Shortly after Anthony and Mary left, more than a hundred cavalry roared out.
"Make way for the troops in front and don't hinder them from entering the city." After leaving the city gate, Li Mingyuan ordered the escorting cavalry behind, and then the troops walked around the center of the road and walked side by side with the troops migrating on the official road.
"Call the leader of this unit, I have something to ask him." Li Mingyuan slowed down his horse and said to the guards around him.
"Sun Bin, Deputy Director of the Logistics Department of the General Staff Headquarters, pays homage to the Crown Prince." What came back with the guards was a man in a long gown. He was in his thirties, with a handsome face, and it was difficult to walk with his right foot. He was obviously lame.
"Director Sun, there is no need to be polite," Li Mingyuan jumped off his horse, handed the horse to the guard beside him, and said with a smile.
"Director Sun, I found that there are many alpacas transporting goods in the army. What's going on?" In his previous life, Li Mingyuan heard the story of alpacas. Alpacas are gentle and shy, and are kept as pets by many people.
"Haha, these alpacas are not wild alpacas, but tame by the local indigenous people. The Indians here usually use alpacas to transport goods." Sun Bin explained with a smile.
"Oh, it's good to use alpacas to transport goods. Chief of Staff Liu, how big is the gap in the army's pack horses?" Li Mingyuan turned to ask.
"There are 23,000 pack horses collected now, plus the 20,000 horses promised by the Peruvians, the total is 43,000 horses. The shortfall is about 3,000 horses." Liu Pu lowered his head to recall the data for a while, and then said.
"Director Sun, how does the alpaca's transportation capacity compare with that of a pack horse?"
"An adult alpaca carries a weight of forty to sixty kilograms, which is slightly lighter than a pack horse."
"Director Sun, is there any way to get together five thousand alpacas and use them to replace the gaps in the pack horses?"
"This is difficult to handle. After being hunted by Spanish colonists, the number of alpacas has been reduced to one-tenth of its original size.
The remaining alpacas are either driven to plateau areas with harsh environments, or are in the hands of some Indian tribes.
If alpaca wool had not been welcomed by Western countries, the number of alpacas would have been even smaller." Sun Bin shook his head.
Li Mingyuan became even more interested in alpacas when he heard that alpacas can not only be used as a means of transportation, but that their down can also be used to produce wool products.
The Pampas in southern Brazil has vast terrain, and much of the spare land can be used as excellent pasture to develop animal husbandry.
The Merino sheep that Li Mingyuan values is also valued by Western countries. It is difficult to introduce Merino sheep on a large scale in a short time. However, the emergence of alpacas can temporarily fill the vacancy of Merino sheep.
The alpaca origin is in South America, and the area in southern Brazil that I want to occupy is also suitable for alpaca growth.
As long as the Chinese Independence Army obtains a large number of alpacas and then controls the export of alpacas like Peru and Bolivia in previous generations, they can initially monopolize the alpaca down market and gain considerable profits.
"Director Sun, how many alpacas can we search for at this stage?" After thinking for a while, Li Mingyuan asked.
"The local Chinese descendants can provide one thousand, and they can search for another two thousand from the surrounding occupied areas. At most, they can only collect three thousand."
"There are still Chinese descendants in Peru?" Li Mingyuan knew that in the second half of the 19th century, Chinese laborers went to work in the mines of South America. He had never heard of Chinese living in South America before that.
"Yes, these Chinese are different from Chinese workers. They arrived in South America during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Now their appearance is the same as that of traditional Indians, but they still retain the Chinese language and living habits." Sun Bin
He told Li Mingyuan what he knew.
"Are those people who drive alpacas that look like Indians the survivors of the Ming Dynasty?" Li Mingyuan said, pointing to a middle-aged man in his forties.
"Yes." Sun Bin nodded.
"Go, he calls over." Li Mingyuan called a guard beside him and suppressed his inner excitement.
The Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty was three hundred years ago. Living in a foreign land for three hundred years has not changed its national identity, which is worthy of Li Mingyuan's admiration.
There will be no China after Yashan, and there will be no Huaxia after the fall of Ming Dynasty. This sentence is not only the Japanese's contempt for China.
China, Huaxia is an organic whole composed of cultural ties. The beauty of the uniform is called Hua, and the great etiquette is called Xia.
The representative of China is the cultural connotation composed of clothes and etiquette. The entry of Yuan and Mongolia broke the rule that the Han people were not completely ruled by foreigners. It was the first subjugation of the Han people.
The Manchu Qing Dynasty ruled the Central Plains, and the shaving of hair and crowns completely interrupted China's cultural heritage.
The fifty-five ethnic groups in later generations all have their own national costumes, but the Han people regard the mandarin jackets as their own national costumes. When a few young angry youths wear traditional Han clothes, other people either think they are kimonos or they think they are
It's grandstanding.
Cultural inheritance has been interrupted, and there is no strong revival. It is normal for national culture not to be inherited by one's own people.
"The common man Zhao Youde is here to see the crown prince." Zhao Youde, who followed the guards, said a greeting that pulled Li Mingyuan back from his reverie.
"Old man, please get up." Li Mingyuan reacted and helped Zhao Youde up, who was saluting.
Zhao Youde's face has dry palms and a dark complexion, and there is a hint of Chinese in his Indian face.
"I don't dare to trouble the prince to help me," Zhao Youde said as he broke free from Li Mingyuan's hand.
When he just learned from the guards that the young man in front of him was Li Mingyuan, the leader of hundreds of thousands of South American Chinese, Zhao Youde couldn't believe it.
However, after having close contact with Li Mingyuan, Zhao Youde not only felt Li Mingyuan's approachability, but also felt a kingly aura, and Li Mingyuan's image suddenly became taller in his eyes.
After Zhao Youde stood up, Li Mingyuan asked, "How did my father-in-law arrive in South America?"
“According to records in the village, in 1603, Spanish colonists encouraged local indigenous people to participate in the massacre of Chinese people, killing more than 20,000 Chinese in total.
At that time, five to six thousand surviving Chinese were transported to Peru, but only five to six hundred survived. The others either died at sea or died of fatigue and disease. Some of the surviving Chinese married Indians.
We gathered together to create our current village, and there are still seven to eight hundred people in the whole village."
Overseas Chinese have always been unable to escape the fate of being massacred. Once overseas Chinese accumulate enough wealth, European colonists and local indigenous people will launch a massacre of Chinese.
Think of the Chinese as growing leeks, cutting one crop and then the next.
Li Mingyuan hated the colonists' massacre of Chinese people, but he had no ability to retaliate at the moment. He could only console himself by saying, "The Central Plains cannot protect themselves from Manchuria. If overseas Chinese want to live with dignity, they must use the swords in their hands to defend the safety of the Chinese people."
The blood of overseas Chinese will not be shed in vain, and one day, I will seek justice for the Chinese who were killed."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhao Youde said and bowed to Li Mingyuan.
"My father-in-law can't help me." Li Mingyuan hurriedly went to help him.
"The prince led the rescue of countless Chinese. He has great kindness to the little old man. He deserves to be worshiped by the little old man." Zhao Youde's eyes were red, and he stood up after insisting on bowing.
After chatting with Zhao Youde for a while, Li Mingyuan asked, "My father-in-law helps us transport goods, why don't you want to transfer in and leave with us?"
"The appearance of the grassroots people is the same as that of the barbarians, and there are also women, children, the elderly and the weak in the village, so they dare not raise any inappropriate thoughts."
"I'm overly worried. Although my appearance is slightly different from that of the Chinese, I still retain my ancestral heritage and have Chinese blood flowing in my bones. I am still a part of the Chinese."
Li Mingyuan took the initiative to accept them, and Zhao Youde was moved to tears.
The seven to eight hundred Chinese descendants are like homeless children who have no one to care about. The Peruvians do not accept them, and their appearance is different from the traditional Han people. Therefore, Zhao Youde felt inferior and could only do his best to help the Chinese Independence Army transport goods.
I dare not ask for migration together.
After persuading Zhao Youde to move with the Chinese Independence Army, Li Mingyuan walked into the transport team and met with more than a hundred descendants of Ming Dynasty survivors who had the same status as Zhao Youde.
After learning that they could join the Chinese Independence Army, more than a hundred young people gathered around Li Mingyuan excitedly to express their respect to Li Mingyuan.
After the crowd's excitement subsided, Li Mingyuan asked them about the situation of the local Indians, and finally decided to trade alpacas with them using the extra grain and discarded muskets.
When we turn into southern Brazil, we have to go through a long mountain road on the way. It is difficult to transport too much food, so it is just right to exchange the excess food for alpacas.
