Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 526: Layout and Backhand

"Chief Chen, General Qiu, I didn't expect you to come to the factory area and personally supervise the demolition work. This place is not easy to find. I only found out your specific location after asking several officers in the Rio de Janeiro Liaison Office and the Second Division Headquarters."

Zhong Wenyao, the Han ambassador to the Republic of Brazil, walked up to Chen Shen and the others and said with a smile, "Brother Shang Zhou is here too. Since the study program in the United States was cancelled in 1882, you and Brother Xu left the United States and were assigned by the Empire to study in Germany. After returning from studying abroad, you have only met a few times. Because of your duties, you are in different places. It has been almost two years since we last met."

"It's been a little over two years." Director Niu Zhou's face was filled with joy when he saw his classmates who studied in the United States with him when they were young.

"Brother Wen Yao is the Chinese ambassador to the Republic of Brazil. After the signing of the armistice agreement, there are many follow-up matters. I arrived in Rio de Janeiro a few days ago and had planned to find time to meet with Brother Wen Yao. However, considering that the armistice negotiations are at a critical moment and the relocation of the shipbuilding industry in Rio de Janeiro also needs constant attention, I delayed it. I didn't expect Brother Wen Yao to come here in person today."

"Minister Zhong, you are a very busy man. How did you find time to come to the port?"

After the greetings, Chen Shen asked directly.

"There's a new order from the mainland, requiring a comprehensive investigation of geography, transportation, ethnic populations, distribution, cultural customs, beliefs, climate, inland river hydrology, mineral types, reserves, distribution, and other intelligence and data throughout the Republic of Brazil. The task is heavy and the workload is huge, and the embassy alone can't handle it, so I rushed here to ask Chief Chen and General Qiu for help."

Zhong Wenyao spread his hands and said helplessly: "It is relatively easy to carry out various intelligence and data collection work in the occupied areas, but outside the occupied areas, because the Republic of Brazil has officially severed all diplomatic relations with the Empire, intelligence collection work faces a shortage of manpower and the difficulty of key supervision by the government of the Republic of Brazil. There is a lot of resistance in carrying out the work."

"Intelligence work is of utmost importance. During the Paraguayan war, if the Yin people in Paraguay and the Republic of Brazil had not assisted the imperial scouts in transmitting intelligence, the war would have been delayed for several more months."

Intelligence must be gathered before troops move forward. As a soldier, Qiu Mingzhang knew the importance of intelligence gathering very well. Therefore, he decisively agreed to Zhong Wenyao's request for help.

"Minister Zhong, just tell me which troops need to be dispatched and how many personnel are needed. If the Second Division is short of manpower, I will contact the Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Divisions and transfer personnel from General Wang, General Ye, and General He to support the intelligence gathering work."

"The war is over, but the impact of the war is still there. It is expected that in the next two years, the population of the Republic of Brazil will experience a period of population outflow. The total population of the Republic of Brazil before the war was over 600 million. After the war, including the white people who migrated overseas directly due to war, disease, etc., and the blacks and black mixed-race people who were exiled to Congo. The net population reduction is expected to be between 100 million and 200 million. The population of the Republic of Brazil after the war is likely to be less than 500 million. The population reduction in Brazil will be of great help to the empire's next stage of expansion strategy."

At the beginning of 1889, the total population of the Republic of Brazil and the Brazilian Empire was more than 800 million. Historically, in 1890, the total population of Brazil was 1433 million, of which the number of blacks and mixed-race blacks exceeded 800 million.

Due to the development of shipping technology, the speed and carrying capacity of ocean-going ships have been improved. In the half century from 1900 to 1950, the influx of immigrants from South America showed explosive growth, and the total imported population was more than ten times that of the 1500 years from 1900 to 400. It was also during this period that immigrants from Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Ireland, Eastern Europe and other countries whitened Argentina and Chile. However, in Brazil, which has the largest proportion of blacks, until the 40st century, the proportion of pure blacks and mixed blacks with black ancestry still reached 8000% of the total population, and the number of people with black ancestry exceeded million.

With the intervention and attack of the Han State, the population growth of the Republic of Brazil was curbed, and the number of blacks and black mixed-race people continued to decrease in the consumption of wars and the migration operations full of humanitarian care of the Han State. Before the war, the number of blacks and black mixed-race people was close to 500 million. After the war, excluding the blacks and black mixed-race people in the newly added territories such as Mato Grosso do Sul, southeastern Goiás, southern Mato Grosso, and Paraná, who were about to be relocated to Africa, the total number of blacks in the Republic of Brazil and the Brazilian Empire combined would hardly reach 400 million.

Strengthening the dominant position of the main ethnic group in all aspects, including population, economy, and culture, continuously increasing the assimilation of Yin people, white women and some skilled white men, and migrating and purifying blacks and mixed-race blacks, are the basis for long-term stability of the country and national unity.

Chinese people and other ethnic groups with similar blood and skin color to Chinese people can be regarded as part of the Han Empire. However, ethnic groups such as black people, whose skin color varies greatly and do not conform to the traditional Chinese aesthetic, are not considered to be within the scope of assimilation.

The Chinese are an ethnic group with Han people as the main body. The Miao, Zhuang, Yi, Zhuang and even the Dai people in Siam, Laos and Myanmar are all acceptable Chinese people in a broad sense. The Chinese ethnic group is composed of three elements: skin color, ethnicity and culture. If we only emphasize culture and say that the Chinese are a cultural nation, and force some messy ethnic groups with obviously different skin colors, cultures and beliefs into the ranks of the Chinese ethnic group, then it will not only fail to strengthen the people's sense of national identity, but will lead to confusion and division of ethnic consciousness.

Even if the Han Kingdom chose to accept the assimilation of some white men, the number of naturalized white men has always been controlled within a certain range. The specific principle is to actively accept assimilation education, communicate proficiently in Chinese, change Chinese names and surnames, make certain contributions in the industry, be willing to give up their original beliefs, recognize the identity of Han nationality, and be loyal to the emperor of the empire. Only after meeting the above principles and undergoing the test can they be considered to have the opportunity to be naturalized as Han nationals and Chinese.

The victory in the war inspired not only the Chinese, but also the ordinary white people left over from all over the mainland, who also strengthened their identification with the country through repeated victories in the war. After the end of the Paraguayan War, the number of white people who voluntarily applied to naturalize as part of the Chinese ethnic group increased sharply. By the beginning of 1890, among the more than 1800 million people in the Han mainland, the number of Chinese and naturalized Chinese reached more than 1600 million. Among the remaining 200 million people, the number of white people had dropped to more than 120 million, and the number of Yin people had dropped to more than 70. Among them, the number of white people who voluntarily applied for naturalization reached 80, and the number of Yin people reached more than 40. The reason why the proportion of Yin people who voluntarily requested naturalization was lower than that of white people was that many Yin people still lived in the remote northern forests and had less contact with the imperial officials. Those Indians who had more contact with the imperial officials and witnessed with their own eyes that the empire helped them to uphold justice and beat up the white people, even if they had doubts, but under the all-round influence and propaganda of the Han Kingdom, they all agreed that the Yin people and the Chinese had the same origin and were distant relatives separated thousands of years ago. They rarely resisted naturalization as Chinese.

In the Patagonia region, there are only about 20,000 Mapuche and Araucan people left. The Tehuelche, Hunacan and other Yin peoples in the southern part of the mainland have taken the initiative to apply to be assimilated into the Chinese.

The difference is revealed by comparison. Compared with the white colonists, although the Han State also required the Yin people to change their beliefs, living habits, and assume obligations such as military service and taxation, it also gave real benefits to the assimilated Yin people.

Under hundreds of years of rule by white colonists, only one in ten of the Yin people survived. After experiencing brutal oppression and massacres by the white people, the few remaining Yin people naturally knew how to cherish the opportunities given by the Han State.

If one is loyal to the country and willing to contribute to its development, the Han government will not be stingy with rewards and incentives.

Among the tasks that Chen Shen, the Minister of Industry, was in charge of, one was related to the Indian mission. That was to work with Qiu Mingzhang, the commander of the Second Division, to count the captured weapons and equipment, and then after screening, distribute some of the eliminated old-fashioned weapons to the Indian tribes that provided intelligence to the Han State and assisted the Han State in war auxiliary tasks as a reward for their service to the empire.

Thinking of this, Chen Shen looked up at Qiu Mingzhang and asked, "General Qiu, have you determined the types and quantities of weapons and equipment to be provided to the Indian tribes in the area occupied by the Republic of Brazil?"

"The number of seized firearms and artillery pieces was quite large, and the types were quite diverse, including even matchlock rifles."

Qiu Mingzhang smiled bitterly and said, "At present, we have initially selected 2200 Dreiser rifles and 2600 Mini rifles, with 18 rounds of bullets. As for other types of old-fashioned rifles, there are also more than 6000 rifles, but because they have been stored for too long and are used frequently, they are like fire sticks in your hands. After firing, they make a good sound, but they have no accuracy or lethality."

"Then the more than 6000 old rifles and the accompanying ammunition should also be given to the Indian tribes to be recycled."

Chen Shen laughed, being generous for once.

"Except for rifles with outdated performance, there are about 8.6 rifles and more than 300 artillery pieces of various types seized from battlefields, arsenals, and military warehouses, including those that have been simply repaired and can be used. Among them, it is expected that 3 rifles and 100 artillery pieces will be allocated for use by the militia reserve forces. The remaining rifles and artillery pieces will be transported to Southeast Asia. Some will be sold to governors and governors in various parts of the Far East, and the rest will be transported to Songkhla and Lan Fang as inventory weapons. In case of emergency."

"The Empire's army and navy have unified and standardized weapons and equipment, and the new artillery and guns have superior performance. No wonder General Qiu despises these antiques and junks."

Chen Shen joked.

"General Chen is telling the truth. The Imperial Army and Navy are no longer what they used to be. Let alone these captured antiques, I would not even look down on the British's new rifles."

Qiu Mingzhang said confidently.

(End of this chapter)