Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 70 Port News
After the exercise, Li Mingyuan personally sent West to the port of Baranka.

"Colonel West, the safety of the fleet in five days is in your hands," Li Mingyuan said solemnly.

After the arms deal was completed, the time for escorting the Chinese fleet was also determined, which was set for the day after the Peruvian side handed over the supplies.

"Of course, this is my responsibility." West said seriously. ...

On a merchant ship not far from Li Mingyuan and West, a dozen men who looked like Chinese walked down from the ship. They were dressed in tattered clothes and many of them had injuries on their bodies.

When I got off the ship, the first thing I saw was the Chinese soldiers on martial law in the port. The huge Barangay Port was filled with thousands of Chinese soldiers.
Dozens of cannons that had not been transported away were neatly arranged on the open space near the port, and Li Mingyuan and West were closely guarded by more than 300 soldiers.
These Chinese soldiers were completely different from the Han troops we had seen before. Their dignified and majestic black uniforms, brand new and sophisticated rifles, and solemn and tenacious expressions were a feast for the eyes.

"Brother Li, are they the troops serving the Crown Prince?" A Chinese pirate who got off the ship right after Li Han said in disbelief.

"That should be the case." Li Han was only focused on watching the troops in front of him for a moment. After hearing the question from his entourage, he sighed.

When Li Han set out, he had a total of thirty people. When he smuggled into Colombia, he was chased by local militia and lost half of his people. Then he arrived at the Pacific coast of Colombia and took a merchant ship to Barranca.

"Brother, are you from the troops serving the Crown Prince?" After being surprised, Li Han walked towards a Chinese soldier who was on guard beside him and asked politely.

The soldier on guard looked at Li Han and his group vigilantly and said sternly, "Tell me, are you deserters?"

When the Chinese Independence Army was rectifying the discipline of the troops, more than 500 soldiers feared they would be punished and deserted the army. Later, the military police pursued them and captured nearly 400 deserters, but more than 100 Chinese soldiers still escaped.

Before Li Mingyuan ordered the purge of the troops, he realized that doing so would cause shock to the troops for a period of time.

However, if this is not done, the atmosphere in the army may deteriorate step by step, and some officers and soldiers may form interest groups, threatening Li Mingyuan's control over the army.

Therefore, Li Mingyuan decisively carried out a purge of the troops, and eliminated them from the Chinese Independence Army before they could form a force to be reckoned with, in order to ensure the purity of the troops.

The action to rectify the discipline of the troops was successful. After the previous period of turmoil, the Chinese Independence Army had generally returned to calm. The only thing left was to hunt down the Chinese soldiers who had escaped.

After the soldier on duty shouted, more than 20 soldiers from the surrounding area approached Li Han and others, pointing their muskets at them.

Li Han didn't expect that his simple question would cause such a big reaction from these soldiers. He glanced at the muskets pointed at him and suppressed the dozen Chinese pirates who were about to attack. He said calmly: "I heard that the prince of the king led the army to revolt, so we came here specially to surrender. Is this how the prince treats his brothers who surrender to him?"

Li Han remained calm in the face of the Chinese soldiers who surrounded him. He did not show any sign of being nervous or scared like a deserter. The soldiers on duty were also a little unsure of their identities.

But he didn't quite believe that they came here specifically to join the Chinese Independence Army. After southern Peru was occupied, all the Chinese workers in the mines and plantations in the south were rescued.
However, there were not many Chinese workers in northern Peru, and Chinese workers had revolted in southern Peru. Therefore, the Peruvians had stricter control over the Chinese workers in the north, and it was unlikely that they could escape from there.

The soldier on duty presumed that Li Han and his men were Chinese workers who had escaped from northern Peru, and continued to interrogate them: "The Peruvians in the northern region are closely guarded. How did you escape from them?"

"We are not Chinese workers who escaped from northern Peru. As for our true identity, I need to speak to your manager in person."

After what happened just now, Li Han was somewhat skeptical about the rumor that the leader of the Chinese army was the prince of Shi Wang.
The Prince of Attendant was not even twenty years old, and the soldiers in front of him were arrogant and well-equipped. He was not sure if the Prince of Attendant, who was only sixteen or seventeen years old, could subdue these arrogant and powerful soldiers. Therefore, Li Han did not tell his true identity to the soldiers on duty.

"How dare you! You can't just go and see the prince whenever you want." Li Han's arrogant attitude aroused the dissatisfaction of the soldiers on duty, who immediately called on the surrounding soldiers to escort Li Han away for interrogation.

When Li Han heard the soldier on duty say the word "Crown Prince", he did not bother to break free from the soldier holding him hostage, and asked loudly: "Is the Crown Prince you are talking about the Crown Prince of His Royal Highness the Prince of Attendant?"

"Of course it's the Prince of Shiwang," the soldier on duty said proudly.

Li Han observed that the expression of the soldiers on duty did not seem to be fake, so he quickly broke away from the two soldiers around him and explained, "I am a messenger from General Hou Taiyuan under King Mori, and I have something important to see the Crown Prince of Shiwang."

Although the soldier on duty joined the Chinese Independence Army later, he had heard some things about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from the old Taiping soldiers in the army and knew that there were many princes in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. So after hearing what Li Han said, he immediately signaled the soldiers to step back and asked, "Which prince of the Heavenly Kingdom is King Sen?"

"Sergeant, King Sen is the commander-in-chief of the navy of our Heavenly Kingdom." Before Li Han could reply, a Chinese soldier beside him reminded him in a low voice.

"The commander-in-chief of the navy, he's a high-ranking official." After a moment's thought, the soldier on duty ruled out the identity of Li Han and others as deserters.

"You're wrong. We are all brothers. Why don't you put down your guns? It will be bad if you accidentally hurt one of your own people." The soldier on duty put on a smiling face and greeted them.

The soldiers around them retreated, and Li Han and others also relaxed. After all, it was not a pleasant feeling to be pointed at with a gun by someone.

"It's my military duty, I understand." Li Han talked to the soldier on duty for a few words, and then said, "Please help inform His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. My general is waiting for us to go back and report the news."...At the port, West and Li Mingyuan had a good chat. West smiled and shook hands with Li Mingyuan, praising him, "Your Excellency has extraordinary command ability. If you were born in Prussia, you would definitely be an excellent general."

"German unification is a historical trend, and I believe that you will soon find your place in the world."

"Li, do you think Prussia will face war again soon?" Through his contact with Li Mingyuan, West knew that Li Mingyuan was a military commander with a far-sighted vision. Since he thought he could be useful, he must not be aimless. So he asked tentatively.

"Military power is the continuation of politics. On the one hand, your country has used railways and the customs union to tie most of the German states to the Prussian chariot. On the other hand, Austria, the main obstacle to the unification of Germany, has been defeated by your country.
Therefore, in order to finally unify Germany, your country will definitely go to war with France, which controls the southern German states, and I estimate that the war will not break out for more than three years."

In 1870, Prussia and France went to war over the Spanish succession.
Before the outbreak of the war, the Junker military aristocracy led by Bismarck advocated the use of war to unite the whole of Germany. So without obtaining the permission of King William I of Prussia, Bismarck arbitrarily issued a telegram, angering the King of France and leading to the outbreak of war.

As a member of the Junker military nobility, West had also heard rumors of war, but he was not sure.

Because France, as the hegemon of Europe, occupied half of Prussia during the Napoleonic era. Although France is not as powerful as it was during the Napoleonic era, it also controls the southern German states and colonies second only to Britain.
Faced with France's dominance over Europe, no one, from King William I of Prussia to ordinary Prussian citizens, was absolutely sure of defeating France. Even Bismarck, who provoked the war, took poison to the battlefield. So after hearing Li Mingyuan's words, although West thought it made sense, he still didn't quite believe it.

"France is very powerful. I don't think that a war will break out between Prussia and France within a few years." West shook his head.

West was not a high-ranking official and had no chance to get in touch with the core secrets of the Prussian army. Therefore, he did not know that after Bismarck came to power, he had been secretly expanding the army and preparing for war, including purchasing mineral resources from Peru, developing railways for military mobilization, etc.

"No, you will definitely do this." Li Mingyuan said confidently: "Austria has just been severely damaged by your country. If you wait until Austria's strength recovers, your country will definitely face obstruction from Austria, France and even Russia before launching a war of unification.

It would be almost impossible to unify Germany at that time.

Moreover, France was not as strong as it seemed. Since Napoleon III came to power, he relied on the army and Napoleon's prestige to suppress the increasingly serious contradictions in the country.

Once a major setback occurs, the rule will quickly fall apart, so the best time to start a war is within three years.

Your country's Prime Minister, Count Bismarck, is a far-sighted politician, and I believe he will see the situation facing Prussia."

A bystander sees more clearly than a participant. Li Mingyuan's words made West understand the dire situation Prussia was facing, and also made him understand the inevitability of Prussia launching a war in the near future.

"Li, I still underestimated you. I didn't expect you to have such a deep understanding of the situation in Europe."

"West, you know my father was a prince of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. When I was in China, I once studied European history with a knowledgeable missionary. Li Xiucheng, the Loyal Prince, was my uncle. He had a group of foreign troops under his command. I followed them to understand the customs and practices of various European countries and learned their languages."

Li Mingyuan explained.

Li Mingyuan was proficient in German and English. West had seen it and had no doubt about Li Mingyuan's statement that he had been living with foreigners since he was a child.
"Li, it's a pleasure to meet you. Before you leave, I will give you this sword."

West ordered his men to take out an exquisitely decorated sword and handed it to Li Mingyuan, saying, "This is the sword awarded to me by my superior when I served in the Prussian Royal Guards. I will give it to you today."

The sword is finely crafted, with an eagle emblem representing Prussia engraved on the hilt.

Li Mingyuan took the sword quickly and drew it out. The sword reflected silver light under the sunlight. "Good sword, good sword. I like the sword given by the colonel very much."

Li Mingyuan praised twice, put away his sword, and said with a smile: "The army is just established and supplies are scarce. I will give the colonel a pistol as a souvenir." Li Mingyuan took out the pistol he carried with him and handed it to West.

"Thank you," West took the pistol and did not feel dissatisfied with its simplicity and ordinariness.

"This pistol has helped me achieve many victories since the uprising. Today I present it to the colonel, hoping it will bring him the same good luck."

"Ordinary weapons can also play an important role in the hands of a hero. Your pistol has a special meaning. I will treasure it well." West played with the pistol in his hand and said thoughtfully.

The Prussian fleet was about to set off. West and Li Mingyuan exchanged a few more words, and finally said goodbye: "Prussia is about to face a war that will determine the fate of the country. After completing this transportation mission, I will ask my superiors to transfer to the army and personally participate in the war that concerns the fate of the country."

"Prussia is a respectable country, and Germany will eventually be unified under the leadership of Prussia," Li Mingyuan said sincerely.

"Goodbye, I look forward to our next meeting." West said this and turned to board the warship...

(End of this chapter)