Garcia fled back to the military camp, assembled the defensive troops to prepare to evacuate the defense line, and returned to Brazil by land. That night, before it got dark, the Chinese Independence Army troops followed the defeated enemy troops and arrived at the Brazilian Army defensive position, with the defenders of Humeta Fortress in front of them.
, later the Chinese Independence Army blocked the way, and Garcia's attempt to retreat quickly failed.
The Brazilian army's logistical supplies were cut off, and the main force was besieged in the front position of the Humeta Fortress. Brazil was temporarily unable to mobilize troops to provide strong support to Garcia. The defenders of the Humeta Fortress and the Chinese Independence Army seized the opportunity and took turns to launch attacks on the Brazilian troops.
During the attack, the defense line built by the Brazilian army was continuously captured by Paraguayan and Chinese troops. On the fifth day of the battle, Garcia gathered all the remaining troops and launched a counter-assault operation from the defensive junction of Paraguayan and Chinese troops as a breakthrough point. After a huge effort,
After all the Brazilian troops were killed, wounded and captured, 10,000 Brazilian troops broke out of the encirclement and penetrated into the mountains and forests east of the Paraguay River.
Li Mingyuan's purpose was to annihilate the Brazilian army, causing a temporary period of weakness in Brazil's military power, and buying time for the Chinese Independence Army to take root in Rio Grande do Sul.
However, after finally encircling the remaining Brazilian troops, the enemy broke out under his nose. Li Mingyuan was very angry and prepared to find the generals with poor defense and severely punish them. Unexpectedly, after a final investigation, it was discovered that the problem lay with the Paraguayan army.
, the defense line that the Brazilian army broke through was located on the Paraguay line at the junction of the two armies. By the time the Chinese Independence Army sensed that the situation was wrong and rushed for reinforcements, the Paraguayan defenders were defeated by the enemy, and a large number of Brazilian troops had already escaped from the encirclement.
The problem lies with the Paraguayan troops. Li Mingyuan has nowhere to vent his anger.
Shortly after the Brazilian army broke through, Li Mingyuan contacted the Paraguayan army to discuss jointly sending troops to pursue the Brazilian army. The result was that the Paraguayan army suffered heavy casualties and was in urgent need of repairs. The pursuit of the remaining Brazilian troops had to be completed by the Chinese Independence Army alone.
Little Lopez's attitude made Li Mingyuan very unhappy. I traveled all the way to Paraguay. Although I joined the war mainly for the Chinese Independence Army to establish a foothold in Rio Grande do Sul, in any case, the Chinese Independence Army helped Paraguay deal with the invading enemy forces.
At the end of the battle, you refused to agree to my simple request to pursue the remnants of the enemy. Isn't this deliberately not giving the Chinese Independence Army face?
Li Mingyuan complained that Little Lopez was ungrateful and did not give face to the Chinese Independence Army. Little Lopez was also filled with anger. News came from the troops left behind that the Chinese Independence Army took advantage of the lack of military strength in Paraguay and did not go through Little Lopez.
Agreeing, he used his name to forcibly requisition ships of all sizes. The ships along the Paraguay River Basin were looted by the Chinese Independence Army. The fishermen who had no food had to drive fish skin rafts made of wooden planks down the river to catch fish. The Paraguayan people along the coast who did not know the truth also expressed their grievances.
Blame it on Lopez Jr.
Little Lopez was hard pressed to argue. After the Fortress of Humeta was surrounded, he did agree to some conditions for the Chinese Independence Army, but those conditions were only limited to the division of respective spheres of influence after the war, and did not involve the interests of ordinary people in Paraguay.
The Chinese Independence Army's forced requisition of ships without Lopez's consent was a bit unsatisfactory, but this was not the main reason for Lopez's anger. What really made Lopez angry and even refused to provide troops to pursue the remnants of the Brazilian army was the presence of the Chinese Independence Army in Paraguay.
Recruiting women of appropriate age.
Due to the war, Paraguay's domestic population has been reduced by more than half, and the gender ratio between men and women is seriously imbalanced. After the war, Lopez Jr. plans to promote the fertility rate of domestic people and increase Paraguay's population. In order to restore Paraguay's pre-war population, Lopez Jr. has considered implementing
Polygamy increased the population of Paraguay in a short period of time.
The Chinese Independence Army's half-seduction and half-deception in recruiting Paraguayan women of appropriate age has obviously undermined Lopez's future development plan for Paraguay.
For more than half a month, more than 10,000 Paraguayan women have been attracted to join the Chinese independence army with food, medicine and even weapons and ammunition. If effective measures are not implemented to stop the behavior of the Chinese independence army, more Paraguayan women will be lost.
There are only more than 200,000 men, women, old and children left in the entire Paraguay. Even if the proportion of women is too high, it is still a valuable human wealth. Excessive population loss is also a major loss of Paraguay's national strength.
Different from the crowded population situation in East Asia, countries in South America that have just become independent generally lack population. Brazil covers an area of more than 8.5 million square kilometers and has a population of only 10 million. Argentina has a population of 1.5 million, Chile and Paraguay, Uruguay and Paraguay have even smaller populations.
, Uruguay, Argentina and other southern countries in South America are rich in resources and fertile land. What they lack is just manpower. Therefore, a sufficient number of citizens is the most direct factor in measuring the strength of a South American country. If the population is enough, if you think the country is small, it doesn't matter. Find
As an excuse to fight with neighboring countries, the land will naturally increase.
Population is of great significance to Paraguay's national development. The Chinese Independence Army's recruitment of Paraguayan women is to poach Lopez's corner. The stubborn and authoritarian Lopez has regarded Paraguay as his own private property and does not allow outsiders to interfere.
After experiencing the lesson of the Brazilian Three-Nation Alliance's group attack on Paraguay, little Lopez rarely became more rational, because it was not worth breaking up with the Chinese Independence Army on Paraguay's women's issue. More than 100,000 Chinese accounted for half of Paraguay's population. At this time, because of his impulsiveness, it is very likely that he
The result is that Paraguay will become the territory of the Chinese Independence Army.
Foreign troops stationed in their own country will eventually leave huge hidden dangers. Lopez Jr. issued an order prohibiting the Chinese Independence Army from continuing to recruit Paraguayan women of school age, and at the same time sent representatives to urge the Chinese Independence Army to leave Paraguay.
The host closed the door and drove the guests away. Li Mingyuan felt unhappy and unwilling to stay in Paraguay. He once again proposed some conditions to Lopez. After a while of bargaining, the two parties finally reached an agreement. All the captured Brazilian troops belonged to the Chinese Independence Army. Li Mingyuan
Part of the captured grain was distributed to Lopez Jr. for emergency relief. The Chinese Independence Army stopped recruiting Paraguayan women. Paraguayan women who originally joined the Chinese army, Lopez Jr. was not allowed to interfere with their personal freedom.
The sphere of influence was once again reaffirmed. The three states in southern Brazil belong to the extended sphere of influence of the Chinese Independence Army. Paraguay can use the coastal ports of the Chinese army. The Brazilian state of Mato Grosso is Paraguay's target. The two parties agreed on a time to attack their respective territories.
determined sphere of influence, disrupting Brazil’s reinforcement plan.
After finalizing the agreement with Paraguay, two days later, the 20,000-renovated Chinese Independence Army took the Chaoyang and the fleet headed by Dawn set out along the Paraguay River. When passing through Formosa, they encountered the Argentine army stationed here.
, the coastal area of Formosa was occupied by Argentina, and the west bank of the Paraguay River was connected to Argentine territory. The Argentine army with lax defenses was suddenly attacked. The soldiers in the camp abandoned the ships and logistical supplies in the port, and turned around to head towards the Argentine territory.
Running to the inland area, the purpose of the Chinese Independence Army was to occupy Rio Grande do Sul and join the Chinese troops sailing on the sea. The 10,000 Argentine troops were not the main target of their attack.
They gave up the pursuit of the fleeing Argentine army, plundered the food, weapons and ammunition in the camp, and took the captured Argentine ships with them. The fleet continued to move forward, sailed through the confluence of the Paraguay River and the Paraná River, and sailed upstream along the Paraná River.
On, three days later, the first batch of Chinese fleets arrived in Porto Alegre and met with the small number of Chinese soldiers left behind. After more than ten days, Li Mingyuan led the remaining Chinese and 12,000 recruited Paraguayan women.
Departing from Paraguay and arriving in Porto Alegre on July 3, 1868, it took more than half a year and the journey of thousands of miles was finally completed.