Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 534: Reform Prologue
"The food is here. Two old gentlemen, Brother Qiu, Wen Yao, En Bai, Shang Zhou, let's stop talking and come on, let's eat and chat."

After spending some time together, the men quickly became familiar with each other, and Chen Shen called several of them by their names.

Several people started to eat. Niu Shangzhou, Zhong Wenyao, Liao Enbai, Liao Zhubin, He Binghuan and others had lived in the United States for a period of time and had eaten Western food several times. They were quite skilled in using Western tableware. Chen Shen, the Minister of Industry, had a lot of contact with foreigners. For the purposes of industrial technology cooperation, introduction, and communication, he had to eat with foreigners in Western restaurants. Therefore, they were more convenient and comfortable to use tableware such as knives and forks.

However, Qiu Mingzhang was an old man who followed Li Mingyuan in the uprising. Before the uprising, he was just an illiterate coolie. After serving in the army for more than 20 years, although he had received several years of cultural education and senior officer command training and was able to read and write, he still had the character of a traditional oriental peasant at heart, straightforward and generous.

He was not used to using cutlery like knives and forks, so he waved to the waiter and told him, "Bring a new pair of chopsticks, and take away these knives, forks and other things."

"Sir, would you like me to teach you how to use tableware? Western food is served with Western tableware. Using chopsticks may affect your dining experience."

"Bullshit! I don't need you to teach me. It's your honor to eat in your restaurant. Stop talking nonsense and change the tableware quickly."

"Excuse me, gentlemen. We are new waiters and we don't know the rules. Please forgive me. I will immediately arrange for someone to replace the tableware with chopsticks. Please wait a moment."

The restaurant manager noticed the commotion and quickly rushed over to Qiu Mingzhang, bowing and apologizing.

After Chen Shen, Qiu Mingzhang and others entered the restaurant, the restaurant manager saw from their clothing, behavior, and most importantly, skin color that they were of high status, so he specifically ordered the restaurant to give priority to arranging meals for their three tables. However, unexpectedly, a small reminder from the waiter caused dissatisfaction from a guest on the other side. The restaurant owner was worried about causing trouble, so he rushed to apologize and appease them.

"Come on, come on, I'm not trying to embarrass a waiter on purpose, just change the tableware, and go back, don't disturb our mood for dinner."

Qiu Mingzhang had a bad impression of the Brazilians and waved his hand to ask the restaurant manager and waiter to leave.

"General Qiu, are you still angry about the Republic of Brazil?"

Chen Shen joked.

"I'm almost done with my anger, but when I think of the Brazilians and Americans who refused to give in when they were negotiating with the Empire, I can't help but feel angry. They wanted to rely on negotiations to get what they couldn't get on the battlefield. Did they think the Empire was the Qing court? They just swallowed their anger and bowed to the white people. We got a good deal out of not fighting the Americans in this war. We can't let them go easily next time we have a chance."

"Negotiations are a process of asking for a high price and bargaining. Fortunately, the Empire withstood the pressure and not only gained control of the Kingdom of Paraguay and Paraná State, but also gained three months to relocate machinery and equipment in the occupied areas. It's still a profit in the end."

Zhong Wenyao said with a smile.

"Negotiations should be handled by civilian officials like you, Chief Chen and Wen Yao. We, the soldiers, should just be responsible for killing the enemy on the battlefield."

"General Qiu, I heard that His Majesty intends to prepare for constitutionalism and further deepen the reform of various departments of the government and the military. I wonder if you have heard the news?"

"Two months ago, His Majesty mentioned at the front-line headquarters, in front of a group of senior generals, that he was going to divide up the military assets and improve the specific functions and authority of the military agencies and units. Some of the original military shares, the command of the public security management forces, the management of the smuggling inspection and precious metal exploration armed forces, etc., will be divested. Some will be restructured into government units, and some will be assigned to the Ministry of Police and the Garrison Army. In the future, the Empire's regular army and navy fleet will be mainly responsible for combat readiness, and departments and work that are not closely related to foreign operations will be divested."

"So, domestic security, smuggling inspections and other tasks will be handed over to the Ministry of Police and the Maritime Security Command?"

"Yes, the Ministry of Police is responsible for daily public security management. Within the Ministry of Police, an armed police force will be trained to deal with those carrying muskets and other offensive weapons. The training method will be based on the standards of the Imperial Army Field Army. At the same time, some special operations, urban operations, intelligence reconnaissance, and counter-reconnaissance training will also be added. It is expected that each state will establish an armed police squadron with a personnel size of about 100 people, at the battalion level, and under the dual management of the Ministry of Police and the Ministry of Army. If the number of people dispatched exceeds 30, the Ministry of Police can decide on its own. If the number of people dispatched exceeds 50, it must be approved by the Ministry of Police and the Ministry of Army, and submitted to the Military Commission for approval in advance to avoid unexpected situations."

"In the early days of the founding of the country, there was a shortage of financial funds. In order to reward meritorious soldiers and to ensure the future life of soldiers who retired from active service due to injuries, illnesses, and disabilities, Your Majesty withdrew a portion of equity from key enterprises such as the Royal Shipyard, Xinghe Shipyard, Xinjing Shipyard, Imperial Steel United Group, Imperial Mining Company, and Royal Chemical Group and transferred them to the Army and Navy. These shares have been managed by the Imperial Government and the Royal Family. The annual profits are also calculated by the government and distributed to relevant officers and soldiers as part of the military meritorious service reward.

Now that the empire's finances are much more abundant, the military's reward and punishment system has been improved, pensions for retired and disabled soldiers are paid on a monthly basis, and the cancellation of the military's shareholding regulations has little impact.

However, restructuring or separating the domestic security, anti-smuggling, and mineral exploration-related forces will affect the interests of some military generals. Will there be a backlash? "

Chen Shen said worriedly.

"No, not at all. General Chen is overthinking. Not to mention the Imperial Army and Navy, even the entire Empire was built by Your Majesty. In the Army and Navy, anywhere in the Empire, if there is an officer who dares to oppose Your Majesty's will, Your Majesty doesn't need to worry about it. The ordinary soldiers in their units can tie up the opposing officer and hand him over to Your Majesty for disposal.

Soldiers are also human beings. As human beings, they have a scale in their hearts. Your Majesty led us to fight bloody battles for more than 500 years and conquered million square kilometers of land. If they disobey the order because their interests are damaged by the reform, do they still have a conscience? People are all made of flesh and blood. People should not forget their roots. It was Your Majesty who led millions of people to conquer the land under their feet and established a paradise on earth that belongs to all citizens. If they only care about their own interests and ignore the interests of the country and the nation, it is a waste of food to keep such people! "

"Brother Qiu's words put me at ease. Under your majesty's planning, the empire has achieved today's achievements. Needless to say, you all understand the difficulties and setbacks. If you are only willing to follow your majesty to enjoy the benefits and are unwilling to carry out reforms for the long-term development of the country, then your majesty will undoubtedly be disappointed and sad."

"General Chen, you don't have to worry about the army. If you ask me, the army and navy are loyal to your majesty. Even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead, even if they are fighting against the world's number one superpower, Britain, as long as your majesty gives an order, no soldier will frown or retreat. On the contrary, there are some opportunists within the government who are willing to be corrupt and degenerate. They collude with gang members, exploit immigrants, illegally oppress, and trade in people. In the past five years, the total number of illegal officials who have been shot is probably hundreds. If you ask me, the supervision and punishment of officials within the government should be strengthened. Otherwise, similar incidents will be impossible to stop."

"Okay, General Qiu, let's not talk about these official matters. Today we are having a private gathering, just drinking and eating, not talking about official matters."

After all, there were outsiders at the table, and Zhong Wenyao was worried about discussing confidential information, so he took the initiative to change the subject.

"Enbai, I heard that Sister Peizhen was elected as the first female congressman in the country. When she was in the United States, everyone saw that Sister Peizhen was extraordinary and would achieve great things in the future. I didn't expect that Sister Peizhen would be ahead of us so soon."

"Brother Wen Yao, you are too kind. Although Ah Zhen was elected as a member of the Jiangzhou House of Representatives, her main work and focus are still on the enrollment of poor children, education, and girls' enrollment. Ah Zhen does not value a career in politics. She just wants to use the opportunities provided by the empire to realize her ideal of developing national education and improving the status of women."

"The development of the empire requires more and more talents like Sister Peizhen. If everyone can be like Sister Peizhen and not care about personal fame and fortune or career prospects, the empire's revival will develop more smoothly."

Zhong Wenyao praised

(End of this chapter)