Preparations for an advance into northern Argentina were in full swing, and information from Argentina and Paraguay was being transmitted to the headquarters of the National Defense Forces.

On 1 September, 2,000 Argentine troops were evacuated from the Misiones front, and on 5 September, Argentina and Paraguay officially declared an armistice.

Paraguay's political restructuring is something that Li Mingyuan and the Defence Force officers are happy to see.

Paraguay is a military ally of Rio Grande do Sul, and the more secure López Jr.'s position is, the more in line with Rio Gran do Sul's interests.

At the headquarters of the National Defense Forces, Li Mingyuan took out a telegram, put it on the table, and said with a smile: "Paraguay will hold a national general election in ten days, what do you think about this matter?" ”

"According to López Jr.'s control of Paraguay, Paraguay's constitutional monarchy is a foregone conclusion, and the so-called universal suffrage is just a pretense."

Liu Pu glanced at the contents of the telegram roughly, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Little López is a good calculator, and he took the opportunity of Paraguay's restructuring to invite heads of state to discuss national affairs, does he think that he is Qi Huan Gong and wants to be the leader of the four-nation alliance in South America?" ”

There was not much content on the telegram, and when the others heard Liu Pu's words and saw that Li Mingyuan had no objection, they quickly circulated the telegram.

"Your Highness, although the restructuring of Paraguay is a major event, His Highness is related to the safety of the country, and he cannot easily leave the territory of Rio Gran do Sul."

After reading the telegram, Luo Linshan suggested the exit.

"I have considered General Luo's worries, but now that the domestic development of Rio Grande do Sul is on the right track, I will not be able to delay the operation of domestic politics for a few days for a while, and the idea of Little López seems to be a little naïve, and there are merits in it."

Li Mingyuan did not ridicule López Jr.'s indiscretion, but analyzed the significance of the talks between the heads of state of the four countries from the perspective of the general trend of South American countries:

In his telegram, López Jr. talked about several major events that took place in Brazil during this time, the first of which was the abolition of black slavery decree issued by Pedro II, and the formation of a black army of 30,000 men in Brazil under the abolitionist law.

The second was that Pedro II ordered the army to move near the Line of Military Control between Brazil and Paraguay, and López Jr. feared that the Brazilians wanted to start a new war.

The third is Brazil and the purchase of two new ironclad ships, and the Paraguayan side also has the idea of buying ironclad ships. ”

Li Mingyuan listed the three things mentioned by López Jr., and then continued: "The movement of the Brazilian army to the border between Brazil and Paraguay does not necessarily mean to start a war, but the intention of the army to expand its forces and the navy to add ironclad ships is self-evident.

Brazil and Paraguay are facing each other because of the Paraguayan War, but the contradictions between the two countries are not unsolvable, as long as they get rid of López, who is keen on foreign expansion, and support pro-Brazilian forces to come to power, it is easy for Paraguay and Brazil to restore peace.

As for us, Rio Gran do Sul is a country established on the basis of seizing two southern Brazilian states, and once the Wehrmacht shows a weakened posture, the Brazilian army will definitely concentrate its forces to destroy us, and will not give the Chinese a chance to surrender. ”

Western whites are more harsh in the face of the yellow race than blacks, because of the influence of the traditional living environment, blacks can not challenge the dominance of whites, but the East Asians represented by the Chinese are different, East Asia is the coverage of the Chinese civilization circle, from thousands of years ago, the Chinese civilization has become the leader of the Eastern civilization alongside the Western Roman civilization and the Arab civilization, even if the modern Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the Chinese civilization sank, The Taiping Rebellion, which broke out more than a decade ago, also made a deep impression on white Westerners.

The awakened Chinese were not the object of bullying by white people at will, so they chose to support the Manchu government to suppress the Taiping Rebellion and continue to maintain the status quo of China's sinking.

In the Central Plains continent, the core of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was shattered, although the Taiping Army side forces led by Li Wencai won a victory against encirclement and suppression, but the situation of the troops themselves did not improve, and they were still in the predicament of fighting alone, in the South American continent, the rise of Li Mingyuan's national defense force also made the Brazilian Empire see the power of the Chinese, Pedro II and the white Brazilian ruling class he represented, whether for the interests of the country or to maintain their own rule, will not allow Rio Gran do Sul to remain independent.

The establishment of the Duchy of Rio Gran do Sul was only a temporary compromise, even if the Brazilian Empire acquiesced to the fact that the Chinese occupied the two southern states, it did not give up its name in righteousness, and Rio Gran do Sul was still part of the Brazilian Empire, and the Brazilian Empire could always take back control of Rio Gran do Sul.

In terms of confronting the Brazilian Empire, Li Mingyuan and López Jr. had the same interests, and López Jr. may have seen the actual situation of Rio Grande do Sul and directly invited Li Mingyuan to Paraguay to discuss important matters without fear of his refusal.

After Li Mingyuan explained Xiao López's intentions, Luo Linshan, who was originally opposed, couldn't speak, but thought silently.

"Your Highness, López Jr.'s telegram means that he wants us to support him as the head of the anti-Brazilian alliance of Bolivia, Peru, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraguay, but even if you agree to support him, will the presidents of Bolivia and Peru agree?"

After Liu Pu, Luo Linshan and the others stopped talking, Sun Qisheng, who was standing on the side, couldn't help but ask.

Sun Qisheng was relieved of his post in the special forces because of the loss of the responsibility of the base, and was demoted to two levels and appointed under Luo Linshan, and he was also given the opportunity to participate in the national defense conference this time because of Luo Linshan's sponsorship.

"Captain Sun, our troops have gone on an expedition from Peru through Bolivia all the way to Rio Grande do Sul, how does the fighting power of the Peruvian and Bolivian armies compare with the Paraguayan army?"

"Peru is rich in mineral resources, and the weapons and equipment of the troops generally use muskets and artillery, while Bolivia is relatively scarce in resources, except for a small number of main forces to achieve firearms, most of the soldiers still use shuttles, bows and arrows and other cold weapons to fight, and there is a certain gap between the comprehensive strength of the troops of the two countries and the Paraguayan army."

"Well, yes, although the Bolivian and Peruvian troops have more troops than Paraguay, the overall strength of the troops is not as good as the Paraguayan army."

Li Mingyuan nodded, and continued: "Little López relied on his tens of thousands of troops to resist the troops of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina for two or three years, and finally cooperated with our army to defeat the troops of the three countries, with the aura of victory in the Paraguayan War, the presidents of Bolivia and Peru will greatly overestimate the strength of Paraguay. ”

The fist determines the right to speak, Rio Gran do Sul needs to win over Paraguay out of consideration of the overall situation, and it is impossible to compete with López Jr., while Bolivia and Peru have insufficient military strength, and the two countries have taken advantage of the Paraguayan war to grab a lot of territory from Brazil, and López Jr. will serve as the principal to unite the forces of the four countries to confront Brazil and not harm the interests of the two countries.

From the perspective of military strength and practical interests, several officers present also understood what Li Mingyuan meant.

"Little López transferred the contradiction of domestic economic difficulties through the Misiones War, and now that the Misiones War is over, Little López needs new credit to increase his prestige in order to stabilize the situation after the country's restructuring, and the reputation of the director of the Quadruple Alliance is the new choice of Little López.

López Jr.'s initiative as the head of the Quadruple Alliance will help us to stabilize the pressure from the north and facilitate the operation of our army in northern Argentina, so it makes sense that I should go to Paraguay myself. ”

In the end, the decision was made, and the others could only agree after listening to Li Mingyuan's explanation.