Ashford Longwood

**Ashford Stanley Longwood** (August 2, 1824 - August 4, 1912) was a Libirachi military commander, politician and statesman who ruled as the President of the Libirachi Empire between October 15, 1871 and August 4, 1912, as well as vice president of the Libirachi Empire between 1852 and 1864. From January 1, 1853 until his removal as vice president, Longwood also served as chairman of the Libirachi National Congress. For his role in leading the armed forces, Longwood was granted the honorific military title of Grand Marshal.

Growing up within the prestigious Longwood family in the early 1820s, Ashford joined the Longwood Royal army in 1842 and later would be granted control over the whole army following the death of his father in 1848. Joining with the revolutionary nobleman Stanford Rightly in 1849 to unite their armed forces into the Rebel Alliance during the Libirachi War of Revolution, serving as one of the main generals during the war and as the Grand Marshal of the Army under the leadership of Rightly.

After 3 years of near constant warfare, Grand Marshal Longwood and Duke Stanford Rightly marched into the Beijing imperial palace during the Second Battle of Beijing in 1852, following a defeat at the Battle of Beijing in 1851 a year prior, and led the Revolutionary Army of the Alliance into the Forbidden City on August 26, 1852 where Emperor George IV and his privy council were killed by members of the army, bringing about an end to the Libirachi Dynasty. With Duke Rightly's proclamation of the Imperial Republic of Libirachi on August 30, 1852, the new republic began to be hashed out haphazardly, with new institutions being introduced in the months after the proclamation of the republic, such as the office of Vice President of the Libirachi Empire in December 1852 which was granted to Longwood upon creation.

In 1864, Ashford Longwood was removed from the Vice Presidency, instead replaced with Theodore Rothchild. Following the death of President Stanford Rightly in 1870 following a gunshot wound, Vice President Theodore Rothchild laid claim to the presidency and assumed control over the Libirachi National Congress on July 4, 1870, causing Grand Marshal Longwood to lead his armed forces in an uprising against the President and beginning a civil war within the nation as the army began to fight against the republican forces of the President from their city fortress of Shanghai. With the death of President Rothchild in October 1870, and his successor President Azriel Janda in December 1870, the Libirachi Republic was taken over by Feidel Longwood, brother to the Grand Marshal, until in October 1871 when Longwood and the Imperial Army stormed Beijing and overthrew his brother, ending the civil war decisively with the destruction of the only other major opponent to the LIA.

Having secured the Presidency in 1871 with the execution of his brother Feidel, President Longwood sought to establish the nation as a military dictatorship, closing the National Congress in vengeance for their support of the previous administrations during the war, and in it's place created the Imperial Ruling Council alongside the newly formed Revolutionary Party. Bringing his wartime ally Gorden Tobiet into government as the Vice President, Longwood set about demolishing the constitutional right to local governance and instead replaced much of the civilian government across the nation with a network of Marshals and other enlisted officers of the Libirachi Imperial Army, ensuring that all effective leadership would be conducted by generals and officials loyal to him, whilst figurehead Governors elected through the Revolutionary Party served to present the illusion of choice to the populace of the nation. With the Imperial Ruling Council ruling over the nation, Ashford Longwood began to attempt to solidify his position as the head of the nation and from 1880 onwards the Imperial Army began to conduct a Pacification of the Western Reaches, cracking down on remnants from the Libirachi War of Revolution in order to consolidate the president's power over the nation.

Over the space of 27 years, the pacification campaigns eradicated much of the resistance to the Imperial Republic of Libirachi and with the defeat of the Kuomintang in 1907, the pacification came to an end as President Longwood's health began to deteriorate. Having made his son Pearce the head of the Imperial Ruling Council in 1905, President Ashford Longwood started to rely more and more on the IRC, with his son's role slowly growing into that of a head of government by the time of Longwood's death in August 1912, allowing Pearce Longwood to secure the presidency with minimal effort.

## History

Growing up within the prestigious Longwood family in the early 1820s, Ashford joined the Longwood Royal army in 1842 and later would be granted control over the whole army following the death of his father in 1848. Joining with the revolutionary nobleman Stanford Rightly in 1849 to unite their armed forces into the Rebel Alliance during the Libirachi War of Revolution, serving as one of the main generals during the war and as the Grand Marshal of the Army under the leadership of Rightly. A firm believer of leading military attacks from the front, Longwood regularly lead his troops into war, often taking the honour of killing the opposing leader personally upon securing their defeat.

## Grand Marshal of the Libirachi Army

After 3 years of near constant warfare, Grand Marshal Longwood and Duke Stanford Rightly marched into the Beijing imperial palace during the Second Battle of Beijing in 1852, following a defeat at the Battle of Beijing in 1851 a year prior, and led the Revolutionary Army of the Alliance into the Forbidden City on August 26, 1852 where Emperor George IV and his privy council were brutally murdered by members of the army, bringing about an end to the Libirachi Dynasty. In 1864, Ashford Longwood was removed from the Vice Presidency as Stanford Rightly began to reform the nation in his vision, attempting to limit the power of his deputy through his dismissal from the title of head of government, instead replacing him with Theodore Rothchild, whilst splitting the office of Vice President and Chairman of the Congress and granting the latter title to Azriel Janda. Now restricted to the office of Grand Marshal, Ashford Longwood began to secure his base as the head of the armed forces and ensured that the armed forces remained loyal to him as the Rightly-Rothchild administration attempted to form their own rival security forces in the name of the Republican Army. Following the death of President Stanford Rightly in 1870 following a gunshot wound, Vice President Theodore Rothchild laid claim to the presidency and assumed control over the Libirachi National Congress on July 4, 1870, causing Grand Marshal Longwood to lead his armed forces in an uprising against the President and beginning a civil war within the nation as the army began to fight against the republican forces of the President from their city fortress of Shanghai. With the death of President Rothchild in October 1870, and his successor President Azriel Janda in December 1870, the Libirachi Republic was taken over by Feidel Longwood, brother to the Grand Marshal, until in October 1871 when Longwood and the Imperial Army stormed Beijing and overthrew his brother, ending the civil war decisively with the destruction of the only other major opponent to the LIA.

## Vice Presidency

Granted with the portfolio to reorganise the fighting forces of the Revolutionary Army into a more institutionalised army during the early presidency of Stanford Rightly, creating the Libirachi Imperial Army in 1856 as a total restructuring of the multiple family and regional armies of the various Alliance nations bringing them all under the fold of an Imperial High Command headed up by Grand Marshal Longwood, loyal to the office of the President under Stanford Rightly. With his role as Vice President, Ashford Longwood led the Congress into introducing legislation granting the autonomy of the army, establishing the office of president as the unparalleled head of state thanks to his role as chairman of the congress through the vice presidency.

In 1864, Ashford Longwood was removed from the Vice Presidency as Stanford Rightly began to reform the nation in his vision, attempting to limit the power of his deputy through his dismissal from the title of head of government, instead replacing him with Theodore Rothchild, whilst splitting the office of Vice President and Chairman of the Congress and granting the latter title to Azriel Janda. Now restricted to the office of Grand Marshal, Ashford Longwood began to secure his base as the head of the armed forces and ensured that the armed forces remained loyal to him as the Rightly-Rothchild administration attempted to form their own rival security forces in the name of the Republican Army.

Following the death of President Stanford Rightly in 1870 following a gunshot wound, Vice President Theodore Rothchild laid claim to the presidency and assumed control over the Libirachi National Congress on July 4, 1870, causing Grand Marshal Longwood to lead his armed forces in an uprising against the President and beginning a civil war within the nation as the army began to fight against the republican forces of the President from their city fortress of Shanghai. With the death of President Rothchild in October 1870, and his successor President Azriel Janda in December 1870, the Libirachi Republic was taken over by Feidel Longwood, brother to the Grand Marshal, until in October 1871 when Longwood and the Imperial Army stormed Beijing and overthrew his brother, ending the civil war decisively with the destruction of the only other major opponent to the LIA.

## Presidency

 Vice President

Having secured the Presidency in 1871 with the execution of his brother Feidel, President Longwood sought to establish the nation as a military dictatorship, closing the National Congress in vengeance for their support of the previous administrations during the war, and in it's place created the Imperial Ruling Council alongside the newly formed Revolutionary Party; likewise, Longwood began destroying records of the Presidencies of Rothchild, Janda and his brother in order to secure himself in historical records as the true successor to Stanford Rightly, a myth which is still perpetrated by Libirachi propaganda and records which decline to count the presidencies between Rightly and Longwood as formal tenures.

Bringing his wartime ally Gorden Tobiet into government as the Vice President, Longwood set about demolishing the constitutional right to local governance and instead replaced much of the civilian government across the nation with a network of Marshals and other enlisted officers of the Libirachi Imperial Army, ensuring that all effective leadership would be conducted by generals and officials loyal to him, whilst figurehead Governors elected through the Revolutionary Party served to present the illusion of choice to the populace of the nation. With the Imperial Ruling Council ruling over the nation, Ashford Longwood began to attempt to solidify his position as the head of the nation and from 1880 onwards the Imperial Army began to conduct a Pacification of the Western Reaches, cracking down on remnants from the Libirachi War of Revolution in order to consolidate the president's power over the nation.

Over the space of 27 years, the pacification campaigns eradicated much of the resistance to the Imperial Republic of Libirachi and with the defeat of the Kuomintang in 1907, the pacification came to an end as President Longwood's health began to deteriorate. Having made his son Pearce the head of the Imperial Ruling Council in 1905, President Ashford Longwood started to rely more and more on the IRC, with his son's role slowly growing into that of a head of government by the time of Longwood's death in August 1912, allowing Pearce Longwood to secure the presidency with minimal effort.