Struvite is actually organic fertilizer accumulated from the feces of birds and animals over thousands of years. It is often stored by unmanned pirates in South America and the Pacific.
Before the emergence of the modern fertilizer industry, struvite was a very valuable mineral, and agricultural countries would import it in large quantities if they had the conditions.
Not to mention saltpeter, a necessary raw material for making explosives and a real strategic material in the 19th century. Without it, gunpowder cannot be made. When Britain was fighting for hegemony in the sea, it sent special people to manage toilets. They even used urine on the walls. Alkali must be collected, and yes, human urine contains nitrate.
It can be seen how important saltpeter was to countries around the world at that time.
According to the agreement among the three countries to carve up the desert, Peru and Bolivia occupied the northern part of the desert, while Chile occupied the southern desert. However, struvite and saltpeter resources were concentrated in the central and northern part of the desert, which made Chile red-eyed and led to serious diplomatic disputes among the three countries. conflict.
Against this background, a Taiping Army of more than 10,000 people broke out and came to Peru.
Li Shixian, the senior general in the Taiping Army, was the cousin of the loyal king Li Xiucheng and an important general in the late Taiping Rebellion. In 1860, Li Shixian led the Taiping Army to fight in Fujian. Although the Taiping Army fought bravely and achieved certain victories, it was a pity that The enemy was outnumbered, and there was a gap in weapons and equipment at that time. The war was becoming increasingly unsatisfactory for the Taiping Army.
By 1862, the Taiping Army was completely unsustainable in Fujian. The Hunan Army was strangulating on land, and there were Western warships on the sea to cooperate with the Hunan Army's blockade. No matter how brave Li Shixian's army was, they could not save themselves.
There are still tens of thousands of remnant soldiers. They can't fight, they can't surrender, and they have no place to escape... In the end, the only way out is to become piglets.
Pigs and piglets are a mark of humiliation on the heads of the Chinese people in modern history. Africans were sold all over the world as black slaves, while Chinese workers were sold as pigs and piglets.
In order to survive, tens of thousands of Taiping soldiers betrayed themselves and became Chinese laborers, boarding foreign ships. Some were sent to Southeast Asia to tap rubber, some were sent to North America to build railways, and some were sent to Peru in South America. He became a Chinese laborer who mined ores in the desert.
In 1862, more than 10,000 Taiping remnants and their relatives were transported to Iquique, Peru, South America to work as miners of guano and saltpeter. The mine owners often beat, scolded and abused them. They were fed like pig food and had to work every day. After more than 14 hours of hard labor, even the hard labor prisoners were more economical than them. They wanted to resist many times, but they were surrounded by foreigners with loaded guns. They wanted to go back to China but were afraid of being beheaded, so they could only endure it silently, and died of illness. and many people commit suicide.
In 1866, the second year after Xiao Letian just traveled through time, the conflict between the three South American countries finally broke out. Peru and Bolivia refused to give up any of their ore interests, which made Chile lose its mind. The war finally began. This is history. The South American Saltpeter War, also known as the South American Pacific War.
The outbreak of the war gave these more than 10,000 Taiping troops the hope of freedom. They recommended Weng Derong from Hunan and Chen Yonglu from Guangdong as their leaders. In March 1867, the Taiping troops in Iquique launched an uprising and killed Xi Ge, the mine supervisor. Sri Lanka, and seized the weapons of the Saltpeter Mining Company, and launched a fierce battle with the Peruvian army that came to suppress them. They killed Peruvian Major Tuycos and Captain Jura, and captured two hundred Indian mercenaries.
After the uprising, the two leaders reorganized the Taiping Army into its original organization and sent captured Indian mercenaries and a Brazilian to the commander of the Chilean army, Major General Sirapizo, expressing their willingness to help Chile deal with the Peruvian and Bolivian armies. .
Major General Sirapizzo was overjoyed and sent a second lieutenant in disguise to the Iquique mining area where the uprising troops were stationed. He also brought a personal letter from the President of Chile, granting Chilean citizenship to all Taiping soldiers and their families, and stating that after the war, he would Iquique was handed over to the Taiping Army and their families.
When Tang Lei used his identity as a Chinese to go north to the Iquique area, Weng Derong and Chen Yonglu had already formed an army of 7,000 people and were in a stalemate with the Peruvian army in Iquique.
Moreover, at that time, this army already had a formal establishment in Chile, and was called the "Brown Army" of Chile's 6th Border Column.
Xiao Letian read the information in advance and had some confidence in his heart, but when more detailed information came out from Tang Lei's mouth, he sat down on the chair and rubbed his temples with his index finger.
His historical knowledge is still not enough. Xiao Letian generally knows what happened in Europe and Asia in the 19th century, but he doesn't know much about what happened in South America, Africa and other places in that era.
Of course he had heard about the Pacific War in South America, but Xiao Letian didn't know the specific details, let alone where a Taiping Army had fought alone, and even achieved such brilliant achievements.
"We Chinese are ambitious. We are all Chinese dragons wherever we go. As long as we take advantage of the wind and rain, one day we will soar into the sky...Tang Lei, let me ask you, this is the reason why you forged your identity."
At this moment, Tang Lei's knees were weak and he was kneeling on the ground. His eyes were red and swollen, and tears were flowing down his face. He had suffered too many grievances along the way. He fought with pirates, fought with the Peruvian border navy, and encountered a storm when he crossed the Pacific. He was a strong man when he went there. One, and when he came back, he turned into a consumption ghost with a sallow complexion.
But this was not sad enough. In Ryukyu, the CIA kept interrogating him about why he forged his identity privately and asked himself what his intentions were. The only way to extract a confession was to torture him. A hero is not afraid of bloodshed, but afraid of being sad.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Prime Minister, the loyalty of my subordinates is evident. I came to South America from distant China alone. What identity did I use to approach Weng Derong and Chen Yonglu? What should I do if they don’t believe me?"
"Even if I can prove my identity in Ryukyu, I can prove that I am not a spy of Qingyou, but with my identity, can I negotiate with others? It's thousands of miles away, and the telegraph line doesn't cross the Pacific. How can I ask for instructions and report to the headquarters? "
"Prime Minister, we must intervene in this war. South America is too rich, with struvite, saltpeter, silver ore, copper ore, iron ore... too many to count. As long as we can have a foothold in South America, even if With only one port, our commercial power can penetrate..."
"Prime Minister, we are not even afraid of Austria. Do we still care about the little power of Spain? South America is now in a period of power chaos. South America ruled by the Spanish is collapsing, and countries such as Britain, France, and the United States have not yet extended their tentacles. This is our Opportunity."
With a snap, Tang Lei took out a hand-drawn map of South America on the ground, "Iquique, we must occupy the port of Iquique. In the future, it will be the most important stronghold of our Ryukyu Navy in South America."
"Everything my subordinates do is for this purpose."
Note: Today is the last day of 2015, and I am refreshed. I wish you all great fortune and a prosperous career in the new year. I will send out several rounds of red envelopes in the group tonight, and I hope my book friends will also take action. , Don’t be stingy if you receive a red envelope, just give one back.
You guys are really awesome. I made a preliminary estimate that the amount of red envelope turnover in the group will be several hundred yuan a day. You are so ruthless... This book was first published by, read the original content first!
