Chapter Summaries

As the National Liberation Alliance besieged Nijia, Mayor Jieke'er told Old William that government funding and rewards had brought reinforcements rushing toward the city. Old William rallied his police to hold out until they arrived and learned that the new president was Ahro Sankara.

• Jieke'er called Old William and said the Ministry of National Defense had sent four central army brigades and four local brigades to reinforce Nijia.
• Old William doubted the local troops could help until Jieke'er explained that each brigade had received a billion North African francs, with another billion promised for lifting the siege.
• Old William took heart from the news and told a policewoman to inform the defenders that reinforcements would arrive by the following day.
• Old William asked the policewoman for the new president's name, and she identified him as Ahro Sankara.

Nijia’s outnumbered police continued to resist the National Liberation Alliance as Sankara prepared reinforcements and sought Soviet air support. At the battered public hospital, wounded Krov reunited with Old William and declared he had returned because his family was there.

• A wounded policeman in Nijia celebrated the approaching sunrise as fighting continued through the night.
• The National Liberation Alliance chief berated his commanders for failing to capture Nijia and gave them four more hours to take the city.
• Katelai explained to Sankara that Nijia’s police were holding out because they knew the city and were more committed to defending their homes; Sankara ordered the relief effort to continue.
• Katelai reported that the Aksang Brigade was twenty kilometers from Nijia and that the other brigades were advancing, while Soviet negotiations for fighter air cover remained stalled.
• As the police fell back to Nijia Public Hospital, the wounded Krov returned to fight beside Old William and said he could not leave his mother and father behind.

With Nijia Public Hospital’s defenders nearly overrun and reinforcements still absent, Old William and the wounded prepared for a final fight. At 11:50 a.m., as militants stormed the hospital, the roar of fighter jets sounded overhead.

• The hospital’s generator ran out of fuel, and Old William assured Krov and the others that reinforcements would arrive before noon despite his own doubts.
• A nurse, doctors, and wounded police officers and soldiers took up weapons and went downstairs to fight; one officer promised a nurse he would give her a flower if they met again.
• Krov climbed out of bed on a crutch and followed Old William, who turned away in tears and continued downstairs.
• National Liberation Alliance officers forced their militants to take heroin, and several overdosed as others charged the defenders without using cover.
• The militants broke through the hospital’s last defensive line, and Old William prepared to save a bullet for himself before fighter jets roared overhead.

Government aircraft bombed the National Liberation Alliance positions around the hospital, forcing the militants to flee and allowing the survivors to realize they had lived. At Nijia’s outskirts, Full Beard recognized the planes as bearing Burkina’s flag and ordered the Aksang Brigade to attack before the other brigades arrived.

• Old William saw government fighters and bombers overhead and tearfully recognized the flag on their wings.
• The aircraft bombed and strafed National Liberation Alliance positions, killing militants and breaking their morale.
• The National Liberation Alliance forces fled the hospital and retreated, while Old William told the shaken survivors that they had survived.
• At Nijia’s outskirts, Full Beard and his adjutant confirmed that the aircraft bore Burkina’s flag, leaving Full Beard to wonder how Sankara had obtained them.
• Full Beard ordered the Aksang Brigade to attack and drive the National Liberation Alliance out of Nijia before the other brigades arrived, seeking the billion-franc bonus.

Old William watched the battered city of Nijia as the Aksang Brigade and three other brigades struggled against the National Liberation Alliance. Three days later, Sankara’s newly arrived Central Army stunned the local commanders with its disciplined soldiers and impressive equipment.

• Old William saw the Aksang Brigade lose ground to the National Liberation Alliance, which recovered after its morale had seemed to collapse.
• Full Beard and the commanders of the Drago Brigade, Ailidun Brigade, and Duojialong Brigade joined the fighting, suffered heavy setbacks, and chose to hold their lines rather than retreat over the promised bonus.
• Full Beard used the Aksang Brigade’s early arrival and losses to justify resting while the four brigades dragged out the battle and avoided casualties.
• On December 10, more than 27,000 troops from Sankara’s 1st Light Armored Brigade, 2nd Infantry Brigade, 4th Light Armored Brigade, and 5th Infantry Brigade arrived in western Nijia with extensive armor and modern equipment.
• Full Beard and the other commanders were shocked by the Central Army’s appearance, then tried to reassure themselves that its newly enlisted soldiers would be easy to defeat.

Sankara learned that the National Liberation Alliance had brought in many French mercenaries and warned that France might widen the conflict into a nationwide civil war. He ordered Nijia and Bugani secured, then received agriculture documents from Minister Ajima Ameli and postponed their review until the next day.

• Katelai told Sankara that French mercenaries had helped the National Liberation Alliance recover and defeat government troops after the police held Nijia for twenty-eight hours.
• Sankara warned Katelai that France was preparing to involve other anti-government groups and said holding Nijia and Bugani was crucial.
• Katelai agreed to reinforce Bugani with nearby local forces and transfer the 4th Light Armored Brigade and the 5th Infantry Brigade from Nijia.
• Sankara told Katelai to promise the Bugani reinforcements a billion after the war instead of paying them upfront, and Katelai agreed.
• Minister Ajima Ameli brought Sankara the requested agricultural documents, and Sankara arranged to review them and speak with her the next day.

Sankara discovered that Burkina produced far too little grain because landlords devoted most of its farmland to cotton for profit, leaving millions without enough to eat. Enraged, he decided to summon officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of National Defense for a meeting that morning.

• Sankara reviewed national figures showing that Burkina had 48 million mu of farmland but produced only 1.2 million tonnes of staple grains.
• He calculated that the country’s grain supply fell far short of what its population needed.
• Sankara found that more than 40 million mu of farmland was used to grow cotton for French buyers and profit-seeking landlords.
• He read that landlords controlled nearly 80 percent of the land and disregarded the hunger caused by the shortage of grain.
• After finishing the documents at 3:15 a.m., Sankara resolved to summon the agriculture and national defense officials for a meeting.

Sankara called Ministry of Agriculture officials to a tense meeting and questioned them about Burkina’s farmland and grain supply. After they revealed that grain production fell short of the country’s needs, he left them anticipating a confrontation over land used for cotton, while Kroko waited outside with a list of attendees.

• Ministry of Agriculture and National Defense officials arrived to find Sankara waiting, visibly angry and exhausted.
• Sankara asked how much arable land Burkina had and how much staple grain its population needed, and few officials could answer.
• Ameli calculated that the country needed at least two million tonnes of grain, while officials said last year’s production was 1.2 million tonnes.
• Ministry of Agriculture officials realized that increasing grain production would threaten landlords’ interests, and some privately considered warning tribal leaders or opposing Sankara.
• Sankara noticed that some officials’ loyalty scores had fallen, while Kroko waited outside with the attendees’ names and a red-ink fountain pen.

Sankara scolded officials over Burkina’s food crisis, accepted responsibility for the hunger, and proposed nationalizing all arable land and distributing it to farmers. His proposal stunned the conference hall, and a middle-aged official voiced enthusiastic support before Sankara could respond.

• Sankara confronted Agriculture Ministry officials over their ignorance of grain needs and arable land while millions went hungry.
• Sankara accepted primary responsibility for the food crisis, and his self-criticism increased the loyalty of some officials, including Ameli.
• Sankara proposed nationalizing all arable land and distributing it among farmers to expand grain production.
• Ameli questioned whether the proposal suited a country still at war, while a middle-aged official interrupted to support Sankara’s idea.

Sankara recognized that officials loudly claiming to support his land reform had low loyalty, while some opponents were genuinely loyal. He reconsidered his initial proposal because the country was at war and began outlining a more cautious approach, but the chapter ended before he revealed it.

• Sankara noticed that Mitchell Roberts's loyalty had plunged after Sankara proposed bringing farmland under state ownership and distributing it to farmers.
• Roberts interrupted Ameli, accused her of siding with landlords, and rallied officials to declare support for Sankara's proposal.
• Other officials warned that forcibly redistributing land could cause severe turmoil, and Sankara observed that many vocal supporters had low loyalty while many objectors had high loyalty.
• Sankara thanked those who genuinely supported him, while disloyal officials privately assumed they had fooled him.
• Sankara explained that he had reconsidered his initial plan because the country was at war and some landlords were enlightened, then began to introduce his final idea.

Sankara presented his phased plan to address Burkina’s food shortage through land purchases and redistribution, crop incentives, fertilizer imports, and postwar land reform. After officials debated improvements and exposed loopholes, the meeting ended with a more practical agricultural reform plan for the Republic of Burkina.

• Sankara proposed buying and redistributing land during the war, encouraging staple crops, importing fertilizer, and carrying out wider land reform after the war.
• Ameli supported Sankara’s proposal and spent five minutes identifying ways to refine it.
• Officials, including Ministry of National Defense officers, offered criticisms, safeguards, and additions to the plan.
• Officials secretly aligned with landlord interests also spoke up to win Sankara’s trust and preserve opportunities to sabotage the proposal.
• Sankara praised the officials’ contributions, and the meeting ended at 2:13 p.m. with a revised agricultural reform plan.

Sankara ordered Kroko to arrest and interrogate officials he deemed disloyal, while Roberts secretly plotted to sabotage the agricultural reforms and overthrow Sankara. The chapter ended with the National Security Committee arresting Roberts and Buer for treason.

• Sankara marked names on a document and ordered Kroko to arrest and interrogate the circled officials, sending them to trial if they had no further value.
• Roberts cursed Sankara and the proposed agricultural reforms, then plotted to use his influence to undermine them and drive Sankara from office.
• Aibuer visited Roberts, who admitted he had feared the National Security Committee was coming to arrest him.
• National Security Committee officers entered Roberts's office and arrested Mitchell Roberts and Mitchell Buer for treason under Supreme Court warrants.

French spokesperson Marie denied France’s involvement in the Republic of Burkina’s internal conflict while blaming its president for the unrest. In Nijia, commanders of four brigades realized the Ministry of National Defense had positioned its troops to prevent them from retreating, and they feared being punished if they disobeyed orders.

• A Paris Daily reporter asked Marie to respond to the Republic of Burkina president’s accusation that France supported reactionary forces and domestic terrorism.
• Marie said France respected other countries’ sovereignty and urged the Republic of Burkina president to examine his own failures and treatment of the people.
• At Aksang Brigade headquarters, Full Beard and the other commanders complained about their casualties and the Ministry of National Defense’s failure to support their fight against the National Liberation Alliance.
• Bal suggested withdrawing from Nijia and giving up the promised billion, but the Drago Brigade commander warned that the ministry might not let them leave.
• Full Beard explained that the ministry’s four brigades had surrounded their forces, and the Ailidun Brigade commander said those troops were there to enforce battle discipline.

Claude and the other brigade commanders considered retreating after two Ministry of National Defense brigades moved south, but a massive air raid shattered their plans. Sankara learned that Katelai had approved the Soviet instructors’ risky combat flight and let him off with a warning.

• Bal argued that his brigades could defeat the mostly recruit forces, but Claude and the other commanders pointed out the Ministry of National Defense’s superior discipline, armor, artillery, and air force.
• An officer reported that the Ministry of National Defense’s 4th Light Armored Brigade and 5th Infantry Brigade had been transferred to Bugani, leading Bal to urge the commanders to retreat.
• Claude began to consider Bal’s proposal when more than a hundred fighters and bombers appeared overhead and bombed the area.
• Bal realized the planes were likely targeting the brigades before they could retreat, and Claude and the other commanders fell silent.
• Katelai told Sankara that he had approved Soviet instructors taking trainees into combat, and Sankara warned him to discuss such risky plans first next time.

Finance Minister Compaoré warned Sankara that the government’s ten-billion-ruble Soviet loan would soon run out, but Sankara revealed that the Republic of Burkina had enormous gold reserves. Compaoré collapsed after Sankara confirmed the country had 1.5 million tonnes of gold ore.

• Compaoré delivered the government finance documents to Sankara and warned that spending on weapons, grain, and industrial equipment could exhaust the Soviet loan before the investments brought returns.
• Sankara reassured Compaoré by revealing that the country had 1.5 million tonnes of confirmed gold ore, along with other resources still being explored.
• Compaoré excitedly asked Sankara to confirm the amount, and Sankara affirmed that it was 1.5 million tonnes.
• Compaoré swayed and collapsed to the floor, alarming Sankara.

Sankara and Compaoré discussed the Republic of Burkina’s gold reserves and their potential to solve the country’s fiscal crisis. Compaoré learned the remaining 1.2 million tonnes of ore had a high gold content, while Sankara revealed he had a plan to keep France from discovering the mining operation soon.

• After Compaoré recovered from an embarrassing incident, Sankara assured him it would remain private, and they sat down to eat.
• Compaoré asked whether the gold estimate included the 300,000 tonnes controlled by France, and Sankara confirmed it did but said Burkina could not yet risk challenging France directly.
• Sankara told Compaoré the remaining 1.2 million tonnes had gold content comparable to the French mines, leaving Compaoré overwhelmed by the news.
• After lunch, Compaoré calculated that mining the ore could bring in 540 billion North African francs in annual revenue, but warned France might seize the mines.
• Sankara said he had a way to keep France from discovering the reserves soon, using the system’s data panel to monitor the loyalty of everyone involved in mining and selling the gold.

In Nayafaso Village, Kanel whipped starving serfs for warming themselves with fallen branches while claiming to be kindhearted. He then complained to Gabriel about Sankara’s refusal to let landlords export cotton to France and his decision to buy it at a lower price, as the men prepared to meet with Kanel.

• Serfs huddled around a fire and whispered about factory jobs and the danger of escaping their landlord.
• Kanel caught them burning fallen branches, whipped them, and left the fire burning because he did not want his laborers to freeze.
• Gabriel teased Kanel for sparing the serfs, and Kanel insisted he was kindhearted.
• Kanel angrily complained that Sankara had failed to receive him personally and would not let him export cotton to France.
• Gabriel urged Kanel to calm down and reminded him that others were waiting inside to discuss their business.

Kanel and the other landlords grew furious over the government’s cotton policy and agreed to fight back against Sankara. Gabriel later weighed whether to keep growing cotton or switch to grain, depending on whether Kanel could force Sankara to withdraw the policy.

• Gabriel arrived at Kanel’s house and praised his expensive American air conditioner while the two men mocked Sankara.
• Kanel learned that Sankara and his ministers had refused to meet the landlords, and the group complained about the cotton purchase price.
• Gabriel inflamed Kanel’s anger by emphasizing that the new price would cost him 2.7 billion North African francs each year.
• Kanel agreed with the other landlords that they had to fight back against Sankara’s cotton policy.
• At Nayafaso Village, Gabriel told his servant he would keep growing cotton if Kanel succeeded, but otherwise switch to grain and consider selling land to the government.

The National Security Committee ordered officers to investigate landowners led by Gabriel after they met with Kanel, a powerful opponent of Sankara’s agricultural reforms. The story then shifted to December 15, when William told his mother that Aaron had secretly enlisted, before following her to a bustling state-owned garment factory.

• A major told six officers that Gabriel and other landowners had visited Kanel, and ordered them to uncover and thwart their plans within a day.
• William told his mother that Aaron had secretly joined the army, and she worried about the dangers of the fighting in Nijia.
• William left for school, while his parents discussed Aaron’s enlistment and his mother worried about the war.
• William’s mother rode her bicycle to work at the Dugagu State-Owned Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd., passing crowds of workers, vendors, and cotton sellers gathered at the factory gates.

At a Ministry of Industrial Development and Trade meeting, Sankara heard about factory construction and questioned how a garment factory had become profitable despite its high prices. He left the meeting after Meyev reported that security forces had foiled a suspected terrorist attack near a factory in Dugagu.

• Workers at a factory gate panicked and ran inside after someone announced that police and the army had arrived nearby.
• An official reported that the ministry had invested in thirty-seven factories and that Dugagu Garment Manufacturing Limited Company had quickly become profitable by selling clothes directly to consumers.
• Minister Aurore explained that local landlords and criminal forces threatened retailers and wholesalers who bypassed them, while the government-owned factory had protection from local authorities.
• Meyev told Sankara that the National Security Committee and the Ministry of Public Security had prevented a suspected terrorist attack near a factory in Dugagu, leaving four people with minor injuries.
• Sankara ended his participation in the meeting and went to hear Chairman Kroko's report.