will break out as he did in history, and it will be even more difficult to defeat the Brazilian coalition.
The Chinese Independent Army was in a difficult situation and could not tolerate a single failure. Li Mingyuan did not dare to risk the future and fate of the Chinese Independent Army. After receiving Little Lopez's request for help, the Chinese Independent Army immediately set off to face the Brazilian coalition forces.