Smashing Tokyo (Part 2)
No matter how incompetent they might seem, those who rise to the absolute peak of a bureaucracy always have at least one thing they excel at. Whether it is the art of networking or sheer administrative talent... after all, managing hundreds of thousands of people is no simple feat.
Mutaguchi Renya, Sugiyama Hajime, and Tominaga Kyoji. These three generals shared a common trait. Though they repeatedly committed acts of utter absurdity on the front lines, they never once disobeyed an order! Perhaps it was precisely because they held their own organizations in a vice grip that they were able to get away with such madness in the first place.
Even when told, "The Japanese are herbivores, so graze on grass as you advance," they actually marched forward eating grass, resulting in nearly a million people starving to death. Whether they crushed their subordinates with brutal discipline or coaxed them with sweet words... they had somehow succeeded in selling such sheer insanity!
The catastrophes these absurd Japanese generals wrought on the front lines cannot be summarized by the simple word "incompetence." It was closer to a tragedy born from being utterly useless in one field, yet terrifyingly competent in another.
"I have hastily drawn up an organizational chart. You may have many complaints, but you must act according to this structure regardless."
Joseon refugees, the Austrian legation, young Japanese officers... a bizarrely heterogeneous crowd was systematized in an instant, thanks to the administrative genius of Mutaguchi Renya.
"For convenience, we will place the Austrian Minister as the supreme commander. However, this is merely to centralize all reports in one place; the actual decision-making power will be distributed."
In such an urgent crisis, where field judgment and personal charisma were paramount, a rigid bureaucracy might normally prove toxic. Yet, with so many disparate factions gathered in a chaotic mess, unifying the chain of command and establishing a clear order of authority—even a makeshift one—was absolutely essential.
While Mutaguchi Renya served as the brain of the anti-coup faction, structuring the organization...
"This fellow is from the 27th class of the Army War College... and this general is from the 31st class. Oh? Come to think of it, quite a few of them are from the same province, aren't they?"
Sugiyama Hajime, a genius of political networking, casually scanned the roster of the Imperial Way Faction, instantly recalling their personal backgrounds in meticulous detail. After all, politics was nothing more than factionalism driven by regional ties, school ties, and bloodlines.
"In that case... they can easily be split into the Army War College faction, the Gendarmerie Commander's faction, and the Tohoku faction. They might be acting together for now, but those from the Army War College won't want to associate with the impoverished country bumpkins from Tohoku."
How to drive a wedge between the factions, and which lines to pull... Sugiyama Hajime mapped out the power dynamics within the Imperial Way Faction in the blink of an eye.
"Since I am also an alumnus of the Army War College, I shall peel away every single graduate within the Imperial Way Faction, General Ishiwara. In return, please promise me that you will show leniency to those defecting Army War College officers."
"...I will at least spare their lives."
"That is more than enough."
The weakest link in the Imperial Way Faction was the elite junior officer class. For now, they clung to the faction out of revolutionary fervor. But given their pedigree as Army War College graduates, their path to success was guaranteed even without participating in a coup. In fact, they had plenty of ways to make a living even if they left the military. They were a group that could stab their co-conspirators in the back at any moment without surprise.
Sugiyama Hajime slowly began to make his approach.
And what of Tominaga Kyoji?
"I know the escape routes out of Tokyo! Those who wish to fight, head to the Austrian Legation. The rest of us will evacuate the city!"
Tominaga Kyoji, who possessed an extraordinary talent for "retreating" and "civil affairs operations." From the very first day of the crisis, Tominaga had been plotting his escape from Tokyo. He took charge of leading the civilians out of the city.
Finally, the task of actually leading the troops into battle fell to Ishiwara Kanji. He was the one who understood military doctrine best and had actually researched it extensively. All that remained was the execution of the operation.
"I have learned His Majesty the Emperor's location from a junior alumnus of the Army War College! The majority of the War College graduates within the Imperial Way Faction have already defected!"
Sugiyama Hajime had successfully driven a wedge between the "Tohoku country bumpkins" and the "Army War College elites" in an instant. He brainwashed them into believing that the senseless massacres committed by the Imperial Way Faction were entirely the "unilateral actions of those Tohoku peasants."
"Kita Ikki is already finished. It was one thing to slaughter the Joseon people, but why on earth did he lay hands on the people of Satsuma and Choshu?"
"...That is what worries me as well."
"In any case... since things have turned out this way, let us pin all of those atrocities on those Tohoku bastards. Surely, the graduates of the Army War College—the absolute elite of this nation—could never have committed such acts, could they?"
"...Indeed!"
Though they were a minority within the Imperial Way Faction, Sugiyama had succeeded in turning the most capable individuals. True to their sharp intellects, they had already mapped out all the key strongholds and positions beforehand. The defectors provided detailed intelligence on the Emperor's location, the placement of machine-gun nests, and the current status of the strongholds occupied by the Imperial Way Faction.
Ishiwara Kanji stared at the map obtained from the Imperial Way Faction for a long moment.
"It would be best to catch them off guard. Disguise the refugees as vigilantes. We will trick them into thinking we want to join Kita Ikki, allowing us to penetrate deep into the rebels' headquarters."
"Will the rebels fall for that?"
"They have no choice but to fall for it. Though they won't admit it, the rebels must feel cornered by now. They are killing more and more people. They will be desperate to garner any support they can from the citizens of Tokyo."
Ishiwara Kanji was closer to a grand strategist than a mere battlefield tactician. He accurately grasped the reality of the Imperial Way Faction, which was currently starved for public support.
"But they are slaughtering every Joseon person they lay eyes on. If they are caught, the refugees will..."
"Then we can send the Burakumin from Kanto, can we not? The rebels have crossed the line. Are they not already slaughtering newspaper delivery boys and milkmen?"
Ishiwara Kanji handed a pistol to each of the refugees before setting out with them. When a group claiming to be a "vigilante group" arrived, the Imperial Way Faction naturally harbored deep suspicions.
"What? A... vigilante group?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Why is a vigilante group here?"
"We have come to report on the movements of the Austrians to Lord Kita Ikki!"
"A report...? Tell me first."
"We cannot risk any leaks of this classified information!"
"Are you bastards really vigilantes?"
It was here that the defectors recruited by Sugiyama Hajime played their crucial part.
"With the situation in Tokyo already so volatile because of those Austrian bastards, we cannot simply welcome these people with open arms, can we?"
"Do you not realize that with Kanto currently surrounded, we are short on manpower? If we do not take risks, we will never achieve our grand ambition!"
"B-but..."
"I will take full responsibility. Let them in!"
Roughly a hundred men entered the sector of the city held by the Imperial Way Faction. And what was the price of shouting "Irasshaimase" and guiding the enemy into their own stronghold?
Bang! Bang!
"Go past the alley on the right, and His Majesty the Emperor is right there!"
"D-damn it! We've been tricked!"
"Where is the bastard who said he'd take responsibility?!"
Drawing their pistols, they rushed toward the bunker where the Emperor was being held. A force of one hundred refugees and fifty defected officers—one hundred and fifty men in total—breached the bunker. Aside from a few machine-gun nests guarding the entrance, the stronghold of the Imperial Way Faction was virtually empty. With Tokyo surrounded, the vast majority of their forces had deployed to defend the city's perimeter.
They easily overwhelmed the skeleton guard force and gained audience with the Emperor.
"Your Majesty! We have come to rescue you!"
"Who... who are you?"
"The officers and Navy opposed to Kita Ikki and the Gendarmerie Commander, along with Austria, have gathered on our side. We have resolved to vanquish the traitors!"
"W-where am I to go...?"
Emperor Taisho's health had always been fragile due to the heavy burdens of state. Having been confined to a ruined Tokyo and subjected to the constant threats of the Imperial Way Faction, his condition had deteriorated to the point where he could barely walk. To the Emperor, anywhere was fine, so long as it was not Tokyo.
"W-will you also persecute me, reducing me to a mere puppet who does nothing but stamp documents?"
"Your Majesty needs only to issue a single imperial edict. After that, you shall reside in Kyoto."
"What is this single edict you speak of?"
"'Kita Ikki and Araki Sadao are traitors.' That is all we require."
"V-very well, let us go..."
The vigilantes and the stealthily infiltrated Ishiwara Kanji hoisted the Emperor onto their backs. While sneaking in had been simple, escaping was a different matter entirely. Entering disguised as refugees was easy, but on the way out, machine-gun nests blocked their path. Of course, now that their primary objective was secured, the obstacles were not insurmountable.
"D-don't shoot! Those bastards have kidnapped His Majesty!"
"Cease fire! Bring in the cavalry. Subdue them, but do not use lethal force!"
"If His Majesty is killed, there will be no cleaning up this mess!"
The rebels of the Imperial Way Faction were also limited to low-caliber pistols and wooden clubs. The two sides clashed, wielding clubs in a chaotic, desperate brawl. The refugees threw their bodies on the line to hold back the rebels.
"General Ishiwara! Your Majesty! Go while we hold them off!"
"W-why do you go to such lengths...?"
"My family is already dead because of those traitors. I will join them soon enough. Please, General, remain in this world and avenge us!"
"Thank you. Your name is..."
"What does the name of a dying man matter? Go!"
Amidst the chaotic melee of swinging clubs and cracking gunshots, Ishiwara Kanji barely managed to break through the rebel lines and escape. Out of the 153 men who had breached the stronghold, only seven returned alive, including Ishiwara himself. Yet, in the crucible of war, the value of a life was not weighed equally for everyone. This was especially true in a dynastic nation like Japan, where archaic class systems still lingered. At the cost of 146 lives lost to the rebels' clubs, they had secured the Emperor. It was no exaggeration to say that the entire trajectory of the rebellion had shifted.
Of course, the refugees infiltrating the enemy lines were not the only ones getting their skulls bashed in by clubs.
"Y-you absolute fools...! You let them take the Emperor?!"
"Forgive us, sir!"
"No matter how weak Cao Cao of Wei was compared to Yuan Shao, he emerged victorious in the end because he held Emperor Xian! Yet we... we have lost our most vital asset, the Emperor himself!"
Seething with rage, Kita Ikki snatched up a club and brutally bashed in the skull of the officer in charge of guarding the Emperor. The rebellion was now, for all intents and purposes, half-failed.
"Lord Kita Ikki! What are we to do now?!"
"Why do you ask me to account for the blunders of General Araki Sadao's men?"
"Y-you...!"
"There is only one option left. We must buy time, prepared to turn Tokyo into our funeral pyre. We must threaten them, showing that they too will suffer devastating losses. There is no other way."
In the original timeline, the Japanese military had employed a similar strategy against the United States. Their plan had been to completely crush the American fleet first, then use that leverage to force a negotiated peace. Such a foolish tactic was never going to work. The Americans, driven to a frenzy of vengeance, had absolutely no intention of sitting at the negotiating table unless the entire Japanese archipelago was reduced to ashes.
Both Kita Ikki and Araki Sadao were following that exact same reckless Japanese style of negotiation. And their end would be no different. For the anti-coup forces were already contemplating reducing Tokyo to a sea of fire to crush the rebellion once and for all.