The Empire Strikes Back - Part 3

[zenphoenix]

We live in prospering times, yet we must not forget the common people and their efforts in getting us here. Already we have heard rumors of Jacobins bringing down foreign governments at alarming rates, and that must not happen here.

~Senator Alexios Doukas

 

[NiccoTesla]

(( Phew, perhaps ten years between updates is a bit much! I'll let you reply for a little while and prep the pictures for the next part. And maybe just do five years next time. ))

((I would agree, historically developments were proceeding very fast right now, I am sure that there is plenty of content that is being cut out because of forcing 10 years into a post at this point. Feel free to shorten them, especially as developments like Great Wars appear and the Empire faces them.))

Your Imperial Majesty, I speak to you today to address a dire issue that is facing our Glorious Empire. Despite the increased research into collectivist economics, (a move I applaud) the class divide is only growing greater. I speak on this not to denigrate the aristocrats or plutocrats among us, but to point to an issue that will cause strife in this Empire. If the working class cannot trust the upper class to treat them as human beings, the reverse sentiment is at least understandable in its origin. The rising tide of Nationalism is also trying to subvert the ends of the Empire. To this end I must call again for the following policies, at the very least:

1. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
2. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
3. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
4. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
5. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.
6. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.
7. The appointment of powerful regional governors for each separate nationality still distinguished in the Empire. These governors are to be selected from members of the populace, and not appointed to a Greek as has been done in previous such situations.

~Your Citizen, Senator Nicodemo Theodosio

 

[Andre Massena]

I am glad to see Bavaria humbled. Those barbarians must be taught to respect the might of the Empire.

I am somewhat skeptical of these press "reforms" but it could be beneficial to the Empire to let all our citizens speak their mind.

-Senator Moustakas

 

[austrianemporer]

We must seek greater trade with our Indian tributaries. Offer them the Orient while we mop up the uncivilized savages of Europe, Western Asia, the Americas, and Africa. While they take the casualties, we must exploit the situation. Let everyone obey the divine law of Rome!

-Senator Andronikos Palaiologos

 

[Arakhor]

6. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.
7. The appointment of powerful regional governors for each separate nationality still distinguished in the Empire. These governors are to be selected from members of the populace, and not appointed to a Greek as has been done in previous such situations.

"Senator, if we do not appoint Greeks to positions of power, how do we expect our ideals, society and influences to be spread properly? All must speak (and think!) Greek in our great empire."

 

[NiccoTesla]

"Senator, if we do not appoint Greeks to positions of power, how do we expect our ideals, society and influences to be spread properly? All must speak (and think!) Greek in our great empire."

Am I not a non-Greek standing before you now? Do I not espouse the glory and potential of this great Empire? I speak in Greek now to speak to you all, Senators, but when I was born, I first learned Spanish. The ideals of Rome have spread to the furthest reach of the Empire and beyond. I am here as a voice for the "radicals" and I must say what the honest opinion of the citizen in the reaches of the Empire is.

That opinion, radical as it might seem, is that Rome was never a Greek Empire. Rome was an Empire for and of its people. It provided clean water, medicine, sanitation, roads, and countless other public works. The re-establishment of these projects would go a long way towards lowering public dissent and revolt.

~ Senator Nicodemo Theodosio

 

[austrianemporer]

Am I not a non-Greek standing before you now? Do I not espouse the glory and potential of this great Empire? I speak in Greek now to speak to you all, Senators, but when I was born, I first learned Spanish. The ideals of Rome have spread to the furthest reach of the Empire and beyond. I am here as a voice for the "radicals" and I must say what the honest opinion of the citizen in the reaches of the Empire is.

That opinion, radical as it might seem, is that Rome was never a Greek Empire. Rome was an Empire for and of its people. It provided clean water, medicine, sanitation, roads, and countless other public works. The re-establishment of these projects would go a long way towards lowering public dissent and revolt.

~ Senator Nicodemo Theodosio

Ah yes but you have assimilated into Greek culture. I agree with many of your points. However, I also wish to include greater integration of Romanized minorities into the Greek culture. We must make the Empire stronger than before and that includes assimilating those who are minorities.

 

[NiccoTesla]

Ah yes but you have assimilated into Greek culture. I agree with many of your points. However, I also wish to include greater integration of Romanized minorities into the Greek culture. We must make the Empire stronger than before and that includes assimilating those who are minorities.

Asimilado!? Me presento ante ustedes como un romano, no un griego! Mis compatriotas sienten lo mismo que yo! Somos romanos, los griegos no!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahem, Senators, to call me a Greek, or assimilated, shows great disregard for the value of other cultures. The Roman Empire of old looked at each new culture it continued with interest and passion. Many of the gods on the old pagan pantheon were adopted from other cultures. The Roman Empire is not an Empire of Greeks, and continuing to pursue culturally destructive policies will lead to rebellions from nationalists. I will state this publicly now, that if I am again called an assimilated Greek, I will be happy to settle this elsewhere.

 

[austrianemporer]

Asimilado!? Me presento ante ustedes como un romano, no un griego! Mis compatriotas sienten lo mismo que yo! Somos romanos, los griegos no!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahem, Senators, to call me a Greek, or assimilated, shows great disregard for the value of other cultures. The Roman Empire of old looked at each new culture it continued with interest and passion. Many of the gods on the old pagan pantheon were adopted from other cultures. The Roman Empire is not an Empire of Greeks, and continuing to pursue culturally destructive policies will lead to rebellions from nationalists. I will state this publicly now, that if I am again called an assimilated Greek, I will be happy to settle this elsewhere.

Spoken like a radical socialist! The old order will always be defended by those who were the first Romans in this country, the Greeks! We accept every culture but we expect those cultures to follow Roman laws and Roman rules! Let the nationalists rise, our army will crush them! Rome is a massive multi- ethnic nation, I am willing to tolerate minorities but not extreme radicals. How dare you talk about paganism in the sacred Christian halls here! How dare you talk about our policies like they are destructive! How dare you talk about rebellions as a reasonable thing! I shall tolerate this as free speech but I vehemently disagree with you.

-Senator Andronikos Palaiologos, Duke of Nicaea

 

[NiccoTesla]

Spoken like a radical socialist! The old order will always be defended by those who were the first Romans in this country, the Greeks! We accept every culture but we expect those cultures to follow Roman laws and Roman rules! Let the nationalists rise, our army will crush them! Rome is a massive multi- ethnic nation, I am willing to tolerate minorities but not extreme radicals. How dare you talk about paganism in the sacred Christian halls here! How dare you talk about our policies like they are destructive! How dare you talk about rebellions as a reasonable thing! I shall tolerate this as free speech but I vehemently disagree with you.

-Senator Andronikos Palaiologos, Duke of Nicaea

The old order has fallen across the world. This was a revolution of the people, not the aristocracy, and that is why the honorable Senator defends against it. He relies on an outdated institution: the aristocratic class. I kneel to the Empress! Not to you sir, never to the aristocrat class! Even here its power has been limited severely, the authority of the bureaucrats upheld. While it is not the ultimate injustice the Communists and Socialists rally against, they are the front line in the class warfare I speak of. It is them who would see all other viewpoints squashed, who would ensure that a child is never taught the language of his parents.

And while you extoll the virtue of the legion, do not forget your history, Senator. The army was involved in almost every political instability of the Roman Empire, and will continue today. I am sure if you asked the common soldier, his views would differ from yours. I wager that a large percentage of the soldiers in the Roman Empire are involved in radical groups!

Unlike the honorable Senator, I wish to maintain the borders and strength of this Empire. I merely see that refusing to accept the power the people have in our Empire is unfair and will lead to nothing but ruin. I would not see the Empire fall in my lifetime, not ever!

 

[zenphoenix]

Alexios sighed.

Muttering to himself so that only he can hear:
Now all we need are some ultranationalists. We could call them...fascists?

Speaking louder:
Please, enough squabbling! We are here to discuss the future of the Empire, not argue over who's ideology is better than the other in serving the Empire! We must discuss things peacefully and without argument, so that we can come to a conclusion agreed upon by all sides! Isn't the point of the Senate for us to work together in deciding the Empire's path in the coming years?
We are at a crossroads, senators. Everything is changing. Not only are borders and technologies changing, but minds are changing. The Empire hasn't experienced such change since the rise of Islam in the 7th century AD. If we don't change now like we did then to survive, we will stumble and fall apart. If we change too fast or too radically, we will lose ourselves and what the Empire stands for. Now is not the time for ideological factionalism. It is this kind of arguing that tore apart Germany and Russia and put them under the boot of the Jacobins and allowed the Cult to operate practically unmolested in foreign lands. We absolutely cannot let that happen here.

~Alexios Doukas, Doux of Greece and Minister of Security

 

[Arakhor]

"Whilst I agree with Senator Doukas, I do wonder who Senator Theodosias thinks the Basilissa is, other than the matriarch of Constantinople's greatest family. Many of us in the palace are part of the very best families - the Angeloi and the Doukai are just two."

 

[BBBD316]

My Red Colleague and Trusted Friend Nicodemo,

As those of our party constantly try to impress upon the Senate the world is changing, the common person yearns for change. We see what happens when the conversatives and reactionaries think that there schemes and ploys will keep those beneath them in place yet we see how their greed blinds them and allows a new power to grow in India all cause they couldn't control the people well enough. Even now our sister party in India makes great gains in this new state.

*Two Burly Senate Gaurds rise from their seats and attempt force Αιδεν back into his seat*

Aha, now we see the violence inherent in the system.

HELP, HELP! I'M BEING REPRESSED!

Αιδεν Γκρέυ

 

[zenphoenix]

((Wait, my character would never do that! Are we allowed to make actions for other players?))

((Also, he would not be sitting near your character.))

 

[Arakhor]

((If this is anything like normal parliaments, people will be sitting with their factions and I'm fairly certain that the conservative, liberal and radical factions will all be sitting apart.))

 

[Andre Massena]

Speaking of India it is a shame that those heathens believe they are too good for Roman protection. Hopefully we will still be able to foster further economic ties and prevent the Rusians from entering the market.

-Moustakas

 

[NiccoTesla]

Speaking of India it is a shame that those heathens believe they are too good for Roman protection. Hopefully we will still be able to foster further economic ties and prevent the Rusians from entering the market.

-Moustakas

I would agree on this, continuing our history of peaceful international economic cooperation is ideal.

My Red Colleague and Trusted Friend Nicodemo,

As those of our party constantly try to impress upon the Senate the world is changing, the common person yearns for change. We see what happens when the conversatives and reactionaries think that there schemes and ploys will keep those beneath them in place yet we see how their greed blinds them and allows a new power to grow in India all cause they couldn't control the people well enough. Even now our sister party in India makes great gains in this new state.

*Senators Doukas and Moustakas rise from their seats and attempt force Αιδεν back into his seat*

Aha, now we see the violence inherent in the system.

HELP, HELP! I'M BEING REPRESSED!

Αιδεν Γκρέυ

To the honorable senator, I would encourage a little more restraint. The theories of communism espoused in less developed countries would not serve the material conditions in place here. While I would be happy to see the communists there take power, it has little effect on a nation as developed as the Empire. We must endeavor to create new lines of thought that serve to illuminate the path to revolution for a Roman.

((Kinda curious what the rebel situation is actually like, I imagine its starting to get bad. Not sure how militancy would go with Roman Empire. A bad event could screw things up))

 

[BBBD316]

Do we still maintain an alliance with India or have we lost all diplomatic power in this region?

((Changed previous post slightly, apologies for any liberties taken))

 

[zenphoenix]

I would think we are still allied with India. We may have lost all of our influence in the region in helping with the unification process, and if we still have some influence, I believe that it will presently wither away once India reaches Great Power status, which it should probably reach within a year or two due to the resulting prestige, its extremely large population, and industrial capacity.

~Doukas

 

[austrianemporer]

The old order has fallen across the world. This was a revolution of the people, not the aristocracy, and that is why the honorable Senator defends against it. He relies on an outdated institution: the aristocratic class. I kneel to the Empress! Not to you sir, never to the aristocrat class! Even here its power has been limited severely, the authority of the bureaucrats upheld. While it is not the ultimate injustice the Communists and Socialists rally against, they are the front line in the class warfare I speak of. It is them who would see all other viewpoints squashed, who would ensure that a child is never taught the language of his parents.

And while you extoll the virtue of the legion, do not forget your history, Senator. The army was involved in almost every political instability of the Roman Empire, and will continue today. I am sure if you asked the common soldier, his views would differ from yours. I wager that a large percentage of the soldiers in the Roman Empire are involved in radical groups!

Unlike the honorable Senator, I wish to maintain the borders and strength of this Empire. I merely see that refusing to accept the power the people have in our Empire is unfair and will lead to nothing but ruin. I would not see the Empire fall in my lifetime, not ever!

I am a man of the people. Each and every person is a human, I am a fierce proponent of reform. I agreed with your social reform, remember that! The aristocracy support the reactionaries, I am not a reactionary. You may call me a conservative but I am not an old fool nor a young radical. You are the man of the radical nationalists! The army was involved everywhere! The only reason we exist now and we are here now is because of the legions! Some may have radicalized but our officers will keep them in check. I wish to bring civilization to the rest of the world. You must seek the greater good!