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"Your Excellency Minister for Foreign Affairs, I tell you frankly that this trip to Europe has not yielded satisfactory results. However, I am full of confidence in this trip to China. I believe that China will be able to provide Chile with a suitable battleship! Do you think so? Lieutenant Colonel Eduardo said.

"Of course, Your Excellency. There is no doubt that the technology of the Chinese Navy has become the top in the world! And we are more than happy to provide your country with advanced battleships! I believe that our battleships will definitely satisfy your country! Wu Tingfang said. The arms trade has always been a very important source of income for major powers. It's just that China's rise is too short, and although it has become the world's top power, the international arms market is still monopolized by Western powers. At most, China can only sell some light weapons to North Korea, Japan, and Middle Eastern countries. If it can sell battleships to Chile through guò and thus open up the market, this will undoubtedly be very beneficial for China! The Chinese side is also very keen to facilitate this deal!

"Thank you, Your Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for your support! So, when can I meet with naval officers in your country? Advado said excitedly. Obviously, he was very satisfied with the enthusiastic attitude of the Chinese side.

"Your Excellency, tomorrow, tomorrow, the officials of the Admiralty will meet with you!" Wu Tingfang said.

"I very much look forward to this meeting, Your Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs!" Eduardo said.

China's sale of battleships to Chile is a win-win for both China and Chile. The performance of the battleships of the Chinese Navy, known all over the world. Acquisition of new types of battleships from China. Undoubtedly, it can greatly improve the strength of the Chilean Navy and continue to widen the direct gap with its opponents. This is very important for Chile, which is full of enemies! China, on the other hand, was able to sell its battleships for a good profit. Battleships, which are already expensive weapons, are not many countries that can afford to buy them and can afford them. Meantime. China could also take the opportunity to expand its influence in Chile. Chile is an important exporter of saltpeter and copper ore in the world. These two resources are extremely important strategic resources. China also needs to import large quantities of saltpeter from Chile every year. The Chinese government would also like to see the strengthening of the direct relationship between China and Chile!

"Your Majesty, the minister has already met with the Chilean envoy, and we had a very pleasant conversation. The Chilean envoy has already made it official that he wants to order warships from my country. I've already communicated with Lord Zhang from the Admiralty. Tomorrow the officers of the Admiralty will be in charge of receiving them! Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang told Wang Yuze.

"Chile is a small South American country, but it is also a South American powerhouse. And with their two neighbors, the mighty Brazil and Argentina, they are in a strict confrontation. Because the territory is too narrow and easily cut off by the enemy, therefore, maintain a strong navy. For Chile, it is very important. Now, both the British and the Germans are building warships for their own navy at full speed. Where is the spare energy for the construction of warships for Chile? As for France and the United States, not only are the technology not up to par, but the asking price is very high. So, the Chileans bought battleships from us. It's inevitable! Wang Yuze said. In his previous life, he didn't pay much attention to South American countries. This time Chile wanted to order battleships from China. He deliberately inquired about some South American information from the Military Intelligence Agency, but he didn't know if he didn't know it, and he was really shocked when he saw it!

In the second half of the 19th century, South America was really not peaceful, and a big war broke out. The more famous ones are the Paraguayan War and the South American Pacific War. The Paraguayan War was fought from 1864~1870 by Paraguayan military strongman Francis Lopez against the alliance of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, a small landlocked country, which was the largest war in the entire Americas so far, and one may be the most tragic war in human history. Before the outbreak of the war, Paraguay had a population of more than 1.3 million and 6,000 regular troops, but after the war, Paraguay was left with only 190,000 women and 30,000 men, and the rest were all killed! The tragedy of this war can be seen! At that time, the three countries that were against Paraguay were more powerful than Paraguay, except for Uruguay, and Brazil, in particular, was more than ten times stronger than Paraguay. The leader of Paraguay at that time dared to fight against these three countries at the same time, and I really don't know whether to admire his courage or be speechless about his madness!

The South American Pacific War, also known as the saltpeter war and the guano war, was a war between Chile and Bolivia and Peru for the production of saltpeter and guano in the Atacama Desert on the South Pacific coast from 1879 to 1883. At the beginning of the war, Chile, with a navy twice the size of the combined fleet of Peru and Bolivia, quickly blocked the coasts of Peru and Bolivia.

In May 1879, the commander of the Chilean Navy, Williams, left the battleship "Esmereda" to blockade the Peruvian fortress of Iquique, but was attacked by the Peruvian Navy, and the "Esmereda" was sunk. On October 8 of the same year, the Chilean fleet encountered the Peruvian fleet during a routine cruise, and the two sides launched the first ironclad decisive battle in South American history. The Chilean Navy destroyed the main ironclad ship "Huaasca", the main Peruvian ironclad. In November 1879, 7,000 Chilean soldiers landed near the fortress of Iquique under the escort of 6 warships, and the Serbian and Bolivian coalition forces put up a desperate resistance, but at that time, the Bolivian army was poorly equipped, and the troops were full of Indians wearing sandals and various costumes, they had no firearms such as rifles, only primitive bows and crossbows, which also made the "South American Pacific" the last war in the world to use bows and crossbows. The Chilean army won and quickly occupied the entire territory of the Peruvian province of Tarapacá.

At the beginning of 1880, Chilean troops landed in the Peruvian ports of Ilo and Pacocha, occupied the desert areas of Moquegua, Tongguò, and defeated the Bomi coalition forces in two battles, Tacna and Arica. At this point, Bolivia lost all of its Pacific coastal territories, and the Peruvian Navy was completely destroyed. In June 1880, representatives of the three countries held talks, but Peru rejected Chile's terms of peace and agreed only to a temporary truce. For humanitarian reasons, Chile allowed Peru to use transport ships to transport the captured Peruvian wounded soldiers, but the number of wounded soldiers exceeded the capacity of the transport ships, and Chile lent the warship "Roa" to the Peruvian side to transport the wounded. On 3 July, when the Roa completed its mission and was returning home with a barge loaded with fruit supplied by Peru, the barge suddenly exploded and injured the Roa. The Government of Chile considered this a Peruvian conspiracy and decided to take severe retaliatory measures - the capture of Lima. In January 1881, 260,000 Chilean troops launched a general assault on the city of Lima, and the Peruvian defenders fled after only two days of resistance.

On October 20, 1883, Peru and Chile signed a treaty in Ciudad Ancon, north of Lima, ending the South American War in the Pacific. Under the Treaty of Ancon, Peru ceded the province of Tarapacá to Chile and placed the regions of Tacna and Arica under Chilean administration for 10 years. Bolivia signed the Valparaiso Agreement with Chile in 1884. Bolivia has lost all of its territory between the Andes and the Pacific coast and has become a landlocked country with no access to the sea.

And now the relationship between Chile and the South American powerhouses Brazil and Argentina is very tense, and the possibility of a major war is not ruled out. Now, the naval race between the three South American countries has been started by Chile first. It is foreseeable that Brazil and Argentina will definitely follow suit immediately. This will undoubtedly increase tensions in South America. Of course, in Wang Yuze's memory, there was no big war between Chile, Brazil and Argentina afterwards. The naval arms race of the three countries eventually ended because of the weakening of the economy. Of course, in this life, maybe the ending will not be like this, and China may be able to intervene in it. However, it depends on how much China has to gain from this.

"Lord Wu, find a way to leak the fact that Chile is preparing to order battleships from our country, and I want to add another fire to the chaotic situation in South America!" Wang Yuze said with a smile.

"Does Majesty mean to take the opportunity to sell battleships to Argentina and Brazil?" Wu Tingfang said.

"No, that's just one aspect! To Brazil and Argentina, there are a lot of benefits, but not the most important. You say, if we support Chile, defeat Brazil and Argentina, will it not create a strong ally for us in South America. Of course, you have to be on guard against a white-eyed wolf! Wang Yuze said. He doesn't want to raise white-eyed wolves like North Korea and Vietnam like China in later generations!

"Your Majesty, that's doable. However, with Chile's national strength, I am afraid it will be difficult to defeat Argentina and Brazil. It may be possible to beat Argentina, but against Brazil, the difference in quality between them is too great. Brazil is the most powerful country in South America, with a population more than six times that of Chile. At the same time, Brazil and Britain and France have very good relations. Chile wants to beat Brazil, even with our support, it will be very difficult! Wu Tingfang said.

"Well, let the General Staff plan carefully, and if possible, make contact with the Chilean side. With our current national strength, if we are determined to support Chile, Pasir Gen will not be able to confront Chile. Chile's saltpeter and copper resources were very important to the empire. If a pro-imperial power can emerge in South America, it will be very helpful for the global interests of the empire! Wang Yuze said. If the Chilean army really can't defeat Brazil, China can even organize retired soldiers to join the war in the form of mercenaries, so it will be difficult for Chile not to win the war!