"L'internationale sera le genre humain"

[Florentia]

San Castellino,
Gazallenoa,
Hotel Juenèz - seat of the Council of the Republic,
March 1, 1878,
11 h 49

Manuel Velledito, the Prime Minister, storms into the office of the President of the Council.

"Presidente, we have a problem. "

The President of the Council Ninio Picion - a small, thin man with a constantly despaired expression - stands up from his chair. His stunted physique contrasted with the slender, shapely appearance of the Prime Minister. The latter, visibly extremely worried, was pacing the office.

- It's terrible, Presidente. Terrible! "
- What's going on? I beg you, speak! "
- "We just received this from the Neo-Lyrian anarchist party. "

Velledito holds out a letter to the President of the Council. It is addressed to the San Castellinos government in general, proclaims the independence of New Lyria as well as the establishment of a provisional New Lyrian government. Picion almost fainted when he read it. The poor man had been overworked since the beginning of his mandate. The country had been in crisis ever since it gained independence from Lysia and annexed the colony of New Lyria. Picion had to deal with the demands of the socialists, the ambitions of the monteplutillas - the private army of general Monteplutos - and the tensions with the New Lyrians. And the latter now wanted their independence!

- "President, we're not going to let them have it, are we? "

Picion had propped himself up on his desk so as not to fall to the floor and was thinking intensely. From the beginning, he had been strongly criticized by his opponents, and even by the Christian Democrats, his brothers, for his decisions, which were always considered too weak. The President of the Council had always wanted to play the card of appeasement and moderation. But this time, Picion had decided to really take things in hand. From now on, he wanted to prove to those b#stards that he was a strong man, and the Neo-Lyrian revolution was the perfect opportunity. So, as if suddenly won by an unsatiable energy, he stood up and said in a firm tone.

- Repress them. Send the army and have all the independentists arrested. "
- But, Presidente, that will be difficult. The majority of the army is still disloyal to us, under the control of the socialists. And they are not likely to want to help us. "
- "Sweet Jesus! "

Picion sat down in his chair but immediately stood up, obviously having found a solution.

- "Send a telegraph to General Monteplutos, I want it in my office as soon as possible. We don't have an army anymore, so we might as well get one. "

"Even if it means making a pact with the devil," he added in his mind. Velledito, although surprised, approved the decision with a nod and left the office.

 

A few hours later, a fat and coarse man with as much military distinction as arrogance entered the office.  General Monteplutos, because it was him, sits down heavily on a chair, in front of Picion. Then he takes a cigar from the mahogany box placed on the desk like if it belonged to him and starts to smoke.

- "Monteplutos, what an hon-"

Monteplutos cuts Picion off.

- "General Monteplutos. "
- "Yes, my apologies, General Monteplutos. It is truly an honor to receive you, General Monteplutos. I have humbly asked you to come O great General Monteplutos in order to amiably ask you if your so great person-"

Monteplutos interrupts the President of the Council a second time.

- "Come to the facts. "
- "Yes, of course, General Monteplutos. How about making a deal? "
- "What do you mean? "
- "I suppose you must have heard about the Neo-Lyrian declaration of independence through your contacts. "

The general nods.

- "So here's the deal. You'll have to take care of suppressing the neo-lyrian independence fighters with your monteplutillas. In exchange, I promise you a place in Parliament. "
- "More. I want more. "

Picion looks down, both sheepish and intimidated by the general. Still, he raises his head after a brief moment and proposes.

- "A seat on the Council of the Republic and state-supplied equipment for the monteplutillas. "
- "It sould be enough, for the moment. "
- "Perfect! I'll let you take your departure from me then. "

Monteplutos crushed his cigar in the middle of the President of the Council's desk, got up and left the office. Picion took a deep breath and began to pray inwardly to God that this so-called revolution would be nothing more than a passing rebellion.

[Florentia]

(I'm making this little aside to tell you that I tried to make a long post with a lot of things but the problem is that I didn't succeed (one day, maybe) so for now I will just make not very long posts but often. Thanks for reading this little disclaimer, I let you start reading.)

 

New Lyria,
Saint-Alphonse de l'Assomption (now called Saint-Alphonse de la Victoire),
Place de la paix - in front of the City Hall,
March 18, 1878,
15h29

Jeanne was sitting behind a barricade, a rifle pressed to her chest and her fiancé Blaise to her left. She looked at him: even in death he was beautiful like a god. She had convinced him to fight and he had joined her, as much for love as for conviction. Blaise was now dead for freedom, for anarchism, for New Lyria. She kissed him for the last time, wiped away his tears and gave the order to attack. About ten thousand fighters rushed, shouting, to the city hall of Saint-Alphonse de l'Assomption. Among them were both men and women, petty bourgeois and workers, and even a young gavroche brandishing his rifle with difficulty but pride. Already, there were corpses: they were wearing the san castellinos uniform.

Only a few weeks after the declaration of independence, Saint Alphonse de l'Assomption had fallen. It was the first major city to be completely under the control of the independents. The majority of the population was largely in favor of the independentists, and those who were not part of the revolutionary forces helped them in various ways. The city hall was taken in a great battle that, despite the considerable loss of life - between 1200 and 2,000 people were killed on both sides - ended in victory for the insurgents. The municipal councillors and the mayor had taken refuge in the underground and had been dislodged by a horde of furious revolutionaries. An hour later, the popular court had passed its sentence and their barely recognizable heads were rolling in the middle of the Place de la Paix.

 

 

New Lyria,
Saint-Alphonse de l'Assomption (now called Saint-Alphonse de la Victoire),
Dagbad Café,
March 23, 1878,
17 h 02

Shortly after the capture of Saint-Alphonse de l'Assomption, a provisional neo-Lyrian government was formed under the initiative of the great leaders of the revolution. Following a plebiscite of the Alphonsois, they had formed a parliament with exactly 100 representatives. People from all walks of life and even some women were present. The meeting place of this provisional parliament was the Dagbad Café, a popular pub not far from the main railway station.
Today the first assembly was held. All the representatives, elected by the Alphonsoi people, were present. The purpose of the meeting was to decide on the basic principles of the future Neo-Lyrian nation. The orations and arguments went on for hours. Although all the representatives put a lot of effort into this great enterprise, three names stood out: Julien Chavannes, Jeanne Maheu and Baptiste Favelot. The first was a writer, poet and journalist of L'Humanité, popular for his communist writings. The second was a young anarchist newly named commander and known for leading the revolutionary forces to victory during the battle of the Place de la Paix. Finally, the third was one of the miners from the North of Saint-Alphonse de l'Assomption and a fervent syndicalist. Although opinions differed on some points, the representatives all agreed on the main principles (see the document below).

Report of the "First Meeting of the Provisional People's Assembly",
Neo-lyrian National Archives

"The future government will be formed by different executive, legislative and judicial commissions. The representatives of these commissions will be elected by universal suffrage. Any citizen of the future Neo-Lyrian nation will be able to run for the position of representative of any of the commissions at the national level. The representatives of these commissions will be removable at any time by a popular plebiscite. "
As the session was dragging on the question of a centralized or federal government, the representatives agreed to postpone it to the next time.The first session of the provisional people's assembly was over.

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by San Castellino
Little error on the dates. (see edit history)

[Florentia]

San Castellino,
Gazallenoa,
Hotel Juenèz - seat of the Council of the Republic,
January 4th, 1879,
16h09,

 

|Letter of Francisco Velledito, Prime Minister.|
|To the President of the Council Ninio Picion.|

"Here, in San Castellino, at the present time and 10 months after the beginning of the New Lyrian War of Independence, living conditions have only deteriorated:

- The population is supplied with ration tickets distributed according to age and profession. This system, dysfunctional and subject to corruption, conflicts of interest, etc., has led to a food shortage that now affects all the countryside without exception and to the development of a thriving black market in the large cities. In addition, the population is tired of enduring this war and having to fight "for a strip of desert sand and a handful of giant cactuses", to quote their words.

- The monteplutillos, the personal militia of general Monteplutos, with who you collaborated, have only succeeded in stabilizing the southern regions of New Lyria and their presence meets with the greatest hostility among the local population. The monteplutillos, hungry for easy gains, do not hesitate to requisition anything they like from the locals, and only the relative surveillance of the government can prevent them from committing exactions on New Lyrian civilians.

- The army, controlled by the socialists and disloyal to the government, openly conspires for the end of the Republic and waits only for the right moment to take power, like a vulture leering at the rotting carcass that San Castellino is becoming.

- The council, broken between the defeatists and the interventionists, meets every two days to find a common directive to follow and only the presence of the presidential guard prevents the two camps from coming to blows (or worse) at each meeting.

- Here is my report, as you requested. I take this opportunity to submit to you my letter of resignation from my position as Prime Minister. Despite my warnings, you have continued this war. So from now on, Mr. President of the Council, be a good apostle and fully assume your actions: you wanted your war, you have it.

- Farewell and good luck, Mr. President of the Council. You will need it.

Signed: Francisco Velledito"

 

Ninio Picion, the President of the Council, rereads the letter a third time. This nervous and desperate little animal is on the verge of a heart attack.

- « How can that pig, that traitor, that B*STARD of Velledito stab me in the back like that! I knew, I knew that I should never have trusted him with his superior little 'perfect gentleman' air! »

The doors open violently and five high-ranking officers, led by General Monteplutos, enter the office. Monteplutos takes out his revolver from his belt and points it on Picion, raising the hammer of his weapon to be ready to shoot. The latter, appalled and plunged into total incomprehension, desperately looks for answers on the impassive faces of the officers.

- « Gentlemen... I am sure that it is a simple misunderstanding and as civilized people we will solve this problem calmly. » Picion said with a frightened look.

- « As a civilized person, you will come with us without arguing, otherwise... » Retorts in his turn the general, raising a second time the hammer of his revolver.

Monteplutos shoots at the portrait of Picion, hanging just above the President. Under the blow, the painting falls to the ground with a huge shock and breaks the frame in two. Picion, trembling like a leaf, followed them without question. The Hotel Juenèz, occupied by monteplutillos armed to the teeth, is crossed quickly. Outside, Monteplutos, the pistol still pointed on Picion, pushes him roughly into a carriage. He orders the driver:

- « Direction to the publishing house of the 'Gazallenoa Today'. »

 

 

Publishing house of the newspaper "Gazallenoa Today" - the most read newspaper in the country,
16h32,

 

- « This is what I am reduced to..." thinks the President of the Council in a fatalistic way, a revolver stuck against his temple, and signing an "agreement".
An agreement attesting to the dissolution of the Republic and the establishment of a military junta led by General Monteplutos to "guarantee the salvation of the nation". The news, accompanied by a photography of the President of the Council Ninio Picion shaking hands with the general Monteplutos, will be published in the evening edition of "Gazallenoa Today". The First Republic has officially come to an end and this is only the beginning. »

Edited August 13, 2021 by San Castellino
Little error on the date. (see edit history)