At the palace gates.
Umberto took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.
From this moment on, he was the leader of Italy.
No matter who stood in his way, no one would stop him.
Umberto said to his assistant, Lorenzo Sulmona, who was waiting at the palace gates, “Sulmona, notify the generals and tell them to come to the cabinet for a meeting.
Brief them on the situation first and ask them to come as quickly as possible.” Sulmona turned and walked back into the palace, using the palace telephone to make the necessary calls.
Sulmona was the descendant of a fallen noble family.
He had become Umberto’s attendant and assistant at the age of twenty, responsible for taking care of his daily needs, and was permitted to move freely through most areas of the palace.
Umberto then smiled at Parisi, the captain of his personal guard standing beside him, and said, “Let’s go to the Palazzo Chigi.” The Palazzo Chigi was the Prime Minister’s office, about a seven-hundred-meter walk from the royal palace.
With Umberto now acting as regent, he naturally had to take control of the cabinet.
The two of them did not take a car but walked there instead.
In the cool October weather, a light drizzle suddenly began to fall, as if trying to wash away the heavy, gloomy atmosphere hanging over Rome.
Palazzo Chigi, conference room.
The resigned Prime Minister and the various ministers were still in a state of shock.
Had it not been the familiar voice of the King’s adjutant on the other end of the telephone, they would have assumed it was some kind of prank.
An eighteen-year-old Crown Prince acting as regent and taking full control of military and political affairs seemed utterly absurd.
Prime Minister Facta, however, remained calm.
With the nation about to enter a state of emergency and the King coincidentally falling ill, it was perfectly reasonable for the Crown Prince to act as regent.
Unfortunately, how could the young Crown Prince possibly be a match for Mussolini?
He would not be able to stop Mussolini from entering the Palazzo Chigi.
The discussions around the room grew increasingly loud until the doors were suddenly opened.
Two figures appeared at the entrance to the conference room, standing tall and exuding confidence.
Everyone rose to their feet.
“Greetings, Your Royal Highness.” “No need for formalities.” Umberto waved his hand and walked directly toward the seat at the head of the conference table.
Seeing Umberto approach, Facta voluntarily stepped aside and moved to the seat on the right, gesturing for Umberto to sit.
Umberto gave him a slight nod of thanks.
After sitting down, he gestured for everyone else to take their seats.
“Gentlemen, His Majesty is unwell and has appointed me as regent.
This is the letter of appointment.” Umberto handed the letter of appointment to Facta beside him and gestured for him to pass it around.
“The collective resignation of the cabinet has paralyzed the government, which is not conducive to resolving the current crisis.
Therefore, until a new cabinet can be formed, I need your assistance.
I would like to ask whether you are willing to remain in your positions.” Umberto could not simply cast the Liberal Party aside and replace them all with his own people overnight.
He had to proceed step by step.
The ministers did not answer immediately but instead looked toward Facta.
After all, they were ministers in Facta’s cabinet.
Facta smiled and said, “Since His Royal Highness requires our assistance, everyone should do their utmost.” It was only a few more days of work, after all.
The Liberal Party supported the royal family, and they could not afford to damage that relationship.
Once Facta had spoken, everyone expressed their agreement.
“We will support Your Royal Highness with all our strength.” Umberto laughed and stood up.
“Thank you, gentlemen.” “Once the generals arrive, I will announce the decrees.” …
A dozen minutes later, the military officers arrived at the conference room.
Among them, representing the Army, were General Armando Diaz, General Giuseppe Vaccari, and General Giovanni Marelli; representing the Navy was Admiral Paolo Revel.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Umberto immediately opened the meeting.
“Gentlemen, in my capacity as regent, I hereby announce my first decree.” “General Diaz will serve as Minister of War, overseeing the Army alongside General Vaccari, Chief of the Army General Staff.
Admiral Paolo Revel will serve as Minister of the Navy and Chief of the Naval Staff, responsible for the daily operations of the Navy.” “Aside from the adjustments to these two departments, the ministers of all other departments will remain in office and assist me in handling the present crisis.” Umberto swept his gaze across the room and raised his voice.
“The King has already made his position clear.
We will not compromise with the Blackshirts, nor with any other illegal armed force.
From this moment onward, the nation enters a state of emergency.
The cabinet and the military are to enter a state of combat readiness and await further orders.” “All affairs of state in Italy will temporarily be placed under my authority.” Having spoken, Umberto bowed slightly to everyone.
“Gentlemen, let us work together to bring this damned farce to an end.” “Yes, Your Royal Highness!” everyone answered respectfully.
At 5:00 PM on October 29, the cabinet urgently issued the “State of Emergency Act” and the “Dissolution of Illegal Armed Forces Act,” ordering the Blackshirts surrounding Rome to disarm within twenty-four hours, with their previous offenses pardoned.
Blackshirts and other illegal armed groups throughout the country were ordered to surrender their weapons to local garrisons or the Carabinieri within seventy-two hours.
Anyone who refused would be deemed to be in rebellion against the state.
Immediately afterward, the royal palace issued a nationwide proclamation formally announcing Umberto’s appointment.
Following the announcement, the senior military leadership jointly issued orders requiring garrisons throughout the country to prepare for combat and strictly forbidding officers in all regions from making contact with the Blackshirts, under penalty of dismissal from military service.
Lieutenant General Giovanni Marelli, Commander of the Carabinieri, announced that the regent’s decree would be carried out without exception, ordering the Carabinieri nationwide to enter a state of combat readiness and prepare to arrest members of the Blackshirts.
The military orders were severe.
Fabio Chiapini, Commander of the Rome Garrison, declared martial law in Rome, established defensive lines against the Blackshirts, and dispatched soldiers to the Blackshirt positions to deliver Umberto’s decree.
Under Umberto’s orders, the Rome municipal police took to the streets to maintain order and arrest rioting Fascists.
Umberto also ordered the Ministry of the Interior to seize control of the newspapers throughout Rome, dismantling the Fascists’ propaganda network.
Thus, throughout the streets of Rome, the military, Carabinieri, and police carried out joint operations, making arrests across the city.
The martial law order had an immediate effect, and order in the urban districts of Rome was gradually restored.
However, the deployment of the military also caused panic among the Italian public, who feared the outbreak of civil war.
No one had expected Umberto to act so decisively.
At the same time, newspapers throughout Rome were ordered to publish photographs and firsthand accounts exposing the Black Terror.
Free newspapers carrying the reports quickly spread to every corner of Rome.
For the first time, ordinary citizens were confronted with the reality of the situation, shattering whatever illusions they still held about the Fascists.
“How could this have happened?!” “This is too brutal!
They’re nothing but beasts!” “So we’ve all been deceived.
The Fascists are the real executioners!” …
Condemnations rose like waves throughout the streets of Rome, one after another.
This was exactly the effect Umberto had hoped to achieve.
However, he had no time to listen to them, as he was busy issuing decree after decree.
One of them was particularly crucial and could directly cut off Mussolini’s lifeline.
Umberto issued a stern warning to the nation’s major industrialists and landowners: anyone who dared to continue supporting the Fascists would face severe sanctions, investigations, and fines.
Merely issuing the decree was not enough.
Umberto ordered Basso, the head of his intelligence department, to dispatch agents to warn them individually, making it clear to anyone who believed themselves untouchable that supporting the Fascists would come at a heavy price.
Umberto also ordered the Security Battalion to dispatch two thousand men in military vehicles, taking a detour toward Perugia to retake the city and arrest Mussolini, who was hiding there.
Meanwhile, outside the city of Rome.
The vanguard of the Blackshirts had been driven out of the urban districts by the military, leaving their morale badly shaken.
Most of the Blackshirts were unarmed.
If fighting actually broke out, they would be the ones slaughtered.
Both conviction and survival could put human nature to the test.