Chapter 312: Bandit Logic (Second update, please subscribe)

Nanhua is mobilizing!

Argentina is also mobilizing!

Argentina's mobilization was very simple. On October 6, at the same time that Congress decided to reject the "humiliating ultimatum", the Argentine Congress passed a resolution authorizing the president to take all necessary measures to completely eliminate the threat from South China.

"Our pride as a strong nation compels us to eradicate this handful of barbarians who have taken away our property as quickly as possible. Whether by reason or by force, we must accomplish this goal - in the name of law, in the name of progress, in the name of our own security, and in the name of the richest and most fertile land of this republic."

Secretary of War Adolfo Alsina, who was appointed Commander-in-Chief by Congress that day, delivered this speech. His speech was passionate and also directly pointed out the purpose of the battle - to eradicate the barbarians in the South.

Who are the "barbarians" he is talking about?

It's not just the Mapuche people, but also the Huaxia people in South China. In the eyes of these white people, they are barbarians! They are not qualified to live independently on this land.

Adolfo Alsina's speech received six minutes of applause from members of Congress. Ambassadors from the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil and other countries also stood up and applauded. It seemed that at this moment, this war was no longer a border conflict, but a racial war.

"There is only one master on this land, and that is us!"

For those who came from the ship, they never felt that they were guests of this land. For the guests, all they needed was to kill all the original owners of this land. Then they would become the masters of this land, and then they would say those words in a high-sounding manner.

Just like now, they considered themselves the masters of this land. They did not think there was anything wrong with saying so.

brazen!

This is the common characteristic of those white people. For them, they will never consider themselves as guests. For them, what is the simplest truth in the world?

It's a matter of fists.

In this world, whoever has the harder fists and the sharper teeth will have the right to speak in this world?

If your fists are not hard enough and your teeth are not sharp enough, then you deserve to be eliminated from this world.

Is this your land?

No!

This land belongs to the victor, and only the victor can own this land.

Of course, not everyone thinks this way.

Julio didn't think so. As a gaucho, he had been wandering around in the past few years. He never knew who the owner of this land was. He had wandered on the grasslands and had been to almost all places in Argentina. Everyone said they were the owners of the land, but there was never any land that belonged to him. In the past, his life was just wandering, and it was the same now.

But what about now?

When the war broke out, they said, "There is only one master of this land, and that's us!" But why didn't he have land of his own?

This issue should be clarified, but who will clarify it?

He saw many gauchos clamoring to join the army, and even repeating the ridiculous words - the question is, are they the masters of this land? When have they ever owned a piece of land of their own?

It's just a meaningless fight.

After a war, the generals and officers got the land, just like in the past, but what about them?

They have nothing!

For the Gaoqiao people, they will die in the war and sacrifice their lives in the war, but when the war is over, they will still have nothing.

No one cares what Gaoqiao people gained or lost.

Because to those people, the Gaoqiao people were just like the black slaves who could only gain their freedom by joining the army.

But it is just a consumable material.

Just like the black people in Argentina, during the past few decades of war, they joined the army in order to gain freedom, but they all died in the war.

What did they get? Nothing more than a two-square-meter grave.

Even until death, they may not get their own grave. No one will care about their life or death!

"Why should we sacrifice for them when no Argentines care if we die?"

As Julio was thinking this, he saw what looked like cultured, intelligent, educated people gathering around the billboards. They stood there reading notices or newspapers posted on them, and readers were reading aloud in unmistakable voices:

"Argentina stood up and fought bravely in front of the barbarians. Every brave man held a weapon in his hand and a cross on his chest to establish military merits... God can testify that we took up arms not for the glory of soldiers and the vanity of the world, but to defend the dignity and security of our republic given by God. We are fighting for the cause of justice, for the cause of progress, and for the cause of civilization..."

What is justice? What is progress? What is civilization?

Julio couldn't find the answer. Of course, he wouldn't deliberately look for the answer. After all, even if he found the answer, it would still be unsatisfactory.

Along the way, Julio saw signs of war everywhere - heavy horse-drawn carriages driven by soldiers galloping on the streets, gaucho cavalrymen holding crescent-shaped shovels marching proudly in the streets... and the scene of people saying goodbye at the station was even more shocking: those reserve soldiers were dancing in the bustling little square to the cheerful sounds of trumpets and bandoneons, people's dancing was passionate and seductive, the soldiers' boots and women's skirts raised clouds of dust, and in the cheerful music, people shouted something as if they were drunk, and of course there were also relatives who were making the sign of the cross for their husbands and sons, crying to them, and praying for them.

“For Argentina!”

“In the name of progress!”

"In the name of civilization!"

"Conquer the steppe..."

Compared to the others, this was the only true one among the cheers of the soldiers on the train. As for the other progress and civilization, they were just excuses. What they were doing was just to conquer, to conquer the grassland that could bring billions of wealth.

For these white people, the only thing they care about is how much they can loot after the war. Does anything else matter? Not at all!

As people were sending off the army with enthusiastic voices, in a luxurious train at the train station, Adolfo Alsina, the commander-in-chief of the Argentine army, was staring at the map with a frown on his face. The map clearly showed dozens of flags, and those small red flags represented the army of South China.

"They have deployed a total of 15 regiments on the grassland!"

The information about these garrisons was obtained through gaucho spies. The gauchos were a group of vagrants on the grasslands. Among them, some served the South China and acted as spies, while others served the Argentines and acted as spies for them.

As Adolfo Alsina's chief of staff, Julio Argentino Roca was an old acquaintance of Alsina's, having commanded the Argentine army together in Paraguay, where they had both risen to prominence and eventually replaced Mitre. Now they would face the enemy in the south alone.

“That’s almost 50,000 people!”

Alsina pursed his lips and frowned.

"In terms of military strength, they have an absolute advantage. Our army only has 30,000 people!"

And the population...

As the Minister of War, Alsina was well aware of the power comparison between the two sides.

"Argentina has only 1.5 million people, while their population is probably 3-4 million, and they have an army of more than 100,000 people, and they can also make their own weapons, while we need to import them."

Although the speech in Congress was passionate, Alsina, as a soldier, was of course very clear about his own strength. In fact, the gap in strength between Argentina and South China was even greater than imagined. Not to mention other things, even the factories owned by South China were beyond the reach of Argentina.

"It's not important, Chile!"

Roca said with a smile.

"They appear to have more than 100,000 troops, but in Chile, in order to maintain order, they have stationed more than 70,000 troops, and in the past there were more. Once we win here, it is certain that there will be unrest in Chile."

"Rocca, what do you think are our chances of winning this war?"

In response to the commander's question, Roca answered directly.

"It's half and half. The most important thing is not just the manpower. We are mobilizing the army. In three months, our total manpower will exceed 60,000. The only problem is money. After all, we spent more than 60 million pesos in the Paraguayan War."

After thinking for a moment, Roca said again.

"I think the most important thing about this war is military spending. If we don't have enough money, then we won't be able to fight this war to the end. Perhaps all our failures are due to insufficient military spending!"

Taking a deep breath, Roca continued.

"No matter how far this war goes, what we will ultimately fight for is national strength, which is actually financial strength! As long as we have enough money, we will definitely be able to continue this war. If we don't have sufficient military funds, then this war..."

Roca said with a breath.

"There is no need to proceed at all!"

What is the war about?

How many soldiers do you have? Or how many cannons do you have?

On the surface, that seems to be the case.

But what is the reality?

Wars are never fought with the number of soldiers or cannons.

In the end, everything will be attributed to two words - money!

War is actually a competition of financial resources! Only with sufficient financial resources can we purchase the materials and other war resources needed for war.

Only the side with sufficient financial resources has a chance to win the war. If there is not enough financial resources, even if it wins temporarily, it will eventually try every possible means to find an opportunity for peace to end the war.

In the history of war, countless countries have lost a war due to lack of financial support.

Unfortunately, Argentina was not a party with sufficient financial resources. In fact, during the Paraguayan War, Argentina had already exhausted its financial resources.

"Rocca, do you know why we are fighting this war?"

General Alsina asked.

"Because of the grassland! We can't accept those Chinese occupying the Pampas. We are the first people to come here. If the grassland must have an owner, it must be us, not the Chinese who just came here!"

Roca's answer was very direct and also represented the thoughts of most people. The reason why they supported the war was simply because they could not accept the prairie being occupied by the Chinese.

"It's for the grasslands. But do you know why we never thought that the grasslands were important before? Even when the Chinese just extended their hands to the Pampas, we didn't react much. Was it just because our attention was attracted by Paraguay?"

General Alsina shook his head, then continued.

"It has never been for this reason. The reason why we didn't occupy the Pampas in the past was because this prairie had no development value. We couldn't provide enough people to open farms on this prairie and grow wheat or corn. We couldn't sell the cattle and sheep raised on the prairie to Europe. At that time, the prairie was simply a burden to us. Why did we dig this trench to block the Indians? In the final analysis, it was because the prairie couldn't bring us money. But now it's different. The Chinese invented the refrigerated ship. The prairie that seemed worthless has become the richest pasture in the world. The Chinese can earn billions of wealth there every year. This is why we are fighting this war."

"Of course I know, General. We spent too much money in the Paraguayan War. We owed the British a huge loan of tens of millions of pesos, so we needed to seize the prairie to make up for the financial losses."

Roca was extremely calm when he said this. In his opinion, this kind of bandit's remarks were nothing big at all. He definitely didn't feel any moral pressure to do so.

After all, they are a group of people who are used to being robbers.

"Yes, that's why we are fighting this war under such circumstances."

General Alsina nodded.

"As for the financial problem, I think we will find a way to solve it. As we all know, the British will definitely be willing to lend us money. You know, they have long been tired of the French interfering in things here, and the Chinese are supported by the French. The British can only stop the French expansion here through us."

When saying this proudly, General Alsina did not feel that it was anything big. It seemed that for a small country, being able to act as a spokesperson for a big country was itself a manifestation of strength.

"Okay, Roca, don't think about it."

General Alcina smiled as he looked at his friend in front of him.

"The most important thing for us now is to win this war and make those Chinese pay the price for their ambitions here."

I have set up a book club: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.

(End of this chapter)