Revolution and Reaction - A (very) French Victoria II Interactive AAR

[baboushreturns]

​

Name: Jean Maximilien Lamarque
Born: 22 July, 1770
Profession: General, Politician
Department: Living in exile in Holland

Biography: Born in Saint-Sever, in the department of Landes, Jean Lamarque was born into a powerful and influential local family, his father a lawyer and the local Seneschal. When the Estates General was called in 1789 his father was elected a member of the Third Estate and took part in the Tennis Court Oath and went on to become a member of the Constituent National Assembly. In 1791 Lamarque would ride to Paris to join his father, and eventually decided to join the army he became well known for his anti-Clerical activity and took part in the burning of the Vabres Cathedral. In 1793 he was a member of the 4e bataillon de volontaires des Landes, and by April 3rd of that year he had been promoted to a Lieutenant. Throughout the War of the First Coalition he continued to serve with great distinguishment, first earning a reputation for himself in Spain and then going on to fight in the Army of the Rhine against the Habsburgs and Hohenzollerns. When Napoleon came to power Lamarque was recommended by Marshal Moreau to receive the rank of Brigadier General which he was granted. Throughout the Napoleonic Wars, Lamarque continued to gain recognition, taking part in the battle of Austerlitz as well as leading one of Napoleon's six armies during the Italian campaign. In 1810 he was named a baron of the French Empire and during the 100 days Lamarque defeated Royalist forces at the Battle of Rocheserviere eventually putting an end to Bourbon resistance in the Vendee. Yet, with Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and the subsequent, final collapse of his Empire Lamarque was forced into exile. Using contacts within the Austrian and Dutch governments he fled to the Austrian Netherlands and then to Holland where he has come to stay. However this would not be the end for General Lamarque as word of his writings, working to defend the ideals of the original revolution have spread.

 

[Syriana]

((Secret - @99KingHigh ))​

Letter addressed to the Secretary of His Excellency, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince de Talleyrand, President of the Council of Ministers;
​

Your Excellency,

In eager hope of response, I beg that you forgive my addressing His Excellency so directly. In order not to further waste His Excellency's time, allow me to make a brief account of myself. I am a nobleman of the city of Valence in the Dauphiné, having recently been restored to my estates by the restoration of the Royal House. I now reside in Paris, in aspiration of offering my services to His Majesty's Government.

Please enable me to make a summary of my talents, such as they are. I am of good noble stock and education, fluent in German and Russian by experience and, should it matter, Latin and Greek of the classical form. I have served in the Royal Army and obtained the rank of major-general at my retirement. Throughout my exile, I have lived in Vienna and St Petersburg and many great cities between them. Thus I have established friendships with many notable personages in both the Imperial and Russian state bureaucracies. After two decades of exile, I am familiar with the currents of European affairs, the intricacies of diplomacy and foreign policy, and other such matters of statecraft and strategy.

Therefore, I would be grateful to the utmost if His Excellency would consider my candidate for any public office that may be available in their ministry. I have no sin of pride that demands consideration, nor even desperate need of renumeration, but would be satisfied with any office that His Excellency would deign to propose. It would be an honour to serve His Majesty at this trying time.
​

Please deign to accept, Sir, this expression of my most humble sentiments,

Marquis de Valence​

 

[Ab Ovo]

Telesphore Bellerose Lefebvre
Marquis de Bezonvaux
​

Born: 8 June, 1746
Occupation: Landed nobleman and member of the Chamber of Peers
Department: Ardennes
Political sympathies: Doctrinaire

Biography:

Telesphore Bellerose Lefebvre still remembers the good old days. Born into the landed nobility, Telesphore's childhood was not quite one of opulence but certainly one of comfort. His father, Jean-Marcel, comte de Bezonvaux, had served with distinction under le Roi Soleil during the War of Spanish Succession and was subsequently rewarded with his creation as a marquis. Thereafter he sired an heir rather late in life due his marriage to Mademoiselle Blanche Deveraux; a renowned local beauty. Telesphore was well into adulthood and busily engaged in managing the family estates when the terror of the French Revolution began to unfold. Narrowly escaping being strung up by savages jealous of his station, the Marquis made his way to Paris and attempted to assist in maintaining a facade of royalist government by taking part in the short-lived Legislative Assembly.

Needless to say, Telesphore's efforts failed in a most magnificent fashion and he was soon forced to flee the country altogether; ending up in the Austrian Netherlands. It was under the Austrians rather than the French usurpers that the Marquis would follow in his father's footsteps. During the Battle of Fleurus in the Austrian Netherlands Telesphore managed to distinguish himself with his conduct and bravery -- catching the eye of his commander, Peter Quasdanovich. Quasdanovich would later take Telesphore under his wing and the latter would serve with distinction in the Italian theatre. It was at the Battle of Arcole that the Marquis was crippled on the field; ending the engagement with pieces of his right foot scattered across the ground. This left him with a severe limp and rendered him unable to further serve in the military. Telesphore retired to the city of Trieste for the remainder of Napoleon's reign of barbarism and only returned to his native country upon the Restoration. As it turned out the Marquis' estates were savaged in the aftermath of Louis XIV's execution and his land dispersed during Napoleon's tenure as Autocrat in Chief; and it took quite a bit of time to see them restored to his control -- not that they were worth anything by that point.

Seated now as a member of the Chamber of Peers, Telesphore's political ideas are strongly influenced by the Doctrinaires and especially by the Comte de Dhuzion's seminal work entitled The National Folly. The Marquis has since settled comfortably into his new (resumed?) life in France and took up residence in a section of the Hôtel de Cluny to better conduct his affairs. His nephew and presumed heir, Adrien-Louis, Victomte de Bezonvaux managed the family estates back home.

 

[Firehound15]

LES PRINCIPES DE L'ADMINISTRATION CIVILE
"The Principles of Civil Administration"
__________________________________________________
​

WHILE the unrelenting voices of ignoble men who had until recently domineered this nation's populace have at last become silenced, we would do well to avoid molding ourselves into new likenesses of their bloodied visages. Undoubtedly, the acts of violence which now permeate the countryside of France are well-intentioned, yet they are wholly unacceptable in that they violate any attempts at preserving the stability and strength of France during this time, when it was only recently that proper governance returned to our fair land. As such, the actions of these fous vigilants are not, in effect, of any higher quality than Jacobin tyranny.

In order to alleviate the pressing concern advanced, it is most plain that local administrations have failed in all senses to adequately provide for the protection and support of their residents, and that the desire to seek out and exact justice upon these radicals has arrived from the lack of willingness to mete out appropriate punishments for those who had favored the Corsican over His Majesty. Had they been reprimanded accordingly, there would be no strife in Toulouse, and the pained would not desire to exact their own revenge.

Thus, such that the chaos of the South be addressed and alleviated, His Majesty ought to consider - in his eminence - a course of action which, further than simply continuing the course which has presently been charted, will result in the full restoration of his authority over all of France. The first priority, therefore, ought to be the removal of former supporters of l'usurpateur from any positions advising His Majesty. The loyalty of ministers should be of the utmost importance, and that any individuals who had chosen any other courses than loyalty to the King of France now sit in his confidence serves as an omnipresent danger to proper decision-making.

Additionally - and more directly addressing the matter of conflict in le Midi - there must be some sort of punishment exacted upon, at the very minimum, those who had proven disloyal during the second "reign" of Bonaparte. Additionally, while courts-martial are not a practical solution in the French Army at this time, conducting trials of select individuals, particularly those who had caused harm to the French people through their malfeasance, is both a relatively simple procedure and a means by which the fiery passions of honest men may be calmed.

Finally, I would like to posit that many of these individuals who now roam France's cities do so because of the damage done by the Jacobins and Bonaparte. Many members of the peasantry have lost any honest means by which they might sustain themselves, and have instead shifted to looting and villainy. In order to avoid their commitment to such a course, a rigorous program of growth and expansion must be undertaken. The fields must be freshly sown under watchful, ensuring eyes, and the tired and weary towns of France must be reinvigorated.

Reinvigoration, however, can not be achieved without the restoration of confidence in the ability of His Majesty and his intermediaries in controlling the mechanisms of administration in an effective, helpful manner. Just as it is the role of a good landlord to ensure the security of his tenants, France shall once again wither away if men are mistreated and - indirectly - urged to believe their passions are the only standards by which governance should be built.

SAINT-MAURICE.​

 

[ManuelD'Garkia]

((Secret - @baboushreturns ))

- As Alexandre attended his pub, one of his informants came in and delivered him a letter with information, in which one of his contacts in Holland said that he should write a letter to an old french general that actually was exiled there, as the man had published works defending the Revolution and its ideals, even though his friend told him to be careful, as that general served under Napoleon and even earned a nobiliary title, so it was unsure if he would prefer to see the return to the Republic or to the "liberal" Napoleonic Empire. In either case, the Revolution needed allies, and Alexandre decided to take a chance and starte to write to the man.

- Honorable and Prestigeous Jean Maximilien Lamarque,

You may not know me, but I do know you, I have heard of your exploits and achivements during the Revolution and the reign of Napoleon, and it has come to my ears that from your exile in Holland you have continued to spread the ideals of the Revolution and, as some rumors said, the Republic.

But let me apologize for my manners, as even if some of my friends say that I should not say my name, we are civilized men after all, and I trust you have the ideals that I profess, my name is Alexandre Maximilian Reynard, I'm the owner of a little pub in Paris, as well as I'm the leader of a leader revolutionary group and a underground newspaper, through my contacts and friends that leave to Holland since the return of the Ancien Régime I have managed to contact you, and I come to make you an offer.

As you now, the situation in France is dire, and if we want to restart the revolution we need to plan and strike fast, and as you have expressed that you are a man that will fight for the return of a Republic, I come to you to in hopes that you could help us with your influence and support the spread our ideas once more, and to finish the Ancien Régime once and for all.

If you can support us from your exile, if you accept, it will be most apreciated, but if you wish to come to Paris and help us with the struggle by our side, which would be even better, I can get you a transport that will get you to Paris completely unoticed.

Whatever your answer is, I hope this get you in a good time and that you answer soon.

Best wishes,
Alexandre Maximilian Reynard

 

[Marschalk]

GAZETTE DE FRANCE.


The three words of disaster
​

THREE words. Liberte. Egalite. Fraternite. I remember times, when this catchphrase was considered as something both saintly and inherently wise. Everybody was whispering them - from lowly beggars to most elegant ladies of the Court. Many thought that these words would bring a new age of peace, salvation and prosperity.

Instead they brought blood, death, barbarity and turmoil.

Nearly twenty-five years ago, when I was a young captain of cavalry, my father, the Duke of Saint-Aignan, has written to the King Louis XVI, soon after this venerable and noble Monarch was imprisoned by his own rebellious subjects. The letter was not a political one - my father had many redeemable qualities, but he was no statesman. It was a private letter. But, alas - the letter contained words. Not three, but ten.

Ten words I think I would always remember.

"Hopefully, Sire, you and your family would see better times".

Only ten words, simple and unassuming. Words of sympathy, harmless words. Words from one friend to another, words from a subject to his Sovereign, words from a Christian to a Christian. For these words my father was executed in 1791, in the name of freedom, equality and brotherhood, in the name of revolutionary justice.

The public prosecutor claimed that this phrase was a shrewd political message. He declared that my father, by "better times", meant nothing less than the times of vile Austrian occupation and revocation of all liberties won by the brave Jacobins. He insisted that my father was dangerous for the French people, that he wished to see them impoverished and enslaved. He shouted that, in order to save the Fatherland from collapsing, my father should die. And so he did.

My father was an extremely charitable man and, in the old times, the poor people of Paris cheered, when they saw his carriage. They kissed his hands and feets, and even the marks the hoofs of his horses left in the dust.

But when my father was led to Place de Concorde, the same people jeered and laughed. The public prosecutor and the hired gazetteers were very eloquent, you see - in the provincial lawyer style. When the blood of one they once called "The Kind Duke" povered upon the earth fathers raised their children into air, so that they would see the monstrous aristocrat die.

Due to the three glorious words I mentioned above many people in several years ceased to be people, turninng into savage beasts.

I remember it all.

Neighbours informed on each other, accusing their good acquaintances of counterevolutionary sentiments - so that they could buy the property of the accused on public auctions. Hundred of manors were burned, the Church was plundered, the righful Sovereign was held as a hostage of vicious mobs lead by a group of half-educated demagogues. Every principle, every idea that has been important to Frenchmen since times immemorial was swept aside. Faith, loyalty to the King, good morals, humility - all of it was now irrelevant. Three words -liberte, fraternite, egalite - replaced it all.

And it was quite logical.

The Liberty they professed at the moment was truly the revelation of the deathly sin of pride, the rejection of all authority and boundaries set by Almighty himself. It was a liberty not only from earthly powers, but from God - for His laws were as burdensome for the revolutionaries as the laws of the King anointed by Him. It was a liberty of the kind with which Lucifer would always seduce the weak. The liberty to drown in your own sins, the liberty to steal, the liberty to live as if Jesus Christ never walked this land. And this Liberty, as all devils doings, was a sham - for never since ancient times did we have such vile and bloodthirsty tyranny as during times when ex-butchers and provincial clerks lorded over France.

The Brotherhood they installed was a brotherhoods of criminals. It was not a brotherhood in the Christian sense, not a community based on mercy, understanding and love, but one based on hate and envy. This brotherhood was similar to a brotherhood in a gang of highwaymen, who would kill and rob people do not belonging to their "brotherhood". It was always "us against the Austrians", "us against the Priests", "us against the Aristocrats". Not being able to unite people by common weal, the revolutionaries tried to unite them by the most base desires - greed and hatred. However, even this brotherhood of Jacobins was a sham as well - for never did we now a similar time, when people gnawed at each other, accused each other, hated each other so passionately as it was during these accursed years. The revolution devours its own children - and when this beast has eaten all its preys, it, in its madness, started to tear apart its own body, chunk by chunk.

The Equality the revolutionaries championed was the most dangerous of their so-called ideals. Destroying the existing public and social institutions, destroying the natural differences and divisions in the distribution of authority and functions, which exist in every society, they were, in fact, destroying the French state itself. Such divisions are created by time, by history, by nature - and one cannot artificially eliminate them without leaving a void. By pushing aside the rulers who were trained for this role for generations and generations, by inviting people who were totally unqualified for this task to govern France, the revolutionary demagogues managed to bring down the whole system based on rules and regulations, replacing it first with anarchy, and then a barbaric military dictatorship. Instead of making a step forward they made several steps back, returning us to the Dark Ages.

Today, when France is finally returning to normalcy, we must learn from the mistakes of the past and never again lead the revolutionary folly influence our country.

Should we wish once again to resurrect the glory of the Kingdom, we should stick to several words - but not to the ones invented by radical philosophers.

These words should be:

God - for without the moral guidance of the Faith the society cannot normally function, cannot prevent the return of the reign of sinful desires. Only when the man has the godly truths in his heart, can he harmoniously exist in this world, accepting it how it is and bettering it without tearing it apart. With God in heart, the rich would help the poor - and the poor would not envy the rich their wealth. With God in heart, the rulers would care for these they rule - and the subjects would not try to usurp or subvert the authority coming from Heavens, accepting that some are born to reign and some to serve. With God in heart, people would always choose agreement over strife - for they would fear for their immortal soul more than desire to gain something material. Therefore, without the return to Catholic morals in education, politics and our everyday life we would not achieve the internal peace we crave.

The KIng - for only a Sovereign ordained by God above, one ruling in His name and as His lieutenant in earthly matters, can guarantee stability and healthy workings of the mechanisms of state. Such Monarch, standing above all others, above all parties, groups or classes, is necessary, for when the top authority is dependable from somebody, when it cannot claim moral superiority and sanctity, when it is earthly and changeable - it wouk always be but a plaything of difference forces. A supreme and lawful Monarchy is key to the stability of the country..

Law and Political Tradition - for a a country cannot be governed in a harmonious way, if its fates are decided by whims of the mob or successes of a military general, but not principles and rules, formalized and nonformalized, that are set by hundreds of years.

Should this principles be upheld, the Kingdom of France can hope that the times of madness would not return.

- SAINT-AIGNAN

 

[Ignominius]

Name: Hector d'Argentat
Born: 18 August 1787
Profession: Former Soldier (Lieutenant), Deputy from Corrèze
Department: Corrèze

Background: Hector is a very simple man born in Argentat in AD 1787 during the harvest. His family had owned a farm before then, but his father had been a member of the Gendarme and was killed some time before Hector's birth, circumstances unknown. Hector himself is the oldest of five, having four younger sisters all of whom are married or missing. Hector himself is rather terse and not very well spoken, although his natural inclination towards both leadership and his deliberate method of following orders made him an excellent candidate for a junior officer. His Blue and Red coat from his days in the Hussars is kept very clean and never worn since the end of the war of the Sixth Coalition. Hector is still haunted equally by the men he killed and the loss of his wife Agathe to tuberculosis this previous spring. Hector is not a politically minded man, yet he was elected deputy for Corrèze due to his good standing among the people of the town of Argentat and sent to Paris for the first time in his life to serve in the government on their behalf.

 

[99KingHigh]

((Royal family page completed. Talleyrand letters and events forthcoming. Más IC, por favor.))

 

[Eid3r]

((Secret))

Hôtel de Neuilli, rue Vaugirard, Paris

The old Bishop was seated at his desk, perusing through the various writings that were flooding through the kingdom, like the Seine in spring. The study, which was a quiet and quaint room at the end of his suite, was filled with literature. The return from exile of so many men of letters really created some sort of Capharnaüm where men of good society were quite lost in regard to the sympathies of each and everyone.

Among the opulence of literature, the prelate had singled out a certain piece, which showed erudition and vision, without the flourish and pomp of the minds trying to spread the marmalade of their limited knowledge on to big a piece of bread, going wanting in the process. Alas, as the essay was anonymous, it had taken him the better part of a week in the various Salons of the Capital to discover the possible identity of the writer.

Early in the evening, a rider left the Hôtel, bearing a letter for the Prefect of Nord, a certain Monsieur Durand.

 

[Dadarian]

- Private -
Letter to @99KingHigh​

To Monsieur Jean-Baptiste de Villele,

The Bonapartists of Toulouse have been cleansed of life and sin through the glory of the royal fires. However, as my Verdets grow tolerant of the place of continued Bonapartists in Paris and the North, I grow nervous. My blade craves for more blood spilled in vengeance for the excesses of Napoleon. Should you need a blade in the dark, or a man disappear in Toulouse, find me. I'm perhaps the only member of the Verdets that can read this letter.

Vive la Roi,

Boucher.

 

[Firehound15]

Collected Poetry of the Count of Berstett
Translated by David R. Lazare, Professor of French Literature at Pomona College
______________________________________​

VOL. I
~ 1808-1815 ~

"Si par hasard la lune dort"

If by chance the moon sleeps, their spirits shall soon wake,
And their hearts will dissolve, fading into the night.
Those men who died far from the ocean's cold, wet break,
If by chance the moon sleeps, their spirits shall soon wake,
And they shall again march beside the placid lake,
In efforts vain to make wrongs of an old past right.
If by chance the moon sleeps, their spirits shall soon wake,
And their hearts will dissolve, fading into the night.​

"Comme une voix sous un vent givré"

Like a voice in a frosty winter wind,
The warm hearts of heroes shivered gently.
Below them are the dry, dead wheaten fields,
Where such proud and noble men did depart.

But now the campaign is long ended,
And no more does the brutal drum beat.
As soldiers' boots pick up the evening dew,
No reinforcements ever dared meet them.

And when the peasants till these tired old fields,
They occasionally find old tokens
Of those who left them a long time ago,
And never returned to a place called "home."​

. . .​

 

[Dadarian]

The Verdets Spread
​

The green cockades of the Verdets met the Bourbon blue cockades of the Nervis and the Spanish red cockades of the Miquelets. Together, bearing a local cleric on chariot and with Brune's head held aloft, marched out of Toulouse. Commonly now called collectively the Verdets, the ultraroyalist gangs began to spread from their stronghold in Toulouse, in Avignon, and in Nimes out in the countryside.

The various cockades, reds, blues, greens, and whites would mix and swirl to each respective branch. But beyond their colours, their loyalties laid true. Bonapartists were hanged, shot, and desecrated in the name of Roi et France! Beware, ye Guard Old and Young, for the Terror marches on!

 

[Shynka]

After loaning large amounts from the English, the comte de Saint Germain begins the operation of a small printing shop in Calais. Leaflets are distributed to rich households all over northern France under the guise of religious texts.

On the divine intervention in all matters, political and spiritual

In order to understand the recent tribulations that shook France, only God can be asked for answers. A scholar thirsting for answers can make many mistakes which will in the end cause his pursuits of the truth to become confused, straying off the righteous path. To study the current events befalling the Kingdom through either history, philosophy or economics is not only deluded but in the end can become heretical. The study of the sciences will always take the keen young mind through a complex path right to the doors of the Church; in God lie all the questions and answers. All matters, even though they appear as ungodly, and how much they stray from the light of the Creator, will in the end become apparent as spiritual. There is no question in the modern world that cannot be answered from the scripture.

It is a truth self-evident that France could never and will never be defeated by a foe in open battle. The armies of the false despot who seized the nation were never defeated by the coalition; a Frenchman can be bested in battle only by God's will. It falls to us to ask why God brought defeat upon the armies of France. It has taken years of study, while the wars were still raging, but the answer appeared to me through signs given to me by the almighty Lord. I have now become convinced that the following statements show precisely why France was abandoned by the Lord;

1) Frenchmen, by spilling the blood of a King who ruled by divine right, went against the will of God. His Majesty was placed upon the throne by the almighty hand of the father as a test of the resolve and piousness of France – and Frenchmen failed the test by succumbing to the satanic doctrine of Liberalism. The holy blood of the King spilling on the cobblestones of Paris cursed France until such a time as a new King, of the same blood, sat upon the throne again. Our Lord had to place the King upon the throne with armies of the devout, martyring thousands as punishment for our sin.
2) The doctrine of free religious practice has allowed heretical beliefs to sneak into our society. These beliefs encouraged the will of the voice of God on earth, the Pope, to be ignored and sometimes opposed. The servants of evil disconnected France from the Papacy, and from God, in order to destroy her within without a voice of reason steering it right.
3) Terror is the natural consequence of liberty. Liberty, or more aptly, heresy, is the belief that the will and word of God should be ignored and that no man can rule, even if appointed by God. These beliefs are entirely false, and any attempt to return France onto the path of unchecked liberty attempt to destroy a social order through which we have prospered for centuries.
4) Democracy gives a voice to terror. In order to maintain a strong state, we must maintain strong leadership, and no leader can be strong if his mandate does not come from the almighty God. ​

These points form the core of the problems of France, and why are currently placed under occupation. The return of the false despot showed that any concession towards liberalism will lead only to a new revolution and rekindled anarchy. It is therefore my mission, when appointed to represent this Department in the eyes of the King, to ensure the following;

1) All those who spilled noble blood must be punished. All that was unlawfully taken from the loyal servants of the King must be returned to them, with interest. Only then can we rest easy about the safety of the King.
2) Abandon the heretical doctrine of free speech and free worship. All must follow the true word of God, and the word of the Bishop of Rome. All those who do not practise the Catholic faith are logically denying the Kings divine right to the throne, therefore outing themselves as traitors to the realm.
3) Liberalism must be stopped to ensure the continuation of order. Liberty leads only to anarchy, and all rights of man are outlined by the Bible and the King, not charters drawn up with no divine recognition.
4) Democracy must be reformed to serve the King and his most trusted advisors. Those who were by God given wealth are clearly also trusted with the steering of this nation. Those who contribute the most in taxes should be given the chance to advise the King. All liberal circles within politics exist only to ferment the revolution.​

It is my sole dream that one day we will return France to a path of Greatness, so that once more the eldest daughter of the Church may walk hand in hand with the Lord, and never again have to face his wrath. We must recognise that as Frenchmen we failed the test given to us by the heavens, and we must now repent tenfold with our piousness and devotion to the almighty Lord.

 

[ManuelD'Garkia]

Le Républicain Révolutionare.
1 Fructidor XXIII

How a republic should repart its powers and who shall occupy them.
​

- Having a healthy and prosperous republic is difficult, even more if when its born the tyrants that surround it start to attack it, so it is impertive that once it is born, our Republic should stablish a strong and fair government as fast as posible, not an tyranical an barbaric one like the one Robespierre turned our old Republic to, son in the eves of that, I want to express the ideals on how our new republic should be divided and ruled, so it can be fair, prosperous and strong for all of us.

First, let me begin with the legislative power, our representatives, the ones that we are going to trust the direction of our great nation. We should establish an Assembly and a Senate, an Assembly elected by our people with 500 seats that will be distributed in a manner following the Jefferson Method used by the United States House of Representatives. The senate shall be a house in wich every one of the Departments should elect a senator to represent them and giving every department a voice even if it have a low population. In my opinion all the legislative power should fall on the hands of the Assembly, with the Senate serving as a advisor body for the Assembly. The Assembly should be elected every 5 years.

For the executive power, a model based on the Directory should be stablished, with five integrants, from which four will be elected by the Assembly, and one, the Director, serving as as primus inter parem, will be elected by popular vote. The four Assembly elected members will change each year unless reelected by the Assembly, and the Director will change every time a new Assembly is elected.

The Judicial Power is more complex as it is obvios that there should be a Supreme Court, but its composition id something of more debate as that body is of utmost importance for the mantainance of the security and justice of the Republic. But in my opinion there should be a Supreme Court, with the Supreme Judge elected by the Assembly for life unless he is uncapable of keeping the Justice in the Republic, and five Associated Judges that should be elected every year by the Assembly to help the Supreme Judge and to make sure that he is accomplishing with his duties.

Some people may differ from my opinions, so join us to debate and talk about the future of the Republic that we soon should stablish.

And remember,
Vive la Revolution, vive la République!

 

[loup99]

((Private writings to prepare a secret radical publication))

Pour une IIe République

The winds of the Revolution continue to blow across the departements of France

With the Revolution, the people of France decided to reject the tyrannical monarchical regime that had ruled upon France during thousands of years. 1789 was a rupture with the old order which shook both the old Europe and the world. Inspired by the already successful American insurrection against the colonial British overlords, hereditary ennemies of France and reactionaries which later would support the return of the Bourbon cousins of Louis Capet, ci-devant King of the French, the revolutionaries overthrew the privileges of old classes. In 1789, the popular force won again, at the expense of those who had exploited it for so long and held them through chains.

The Revolution did not come out of the blue. Philosophes and thinkers already imagined new hierarchical orders during the Lumières, and challenged the established regnants of the time, thinking about a system free of the religious authorities and contraints imposed by the feudal regime. In that spirit, the people of Paris took arms and amassed themselves at the doors of the royal prison of the Bastille! After long hours of firing against the fortress, the crowd managed to take down the redoutable citadel in the heart of the capital and killed the governor, a symbol of the centuries of oppression. The reputation of the "vainqueurs de la Bastille" spread across the whole country, with similar librations and actions happening across the territory, abolishing old systems and clientèles.

Today, the same people who executed Louis Capet, ci-devant King of the French, together with his acolytes amongst the treasonous nobility, are ready to rise up against the ci-devant nobility, leeches who try to reestablish their privileges at the expense of the sans-culottes. Together, we can prepare to overthrow the order of Vienna, and bring the new king in front of the Republican justice, just as his brother the citizen Capet who ended up facing the guillotine after being sentenced to death by his fellow citizens. Exceptional circumstances call for exceptional measures, fellow sans-culottes!

Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité! Vive la République, et vive la France!

F.R.

 

[Marschalk]

To His Royal Highness Charles Philippe, the Count of Artois (KingHigh - Private))​

Monsieur,

First of all, I want to ensure Your Royal Highness of my utmost loyalty and respect. The services that Your Royal Highness has rendered to the throne of His Most Christian Majesty in the passed years have been instrumental for the restoration of the Divine order in the Kingdom of France, and every good Frenchman, who is loyal to God and the Sovereign, would always be thankful to you for these deeds.

Having shared with Your Royal Highness the bitterness of exile, I would ask you to forgive me if you would find my letter too crude and straightforward, I have spent my life as a soldier, and I am better accustomed to barracks and camps than to the Parisian salons.

After twenty-five years aboard I am happy to witness the return of His Christian Majesty to his throne and the Corsican Monster finally being subdued. However, I believe that I cannot sit idly and enjoy the pleasures of the private life, while the internal situation in France is unstable. Therefore I want to humbly offer my services to the Crown and would be ready to serve it in any capacity, be it in the field of battle , in an ambassadorial or administrative chair or in the halls of state assemblies. In any capacity I hope to be of use to the Throne and Your Royal Highness - and if I can do anything for the restoration of the stability in our beloved Homeland, I would do so,

Monsieur may ask me, why I am writing to Your Royal Highness asking for advice in that direction, instead of addressing the Prince of Talleyrand, the President of the Council? The problem is that, while I do not wish to undermine the Royal authority by criticizing the passed ministerial appointments - I am sincerely worried that the security of the state may be endangered by the fact that His Majesties government is currently led by people who are ambivalent or even hostile to the Restoration, lack solid moral principles and stable loyalties.

For how can we be sure of the security of His Christian Majesty, when the Minister of Police is now Monsieur Fouché, who has voted for the death of King Louis XVI, who was a butcher in the service of a tyrannical Corsican and whose hands are covered by blood of the Royalist martyrs, the ones who died many years ago so that the Restoration may happen now? For how can we be sure of the loyalty of the ministers to the Crown, when their esteemed leader is an ex-cleric who betrayed his God and an ex-Bonapartist who betrayed his master? One may say that Bonaparte is now gone and therefore such treachery is not dangerous - but the vile years of the Revolution have so much shaken the natural order of things, that, unless power is in the hands of trustworthy and loyal people, a new bonaparte can and would emerge. For such figures are but results of the general instability and the reign of political intriguers. Therefore, looking at the current government, one can remind himself of an old fable about a fox commissioned to guard the hens.

Therefore, not wishing to use such... doubtful channels, I want to humbly offer my services directly to His Christian Majesty and Your Royal Highness.

I most faithfully remain,

SAINT-AIGNAN

 

[99KingHigh]

((Please do not write to the King.))

 

[99KingHigh]

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince de Talleyrand, President of the Council of Ministers​

FROM THE DESK OF GÉNÉRAL DE DIVSION FRANÇOIS BOURIER
Comte de Pontécoulant

​

ADDRESSED TO PRÉSIDENT DU CONSEIL CHARLES MAURICE DE TALLEYRAND-PÉRIGORD
Prince of Talleyrand​

Your Excellency,

I write to you today on a matter most prudent, a matter that is most directly involved with the maintenance of law, order, and national security in our fair Kingdom. Law and Order are the bedrock upon which any society is built, and upon receiving reports from the South, North, and rest of France that is not directly under His Royal Majesty's rule, I am most concerned for the status of our modern society.

In where the law has broken down, where order has been most disregarded, all reports point to Toulouse and southern France. I am most worried if the state of our Kingdom is so dire in which gangs are the primarily executors of the law, or the lack thereof. Whilst the goals and aims of these "verdets" may be to ensure a France free from the Bonapartism of years previous, it is paramount that His Royal Majesty asserts himself to these "verdets". They claim to be the Kings of Toulouse, whilst there is yet one King in France, and one King only. I urge Your Excellency to deal with these brigands and vagrants with the utmost expediency, as to establish law and order as the guiding principle of our new France, and to assert His Royal Majesty's dominance throughout the Kingdom.

I must also wish to convey my immediate desire for reform in the Royal Army, for the threat of defection is always nigh. Napoleon's impact and the respect and admiration he garnered from the Grande Armée can not be understated, and whilst many French soldiers have returned to the farm, there are still those who whisper of restoration, or outright rebellion. I believe that this lack of loyalty to His Royal Majesty can be attributed to the overarching organizational failures in the army. With His Royal Majesty's just and due restoration to the throne, He, in all His wisdom, disestablished the army, making it a much more loosely organized force. To rectify these failures, I highly urge Your Excellency to advise His Royal Majesty in reorganizing the army in a much more central command.

I do not presume that my advice ought to have any weight or advice with a man as experienced and wise as yourself, and yet I must voice my concerns, or I fear France will fall prey to the forces that saw the rise of Napoleon and the Revolution of years past. I understand the complexities and challenges of your situation, and I place myself at your humble command, in order to better our Kingdom. Long live His Royal Majesty the King of France.

Your Humble Servant,

​

General Bournier,

We have been made most aware of the happenings that currently apprehend portions of our dear country, and it has been received here by solemn grief and compassion of the ministry. I would give no dispute to the positions upon which you have informed my persons, and I should thank you dearly for your devoted service to our country, and should it come to pass that we require your esteemed services, you shall be given instructions post haste. I can give little recompense until the prefects are established, and the elections completed, whereby we may establish order with the prerogatives of the crown entrusted upon our current responsibilities. As to the matter of martial reform, I admit that I have little knowledge or interest, but I can do little until we find some new representative to replace the marquis du Saint-Cyr as the chief magistrate of our military affairs. ​

Daignez, général, agréer l'expression de ma considération très distinguée,

​

((Secret - @99KingHigh ))​

Letter addressed to the Secretary of His Excellency, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince de Talleyrand, President of the Council of Ministers;
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Your Excellency,

In eager hope of response, I beg that you forgive my addressing His Excellency so directly. In order not to further waste His Excellency's time, allow me to make a brief account of myself. I am a nobleman of the city of Valence in the Dauphiné, having recently been restored to my estates by the restoration of the Royal House. I now reside in Paris, in aspiration of offering my services to His Majesty's Government.

Please enable me to make a summary of my talents, such as they are. I am of good noble stock and education, fluent in German and Russian by experience and, should it matter, Latin and Greek of the classical form. I have served in the Royal Army and obtained the rank of major-general at my retirement. Throughout my exile, I have lived in Vienna and St Petersburg and many great cities between them. Thus I have established friendships with many notable personages in both the Imperial and Russian state bureaucracies. After two decades of exile, I am familiar with the currents of European affairs, the intricacies of diplomacy and foreign policy, and other such matters of statecraft and strategy.

Therefore, I would be grateful to the utmost if His Excellency would consider my candidate for any public office that may be available in their ministry. I have no sin of pride that demands consideration, nor even desperate need of renumeration, but would be satisfied with any office that His Excellency would deign to propose. It would be an honour to serve His Majesty at this trying time.
​

Please deign to accept, Sir, this expression of my most humble sentiments,

Marquis de Valence​

Haut et puissant seigneu,

I am most contented to receive your correspondence, Monsieur, and encouraged greatly by the esteem you have placed upon my own person. No less assuring is the conviction to which you have demonstrated the prestige of your experience and history. I admit, Monsieur, in ordinary times, I would place greater worth on previous professions in the service, but the extraordinary nature of the present circumstance dictates that I should spoil no talent of the quality that you have related. I have taken references from those of former relation and they assure me that you are held in regard by certain gentlemen of the Russian court. I would prefer, given normal parameters, to give you commission to serve our plenipotentiary in St. Petersburg, the duc espagnol de Mouchy. But the matters of late seem to dictate that the diplomatic affairs of Europe will once again reside predominantly in our capital. I would be well suited to be accompanied by another noblemen of fair intellect to balance the intrigue of the Russian court and procure good relations with the Tsar, who while I can consider a dearest friend, is nonetheless a man who will require the utmost energy. It is imperative for us to make the Russians a bulwark against the vindictive sentiments of the British and the Prussians, and so we would do well to make sure that the Tsar does not lose faith in the crown of France by the recent escapade with the deposed Emperor. You should present yourself in Paris, at the Quai d'Orsay, where I shall have a deputy make your acquaintance.
​

Salutations distinguées,

​

 

[Noco19]

Hercule Vipond, duc de Piombino​

Birth: February 3rd, 1773
Political Leanings: Independent
Position: Chamber of Peers

His father a well-to-do lawyer, his mother the sole benefactor of a wealthy family that earned clout in the aftermath of the plague in Toulon, Hercule Vipond was born in the department of Var, spending his early childhood vacillating between Toulon and the countryside. Ambitious, he proved himself an able student and thus was afforded the opportunity to travel to Paris to study law, although he likewise became obsessed with subjects ranging from the histories to philosophy.

By the age of 16, Vipond saw the happenings in Paris as easily the most important circumstances in the world. Taking to pen, Vipond badgered and impressed Hugues-Bernard Maret, owner of the Bulletin de l'Assemblée and the future Secretary of State, enough so that he would allow the youth to shadow him and contribute minor articles to his publications. When Maret's paper was absorbed into Le Moniteur Universel, Vipond likewise followed for a short while, but his youthful idealism left him at odds with the more objective outlook of the important writers.

From 1790 to 1792, Vipond focused his own writings to chronicle the radical wings of the Revolution, acquiring interviews and correspondences with a myriad of Jacobin, the crown jewel of this being a sit-down with Maximilien Robespierre before his command over the Terror. Continually frustrated with his colleagues at Le Moniteur Universel and at the insistence of his family in Toulon, who feared for his safety, Vipon departed Paris in late 1792, taking residence back in Toulon.

As the Reign of Terror erupted and waves of insurrection flew across France, Toulon was no exception, leading to a rise in royalist actors, who were quick to invite in the British. Vipond fumed at what he deemed a betrayal of France and grew to distribute a number of harshly critical pamphlets against the city government. During the Siege of Toulon, Vipond acted to subvert the city government, repurposing his amateur publication service into an ad-hoc information gathering and dissemination service, supplying the Republican forces with occasional intelligence.

In was at this point that Vipond would meet the young Captain Napoleon Bonaparte. Taken by the charismatic man, Vipond would hand over his information service to his beloved cousin Armand to manage, while Vipond himself attached himself to Bonaparte as a personal aide, helping him through his intimate knowledge of Toulon and through his growing experience in managing information networks. Following the fall of Toulons, Bonaparte and Vipond celebrated as close friends - as close as they could be in such a short time. Staying a while after as a civil servant for the new Republican leadership, Vipon would eventually depart the city, declaring that "Port-de-la-Montagne is not my home."

By 1799, Vipond had ingrained himself back into Parisian life, returning to Le Moniteur Universel. With Napoleon entering Paris, Vipond was of course a staunch supporter of his consulship, and it was under Vipond and his old mentor Maret that Le Moniteur Universel became essentially an arm of state propaganda. Vipond himself had grown aloof of his radical beliefs from years back and was by now considered a much more moderate Republican, though even that would shed in the times to come.

As Napoleon rose to power, Vipond once again left his journalistic work to attach himself to the dashing Consul, becoming a personal secretary. It was at this point that Napoleon began to utilize Vipond as an asset for a variety of governmental needs, where he would coordinate and mingle among the greats of the state - Maret, Fouché, and de Cambacérès. All three men would regard Vipond as generally likable if not quite to their level of genius, and so Vipond was regarded as successful in the eyes of the state, and more importantly Napoleon. Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte would even induct into freemasonry, though this was primarily at the insistence of de Cambacérès who regarded Vipond as a dutiful assistant in monitoring the society's restructuring, as opposed to legitimate desire.

As expected, Vipond would support the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor, and he would be rewarded for his steadfast service in 1806 when he was formally raised to the position of Minister. However, he did not possess a true area of authority and so continued on as a personal aide until 1808 when he was given the Ministry of Public Worship. Finding the work tedious and unimportant compared to his informal work, Vipond organized his removal by 1810, but was graciously rewarded with the title of Count in the same year, to Vipond's happy surprise. Returning as Napoleon's secretary, Vipond witnessed the gross change of fortunes across Europe, his personal diary quite indicative of massive stress, as he bounced from crisis to crisis, minister to minister.

By 1814, Vipond was selected to succeed the Duc de Rovigo as Minister of Police, seen as able and loyal. In this position Vipond would gradually moderate the harsh practices of de Rovigo, earning him general goodwill with the people. Accompanying this was his entitlement as Duc de Piombino, a duché grand-fief in Italy. Immensely gracious, Vipond reportedly wept as Napoleon was sentenced to exile.

Now attempting to cope with the new order of things in France, the Duc de Piombino looks to safeguard that which he had gained over his life, fearful that his life will soon be forfeit, reducing him to a commoner, or worse, a corpse.

 

[99KingHigh]

Delivered to le comte de Dhuizon
@MastahCheef117

​

Haut et puissant seigneu,

On command of the sire, make yourself known to the Palais des Tuileries, six o'clock, tomorrow evening.
​

Salutations distinguées,

Grand Chambellan de France
​