Chapter 3
General De La Touche was not a happy man. One of the younger generals in the Imperial army, he was about 30 years old, about the same age as the Directrix, and was the son of one of Fenia's Dukes. He did not consider himself a tyrant, but he had no respect for the peasant masses. Naturally, this meant that in this area, with few wealthy lords and many peasants, he was out of his element. Knowing how hard it was to keep troop morale up, he let his right hand man, General Andersen, make sure the troops were in control.
Naturally, General Andersen did not find this advantageous to his career. Tired of being a go-between between the indolent General De La Touche and the testy troops, he decided to let his troops run wild in this region. He shared the common contempt for peasants. The problem was that Bravian peasants had a history of rebellion unequaled in the entire empire. Natonito Bravia de Albright, the Directrix, was representative of the fiesty and independant nature of Bravians in general. Many of the Fenian imperialists, including most of the generals of the army, misunderstood this, atributing the feistiness to his own personality.
The Army in Russville was in a dangerous spot, without knowing it. Close to the old Viceroy's Palace in the mountains, where Elizabeth Smith sympathizers and the SCG ruled, Russville was designed to be the site of a new city, New Russville, to honor the empire. Part imperial city, part military fort, the city was designed to impress upon the citizens the permeance and strength of the imperial forces. Natonito considered a very important project. One does not survive if one fails to ensure the completion of "very important projects" for the Directrix.
The reason this particular site was chosen, in addition to its proximity to the dangerous mountain paths as well as the Bravian plain, was because the original city was destroyed in fighting between the Imperial army and various rebel forces. The imperial army suffered enough losses that they were not able to destroy the rebel forces, only rest after destroying their base of operations in Russville. Without the generals knowing it, most of the few lords in the area had pro-rebel sympathies, and the rebels were getting food and shelter in the manors around Russville. The decimated army that now guarded the ruins and tried to build them into a city based on designs by the Directrix. They, unable to search and destroy the rebel forces without being able to defeated in detail, they consoled themselves by terrorizing the peasants.
This eventually backfired on them. The peasants, tired of the raping of beautiful teenage girls, the burning of their meager crops and homes by troops, and by the beatings and indiscriminant killings, rose up as one in revolt and fought the troops to a standstill. The news of the Imperial army-Northern Front getting fought to a draw by peasants was a major embarassment to the empire. The smiles could be seen on all of the enemies of the empire. The Directrix practically killed the messenger who told him the news before calming down and resolving to solve the situation himself.
The generals were worried. Though they tried to greet the Directrix was warmly as possible, the narrow slits of the Directrix's hazel eyes was enough to convince them that they were in mortal peril of losing their lives if they did not show greater success in curbing the rebels. The presence of the Imperial Guard was even more worrisome. The Imperial Guard, mostly Bravians, were much more effective and fierce than the normal army, and they had no interest in terrorizing peasants, only in demolishing enemy units. If the city was not built due to rebel forces, not only would the empire be in danger of collapse, but the generals would be sure to lose their lives. If the rebels were defeated, the glory would go to the Directrix, already a very popular figure in an unpopular empire, and to the Imperial Guard. The generals saw this was bad for their own careers in general. It was not sure if the Directrix intended on letting them live as it was. They tried to make excuses, but the Directrix was in no mood. The truth was, he was in the mood for love with his chief concubine and the other two girls he brought with him.
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