Tyranny of Steel

Chapter 655 - Open Rebellion

While Berengar spent a considerable amount of time, effort, and expense improving the industrial capabilities of the fatherland, a woman in a similar position on the other side of the world was struggling to introduce reforms in her new Shogunate that would allow her to exert absolute power over her country.

The Ashikaga shogunate had fallen, Itami Riyo and her fanatical followers ruthlessly purged the head of its dynasty, as well as all living heirs. The woman in question had forced the Imperial Family to recognize her as the Shogun. Despite this, there was fierce resistance from the daimyos of Japan. In Berengar's past life, few women were ever made Shogun, and it was the same in this world. Because of this, it was difficult for those in power to accept Riyo's reign.

The various Daimyo clans had banded together under her banner to overthrow the Ashikaga shogunate for various reasons, however now that a woman was claiming to be the new Shogun, few of her former followers accepted it. The territory she had unified immediately collapsed into infighting, as those who believed she was unworthy of such a high position used the weapons she had introduced to resist her rule.

Riyo sighed heavily as she sat in the Shogun's palace while she read yet another letter declaring rebellion against her rule. She poured herself a cup of sake as she drank its contents with much enthusiasm. Her snow white cheeks flushed red as she did so, giving her a rather cute appearance. After drinking yet another cup, she complained about the men who had turned against her.

"Ignorant bastards! Have I not achieved enough in life to show you my worth as a leader? If not for me, you damn fools would never have overthrown the Ashikaga clan. God damn it! Just because I'm a woman, these idiots think I can not lead a country. Well, I'll show them! I'll show them all. If you think matchlocks are the only weapons that I can come up with, just you wait until my loyal soldiers are armed with Muratas. I'll kill you all! Every last one of you bastards!"

Upon saying this, the young woman pulled out a piece of paper where she began drafting blueprints for a single shot, black powder rifle, as well as its matching bayonet. Similar to the 1871 Gewehr, the Murata rifle was a .45 caliber rifle. The development of such a weapon would put her infantry on par with Berengar's. Of course, she had no idea that a man had risen to power in the west and formed a mighty Empire.

For some time, she had been planning to introduce new weapons. Unfortunately, it was not until recently where she had the chemical capabilities to produce brass case cartridges. However, she was too busy with the war until now to bother putting such things into production. Yet, she knew that if she wanted to truly devastate her opponents, she would have to rely on yet another fierce weapon design from her past life.

The young Shogun spent many hours drafting all kinds of new weapons to modernize her forces. From Murata Rifles, to type 26 Revolvers, and even Rifled Breechloaders. She desired to modernize her forces and implement a strict military dictatorship as soon as possible.

As she was designing these weapons, Riyo recalled in her memories of her past life having a fierce argument with a certain somebody over the superiority of german vs Japanese firearms leading up to world war two. She took another drink of sake as she remembered a particular argument about the Kar98k vs the Type 99. Dwelling upon this subject; Riyo wore a bitter smile as she expressed her views on the matter.

"If that bastard Julian had reincarnated in this world, I can bet he would have created the Mauser 1871 by now. I can only imagine the petty arguments we would have about that rifle and the Murata. What an idiot. He cared more about being right than about my feelings. He really was scum... Still, I wonder how he would handle my current situation..."

Since the Daimyos beneath her command were now rebelling against her, Riyo only had one option: crush them so brutally that they would never dare to oppose her reign ever again. She was about to curse them out once more when a man entered the room. He wore the tosei gusoku that had become common among the samurai that pledged their loyalty to Itami Riyo. This man also carried a Katana and wakizashi on his waist. This man instantly kneeled before Riyo and informed her of recent developments. 

ᴀʟʟᴏᴠʟFuʟʟ

"Itami-sama, the Daimyo Shimazu Takatame, has declared open rebellion and captured the city of Naniwa. How shall we respond?"

Riyo pursed her lips while dwelling on how to handle this information. She had just won the war against the Ashikaga Shogunate, and already the rebels were moving against her newly formed Itami Shogunate. She had no choice but to crack down on the enemy before they could recruit more Daimyos to their cause. However, this newest rebellion was complicated. Because of this, she bit her finger before cursing out the man who had betrayed her.

"More bad news? Shimazu Takatame that fucking bastard. Just last week, he pledged his undying love to me. However, the moment that I reject his marriage proposal, he seeks to overthrow me. So be it! Assemble the Army, we will march on Naniwa immediately. I want that traitor's head!"

Having said this, the officer who had approached the shogun nodded his head before responding in affirmation of his orders.

"As you command, Itami-sama."

After the general slinked back into the shadows, Riyo threw her ceramic cup at the wall as hard as she could, shattering it upon impact. Before she could even manufacture her newest weapons, she was betrayed by yet another one of her vassals, and for such a petty reason, too.

Shimazu Takatame was one of the first men to pledge their loyalty to Riyo, and had strived to win her favor for some time. However, he was not exceptional enough to catch the woman's interest. Though he came from a powerful clan, and had inherited his father's position during Riyo's rebellion, he was far from desirable in the woman's eyes. After Riyo had achieved victory, the man in question asked her to marry him, however she refused, and quite brutally, her exact words were as follows.

"I have no desire to marry you, Takatame-san. I need a man who challenges me, a man who is capable of defeating me at my own game, and that man isn't you..."

Apparently, such a harsh response had caused Takatame to declare open rebellion. Whether it was out of hatred for being rejected, or simply to prove his worth, Riyo did not know. Either way, she did not care. She would crush the man's army and claim his head. After all, she did not tolerate treason.

Having issued the orders for her army to assemble, Riyo began to prepare herself for the long journey. There was no time to wait. She needed to assemble her forces and march on the city of Naniwa as quickly as possible. Before she could institute her reforms that would turn Japan into a hereditary military dictatorship, the woman needed to crush a rebellion or two.

If Riyo knew that Julian had reincarnated into this world as a German nobleman, and had already united his people into a stable Empire, she would probably throw a fit. She always hated being one upped by the man, and the fact that her Daimyo rebelled against her rule the moment she united Japan beneath her rule was utterly frustrating.

Before long, an army of fifteen thousand men was on the march towards the city of Naniwa. Although these men would soon fight a mortal battle with those who, just days ago, were their brothers in arms, they lacked any form of remorse on their faces. For these men were absolutely loyal to the War Goddess, and to rebel against her was practically heresy. Before Riyo could even catch a break, she was once more on the road to war. Such was the life of a conqueror.