On June 11, 1868, a huge fleet of more than 40,000 people set sail, aiming at the main camp of the Brazilian coalition army.

At its peak, the number of Brazilian coalition troops reached 100,000, but as the war dragged on, due to the loss of soldiers and the pressure of logistical supplies, the number of front-line soldiers of the coalition forces gradually declined, and by June 1868, excluding the 8,000 Brazilian troops that had been wiped out by the Chinese Independence Army, the number of coalition troops in Paraguay was about 60,000.

Of the 60,000 men, 50,000 were in Brazil, and the other 10,000 were stationed in Formosa, led by Argentine Army General Miret, to hold the border between Paraguay and Argentina.

More than 10 days ago, when the Chinese Independent Army had just engaged the Brazilian army in a roundabout way, 10,000 Argentine troops were still stationed on the front line to fight side by side with the Brazilian army, but with the instructions of some important government officials in the Argentine government, the Argentine troops on the front line began to make a fuss, and they refused to accept Garcia's designated combat mission under the pretext of dysentery and cholera in the army, and some soldiers even announced that they wanted to withdraw from the war and return to Argentina.

Under the influence of this atmosphere, it is impossible for Garcia to command the Argentine army, and the command of the 10,000 Argentine troops is in the hands of Miret, Garcia is only the nominal commander, and if he wants to really command the Argentine army, he needs Miret's nod.

On the one hand, it is impossible for Garcia to send troops to outflank the Humeita Fortress without informing the Argentinians, and a few days ago, the defenders of the Huneta Fortress transferred troops back to the rear to prove that the roundabout plan has been successful, and the defenders of the Humeita Fortress are completely surrounded, and it is only a matter of time before they surrender.

On the other hand, it took ten months to attack

The fortress of Curupaity caused heavy losses to the Argentine army, depleting the country's strategic supplies that had been prepared for several years, when smallpox began to rage, and then cholera epidemics began, and the two diseases caused massive non-combat attrition and reduced the morale of the troops to a low point.

The Paraguayan War was originally nothing for Argentina, but Brazil later used the unresolved territorial issues between Paraguay and Argentina to entice Argentina into the war.

Three years into the war, the disputed land with Paraguay had already been occupied by Argentina, and the continuation of the war was only to fulfill the obligations of the original alliance.

Argentina entered the war in order to regain the disputed territory, and it was not in Argentina's national interest to completely eliminate Paraguay, which was a large country and a large population, and if it were to join Paraguay, which had two large rivers, Brazil would be even stronger.

There are no permanent enemies in front of the country, and for the sake of Argentina's interests, the political bigwigs in Argentina are not willing to tear up the alliance agreement openly, so they resort to non-cooperative methods to pull the Brazilians back.

Argentina's non-cooperation at the critical moment has created a problem for Garcia, leave them on the front line, it is not good for the war situation to spend materials in vain and not make efforts, agreeing to their withdrawal to Argentina is not something that Garcia can decide, after thinking about it again and again, Garcia came up with a compromise solution, transferring the Argentine troops to the rear for repair, and the Brazilian army alone is responsible for the front war,

Garcia made this decision with certainty, the defenders of Hunetta Fortress were more than 20,000 people, less than half of the Brazilian army, and it was very difficult for them to break through head-on, so without the Argentine troops who did not work hard, Garcia was also confident that he would surround the defenders of Humeta Fortress.

It is not unconditional to agree to the repair of the Argentine troops, and the Argentine army is not allowed to interfere in the subsequent capture of Paraguay and all kinds of proceeds.

Miret received instructions from home that he would naturally not compete with Garcia for these interests, and quickly reached an agreement, Miret led the Argentine troops to leave the front line, set up camp in Moresa, and only waited until the end of the war to lead the troops back to Argentina.

Formosa was located in the rear of the Chinese Independence Army's capture of the battleship's position, and in order to avoid revealing its whereabouts in advance, the Chinese Independence Army abandoned the Argentine army attacking Formosa, and went straight to the main Brazilian force against the current.

The Argentine army left the front, and Garcia was clear for a few days, but the good days did not last long, and he gradually became anxious because there was no news from the roundabout troops.

The 5,000 troops were the elite selected from the main force, and there was no news a few days ago, and he thought that it might be that the war was going well, and the troops were attacking Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, but nearly ten days had passed, and not only had no news from the 5,000 roundabout troops, but also the convoy that had sent back the last news three days ago could not be contacted.

"Could it be that there was an accident with both the detour troops and the fleet?" A bad thought flashed through Garcia's mind,

With the main Paraguayan force besieged in the fortress of Humeta, Argentina and Uruguay are allies of Brazil, Garcia really can't think of any other force that can pose a threat to the roundabout troops and fleet.

Without thinking of a reason, Garcia sent a patrol to check the news again, and if it didn't come back a day later, he would have to find out the truth himself.

Garcia's herald arrived at the naval garrison by the river and delivered Garcia's order.

The Brazilian naval officer in charge of guarding the coast was a little puzzled: "Since yesterday, three patrol fleets have been sent to contact the receiving fleet, and none of the ships have returned to the base, is there something big happening over there?" ”

"I don't know, I'm only responsible for conveying the commander's orders, and the commander still acts according to the order, and as for other aspects, the commanders are naturally responsible."

The captain who conveyed the order shrugged his shoulders and looked serious.

Usually, it is not necessary for a captain to go out in person to convey orders, but this time things were a little unusual, so Garcia sent a captain's staff officer from the headquarters to personally board the ship to contact the fleet and detour troops.

"Sir, the commander doesn't have much time to give, you better hurry up and arrange the ship, and I have to set off to complete the task ordered by the commander."

"Wait a minute, brother, I'll arrange it immediately."

In recent years, Prussia has defeated Denmark and the Austrian Empire, and the country's strength and influence have increased rapidly, and even the various systems implemented by Prussia have been imitated by South American countries, and the Brazilian Empire has set up a staff department according to the Prussian army, and the staff officers are selected from the children of domestic nobles and big capitalists, so although the staff officer who gave the order was only a captain, the lieutenant colonel officer who was responsible for the management of the naval ships on the river did not dare to slack off, and talked with the staff officer in a good voice, and the lieutenant colonel officer quickly instructed his sailors to prepare the ship.

Because it was Garcia who personally gave the order, the ship was quickly ready, and the staff officer got on the boat and was about to order the ship to start, but he saw two ironclad ships belonging to the Brazilian Navy,

There are a total of five warships with a displacement of more than 3,000 tons in the Brazilian Empire, three of which were sent to participate in the battle for Paraguay, and the other two remained at bases off the coast of Brazil to guard the security of the country's coastal waters.

The staff officer of the three ironclad warships that accompanied the Brazilian army in battle was very familiar, and at first glance he recognized the two ironclad ships on the river as the Goiânia and Maceyo, which had been lost from the news.

"Sir, that's the Goiania and the Maceyo, are we still on a mission?"

The fleet that wanted to contact the news appeared in front of him, and the gunboat captain did not know whether to continue sailing, so he turned his head and asked.

"No, the escort fleet is not that large, there are too many ships behind!"

The Navy knew the fleet better than others, and when he saw the dense number of large and small transports behind the ironclad ship, he immediately felt that something was wrong.

Two ironclad ships sailed into the entrance of the Brazilian warship's mooring, and the huge black muzzles slowly raised to aim at the Brazilian warship on the shore.

"It's not good, it's not our people on the ironclad!"

The lieutenant commander of the Navy was the first to perceive the enemy's situation, and as soon as he said this, he heard a loud roar, and then a sail warship next to him was immediately hit by a shot.

The hull of the sail warship is weak in resistance to strikes, and a single shell fired from the main gun of the joint seat is enough to inflict great damage on it.

The cannonball entered from the frontal hull, just through the ammunition room of the sail battleship, the roar sounded one after another, and the fire caused by the gunpowder instantly covered the entire sail battleship, and with a click, the sail battleship that had been martyred by the shell broke in half, and sank into the water in the flames, the ironclad battleship attacked suddenly, and a cannonball destroyed the sail battleship, and hundreds of Brazilian naval soldiers on the battleship became the martyrs of the battleship before they could react.

"Damn, how did you do it, didn't Lao Tzu let you aim at that ironclad ship and open fire? How to miss! ”

On the Dawn, Chen Sen, who was temporarily serving as the captain, loudly reprimanded the Brazilian sailors who operated the main guns.

Chen Sen was discovered by Li Mingyuan while searching for a golden treasure in Kara Lake, and then performed well in the training of the Sailor Frogman Unit, gradually surpassing other competitors and gaining the opportunity to lead the Frogman Force.

After capturing two ironclad warships, Li Mingyuan, who had no one to use, arranged Chen Sen on the Chaoyang warship and served as the captain of a warship with a displacement of more than 6,000 tons, this opportunity was not easy to come by, Chen Sen planned to take the opportunity of attacking the Brazilian army to accumulate military merits, and then occupy an important position in the newly established Chinese naval forces, but he clearly ordered to attack the ironclad ships anchored by the river, but the captured sailors hit the wrong target, although others may not see the problem, thinking that Chen Sen commanded properly, and killed one of the enemy's main warships with one shot, But in Chen Sen's eyes, it was a very serious problem, and at the moment of battle, the gunner deliberately released water, which was worth it.

"Aim at the ironclad and shoot at it, and if you make another mistake, you will be shot in the head."

Chen Sen took out a short gun, put it on the head of the captive gunner, and threatened.

The captured gunner couldn't understand Chen Sen's words, but his murderous appearance could easily convey the meaning of his words.

The Brazilian gunners did not want to be part of their comrades who were killed yesterday, and they operated their guns with trepidation, aiming at the Brazilian army.