"President, emergency power from the front!"

In the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, the young staff officer hurried into Mitre's office, looking panicked.

"Is it a report from the Santa Fe front? Did Delgado pull out? ”

Mitre said anxiously.

"Santa Fe City has completely lost, and General Delgado has committed suicide!"

"What? That's impossible! There are 12,000 soldiers in Santa Fe, and they are all the best soldiers in the federal government? How could it be so easy to be wiped out by the enemy? ”

Mitre was so agitated that he snatched the telegram from the staff officer's hand, and after a few hurried glances, his face changed dramatically.

"Why? Why didn't Delgado hold on to Santa Fe? Twelve thousand soldiers? I gave you twelve thousand, why didn't you keep it? ”

Mitre muttered to himself, his old face turning sickly pale from overexcitement.

The staff officer stood aside and did not dare to interject, but when he stayed for five or six minutes, he suddenly noticed that Mitre's face was becoming more and more abnormal, the pale color quickly spread all over his face, and the aging and withered palms were shaking more and more.

"Doctor! Call a doctor! ”

The staff officer realized the seriousness of Mitre's physical condition and immediately shouted loudly. ……

After the full rescue of more than a dozen doctors and nurses, Mitre gradually regained consciousness after four hours in a coma.

"How's the situation out there? Where did the Han troops advance? ”

Mitre asked, moving his withered and aging lips as he regained his senses.

"After the Han forces occupied Santa Fe, they sent a vanguard of 5,000 men along the Paraná River, and two hours earlier, the defenders of the city of Paraná had reported an exchange of fire with the enemy."

"What is the situation in Uruguay and at sea? Did the Han troops continue the offensive? ”

After listening to the words of his officials, Mitre continued to ask after a little relief.

"In the Uruguayan direction, after the Han troops occupied Paisandu, they did not divide their forces to occupy the nearby area, but slowly advanced southward."

A tall and thin Argentine general explained in a whisper: "According to the reports of intelligence officers scattered in the enemy-occupied area, the Han troops in the direction of Uruguay should be short of supplies and ammunition, and their slowdown in advance should be in order to converge with the logistics troops." ”

"How many armed men of our army are scattered in the areas occupied by enemy troops? Can the logistics forces of the Han army be eliminated before their two armies converge? ”

"The logistics and transportation troops of the Han State are heavily defended, and our army has launched many attacks on the small logistics and transportation teams of the Han State, but none of them have achieved good results."

After the tall and thin general finished speaking, he was worried that the unfavorable development of the war situation would affect Mitre again, and then explained: "Although the Han troops took advantage of our army's unpreparedness to occupy the city of Santa Fe, the vast territory in the area south of Santa Fe and Paisandu is still under the control of our army, and the recruits recruited by the president a few days ago have already looked some after a few days of training, and then those new troops are added to the regular army, and the total number of federal troops can be restored to the pre-war level, with the support of the new supplementary soldiers, and the bold command of the president, The Han troops will definitely be expelled from Argentina by us. ”

"It was I who underestimated the offensive ability of the Han troops, and if Delgado had been sent in time to reinforce Delgado, Santa Fe City would not have fallen into the hands of the Han troops."

"The Han troops have been prepared for a long time, and the responsibility for the fall of Santa Fe City is not on you, the president."

Hearing Mitre's words of self-defense, the Argentine general spoke out to persuade him.

"It's because I looked away and didn't really realize the combat potential of the Han troops, and I know this in my heart, so I don't need your persuasion."

Mitre coughed in a low voice and continued, "Since the start of the war, the federal government has successively lost more than ten cities of various sizes such as Paisandu and Santa Fe, and the loss of soldiers has exceeded 20,000, and the 40,000 young men recruited by the government have not yet formed a combat effectiveness.

Escro, it's up to you to bring the rescue troops to the two governments, and I hope you don't let me down. ”

"President, Chile is at war with Bolivia and Peru, is it unlikely that you will ask them for reinforcements?"

The named official stood up and was puzzled.

"The British and Chile have close relations, if the Chileans don't agree to send troops to the rescue, you go and talk to the British diplomats in Chile, I believe the British will not watch the Han annex Argentina."

Chile itself has limited troops, and when the country participates in the guano war, the Chilean government is likely not to intervene in the war between Han and Argentina, but Chile's economy and politics are affected by the British, and the British have deep commercial interests in South America, whether it is Chile, Argentina or Brazil, there are British businessmen, in order to enjoy the commercial interests of South America, the British did not hesitate to provoke Brazil and Chile to launch the Paraguayan War and guano, and now Argentina and Uruguay are in danger of extinction, As long as the British still want to play the South American balance of power, they will not sit idly by and watch Argentina and Uruguay perish.

Mitre ordered his officials to ask the Chilean and Brazilian governments for help, more to show a compromise attitude, to use the federal government he represented to back down economic and even political interests, to get the nod of the British, and then the British took the lead in organizing Brazilian and Chilean troops to rescue Argentina.

Without the drive of interests, Britain, Chile, and Brazil would not help Argentina tide over the immediate difficulties, so in order to preserve the security of the country under the attack of the Han army, Mitre was ready to sacrifice some of his interests.

The Patagonia wasteland is a disputed area between Chile and Argentina, if Chile is willing to send troops to rescue, Mitre is willing to cede the Patagonia region to Chile, and similarly, if the attack of the Han army is repulsed, Mitre is also willing to recognize that Uruguay belongs to the Brazilian Empire, and the Argentine government will no longer interfere in the merger of the Brazilian government and Uruguay, but persuade Britain to help, and after solving the crisis faced by Argentina, Mitre does not mind fully opening up the domestic market to the UK, after all, although commercial interests are important, But it is not as important as the survival of the country.

Mitre did not tell the other officials about what he had planned, only Escro, who was about to send an envoy to the two countries for help.

Sending envoys to Chile and Brazil to ask for reinforcements is a last resort, but if the interests of the betrayed country are revealed to more officials at this time, it is likely to cause division and chaos within the Argentine government, and the Argentine federal government has reached a critical point of life and death.