Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 317: North-South Division
The news that Pedro II signed the abdication edict spread outside the palace. Admiral Garcia, Lieutenant Colonel Eberle, Baron Loreto and other royalist officers realized that the situation in Rio de Janeiro could no longer be reversed. Therefore, led by Admiral Garcia, several scattered royalist troops quickly gathered together to escort the Brazilian Empire's crown prince Princess Isabella and her husband Count Iyo out of Rio de Janeiro, and then boarded five royalist-controlled warships and set off for northern Brazil. …………

On the morning of the fourth day after the military coup, the Republicans and Democrats jointly announced the establishment of a republican government, nominated Fonseca as the interim president of the new government, Republican leader Morais as the speaker of the parliament, and generals and government officials who participated in the coup, such as Peshoto, divided the remaining government positions.

After the establishment of the Republic, Morais visited the British Minister to Brazil and promised to abide by all political and economic cooperation reached between Brazil and Britain during the Brazilian Empire. The Republican government's statement won the recognition and appreciation of the British government. In response, the British Minister to Brazil, Austin, announced that the British government respects the will of the Brazilian people, recognizes the legitimacy of the new government, and is willing to engage in more in-depth communication with the Brazilian government on exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

The largest country in South America completed the replacement of regime in just a few days. As the news of the successful coup in the imperial capital spread throughout Brazil, important regions such as São Paulo, Paraná, and Goiás fell smoothly into the hands of the Republican government.

The main warships of the Brazilian Navy were docked in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. When Admiral Garcia fled Rio de Janeiro, he took advantage of the naval soldiers' loyalty to Princess Isabella and recruited five large warships, including two ironclad ships, to escort them away.

The Brazilian Navy had a total of five ironclad ships. Two main battleships with a total displacement of 7800 tons were removed from the organization, causing the combat effectiveness of the newly established Republican Navy to shrink by half in an instant.

The navy is a high-tech branch of the military. More than 80% of the middle and senior officers of the Brazilian Navy are from the upper class. Because of Pedro II's untimely reforms, most landlords and nobles gave up their support for him. However, faced with the end of imperial rule and the serious weakening of political power, about 40% of naval officers and soldiers chose to be loyal to the imperial crown prince, hoping to follow Princess Isabella back to Rio de Janeiro and regain control of the central government.

The Brazilian Republican government's control over naval warships was not as smooth as its control over the army. On August 1879, 8, more than 21 naval officers and soldiers left the naval port without authorization and drove two medium-sized frigates to the northern waters. On August 300, seven middle-level officers planned to incite naval soldiers to control the remaining three ironclad ships and surrender to Isabella. However, they were discovered by the vigilant naval port garrison commander and their actions were stopped in time.

The morale of the navy was in flux, the tonnage of its main warships had been lost by nearly half, and about 70% of its middle and lower-level officers had been lost. The Republican government, which had been making great strides to take over military control of the central and southern regions, suddenly encountered a serious setback.

The loss and weakening of naval strength led to the Republican government's increasing distrust of the navy. A large number of naval officers from aristocratic families were ordered not to board warships. The remaining three ironclads and more than ten warships were concentrated in the Rio de Janeiro naval port. The army troops sent by Fonseca strictly guarded the port's artillery positions and entrances and exits to prevent the navy from defecting to the north again.

On the other hand, Princess Isabella and her entourage of more than 2,000 people arrived

In Salvador, the capital of Bahia State, relying on Isabella's status as the crown princess of the Empire and the influence of royalist generals such as Admiral Garcia, Duke Robert, and Lieutenant Colonel Eber in the army, more than 15,000 central troops stationed in Salvador swore allegiance to Princess Isabella. Afterwards, Admiral Garcia and Duke Robert assigned the officers who followed Princess Isabella to escape from Rio de Janeiro to the 15,000 soldiers and reorganized the army of Salvador.

On August 8, after two days of rest and replenishment, the royalist troops stranded in Salvador quickly expanded to 22 people. At noon that day, under the auspices of Duke Robert, Princess Isabella crowned herself the Queen of the Brazilian Empire, declared to the outside world that the Republican government was a rebellion, and called on troops from all over Brazil to be loyal to the empire and eliminate the Republican government.

At the coronation ceremony, Queen Isabella appointed Duke of Forbert as Prime Minister of the Empire, in charge of the Empire's political affairs, conferred the title of Duke of Akaju on Garcia, promoted his military rank to Imperial Marshal, and appointed him as Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army, conferred the title of Imperial Count on Lieutenant Colonel Eberle, and promoted his military rank to Major General, responsible for assisting Marshal Garcia in managing the army.

After hastily completing the succession ceremony, Marshal Garcia and Major General Eber led more than 8 troops on more than 24 warships of various sizes to the north to integrate the Brazilian troops in the northern states. On August 8, the Central Army scattered in Sergipe and Alagoas joined Garcia's troops. On August 25, Major General Eber landed in the coastal area of ​​Pernambuco State on a warship. That night, the royalist army entered the northern important town of Recife, and the 6 garrisoned Central Army was incorporated into Eber's troops.

By the end of August, most of the northern regions, including Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Maranhão, surrendered to the royalists. The areas controlled by the Isabela government expanded to nine states, and the number of Brazilian troops under the command of the royalists reached nearly 8.

Coups d'état occurred one after another. In an attempt to destroy each other, the Republican government and the royalist forces recruited soldiers on a large scale to expand their military strength. By early September, the number of royalist troops in the North had expanded to 9, and the total number of troops under the Republican government in the South exceeded 8.

The Republican government controlled densely populated areas such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and its total military strength was nearly twice that of the Royalist forces. However, the Republican government faced direct threats from Paraguay and the Han Dynasty.

At the beginning of the establishment of the new government, Lopez Jr., who had been planning for a long time, mobilized 4 troops and advanced along the border between São Paulo and Minas Gerais, intending to defeat the Brazilian army in the front, march straight into Rio de Janeiro, and bring the core territory of the Brazilian Empire under the rule of Paraguay.

In López Jr.'s desperate attack, in less than two weeks, the Republican army lost a total of 6 people, and more than troops were mobilized to São Paulo and Minas Gerais to block the continuous offensive of the Paraguayan army.

In Paraná State, as news of the failure of the peace talks spread, the Han State stepped up its efforts to mobilize troops to the northern border areas. By early September, the total number of troops gathered in Paraná State and Los Angeles State (Santa Catarina State) reached 9.

Excluding the troops tied down by the Han Kingdom and Paraguay, the military force used to deal with the royalists is about 7. In terms of a single front, the Brazilian Republican government does not have an advantage.

On September 1879, 9, the royalists avoided the Republican government's key land defense line and dispatched troops on warships to attack Rio de Janeiro directly from the sea. The naval battle was one-sided. The navy controlled by the Republican government fought with the royalist fleet for less than half an hour, and the Republican government's naval fleet was at an absolute disadvantage. In order to preserve the Republican government's only remaining naval force, the Republican government ordered the naval fleet to retreat to the naval port. At the same time, according to a private agreement between Britain and the Brazilian Republican government, British Minister Austin ordered the expeditionary fleet to intervene in the Brazilian Civil War and prevent the royalist fleet from continuing to penetrate into the coastal area of ​​​​Rio de Janeiro.

Britain intervened in the dispute between the two factions in Brazil and helped the Republican government temporarily resolve the royalist threat at sea. However, on land, the military offensive and intimidation from Paraguay and Han made the Republican government live in fear all day long.

On September 9, Morais visited British Minister to Brazil Austin again and pleaded with the British Expeditionary Force to dispatch troops to assist the Republican Army in blocking the Paraguayan army. After his request was rejected by the British Minister, Morais solemnly made a request to Austin, hoping that the British government would understand the difficulties of the Republican Government and force Paraguay and Han to stop their hostile actions against Brazil and restart the armistice negotiations.

Brazil was divided into north and south, and the Republican government faced the crisis of being divided as soon as it was established. In order to continue to implement the South American balance policy and reduce the losses caused by misjudgment of the Brazilian civil war situation, the British government was forced to accept the request of the Brazilian Republican government, lower the conditions for peace talks, and actively invite Han and Paraguay to participate in armistice negotiations.

(End of this chapter)