Chapter 217: The Military Master Without Braids (Second update, please subscribe)
Sometimes things in the world are so wonderful.
No one expected that Chile, which had been extremely wary of Spain's invasion, would take the initiative to lick Spain's boots. What was even more unexpected was that Peru actually extended a hand of friendship to the America Company that controlled Araucanía.
You know, a few months ago, they all claimed to support Chile's territorial claims to Araucanía. In fact, the reason why the change was so fast was, to put it bluntly, the interests of the people.
It was the interests that brought them together.
Because of the interests, Chile began to lick Spain.
Also for the sake of interests, the fleet of the American Company accepted Peru's invitation to visit Peru and actively supported Peru.
On September 3, 1864, the "Tianlong", "Qinglong" and "Sihai" training ships, which came from afar, slowly sailed into the port of Lima. Although the fleet composed of three warships was small in scale, it still caused a sensation. After all, this was the first time that foreigners expressed their support for Peru through actions since the invasion.
“Boom, boom, boom…”
When the fleet coming from afar, greeted by the only steam frigate of the Peruvian Navy, sailed into the port of Lima in a column, the Peruvian soldiers on the Callao Battery, under the order of their officers, fired a salute to express their welcome.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
After the salute from the artillery position ended, the ironclad ships "Tianlong" and "Qinglong" returned the salute with the 120mm secondary guns on the bow. All the officers and soldiers who were not on duty on the three warships stood on the side of the ships in handsome white naval uniforms.
"All the sailors on the warship are Indians!"
However, compared to such surprise, the people of Lima all looked at the two ironclad ships with envy. Although their tonnage was only less than 2,800 tons, in Lima, they were definitely military weapons. Moreover, the Spanish fleet was now occupying their islands and invading their country.
After the warship docked in the harbor, on the deck of the "Si Hai", Li Zhiyang and his classmates held their rifles and dressed neatly. The sea breeze made their skin dark, and the sisal ropes made their palms full of calluses. As the first batch of students of the Nanhua Naval Academy, they will receive a year-long training on the training ship and then serve on warships or merchant fleets. In fact, merchant fleets at that time also had to train in gunnery. Even the Great Eastern was equipped with dozens of cannons for defending against pirates.
Following the officer's command, more than a hundred marines, armed sailors and trainee officers stood on the pier in neat rows, all of them with a proud look on their faces. These officers and soldiers were all elites selected from the security team. The beautiful navy blue uniforms on the marines fully showed their sturdy figures. As soon as they followed the command and stepped onto the port, they attracted the eyes of the wives and ladies of the Peruvian officials. Those ladies and ladies holding umbrellas even looked at these young sailors with fiery eyes.
“They are all Indians!”
Although it was a bit surprising, for the Peruvians, what they needed at this time was external support. Indians... So what if they were Indians? They came here in a warship, and it was an ironclad ship.
"Everyone! Turn...left!"
The shouts coming from afar, although very majestic, made people feel very friendly. Of course, the Peruvians could not understand them. They could not even tell the difference between the Chinese and the Indians. As for the Vermillion Bird flag, of course, they could not understand it either.
To Peruvians, it is a red flag with a golden eagle.
But when the skilled voice came from a distance, Li Deshun, who was using an abacus in the hall, was stunned for a while.
"Brother Laishun, Brother Laishun, listen, listen... yes, it's official language, it's official language!"
"Okay, it seems to be official language."
"Could it be someone from our Great Qing Dynasty?"
"That's impossible. I heard that these are reinforcements requested by the President of Peru. How could they be from our Great Qing? Our Great Qing..."
Gu Zhijie, who was wearing a suit, said sarcastically.
"If you don't kneel down when you see the foreigners, even if God blesses you, will he still send troops across the ocean to Peru?"
"That's exactly the truth. You must have heard it wrong. If the Qing Dynasty had this ability, we wouldn't have been tortured to the point of being half-human and half-ghost by the Peruvians."
They were all contract laborers who had come to Peru in the early years. After the eight-year contract ended, they stayed in Peru and made a living by opening restaurants or convenience stores. After living in Peru for many years, they naturally attributed the disasters they had suffered to the incompetence of the Qing Dynasty. If it couldn't even protect its own overseas Chinese, what else could it be but incompetence?
For example, when a Spanish expatriate died, they sent a fleet over to occupy the Guano Island in Peru to support their expatriates. If the Qing Dynasty had such ability, how could they have worked so hard on the plantations? After a few years, very few people could walk out of the plantations alive.
"Oh, I guess he's having hysteria..."
When the sigh sounded in the restaurant, the sound outside was still coming from far away.
"...One, two, one, two, three, four..."
The commands were getting closer and clearer.
"Yes, yes, it must be Mandarin. I learned Mandarin. I learned Mandarin in the provincial capital..."
Li Sanbao, who was wiping the table, seemed a little excited. He threw the rag in his hand and ran out. He squeezed in the crowd and finally got to the front. He saw a team of sailors with live ammunition marching in uniform steps towards this side amid the warm welcome of the Peruvians. They were clearly shouting commands in Mandarin.
"Keep in line!"
The shouts of the officers beside the queue made Li Sanbao tremble with excitement. He never thought that one day he would be so excited when he saw the government troops in a foreign country. In the past, when he saw the government troops, he would definitely stay away from them. If he offended the officials, he would chop off his head with a knife, and there would be no way for him to complain.
But now, seeing the government troops in Peru and their majestic appearance, Li Sanbao shouted excitedly.
"Soldier, sir, you are from the Qing Empire, yes, you are soldiers of the Qing Empire..."
When the words were on the tip of his tongue, Li Sanbao realized something was wrong. Not only were these people wearing Western soldiers' uniforms, but none of them had braids on the back of their heads.
Looking at the majestic military commander, Li Sanbao was stunned!
How come the general doesn’t have a braid?
(End of this chapter)
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