With the help of the soldiers brought by Sun Bin, the weapons and equipment on the ship were quickly moved to the open space in front of the port. Sun Bin and Hoffman were responsible for the specific calculation of the number of weapons, while Sweet was accompanied by Zhao Yan.
Meet Li Mingyuan.
The process of gathering Chinese people from all over the country to Arequipa is still going on. Teams of Chinese people can be seen everywhere on the road rushing to their respective stations under the leadership of the leading officers.
"Your Excellency, are these your soldiers?" West, who came to the land, put on a military horse and pointed at the Chinese team walking side by side.
Zhao Yan left the team next to him and said with a smile, "You have misunderstood. They are militiamen responsible for transporting logistics supplies, not a field army."
After hearing what Zhao Yan said, West didn't believe it. After observing them carefully, he found some clues. The soldiers in this team were older, mostly around thirty years old.
Moreover, their physical fitness was relatively low, and many of them had sallow faces, thin muscles, and sickly complexions. However, they were very disciplined when marching, so they were mistaken by West for regular troops.
"Your army's logistics troops have such a military appearance, I think the regular army is even more exciting." West praised.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. Your Majesty is fair and strict in running the army, and is deeply loved by the soldiers. That's why the army has strict discipline."
"Hearing what you say, I would like to meet your prince earlier." West smiled.
West has not yet seen the field army of the Chinese Independence Army, but judging from the performance of the logistics troops, the military ethos and combat effectiveness of the field army will only become more strict and powerful.
This increased his curiosity about Li Mingyuan, who led this force.
In the process of going to Li Mingyuan's house, West had been carefully observing the reality of the Chinese Independence Army, and he was constantly improving his evaluation of the Chinese Independence Army in his heart.
West's meeting with Li Mingyuan was not just a matter of curiosity about him. The Kingdom of Prussia had just formed the North German Alliance.
As its strength increased, it also expanded its sights to the world outside Europe, hoping to find markets for the expanding domestic industrial production.
Therefore, they suddenly received a huge arms order, which attracted their attention to this force, so West was given the task of investigating the reality of the Chinese Independence Army so that they could determine the status of the Chinese Independence Army.
Li Mingyuan temporarily lived in a large courtyard in Barangka City. West and Zhao Yan walked into the reception hall after being interrogated by the security forces.
"Your Majesty, Colonel West is here to visit you." Zhao Yan introduced him as he walked into the hall.
"Yes," Li Mingyuan nodded and motioned to the soldiers to serve tea to entertain the guests. The two soldiers beside him understood and left quickly.
"Hello, Colonel West, it's such a pity that we didn't meet last time." Li Mingyuan said politely.
"Your Excellency, this surprises me so much. I didn't expect you to be so young." West said in surprise.
"You're welcome, Colonel," Li Mingyuan nodded with a smile and asked West to sit down.
"I'm very curious about how you managed to turn a group of workers into a victorious force in just two or three months. I wonder if you can help me figure it out." West sat down and asked.
.
"No hurry, colonel, finish this cup of tea first," Li Mingyuan winked at the guard, and then the guard brought in three cups of tea and placed them in front of Li Mingyuan and the others.
"Colonel, this is tea produced from tea trees transplanted from mainland China to Peru. I don't know if it suits Colonel's taste." Li Mingyuan asked after West took a sip of tea.
After being introduced to England in the 16th century, Eastern tea gradually became the pet of Western nobles. Therefore, West was not completely ignorant of the taste of tea in his mouth.
"The tea has a rich and sweet aroma. It is a rare good tea." West commented after recalling the taste of the tea.
"Your Excellency, the tea has been finished. Should you answer my question?" West asked after finishing the cup of tea quickly.
"Colonel West, listen to me slowly,"
Li Mingyuan took a sip of tea and said, "This kind of tea is native to the peaks of the mountains. Later, in order to increase tea production, tea farmers transplanted the tea trees to the foot of the mountains, resulting in a lack of aroma and flavor of the tea.
After this kind of tea tree was transplanted to the top of the mountains in Peru, due to the harsh environment such as lack of water, the tea tree desperately absorbed the morning dew in the mountains, so the quality and taste of the tea produced returned to its original level."
"Are the words you said related to the combat effectiveness of your army?" West said confused.
Western culture emphasizes directness and clarity, unlike classical Chinese culture, which is euphemistic and implicit, so Li Mingyuan stopped beating around the bush and explained.
"The Chinese people are just like this tea tree. Mainland China is accustomed to a long-term peaceful life, which leads to lax military equipment. The Yuan and Qing Dynasties took advantage of it, so they invaded the Central Plains. However, I believe that when the country's life and death are faced, the Chinese will definitely recover.
Their bloodshed drove away the Tartars and won the country’s independence.”
"I admire your patriotic sentiments, but I do not believe that the rule of the Qing Dynasty will be overthrown in a short time.
Moreover, a few years ago, a large-scale peasant uprising in your country was suppressed by the Qing Dynasty. The military strength of the Qing Dynasty should be at its peak at this stage."
West understood Li Mingyuan's metaphor, but he was not optimistic about what Li Mingyuan said about Chinese independence.
Although the Taiping Rebellion hit the foundation of the Manchu Qing Dynasty's rule, it did not overthrow the Manchu rule.
During the Taiping Rebellion, the Manchu Qing Dynasty resumed the practice of just entering the customs. Every time they conquered a city, they looted and massacred the residents in the city. Therefore, after the war, the domestic population decreased by about 100 million, and domestic conflicts were alleviated to a certain extent.
And this method is also a tried and tested method for ethnic minorities to rule China. It kills the resisters and reduces the domestic population. Naturally, no one dares to resist in a short period of time. According to the Qing Dynasty's ruling strategy, if there is no invasion by Western powers, maybe the Manchu Qing will
It will be the longest feudal dynasty that has ruled China.
Remembering that the Manchus would rule China for about half a century, Li Mingyuan did not refute West's point of view and instead changed the topic to the Chinese Independence Army.
"It is true that the Manchu Qing Dynasty survived a crisis, but I do not think its rule is unbreakable. Although the resistance forces in the Central Plains have been wiped out, there are still many Chinese in overseas areas who are unwilling to submit. They have been
We will continue to fight to restore our national glory."
Li Mingyuan's words were sonorous and powerful, which infected West, who listened carefully.
"Your Excellency's words remind me of my motherland. The great Kingdom of Prussia has experienced the invasion of the Napoleonic Empire. The country is dilapidated and the economy is in decline.
However, under such dire circumstances, all Prussian citizens united and
Farmers and workers lent their little savings to the country to restore the economy. His Majesty William III personally donated a palace where he lived to be used as a university campus.
After decades of self-cultivation, the Kingdom of Prussia regained its strength, defeated the Kingdom of Denmark and the Austrian Empire successively, won the leadership of the North German region, and achieved the status of a powerful country in Central Europe."
West sighed with emotion. His words revealed confidence and pride.
"The Kingdom of Prussia is a great country. I respect your country's Frederick the Great very much. He was a wise and wise monarch and a great patriot. During the reign of Frederick the Great, your country gained a large amount of territory.
, the economy and culture have also achieved tremendous development. I think your country’s achievements today were already determined during the reforms of Frederick the Great.”
The success of the Kingdom of Prussia was inevitable, starting from the upgrade of Prussia to a kingdom in 1701 until the establishment of the Kingdom of Germany in 1871.
Among the previous kings of Prussia, except for Frederick William II, during the eleven years of his reign, Prussia suffered the defeat of the First Anti-French War and the country's economic recession. The other generations of kings can be called wise kings.
Over the course of seventy-one years, the Kingdom of Prussia gradually strengthened its power and finally unified the German region.
The success of the Kingdom of Prussia has always been praised by later generations. Li Mingyuan also wanted to learn from the successful example of the Kingdom of Prussia to build a new country that would be strong in the future.
"I didn't expect you to be so familiar with our country's history. Your erudition is admirable."
It is a proud thing for one's country to be praised by a foreigner, especially a capable military commander, so after listening to Li Mingyuan's words, West felt very happy.
"Colonel West, thank you very much. Your country's achievements are impressive. I just want to find ways to learn from your country's success." Li Mingyuan waved his hand and said with a smile.
"I just saw the majestic appearance of your army's logistics troops on the road. I wonder if you can allow me to visit your army's regular troops." After chatting with Li Mingyuan for a while, West brought up the topic.
"Our army has only been established for a short period of time. Please ask the colonel to correct any shortcomings." Li Mingyuan said modestly.
"I dare not correct you, but I served in the Prussian Royal Guards before I joined the navy, so I have some experience in army operations." West's tone was calm, but it could be seen from his expression that he was very interested in being able to serve in the army.
I am still very proud to serve in the Guards.
"Haha, this is better, Colonel West, we can watch the soldiers' exercises now." Li Mingyuan smiled and went out with West...