The 500 soldiers of the 2nd Mixed Brigade and a part of the Artillery Brigade separated from the troops to the west and continued their journey, reaching San Pedro four days later.

At the bend of the Uruguay River, three fortresses made of stone were distributed in a triangular position, and in the open space in the middle of the fortress, more than 1,000 soldiers stood in two parts in a team, dozens of meters away from the troops, and hundreds of heavy trucks were piled with weapons, ammunition, and some medicine and food.

Wang Dashan, the commander of the First Mixed Brigade, came down from the fortress tower and walked straight to the open space.

"Commander Zhou, Battalion Commander Wu, long time no see."

Wang Dashan rode over and greeted the two officers supporting the unit from a distance.

"Hello Brigadier!"

The two marched in unison to Wang Dashan and saluted.

"The 1st Regiment of the 3rd Regiment of the 2nd Mixed Brigade and the 2nd Battalion of the 105mm Howitzer Regiment of the Independent Artillery Brigade are ordered to move to San Pedro, please instruct the brigade commander!"

"The third regiment and the second artillery battalion are on standby!"

Wang Dashan dismounted and stood up straight, and returned a military salute,

After completing the handover ceremony of the troops step by step, Wang Dashan said with a smile: "It's been smooth all the way, right?" ”

"Before reaching Pasuphon, the troops sailed by boat, and the journey was uneventful, but on the way from Pasuphondu to San Pedro, they encountered several small Argentine troops, and they captured a few Argentine soldiers, and through interrogation, they learned that the line between San Pedro and Morandi was fighting, and they were the rout troops who had escaped from Morandi.

Hearing that the fighting was tense in the border area, the subordinate and the battalion commander Wu were worried about the safety of San Pedro, so they hurried to the road and arrived one day earlier than the time required by the general staff. ”

The head of the regiment surnamed Zhou said.

"The city of Morandi has been conquered by the Paraguayan army, and the Argentine rout you encounter should find that the southern region does not work, so they risk passing through our military area."

Wang Dashan analyzed.

"My subordinates are worried that the Argentine rout will disrupt order in our territory, and has ordered a team of soldiers to put them in special custody, whether Brigade Commander Wang wants to interrogate them again, maybe he can get more information about the Argentine frontline troops."

"No, Colonel Istigali, the commander of the front line of Paraguay Misiones, invited me to be a guest at Morandi. When they got there, they could directly observe Morandi's post-war battlefield and assess the intensity of the battle, and the few small soldiers captured could not get useful information from their mouths. ”

Wang Dashan vetoed the suggestion of the regiment commander surnamed Zhou, glanced at the soldiers standing in the open space, and felt that something was wrong.

"Captain Zhou, are all your people here?"

When Wang Dashan heard the sentinel's report that reinforcements had arrived, he guessed that he was going to officially start a war with the Argentines, and if the war started, the number of reinforcements would definitely not be less than 3,000, and even if the soldiers in the open space were not counted, they would definitely not exceed 1,500, which was completely different from what he had guessed.

"My people and the artillery battalion of Battalion Commander Wu are all here, and the other part of about 3,000 soldiers is led by Brigade Commander Zhou and separated from us halfway, and we don't know their specific tasks."

"Three thousand soldiers did not reinforce San Pedro, but turned in other directions." Wang Dashan secretly tasted the meaning of the words of the head of the regiment surnamed Zhou.

The troops were separated in the middle of the process, and the level of secrecy was high, and the real intention of the headquarters or the prince was not to start a war with the Argentines in San Pedro? So what is the ultimate goal of three thousand soldiers?

Wang Dashan frowned, unable to think of a reasonable speculation for a long time, at this time, the regiment commander surnamed Zhou took out a sealed letter and said: "Brigade Commander Zhou left a letter before leaving, instructing his subordinates to hand it over to Brigade Commander Wang when he arrived in San Pedro. ”

San Pedro was a frontier region, and the telegraph lines purchased from Prussia had not yet been laid here, so the Wehrmacht relied on manpower for the time being to transmit military orders.

"I understand the order of the prince, you go to the fortress to repair first, and tomorrow Battalion Commander Wu and you will visit Colonel Istigali together."

After reading the letter, Wang Dashan had a plan in his heart and arranged.

"Obey"......

The next morning, Wang Dashan rode to Morandi with a hundred soldiers.

"General Wang, welcome to Morandi!"

At the head of Morandi City, the dense bullet marks and ruins left by the fierce battle a few days ago still exist, and Istigali personally greeted Wang Dashan under the city.

"Your two armies are the staunchest allies, and Colonel Istigali sincerely invites you to do so."

Wang Dashan said boldly on the surface.

"General Wang, the promotion order issued by President López was passed yesterday to Morandi, and His Excellency Istigali is now a major general in the Paraguayan Army."

The interpreter on the Paraguayan side reminded.

"Oh, I don't know if the general is promoted, don't blame!"

"It's okay," Istigali waved his hand generously, his face filled with the joy of being promoted: "The food has been prepared in the city, let's go to the city and talk slowly." ”

"General Istigali, please." Wang Dashan was half a step behind, and the two walked into Morandi City together.

Not only do Orientals like to discuss important matters at dinner tables, but most Western diplomats also exchange interests under the guise of holding banquets.

Dozens of people sat together in the living room, but few people ate the food on the dining table, and the core of the banquet had always been Istigali and Wang Dashan.

"General Wang, the Argentine army is mediocre in combat and weak in combat effectiveness, now that our army has defeated the main Argentine force of Misiones, and the city of Morandi has been successfully recovered, the remaining Argentine army is panicked and embarrassed to fight, doesn't your army want to take advantage of the favorable opportunity created by our army to join the war against Argentina?"

The banquet was not as simple as eating and chatting, but Istigali's direct inquiry at the beginning was still a little unexpected by Wang Dashan.

"The Misiones conflict is a war between your country and Argentina, and our army respects the positions of both countries, will maintain strict neutrality, and will not send troops unless the war involves the interests of our country."

Wang Dashan said ambiguously.

"The power to decide to go to war is in the hands of His Majesty the Grand Duke of Rio Gran do Sul, and I can understand that the general is cautious."

Istigali's face was unimpressed, but he said: "However, the news of your country's sale of weapons and ammunition to our army cannot be concealed from the Argentines, in their eyes, the sale of arms to Paraguay is to undermine neutrality and become an enemy of Argentina, even if your country does not go to war with Argentina, they will think that your country and Paraguay are accomplices and collude against Argentina." ”

"What the Argentines think is their business, as a soldier, my duty is to complete the orders given by the prince, and the other things are naturally responsible for the relevant people."

"Politics has nothing to do with the military, and I appreciate General Wang's code of conduct." Istigali personally poured Wang Dashan a glass of wine and said, "This is our Paraguayan specialty wine, General Wang, please taste it." ”

"General Xie's wine." Wang Dashan was not polite to him, took the wine glass, and drank it all.

After pouring three glasses of wine for Wang Dashan, Istigali seemed to be nonchalant: "Your army has increased the number of troops in San Pedro twice, is it just to stay aside and watch the play?" ”

"The two armies are fighting, and the prince is worried about causing unnecessary conflicts, so he sends additional troops to garrison San Pedro, and the general doesn't have to think about it."

After Wang Dashan answered, he asked rhetorically: "Your Excellency López, President of your country, has made great achievements in the war, led your military and people to defeat the powerful Brazilian Empire, and recovered a large number of territories occupied by Brazil.

His Excellency López is known as the South American Napoleon, and he has contributed to the country, so why not be a real South American Napoleon? ”

Istigali was shocked in his heart, he was the first person to say to him that little López should be king, accustomed to the republican constitution of Paraguay's independence for decades, the monarchy almost never appeared in Istigali's heart, and he never imagined what Paraguay would become if the monarchy was implemented.

"General Wang can't say nonsense, President López is deeply loved by the people and will not do anything as a monarchy."

"I'm just curious, please bear with the general if it's rude."

Wang Dashan said honestly, in his heart, the monarchy is the correct political system, the Han nation has been a monarchy since the Xia, Shang and Zhou periods, the country and the monarch are one, without the monarch, then the country is not going to be chaotic?

Istigali was not as firm as he said he was, not to mention that in the second half of the nineteenth century, that is, the beginning of the twentieth century, the monarchy was still the dominant system of state in the world.

In the South American continent, the indigenous, white, black slaves, the national composition is complex, the United States vigorously supported the republican forces when the South American states became independent, and the American continent has no aristocratic base, all kinds of factors are mixed, resulting in the republic becoming the preferred system of South American countries, and the rest of the world in this era, whether it is Europe, Asia or uncivilized Africa, is a monarchy, with the exception of South America, which has to be said to be a strange thing.

Wang Dashan's simple question disturbed Istigali's mind, and the main purpose to be raised below was not to be considered.

The banquet ended in a hurry shortly after, and Istigali asked the soldiers to arrange for Wang Dashan and the others to stay in the city, and he returned to his room to think alone.