Packherd2
Warlord
- Joined
- May 24, 2011
- Messages
- 116
The glory was never supposed to return.
Following the betrayal of Dido in the late medieval epoch, the Napoleonic Empire went into a period of stagnation. The realm became inward-facing, abandoning its self-appointed role as the Arbiter of the Nations. Dido's capture of Russia ensured that that nation would never return and with that failure it seemed Frances own fate was also sealed in a catacomb. But in that failure was buried the first seeds of the Neo-Bonapartist revival
How pathetic.
French noble families began building lavish estates in the countryside. It seemed like so much frivolity, gathering thinkers and entrepreneurs to their private chateaus while the Empire hid its face in shame. However, at those private academies, far from the skeptical eyes of the functionaries, a thousand tiny revolutions emerged. Reformers promoted the idea of philanthropy and argued for the use of the state treasury to support neighboring nations own projects. This, too, seemed so wasteful to the bureaucrats who managed the account books.
An example of culture dégradée.
The country elite patronized small expeditions to the far corners of the world, further enlarging Frances perspective. Unlike the manufacture of muskets or the expansion of mines, these adventures squandered resources rather than securing them. All the while, the Celts influence grew steadily under the guiding light of the Pictish Church; the Danish strongman, Doge Harald Bluetooth, extracted ever more wealth from his rivalsincluding France; and of course Didos dynasty stood haughtily astride the French frontier daring the introverts to do something about it. And yet the elites most impulsive project was still to come.
The Danes' shameless cupidity.
The Louvre was basically a parlor that never stopped expanding. As it did, its governors sponsored extravagant archeological expeditions to find the greatest artifacts to display in their sumptuous halls. Rather than make history, now the French would be content simply to dig it up. The finest treasures were to be found to the north, including a fine example of a Gallic longship, a piteous reminder of when soldiers from France roamed the continent laying waste to tribes far and wide. Now the French could barely control their neighbors. When the Celts sent thousands of Hungarian camel-mounted knights to capture the market-city of Orleans, they used French pilfering as an excuse. They hardly needed one.
The finest French accomplishment of the renaissance was the acquisition of someone else's painting...
...it was only a matter of time before someone would come looking for an easy victory.
Against all odds, however, France prevailed. The ancient rural estates served as exceptional supply depots and their owners took great pride in putting their property at the service of France. Those same dandies who had sailed around the world in search of knickknacks and frippery relished their new roles as benefactors of the Empire. Their tinkering and experimentation proved fruitful when applied practically. While the Danes coasted into the industrial revolution as its rightful consorts, the French wooed it with a passion that would be unbecoming had it not succeeded.
Enter the Neo-Bonapartists. The Emperor Napoleon was just a memory, but he lived on preposterously as a title assumed by Frances new leaders. Descendants of the country gentry now ruled France as a series of Napoleons"Napoleon Lamarck, who oversaw the establishment of the French Napoleonic Air Force; Napoleon Bessemer, who founded the Napoleonic Academy; and Napoleon Rommel, who did the unthinkable by leading a force to invade the Aztec Alliance and winning.
Napoleon Rommel's handiwork.
The Napoleons built this Second Empire upon the unexpectedly firm foundations of French culturetouting Paris as the City of Lightand French investment. The former held her rivals in awe. Even the affluent Danes could not keep their citizens from wearing French clothes, eating French food and following French politics. The latter had left to the Napoleons a global empire. What had begun centuries before as an offer to finance a Sidneysider public work had become la donation, a policy of accruing French influence wherever the opportunity presented itself.
An unlikely place to begin the rejuvenation of the French Empire.
When a Neo-Bonapartist revolution swept over the Moroccan Kingdom, the fact that no one was surprised reflected just how successful the Napoleons had been at building their Second Empire. Some would call their manner heavy handed and too reliant on the threat of force. They used that force sparingly, however, and in any case it would not have had the effect it did without French magnificence to back it up. No matter what market the Danes cornered, no matter how much Carthage schemed and no matter how the Pictish malcontents howled, the world was undoubtedly le domaine français.
The UN accedes to French domination and prepares to confirm the permanent sovereignty of Free Persia. Despite the odds, the Second Empire has achieved its goal. There will be no need for a Third Empire.
Following the betrayal of Dido in the late medieval epoch, the Napoleonic Empire went into a period of stagnation. The realm became inward-facing, abandoning its self-appointed role as the Arbiter of the Nations. Dido's capture of Russia ensured that that nation would never return and with that failure it seemed Frances own fate was also sealed in a catacomb. But in that failure was buried the first seeds of the Neo-Bonapartist revival
How pathetic.
French noble families began building lavish estates in the countryside. It seemed like so much frivolity, gathering thinkers and entrepreneurs to their private chateaus while the Empire hid its face in shame. However, at those private academies, far from the skeptical eyes of the functionaries, a thousand tiny revolutions emerged. Reformers promoted the idea of philanthropy and argued for the use of the state treasury to support neighboring nations own projects. This, too, seemed so wasteful to the bureaucrats who managed the account books.
An example of culture dégradée.
The country elite patronized small expeditions to the far corners of the world, further enlarging Frances perspective. Unlike the manufacture of muskets or the expansion of mines, these adventures squandered resources rather than securing them. All the while, the Celts influence grew steadily under the guiding light of the Pictish Church; the Danish strongman, Doge Harald Bluetooth, extracted ever more wealth from his rivalsincluding France; and of course Didos dynasty stood haughtily astride the French frontier daring the introverts to do something about it. And yet the elites most impulsive project was still to come.
The Danes' shameless cupidity.
The Louvre was basically a parlor that never stopped expanding. As it did, its governors sponsored extravagant archeological expeditions to find the greatest artifacts to display in their sumptuous halls. Rather than make history, now the French would be content simply to dig it up. The finest treasures were to be found to the north, including a fine example of a Gallic longship, a piteous reminder of when soldiers from France roamed the continent laying waste to tribes far and wide. Now the French could barely control their neighbors. When the Celts sent thousands of Hungarian camel-mounted knights to capture the market-city of Orleans, they used French pilfering as an excuse. They hardly needed one.
The finest French accomplishment of the renaissance was the acquisition of someone else's painting...
...it was only a matter of time before someone would come looking for an easy victory.
Against all odds, however, France prevailed. The ancient rural estates served as exceptional supply depots and their owners took great pride in putting their property at the service of France. Those same dandies who had sailed around the world in search of knickknacks and frippery relished their new roles as benefactors of the Empire. Their tinkering and experimentation proved fruitful when applied practically. While the Danes coasted into the industrial revolution as its rightful consorts, the French wooed it with a passion that would be unbecoming had it not succeeded.
Enter the Neo-Bonapartists. The Emperor Napoleon was just a memory, but he lived on preposterously as a title assumed by Frances new leaders. Descendants of the country gentry now ruled France as a series of Napoleons"Napoleon Lamarck, who oversaw the establishment of the French Napoleonic Air Force; Napoleon Bessemer, who founded the Napoleonic Academy; and Napoleon Rommel, who did the unthinkable by leading a force to invade the Aztec Alliance and winning.
Napoleon Rommel's handiwork.
The Napoleons built this Second Empire upon the unexpectedly firm foundations of French culturetouting Paris as the City of Lightand French investment. The former held her rivals in awe. Even the affluent Danes could not keep their citizens from wearing French clothes, eating French food and following French politics. The latter had left to the Napoleons a global empire. What had begun centuries before as an offer to finance a Sidneysider public work had become la donation, a policy of accruing French influence wherever the opportunity presented itself.
An unlikely place to begin the rejuvenation of the French Empire.
When a Neo-Bonapartist revolution swept over the Moroccan Kingdom, the fact that no one was surprised reflected just how successful the Napoleons had been at building their Second Empire. Some would call their manner heavy handed and too reliant on the threat of force. They used that force sparingly, however, and in any case it would not have had the effect it did without French magnificence to back it up. No matter what market the Danes cornered, no matter how much Carthage schemed and no matter how the Pictish malcontents howled, the world was undoubtedly le domaine français.
The UN accedes to French domination and prepares to confirm the permanent sovereignty of Free Persia. Despite the odds, the Second Empire has achieved its goal. There will be no need for a Third Empire.
