July 12, 1887

Port of Antofagasta, South America

This is Bolivia's largest port on the Pacific coast, with a population of 235,000 and the capital of the province of Antofagasta, located on the shores of Moreno Bay.

It is a port city that has risen due to the mining of mineral resources such as saltpeter, copper and silver, and in the Chuquicamata, more than 40 kilometers from the port of Antofagasta, a world-class copper mine has been discovered in recent years, which has intensified the competition for the region among the three South American countries.

In the blue Moreno Bay

Seven Chilean warships were violently shelling targets on the shore, and the buildings in the harbor were being crumbled, and the blue-black smoke filled the air, and the crisp gunfire was like a burst.

Of the three South American countries, the Chilean navy was supported by Great Britain and was twice as strong as the combined Peruvian and Bolivian forces.

Taking advantage of its naval superiority to give priority to attacking enemy ports and blockading the coastlines of Bolivia and Peru is a typical British naval tactic, which has been tried and tested repeatedly.

Inside the command tower of the flagship "Esmerida".

Admiral Williams, commander of the Chilean Navy, and Colonel George Graham, head of the British military delegation, stood side by side, watching with interest the effects of the shelling outside the porthole, and whispering a few words from time to time.

The battle plan of attacking the port and blockading the coastline was put forward by the British military delegation, which could maximize the naval superiority of intelligence and inflict heavy damage on the enemy.

The cannon roared

Colonel George-Graham, observing the collapse of the harbor house and the death and wounding of the Bolivian defenders, nodded in satisfaction and said; "It's been a good fight, Your Excellency Commander, you can land your soldiers, it's hard for the enemy troops under heavy artillery fire to organize an effective resistance, now is the right time."

"Thank God, I think the same thing as you, Mr. Colonel." General Williams turned his head after speaking, nodded to his officers, and ordered; "Now let the landing force launch an offensive and fully occupy this port."

"Yes, sir." The officer who received the order gave a standard military salute, then turned and quickly ran away.

It didn't take long

The freighter hovering in the bay approached the dock under fire, and a large number of Chilean soldiers in blue shirts and red pants poured out of the freighter.

Their arrival soon provoked a counterattack by Bolivian soldiers.

Compared to the well-dressed Chilean soldiers, armed with smoothbore rifles, the predominantly Indian Bolivian soldiers were poorly armed and dressed in a variety of clothes, many of them rushing out in cheap plastic sandals and bows and crossbows, as well as knives and guns.

In the ruins of the buildings in the port, fierce battles soon broke out between the two sides......

After the Chilean soldiers formed a slight formation, they formed large and small battle formations, raised the smoothbore rifles in their hands and attacked the enemy with a platoon of guns, and the dense volley of guns "snap, pop, pop, ......pop, pop" continued to sound.

Many Indian soldiers were covered in blood from the hot bullets during the impact, and the blood rushed out, and they fell weakly and died in the ruined streets.

Some Indian soldiers shot crossbows in their hands, killing and wounding a small number of Chilean soldiers. But in the face of platoon gun strikes, it is obvious that its own losses are even heavier.

The fierce fighting lasted more than ten minutes, and the Bolivian soldiers fled in a hurry, leaving behind large bodies and fleeing.

After consolidating the dock area, the Chilean landing force advanced towards the inland city as thousands of reinforcements arrived, and the "crackling" was very lively.

The Bolivian army is not unarmed with smoothbore guns, but in smaller numbers, mostly in the more elite units.

Relying on their numerical superiority, they launched a fierce counterattack against the Chilean army that attacked the city, and for a time the fighting was quite anxious, and it was obvious that the attacking Chilean army had encountered hard stubble.

At this time

The Chilean fleet moored in the harbor completed its cover and successively stopped shelling.

You must know that artillery shells are very expensive, and more than two hours of shelling cost millions of Tang yuan, which is enough for the Chilean Navy to feel distressed for a while.

Chile is the country with the highest proportion of white people in the whole Americas, and it is also the country with the lowest proportion of Chinese, of which white and Indo-European people account for 85.6% of the population, Chinese immigrants account for 5.3%, and Indians account for 9.1%.

Most of the white residents of the country believe in Catholicism and have close relations with Britain and Germany, and the navy imported two 2,950-ton cruisers from Britain, which are the main ironclad cruisers of the Chilean navy.

One of them is the flagship "Esmeralda", which has a displacement of 2,950 tons, a length of 82.3 meters, a width of 12.8 meters, a draft of 5.64 meters, a main engine power of 6,803 horsepower, and a speed of about 18.3 knots.

Its 2.5-inch-thick dome deck extends from bow to stern, firmly protecting the engine room, ammunition bay and other vital facilities below.

The warship's main guns were two 10-inch 30-caliber Armstrong cannons, one in front of the other in the turrets in the bow and stern, in addition to six 6-inch 26-caliber secondary guns, two 6-pounder rapid-fire guns, and three 14-inch torpedo tubes, which was second to none in South America.

The ship joined the Chilean Navy on July 15, 1884, was the flagship of the fleet and was named "Esmeralda".

At this time

The Esmeralda was filled with the thick smell of gunpowder after the shelling, and General Williams and several officers of the British military delegation walked to the bow deck.

He watched the busy soldiers wiping the gunpowder residue from the barrels of the guns, pushing the ammunition carts back and forth, looking orderly, and for a moment he felt complacent.

"On behalf of the Government of Chile, I would like to express my gratitude to you, Mr. Sir Sir for your sincere help and your valuable advice, to put us on the right path.

The Tang State will only talk about us bridging our differences, while they have invaded large swaths of South American territory, from Tierra del Fuego to Colombia, all of which have become the Tang Kingdom's backyard.

The people of the United States are right;

We are too far from God, but too close to these Orientals.

Every country on this continent lives in the cruel and cold-blooded shadow of the Tang Kingdom, maintaining peace and prosperity on the surface, but trembling in private, for fear of becoming the next target to be sacrificed.

Everybody knows

Terrible events are taking place in Colombia and Cuba, where millions of indigenous populations are disappearing and replaced by a flood of Orientals.

History, culture and beliefs have all disappeared, and this tragic plot has been played out again and again, while the whole world seems to be ignoring, which is a terrible reality! ”

General Williams's words expressed the true thoughts of the white upper-class elites in some countries in the Americas, who were afraid of the Tang Kingdom and resisted the erosion of oriental culture from the bottom of their hearts, but did not dare to show their true thoughts excessively.

A hint of resentment, a hint of displeasure implied in his words, Colonel George Graham was keenly aware of it, and he stood proudly on the deck with his hands in his pockets, his gaze skimming into the distance......

There was an armored cruiser "Black Wind" from the Panamanian Pacific Fleet, with a full load displacement of more than 5,200 tons, a tall hull covered with the cold luster of steel and thick rivets, quietly moored in the bay.

The strength of such a huge ship was given in vain by the entire Chilean Navy.

And this powerful ironclad cruiser is nothing more than an observation ship sent by the Tang Empire, which seems to remind the three South American countries participating in the war openly and secretly;

Never forget the existence of the entire American hegemon.

There are many officers and men on the stern deck of the ironclad cruiser "Black Wind", and it seems that an open-air barbecue party is being held, enjoying a delicious barbecue and beer while watching the bloody port battle between Chile and Bolivia.

This kind of leisurely and arrogant posture almost made Chileans angry with their noses, but there was nothing they could do.

Colonel George Graham smiled indifferently and said;

"Your Excellency, Honorable General

As a friend, I advise the topic not to mention the Tang Kingdom. That would be a huge presence that Chile would not be able to reach for centuries to come, and it would not be a good idea to provoke him.

You also see that this is an era of frequent wars, an era when the strong can bully the weak, an era of somewhat bad things.

If Chile were to win this war, it would be able to monopolize this resource-rich region, and what a huge reward would it be?

This is the right that the strong can enjoy, and from your point of view, I am afraid that it is impossible to understand the true meaning of the world-class powers that should not be blamed.

The strong themselves should enjoy transcendent treatment.

The demise of some weak and backward nations may be the essence of world replacement, and no one will feel sorry for them, let alone have any sincere condolences.

I advise you to come out of this sadness and face the reality bravely, even if it is a cruel reality, but we must accept it. ”

Colonel George Graham's words were speaking of both the Tang State and the United Kingdom, and no one could blame the rule-makers, and the rules would even change according to the needs of the Great Powers.

General Williams followed his gaze and also looked at the ironclad cruiser "Black Wind" moored in the distance, on the tall steel triangular mast of the "Black Wind", the flag of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire fluttered in the wind.

As if he had been pricked by a needle, General Williams's face changed and he quickly withdrew his gaze, and replied with a slightly ugly face;

"Thank you, Lord Sirre, for reminding me of the reality that I have been trying to avoid.

Perhaps this is the fate of Chile, but we have always felt a strong connection to Europe, from traditional ways of life to religious beliefs.

Chile has always attached great importance to the development of relations with European countries, especially London, and sincerely hopes that London will devote more attention to South American issues......"

"Oh...... The soldiers fought well. Colonel Georges-Graham interrupted the general with a sudden voice, and pointed to the faintly waving flag and cheers ahead, which were another important target for the Chilean soldiers.

He didn't want to listen to the general's nagging, every country in the world wanted to get the attention of Britain, but where did London get so much energy?

The miniature military delegation headed by Colonel George Graham was in itself a representation of the importance that London took seriously.

The war here will not appear in the British newspapers a few days later, and nine out of ten British people do not know Chile, a South American country, let alone whether he is dead or alive, and whether he won the war.

Colonel George Graham did not want to respond positively to the General's expectations, and it was also out of good intentions, which would have deeply damaged General Williams's pride.

The white people of Chile are mainly descended from Spanish colonizers, but also descendants of immigrants from Portugal, Italy, Ireland, France, Greece, Germany, and of course there are mixed races between these European peoples and people of Arab descent, who have little to do with the British.

The British are Protestant, while the majority of Chile are Catholics, and the so-called traditional way of life and beliefs are nonsense, which is not the same thing at all.

(End of chapter)