Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 409 Monsoon (Part 3)

As Colonel Cornelius, the head of the Army Academy, confronted Colonel Pal, the supreme commander of Fort Narcissus, Captain Fritz, the chief centurion of the Second "Steadfast" Legion of the National Guard of the United Provinces Republic, was leading his men at full speed toward the State Palace.

The journey from the suburban residence to the Martyrs' Square is less than five kilometers, flat and spacious enough for four horse-drawn carriages to travel side by side.

Captain Fritz had lost count of how many times he had walked this road, but never before had it felt so long.

"Do they know they're involved in a rebellion?" Captain Fritz thought calmly.

"They" refers to the fully armed and menacing soldiers and colleagues who were closely following Fritz's warhorse at this moment.

Perhaps some are blindly following, perhaps some naively believe they are saving the country, perhaps some prefer to believe that everything today is for the sake of justice...

But Fritz did not fall into any of those categories. The young captain, born into a poor peasant family in Nice, knew very well that he was stirring up a turmoil, a mutiny, a storm that would overturn the entire country.

Without a doubt, this was treason—the captain had no intention of denying it.

This is precisely why Fritz's will was firm and resolute.

Fritz led the 1st Battalion of the 2nd National Guard Corps out of their base at 10:00 AM.

Because some captains were not qualified to know, the coup was scheduled to take place during the day, rather than at night when it would have been more suitable to launch a surprise attack.

The road Fritz led his troops into the city was also the main thoroughfare of Guido, and it was busiest at midday.

Pedestrians and drivers on the street stared in astonishment at the troops speeding toward the city center. Many citizens initially mistook it for a routine troop rotation.

It wasn't until they saw the soldiers' clenched teeth and bulging veins on their foreheads, until they noticed the spear tips gleaming coldly after the cloth covers were removed, until they realized that this force was advancing recklessly and aggressively toward the State Palace.

The keen-nosed citizens of Guitou quickly made way for the roads, fled into alleys, and rushed home.

The coup—a nightmare that had tormented the citizens of Guitu for over a decade, a blade that had hung over the head of the United Provinces Republic government for over a decade—finally crossed the line of political struggle, pierced the boundary, and became a reality.

"Halt!" came the shout from the roadblock ahead, its voice trembling at the end. The city guards lowered their spears: "Show your relocation warrants!"

Guitu City had long since lost its city walls. Because the city walls were considered to obstruct internal and external traffic, the United Province government disregarded the army's opposition and forcibly passed a bill to demolish the city walls and fill in the moat—an event that was also considered by the United Province army as one of the ironclad pieces of evidence of the government's misdeeds.

However, by a twist of fate, the provincial government's decree to demolish the city walls became an excellent asset to the coup forces.

Without the protection of walls and moats, Guido was like an egg with its shell peeled off. Although it had the star-shaped fortress designed by Antoine Laurent himself as a barrier, it was powerless against surprise attacks from within.

At this moment, the only thing preventing the coup forces from entering the city was a checkpoint responsible for collecting tolls and checking for smuggling, and a few terrified, pot-bellied guards.

There is no clear dividing line between the "urban area" and the "suburbs" of Guitu City, but there is indeed an invisible line there.

Once you cross that line, there's absolutely no turning back.

The flames subsided, and all the officers and soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the 2nd National Guard Corps stopped and involuntarily looked at the chief centurion.

Captain Fritz ignored the guards' warnings and shouts, and without even touching the reins, walked past the checkpoint and the guards without looking to the side.

The guards looked at each other, and the leading guard gritted his teeth and reached out to pull the bridle off the captain's horse.

However, without Captain Fritz giving any orders, another accompanying sergeant immediately strode forward and smashed the leading guard down with the butt of his rifle.

This rifle butt was like a floodgate opening; the other soldiers swarmed forward, and the guards at the checkpoint were beaten black and blue, becoming prisoners in a daze.

Jos Fritz coldly dissected everything before him. He had originally thought that line was insurmountable, but when he actually crossed that invisible line—like Caesar crossing the Rubicon—he suddenly realized that "crossing the line" was not such a big deal.

"Target!" Fritz drew his sword and pointed it at the end of the long street: "The State Palace!"

The smoldering embers turned into a raging fire once more, with flames leaping up the eaves and soaring into the sky accompanied by the roars of humans.

The officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 2nd "Steadfast" Legion of the National Guard shouted and formed a battle formation, rushing toward the State Palace, which reflected the golden light in the sunlight.

……

Meanwhile, the Army Ministry.

Brigadier General William Barents, the nominal supreme commander of the United Provinces Army and Secretary of War, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing around his office in a sweat.

Barents was promoted to brigadier general last year, and was also promoted to Minister of the Army from the sinecure of Minister of External Relations of the Army Ministry last year.

Rumors circulated that it was precisely because William Barentsz had served in the Ministry of War for many years and had always been at odds with the monolithic General Staff system that Secretary of State Lionel insisted on appointing him as Minister of War.

To others, Barentsz had simply gotten lucky. But only Barentsz knew in his heart how precarious the position of Minister of War was at this critical juncture when a mutiny was imminent—the chair bearing the minister's title was not a chair at all, but a red-hot iron plate.

Therefore, since taking office, Barentsz has done his best to bridge the differences between the military and the government, ease the conflict between the parliament and the military, and prayed every night that he could get through his term safely... or at least not have anything happen to him during his term.

But what you fear most is what happens; the sword overhead still fell, and the powder keg beneath your buttocks still exploded with a deafening roar.

Compared to the distraught Secretary of the Army, the other two lieutenants in the office appeared much more composed.

"General, don't waste your energy." A lieutenant, unable to bear seeing the general so flustered, calmly advised, "Sit down and rest for a bit."

Another lieutenant spoke up, "You are safe here."

Although the two lieutenants spoke casually, their right hands gripped the wooden handles of their wheel guns tightly, and their eyes were fixed on Barents, never letting their guard down.

William Barentsz stopped and looked at the two lieutenants, tentatively asking, "Who are you...?"

"Issue 19, Fernando Alberto."

"Issue 20, Henry Worth."

The two lieutenants raised their hands in a formal salute.

“Lieutenant Albert, Lieutenant Voss.” Brigadier General Barents, his temples already streaked with gray, looked at the two young men with pity and sorrow: “You two had such bright futures ahead of you, why did you get involved in… this kind of thing? You were supposed to be protecting the Republic, but now, look at yourselves, do you even know what you’re doing?”

The two lieutenants exchanged glances, and Lieutenant Albert from the 19th class narrowed his eyes: "And you? Do you know what you're doing?"

Barents was taken aback that the other party dared to retort, and instinctively adopted the authority of a general: "Are you asking me?"

“Yes.” Albert stared at the brigadier general and repeated each word carefully: “Do you know what you are doing?”

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you know better than us the extent of corruption within the Republic's government? Don't you understand better than us whether the National Assembly can truly represent the people? Don't you know better than us how many bloated, self-serving parasites reside in the State Palace?" Albert gritted his teeth, questioning them with a hateful voice.

"But what about you? What have you done? You've succumbed to them! You've flattered them! Just to stay in this position, you've betrayed the interests of the army! Betrayed the interests of the people! Betrayed the interests of the republic! What right do you have to ask us if we know what we're doing? We know very well! We're saving this country—while there's still time!"

Barents was speechless, unsure how to answer. He instinctively crossed his arms, avoiding eye contact, and said coldly, "Young man, don't make judgments before you actually sit in my seat."

Albert sneered, "Fine! Let's go through them one by one. Why was the corruption case involving the city defense project seven years ago left unresolved? Whose pocket did the money squeezed from the budgets of various municipalities and the army, allocated to repair the city defense works, end up in?"

Voss also questioned in a low voice: "Each parish, village, and town holds a lottery for military service every year. If you pay money, you won't be selected; if you don't pay, you'll be taken away for service. Powerful and wealthy thugs even use the military service lottery as a means to seize land from self-cultivating farmers, and all of this happens right under the nose of the Ministry of the Army."

“Lies! Cheating in the lottery is a capital offense, punishable by hanging.” Barents glared and slammed his hand on the table: “Who told you this?”

“We don’t need anyone to tell us,” Voss replied calmly. “We saw it all with our own eyes.”

William Barentsz slumped back into his chair: "I don't know anything about these things."

“So we don’t blame you, General,” Albert said calmly. “We also know that Lionel didn’t put you in this position with good intentions. Your problem is that you are part of a corrupt, dirty, bloated system—the system we are going to overthrow.”

"You? Who are you?"

“All army officers who still have a conscience,” Albert said, looking directly into the brigadier general’s eyes. “All army officers who remember the old marshal’s teachings.”

“Conscience? Instruction? You are merely rebelling.” William Barentsz smiled bitterly: “You have shaken the sanctity of the supreme command, and sooner or later you will taste the bitter fruit.”

“Say what you will!” Albert replied without wavering. He paused for a moment, then said bitterly, “What is more intolerable than your corruption is your incompetence! Incompetence!”

After the Battle of Taniriya, how many reserve troops did the Republic mobilize? How much burden did these reserves place on the nation? To assemble such a massive army and yet fail to achieve any strategic or tactical victory—what else could this be but incompetence? Compared to your corruption, your incompetence is a far greater and deeper wound on the Republic's body! It causes the Republic to groan and wail every moment, and we must stop it!

"Then what do you want? Do you really want to start a full-scale war with Veneta and Plattour?" William Barentsz roared in fury, like a spring compressed to its limit suddenly bursting forth: "Weapons are most useful when they are sheathed! Don't you even understand this principle?!"

“You are mistaken, General.” Lieutenant Voss raised his head, his eyes filled with a confident yet enigmatic light: “To forge the sharpest weapon and then not use it is the greatest incompetence and waste.”

“You…you…” Barents gripped his clothes tightly, his face pale with anger. He roared, “You bastards! You want to…you want to…” The door was kicked open with a bang, and a colonel strode into the office with his guards. Albert and Voss quickly saluted.

The colonel immediately guessed what had happened in the office. He glared at the two lieutenants and said, "Why are you wasting your breath talking to him? Your orders are to keep an eye on him! Don't let him commit suicide!"

Having said that, the officer, disregarding how unpleasant Barents's expression was, pulled out a sheet of white paper covered with names, slammed it heavily on the desk, and asked in a sarcastic tone, "General, please sign this."

"Sign? What do you mean by signing?"

The officer took out a handkerchief, wiped his nose, and said nonchalantly, "Arrest warrant."

……

Meanwhile, fully armed military police were arresting people indiscriminately at the Army Ministry building, the Army General Staff building, various army agencies, military camps, and even government departments.

These self-proclaimed military police officers employed extremely brutal and violent methods, resorting to violence at the slightest resistance, as if it made no difference to them whether they were taking away a corpse or a living person.

The list they held was exactly the same as the list that had been slammed down in front of Brigadier General Barentsz.

……

William Barentsz did not pick up the list; he merely glanced at it.

He could only recognize a small portion of the names on the list, but most of the names he remembered belonged to pro-government factions within the army or to non-military command factions who had served in the Ministry of the Army for many years. He even recognized a few names belonging to members of parliament.

Barents snorted, crossed his arms, and arrogantly declared, "I will not sign a list that I did not write."

"Oh? Is that so?" The officer put away his handkerchief, drew his pistol, removed the cover of the powder vat, snapped the flint, and pressed the muzzle against the Minister of War's forehead—his finger already on the trigger: "Sir, I assure you, your signature and your brains will both be on the arrest warrant."

……

A moment later, the officer put away the arrest warrant, turned around with satisfaction, and prepared to leave.

A chilling voice came from behind, William Barentschi was uttering his final curse: "Do you really think you can succeed? You think you've seized the opportunity of Lionel's visit to Varne, but how do you know that this isn't the opportunity Lionel wants to wipe you out in one fell swoop?"

Don't forget! Your power also derives from the command authority. When you destroy the sanctity of command authority, you are destined for this serpent to eventually bite its own tail! To devour yourselves! Remember my words! Remember!

The officer ignored the raucous barking of the defeated dog. He nodded to Worth and Albert, straightened his clothes, and left the room, the heavy oak door to the Secretary of War's office closing behind him.

……

Meanwhile, in the State Palace Parliament Hall.

News of the rebellion had reached the State Palace through various channels, and chaos reigned in the parliament hall.

"Do not panic, gentlemen."

Facing the remaining members of parliament who were summoned to the meeting, Richard Meyerhouse, who was acting as Speaker and Secretary of State, remained calm: "You are the respectable representatives elected by all the citizens, and at this time you should remain calm, dignified and respectful."

"Meyerhouse! Stop talking nonsense!" someone in the council chamber shouted angrily. "The National Guard has mutinied! It's all your fault!"

“I apologize, but I cannot agree with your point of view,” Richard Myerhouse said slowly. “Congressman Quirkburn.”

"Save your breath! We'll hold them accountable later!" another member of parliament shouted anxiously. "We need to evacuate immediately! Parliament! State Palace! Evacuate immediately!"

"Silence, gentlemen." Richard Myerhouse struck the podium heavily with his gavel, and after the room quieted down, he gave a calm and capable smile: "No need to panic, His Excellency Lionel was prepared."

……

Martyrs' Square outside the State Palace
Upon learning of the coup attempt, the Honor Guard responsible for guarding Martyrs' Square immediately deployed its defenses. The guards dragged in furniture and carriages, barely managing to block the entrance to Martyrs' Square.

Captain Narden, the commander of the Honor Guard, was extremely anxious because the State Palace Honor Guard was essentially a ceremonial unit and had no heavy weapons other than muskets.

Even gunpowder and lead bullets were scarce—to prevent the assassination of members of parliament, the musketeers of the Honor Guard were never issued gunpowder or lead bullets.

The only thing Captain Narden could count on was the two ceremonial cannons that had been moved from outside the main gate of the State Palace. These two six-pound bronze cannons, salvaged from the warship, were already stuffed with every nail, stone, and gunpowder Captain Narden could find.

If reinforcements from the garrison don't arrive soon, Captain Narden can only pray that the rebels will be crushed by two volleys of grapeshot.

Finally, at the end of the street, a dense array of spear shafts and overlapping figures began to appear. The rebels drew closer, their faces becoming clearer. An officer rode at the head of the column, followed by musketeers, and then spearmen.

But reinforcements were still nowhere to be seen.

"Back off!" Captain Narden roared. "You are violating the most sacred land of the Republic! Seventeen hundred and fourteen martyrs are buried here! Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately!"

The leading rebel officer continued forward until he could hear each other speaking.

“You won’t have any reinforcements.” Fritz took off his helmet. “Don’t die for them, senior.”

Captain Nalden looked back at Martyrs' Square, then at the empty streets. After struggling for a long time, he finally made up his mind: "My duty is to guard Martyrs' Square! Step back!"

Fritz snapped his helmet back on, spurred his horse away, and shouted: "Musketeers! Prepare!"

The barricades were like a mirror, reflecting two identical armies, both trained in the same way, organized in the same way, following the same rules, and inheriting the same spirit.

Now, they are facing each other with swords drawn.

Nalden looked at the enemy in front of him in despair, knowing that they would not be defeated by artillery fire.

"Fire!" he roared.

Two loud bangs followed one after the other, and two rounds of shotgun shells swept across the street like raindrops, accompanied by shockwaves.

The smoke obscured the guards' vision. Suddenly, a volley of gunfire erupted, followed by a piercing scream from behind the smoke. Legion soldiers, wielding spears and swords, leaped over the barricades, and a brutal hand-to-hand combat ensued.

……

[Barricades after fierce fighting]
The hand-to-hand combat was brief and intense, quickly determining the victor.

Captain Narden lay in a pool of blood, two lead bullets piercing his plate armor and embedding themselves in his chest, causing him excruciating burning pain with every breath.

“Why…don’t you…understand…” Narden coughed up pale red blood bubbles, his voice weak and feeble, “…they…just…used you…as…a tool…that…”

“I know.” Fritz shook his senior’s hand. “I know.”

"……Why……"

“As long as there is any change.” Fritz paused. “I’m willing to be a tool.”

“So that’s how it is…” Nalden seemed to nod, then his eyes lost their light.

……

Later that day, Fritz's infantry battalion occupied the State Palace, Army Headquarters, and all the key institutions in Guido.

The remaining members of parliament, under the chairmanship of acting speaker Richard Myerhouse, held a special vote and unanimously passed a provisional resolution to dissolve parliament, remove John Lionel from all his posts, establish a provisional Supreme Council as a transitional body to govern the country, and hold new parliamentary elections when the time is right.

The expected reinforcements never arrived.

The traitor Captain Fritz became the hero Captain Fritz.

The brief exchange of fire at Martyrs' Square was the only organized resistance that occurred during the entire coup attempt.

Harlem Nalden was the only officer killed in the coup, and his rank and military status were subsequently removed.

On the night of the coup, the newly elected Speaker of the Supreme Council, Richard Myerhouse, rushed to Varne, determined to deal with former Secretary of State Lionel before the news reached Hirano Castle.

The April 1st coup in the United Provinces—this boulder fell into the water in a seemingly calm manner, but the undercurrents it stirred up will stir up every corner of the Cynas Alliance and even the entire continent.

Meanwhile, Winters Montagne's migrating caravan crossed the Jiangbei province and boarded a ferry back to Tiefeng County.

[One more chapter! This volume ends!]
[And, according to my rough calculations, all successful coups in history seem somewhat... comical. The more recent the coup and the more abundant the historical records, the more comical they are...]
But what I want to say is that although many coups seem ridiculous and the process is like child's play.

However, as a violent means second only to war, the success of a coup often has deeper reasons. In other words, it's not that the process is comical that makes a coup successful, but rather that the coup is already a natural progression, which is why it appears so comical.
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, rewards, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
[PS: This time the Easter egg is the "Winters bust"]

[PS2: Because the full-body portrait underwent so many revisions, I didn't offer any suggestions to the artist regarding this half-body portrait, hence its slightly childish appearance (blushing). Also, actually, I only offered suggestions for revisions on the "Winters full-body portrait," because I could compromise on other paintings, but Winters... after much thought, I couldn't compromise, so I reluctantly went to negotiate.]

(End of this chapter)