Chapter 30: A Fist of Iron
The Ascension of Emperor Alexander III the rightful heir was welcomed by much of the upper classes, a Hardline Emperor who would shift Cathay back into the Anti-Revolutionary Cause. Among the Lower classes and intellectuals however Alexander's ascension and change of course was seen not only as dangerous but completly reactionary for Cathay and her people as a whole.
Alexander's first move was to finish a longtime Plan of his since childhood, the Completion of a Grand Palace of the Khitan Royalty outside the capital, free of the influence of the growing factions that sought power over the Absolute Monarch. A small town outside the capital named Geel was chosen as the site and construction would begin. Though it would be a massive expense, and in the eyes of many an unnecessary vanity project in the face of crisis in America and growing unrest at home.
The Completed Palace of Leel, Named the Palace of Mirrors by Alexander's personal architect would be something to behold. Mass amounts of expense from the most powerful Emperor in the world would amount to a complex to put even the once great forbidden city to shame. The Massive complex contained apparatus of government as well as being a simple vacation destination for the Ruling Family though many in the Capital felt its construction and Alexander's movement of his primary residence to the Palace was something of a Betrayal.
With the nobility such a move however was highly popular and the divide within Cathay only deepened as Construction was finished and other factors at home soon drove the Empire into crisis.
Famine, caused by the Wars in Europe and a particularly bad harvest in Cathay had been a final straw on the camel's back. With the lower classes starving and much of the Government's expenses going into warfare or frivolities like the Palace of Mirrors unrest became to quickly spread. Unrest would become strikes in the major cities, and Strikes soon became Riots. With the Army deployed in North America and on the borders of Germania Imperial forces were slow to respond and soon Riots turned to revolution.
Masses of Peasantry, led by intellectuals much the same as what had happened in Greece stormed local armories and constables looking to seize armaments. First in Antwerp but throughout the major cities, especially Paris which had been left in Squalor for the last century as more coastal cities absorbed trade and influence the Old city once had.
The Demands of the Rebel leadership were simple, liberty, property and representation all enforced by the government. When thier demands were not heard the Rebels stormed Antwerp and marched towards Alexander's new Capital at Leel with intent to bring them in person.
Alexander however was not willing to side and wait for the rebels to bring their demands to his door. The Emperor rode off to meet his returning armies and lead them himself alongside his trusted Commander of the Army of the Rhine, Filippo Sumagati.
There was also a matter of an Heir. Alexander was old and unmarried, as the Eldest son of Emperor Bernat-Aton, and sought to address that concern immediately, Rather than risk wasting time, Alexander would marry noble mistress Alice of the Xiaokhitai in a private ceremony in the country and legitimize his Trueborn Son Arthur to succeed him should he die.
Meanwhile Imperial troops began to once again trickle in to prevent a Rebel Takeover of the Castle. At Fort Morgan in Antwerp harbour the Rebels had begun a siege and the Army of Holland rode south to liberate them. Outnumbered two to one the Army of Holland Commanded by Captain Bernard Van Klein bravely resisted the Rebel onslaught until support could arrive but it would be a hard fought battle, and Khitan Blood brought by Khitan guns would run in the streets for the first time in Antwerp's history.
Meanwhile Emperor Alexander's plan to deal with the rebels would be to isolate them to the Northern cities and slowly but surely move inwards from all directions and defeat the main rebel host in one glorious battle like the Emperors of Old, thus Bookending the Revolution and Establishing Alexander's own legacy as Emperor in One brilliant master stroke. Alexander's Generals however were skeptical of this idea and while the Emperor positioned for his grand battle the Khitan Heartland was bleeding.
News from the Capital however was grim, Captain Bernard's valiant last stand had failed and his troops demoralized either defected or fled the city to take up defensive positions.
Disaster struck again with the some say convenient death of Emperor Alexander III. Supposably the Emperor was said to have died on the campaign trail, but many of his generals would remember Alexander III getting into several heated Arguments with field marshall Sumagati over the loss of Antwerp and how to proceed. Alexander wanted his battle and was determined to face the Rebels in a field at full strength to symbolically defeat the revolution and for the world to watch, Sumugati knew well enough that the situation needed to be contained now before the capital fell as it could mean a complete collapse of the country.
With the Emperor's death in the next few days many suspected, but nothing was done, the Nation was in Crisis and now the New and barely legitimate Alice of Xiaokhitai was in control of the Empire. General Sumagati wasted no time ordering the Empress Consort and Prince Regent to at Bourgogne, within the country for symbolism purposes but well out of the rebellious north's region of control. Then Sumugati marched North as fast as possible to save the Capital from Rebel occupation and in record time would arrive just as the Imperial Garrison had begun to resort to eating rats to endure the siege.
With the Emperor's death a close secret, the Northern Cities continued to operate on the assumption that the Royal family had abandoned them and the riots continued to worsen and organize. Paris was well and truly lost by most expectations as well as much of the Imperial Heartland save Leel and the Capital. This would be where General Sumagati would focus the majority of his forces as it soon became apparent to operate on any assumption he could win a field battle against a combined force of over four times his number was complete fantasy.
Under cover of Night Imperial Forces returned to the capital and opened fire on the besieging Rebel Army. Heavily outnumbered himself the Gambit would be to use artillery and as much of his army as possible to fake the illusion of a far superior force. The Gamble worked and The rebels within Antwerp itself broke by Noon the next morning, having lost half their number but unknowingly having almost completly wiped out Sumagati's regulars.
However, the tipping point had been established, The Capital was free, and the General wasted no time declaring martial shall and Conscripting up Thousands more to fight for the Royalist Cause once he Produced the Royal infant from Burgoyne.
The revolution however was only paused. Paris still remained and British and Greek advisors had arrived in the country to ensure things went smoothly for their favored winners of what was being called the Khitan Revolution. General Sumagati however had no intention of losing and together with the Empress Consort decided it best to recall all American troops, This war would need to be won, and it would need to be won in such a way another revolution could not rise up once he himself had his back turned.
Expecting to Need the Entire Army in Europe, Empress Consort Alice signed the Treaty of Brabant, Granting Independence to the United States of America. After almost twenty years of Revolution the Americans had succeeded and became the last Nation in the Americas to declare their independence from their overlord.
The American Republic however had problems, as when the time to form a government came things quickly looked as if they would splinter between the various provinces. New Antwerp with all of its economic power wished to hold a a leadership position within the new confederacy while other provinces such as Georgia were far more concerned with the protection of slavery and trade with europe. After months of bickering eventually General Sotan Zhuko marched on the Continental Congress at the behest of his Generals and dissolved it.
General Zhuko quickly wasted no time marrying a Sister of Emperor Norton II of California and establishing himself enough political legitimacy to name himself King of Camelot, and Lord Protector of the United Provinces. Though like the Californians the new American government would be far from absolute and contain several houses of government limiting the power of the autocrat. Zhuko would also take the Regnal name George after the mighty Dragonslayer for his victory against the Khitan Empire.
Meanwhile in Europe a different General was putting down Cathay's own revolutionary sentiments. The Battle of Paris, one of the closing chapters of a Bloody civil war was fought and won thanks to an influx of new reinforcements from North America and volunteers against the revolutionary cause. Among the Anti Revolutionary forces would be King Emmo Karling II of Aquitaine who general Sumagati promised the upbringing of the Young Monarch while Alice ruled the country proper.
Emmo himself would later smash the Revolutionaries at Gent himself and bring a final close to the Fighting half of the Khitan Revolution, establishing himself a key player in the Post Revolutionary Climate within the country. Similar victories would be fought at Picardie, Normandy and Nantes all rebel defeats but bloody nonetheless.
By the time all was said and done Almost a Million total had died from the Civil War from direct numbers, though from the Famine and the resulting devastation of the Entire Northern Heartland the number was expected to be much Higher. General Sumagati who many expected to coup the government instead stepped down from his position as acting head of the Anti-Revolutionary army appointing the far more moderate General Tomas Antonio Vargas who had recently arrived from China.
General Vargas would spend the next few years working with the Empress Consort to negotiate with the rebel factions still remaining in the country. Reconstruction and reconciliation would be a difficult process but would be easily possible. What was important was the Revolution had been stopped. Without Emperor Alexander however the progress of the Khitan Empire shifting out of Greece's diplomatic web had also been stopped and soon another war would break out in Europe.
The War between Greece and Persia had finally arrived. The Persians were longtime Khitan Rivals and ultimately the choice was obvious who to side with once it had quickly become apparent that the Persians could in fact beat the Greek army all on its own.
While some were skeptical of Vargas's reconstructive methods at home, once war broke out the entire apparatus of government quickly were reminded why General Sumagati did not dare place himself as Emperor. The Italians time and again were utterly humiliated on the field as all the Empire's Generals, with almost twenty years of Warfare experience were plenty capable and the resulting free for all could very well end the Khitan Empire. There was of course the small matter of Patriotism as well but Cynics often disregarded such aspects.
The Italians folded in Short Order under a combined Greco-Khitan push for their alpine and Adriatic Territories. They were also peaced out in short order, with only monetary compensation and a small transfer of land near Krain, Had the Greeks asked for more General Vargas would have threatened to remove Khitan involvement from the war entirely and that was simply unacceptable to the Greeks who were facing down mighty Persia all alone.
The Persians, expecting an easy war in the middle east against an exhausted greek republic did not expect to find themselves at war with the Khitan to respond to this they marched several armies through Bohemian territory to threaten Khitan Germany, as well as into italy to attempt to cut the two beligerment empires off. Splitting attention however weakened Persian efforts in the Middle east, and now with Italy out of the war Consul Petrovic could focus entirely on the Persians while the Khitan Military dealt with half the Persian army within Germany.
After Several Years of heavy fighting the Persians finally capitulated to the Greek Government, granting several several pontic territories as a compromise to the Greek government's demand of a Persian Gulf Corridor. The Beast from the East was stopped and the Fanatics humbled, but the Revolution in Greece was still well and truly alive and dangerous.
As The Empire prepared itself for more coming conflict and rebuilt its devastated heartland Emperor Arthur eventually grew to an age old enough to exceed the terms of the Regency. Upon request, General Vargas and Empress Consort Alice stepped down making way for yet another Emperor of the Khitan. Arthur was very much a lesser version of his father by most accounts but had been taught caution.
Arthur's first act was surprisingly uncontroversial, With No real american empire to speak of anymore, and Slavery being a powder keg waiting to explode in the caribbean the Khitan Empire banned the Import, 'Production' and Sale of Slave Labour across the Empire.
While previously the Empire had catered to the large companies and landowners in the caribbean over several issues recent disloyalty within their ranks had convinced Arthur that winning the loyalty of the enslaved in the caribbean was perhaps a better plan. Not long after the Anti Slavery Act, the Caribbean Slavery act was also passed and delivered to the Administration of Cuba along with a detachment of 100 infantry regiments to keep the peace while the Brutal Sugar Plantation trade was reformed and the imported african populations were slowly but surely integrated as citizens not slaves.
Not long after Arthur announced his intent to create the Kiel Canal in Imperial Holstein. Doing so would allow Naval Trade with Russia without having to use perilous routes through the arctic or using Scandinavia as a go between. Prohibitively expensive but the creation of such a canal would be an invaluable strategic asset against the Scandinavian Republic which was drifting more and more into the Revolutionary sphere.
Asia meanwhile continued to devolve into absolute chaos. The Ming Dynasty had finally been put to bed as the Shan and Yan dynasties now competed for the Celestial Throne. Japan Meanwhile held firmly onto Korea, its Siberian Colonies and the Shandong Peninsula as various other foreign and minor powers continued to creep around the Middle kingdom for their own benefit. Eventually order would be established but the road would be long, and hard.
The Relative stasis established after the Great Continental War however was about to come crashing down. Revolutionaries in India declared their independence from the Persian Empire. Wars were breaking out in the Americas across both continents and of course a New Emperor in Antwerp meant new Khitan foreign policy. This time there would be no pause, The revolution and its shadow hung over europe like death's very scythe. War in all its glory and horror was coming.
But while the Absolutists and Liberals clashed on the fields of Europe, In the cities an entirely different revolution was taking place. Not of the Enlightenment but one of Industry, of Iron and Blood and Coal.