"Little Lopez died. He died on the banks of the Paraguay River, in a fortress where he once led troops to garrison."
News of Lopez's death spread rapidly in the port camp. The fact itself gradually made the soldiers and officers realize a real problem: the "Supreme Head of State" was dead, and he did not leave a convincing legacy for his rule.
Heir."
Maybe it was because he had been convinced that no one in this country could take his place; maybe it was because he did not expect that he would die suddenly. He had just pushed Carlos to the forefront and had not yet had time to pave the way for his son to ascend to the throne of power.
, and with reluctance and regret, I completed the last journey of my life.
In Paraguay, the rights of citizens of all classes to express their opinions freely and to govern themselves have been suppressed by López for a long time.
Now that little Lopez is dead, the violent machine that coerces and enslaves them has lost its core controller.
The huge violent machine has lost its unified command and control, and correspondingly, it has lost the suppression and deterrence of little Lopez. Once the pressure accumulated in all strata in Paraguay is ignited by a certain fuse,
A terrible social explosion will occur! The power of the social explosion will destroy the ruling order of the Paraguayan government, and will also bring violent and profound destruction!
Paraguay's "crown" fell from the head of little Lopez and fell on the fertile black soil, waiting for a brave hero to pick it up.
A hero needs strength and prestige as support. After the death of little Lopez, the forces that have the ability to compete for the ownership of the crown are all concentrated within the kingdom's political power.
The Prime Minister of the Kingdom, José Decord, the Commander of the Guards, Lieutenant General Enrique, the four division commanders who control the core forces of the Kingdom of Paraguay’s Army, and as the Chief of Staff of the Army, although he does not have a unit directly under his command, in the Army
Lieutenant General Francisco Isidoro, who has profound influence among the seven, is considered the most powerful candidate to compete for Paraguay's crown.
Among them, the commander of the 2nd Division was trapped in the quagmire of the Indian rebellion and was unable to escape. The commander of the 4th Division led the army to garrison on the frontier of Paraguay and Brazil. The defensive pressure was huge and it was far away from the center of power, Asuncion. The forces represented by the two men were in Xiaoluo.
In the competition after Pei's death, he was inherently at a disadvantage.
Except for the two trapped division commanders, the remaining prime minister and several other senior generals all have troops to support their seizure of power. Compared with them, Lieutenant General Isidoro, Chief of Staff of the Paraguayan Army, has always been with Lopez Jr.
However, they also lost the opportunity to cultivate the backbone of their confidants!
Little Lopez is suspicious and stubborn by nature, and he is even more suspicious towards the generals close to him! Lieutenant General Isidoro carefully stays by Little Lopez's side and plans the so-called great cause of Paraguay. He usually does not dare to show ambition, but now
, Little Lopez is dead, and the situation in Paraguay is about to undergo a subversive change! Lieutenant General Isidoro can no longer pretend to be deaf or dumb, and follow the others step by step, being a poor yes man!
The chaos and turmoil in the military camp aroused Isidoro's ambition! He was unwilling to let go of this opportunity that might change the political landscape of Paraguay!
A bold plan was brewing in his heart! Then he quickly put it into action.
Isidoro took advantage of the remaining power of Lopez Jr. and the inertial obedience of the Guards units. With the authority of the Chief of Staff of the Army, Isidoro issued orders to the Engineer Battalion, Artillery Battalion, 1st Guards Regiment and other units to accept his command.
Facing Isidoro's seemingly reasonable order, the military commanders of the three units, the engineering battalion, the artillery battalion, and the communications company, obediently stood on Isidoro's side.
Although the commander of the 1st Guards Regiment had doubts about Isidoro's order, he remained cautious and agreed to follow Isidoro back to Asuncion until the situation was clear.
The engineering battalion, artillery battalion and other troops that followed Lopez Jr. returned one after another. Seeing that things were developing in his favor, Lieutenant General Isidoro was explicitly rejected by the commander of the cavalry battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Manli Ili: "Your Majesty
I have left a testament, and all units of the Guards are under the command of His Royal Highness Carlos! Other generals have no authority to take over the command of the Guards troops!"
"I am the highest-ranking officer in the port camp! According to wartime regulations! After Your Majesty returns to the embrace of the Lord, I should take over the command of this unit!
Lieutenant Colonel Manly! I order you in the name of the highest-ranking commander of the military camp! Obey the order of the supreme commander! Collect His Majesty’s body and return to Asunción by boat immediately!”
"Sorry, General, I cannot disobey His Majesty's orders."
Lieutenant Colonel Manley responded forcefully: "According to His Majesty's orders, we must wait for the arrival of the Concepcion garrison led by Major General Ames Washburn, commander of the 2nd Brigade, before we can return to Asuncion."
"Lieutenant Colonel Manley! Do you know the consequences of disobeying the orders of your supreme commander during war?"
Hearing that the other party had carried out the troops of the Paraguayan Army's Second Brigade from the camp near the port, Isidoro intensified his threatening tone!
"I have no intention of offending the general's majesty, but His Majesty's orders cannot be violated."
In the strict, cold house, little Lopez's body was lying on the bed, but a few meters away from the edge of the bed, the originally obedient and tame Paraguayan officers were clearly divided into two groups.
Isidoro's faction had a large number of officers, while Manly's faction had only a few officers belonging to the Guards Cavalry Battalion to confront it.
Inside the house, Manli's group was at a numerical disadvantage, but outside the house, there were more than 400 soldiers from the Guards Cavalry Battalion stationed in the king's guard camp.
It was not good for him to have a conflict with the Manli Ili faction in the cavalry battalion camp. Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Lieutenant General Isidoro had no choice but to give up his plan to peacefully annex the Guards Cavalry Battalion, and led the seven or eight main officers he had just conquered,
Returned to our camp.
"Lieutenant Colonel, General Isidoro is gone."
After Isidoro and others left, a soldier who was following and monitoring returned to report.
"Send another group of people to contact Major General Washburn, explain to him what just happened here in the camp, and request the 2nd Brigade troops to rush to the port camp for support as soon as possible!"
"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel!"
"Also, from now on, order the first company of the cavalry battalion to set off immediately and rush to the area bordering the 1st Guards Regiment for security. The three platoons of the second company will be sent to the engineer battalion, artillery battalion, and transport fleet to berth.
Port, persuade them to abide by His Majesty’s orders and not to follow General Isidoro in rebellion!”
"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel!"......
Fierce gunfire and shouts of death broke the tranquility of the night, and the red gunfire illuminated the port camp on the Paraguay River. After Isidoro left the cavalry camp, he colluded with Don Jose Falcon, the commander of the naval transport fleet.
The major general launched an attack on the cavalry battalion.
The warships and cannons supported the attack, and the units of the 1st Guards Regiment and the Engineer Battalion coordinated the attack. With both firepower and numbers at a disadvantage, the Paraguay Guards Cavalry Battalion was at a disadvantage in the battle and withdrew from the camp where it was originally stationed in embarrassment.
In the early hours of that night, the Paraguayan Guards Cavalry Battalion guarded the body of little Lopez and merged with the advance troops sent by Major General Washburn. The two troops merged into one and barely repelled the attack of Isidoro's army.
.
The next morning, the main force of the Second Brigade of the Paraguayan Army rushed to the port of Concepcion, but what was left to them were only abandoned heavy artillery and nearly a hundred dead horses.
The civil strife at the port of Concepción heralded the beginning of Paraguay's domestic unrest.
Three days after the incident, Manli Ili, commander of the Guards Cavalry Battalion, Washburn, commander of the Paraguayan Army's 2nd Brigade, and Silvestre, commander of the 3rd Division stationed in Puerto Casado, issued a joint announcement,
Announcing the formation of a joint force to march to Asunción to defeat the rebellion!
The day before the formation of the joint force, Isidoro, who successfully returned to Asunción, won over Paraguay Prime Minister José Decord, Commander of the Guards Lieutenant General Enrique and others, and announced the establishment of a four-person regency committee, headed by himself.
Rear Admiral Don José Falcon, Commander of the Naval Fleet, José Decord, Prime Minister of the country, and Enrique, Commander of the Guards, served as regents to replace the deceased Lopez Jr. and exercise the power to control the country.
On May 24, 1889, the Marquis of Isti Galibi, a veteran of the Army of the Kingdom of Paraguay and once the right-hand general of Lopez Jr., was found guilty by the four regents and imprisoned in Asunción Prison. That night, because of fear of Isti
Due to the influence of Marquis Galibi in the army, Isidoro and others instructed the prison guards to kill the old retired general and fake the scene of his committing suicide out of fear of crime.
At 8 a.m. on May 25, 1889, the four-member regency sent troops to surround the Royal Palace of Asunción. More than a thousand Guards soldiers loyal to the Lopez family relied on the city wall to try their best to block the attack of the coup forces. At 3 p.m.
At that time, several renegade palace guards opened the city gate. The palace defenders were outnumbered and gradually eliminated.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the coup army occupied the palace and captured Carlos Lopez, the designated heir of Carlos Lopez. Carlos's mother, Mrs. Lynch, took advantage of the earlier chaos and ran to Han with her other son and daughter.
legation, seeking asylum.
The four-member regency committee attacked step by step to eliminate the enemies and armed forces that opposed them. Outside Asunción, a joint force composed of the Guards Cavalry Battalion, the Paraguayan Army's Second Brigade, the Paraguayan Army's Third Division and other units,
Taking the collected transport ships, we headed toward Asunción along the Paraguay River.
A large-scale civil war is about to break out on Paraguay's soil. At the same time, the two sides, Han Dynasty and the Republic of Brazil, which are close to Paraguay, are also paying close attention to the development of the war in Asunción...