Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 121 Brazil’s Internal Instability

In the Royal Palace of Rio de Janeiro, the bustling and glorious scenes of the past were replaced by silence and emptiness.

In the hall, Pedro II sat at the top, and Dukes Garcia and Foro Robert stood below.

"You are all aware of the statements from Peru and Bolivia, tell us what you think and what measures we should take to respond to them."

Pedro II spoke first.

"Your Majesty, Peru and Bolivia are not strong enough. We only need to dispatch 10,000 troops to reinforce the western border area to ensure that the Acre region will not be lost."

Garcia originally did not want to express his views on the issues of Peru and Bolivia because of the failure of the Paraguayan War. As the military commander, Garcia had been dismissed from his military post and was also prosecuted by the military court. He could be imprisoned and punished at any time.

The loss of Brazil's main force and the accusations of domestic public opinion made Garcia unable to pay attention to the affairs of the Brazilian army. However, Pedro II sent someone to find him from the inspection room of the Military Court and raised military issues. Garcia could not pretend not to hear them.

“Peru and Bolivia are just clowns who want to take advantage of the chaos in the Empire. They really underestimate the Empire’s strength.

Duke Fobert, notify the Army Headquarters to dispatch 5,000 men from the Campinas Military Region and the Ribeirao Reto Military Region to reinforce the Acre region.

"As you command, Your Majesty." Duke Frobert bowed slightly, turned around and called the officer on duty at the palace gate, explained Pedro II's order, and returned to the palace.

"General Garcia, there is no problem with your military command ability. The defeat in the Paraguayan War was an accident. I hope you can face up to the impact of the Paraguayan War and continue to contribute to the development of the Brazilian Empire."

"The main force of the Imperial Army has been completely destroyed. As the supreme commander of the battlefield, I have an unshirkable responsibility. I am willing to accept the trial and punishment of the military court and will not evade my responsibility."

Garcia heard that Pedro II was trying to comfort himself and shirk responsibility for the Paraguayan war, but as a pure soldier, he disdainful of using this method to absolve himself of guilt.

"General, the main responsibility for the Paraguayan War lies with the Military Court and the Imperial Parliament. As a senior general of the Imperial Army, I hope you will show the qualities of an excellent general and stand up bravely when the Empire needs you, instead of being defeated by a war failure like a coward."

Pedro II looked cautious and spoke in a serious tone: "You two, you should have seen the situation in the empire. Externally, Chinese forces have occupied Rio Grande do Sul, and tens of thousands of the empire's citizens have been expelled from the land where they have lived for generations. Paraguay is still determined to attack Mato Grosso State. Peru and Bolivia have issued statements demanding that the empire give up the Acre region. It has also been confirmed that Peru and Bolivia are mobilizing their forces. If the empire does not agree to their conditions, a new war will be inevitable."

After Pedro II finished talking about the external situation Brazil was facing, he saw that the two people below did not express their opinions, and said in a heavy tone: "The external threats seem severe, but in fact, as long as the empire is stable, their threats are not great. But, is the empire stable and peaceful now?

The various political parties within the Imperial Parliament were extremely active. Representatives of local self-government forces demanded local regional autonomy, while representatives of large farmers and factory owners hoped to carry out thorough political reforms, limit the power of the monarch and improve their political status. The Liberal Party and Republican forces launched a new case in the Imperial Parliament, demanding that I be held responsible for launching the Paraguayan War without authorization and abolish the monarchy.

My lords, the situation in the empire has developed to the point where it is no longer the time to hold those responsible for the failure of the war accountable. Their target has become a political incident against me. They hope to use the impact of the failure of the war to prevent the economic and political reforms of the empire, or even to overthrow the imperial monarchy.

Pedro II paused for a moment, then said in a slow tone: "At this time, I hope you can stand firmly with me, crush the conspiracy of the ambitious and separatist elements within the empire, and lead the empire out of its predicament."

Pedro II's attitude was sincere and serious, but his words gave a different feeling to the two people below.

The Forobert family is an old and established force with deep roots in Brazil. They represent the large landowners and farmers who support the monarchy. The landlord class has always been the strongest supporter of the monarchy. The Forobert family and a group of aristocratic landlords form the Conservative Party, which is called the Royalist Party by other parties in the parliament. They specifically fight against the Liberal Party and Republican forces, and ensure the stability of Pedro II's royal power.

However, the full support of the royalists did not bring equal return from Pedro II.

In the Imperial Parliament, Pedro II only used the Conservative Party as a pawn to check and balance the opposition forces. When necessary, he let the Conservative Party take the lead in fighting against the Liberal Party and Republicans. Then Pedro II, as the final arbitrator, mediated the conflict between the two factions. To put it bluntly, Pedro II was just trying to mediate between the royalists and the Republicans, and did not resolve the fundamental conflict between the two factions.

Moreover, Pedro II, who was deeply influenced by the political systems of Britain and France, hoped to change Brazil into a civilized and democratic country like Britain and France, implement the British constitutional monarchy, pursue superficial democracy and freedom, and was reluctant to eradicate the political forces that opposed him. As a result, the upper class of Brazil imitated the lives of Britain and France, and the various political parties in the Imperial Parliament quarreled every day but mostly served the forces they represented, and rarely really cared about the national interests. It is said that learning the political systems of Britain and France is a good idea, but Brazil is not a traditional European country. The indigenous white people in Brazil come from Portugal, Spain, Germany and other regions, and their centripetal force is not strong. In addition, there are complex contradictions among different groups of people in the country, such as mixed-race people, Indians, and black slaves. Implementing a democratic system in such a country is undoubtedly a chronic suicide.

Pedro II was called a noble monarch by European countries, but he was not a suitable monarch for Brazil. The core of the Brazilian monarchy was the large landowners and plantation owners represented by the Portuguese nobility. It was with their support that Pedro II was able to suppress the separatist and separatist forces in the country.
Politically, large landowners and plantation owners formed the Conservative Party to protect the monarchy.

In terms of economy, the landlord class with sufficient funds invested money in industrial construction, promoting the development of Brazil's domestic industry.

In the military field, a group of members of large landowner families represented by Garcia joined the army to suppress local separatist and rebellious forces.

The fundamental reason why the big landowners and the big plantation class supported Pedro's rule was to ensure the security of their land and to protect the income from the land. However, Pedro II, who was good at smoothing things over, faced the influence of the abolitionist movements in European countries and the United States. He first released all slaves belonging to the Brazilian royal family, and then recently announced a ban on buying African slaves. In addition, Pedro II repeatedly expressed his attitude of completely abolishing slavery in public, deliberately catering to the claims of the Republicans and liberals.

Pedro II's seemingly smart but actually dangerous behavior is like walking on a tightrope. If he is not careful, he will fall to pieces.

According to the original historical trajectory, with the victory in the Paraguayan War, Pedro II relied on the prestige of expanding territory to extend the life of the Brazilian Empire for another 21 years. However, now the Paraguayan War has been a complete failure, and various domestic forces opposing Pedro II have joined forces. If nothing unexpected happens, the Brazilian Empire will definitely not last more than years.

The conflicts that have arisen one after another in Brazil have gradually accumulated. With just one outbreak point, the huge Brazilian empire is likely to be wiped out in a short period of time.

Pedro II was in danger without knowing it, but Forbert felt the severity of the situation directly. The money invested in industry by the nobles and landlords was nowhere in sight. After the failure of the Paraguayan War, more than 40,000 Brazilian soldiers were killed or captured. Most of them were members of the landlord class who wanted to gain land by making merit on the battlefield. Their deaths and capture were a heavy blow to the landlord class in Brazil, and also intensified their dissatisfaction with Pedro II.

After Garcia led the remnants of the army back to Rio de Janeiro, many landlords and plantation families came to Forbert's residence every day to inquire about the situation. However, Forbert's own son Canudut was in the hands of the Chinese Independence Army and had not returned. How could he help others?

Speaking of Canudut, the Chinese Independence Army did not treat him badly. They did not make him do physical work like ordinary prisoners. Instead, they arranged him in the city of Porto Alegre, where his daily food and living were guaranteed. As for the more than 200 people who knew his information, they were all executed after the war. Li Mingyuan fulfilled his original promise to Canudut and was only waiting to send him back after coordinating with Brazil.

Robert received the news that his son was safe a week ago. He was a little wary of the Chinese Independence Army's intention to hold his son hostage, but he was more relieved.

Although the Chinese Independence Army has strong combat effectiveness, its small number and isolation are inherent disadvantages. He does not think that the Chinese Independence Army can threaten the survival of Brazil, so he is not so worried about the leverage that Canudut has in the hands of the Chinese Independence Army.

Frobert was also dissatisfied with Pedro II's attempt to smooth things over, but he had no good way to make Pedro II change his mind, so he could only nod to show his support.

Garcia was different. As a soldier, he was straightforward and had fewer concerns than Forbert. He directly suggested, "Your Majesty, the strength of the empire's domestic army is seriously insufficient. I implore Your Majesty to take back the command of the local army and increase the strength of the army."

The Paraguayan War lasted for three years, and not only the central army suffered losses, but the local forces affiliated with the states also suffered heavy losses. It was undoubtedly a good opportunity to take back the command of the local forces by taking advantage of the declarations of Peru and Bolivia.

The opportunity was a good one, but Pedro II could not make up his mind: "Before the outbreak of the Paraguayan War, I reached a formal agreement with the Imperial Congress that local troops were under the sole jurisdiction of the states to which they belonged. Without the resolution of the Imperial Congress and the states across the country, the emperor had no right to abolish the local army organization. Moreover, the agreement had been incorporated into the Imperial Constitution. I could not take the lead in violating the Constitution."

"Your Majesty, the main force of the Imperial Guard is still there, and together with the guards defending the capital, the central army is completely overpowering the local troops. With the central army in hand, the local troops dare not disobey the central orders. I implore Your Majesty to seize this opportunity and solve the problem of the local troops forming their own factions in one fell swoop."

"We'll talk about the local military later. I've reached a consensus with the Imperial Parliament. The land that originally belonged to the church will be redistributed to the church, and all the black slaves who participated in logistics and transportation during the war will be given free status. As for General Garcia, as punishment for the failure of the Paraguayan War, you will lose your rank of general and be subject to certain property penalties. After the court's verdict, I will transfer you to the Guards as an advisor to assist in the management of the Guards' affairs."

Pedro II tactfully rejected Garcia's proposal, but in order to keep Garcia and temporarily appease the domestic opposition, he had to make a lot of concessions. First, he expanded the scope of slave pardon from participating in military battles to slaves engaged in logistics and transportation related to the army. In this way, more than 200,000 black slaves would be pardoned, and the biggest losses would naturally be the slave owners, the big landowners and plantation owners. Secondly, returning the land that originally belonged to the church and increasing the autonomy of local states were contrary to the reform plan originally implemented by Pedro II and were a regression of reform. However, faced with the relentless pressure from the Liberal Party and the Republicans and the need to resolve the adverse effects of the defeat in the Paraguayan War as soon as possible, Pedro II chose to make concessions, hoping to overcome the current difficulties through compromise and reconciliation.

Pedro had made up his mind, and Garcia's persuasion was useless. However, Forbert's face turned ugly. He restricted the scope of slavery step by step and used various means to continuously release slaves. Pedro II was gradually challenging the bottom line of the Brazilian landowner class.

The American Civil War broke out between the North and the South over slavery. Will Brazil also have a civil war over slavery?
A brutal scene of civil war emerged in Forbert's mind.

(End of this chapter)