Chapter 123: Mission to Prussia and Reinforcement of Chinese Pirates
On August 12, 1868, Li Mingyuan and a group of senior Chinese Independence Army officials came to the port of Porto Alegre to see off the Prussian envoy Sun Bin and his party.
"On the way back to Europe, you will pass through the coastal areas of Brazil. You must be careful when on the ship to avoid being discovered by the Brazilians."
Before the envoys boarded the ship, Li Mingyuan gave his final instructions.
"We are traveling on a Prussian merchant ship. The Brazilians will not forcefully board the ship for inspection. Moreover, there are two Prussian warships escorting the merchant ship nearby. Even if the Brazilians find something wrong, they will not dare to show their face and forcefully conflict with the Prussian warships."
The Brazilian Navy has a total of five ironclads. During the Paraguay War, three ironclads fell into the hands of the Chinese Independence Army. With only two ironclads left, the Brazilian Navy did not have the strength to force Prussian merchant ships to berth for inspection.
Two armored ships, dozens of small gunboats, and some sail warships, these capabilities pose a great threat to the Chinese Independence Army who are new to modern naval warfare. However, compared with the established Western powers, they are completely out of reach.
An ironclad ship with a displacement of more than 4,000 tons will take at least half a year to complete from the beginning of construction. In addition, the performance of the warship is tested at the factory and the sailors adapt to the performance of the warship. Within a year, the strength of the Brazilian Navy can only maintain the current level, so
Sun Bin is not worried about the threat from the Brazilian Navy.
"I am confident about the strength of the Prussian fleet, but this purchase of machinery and equipment is a private transaction. Not being discovered by the Brazilians during the voyage to Europe can avoid alerting them. The construction of fortifications in Rio Grande do Sul by the Chinese Independence Army can also be done
Try to be as perfect as possible.”
"I understand that during the voyage, I will strictly instruct the envoys not to go out on the deck at will to avoid being discovered by the Brazilians."
"Be careful and you won't make a big mistake. When the Chinese Independence Army is weak, you must consider everything carefully. Otherwise, attracting the attention of hostile forces in advance will lead to catastrophic consequences."
Prussian warships were accompanying them during the voyage, and the possibility of the envoys being discovered by the Brazilian navy was extremely low. However, Li Mingyuan still had a sense of vigilance in his heart. It had been two months since the Paraguay War ended. The general Western powers may not be very clear about this news, but the British
, France and France must have known the news a long time ago.
South America in the 19th century was the British sphere of influence. The Paraguay War and the subsequent Guano War broke out with the covert support of the British.
Lopez Jr. of Paraguay refused the British demand for free navigation on the Paraguay River, which aroused dissatisfaction among the British and supported the alliance of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay against Paraguay.
The Paraguay War failed, Brazil lost its main force, and the Lopez Jr. regime in Paraguay still existed. It can be said that the original purpose of Britain's support for the war was not achieved.
According to Li Mingyuan's inner impression, the British should have sent people to contact the Chinese Independence Army just after the Paraguay War, first issued a verbal warning, and then cooperated with artillery diplomacy to drive the British warship to the gate of Porto Alegre and fire artillery demonstrations.
Force the Chinese Independence Army to submit.
Because he was worried about the armed intervention of the British, even after learning that the Brazilian army would not be able to counterattack Rio Grande do Sul in the short term, Li Mingyuan never relaxed the construction of fortifications, bunkers, gun towers, and the logistics base moved to Hexi County to prepare for the British army.
The purpose of armed intervention.
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster. The British did not send diplomats to issue a threat. Either they planned to completely eliminate the Chinese Independence Army or they were stymied by other affairs and did not pay attention to the Chinese Independence Army for a while.
The Chinese Independence Army has little information, and its relations with neighboring countries are either hostile or delicate. Brazil has implemented a comprehensive blockade on the Chinese Independence Army. Food, medicine, and daily supplies are not allowed to flow into Rio Grande do Sul.
Argentina and Uruguay are at the border, wary of surprise attacks by the Chinese Independence Army and Paraguay. Paraguay's family fortune accumulated for decades was wiped out by Lopez in a war, and it is even more delusional to obtain supplies from him. Moreover, Lopez has little knowledge of
The Chinese Independence Army is still worried about the abduction of Paraguayan women in Paraguay. If it were not for the serious loss of strength and the still-existing threat from Brazil, Lopez Jr. would probably have turned against the Chinese Independence Army.
None of the surrounding countries is a trustworthy ally of the Chinese Independence Army. Faced with the possible armed intervention from the United Kingdom, Li Mingyuan can only spend money to seek help from the outside.
In order to ensure safety, the 500 tons of gold, jewelry and other valuables unearthed from Peru did not choose the more convenient and faster sea transport, but traveled all the way with the logistics team.
The gold treasure is the foundation for the development and growth of the Chinese Independence Army in Rio Grande do Sul. Li Mingyuan did not dare to risk transporting it by sea. On the one hand, he encountered a storm accident and the ship transporting gold was sunk and damaged. On the other hand, he was worried about being escorted.
The Prussians discovered that if they found a large amount of gold treasure on the convoy, the most likely thing to happen would be to kill the accompanying Chinese and swallow the treasure.
Li Mingyuan's worry was necessary. He discussed with the Prussians a few days ago to complete the transaction details. When the first batch of 10 tons of gold for deposit was taken out, the greed and fanaticism in the eyes of the Prussians present were clearly revealed.
The total amount of money ordered for various mechanical equipment is a huge figure. The Chinese independent military gold replacement requires a total of one hundred tons of gold, and the mechanical equipment with a value of one hundred tons of gold may be just a number in the eyes of Prussia who is negotiating the transaction, but
The shock caused by having ten tons or even a hundred tons of gold placed before your eyes is unparalleled.
The gold arrived safely in Rio Grande do Sul. Li Mingyuan no longer worried about the possible theft mentality of the Prussians. After seeing ten tons of gold, Li Mingyuan took them to visit another place where ninety tons of gold were stored, and clearly told the Prussians,
The Chinese Independence Army has sufficient funds to purchase machinery and equipment, and there is a lot of room for cooperation between the two parties in the future. The Chinese Independence Army will purchase important weapons such as warships, artillery, and heavy artillery from Prussia.
The golden gold in Li Mingyuan's hands impressed the Prussians. After receiving the deposit of ten tons of gold, the Prussians quickly hired a merchant ship and two warships. Sun Bin and more than 100 people's travel treatment was also much higher than during the last sea voyage.
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For the sake of gold, Prussia could quietly sell weapons and equipment to the Chinese Independence Army, but it would not risk offending the British by providing overt support to the Chinese Independence Army. Not only Li Mingyuan understood this, Sun Bin who was on a mission also felt the same way.
clear.
When Sun Bin went on a mission to Prussia, he was fully responsible for the procurement of machinery and equipment. In private, he also had to inquire about the situation in Europe, especially information about the United Kingdom.
Li Mingyuan was in Rio Grande do Sul and could not leave easily, and his understanding of the British mainly came from later historical records, which was quite different from the current real situation. If he wanted to find out the British's true intentions towards the Chinese Independence Army, he could only send people there personally.
Europe will investigate the domestic situation in the UK and then make a judgment based on the interests of the UK in South America.
The details of the mission to Prussia had been dealt with in advance. Only a group of Taiping navy soldiers working as pirates in the Caribbean worried Li Mingyuan.
The Taiping Rebellion failed, and there were no surviving Taiping veterans. As the only remaining Taiping force, Li Mingyuan felt it was his responsibility to gather other remnants of the Taiping Army under his command and lead them to jointly build a new Chinese country in South America.
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"The Navy brothers of Heavenly Kingdom are living in a foreign land and are always facing threats from foreign warships and pirates around Haiti. I feel really uneasy when I think of the brothers of Heavenly Kingdom who are in danger and isolated and helpless.
On this voyage to Europe, I will send a group of naval soldiers to follow the Prussian fleet. They will separate from the fleet in the Caribbean and reconcile with the Naval Brotherhood of Heaven."
Li Mingyuan paused, thinking that Hou Taiyuan and others might not accept his kindness, and added, "If the heavenly navy brothers are unwilling to join the Chinese Independence Army, I will not force them to stay with the weapons and supplies transported by the reinforcement fleet.
Give them a reinforcement fleet to find an island as a base in the Caribbean, and then participate in the task of transporting Chinese from Cuba and North America."
"The crown prince is a wise and powerful man. He defeated the Peruvian army with hundreds of remaining soldiers, and has grown all the way to occupy a state in Brazil today. I think the navy brothers will not hesitate to join the Chinese Independence Army after hearing about your deeds."
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has become history. Sun Bin does not believe that the remaining naval soldiers will still hold the mentality of focusing on the descendants of Hong Xiuquan and accept the leadership of the Chinese Independence Army. Joining Li Mingyuan's command is the most suitable choice.
"I hope so. The Chinese are very weak in South America. If the country does not unite, it will be annexed by other forces sooner or later."
External fighting is practiced by outsiders, and internal fighting is practiced by professionals. The Chinese have missed too many things because of disunity and loss of blood. Li Mingyuan does not want to see this kind of thing happen again.
