Thanks to Yun Hai Shu You Shi Tong Zhou classmates for the reward!
In late autumn, the banks of the Guaiba River in the South American continent are still green. Tall oak trees and Brazilian hematoxylin trees are scattered on both sides of the river. Pink mimosa flowers and delicate jade flowers bloom along the river. The breeze is gentle and the river water is slightly rippling.
A long fleet of boats sailed from the far side of the river bank, and the peaceful Guaiba River soon became noisy.
Li Mingyuan sat on the bow of the boat and browsed the coastal scenery at will.
There are so many things on weekdays that there is little time to stop and rest. After temporarily handling the matters at hand, Li Mingyuan went on a boat trip with a group of troops stationed in the local area. It was also a trip to relax his nerves.
The Guaiba River enters the sea from Porto Alegre and flows through Santa Maria and Passo Vento. It is a strategically important river in the area controlled by the Chinese Independence Army.
Li Mingyuan's fleet is mainly composed of small inland river vessels. Some of the vessels are responsible for transporting soldiers, and the other vessels follow the fleet and are responsible for carrying two thousand retired soldiers and the food, agricultural tools and other materials they need for their daily lives.
After the war is over, it is difficult for a large-scale war to break out within one or two years, and maintaining a huge military force will cost a lot.
Therefore, after several days of discussions with senior generals of the Chinese Independence Army, Li Mingyuan once again made the decision to reduce troop strength.
The number of the four field divisions in the Army has been reduced from the temporary strength of 6,000 to 5,000, and the three mixed brigades have each been reduced by 500, leaving one brigade at an unsatisfactory strength of 2,500.
The number of technical units such as the Cavalry Brigade, Artillery Brigade, Special Operations Command, Engineer Regiment, and Military Police Regiment remains unchanged.
The naval force was expanded from 2,000 to 3,500, and a regiment of troops was then allocated to protect the naval base.
The Army Field Army has been reduced by 5,500 people, and the size of the force has remained at about 34,500 people. Together with the naval force, the total number of the Field Army is 38,000 people.
The reduction of the number of combatants in the field army is related to Li Mingyuan's saving of military expenditures. At the same time, since the expedition, the Chinese Independence Army has suffered a total of nearly 20,000 casualties, of which less than 5,000 can return to the army to fight, and most of the remaining 15,000
For the soldiers who died in battle, the other part are the wounded soldiers who have lost their ability to fight.
After losing 15,000 soldiers, even if most of them were garrison troops and non-field army units serving as logistics, the pressure to maintain the pre-war scale of about 42,000 soldiers was still relatively high.
Therefore, considering both factors, reducing the size of the field army is the only appropriate choice.
The main force has to reduce its combat numbers, and the garrison as the second-line force cannot avoid it either.
The peace agreement was signed. The two southern states of Brazil occupied by the Chinese Independence Army plus the area south of the Iguazu River Basin have a total area of approximately 403,000 square kilometers. Such a large area of land cannot be left empty and uncared for for a long time.
A brigade of four thousand garrison troops can only control a small area when gathered together. Therefore, it is unnecessary to continue to maintain a large-scale garrison.
The second-line troops of ten security brigades with 40,000 people will retain 20,000 people, and then 20,000 people will be established in a regiment with a regiment of 1,000 people. Twenty Chinese immigration strongholds will be established on the 403,000 square kilometers of land. Each stronghold
A garrison regiment will be stationed, and the reduced 20,000 people and 50,000 retired Chinese will form the main body of civilians ruled by the Chinese Independence Army and will no longer assume frontline combat tasks.
Escaped from the cruel and tense life of the combat troops, the retired soldiers on the ship quickly adapted after experiencing the initial confusion.
The natural scenery and cultural environment in South America are different from those in the mainland. The dense and prosperous trees, the Brazilian quillwood as a precious wood, the white oak tree and the various legumes that cannot be named are distributed in large numbers in the jungle.
The Chinese who came to southern Brazil brought novelties,
However, after the temporary happiness and novelty wore off, the Chinese soldiers who had been away from their hometown for several years began to miss their distant hometown.
"The mountains and rivers are beautiful and the land is fertile, but it's a pity that we are not in our hometown." Looking at the dense jungle on the right side of the Guaiba River, Liu Puxin said with some emotion.
Beautiful and deep scenery always makes people unconsciously fall into memories of the past, and Li Mingyuan is no exception. However, his memories not only have to travel across thousands of miles of ocean, but also travel through more than a hundred years of time.
"In the past, when I went there, the willows and willows lingered. Now I come to think about it, and the rain and snow are falling."
Li Mingyuan muttered, and then the smile returned to his face and said, "Things on the mainland are just memories after all. The great area in front of us is the land laid down by hundreds of thousands of Chinese brothers. We can build this land with our own hands and turn the land under our feet into
A new home for the Chinese.”
"I occasionally felt something that made the prince laugh."
Liu Pu came out of his memories and smiled.
"It doesn't matter. It's natural for people to miss their hometown. If they can't live in the mainland, who would be willing to leave their home and travel across the ocean to be thousands of miles away."
"It's hard to leave our homeland, but we have no choice but to leave." Liu Pu shook his head, looking a little sad.
Liu Pu was immersed in homesickness and sentimentality, but Li Mingyuan thought of another problem. The Chinese are deeply influenced by traditional customs and pay attention to returning to their roots. Those Chinese who have been in South America for several years will miss their hometown sometimes. Those who have been living in the mainland
, will poor farmers who have never left their birthplace be willing to leave the place where they grew up and accept the recruitment of the Chinese Independence Army?
With doubts in his mind, Li Mingyuan directly raised his questions to Liu Pu.
"The Central Plains region has a large population. During the early Qing Dynasty, the Manchu government moved people from the Central Plains region to the central Sichuan area on a large scale. In addition, the Central Plains region has been affected by the flooding of the Yellow River for a long time, and the people are poor. It is the least difficult to absorb immigrants from the local area."
Peasant uprisings have broken out in the Central Plains such as the Yellow River and the Huaihe River. It is indeed a good idea to immigrate from the local areas. However, the Central Plains is located inland. From South America to the local area, you have to travel a long distance and avoid inspections by the Qing soldiers on the way. The actual operation is difficult.
"The mass base of immigrants from the Central Plains region is relatively good, but considering the distance, it is not feasible to absorb immigrants from the Central Plains region,"
Rejecting Liu Pu's suggestion, Li Mingyuan asked instead, "The Jiangnan area was once the area ruled by the Kingdom of Heaven. How about emigrating from there?"
"No, Jiangnan is the center of wealth of the Qing Dynasty. The leader of the Qing Yao once had his head shaved. Li Hongzhang sent a large army to station there. It would be too difficult for the prince to immigrate from here."
Liu Pu shook his head in opposition, lowered his head to think for a moment, and gave his suggestion again.
"If you want to immigrate from the mainland in the future, I suggest that the first place of immigration should be the Guangdong and Guangxi areas."
"Guangdong and Guangxi are close to the sea, so it is much more convenient for the fleet to arrive and immigrate there," Li Mingyuan nodded and said, waiting for Liu Pu to continue.
"The Guangdong and Guangxi regions have less land and more mountains. The Hakkas and Tujia people who migrated to the local areas are full of conflicts. In order to compete for land and water resources, large and small armed fights continue. The local Qing government turned a blind eye to the frequent armed fights between the two sides. Only in the
Only when the fighting turns into a riot will we take action to stop it.
The order in Guangdong and Guangxi, especially the rural areas, is chaotic, and the government's control over the local areas is weak, so it is most appropriate for us to obtain immigrants from the local areas."
"The Guangdong and Guangxi regions are more mountainous than land, and a large area of our land has not been cultivated. As for the Hakka people who are brave enough to fight, the Chinese Independence Army needs such soldiers."
The Guangdong and Guangxi regions, especially the Guangxi Wolf Soldiers, were famous in previous lives. Selecting soldiers from Guangxi was just in line with Li Mingyuan's wishes.
"Chinese in the Americas are currently mainly concentrated in Cuba. Although there are some Chinese workers in North America, it is difficult for us to introduce Chinese workers from North America. Therefore, after this operation to transport Chinese workers to Cuba is completed, the focus of absorbing Chinese workers will shift to
Mainland China and Southeast Asia.”
"After the Rio Grande do Sul region receives Chinese workers from Cuba, large-scale construction projects will also start at the same time. We no longer have much gold reserves. Isn't it too urgent to immigrate Chinese from the mainland? Why not start in the Rio Grande do Sul region first?"
Construction will be carried out and the task of immigrating from the mainland will be temporarily postponed?"
"Liu Pu, you don't understand that the industrial development of the Western powers is very fast. If we want to continue to expand the land area we control in South America, we must quickly increase the number of Chinese so that we can protect ourselves when the European powers notice us.
"
Li Mingyuan noticed the solemn expression on Liu Pu's face and explained, "The gold reserves are insufficient. I will find ways to expand new financial resources from other aspects and will not let Rio Grande do Sul's good situation be destroyed due to lack of money."
Liu Pu understood the importance of rapidly increasing the number of Chinese in Rio Grande do Sul, and the money held by the Chinese Independence Army could support large-scale consumption for a period of time. Therefore, although he did not believe that Li Mingyuan could think of a way to obtain new sources of money.
, Liu Pu still gritted his teeth and agreed,
"The Chinese Independent Army has grown from scratch, and has encountered difficulties everywhere. When it comes to running out of money, it will be over with a little patience." Liu Pu comforted himself in his heart.