Chapter 245 Sangui Riquelme's Choice (Third update, please subscribe)

Linhai is indeed a heroic city!

And it's not just because in the simulator, the people here fought here for more than five hundred days and finally repelled the Chilean attack!

The power of one city is used to contain the country of Chile!

This is the case in the simulator, and it is also the case in reality. Linhai is far away from Nanhua and is separated by the Andes Mountains, but they used the power of one city to stir up the overall situation and let the Suzaku flag fly in Araucanía.

In the past, Linhai was a city against a country, but now, everything has changed!

With the opening of the Pacific Railway, Nanhua and Linhai are connected neatly. With this steel artery, everything will change!

That night, fireworks were set off by the sea. They were celebratory fireworks.

Some are happy and some are sad. For Bernardo Riquelme, the head of the interim government, he had no intention of enjoying the fireworks outside the window. After learning that Zhu Xianhai had arrived in Linhai, he hurried over. What was he here for?

Of course I'm here to ask for help!

Last year, the interim government was hit by a bomb attack, and Perode was in power and several ministers were killed. As the Minister of War, Bernardo Riquelme naturally became the head of the interim government. Faced with the collapse of the front line, he sent special envoys to ask for help time and time again, but what was the result?

But was rejected again and again!

Although he was barely able to maintain the front line, he knew the situation in Chillán better than anyone else. The collapse of the situation was only a matter of time. Even now, if he left Chillán, he might never be able to return there - the officers might take the opportunity to betray the provisional government.

Unless he can get help.

"Why?"

In response to Bernardo Riquelme's request for help, Zhu Xianhai smiled.

"Give me a reason, tell me why I should send an army to help you."

"Because you promised, you said you would support us!"

Bernardo Riquelme said urgently.

"We have done our best. As we all know, your failure is inevitable. For Nanhua, it is better to make peace with the winner than to continue to be friends with the loser."

Zhu Xianhai waved his hand.

"Between countries, interests always come first. I believe you have no objection to this. Of course, Bernardo, you are Maria's brother after all. You can choose to live in Nanhua or Linhai. There are estates of the Riquelme family in both places. I believe your sister will not refuse to help you, and I can personally provide you with 1,000 pesos per month."

This Riquelme is not that Riquelme. The Riquelme family's manor is a gift from Zhu Xianhai to Maria. After all, she has given birth to two children for him. The manor is hers and of course the children's property.

The children would certainly not mind their uncle temporarily staying at their estate.

It's about money and house. At this moment, Zhu Xianhai feels that he is too kind and too generous!

Faced with such a sincere invitation, Bernardo Riquelme's expression was complicated. This was not an invitation at all, it was clearly a sarcasm, no, it was... a ridicule.

Are you laughing at his failure?

For a moment, he wanted to get up and leave, but Bernardo Riquelme finally sat there, took a deep breath, looked at the other party and asked.

"What do you want?"

Every politician has something they want to get. To put it bluntly, the reason why he supported the establishment of a provisional government was that he had his own agenda.

His purpose was to use the interim government to contain Chile so that it could not threaten his plans in Araucania. Now that his railway had been built, his immigrants had spread throughout Araucania, and even Linhai had become a large city with a population of over 40,000 people.

Under such circumstances, the provisional government loses its meaning.

But, he always had an intention.

"Is it the minerals? Copper mines? If you support me, when I return to Santiago, I will sell all the state-owned copper mines to you to try to repay the loan. I will also reduce export tariffs and give you most-favored-nation treatment, reducing commodity tariffs to less than 5%."

For ambitious people, there is never any psychological burden in selling out the country. Compared with the so-called "patriotism", they care more about power.

What for Chile, what for peace or democracy, it's just nonsense. In the final analysis, for people like Bernardo Riquelme, what they care about is only power!

Power is eternal, as for the rest... they are not worth mentioning at all.

patriotism?

What is it?

But only poor people care about this.

Faced with the conditions offered by Bernardo Riquelme, Zhu Xianhai did not respond. He just looked at the other party with a smile on his face, but MMP in his heart.

This is what is called a "politician"!

Look, this country sells... But this kind of politician is what we need!

Once the door to selling out the country was opened, it was naturally impossible to stop it. Seeing that Zhu Xianhai did not answer him, Bernardo frowned, and he began to wonder in his heart, why didn't the other party be convinced with such generous conditions?

Could it be that he has other purposes?

After thinking for a while, Bernardo said again.

“Puerto Montt!”

Puerto Montt is located in the southern part of Araucanía and was built in 1853. It was during that period that Chilean immigrants settled in Valdivia, Osorno and Llanquihue south of Araucanía. The reason why Chile invaded Araucanía was, on the one hand, to obtain land, and another important reason was that it divided Chile into two parts.

Once upon a time, Zhu Xianhai also coveted Puerto Montt. That place was a good natural harbor. The port conditions were much better than those in Linhai, and it was very suitable for the berth of the Pacific Fleet.

But what?

Now Zhu Xianhai is aiming for more and bigger things.

"Including the Strait of Magellan, that is, all the Chilean territory south of Araucanía will be ceded to you, I think..."

Facing Zhu Xianhai's gaze, Bernardo Riquelme said quite arrogantly.

"No one in Chile can offer such a good deal."

Yes, no one would sell out the country more thoroughly than him. Zhu Xianhai had no doubt about this. At least for now, no one could surpass him.

Of course, it is unlikely that he will further sell out the country. However, there is no need to worry. As power expands and time passes, those who want to hold on to power will fall little by little for the sake of power.

In the end, more and more things will be sold, and when people get used to selling, it won’t matter anymore!

For Bernardo, it was just the first step in betraying his country!

(End of this chapter)