In one day, with the strong support of the Chinese Independence Army, order was restored in the city of La Paz.
The next day, in the castle that originally belonged to Illivian, Li Mingyuan convened a meeting of the chiefs of the Indian tribes who participated in the battle.
"The quick victory in the Battle of La Paz is inseparable from the sacrifices of the Indian warriors from all tribes. The purpose of calling all the tribe chiefs together today is to fulfill the promises made before the war and distribute the spoils obtained by each tribe to everyone.
"
After Li Mingyuan finished speaking, the heads of the Indian tribes sitting on both sides couldn't help but get excited. Yesterday, the Indians who attacked the city suffered a total of 1,000 and 500 casualties. The casualties among the tribes participating in the war were about one or two hundred, one or two.
The number of casualties of a hundred people is within the tolerable range for various Indian tribes. However, for the casualties of one or two hundred young people in the tribe, they can get vital weapons and ammunition. Compared with the two, their efforts are completely worthwhile.
meaningful.
"The Ulu tribe sent 400 troops and suffered 100 casualties during the siege. The weapons allocated to the Ulu tribe were 100 muskets, 5,000 rounds of ammunition, and 8,000 kilograms of food.
The Keqiu tribe sent 600 troops to assist the Chinese troops in storming the city wall during the attack on Beicheng, which was a great achievement. Therefore, the weapons belonging to the Keqiu tribe were 170 muskets, 8,000 rounds of ammunition, 10,000 kilograms of grain, and 500 silver dollars.
pieces."
There were twelve Indian tribes that participated in the siege of La Paz. Li Mingyuan announced one by one in order of merit from smallest to largest. Each Indian tribe he thought of got the weapons and supplies they wanted. After reading the previous eleven tribes
Li Mingyuan paused and read out the name of the Indian tribe that made the greatest contribution.
"The Aymara tribe had the largest number of participants in the battle. During the battle, the Aymara warriors were not afraid of sacrifice. They were the first to scale the city wall of La Paz under the command of the Chinese officer who led the team, posing a major threat to the enemy's defending troops.
With the cooperation of troops from the city, we successfully forced the enemy to divide their forces to support the northern city of La Paz.
Therefore, among the Indian tribes participating in the war, the Aymara tribe deserved the first contribution. In order to thank the Aymara tribe for their heroic battle, 700 muskets, 20,000 rounds of ammunition, 50,000 kilograms of grain, and 2,000 silver dollars were specially allocated.
Yuan, and every Aymara warrior who participates in the war will receive thirty acres of land."
It is understandable that the Aymara people received more muskets and food than other tribes, because in the siege operations, the Aymara people performed the most bravely and suffered the highest number of casualties. Among the 1100 Aymara soldiers who participated in the battle, 100
Seventy people were killed and 248 wounded. The total number of casualties was close to half of the number of troops sent. They used huge sacrifices to obtain more weapons and food than other tribes. It is impossible for others to refute, but the Aymara people obtained more weapons and food than other tribes.
Without any land, it would be unbalanced.
No matter which nation, land is the most important thing for local residents. The reason why Tsarist Russia fell was not because the greedy nobles occupied a large amount of land belonging to the common people, leaving the people with no land to farm, and then the revolution broke out and pushed the Tsar down.
throne.
Land is the foundation for the development and growth of various tribes. After more than three hundred years of Spanish colonial rule, most of the indigenous Indians have become accustomed to farming life. Only in the harsh areas of the Bolivian plateau, local people still live a nomadic life. Therefore, listen to
The Aymara who participated in the war could each receive thirty acres of land, and other tribes were immediately dissatisfied.
"General, the Aymara people fought bravely and made great contributions. I have no objection to getting land, but the Kechu tribe is no worse than them in fighting. Why can they get land, while the Kechu warriors can only get some muskets and food!"
Chief Keqiu said dissatisfiedly because he thought he had made a lot of achievements.
Li Mingyuan had long guessed the dissatisfaction of other Indian tribes, and this was the effect he wanted.
"Chief Keqiu, don't worry, just listen to what I have to say."
Li Mingyuan smiled to appease the leader of the Kechu tribe, and then said: "The Chinese Independence Army is not a force that turns its back on others. Before the uprising, we, like our Indian brothers from various tribes, suffered from exploitation and oppression by European whites. Now that we have come to Bolivia,
We also want to help the Indian brothers live a better life, and the clan leaders must have seen what the Chinese Independence Army did before. We will not favor which tribe cooperates with us first, nor will we win a battle.
The other tribes stayed aside.”
Li Mingyuan first said good things, and when the tribal chiefs below stopped speaking, he continued: "Every tribal chief should understand that for more than three hundred years, the white colonists have continued to massacre and oppress the Indians, and they have taken away the fertile
Land, driving Indians to barren and harsh places to fend for themselves. Now, the American continent of Indians no longer belongs to Indians. In this land, white people dominate, and even black people who were originally slaves have a lower status than Indians.
Although the Haitian black people have established an independent black country for more than 50 years, as for the Indians, in Bolivia, not a single piece of land belongs to the Indians.
I understand your desire to acquire land, but you must understand that in Bolivia, even if the Chinese Independence Army defeated the government represented by Melgarejo, the newly elected Adolfo was still a white man. Although he had a mild attitude towards the Indians,
, but he must ultimately consider the interests of the white people and mixed-race people behind him.
Therefore, I can allocate part of the land far away from the city of La Paz to the Aymara people, but I cannot allocate the land to all the Indians who participated in the war, because this will not help you, but harm you.
The Chinese Independence Army will leave La Paz after staying for a period of time. Without the cooperation of the Chinese Independence Army, will the new white people in power watch the land fall into your hands?
"
Li Mingyuan didn't say the rest, but after hearing Li Mingyuan's explanation, the Indian chiefs below also understood that the environment of the Indian group was not optimistic. Why did they risk their lives to cooperate with the Chinese Independence Army? Was it not to steal from the Bolivian army?
Weapons to protect the safety of the tribe?
But Li Mingyuan's words made them understand that the muskets in their hands could only increase the tribe's resistance, but the balance of power between the Indians and European whites was still very different.
Because of Li Mingyuan's words, the joy of having just been assigned weapons suddenly disappeared. The expressions of the heads of the Indian tribes in the hall also became gloomy, feeling confused about the future of the Indians.
"General, the Indians treat the Chinese as true friends, and the Chinese will not be indifferent to the suffering of the Indians, right?"
Chief Aymara saw the reactions of other Indian tribe chiefs, but he was not as pessimistic and disappointed as them, because the Indians relied on the Chinese Independence Army, and the Chinese Independence Army also needed the assistance of the Indians. Without the help of the Indians,
Without the help of the Indians, it would be very difficult for the Chinese Independence Army to safely cross the thousands of miles of Bolivian plateau. Therefore, the Aymara chief believed that Li Mingyuan must have a solution to the Indians' plight.
"The Aymara chief is right, the Chinese Independence Army will not ignore its friends when they are in trouble."
Li Mingyuan glanced at the Aymara chief with approval and said: "The white people in Bolivia are powerful, and it would be unwise to confront them rashly."
Li Mingyuan paused and saw the Indian chiefs on both sides looking at him. He stopped hiding and said directly: "If you want to keep the interests of the Indians from being harmed, you must first gather the Indian tribes scattered around.
Only by uniting all the Indian tribes can we strengthen the strength of the Bolivian Indians and prevent the white government from attacking the Indians easily."
"There are many Aymara tribes in the north of La Paz. After returning, I immediately sent warriors from the tribe to contact other Aymara tribes."
"There are also Quechu tribes in the north of La Paz. I will also send people to contact them."
Chief Keqiu continued.
Bolivian Indians mainly live in the provinces of La Paz and Oruro in the Andes Mountains. The northern part of Barras Province used to have many silver mines, attracting many white people to mine silver there. However, after more than two hundred years of mining,
The silver mines in the north of La Paz were exhausted, and most white people moved away from the north of La Paz because they had no source of income. Most of the people living there are now Indians.
The northern part of La Paz is not far from the city of La Paz, and it does not take much time to contact the Indian tribes there. Moreover, after the news that the Chinese Independence Army occupied La Paz City came out, the Indians in the northern area will surely be encouraged to take the initiative to defect to the Chinese Independence Army.
There was no problem in contacting other Indian tribes, and Li Mingyuan went on to make suggestions that were extremely tempting to the Indians.
"It is difficult for Indians to seize control of Bolivia. However, taking a step back, it is still possible to occupy a piece of land where Indians are the majority and establish an autonomous Indian province."
"Establish an autonomous Indian province so that we Indians can manage our own affairs!"
An Indian chief said excitedly.
"Yes, by establishing the Indian Autonomous Province, we can own our own land and no longer have to suffer the white eyes and oppression." The Aymara chief said with equal excitement.
The establishment of the Indian Autonomous Province was not only an opportunity to win over Indians to continue serving the Chinese Independence Army, but also an attempt made by Li Mingyuan before moving to southern Brazil.
After independence, South American countries generally implemented republican systems of government, and the national concepts of Western countries were initially introduced to the Americas. However, because the American countries are immigrant countries and nation-states are still in the formative stage, Li Mingyuan was not sure that after the Chinese Independence Army occupied southern Brazil, Brazil would
Is there a fierce domestic reaction? Therefore, before this, the Indian Autonomous Province was established as an attempt. Based on the reaction of the white people in Bolivia, we can infer the intensity of the Brazilian counterattack after occupying Rio Grande do Sul.
There are many Indians in the north of La Paz, and the Indian tribes participating in the Chinese Independence Army are not far from the northern area. Therefore, after discussions, all tribes unanimously decided to fully occupy the north of La Paz and establish an Indian Autonomous Province with the north as their loyalties.
Of course, before the establishment of the Indian Autonomous Province, the Indians had to assist the Chinese Independence Army in annihilating the remaining forces of Melgarejo and help the Chinese Independence Army transport logistical supplies.