Tyranny of Steel

Chapter 703: End of an Era

Itami Riyo had a bitter smile on her face as she said goodbye to her darling little sister and her annoying mother. The brief vacation she had spent in her family’s lands had been fun, albeit uneventful. She mostly spent her days being pampered by the luxuries her domain produced. Her mother had tried to take her on a few dates with some local men, but she had utterly refused.

Because of this, there was a conflict between Riyo and her mother, but what else was new? Currently, Riyo had gathered her mother and sister together in order to give them a proper farewell. The mature beauty gazed upon her daughter with a smug expression as she criticized the girl for returning to the capital so soon.

“It has only been a couple of months, and yet you’re already leaving? I haven’t even been able to set you up with a man yet!”

Riyo glared daggers at her mother for mentioning marriage yet again. The woman could not help but meddle in her daughter’s affairs. Riyo took a deep breath to calm her nerves before shoving away her little sister, who latched onto her like a lamprey, completely ignoring her mother’s comment as she gave the girl some advice.

“Momo, you be good while I’m away. I have eyes and ears across all of Japan. If you dare to make trouble for me or our mother, I will know!”

The girl had tears in her eyes. It was the first time she had seen her elder sister in years, and now they were departing so soon after reuniting. It didn’t seem fair to her. However, Riyo had an Empire to run, and her vacation had lasted longer than she had expected.

It had been roughly two months since the young empress first ended the rebellion against her, and yet she had not yet publically declared her victory, nor had she taken advantage of her position to further her imperial agenda.

She realized her family was entirely to blame for this; they had a way of sucking Riyo back into their affairs every time she wanted to leave. This time she had put her foot down, and would not tolerate any more disruption to her master plan. Thus, she glared at her mother and said goodbye.

“Mother, take care good care of Momo, and yourself for that matter. I will visit the next time I am able. Make sure my little sister doesn’t get conned by some bastard! You know how naïve she is!”

Momo immediately took offense to Itami’s words, but before she could say anything, her mother interjected on her behalf.

“Of course, you can trust that under my guidance your sister will turn into a proper young woman, unlike someone I know…”

Riyo’s snow white brow twitched when she heard her mother’s shameless comment. She immediately rebuked her mother for speaking to her in such a disrespectful manner.

“Is this how you speak to your Empress?”

However, Mibu Saya retorted with her own snide remark as she spoke to her daughter like a worried mother.

“No, this is how I speak to my errant daughter, who behaves like a member of the opposite sex. You know you will never meet a good man if you continue to act in such an unladylike manner! You should learn from your sister. She already has several suitors lined up, meanwhile you are nineteen and still unmarried. Such a shame to our family!”

Riyo had finally had enough of her mother’s talks of marriage and flipped her long white hair before turning around, departing with a single phrase.

“Goodbye mother…”

After saying this, she mounted her horse and rode with her army back to the capital of Heian-kyō. Her prisoners were already waiting for her there, and she planned to execute them publically as a display of her authority.

If her mother knew what her plans were, she would chastise the girl for being so bloodthirsty and vicious. However, she did not. Thus, Itami Riyo had begun the long journey back to the capital. One that would be entirely uneventful.

—

After arriving in Heian-kyō, Itami was surprised to see that everything was calm. She had a track record of being extremely unlucky. She half expected her absence to cause some kind of catastrophe. Luckily, she was able to enjoy her brief vacation in peace, while her subordinates ran her newly established an Empire in her stead.

With the arrival of the Empress and her army to the capital, she expected there to be a grand welcoming, especially after she was absent for so long. However, that was not the case. Instead, the city’s people still behaved normally as she and her troops passed by. Though some took the moment to point and whisper, there was no massive celebration.

Itami was skeptical of the reason for this, but decided to press forward to the Palace. Surely her ministers would explain themselves when she met with them. After a brief journey through the city, Itami and her soldiers arrived at the Royal Palace, where she entered alongside her personal bodyguards. The ministers were quick to greet her with a small welcoming party, to which she immediately snapped at them.

“I return from my grand victory over the Mōri rebellion, and you doddering old fools can’t even put together a proper welcoming?”

Her lead minister was a man named Akamatsu Takahira. He was an elderly man in his eighties and looked like a stereotypical elder monk. With a bald head and a long white beard, the man looked as if he belonged in a Kung Fu movie. However, he was not a monk, nor a martial artist. Instead, he was an opportunist who previously served the Ashikaga Shogunate as a member of the Bakufu.

However, he had seen the writing on the wall, and ended up siding with Itami, knowing full well that she would be victorious during the closing days of her rebellion. He was the one to clean up the mess of the royal family’s execution, and was the man who fabricated her claim as a distant descendent of the Yamato Clan. The man bowed his head towards the enraged young Empress and begged for forgiveness.

“Apologies, Itami-sama, but we have been dreadfully busy cleaning up the remnants of the Mori Rebellion. We simply did not have time to orchestrate a grand welcoming ceremony for you.”

Itami had expected there to be remnants of the rebellion. Even if all the leaders were apprehended, there were bound to be those who could not let go of their beliefs that she was unworthy to lead Japan. Still, she did not expect it to be such a large issue.

However, if the remnants of the rebellion were posing a threat to her, then she planned to do something about it. She would execute the leaders of the rebellion in public and then dedicate her most advanced forces into hunting down and eliminating those who swore loyalty to the old world.

“Very well. You are forgiven. I want you to gather the rebel leaders in the public square and have the area secured. Every citizen of the capital should be able to see their deaths in person. I will show those fools who still deny my rule the inevitable result of their misguided efforts.”

Akamatsu Takahira bowed his head once more while he accepted his orders before carrying them out.

“As you command, my Empress!”

With this said, he quickly departed and got to task setting up the public execution. It took a few hours to do so, and during this time Itami staved off her boredom with sake. She was an experienced drinker and maintained her sobriety for the big show.

After a few hours had passed, and the sun was beginning to set, Itami was notified by a servant that her public display had been prepared and much of the city was gathered. Thus, she wasted no time as she departed for the town square.

After a brisk walk, Itami arrived in front of the gathered crowds and gazed upon the scene. The various leaders of the Mori rebellion were coated in filth from their months of captivity. They were barely recognizable. She sneered in disdain as she climbed the steps, announcing to the crowd the end of an era.

“People of Heian-kyō, these men who are bound and chained are nothing more than rebels and traitors to Japan. Many of these men fought by my side to bring down the cruelty of the Ashikaga Shogunate, however the moment we did so, they turned on me. Believing that I was unfit to rule our great Nation. Well, they were proven wrong, as I thoroughly trounced their foolish rebellion and brought peace to our new empire.

For rebelling against the Empress, I hereby condemn these men to death. With their deaths, I shall usher in a new era of peace and prosperity. One where one’s success in life is determined by their merit, not by the status of their brith! For those who seek to obstruct such progress, let the fate of these men be a lesson to you all!”

After saying this, Itami unsheathed her Katana and brought it over to the first prisoner. The man gazed at her with disdain. He listened to every word of her speech and condemned the young woman in his mind as an idealistic fool. He spat on the ground in disgust as the blade fell onto his neck and severed his head. After claiming one rebel’s head, Itami moved on to the others, until all the remained was Mōri Nobuhisa. Itami gazed at the man with a wicked grin on her pretty face before asking him one last question.

“Do you have any regrets?”

The man merely chuckled, knowing his fate was sealed. He sighed heavily before revealing his final thoughts.

“My only regret is not killing you when I had the chance.”

Itami merely smiled before bringing her blade down on the rebel leader’s neck, severing his head, and spilling his blood all over the stage. The crowd cheered as the rebel daimyo was slaughtered, believing in the words Itami had spoken. No longer would they have to live under the yoke of their feudal lords. Instead, they could pursue their own path in life.

Though it would take a few years of reforms, this would mark the beginning of the end of an Era. Itami would work on industrializing her nation, mechanizing her agriculture, and liberating the peasants from their fields, creating a semi-modern country in the process.