Thousands of kilometers south of Salvador, the capital of the Brazilian Empire,
Paraguay is located in the subtropical humid climate zone. After entering the late autumn and early winter, the cold current from the Antarctic region and the warm current from the Amazon basin meet here, resulting in a period of heavy rainfall and cooling weather.
Continuous raindrops fell from the sky intermittently, slapping on the fertile black soil and splashing out turbid water droplets.
The temperature suddenly dropped by 12 degrees compared to yesterday. On the streets of Asuncion, more than 200 soldiers who were accustomed to cool summer uniforms yesterday immediately changed into thicker autumn and winter uniforms after feeling the sudden drop in temperature.
Gray military uniform.
Wearing a warm, thick military uniform and a batch of green rubber raincoats purchased from neighboring countries in the south, you won't feel the slightest chill even with big raindrops hitting your body.
Unlike the capital's city defense officers and soldiers, who are fully equipped with protective equipment and relatively well-equipped, they are officials and military officers wearing various clothes, neat suits, or disheveled businessmen and civilians who have just been kicked out of a warm house.
Received the same treatment as Lopez Jr.'s personal guards.
The rain hit them without any cover, soaking the clothes they wore. The gentlemen's postures that they used to dress carefully no longer existed under the ravage of the cold rain.
Before yesterday, no matter how prominent their identities and positions were, after today, they who were considered guilty by King Lopez had only one common identity: traitors and criminals who opposed the great king!
Any Paraguayan who is accused of such a crime will face either being directly executed, or being imprisoned in prison, waiting for the final decision of His Majesty Mr. Lopez.
Standing on a messy street with sewage flowing across it, Colonel Mariano Alonso took a disgusted look at the animal excrement floating on the sewage not far away. He said in disgust: "Damn it! Damn bad weather! Damn drainage
pipeline!"
Colonel Mariano Alonso angrily vented his dissatisfaction with the scene in front of him and asked the officer beside him: "How many people on the arrest list have not been caught?"
"A total of 148 people were arrested in the Central City and Beicheng District, and 6 people escaped. There are still 72 people in other urban residential areas who have not been arrested."
"Hurry up! Ignore the 6 people who escaped arrest for now, and arrest the remaining 72 people on the list first!"
Colonel Mariano Alonso didn't want to stay in the sewage-filled streets for a minute, so he urged.
"Yes! Colonel."
The officer beside him accepted the order, then turned around and left, leading a small team of more than 40 to 50 people, leaving the crowd and heading towards another urban area.
Watching the squad disappear completely in the rain, Colonel Mariano Alonso had a smile on his face.
"Major Massman, put all the criminal property we collected this morning away. I want to check and verify it myself."
"Yes, Colonel."
Another officer responded loudly, with a flattering smile on his face: "Colonel, according to the past rules, the collected silver coins, bank deposit receipts, and jewelry are all classified and recorded in the book. Don't worry, there will be no shortage of one silver dollar."
"Come on, take me to see you."
Colonel Mariano Alonso nodded and ordered several officers and soldiers to guard the captured criminals, while he, along with more than ten other officers and soldiers, walked into a house next to the street.
"Give half of the jewelry collected this time to Mrs. Lynch, report 60% of the remainder, and divide the remaining 40% into two parts. One part will be distributed to officers below the captain of the 1st Guards Regiment, and the other part will be distributed according to the regulations.
The old rule is that the battalion commanders of the 1st Guards Regiment and the officers above the major level at the regiment headquarters participate in the allocation."
Dismissing the officers sent by King Lopez Jr. to supervise, the Paraguayan Army responsible for arresting criminals, Colonel Mariano Alonso, the commander of the 1st Guards Regiment, skillfully distributed the collected and investigated dirt.
Colonel Mariano Alonso's distribution plan protected the interests of all relevant personnel. Mrs. Lynch was the lover of King Lopez Jr., and because she did not receive a formal title, she was not sure whether her son could successfully succeed him.
With the power of Little Lopez, he ascended to the high position of the King of Paraguay. Therefore, in order to satisfy the regret of not having a formal title, Mrs. Lynch took advantage of King Lopez's favor for her and tried her best to collect money.
Following Mrs. Lynch's line, Colonel Mariano Alonso got the job of catching traitors, and while continuously giving Mrs. Lynch a share of the money, he used the power in his hands to also give himself
Gathered a lot of wealth.
By managing the upper levels and then using partial benefits to win over lower-level officers and soldiers, Colonel Mariano Alonso was able to find a shortcut to promotion and wealth in the chaotic and turbulent situation in Paraguay.
Of course, actions with huge rewards also lurk huge risks. Being with a suspicious and paranoid monarch like Little Lopez also means huge risks. A year ago, because he was worried that his generals were too prestige, Little Lopez
The Marquis of Istigalibi was relieved of his duties and forced to retire from active service.
Six months ago, someone reported that the commander of the Guards, Major General Pelham Horton, was disloyal to the country. Lopez Jr. dismissed him from his post and was imprisoned in Asunción Prison. Half a month later, Major General Pelham Horton
Died by suicide.
Four months ago, Lopez Jr. arrested and executed 270 soldiers, 12 school officers, and 3 general officers on the pretext that someone within the army was suspected of conspiracy to commit treason, corruption, etc. Implicated in this incident, there were also 47 officers and more than 1,000 officers.
Soldiers were severely punished.
The targets of Lopez's suspicion have expanded from government officials and businessmen to members of the military. The successive heavy rains and dam breaches, leading to successive Indian rebellions in the northern region, may intensify his suspicion and anger.
Since the restructuring of the Kingdom of Paraguay, not to mention that some of the generals who control local military and political power are acting like a separatist government and are dissatisfied with Lopez Jr., the military officers, lovers, and relatives close to Lopez are also working hard to plunder and transfer property.
Plan a way out for yourself.
The Chinese Legation in Paraguay is the most popular place for Paraguayan dignitaries, because through the Chinese Legation, they can store or transfer the looted property abroad, and relying on the close relationship established with the Han Legation in the early stage, if
The domestic situation in Paraguay has reached an irreversible crisis. They still have a chance to get help from the Chinese embassy and escape from Paraguay, a powder keg full of explosives.
Plan ahead and prepare an extra escape route for yourself. Colonel Mariano Alonso, like other Paraguayan dignitaries, does not want the property accumulated through hard work to end up being advantageous to others. Therefore, he was promoted to the rank of First Guardsman two years ago.
The head of the group started to move, and he also began to transfer the collected money abroad through various covert methods.
The domestic situation in Paraguay has reached the point where it is today. Anyone with a little bit of foresight understands that the Lopez family's rule will not last long.
All adult men over the age of twelve in the country are required to undertake compulsory military service, while the elderly and women are used as free labor to grow food and cotton in the fields for Lopez's army.
Although Lopez Jr. had promised to reward his soldiers and hard-working women after the war with the Brazilians was over, this was never fulfilled.
The civilians in Paraguay were gradually fed up with Lopez Jr.'s cruel rule. The Indians in the newly occupied areas and areas adjacent to Bolivia were the first to launch an armed rebellion against Lopez Jr. Although Paraguayan civilians in other areas were intimidated by Lopez Jr.
Due to their reputation for brutality, they did not respond to the uprising, but they also used a passive attitude to resist the oppression imposed on them by Lopez Jr.
Near the Uruguay River Basin, every year hundreds of Uruguayan women who cannot bear the oppression risk their lives to smuggle themselves into areas controlled by the Chinese. However, the checkpoints near the Chinese border are subject to conscience and Chinese control.
Under the rule of law, the supervision of border waters was deliberately relaxed, allowing smuggled Uruguayan women to enter Han territory.
Because of the existence of Lopez Jr. and the apparent allegiance of most of the military, Uruguay can still maintain a semblance of unity. However, as the floods and rebellion continue to spread, the situation in Paraguay may not wait until Lopez passes away.
Will completely collapse.
As a member of the Paraguayan Army, Colonel Mariano Alonso had no intention of saving the Lopez regime that was about to collapse, because when he saw that more than half of the land in Paraguay belonged to the Lopez family, he
Then we understand that trying to save such a regime is purely unnecessary.
The cool breeze mixed with the rain blew under the house. Colonel Mariano Alonso and his officers discussed the plan to seize the property, and were preparing to escort the prisoners to join another team when they received urgent news.
.
"Colonel, His Majesty orders you to return to the military camp immediately!"
“Is there something wrong on the front lines in To Grosso do Sul?”
“A large-scale collapse occurred in the Apa River embankment, and the garrison temporarily stationed near the Apa River basin was hit by the flood and suffered heavy losses.
His Majesty is worried that the counter-insurgency situation on the frontline is getting out of control, so he ordered the 1st Guards Regiment, the Guards Cavalry Battalion, the 3rd Artillery Battalion, and the Engineer Battalion to assemble and be on standby, waiting for orders to go out at any time!"
The messenger repeated Lopez's order and urged: "Your Majesty is going to personally lead the Asunción Guards to the front line to supervise the battle. Before I set off, all the troops scheduled to be mobilized accepted the order. Your Majesty urged me very urgently. Maria
Colonel No. Alonso, I hope you will seize the time to go back and assemble the troops!"
"Thank you for the reminder. I will go back to the military camp now to assemble the troops and be on standby."
Colonel Mariano Alonso thanked the ordering officer for the reminder, and then handed over the rest of the affairs to his confidant officer Massman, while he quickly returned to the military camp with more than 200 soldiers.
