After passing through Plaza Modelo and walking into the Royal Palace of Salvador, Abel found a seat at random in the empty hall and sat down, patiently waiting for the arrival of the owner of the palace.
The palace was quiet. In the past, hundreds of people would have gathered in one place, but only about a dozen people were empty.
Count Loreto, Minister of Finance of the Empire (promoted from baron to earl in 1879 due to his meritorious service in protecting Princess Isabella), Marshal Garcia, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army (honored as Duke of Acaju.), Duke Florbert, Prime Minister of the Empire
(prime minister)
Count Deu, Commander of the Imperial Navy, Baron Marcos, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire, Antonio Ferru, Bishop of the Imperial Diocese...
Although there were not many people sitting in the palace, everyone was a high-ranking figure in the Brazilian Empire.
Seeing a group of imperial dignitaries gathered at the Salvador Palace, Abel realized the special nature of this meeting, so he temporarily resisted the urge to give advice to Queen Isabella and continued to sit upright in his seat.
"Your Majesty has arrived!"
More than ten minutes later, accompanied by a powerful roll call, Queen Isabella and her husband, the Duke of Iyo, wearing crowns and gorgeous white dresses, sat side by side on the main seat under the gaze of everyone.
"I've called you all here today because there are a few important things that we need to discuss together and make a decision on."
Queen Isabella said: "The first thing is the final treatment of those who participated in the rebellion. According to the recent responses from Marshal Garcia and several generals from various states, those who directly participated in the rebellion and were suspected of providing material support to the rebel forces
The total number of people exceeds 200,000, and it is not an option to keep more than 200,000 people in detention or isolation. Therefore, in the end, how to properly solve the problem of management and resettlement of rebellious black people, we still need to come up with a stable plan as soon as possible."
After Queen Isabella finished speaking, she subconsciously turned her gaze to the most senior Duke of Robert, hoping to gain his support.
"Ten years ago, the rebel armed activities were so powerful that they swept through more than ten states in the central and northern parts of the empire. Currently, the eight and a half states in the central coastal area directly controlled by the empire have experienced the destruction of rebel armed forces."
Duke Florbert briefly described the areas involved in the rebellion, and then said: "The armed rebellion was dominated by native blacks. Of course, there were also many native whites, Indians and mixed-race groups who joined the rebellion. After the rebellion, we witnessed
Due to the economic and political damage caused by the rebel armed forces to the mainland of the empire, some local commanders inevitably took drastic measures and imprisoned and isolated some residents who were sympathetic to the rebel armed forces or who were considered to be associates of the rebel armed forces because of their skin color.
During the war, in order to ensure that the counter-insurgency war ended as soon as possible, it is understandable that local military officers took some drastic actions. However, now that the war is over, the imperial government's current task should be to make up for the wounds of the war and coordinate the development of the economy and society that have stagnated due to the war.
national life.
Therefore, I believe that for the more than 200,000 people who have been imprisoned and isolated, we should adhere to the principle of leniency, execute some criminals who have committed major war crimes, imprison a group of armed personnel who have committed less serious crimes, and then use Your Majesty's
In name, we will spare the remaining persons who participated in the insurgent activities to a lesser extent or who did not directly participate in the insurgent activities."
"In the areas controlled by the empire, the number of blacks and mixed-race blacks is four times that of whites. Forcibly executing all rebel blacks will probably arouse the dissatisfaction of local blacks. However, only some of the rebels who committed serious war crimes will be executed, and all other rebel armed personnel will be executed.
If the punishment is too lenient and the punishment is too light, it may not be able to have the effect of punishment and warning."
Duke Forbert retired from the military and became the Prime Minister of the Brazilian Empire. From Duke Forbert's perspective, he executed the chief culprits, treated the remaining rebels with leniency, and stabilized and bridged the conflicts between various ethnic groups within the Brazilian Empire as soon as possible. Hatred was the key to solving the problems left over from the counter-insurgency war.
However, from the perspective of a senior general, Marshal Garcia understood that the starting point of the proposal was for the sake of the Brazilian Empire, but he did not think that Duke Florentine's proposal could be implemented without sparing the army.
When the Brazilian Civil War broke out, Princess Isabella was able to restore and retain the territory of eight and a half states in the central coastal region. Although she had the support of Duke Robert, Marshal Garcia and other upper-class nobles, the decisive role was played by Egypt.
Young officers led by Bell.
The "Knights of Brasilia" to which Abel belonged was separated from the Brazilian Empire's Lieutenant Faction. In the original history, the Lieutenant Faction, disappointed with the Brazilian Emperor, was won over by the Republicans and became a vital military force in overthrowing the Brazilian Empire.
The unexpected rise of the Han Dynasty and the spread of the military and political ideological trend of the Han Dynasty influenced a group of radical members of the Weiguan faction. It was this group of officers who accepted the new military and political ideas who separated from the Weiguan faction and became the Junxian.
, followers of military and political thought, and then when the Brazilian Civil War broke out, they used the military power they controlled to help Princess Isabella ascend the throne of queen.
As a traditional soldier of the same age as Duke Florentine, Marshal Garcia gradually came into contact with and understood the ideas of Abel and others. Although he had reservations about their radical ideas, he faced multiple threats from within and outside the Brazilian Empire, as well as
With the fact that Han State in South America was growing stronger and stronger step by step, he had to admit that the monarchical constitution and military political system advocated by the young faction was a path with huge risks. It was also the most effective way to restore the declining situation of the Brazilian Empire at present.
.
Acquiescing to the Young Zhuang faction's idea of national salvation, and gradually transferring the power of the imperial army to Abel's hands, Marshal Garcia, while leaning towards the Young Zhuang faction in his thinking, was also trying his best to use his remaining energy to bridge the military and political forces of the Young Zhuang faction and the imperial political power.
Differences and conflicts between the two parties.
"After the counter-insurgency war, it is very important to restore the empire's local economy. However, it is also necessary to punish the armed personnel who participated in the rebellion and give them the punishment they deserve. Otherwise, the empire will mobilize tens of thousands of troops and achieve victory in nearly ten years.
As a result, it is likely that because the punishment was light, it could not leave a profound lesson and warning to those who participated in the rebellion, nor could it give a reasonable explanation to the imperial soldiers who fought on the front line and sacrificed their lives with blood."
Marshal Garcia is the commander-in-chief of the army, and his words represent the opinions of many officers in the army. Duke Florentine cannot ignore his opinions and forcefully implement his own ideas.
"There are 70,000 armed personnel who directly participated in the rebellion, and 160,000 people who were indirectly or considered suspects. According to the advice of the Marshal, how should these people be dealt with?"
"The Army Department has come up with a preliminary plan on how to deal with the rebels."
Marshal Garcia waited for Duke Forbert's concession, and the expression on his face relaxed a little, and then said: "General Abel, please replace the Imperial Army and introduce it to His Majesty, Duke Iyo and all the important officials of the Empire who are doing this.
The counter-insurgency and aftermath plan drawn up by Ichiban Imperial Army."
"As you command, Marshal."
Abel stood up, first saluted Queen Isabella and the Duke of Iyo, then stood up straight and said in a respectful tone: "Your Majesty the Queen, Your Majesty the Duke of Iyo. And everyone sitting here mentioned participating in the rebel armed forces.
The issue of final disposal of personnel cannot be circumvented by the early slave trade.
The slave trade was mainly concentrated in the central coastal and northern regions of the mainland. Before the abolition of the slave trade, there were five large-scale slave trading centers in the mainland, and three of them were in the empire-controlled area. They were Salvador, which ranked first in terms of scale, and Tibet, which ranked second.
Cife, and Marseille, the fifth part,
The number of black people entering the mainland through the three major slave trade centers accounted for about 50% of the annual import of black people. Therefore, after the outbreak of the local civil war, the number of black people in the area controlled by the empire was about 10% greater than that in the area occupied by the southern republican rebels.
Twice as high.”
After briefly introducing the differences in ethnic composition between the north and south of Brazil, Ebel continued: "There is a huge gap between the total number of blacks and the proportion of blacks and whites in the imperial-controlled areas and the southern region. The republican rebels may adopt a policy of co-opting and condoning the black rebel forces.
Temporarily stabilize the situation in the control area, but the number of blacks and non-whites in the empire-controlled areas is more than four times that of whites. If for the sake of short-term economic effects, the necessary punishment of rebel forces is given up, then when the empire faces external crises again, especially
When the southern republican rebels launched an attack on the imperial-controlled areas under the guise of equal rights for blacks and whites, those bastards who had participated in the rebellion and intended to split the country would be grateful for the tolerance and grace of the imperial government and assist the imperial army in resisting the south.
An attack by republican rebels?”
"I'm afraid not!"
Without waiting for anyone else to respond, Ebel gave the answer himself.
"Of course, I have never doubted Your Excellency the Prime Minister's loyalty to the empire and the imperial royal family. It's just that since His Majesty Pedro I led the Brazilian subjects to establish the Brazilian Empire, the non-white ethnic groups have stubbornly carried out one armed attack after another aimed at splitting the empire.
Judging from the rebellion, even if they are given greater tolerance and mercy, they cannot exchange for their gratitude and loyalty to the Empire and Her Majesty the Queen!"
Abel progressed step by step, leading to his conclusion step by step. Facing Abel's righteous speech, other officials, including Duke Florbert, seemed to be watching a performance, that is, they did not interrupt his speech.
Of course, no one cooperated.
"It is extremely unrealistic to execute all the more than 200,000 black people who participated in the rebellion or are suspected of participating in the rebellion. However, it is disloyal to the empire to keep them in the empire-controlled areas and sit back and watch their potential harm to the empire!
Therefore, the most appropriate solution is to follow the example of the empire’s former enemies and relocate all black people who participated in the rebellion and those who may participate in the rebellion out of the country!”
Seeing clearly, Abel laid the groundwork and talked a lot, finally leading to the final treatment plan for those who participated in the rebellion.
After understanding Abel's final intention, Duke Florbert showed a disappointed look on his face.
Where they come from, where they go, the idea of sending black people back to their native Africa is not without precedent.
Before the Civil War, the United States also had the idea of repatriating black people. A group of civil society activists spontaneously raised funds to implement the repatriation plan. However, they did not receive support from the U.S. government.
, the repatriation plan ultimately failed after more than 20 years of implementation.
It is similar to the situation faced by the United States. Even because the number of black people in the areas controlled by the Brazilian Empire is too large, the difficulty faced by the Brazilian Imperial Government in implementing the black repatriation plan is ten times and a hundred times greater than that of the United States.
Duke Florbert did not believe that Abel did not see the difficulty of the plan to repatriate black people, and asked the order: "Black people have lived in the empire for hundreds of years, and most of them are considered legal citizens of the Brazilian Empire. If you follow your Excellency,
The solution plan was to repatriate all more than 200,000 black people to Africa. Will those black people who abide by the laws of the empire and not participate in the rebellion think that the imperial government's solution is discriminatory and hostile to them?
To take a step back, even without considering whether the empire has enough financial strength to support the huge expenditure of repatriating more than 200,000 people, or what the remaining black people in the control area really think about this plan,
Can the Empire solve all the problems involved in executing this operation?"
"The Marshal and the Imperial Staff Headquarters have conducted simulations and responses to every possible situation in the repatriation plan. The issues that the Prime Minister is worried about are also included in our response plan."
Ebel maintained basic respect on his face and explained: "The obstacles that may be faced when implementing the repatriation plan mainly come from both internal and external aspects of the empire.
Within the empire, after the end of the counter-insurgency war, the small number of remaining black, Indian, and mulatto armed forces no longer have the ability to launch attacks on the core areas controlled by the empire. If the repatriation plan is implemented, rebellion will break out again.
Based on the counter-insurgency experience accumulated by the Imperial Army and the absence of the main force of the rebel armed forces, the Imperial Army has the ability to quickly suppress the rebellion again.
external aspects of the empire,
First, based on the United States’ experience in enforcing the Chinese Exclusion Act and Han’s migration of blacks in controlled areas to Africa, the European powers and the United States will not really intervene to hinder the implementation of the repatriation plan.
Secondly, I want to emphasize one thing to you. The repatriation plan does not necessarily require the imperial government to consume precious financial revenue. In the name of dispatching labor, more than 200,000 black people were sold to various planters in Portugal's African colonies in order to obtain
It is possible that the labor costs will offset the consumption of all aspects of the repatriation plan. (At this time, the Brazilian royal family and the Portuguese royal family were one family. Queen Isabella of Brazil came forward to contact the Portuguese government to discuss the repatriation plan for blacks, which was more feasible.
.)
Third, after the completion of the repatriation of the first batch of more than 200,000 blacks, the young blacks who constituted the rebel armed forces were further weakened, the imperial government's control over various parts of the controlled area was further strengthened, social security was improved, and the land could be used
By then, the empire will become more attractive to European immigrants, and the importation of European immigrants, which has been interrupted for more than ten years, will hopefully be resumed."
After responding to the questions raised by Duke Florentine one by one, and introducing the beneficial impact of the resumption of European immigration after the completion of the repatriation of blacks, Abel ended his speech and stood quietly, waiting for the palace
Everyone's response.
Implementing the plan to repatriate black people is a risky move. If not careful, the Brazilian Empire, which has just ended the war, may once again fall into turmoil. Like Duke Forrobert, there are many officials who worry that the plan to repatriate black people is too risky. In Forrobert
After the Duke, several more people successively raised their concerns and opinions.
Marshal Garcia and Abel knew that it was not an easy task to persuade the old-fashioned officials within the empire to accept their plan, so they made preparations in advance before they formally proposed the bill.
The repeated questions and explanations lasted for more than an hour. When Duke Forbert learned from Abel's additions again and again that the so-called repatriation plan of blacks was not a decision made by the army at a spurt, he finally gave up.
He expressed his opinions and reluctantly approved Ebel's proposal.
The black repatriation plan was successfully passed, and Abel showed a satisfied smile on his face.
You must know that from planning to relocate black people in the controlled area to the adoption of the repatriation plan today, Ebel and many Zhuang faction officers spent nearly ten years.
During the counter-insurgency war, under the pretext of suppressing the rebellion, the black people in the gathering areas were centralized managed and imprisoned, deliberately expanding the scope of the counter-insurgency. While conducting the counter-insurgency war, they also prepared for the plan to repatriate black people, which may have
Ethnic groups that threatened the repatriation plan were controlled and isolated in advance. Relying on this precautionary strategy learned from the Han Dynasty, Ebel and a group of young officers of the Brazilian Empire had the opportunity to use their own opinions to build a blueprint for the future development of the Brazilian Empire.
.
Expelling the more than 200,000 black people who participated or were identified as participating in the rebellion is the first step. After the repatriation plan is successful, there will be a second batch, a third batch... of black people who will be deported for various reasons.
