Opening game, American Tycoon

Chapter 402 The Emperor of Brazil With Internal and External Troubles (Second Update, please subscribe)
Rio de Janeiro in February is in the rainy season. At noon on February 2, there was heavy rain in the sky. Although the heavy rain dispelled the sweltering heat of the city, it couldn't blow away the restlessness in people's hearts.

"The fleet fought the Nanhua Navy at the Paraná River!"

"Admiral Inacio da Fonseca is dead!"

"Seven warships in the fleet sank and two were damaged and stranded..."

"More than two thousand naval officers and soldiers were killed..."

"The surviving officers and soldiers became captives!"

……

What does all of this sum up to?
In fact, it is four big characters - the whole army is destroyed!
"The fleet has failed!"

The report of the Minister of War made Emperor Pedro II feel a little dizzy. Not only did the fleet fail to complete the task of preventing the South China army from entering Paraguay, it even suffered unprecedented losses. One frigate, four coastal defense ships, four The gunboat was either sunk or damaged and stranded.

Well, the whole army was wiped out!

"After losing that fleet, there is no one in the entire Parana River who can stop the attack of the South China Army..."

The report of Marquis Caxias, Minister of War, has not mentioned the most dangerous thing - Nanhua can even threaten the Brazilian army in Paraguay from the river!
"Isn't their naval fleet in Buenos Aires?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the main force of their fleet is indeed there. Our ambassador in the local area confirmed the news again, and they have already protested to us through the ambassador, and they said that they will never stop the march because of our obstruction. If They will enter all of Paraguay if necessary."

Foreign Minister Earl Joseph Palajos was full of helplessness when he mentioned the South China Army's protest.This kind of protest is a choice for the further expansion of the war.

"Originally we just wanted to use the fleet to prevent them from entering Paraguay. It was more of a test, but who would have thought that they ignored our threat at all. According to the report of the officer who escaped, in the Inacio da Fonseca Navy After the admiral issued a semaphore asking them to stop advancing, instead of evacuating, they continued to land, and then the admiral ordered the fleet to fire a warning to the land, and then the Nanhua escort gunboats launched an attack on the fleet!"

"It's just that the gunboat..."

Pedro II's expression became a little complicated.

"They just used gunboats! Why, there will be a conflict. Before that, I said that our goal is to block, guard, and enter the area occupied by the Argentines, to create a fait accompli, not to declare war! But now? Why did you fire?"

The fundamental reason why Pedro II was so annoyed was that his original intention was not to have a war with Nanhua, but to prevent them from entering Paraguay.

Of course, this kind of prevention is not through the means of war, but through the display of strength, but who knew that the navy would fire at them first.

Why are they firing?
No one can answer that question, and those who can have died in naval battles.

In fact, Pedro II could vaguely guess the answer in his heart, but he was unwilling to face that answer.

Someone is plotting to start a war!
who is it?

Of course, it is those soldiers whose power has expanded rapidly during the war. For them, the end of the war is definitely not a good thing.The war they desire can continue, and they can gain wealth, power, and everything they want in the war.

They even want to overthrow the empire in the future!For those republican officer corps at least, the continuation of the war is definitely a good thing.

That's why they planned to provoke this war!
"Sire, although their gunboats are small in size, they have high-caliber Gatling guns that fire small explosive projectiles that are prohibited by the St. Petersburg Declaration!"

Another "braid" of Nanhua that violated public international law was corrected. It was signed by representatives of 2 countries including Britain, Austria-Hungary, and Russia who participated in the International Military Commission meeting in St. Petersburg two years ago, prohibiting the military from using anything lighter than 17 grams International Convention on Explosive Projectiles.

"This machine gun can fire at a rate of 200 rounds per minute or even faster. The dense and accurate artillery fire can easily destroy wooden warships. We can protest to the International Military Council meeting and request..."

Before the Minister of War, Marquis Caxias, finished speaking, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Earl Joseph Palajos, spoke.

"What's the use? General, Nanhua is not a signatory country, and now we have to consider what will happen if the situation is allowed to continue?"

Next, what happens!
Either the war will expand further and fight with the South China Army in Paraguay!

Either through diplomatic negotiations.

If it is the former, what will Brazil have to face?
It is a long war that continues indefinitely.

At present, the trend of domestic abolitionism is becoming more and more intense. At the same time, due to dissatisfaction with domestic politics and anti-government policies, many military officers have become republicans and formed secret associations in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy.At the same time, black slaves who joined the army during the war also demanded the fulfillment of the promise of emancipation.

If the war continues, the officer corps that has grown during the war will further expand, and the power of those caihepai ​​officers will only become stronger and stronger. This will not only be detrimental to the stability of the empire, but may even ruin the entire empire .

When thinking about these questions, Pedro II found himself completely shrouded in an unprecedented fear.

If the war continues, I will lose everything!
Even he was a little suspicious that the naval battle on the Paraná River was provoked by the officer corps who wanted the war to continue!
"As we all know, for this war, we spent 6.14 million Brazilian reals and took on an additional foreign debt of more than 5600 million pounds. Now that the empire's finances are beyond the burden, the only reason for us to continue this war is to defeat the Lopez, if a war between us and Nanhua broke out because of Paraguay, it would be extremely unwise for us!"

Take a deep breath, Pedro II said.

"Since our temptation has failed, then leave everything to diplomatic negotiations! Earl, I think you should go to Buenos Aires as soon as possible to negotiate and resolve these issues, and discuss with them on the Paraguay issue." Negotiate."

Everyone did not object to His Majesty's decision. Of course they knew that the empire was facing internal and external troubles. No matter from any point of view, it was undoubtedly an extremely unwise choice to break out of war with Nanhua.

After all, for Brazil, at least now Brazil has no capital for war.

Foreign Minister Count Joseph Palajos asked.

"Your Majesty, what about Paraguay? When negotiating with them, where is our bottom line? And, what if they ask us to stop military operations in Paraguay?"

Count Joseph Palajos asked Pedro II to think for a moment, and then said.

"Our bottom line remains the same. As for Paraguay, let's solve the problem there as soon as possible. That lunatic has already betrayed his relatives, and his failure is doomed..."

(End of this chapter)