Tyranny of Steel

A few days later, Berengar stood within the confines of his war room while listening to an intelligence report from his operatives, who were embedded deep behind enemy lines within the Japanese capital of Heian-kyō. This report was actually a video recording, which was currently being displayed on a large screen for the Kaiser and all his generals to witness. 

A man that Berengar recognized as General Shiba Kiyohiko was giving a speech to the remnants of the Imperial Japanese Army. The man had a stern expression on his face as he condemned the German attack on Tsushima, while simultaneously declaring the formation of the Shiba Shogunate. 

"I stand here before you all today to deliver some grim news. The Attack on our brave soldiers in Tsushima, which has left the island completely devoid of all life, has caused our beloved Empress to become delirious.

As Empress Itami Riyo is no longer in a state of mind that is capable of fulfilling the responsibilities of her position, I General Shiba Kiyohiko, hereby announce that I will be assuming the vacant position of Shogun until a time where the Empress is fit once more to rule over Japan.

For the barbarians who are at our gates, who I know are watching this speech even as I make it, I want you to know that you will be held responsible for your atrocities. We will never surrender, and we will fight you until the bitter end. One way or another, you will break your backs on the shores of Japan! This I assure you! 

If you still dare to continue your aggression, then we will meet you with equal ferocity. Do not blame us for taking the gloves off, for you have brought this upon yourself!" 

Berengar sat in silence as his generals contemplated the meaning behind this speech. As they argued among themselves, Adelbrand appeared bewildered while he looked towards his Kaiser for guidance.

"What does this mean?"

Berengar could only sigh and shake his head as he stood up from his seat, and approached one of the windows of the war room, gazing off towards the east as he made things abundantly clear for his General Staff.

"This means that General Shiba Kiyohiko has led a coup against Empress Itami Riyo. If I'm not mistaken, the little bitch is currently a prisoner in her own home. A mere puppet so that Shiba may maintain some legitimacy to his claim of Shogun. 

It would appear that we now have to adjust our plans. So long as the Japanese Empress is a prisoner of this new regime, they will continue to use their newfound authority to resist our demands for surrender at every turn. We need to expose this act, and to do this I'm afraid we must dispatch a team of Sturmkommandos to rescue the little damsel in distress from her captivity. 

Once Itami is in our custody, we can effectively blame all of Japan's misdeeds on Shiba and his fellow traitors. In doing so, we can turn the Japanese people against him, and inspire a rebellion without ever needing to personally set foot on the soil of Japan." 

Adelbrand was rather shocked by this sudden turn of events, and was quick to question the Kaiser's words. Apparently unconvinced that this was the best course of action possible. 

"Can't we just gas Heian-kyō like we had planned earlier? Why do we need to go to so much effort to rescue an enemy from a mess that she has created for herself?" 

When Berengar heard Adelbrand's words, he turned around and glared at the man with an intense amount of disgust on his face. He was quick to lecture his chief of staff on his cruelty. 

"I never intended to gas Heian-kyō to begin with. It was merely a bluff to convince the Japanese Empress to surrender. Which, judging from the look of things, worked as planned, albeit I had not anticipated a coup taking place as a result.

Need I remind you that Tsushima was a valid military target, one where Japan had already evacuated all civilians in preparation for a gruesome battle? Heian-kyō however, has a million innocent souls who live within its boundaries, maybe even more. Are you seriously telling me to condemn that many people to such a horrific fate?

These are not mindless savages who butcher babies, and roast men alive like we have found in our colonies. The Japanese are an intelligent, and industrious civilization that has proven themselves deserving of at least some modicum of respect.

Just because Japan is ruled by a military dictatorship which denies its people their most basic rights, does not mean that we can just wantonly massacre them all. I am actually rather ashamed that you have suggested such an inhumane course of action. 

I expected such cruelty to come from Heimerich, as the man thrives in such ruthlessness. But you Adelbrand? Needless to say, I am disappointed in you. Now prepare a team to extract Empress Itami and her family from Heian-kyō. We will think of our next move after they are in our protective custody. You are dismissed..."

Adelbrand was utterly shocked that Berengar had reacted in such a way. After all, this would not be the first time the man had used a chemical attack on a city filled with innocent people. In years past, Berengar had ordered for the city of Madrid to be shelled with chlorine gas, an act which killed roughly twenty thousand people in total. 

Despite this double standard, Adelbrand did not give voice to it, and merely saluted his Kaiser before withdrawing from the room in silence.  After his generals had departed from the room to give him some space, Berengar sat down in his chair and sighed heavily as he poured himself a drink.

The truth of the matter was Berengar still believed the massacre of Madrid to have been a necessary act of cruelty. After all, what were the deaths 20,000 civilians, many of which who were enemy combatants, when compared to the lives of his own soldiers? 

After all, at the time, Berengar was fighting against a guerilla insurgency supported by the Papacy. One which had resulted in brutal urban warfare. It was impossible to tell who was an innocent civilian, and who was a terrorist waiting to kill German soldiers.

As a result of this complicated matter, Berengar had ordered to gas the city of Madrid which had become a stronghold for the catholic insurgents. If anything, he had attacked a military target while disregarding the collateral damage, which was how he had always and continued to conduct warfare. 

However, Heian-kyō was different. There was no major military presence in the city. And since Itami had first formed her empire, and industrialized it, she had begun a rapid rate of urbanization. By now, over a million innocent souls lived within her capital. To murder them all in pursuit of a quick victory, even he found the idea to be somewhat chilling. 

As Berengar had stated to Adelbrand and his other generals, he had no problems purging vicious and mindless savages from the lands he had conquered in pursuit of living space. Such was the nature of conquest. But this war was not about conquest. It was about deciding the world hegemon between two industrial powers. 

Thus far, the Japanese had shockingly abided by the rules of war that Berengar had set in place during the Vienna Accords. And he would not dare be the first to break them. To do so would stain his legacy for centuries to come. 

Berengar's hope was to incorporate Japan into his sphere of influence after this war was over, and to do that, he needed two things: Firstly, he needed Itami Riyo alive and well, so that she could continue on as Empress of Japan. Though, in reality, she would be just another one of his puppets.

And the second requirement that Berengar need to achieve his goal was to present a friendly image to the Japanese people. He could not have the public perception of the German people to be one of murderers and criminals. Instead, they would have to present themselves as liberators against a corrupt regime which has thus far denied the Japanese people their basic human rights. 

Thus, Berengar could not justify the ruthless slaughter of a million innocent Japanese civilians. Besides, even if he wanted to gas Heian-kyō, he had used up his entire stockpile of Sarin on Tsushima. No, there was only one solution to this problem: rescue Itami Riyo, and use her as a means to incite rebellion against the newfound Shiba Shogunate. 

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