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Good writing. You seem to have a weakness for metallica lyrics (perfectly understandable ;) ).
 
I agree, very nice prose. Looks like you plan on sticking it to the Pope (and friends). Very nice! I can say that with no guilt now. ;) Look forward to more.
 
More is here!

Interlude, Part II

Paolo, having convinced his son of the necessity of war, visited the Research Ministry. It was run by his cousin Stefano. Pietro’s younger brother Anthony had married early but died at twenty. Stefano had been born just weeks before Anthony’s finally succumbed to some slow, wasting disease. Stefano was a capable and trustworthy man at forty, five years older than Paolo.

Stefano was a good administrator. Since Paolo had convinced the king to appoint him to the position of Research Minister, the scientists had developed a Practical Steam Engine, Mechanical Production, Clean Coal, Strategic Mobility, and Experimental Railroad. They had also discovered advanced medicine techniques, and funded works of literature triggering a wave of idealism.

Paolo had but one request. “Formulate some justification as to why our industrialization will help us more than any more military research. We must not get sidetracked on things like Strategic Mobility that aren’t useful.”

Stefano nodded. The research of Strategic Mobility had been an expensive favor to the officers, and the funding of idealist novels had been a pointless venture. Until Sicily encountered opponents it could not overrun with sheer number of men, it would develop industry. “You mean, we’ll need that justification?” His eyes widened.

Paolo nodded, and smiled. The initial incursion had turned into a full-blown war.
 
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Unleash The Dogs of War! (1850)

“And the road becomes my bride
I have stripped of all but pride
So in her I do confide” – Metallica, Wherever I May Roam

Journal of Second Lieutenant Antonio Tommaso

March 14, 1850:
War against the Pope. We march today.

March 15:
Things more clear today. The Pope is trying to interfere in secular affairs, so the King has decided to stop him. That’s what the officers say, at least. They seem divided on the issue. Apparently gossip has been circulating around the noble circles that the Pope is after them. Some believe it, some don’t. Paolo Magliocco declared that he was firmly behind the aristocracy, and distributed half of the stockpiled weapons to the aristocracy, as well as a goodly sum of money to “defend themselves”. The next day, he was at Ferdinand’s side when war was declared. Bizarre coalition – the moderate minister, the King, and half of the reactionary aristocracy. The other half refused to war against the Pope. We’ll see – Magliocco and his supporters are going to look awfully stupid if we lose. Insurance companies have become widespread to insure soldiers.


March 27:
This is quite an experience. It’s heady, fighting for your country, making history. If we crush the Pope, well, the military could make out quite well. Roberto had some of his troops occupy a border town. He will probably end up with it when all is said and done. Being away from home the first time is rather exhilarating. Freedom from my stifling family and society is mine at last!

April 2:
Marched at sunup. Around noon, began to approach Rome, were fired upon. Enemies had cover of hills, but seem to be vastly outnumbered. Battle inconclusive. One of my men died.

April 6:
Papal regiment finally broken – we captured hills, they fled. They took 2400 casualties; we took 1000. Rome under siege, should be ours in a month or so. We have taken defensive positions overlooking the city – my men are within range of sharpshooters, but we can take shots. Meanwhile many men are taking the smaller cities and towns and patrolling the countryside.

May 1:
Rome ours! Pope escaped, though. Papal messenger captured by my men, apparently other Sicilian troops are heading to Viterbo – they should arrive a month after we do.

May 15:
Arrived in Viterbo. Took Roberto’s advice, and had my most trustworthy troops occupy the countryside on the border. Apparently, they belonged to an old noble who had been leading the army which had been defending Roma. My land, now.

June 23:
Viterbo liberated! On to Grosseto! I occupied another village. We are making out like bandits. Unfortunately, we are acting like it too. But General Filangieri has decreed the punishment for rape, torture, or murder to be a swift and public execution, and very few have occurred. A new army arrived, a bit after the fact. We march.

July 14:
Arrived in Grosseto. I think the Pope has given up, his beloved Vatican is under Sicilian flag and he wants peace. He isn’t putting up a fight at all, though locals wage resistance. His troops are busy pointlessly attacking L’Aquila.

August 21:
Grosseto finally captured. Pope’s messenger came to offer peace – Viterbo, Grosseto, Perugia, and Ancona. Ferdinand and Magliocco are coming to negotiate.

September 6:
Peace signed. We took their peace offer before the French and the Piedmontese acted on one of their numerous threats of declaring war on us. It is the first war in two generations, and the people want their sons back in any case. My parents shall not have me back, though: I stay to make my living here!




Soon after peace was signed, Paolo Magliocco was appointed governor of the conquered territories. The next day, he began calling in young officers whose troops had occupied the countryside and gave them the title to the land – on the condition that they swear loyalty to Ferdinand – and him.
 
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Nice job getting it done before some bigger fish joined in. And I like your use of the diary. It comes in handy to provide information on day by day issues, like wars and such. Good updates.
 
Nice couple of updates. What is Ferdinand up to I wonder? ;)
 
Thanks guys! New update coming. I think I will stick with the diary format to illustrate wars - though I might change this in 50 years, you'll see why. Anyway, you guys have great predicting powers!
 
The Keg of Gunpowder (1850)

This move was dangerous in many ways. In the early years of his life, Ferdinand II had been taken by liberal ideas, and in 1836, he was still a believer in many of these tenants. This had helped Paolo immensely as Paolo had more leverage to gain power than just the king’s anger at Paolo’s father’s murder. Unfortunately, this spat of liberalism caused a spat between the Two Sicilies and the Austria, and the planned marriage of Ferdinand to Maria Teresa, daughter of Leopold II of Austria was delayed from 1837 to 1840, when relations were repaired.

The marriage had ended the golden years of Paolo and the king peacefully coexisting. Now, Paolo had to extract every little victory painfully – which is why Paolo had set up many officials in the government loyal to him, so the king could be quietly bypassed. In 1844, it had taken Paolo many sleepless nights to bring the first elections for advisor. Paolo had had to bribe, threaten, or dig up dirt on many reactionary nobles vehemently opposed to the idea, and finally swayed the king by the nobles’ apparent docility and pragmatism – Ferdinand still needed popular support.

Popular sentiment had been building up on this since the 1848 revolutions. After German and Austrian revolutions failed miserably, the conspirators and their followers fled to untouched Italy. This caused Ferdinand to take a hard turn to the right, and he tried to expel them, with mixed success – they stayed, but stopped radical orations. The result was mainly due to Paolo.

Paolo by now was quite familiar with the times when power was usable and unusable. Right now, he was powerless to obey the king’s order. Many of his deputies would refuse to heed Paolo or the king, and join the radical cause. Paolo would be fired for being ineffective, and replaced with a hard-talking reactionary. Whoever won the battle between the reactionaries and radicals would reign over the ashes of Sicily. If he refused to obey the king, he would be tried for treason. So, he thought of a compromise.

Paolo threatened to obey the king to an extreme if they did not tune down their message from atheistic socialism to pluralist democracy. Many did, and, sure enough, the orations stopped. The radicals were not gone – but Ferdinand assumed they were, and the Austrians and the Prussians had quit demanding he throw the radicals out.

But Ferdinand was simply appeased rather than being happy or satisfied. If Paolo’s actions were heard about, Paolo could be thrown into jail. But the risk was worth it to Paolo. The current falling-out between he and the king would probably lead to Paolo’s dismissal soon anyway, if nothing were to be done. The war slowed things, but not by much.

But Paolo, for once, had misjudged the situation. Though he had a Plan B and was not in jail, he no longer had an official job as of January 1, 1851. Unofficially, he was the new Minister of Resistance.
 
That is cruel, leaving us hanging like that ;)
Keep it up.
 
"I remember a time
My frail, virgin mind
watched the crimson sunrise
Imagined what it might find
...
I feel like giving up
I was blinded by a paradise
Utopia high in the sky
A dream that only drowned me
..
Seasons change and so can I
Hold on Boy, No time to cry
Untie these strings, I'm climbing down
I won't let them push me away" - Dream Theater, A Change of Seasons

Down and Out in Sicily (1851-1855)

Unsurprisingly, the return to power of the Ristorazionista was commenced by Sicily shooting itself in the foot. After the defense pact with Spain had expired in 1845, it was renewed as a full alliance. After the Ristorazionista regained power, Spain began actively befriending Ferdinand, sending him lavish gifts. Ferdinand, as expected, was completely flattered. So when the Spanish invaded Portgual, and the United Kingdom supported the Portugese, Ferdinand backed the Spanish in their vainglorious attempt to conquer their neighbor, who was protected by the British Empire.

Paolo was slightly pleased at this development. He knew the British had no interest in invading Sicily But, they might favor a moderate over the Ristorazionista. He would monitor developments as they occurred. Paolo had gone into the printing business, and was spending all of his time ensuring the publication and distribution of pamphlets calling Ferdinand “out of his mind”.

After the navy suffered numerous humiliating defeats by the British, the fleet, with an army on it, made its way out to the Atlantic, and invaded the British Asuncion islands. After all of about three thousand people were under Sicilian control, the men were unable to load onto the boats again. So, the entire army was stranded in the middle of the Pacific. Finally, though, the midnight raid rescued the army, and it embarked to the Ivory Coast. Normally it would have returned home in disgrace, but Paolo saw an opportunity. A sympathizer of Paolo captained one of the messenger ships which brought orders from the high command to the army, and he “slightly altered” the communications.

How altered is slightly altered? Well, the High Command thought the army was still stranded on the Asuncion Islands, when it in fact was sweeping through the Ivory coast, scooping up British claims. Meanwhile, Stefano was hard at work copying all of his secret books on technology. They were sold to the Spanish in return for northern Mauretania and Mali. The whole thing was secret, and Paolo used much of the revenue generated by those colonies to stir up dissent. The 1852 elections, held to justify the coup to the people, failed to do so. The Moderati won, but the Moderati advisor to Ferdinand was sent on a diplomatic mission to Vienna. Unsurprisingly, he was thrown into prison, and a successor to his post was never appointed.

Ferdinand – under the influence of a Giovanni Palmenteri – had thrown Paolo in jail and charged him with the capital crime of treason. But Paolo had prepared a Plan C if he was thrown in prison, and throngs of demonstrators threatened to kill Ferdinand if Paolo was convicted. This forced Ferdinand to drop the charges, but they were dropped on technicalities, and could be brought up again at any time. If that ever happened, Paolo would ensure chaos in the streets.

The final act of the war was the invasion of British South Africa. The army grabbing British claims, and Paolo sold them to the Netherlands for part of Volta, which was claimed as a colony, as were Guinea and the Gold Coast. This transaction was expensive – the Dutch demanded a high price for keeping the king in the dark.

So what had happened on the Spanish front? The Spanish invaded Portugal. They managed to take southern and northern Portugal, but fighting was fierce around Lisbon, and the front stalemated. Finally, Portugese partisans, aided by a British attack on Andalusia from Gibraltar, almost completely pushed Spain out. The Spanish, knowing that Madrid might be under threat, launched a counterattack before agreeing to a status quo peace in 1855.

This also ended the grabbing of British colonies. The army was happy, being free to return to Italy. But when they heard fabricated (by Paolo) rumors of the revocation of the right to vote, the soldiers hanged their officers and proceeded to Napoli, where they, at gunpoint, made Ferdinand sign the Magna Sicilia.

The Magna Sicilia was a constitution guaranteeing the people’s right to vote to elect a Parliament. The Prime Minister would have more power. The Prime Minster was in control of much of the military, and the whole navy. The king still controlled the courts and appointed provincial governors, but the Prime Minister appointed city officials and controlled production decisions. The Prime Minister, naturally, was Paolo.
 
Interesting developments. Nice little war and some colonies added. Great job.
 
Mmm. Once again the British seem incapable of really fighting a war. Oh well.

Well done. :D
 
Did you get a favorable peace with the British? They haven't given me one yet, and their WE rises at a disgustingly slow rate.
 
anonymous4401 said:
Did you get a favorable peace with the British? They haven't given me one yet, and their WE rises at a disgustingly slow rate.

That's the nice thing - the peace between Portugal and Spain was an alliance peace for both sides.

stynlan and coz1 - I don't think the British AI realizes that Malta is only 100 miles off of the Italian coast :)
 
don't worry readers, I have been tied up with romantic issues and lots of schoolwork, should have an update by the weekend.
 
And yea, the story returns!

Into Africa (1840-1855)

Colonization. Until 1836 it had been rather halfhearted, limited only to those places where the natives could easily be eradicated and the land resettled – America – or where the natives were rich in trade goods – India. But now, countries were venturing into lands rich in nothing, but full of people. Why? Well, if the French colonized Africa, the British would no longer be the most important nation. So they colonized Africa. As did the Spanish, the Turks, and the Two Sicilies. But Paolo saw that this was colonization for all the wrong reasons. What was the point of colonies? Not, surely, as a way to exploit natives and get rich. The lands were poor and exploiting the people would cost lots of soldiers to pacify the people.

But Paolo was more farsighted. He saw the lands in Africa as harboring the most valuable resource of all – men. African men may not earn you much, slaving in an orchard all day for you, but they were quite capable of holding weapons. If Paolo managed to make the locals not resent the occupation of their lands, he could slowly draft them to fight his wars, in place of Italians who could earn lots of money working in a factory. In order to achieve that objective, from 1840 to 1844 Paolo had established a fort, a mission, and a trading post in the uncivilized part of Algeria. In the meantime, the Spanish had colonized the rest of Algeria with Missions and Trading Posts. This allowed Paolo to claim all of Algeria, to the muted displeasure of the Spanish. Since the Spanish couldn’t successfully invade Portugal, they were in no position to complain when their only ally took all of Algeria.

Back in Europe, war erupted over the Crimea in December 1853, and Russia went to war with the Ottomans, French, British, Swedish, and Sardinians. To combat Sardinian-French alliance, the Netherlands guaranteed Sicilian independence. Paolo was glad for this gesture – if war erupted with France or Britain they would overrun the Netherlands first, giving Sicily breathing room. Or, they would overrun Spain. The Spanish were so desperate for cash they deamortisized the Church. Paolo laughed.

France went to war with China over the murder of a French chaplain, and their troops’ mission was changed from not fighting Russia to not fighting China. A status quo peace was soon signed. Meanwhile, Russia overran much of northern Sweden, and took eight provinces in the 1856 peace.

And in the Two Sicilies, the prestige gained from the victory over the British and the discovery of interchangeable parts had enabled Paolo to buy machine parts on the world market. This allowed Paolo to pull the ace out of his sleeve and delight in his victory. The reactionaries were out of power, and discredited. Thus, at last, Paolo could industrialize Sicily.
 
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Hurray!

May your factories be productive and your communists non-existent
 
Pretty smooth grabbing that African land from the Spanish. Nicely done. And one wonders where the French will not fight next? ;)