"Uhm. The Roman Legions were a LITTLE more disciplined than most armies of the time ... at least when close to Rome."
Yeah, but about those that weren't disciplined? You think the non-romans that got conscripted when through the same grueling training and cultural initiation that the native roman citizens went under?
"But armies of that time were EXPECTED to loot the fallen (or even the "local" if serving far enough from home) to supplement their income."
What, so we are just suppose to be cool with that? Can't a young god kid sees that and go "Yo, that's messed up, we shouldn't be doing that!" and changed things?
"Also, except during some very rough periods, the only time pay was late or short was if the people transporting it were robbed (never a good idea) or if the paymaster were corrupt - otherwise they were one of the best paid armies of the time period (part of what made them so effective, in fact)."
We're talking during the time where the treasury was nearly depleted and the denarii was worth very little near the end of the Roman Empire's rule. Hell, the fact that you said they were the best paid armies proves that it was a nightmare to keep even the most loyal paid and subservient to the empire.
"Now the legions serving in the Middle East or England - they did frequently get their pay late or lost but those close to Rome it almost never happened, at least from the research I did back in high school."
They're irrelevant to the discussion since they're too far away to stage a coup or harm the ruling emperor before Galan came along. But yeah, long distance does make being paid on time more difficult.
"An interesting point - one I learned in my History of the English Language class in college - the Roman Senate feared the power of the military, generally kept the best generals as far from Rome as they could (except when one was Emperor, and then their attempts were often thwarted) and hired mercenaries (The Varangian Guard - units of, essentially, Vikings, led by Legion-trained commanders (who were often the only people in the units who spoke Latin and at least two of the other languages used by their mercenary troops) to serve as their personal bodyguards and local police forces."
Yeah, that's the problem. They're outsourcing protection to the people that have no loyalty to the empire in any way shape or form. Wdyt will happen once the money starts drying out? They leave, and your back will be open for the stabbing. Assuming they don't do the stabbing themselves.
"Nope. Had an historian take me to task for a similar statement about four years ago. Fascism predates Mussolini by at least two decades - it was created in the late 19th Century as a counter to the rise of Socialism in Europe. You are correct about the Corporate State being a core element - industrialists were behind it from the start, and wanted the government to be no different from the corporations, rather than one being subservient to the other.
The Mass Mobilization as you describe it, was an element Mussolini borrowed from the National Socialist movements, and was what permitted Italy to ally with Germany, as without that they would have been at odds on every level. The subjugation to the state was also Mussolini's corruption/addition to it (and the evidence is that he gave this part of his vision to Germany in exchange for their ideal of Nationalism, but this is more speculation that fact to my knowledge). So that part Mussolini did "create" but Fascism is older than he was. He was an authoritarian autocrat."
Man, does it matter? Why are even talking about fascism history here? It's not even applicable to a story happening during the middle ages. But sure, fair point on the historical timeline, Charles. If we're looking at the late-19th-century proto-fascist roots and industrialist backings that predated Mussolini, you’re totally right.
I appreciate the correction on the exact textbook taxonomy. But that just reinforces my main point against the other guy: whether we use the 20th-century Mussolini definition or the late-19th-century European industrialist definition, neither of them applies to an ancient, dark-age fantasy world. Galan isn't a modern industrialist merging corporations with government; he's an old-school Autocrat dealing with 6th-century logistical collapses, coin hyperinflation, and barbarian mercenary mutinies.
Trying to slap anachronistic modern political labels onto a dark-age setting just because an emperor is ruthless against violent criminals is just silly. There wasn't any sort of political party back then for crying out loud, how does this square peg even fit in the round hole? Because Galan is charismatic, does big changes to society, and kills people he doesn't like? Lots of leaders have done that throughout human history, and none of them are fascist as long as there's no one-ruling party or industrial production to speak of.
"YOU ALREADY DID.
Last time you answered it, you said, 100%, no sarcasm (your exact words there) that your heroic ideal of government fantasy character WAS a fascist.
You went full mask off.
No lying and trying to go mask back on again."
He was fascistic, kind of, a bit, but not really. Only if you blur your eyes to the point where Hitler and Mao look like the same rough shape. But even then, one of Galan's biggest edges was the fact that he can easily and swiftly figure out who the bad people to remove from society and the good people to nurture in society are.
Oh yeah, if you actually mean that he's a dictator (because I explained to you and Charles why calling a guy living in a medieval world with evil kings and daimyos running around a fascist is ungodly absurd), I've also already explained that he lets people live their lives normally with no restriction aside from hurting others and being a deadweight (his village only, since the busybodies of Rome handle this aspect of the empire for him). I honestly have no idea what you're even arguing for Galan to be considered a fascist at this point. And again, read my reply to Charles for context.
"You have tried taking back EVERY character trait you have stated your character has once challenged, well I let you play silly internet dishonesty games doing that with every other trait because who cares."
Jesus dude, it's called adding context to a character you know nothing about. What, are you only satisfied if I go: "Yeah, he's a bit like Mussolini with a dash of O'Brien and a sprinkling of Fidel Castro, with no nuance to his ideals, nor does his personhood have ANY redeeming value"?
If we're talking Ainz, sure dude, he went full genocide mode when I quit the anime, and I don't think things got better afterwards for his character. But Galan actually has a plan, and that includes the betterment of the QoL of mortals as a whole, not the ones who put him into power (they're other gods anyway), not his own QoL since he grew up in and prefers the village life, and not for his own gain since he can just devolve into the same scumbaggery that the other gods have fallen into and can easily get away with.
"You do NOT get to play takes backsies to going full mask off fascist. There are no whoops fascism do overs for dumb people. Once you admit to it, which you did, that is the end.
You STAY full mask off fascist.
No denials after going mask off fascist get to count. In fact, nothing you ever say again after going mask off fascist gets to count for anything."
That says more about you than me, y'know? Like, wtf do you even know about Galan? Nothing, nothing at all. You just want to label a deeply complex character with a single label to help you sleep better at night because the thought of having a ruler that's actually competent, willing to be ruthless, but doesn't fall into any of your modern, preconceived notions of rulership gives you the hibbie-jibbies.
Just accept the fact that politics weren't invented after the industrial era and that there are more forms of governing that look similar at a distance when you squint but contain an insane amount of nuance in terms of handling economic growth, political control (like Reps and Dems smearing each other on live TV, CCP scanning video game chat for any mention of Tiananmen Square, and Kimmy doing a faux "election" where he kills anyone that didn't vote for him, etc.), crime prevention and intervention, military mobilization, zoning regulation, etc.
