Novum Romanum Imperium 2.0 -- a Vicky 2 AHD Conversion AAR

varetta said:

Two questions:
1) Will you keep doing 50 years general empire reviews?
2) Will there be an update for Tuesday? :happy:

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1. Definitely 50 year reviews; possibly 25 year reviews.
2. Almost certainly. I've got papers to grade, but I can always take some time out for AAR updating.

scholar said:

Debatable, it is quite possible that a similar idea could have formed, but one which takes some of its basic concepts and twists it into another ideology which can become incredibly popular amongst the masses. Fascism, for instance. Also, neither socialism nor communism (or at least the movement and ideology known in the modern day) were created by Marx, and Engels. Pierre Leroux, Roch, and Lenin deserve those honors, respectively.

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Quite true, with regards to Marx and Engels. My education must be sorely lacking in some aspects, as I've never heard of Pierre Leroux or Roch.

EU3NOOB said:

I disagree about Lenin. He took what he read from earlier socialists and ran with it.

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I think that's exactly what scholar was claiming. Lenin did make genuine changes to socialism, and if we are going to give anybody credit for "inventing" Communism, we could go far worse than selecting Lenin. That being said, we're straying a bit into OT stuff here.

I know what will cure this! An update!

24 November 1841, Imperial Senate, Rome

Agrippa Germanicus beamed like a father with a newborn, and, in a way, he was. In the first Imperial elections, his party had won a sizable victory in the Curia, which meant he would continue to be Chancellor.



The members of the new Curia -- they'd chosen to call themselves Tribunes, as if any were truly anything like the old plebeians -- were predominantly from two parties: the Provincares and the Militares. In a very shrewd move, Chancellor Germanicus had legalized the formerly personae non grata, the Republicares. Given that their main platform had been ensuring voting, and that the Empire had exactly that at the moment, they had gone into coalition with the Provincares. Most observers considered this "coalition" to be purely cosmetic, as the Chancellor most certainly did. The Republicares had no formal party organization and no real leader, so they were happy to let Agrippa speak on their behalf. The real threat had been the Militares, who had positioned themselves at the party of "big business" and military support. Publius Tullius Cicero was no fool, and emphasizing his party's allowance of industrial subsidies convinced some of the most powerful businessmen to support his party. In order to combat this, Agrippa supported a "Temperance League" designed to combat drunkenness in the workplace, a very popular measure with business owners.



He simultaneously appealed to the clergy by cutting taxes on the middle class to 40%. Although the clergy could not legally vote, many of the most important church officials were also nobles, which made sure that the aristocracy, for the most part, would support the Provincares. University professors -- some of whom, albeit very few, were wealthy enough to vote -- applauded the acceptance of Karl Marx into the Empire, particularly when his native Wallonia had grown tired of his accusations against German intellectuals. All of these things, as well as the Regent's open support, helped him secure the edge he needed with the electorate. Some analysts were concerned of the powerful role that the Regent's patronage could have in "choosing" a winner. Still, a win was a win, and Agrippa was proud of what he'd accomplished.

He studied his cabinet appointments with care. In 1841, there were five major cabinet ministries. The Chancellery, the Marshal of the Empire, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Science and Industry, and the increasingly important Ministry of Education. Even under the new constitution, the Marshal could only be removed or appointed by the Regent, which left him with four ministries to fill. In the end, he'd made no changes to two of them: as a goodwill gesture to the Militares, Cicero continued as Minister of Science and Industry, and Benjamin O'Connor remained Foreign Minister. For the recently created Ministry of Education, Agrippa chose Kathleen O'Connor. That established a cabinet of three Provincares and two Militares, which made good sense. Not all of Agrippa's decisions did, and he was particularly concerned about one the Republicares had demanded as their price for support: the abolition of lifetime tenures for Senators. Senators were now elected each year. Since there were no term limits, many Senators could still effectively hold the office for life, but that still bothered Agrippa. He worried it might cost him support in the Senate elections, but there was little he could do. Valerian had also instituted the creation of another new Ministry; the Ministry of Information. The Regent, more than most, recognized the critical relevance of intelligence. This was a Ministry that Valerian had personally built, and for the moment he held the office. The constitution technically made the only office not subject to review by the Chancellor and the Curia the Marshal's. However, given Valerian's extensive expertise, nobody quarreled with his choices.

Yet.
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14 March 1842, Foreign Minister's Office, Rome

Benjamin O'Connor found himself working with Regent Valerian in his capacity as Minister of Information much more frequently than he would have preferred. Benjamin had no personal dislike of the Regent, but he did... mistrust his motives from time to time. Although Valerian had wisely chosen a different name, the Ministry he was actually building seemed to be the old Ministry of the Interior; a ministry most notable for abusing Roman citizens and employing some of the most deplorable human beings ever to speak the Latin language. Benjamin had no fears that Valerian would abuse his power, but he was almost positive an eventual successor might. There were no formal police agencies at an Imperial level in Rome; each provincia and regio handled any instances of crime within their respective jurisdictions. That meant that there were limits to the threat a heavy-handed Minister of Information could impose on the Empire, but all it took was one Senate decree -- or an Imperial one -- and that could change.

O'Connor put all such thoughts to the side for the moment, as he was about to meet with the Regent to discuss matters of importance to both of them. Valerian, infallibly punctual as always, arrived at 10:00 AM.

"Good morning, Regent."

"And a good morning to you, Minister. How is your wife?"

Benjamin smiled. "Well, thank you. Shannon is resting peacefully for the first time in a month; little James has been visiting his aunt Kathleen."

Valerian smiled back, but it was purely formal. "I am pleased to hear that. Shall we get to the day's business?"

The Minister nodded. "Russia defeated Poland, acquiring Ekaterinodar. Colombia's government was overthrown by Reactionaries; that's something of a concern, as South America is vulnerable to such things at the moment."

"I'm not too worried about that, Minister. When we signed the treaty ending the Civil War, we effectively ended our ability to influence events in that area. My only cause for concern is whether or not they can influence events here. Given their complete lack of power, I am comfortable letting things take care of themselves. You may find this report helpful."



Benjamin carefully studied the report. He set down with an air of satisfaction. "It is good to see that the Jacobins are at an ebb at the moment. Perhaps the Chancellor has done us some good in this area."

"Perhaps."

"Sweden took a small piece of land in Africa from Brazil; nothing serious there. Oh, here's the latest report on the Great Powers and our relations with Japan."



"Very good. It looks like the only serious Great Powers are in Europe and South America."

"That's true, Regent. North America is still much too fractured to have much of a role in international affairs, and Asia remains a little too primitive to play a decisive role."

"I see. Was there anything else you wished to discuss?"

Benjamin paused to think for a moment, then shook his head gently. "I believe that's it, Regent."

"Then I bid you good day, Minister."

After Valerian left, Benjamin couldn't help but breathing a little easier. There was just something about the Russian that bothered him, although he couldn't quite figure out what.
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30 January 1843, Ministry of Education, Rome

Kathleen O'Connor addressed the young man across from her with some trepidation. She always found her conversations with Karl Marx very difficulty, partially due to a language barrier (Marx could not speak Latin and she could not speak German; they used English, but Marx's command of that language was hardly exemplary), but mostly because he was developing a very powerful following, socially and politically. The current vogue was for translating the classics, which slightly decreased Marx's stature, intellectually, but that would probably pass in a few years.



Marx had formally requested a position of some importance within the Imperial administration given his election to the Imperial Senate in the elections a couple of weeks ago. The Republicares were still formally banned from holding seats in the Senate, so Marx had run as a Provincare from Baden, which was geographically close to his home while still being within the Empire. He was the youngest Senator by far at 25. Valerian's instructions had been to treat him with respect, but she could tell he was worried about the potential political threat he posed. He'd begun discussing, strictly among friends at this point, some ideas for "reforming" capitalism that might prove to be dangerous. His constituents were unaware of these radical tendencies, as even the Republicares wanted nothing to do with any serious reform of capitalism. In fact, the only reason the Republicares had approached about running for the Senate was his strict atheism, something that the Republicares held very dear. The Regent's first tactic was to offer him an important post as Ambassador to the United States of Central America, the newest allies of the Empire.



When he'd declined on the ground that he did not know Spanish, Valerian essentially dumped him on Kathleen. Marx's doctorate made him a natural fit for the Ministry of Education, but the question was which position could she give him that would satisfy his ego while denying him a real voice or authority? That was her implied mission, and it was one she knew she would find difficult. She gathered her thoughts as she heard a knock on the door.

"Good afternoon, Doctor Marx. Please have a seat."

"Thank you, Frau Minister."

"How may I assist you today?"

Marx laughed humorlessly. "Madam, let us not pretend that you do not know why I am here. It is an insult to both of us."

Kathleen shrugged. "Very well. What post would you find acceptable, Doctor Marx? We would be delighted to have you in our government."

Marx barked a genuine laugh at that. "'Delighted', is it? How very charming. I beg you, do not try to win me with flowery phrases. I know full well that your Regent does not like or trust me, and I must acknowledge that the feeling is mutual. He is, how do you say, trying to buy me off with a sinecure. Let me assure you, I will accept no such post."

Kathleen O'Connor stared levelly at the German. "You clearly have something specific in mind."

"I do. I will settle for nothing less than a ministerial post. Yours, to be precise."

"I am in no position to give you that, Doctor Marx. You would need to talk to the Chancellor, and you would need to be confirmed by the Senate."

Marx showed a look of genuine surprise. "You, personally, do not object?"

It was Kathleen's term to laugh. "I'm an old woman, Doctor Marx. I took this post as a favor to the Chancellor. What I really want is to live out my few remaining days here with my family. You are married, are you not?"

Karl nodded brusquely. "I am."

"Has your wife joined you here in Rome?"

"She has."

"Then, properly speaking, you wish a job that will keep you here, with no traveling?" Marx considered rejecting that outright, but some small part of him forced him to acknowledge its truth. "Then, perhaps, the best post I could offer you would be Second Deputy Minister of Curricula. You would be responsible for helping create detailed plans of education for all the Universities in the Empire. In particular, the Senate voted to fund a program of further training for our bureaucrats and civil servants that you would be instrumental in implementing."



Karl Marx, again surprised by a genuine offer, considered the merits of her proposal. He'd be, in a practical sense, the number two person in the Ministry. He'd have the opportunity to influence thousands, perhaps millions, of young minds. He could continue to pursue his own interests in political economy while receiving a reasonable salary. The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. Finally, after another minute or two of thought, he grunted, "I accept" and shook her hand. For her part, Kathleen was counting on the influence of his wife, the salary, and his responsibilities to mellow him out, to keep him from being too radical.

Only time would prove who was right.
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18 October 1843, Sydney, Australia

Samuel Morse, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Southampton Shipping, carefully examined the blueprints for some of the new administration buildings that were needed for the newest colony of Southampton Shipping: South Australia.



His company had already proven very resourceful politically. They'd convinced the Emperor of Japan to sign a new sphere of influence agreement with Rome in exchange for technical assistance in modernizing their economy.



The death of the elderly and bitterly disappointed Robespierre in 1841 had opened a new spot on the board, and the company had decided to enroll its first Roman: Marcus Porcius Cato Decimus. Decimus was still nominally the head of the Protectores, but his party just barely maintained its course in the Senate. Knowing that he'd never get a shot at being Chancellor again, since the Curia had completely ignored his party, Decimus bought into the company partly as a way of satisfying his own ego, his own desire to feel important. When he recognized the actual political power that Southampton Shipping possessed, he was even more pleased with his decision. Decimus had always been gifted at the day-to-day give and take of politics, which made his addition particularly valuable. Decimus was already paying dividends; he brokered a new cut in the tax rate for both the middle class and the rich.



Morse and Decimus together worked to minimize the impact of the other members of the board; although they were somewhat displeased at being forced out, Morse used his personal fortune to buy them out. The former ten-person board of directors was now down to five: in addition to Morse and Decimus, there was a British industrialist named Edward Vickers; a wealthy Spaniard named Juan Carlos de Farnese, who was a distant relative of the Regent; and the Dutch shipbuilder Willem van Dijk, directly descended from the famous Imperial general Karel van Dijk. All five pooled their resources, founding a unique and powerful organization called, simply, the Syndicate. Southampton Shipping was the public face, but what the Syndicate truly wanted was, essentially, the perfect capitalist monopoly: the union of employers and employees, working together to maximize profit. The Syndicate was unique in that disputes were taken directly to the five member board, whose decisions were always binding. An important step in that process, again instigated by Decimus, was the formal legalization of non-Socialist trade unions.



Southampton Shipping registered its union immediately, along with Naylor Vickers & Company and Van Dijk Wharves. That all three unions had the same board of directors was a well-kept secret. Nobody even thought the name "Syndicate" in public, let alone mentioned it. The combination of labor union and producer's cartel would likely be met with suspicion and fear by the Imperial government, which led to the second purpose of Samuel Morse: founding a new headquarters in Sydney. He'd already planned to expand the Syndicate's business with the recent revolution in Norway; the Norwegian Reactionaries had already indicated that they wished to sell some of their industries -- under the table, of course -- for a quick infusion of cash.

Only one thing remained before the Syndicate's power would be absolute -- a Syndicate-friendly Chancellor. It remained to be seen how, or if, they could acquire that.
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16 January 1844, Imperial Curia, Rome

Whenever Agrippa Germanicus addressed the public, he typically did so in the Senate. This was partially because the audience in the Senate was much more austere and politically "acceptable" and partly because he didn't care for the Republicares, who were seated in the Curia but not the Senate. But today was a very special day, and represented a key triumph for his regime. He'd planned simply to announce the successful colonization of Queensland, Australia, but had much better news now.



"Tribunes of the Curia, I bid you welcome. Many of you are now aware that Imperial glory continues to spread even thousands of miles away; Queensland, Australia, has formally been annexed to the Roman Empire as a colony under our protection. I would like to congratulate the Roman Colonial Company and its CEO, Mr. Edward Vickers, on his tremendous achievement."

At this, there was some respectably vigorous applause. Mr. Vickers was an almost complete unknown to the members of the Curia or the Senate outside of Britannia, but the Roman Colonial Company was a very profitable concern that many Senators and Tribunes had contributed to, including the Chancellor, so they were really applauding their own bank accounts getting slightly larger. Once the applause died down, Chancellor Germanicus continued on to the next item on his agenda.

"Senator Karl Marx has been named acting Minister of Education with the passing of our beloved Kathleen O'Connor, who died as many of you know two months ago from consumption. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family in their time of need. The business of government must go on, and Senator Marx was recently promoted to Deputy Minister following the retirement of Henri Boudreau. He awaits official confirmation by the new Senate in two weeks."

Many of the Tribunes were pleasantly surprised; the rest, of course, were unpleasantly surprised. Marx's brash personal style, his long winded speeches, and his political agenda brushed many politicians the wrong way, but his genuine concern for the lower classes of society had won him many admirers among the more liberal Tribunes. Even his bitterest enemies respected him, and that counted for a lot. His confirmation was expected to be extremely controversial, unlike most of those past, and it could take months for the actual process to finish. Normally, a simple majority vote would be sufficient, but he was divisive enough that not all the Provincares would vote for him. Agrippa smiled brilliantly, but waited for those present to work out the political implications before he finished with his grand finale.

"Lastly, I am pleased to announce that Regent Valerian has instructed me that a Grand Fair shall be held to celebrate the achievements of the Roman Empire, beginning in May of this year, and that we will have dignitaries from all over the world to join in the celebration!"



This time the applause was thunderous and unmistakable. There wasn't a single Roman alive who didn't enjoy rubbing Roman superiority in the faces of other people, and this would be a superb opportunity to do exactly that. Best of all, nobody would be killed in the process, unlike the traditional way of rubbing Roman superiority in the faces of other people, which was war. Agrippa Germanicus basked in the glory of the announcement, serene in the confidence that, for the moment at least, he couldn't be any more popular.
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29 August 1844, Chambers of the Imperial Regent, Rome

Valerian, after quickly checking to make sure his chambers were empty, groaned audibly. He'd done his best to convince the Senators to postpone the vote on the new Trade Union Act supported by Senator Marx, but the Senate had surprisingly voted for it already, 75 to 25.



When the first confirmation hearing in January had ended with no vote taken and a lot of unhappy Senators, Karl Marx surprised the audience with his decision to withdraw his name from the candidacy. Given Marx's extreme ambition, most of the Senators were puzzled by his choice. Valerian was not; he knew that Marx had taken aim at an all together different goal. Marx was obsessed with the working class. He didn't think it was right that Roman law imposed a taxation restriction for all those eligible to vote or be elected to office. Marx even publicly endorsed the rising suffrage movement, which had been suppressed earlier by the Regent's agents, only to rise again much stronger. By passing the trade union law, Marx accomplished two things: first, he made independent trade unions of all types legal. Second, by authoring a reform that would be passed instead of expanding suffrage, he knew that many of the most radical suffragists would take arms and join the Jacobins, which was clearly the only way radical reform of the Marx type would ever get passed.

Therefore, to Valerian, it was no mystery why Marx had pushed for it. Former Chancellor Decimus, who rarely spoke at the Senate, had slammed Marx for hypocrisy, championing the rights of the working class while being very well off himself. Unfortunately, despite his excellent point, nobody listened. Karl Marx had very cleverly linked union reform with Roman superiority, showing that Rome could once again lead the rest of the world in allowing workers to organize to agitate for better working conditions. That other countries had similar laws was, of course, conveniently ignored. Decimus's party, mobilized by their leader, had been the only votes against the new bill. Angry with Marx, Valerian had actually appointed Decimus to the Ministry of Education, and he'd sailed through confirmation hearings. Decimus was still a very popular politician in some circles, and he'd managed to get some pretty powerful names to support his campaign, including Samuel Morse, now widely considered the wealthiest man in the Empire.

Petty revenge wouldn't stop the real problem: the Jacobins. Realizing that the Empire could suppress the Jacobins easily and ruthlessly, a handful of Viennese Jacobins slipped across the Atlantic to the former Austrian colonies in South America, now simply called Austria. His agents suggested that Jacobins would easily seize the Austrian government by December of 1844. Further reports suggested that Ireland intended to expand from Tierra del Fuego into Austria, which might mean a return to Europe for those Jacobins, something that would be a nightmare for Valerian. If there was anything worse than Jacobins, it was successful Jacobins.

The Regent knew there was only one solution to the problem. As much as Valerian had grown to trust Agrippa Germanicus, the Provincares offered no real support for the drastic measures that might be needed if the Jacobins could not be restrained. That meant he needed to appeal to two major groups: the Militares and soldiers.

But how could he do both?
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8 July 1845, office of the Chancellor, Rome

Agrippa Germanicus feared his term as Chancellor might be coming to an end. Valerian had made no move to replace him, and nobody had tried to mobilize a vote of no-confidence, which had to come from the Curia. Agrippa reflected that it was much harder to remove somebody than to appoint them, given how many more votes were needed to fire them, but he could always be replaced at the next election, even if his party won, according to the constitution. One or two Provincares had even mumbled about replacing him as party leader in favor of the increasingly popular Karl Marx. Marx was still a Republicare in name, but for a shot at his ultimate prize, the Chancellery, he would probably formally switch parties, if that's what was needed.

His popularity began to erode when three powerful figures -- Militares leader Cicero, Protectores leader Decimus, and Marx -- teamed up, under Valerian's direction, to pass a new budget.



For the first time in quite a while, the military would be fully funded. Worse still for Agrippa, a 5% tax cut for the poor was added as part of the package. Agrippa's base had always been liberal-minded nobility and those capitalists who preferred minimal government interference. He'd failed them both by "allowing" this bill to be passed in the Senate. As it discussed the Imperial tax rate, not a tax rate for one of the provinciae, the Curia could not be involved. All it took was a few radical Provincares to join Marx and the bill was passed over the objections of 46 Senators. Agrippa's attempts to gain an override in the Curia were foiled, as he had no chance of getting the 2/3rds vote he needed to overturn. Decimus gained a few more Provincare supporters with his official support of the French professor Emile Durkheim's program of "functionalism."



Durkheim, thank goodness, was completely apolitical. The effects of his research would also reinforce another key constituent of Germanicus's, the liberal noble-clergy, but Agrippa was still very uneasy. The latest reports on the Jacobins were not good at all.



But perhaps the most frightening news of all was that, in some corners of the Empire, cries poured out for revolution, for a greater voice for all Roman citizens, even the extension of citizenship to non-Europeans. With the expansion of Australia even farther, this "Springtime of Nations" was, in Agrippa's opinion, far worse than any Jacobin uprising. At least the Jacobins could be crushed by an army.





How could anybody suppress an idea? Perhaps more troubling, should anybody suppress an idea? These were unpleasant thoughts, even for a liberal like Agrippa.

Something had to give.
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Took a little longer than I thought, but I hope you enjoyed this! I hadn't intended to make Marx a major character, but with so much discussion of him, I felt he needed a bigger role than I'd envisioned.

loki100 said:

again great stuff ... but then you know that ... impressive the way you touch on so much and interweave the various characters

clearly things are going to get rough in the empire soon though, with that wave of liberal radicalism on top of the existing nationalism.

Now to do the mod thing, I'm afraid:

the debate between the last 2 points probably went over the edge at the end into OT. Since Avindian is using real people its natural and reasonable that their characters and acts in our time line is used in the comments to discuss how Avindian presents them. However, simple statements about your personal views on Marx/Lenin/et al belong in the OT forum not in an AAR.

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Vrael_1492 said:

This. :rofl:

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Mr. Santiago said:

Marx is prooving to be a really sneaky fellow, using his position in the Gov't to ignite further rebellion

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Thanks all for the very kind words! I'm afraid that the new update may be a little delayed; I really have to finish grading these papers, so I can't allow this to distract me. Fortunately, I should be able to finish them in a couple of days and get back into a regular AAR rotation.

varetta said:

Great update and luck with your papers!!!

By the way, have you thought if you will create Israel? And what about your next conquest?

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I'm not sure if I'd create Israel or not; I might, just because there's no bonus for Jerusalem in Vicky 2. As far as my next conquest? You're going to have to wait a while. A long while.

Anjwalker said:

I just wanted to say, your AAR is really enjoyable to read. You really make things come to life and feel realistic.

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Thanks for the kind words!

Duke of Britain said:

Bah, the Romans are the only true owners of Judea, there's no way you would release your holy city, Jerusalem, riiight?

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We'll see what happens

EU3NOOB said:

Bah, it'll ruin your borders. Make 'em fight for their independence if they really want it! But why would they want to? Being Roman is awesome!

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If only everybody else would agree!

humancalculator said:

Subscribified!

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Excellent!

So, I've been away from my AARs for a while, but I'm caught up on work (or will be soon), and this is currently second in line for an update, so expect one Wednesday-ish.