Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 316 The End of the Empire
On August 1879, 8, the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro fell into chaos due to a sudden military coup. The city defense forces, the Royal Guards, the armed gendarmerie, and several different Brazilian military systems were mixed together, running back and forth in the city in a daze.

Only a few key members knew about the military coup plotted by Fonseca and others. The vast majority of middle and lower-level officers and soldiers just mechanically followed the orders of their superiors and gathered in Rio de Janeiro from their respective camps.

More than a dozen important institutions, including the Imperial Cabinet Parliament Building, the Imperial Palace, the Royal Army General Staff, the National News Bureau, and the Central Bank, were attacked by the coup soldiers. The gendarmes who were unaware of the truth and some guards loyal to the imperial government guarded the various institutions diligently and engaged in fierce firefights with the soldiers pouring out of the city.

At 1:18 p.m., the coup soldiers successively occupied the National News Bureau and the Post Office. All external contacts and propaganda channels in Rio de Janeiro fell into the control of Fonseca and others. Several news editors who refused to cooperate were shot dead in public. Fonseca and Peixoto led an army to support the battle in the direction of the Royal Palace and the Cabinet and Parliament Building respectively, while Morais sat in the News Bureau and announced in the name of the Republican leader that the Republican Revolution had won a decisive victory. Pedro II and a small number of royalist troops had been surrounded by the coup troops. The corrupt and incompetent imperial government was about to collapse. The troops in Rio de Janeiro and across Brazil should obey the orders of the Republican government and expel and arrest the stubborn royalists.

The temporarily printed newspapers and leaflets were widely distributed among the Republicans and Democrats, causing the guards scattered in various government agencies to gradually give up their resistance. One government agency after another fell into the hands of the coup army. At this time, most officials who were inclined towards democratic republicanism and were disappointed with Pedro II's incompetent rule were quickly won over by Morais to the side of the coup. Then, these officials who had only verbally declared their allegiance to the Republican government were immediately reinstated, and even promoted several levels, and put into action to control the administrative operations of Rio de Janeiro.

At 4000: p.m., the advantage of Fonseca and other coup parties became increasingly obvious. Atrenota sensed the change in the situation and immediately announced that the Rio de Janeiro City Defense Force would accept the leadership of the Republican government. city defense forces joined the coup army and vowed to fight against the royalist army.

The defection of 4000 city defense troops led to a subversive change in the balance of military power in Rio de Janeiro. The more than 2000 Brazilian troops hastily assembled by General Garcia were defeated by the coup troops and were unable to advance to the royal palace. The various royalist military forces scattered in the city were unable to restore contact with Pedro II and were defeated and incorporated one by one by the defected city defense troops.

Outside the walls of the palace, the coup troops were stationed in every direction. When the last guard still loyal to the Brazilian Empire escorted Pedro II and Baron Muritba to the back door of the garden, they were faced with more than 3,000 coup troops who were ready for battle.

Most of the troops on both sides inside and outside the palace were comrades and friends who originally belonged to the same battle sequence, but became opposing enemies because of the political differences among their superiors and their own political beliefs.

The back door of the garden is the closest passage to the palace. In order to break out of the encirclement of the coup troops, Baron Muritba personally commanded his troops to attack.

The sounds of gunfire and fighting merged into one. The guards loyal to Pedro II shouted and rushed towards the city gate. Row after row of soldiers fell on the open space outside the city gate. The defense line broken through by the victims, the guards in the garden took desperate steps and engaged in face-to-face hand-to-hand combat with the coup army at the foot of the city gate.

The narrow back door was filled with the bodies of the fallen soldiers. The gathered blood flowed along the thin drain into the garden full of golden tulips, leaving eerie blood-red streaks at the roots of the noble and elegant tulips.

Batches of soldiers guarding Pedro II were transferred to attack the back door defense line. When Baron Murribat personally led the army to launch the fourth attack, there were less than 700 surviving guards. The number of our soldiers was decreasing, and hearing the sound of fierce fighting coming from the back door of the garden, more and more coup soldiers rushed to the direction of Pedro II. The enemy's defense line showed no sign of slackening and collapse. If they continued to attack stubbornly, the remaining 700 tons of people would soon be wiped out.

With no hope of breaking out, Baron Murribate painfully told Pedro II about the predicament they were facing.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, to tell you the unfortunate news that the rebels have occupied the wall at the back gate of the garden, and our army has failed to break through the rebels' defense line."

"Where are the city defense troops? Why didn't General Atrenota lead the city defense troops to reinforce the palace?"

Pedro II said in panic.

"Atrenota has betrayed His Majesty. He has taken the city defense troops to join the rebels. The first troops to rush to the defense line at the back door of the garden to reinforce the rebels were his city defense troops!"

A Guards officer said angrily. "General Garcia? Yes, General Garcia is a famous general of the Empire. He will definitely be able to defeat the rebels!"

"Your Majesty, there is no hope. The rebels outside are saying that General Garcia was shot and killed while commanding his troops in a battle to rescue Your Majesty!"

"How could General Garcia die? No one in the Imperial Army can defeat General Garcia!"

Pedro II was like a poor drowning man, clinging to the last straw, unable to accept the cruel reality for a while.

"General Garcia cannot be defeated by the rebels so easily. Moreover, there are many generals and officials loyal to the empire in Rio de Janeiro. They know that Your Majesty is surrounded by the rebels in the palace, and they will definitely rescue Your Majesty at all costs!"

Baron Muribat spoke decisively to stop the frustration spreading among the remaining troops, and encouraged them, "Lieutenant Colonel Eberle, Duke Forobert, the Prime Minister of the Empire, and the Minister of Finance are all loyal servants of the Empire. They will not stand by and watch the rebels launch a coup d'état without doing anything."

"Yes, yes, yes!" A glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in Pedro II's frustrated eyes. "The nobles and central government officials possess the power and wealth bestowed by the empire. They will not allow the empire to be divided and destroyed by the rebels!"

After being persuaded by Baron Murribate, Pedro II mustered up the courage to lead the last 700 guards to retreat to the only palace in the royal palace that had not been occupied by the rebels - the Palace of Santo Tocsford, where he was ready to hold out until the arrival of the royalist army.

As night slowly fell, the sound of gunfire in Rio de Janeiro gradually died down. The royalist reinforcements that Pedro II had been waiting for were ultimately unable to reach the palace to join them.

The rebels outside sent many former members of the Imperial Parliament and military officers into the Palace of Santo Tocosforte to persuade Pedro II to give up resistance and surrender.

"Your Majesty, for the future of Mother Brazil, for the glory of you and your family, please accept the will of the people, give up resistance, and with the noble dignity of the Emperor of Brazil, stop this meaningless bloodshed and sacrifice."

"Must the empire be destroyed? If I agree to abdicate, can you allow Isabella to take over the throne of the Brazilian Empire?"

Pedro II was disheartened and made a last-ditch effort: "Isabella is a kind and sincere crown prince. The Brazilian Empire needs a kind and excellent queen to heal the wounds of war. I beg you to give Isabella a chance. She will become a good emperor supported by the Brazilians."

"You are the last emperor of Brazil. From today on, Brazil will not have any more emperors. Your Majesty, you don't have much time. If you don't give a clear answer, the army outside will force its way in in 10 minutes. At that time, the safety of you and your family will not be guaranteed by the Republican government."

The Republican representatives were aggressive and did not give Pedro II any chance to compromise. Time passed by, and ten minutes were about to pass. When the Republican representatives turned around and were about to step out of the palace, Pedro II compromised. For the sake of his own life and the lives of his family, he chose to give up the title of Emperor of the Brazilian Empire and signed his name on the last edict with the coat of arms of the Brazilian Empire. From then on, the Brazilian Empire, which had been passed down between two generations for fifty-seven years, officially came to an end.

(End of this chapter)