Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 68 Before the exercise begins
ps: Sorry for the three-day hiatus
Under the escort of the guards, Li Mingyuan and his party came to the training ground outside the military camp.

The soldiers of the 1st Mixed Brigade were training on the training ground. Seeing Li Mingyuan and others arriving, Wang Dashan handed over the training work to his deputy and quickly ran to Li Mingyuan.

"The First Mixed Brigade is conducting tactical training, and the brigade commander Wang Dashan is here to report." Wang Dashan stood up straight and said seriously.

"Yes." Li Mingyuan returned the military salute and said, "Colonel West wants to watch the military exercise. Dashan, show us your skills."

"As you command, my lord." Wang Dashan didn't waste any words, and quickly ran back to the training ground, and decisively ordered, "Captain of the First Regiment, Captain of the Second Regiment, lead the soldiers to conduct a confrontation exercise."

"Yes!" the two strong men shouted loudly and immediately assembled the team.

A few minutes later, the two groups of soldiers gathered and stood in a neat line facing each other.

"Prince, all soldiers of the First Mixed Brigade have assembled. Please give instructions."

Li Mingyuan nodded, dismounted and stood in front of the soldiers, smiling, "Colonel West is very curious about our Chinese Independence Army, and today he specifically asked to watch your exercise. You must perform well and let the Prussian guests see the style of our Chinese Independence Army."

"Did you hear that? All foreign brothers know the name of the Chinese Independence Army. You must perform well and don't bring shame to the Chinese Independence Army." After Li Mingyuan finished speaking, Wang Dashan added.

"Yes" was the answer Wang Dashan gave with a loud and confident shout.

After listening to the translation, West smiled and said, "What a great group of guys. They are very different from what I imagined."

"Colonel West has misunderstood. The Chinese Independence Army has always been hospitable to foreign friends. We only use guns and cannons to entertain them when we are facing enemies."

During the late Qing Dynasty, Chinese people had a contradictory mentality towards Western white people. Some people were intimidated by the foreigners' military power and bowed down to them, while others were hostile to foreigners and refused to communicate with them.

However, the soldiers and officers of the 1st Mixed Brigade behaved neither humbly nor arrogantly, and their enthusiasm was full of confidence, so West asked in a tactful way.

"The Chinese Independence Army originated from the Taiping Army. There were also some foreign brothers in the Taiping Army who shared the same ideals and beliefs as us. So we will not regard foreigners as a scourge like the Qing officials did," Li Mingyuan explained with a smile.

During the Taiping Rebellion, about a thousand foreigners joined the Taiping Army, among which Li Xiucheng had the largest number of foreign soldiers, reaching several hundred.

Ordinary Taiping soldiers often affectionately called these foreigners who fought alongside them foreign brothers, which was why the scene that West saw happened.

"The soldiers of your army are majestic and magnificent. I am happy to be friends with them."

In the eyes of Westerners, Chinese people are ugly, with disgusting rat tails, crooked eyes, bound feet, and ugly nomadic costumes. They are barbarians who are almost the same as uncivilized peoples.

When West first met the Chinese workers in South America, his impression of the Chinese was the same as that of ordinary Westerners.
At that time, Li Mingyuan had just launched the uprising. The Chinese workers under his command were ragged and covered in mud. Some of them even had braids that had not been combed for months.

In West's eyes, these Chinese workers were pale and skinny, like a group of beggars, and it was impossible for them to survive the attack of the Peruvian army.

As a result, the development of the situation exceeded his imagination. The Chinese workers in South America not only survived, but also snowballed into a rebel force covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometers and with more than 100,000 soldiers.

Therefore, Westley came to Peru again with curiosity and confusion, and witnessed the changes of the Chinese Independence Army with his own eyes.

The current Chinese Independence Army has all shaved off their hair and replaced their tattered jackets with solemn and majestic black military uniforms.

This military uniform was designed by Li Mingyuan based on the simplified design of later German military uniforms and Qin Dynasty military uniforms. It retains the slimming features of German military uniforms while incorporating the classical and elegant advantages of Chinese clothing.

After the manufactured samples were distributed to the soldiers for trial wearing, the response was very good, so Li Mingyuan ordered the garment factories in the occupied areas to rush to produce 10,000 military uniforms, which were then distributed first to the 1st Mixed Brigade, the 2nd Mixed Brigade, the Cavalry Brigade and officers above the battalion level.

In order to save production costs, the materials and designs of military uniforms were simplified. The shoulder pads and other decorations on the uniforms were deleted, leaving only the main body of the uniform.

Although it is a simplified version of the military uniform, the aesthetic effect of this uniform still exceeds the standard military uniforms of many countries.

Without shoulder pads and decorations, the entire military uniform looks simpler and more elegant, adding to the heroism of the soldiers.

Clothes make the man, and as the Buddha relies on gold, wearing brand new black uniforms, the soldiers of the 1st Mixed Brigade each looked mighty and solemn. From them, Li Mingyuan seemed to see the shadow of the Qin Iron Army that swept across the world.

"Colonel West, my men are worthy of your lordship's approval." Li Mingyuan smiled and looked at West, who was lost in thought. West turned his eyes away from the soldiers in front of him and sighed, "I haven't seen you for a few months, but you have trained a group of laborers into a mighty and powerful army. I really don't understand how you did it."

"Thank you for the praise, Colonel." Li Mingyuan calmly accepted West's compliment and said to the soldiers of the First Mixed Brigade, "Mr. West, have you noticed any difference in these soldiers?"

West observed the soldiers in front again and said, "Your soldiers are very disciplined and have firm eyes. Although I haven't seen them in training, I am sure they are all excellent soldiers."

West was born into a Prussian Junker military aristocratic family. He had been engaged in military training since childhood and was very familiar with military affairs. In the eyes of the soldiers in front of him, he saw the shadow of the Prussian Army.

When training soldiers, Li Mingyuan drew on the experience of the Prussian Army. However, in terms of the soldiers' ideology, Li Mingyuan chose to instill in them the idea of ​​classical patriotism.

Since his rebirth, Li Mingyuan has never relaxed. Even after a battle is won, he will take time to explain military theories and patriotic ideas to the officers.

What made Li Mingyuan happy was that his efforts were not in vain. He saw a light called faith in the eyes of these soldiers.

An army without faith will eventually perish.

In ancient China, soldiers often regarded the commander of the army as the backbone of the army. The commander of the army influenced his soldiers with his personal charm. This was the case with the Qi Family Army, Yue Family Army, Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army and other armies.

However, this kind of army that relies on its commander as its faith is very fragile. Once the commander dies, the entire army will quickly fall apart.
Lost the faith to fight.

Li Mingyuan didn't need such an army. What he wanted were brave soldiers who shouted "Fight against the Qin army and recover our land. We will not stop fighting until our blood is dried and we die."

Therefore, Li Mingyuan proposed the system of distributing land based on military merit, using land to inspire soldiers' courage to fight and using patriotism as the belief for soldiers to fight bravely.

Li Mingyuan looked at the soldiers in front of him with satisfaction and said, "Mr. West is right. They are excellent soldiers.
They may not be as skilled in combat as your army's soldiers, but their fighting spirit is as strong as any other army's.

The blood of the ancient Qin Empire warriors flows in their bodies. Under the adverse circumstances in a foreign land, I believe they will restore the blood of their ancestors and rebuild the backbone of the nation."

Li Mingyuan said excitedly, "Didn't Mr. West ask me how to train a brave army in a short period of time?
I can tell you that it is faith. Because of faith, a group of workers who endure humiliation and live in hiding can transform into a fearless army in a few months.

Because they have faith, they know why they are fighting. It is not for empty patriotic slogans, nor for corrupt officials and businessmen.
It is for a better life, for the rise of the nation, and for future generations to live in the world with dignity, without being called the sick man of East Asia by others. "

Li Mingyuan's words resonated with West. The German region had been a place of war among the princes for a thousand years, and the people living on this land had suffered from the flames of war.
In modern times, Germany has been invaded by neighboring countries. The vast German region has been torn apart. Even the famous poet Schiller questioned

: "Germany? Where is it? I can't find that place."

Schiller's friend Goethe simply said that there is no city, not even a place, that we can firmly point out is Germany. If we ask this question in Vienna, the answer is that this is Austria; if we
Ask this question in Berlin, and the answer is, this is Prussia. Where is Germany?
The heavy questioning awakened the Germans' desire for unity.
Like West, many Germans joined the army or went to university to fight for the unification of Germany.

The road to German unification is full of difficulties, but seeing the troops in front of him who still did not give up hope in a foreign country, West's eyes revealed a firm look: "Your army is an admirable army. I firmly believe that your army, like Prussia, will definitely defeat the enemy in front of us and achieve our respective goals."

"As a pure soldier, I admire those men who fight for their country. I apologize again for my previous misunderstanding of your army." After West said this, he saluted Li Mingyuan solemnly.

Li Mingyuan was somewhat surprised by West's actions, but he also felt that his actions were reasonable.
Traditional soldiers will often show their respect to an army that deserves respect, even if this army is their enemy, they will give the other party due respect.

And now, West also treats the Chinese Independence Army as a respectable army.

"It's an honor to receive the recognition of Colonel West, but now it's time for the boys to show their skills." Li Mingyuan said with a smile after West stood up.

"I believe these great guys will bring an eye-catching performance," said West.

"Dashan, order the troops to start the exercise."

Li Mingyuan said.

"Yes." Wang Dashan turned around and conveyed the order. The two regiments under the 1st Mixed Brigade immediately returned to their respective positions in accordance with the training requirements.

(End of this chapter)