In La Paz, Balivian pushed away the woman beside him and stood up from the bed with a gown.

It was already three o'clock in the afternoon, and last night Balivian fought with the three beauties on the bed, emptying his body, so he slept for most of the day before getting up.

On December 28, 1864, Baliviaan's elder brother Melgarejo seized power in Bolivia in a coup d'état.

Mariano Melgarejo is one of the most famous caudillos in the history of Bolivia, and even in Latin American history, and is known as the "Savage Caudiro." ”

Melgarejo was brutal by nature, killing opponents and looting beautiful women for fun with his henchmen.

As Melgarejo's younger brother, Balivian was contaminated with many of Melgarejo's vices, embezzlement, gambling, robbing beautiful women, and making prosperous La Paz a miasma, and the inhabitants of La Paz, whether they were of white descent or mixed race, and Indians hated La Paz.

Small-scale riots and assassinations against him occurred from time to time.

However, Balivian did not have the ruthlessness and decisiveness of his brother, and he would let the whites who opposed him go and only suppress the half-breeds and native Indians.

Balivian's self-righteous magnanimity did not win the approval of the whites, who opposed him still secretly gathered together to try to overthrow him and his brother's rule.

After resting for most of the day, Balivian recovered a lot of spirits, and his interest was good, so he walked to the garden alone and sat down to enjoy the flowers.

Soon after Balivian sat down, a servant approached him and whispered a few words.

Balivian frowned, his fledgling interest vanishing in an instant: "Let him come to the parlor to see me." ”

Balivian threw down his sentence unhappily and got up to leave the garden.

"General, when he led his troops on patrol in the morning, he was attacked by a group of unknown troops, although he led his troops to fight back, he was outnumbered and was finally captured by them." Bawi slightly revised the course of the morning's engagement and reported it to Balivian.

"Oh, why did you run back when you were captured?"

"Their leader said they were going to pass through Bolivia, so they sent me and my men back to report to the general."

There are no strong opposition forces near La Paz, and the strength of the armed forces that can capture Bavi's men at once must not be underestimated.

Balivian recalled the information he had received some time ago, speculating that the army that captured Bavi was supposed to be a Chinese rebel in Peru.

Encouraged by the Chinese Independence Army (CAA) uprising, a number of uprisings occurred in the neighboring province of La Paz, but these rebels were limited in strength and were soon quelled by the Ballevian mobilization of troops.

The Chinese Independence Army didn't know much about the Chinese Independence Army, but they were able to occupy southern Peru in just two months, and they were certainly stronger than their own army.

Palivian was self-aware and did not intend to force his way against the Chinese Independence Army, but passed on the news of the Chinese Independence Army's entry into Bolivia to Melgarejo, who decided on how to deal with the Chinese Independence Army.

Before Melgarejo made a decision, Balivian intended to stabilize the Chinese Independence Army, so he instructed Bavi; "You go and reply to them, just say that the power to decide on the transit of foreign troops is in the hands of the president, and let them stay where they are for a few days, and wait until the president gives the order before letting them cross."

"General, their army is too numerous, and staying in La Paz province will pose a great threat to the security of La Paz City, or you can give an order to let them withdraw from Bolivian territory."

Bavi's fears are justified, and the entry of the Chinese Independence Army into Bolivia will certainly make some people unhappy with the rule of the Palivian brothers think differently.

If they take the opportunity to collude with the Chinese Independence Army and use the strength of the Chinese Independence Army to fight against the Balivian brothers, then Melgarejo's rule is likely to be overthrown.

As Balivian's henchman, Bavi naturally has to think about his master.

"Achakachi, Caracotto, Guaqui, and Biacha each left 300 men to defend the city, and the rest of the troops were transferred to La Paz to prevent the Chinese rebels from attacking the city." After a moment's deliberation, Balivian agreed to Bavi's suggestion and made targeted arrangements for a possible attack by the Chinese Independence Army.

After making arrangements, Balivian sent a telegram to Melgarejo to report the news, and on the other hand issued an order to the various defensive forces to assemble in La Paz.

Information on the large-scale movement of Bolivian soldiers was soon learned by the cavalry of the reconnaissance battalion, and the news was then passed on to Li Mingyuan.

At this time, Li Mingyuan was in the tent to meet with Balivian's representative, Bawi.

"General Palivian has reported to the President the request for the transit of your troops, and before the President's order is issued, General Ballivian wants your troops to withdraw from Bolivian territory. Avoid unnecessary conflicts between the two parties. ”

Bavi said respectfully.

"Your general has other requests, let's put them forward together, and I'll consider whether I can agree."

When Li Mingyuan learned of the transfer of the Bolivian army, he understood that the Bolivian side would not generously let the Chinese Independence Army cross the border, so he joked.

Bavi's face was embarrassed for a while, because he advised to guard against collusion between the Chinese Independence Army and the local Indians, but strengthened Ballyvian's determination to fight against the Chinese Independence Army, and not only refused to meet the Chinese Independence Army's request, but also demanded that the Chinese Independence Army pay compensation for provoking a battle between the two sides.

"The general demands that your army take responsibility for provoking a conflict between the two sides, return our weapons and equipment, and compensate 3,000 muskets, 1,000 horses, and 100,000 silver dollars......

Ba Wei Dao.

The reason why Bavi made a claim for compensation was because Bolivian President Melgarejo sent an order not to allow the Chinese Independence Army to cross the border through the route, and in order to deal with the possible attack of the Chinese Independence Army, Melgarejo sent 10,000 reinforcements to Balivian, and he could reach La Paz the day after tomorrow.

With the support of his brother, Ballevian became bold and no longer afraid of the threat of the Chinese Independence Army, so the lion opened his mouth and made many demands for compensation from the Chinese Independence Army.

"Your general is really good at business, and it is too greedy for me to compensate for so many weapons and money if you have suffered dozens of casualties." Li Mingyuan said lightly.

Your army has invaded our territory without reason, and it is not too much for our general to ask for compensation.

Bavi stiffened his neck.

In peacetime, it is very difficult for an army to pass through the territory of a country, and Li Mingyuan, considering the reaction of the Bolivian side, initially thought that Melgarejo would be taken by the strong strength of the Chinese Independence Army, and secretly reached a compromise with Li Mingyuan, openly disagreeing with the Chinese Independence Army to cross the border, but secretly not blocking the Chinese Independence Army's crossing.

However, Melgarejo's reaction was much stronger than Li Mingyuan expected, and he directly ordered his troops to assemble and prepare to block the Chinese Independence Army.

Li Mingyuan wanted to pass through Bolivia peacefully and minimize the casualties of Chinese soldiers, while Melgarejo had to consider the impact of the Chinese Independence Army's entry into Bolivia on his rule, so the gap between the two was huge, and there was no possibility of reaching a compromise.