In Russia the Whites have collapsed, and the Reds and Greens are now duking it out with odds heavily favouring the Reds. The Tsar has disappeared and it is unknown if he managed to escape or if he was captured by the Reds. The key element appears to have been a second rising of proletarian revolutionaries in St. Petersburg, which occured at the same time as the Baltic fleet decided a mutiny was in fashion.
In a similar, if reversed situation, Imperial Chinese forces crushed the Four Stripe Rebellion, and Prime Minister Sun Yatsen has managed to achieve some form of stability. Unfortunately, the Manchu people have had just about enough, and some 400,000 have crossed over the from German and British holdings in Shandong to Korea, where they are welcomed with open arms, as the new factories, mines and farmlands the Koreans have acquired need every hand they can get. Another 200,000 have left China for various other destinations, primarily Germany and French Indochina, and the remaining 5 or so million Manchu are busy burying their dead and either unable or unwilling to leave the country which took 2 million of their Banner People. Most of those who willingly stayed were in Manchuria proper, as it was the region least affected by the lynch mobs of the Four Stripe Movement.
The commemorating of a monument to the fallen with Yin Chang, Duan Qirui and Park Seung-Hwan before the Imperial Chinese Army marched south, was something you had hoped would calm down the extremists but it instead turned out to be boon in other ways. The Four Stripe movement had been so incensed that they had committed major mistakes, being overconfident and angered by the display. The two first clashes with the Imperial Army had been an absolute curbstomp as the hodgepodge of militia and even worse equipped rebels fought the veterans the XXIIth Army on a more or less open field. At that point, the rebels had once more returned to decentralised guerrilla tactics, but were now deprived of much equipment. In total, the Chinese civil war has caused more than 9 million dead, mostly from famine and disease.
Other countries were not faring so well either, France had broken out into open civil conflict as well, with the conservatives blaming the socialist government for not being bellicose enough, the socialists blaming the previous conservative government for being too belligerent and the monarchists blaming the republic for being short-sighted and inefficient. Riots in Paris and Orléans had quickly spread all over the nation, with protests, blockades, union strikes and unscheduled troop parades taking place all over the nation. Likewise, the United States was suffering from internal division as well, where Theodore Roosevelt was once again running for President, challenging the incumbent President Woodrow Wilson after being nominated by the Republican Party, who had now solidified behind Roosevelt's intense criticism of Wilson's failure to act in support of workers and Americans abroad who had been made vulnerable by the War of Five Empires.
The international response to that had been a rapid and increasingly incoherent panic, where Germany threatened to cross the border and restore order, Britain had vehemently disagreed and had started patrolling the channel with a massive fleet, Spain and Italy made a killing selling arms, and Belgium deploying its entire army to its southern border.
Japan had issued the international relations equivalent of worried murmurs, and were now back to solving their own internal problems. Debts had to be paid, and the Army, Navy and Air Service had to settle their feuds internal and inter-service feuds, after all. The Army, at first divided against itself, had been on the back foot in the early negotiations regarding the Air Service, despite having played a more prestigious role in the latest war. That was solved however, when you tossed your own hat into the ring, and immediately had it followed by the Prince Kan'in. The junior officers had grumbled that old men didn't understand the power of technology, and that a fully armoured and mechanised army was the only sane way to move forward, and the long-retired elders had complained that the glorious cavalry charge and the bravery of the bayonet infantry had been forgotten, but both had to give way to advice from the most famous heroes of the recent war.
The five month long cold war between the Navy and Army was an interesting kerfuffle, centered around political maneuverings around the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Navy, the Minister of Finance, and the Emperor. After having collected itself, the Army had quickly remembered it hated the Navy more than it hated an uppity lieutenant or some old fossil of a general, and gone on a full political offensive. Several sailors had been caught smuggling contraband by Army MPs, and much noise had been made in the newspapers. Similarly, the Navy had managed to apprehend a Major of the Army being drunk out of his mind and trying (and failing) to pay off half a dozen prostitutes after having been tossed out of their establishment.
At that point, you set your mind firmly on ending the conflict, as it was now doing more damage to the military's overall image than to either of the two branches individually. Your own friendship with Yoshihito had proven to be more than helpful in that regard, as the Emperor had called upon you to return to Japan and be named
hakushaku, or Count. In the discussions that came with, your friend had asked you for your opinion on the matter of the Air Service, and you had pointed out that you were potentially biased as a General of the Army, but endeavoured to give an unbiased view nonetheless, and had come down firmly in favour of an independent Air Service. After your advice had been given, Yoshihito had taken to discussing your ennoblement in a comfortable tea room in the palace.
"I can't withhold this honour from you even if I had wished to, Saburou. If my loyal friends and allies are not seen to be rewarded, what sort of Emperor does that make me? No, there would be whispers and grumbles, political maneuvers favouring neither of us." The Emperor sips his tea lightly as you nod in response.
"There's no way around it, and I can't say I'm entirely against it. It leaves my future grandchildren some direct help, if my son decides to laze around his entire youth and not have children until I'm in the grave. That it necessitates my public participation in the political sphere is unfortunate, but it's a must in the long term in any case. That, and access to the
Kazoku Kaikan will be useful for our networking," you say, well aware that the Emperor has full access to the Peers' Club already, even if his status meant that any appearance would be far from a subtle affair.
Yoshihito chuckles and takes another sip of his tea. "Only you would call a commission on battlecruiser during war time lazing around. I've heard only good things about young Shigeru from his superiors, so you can be proud."
"Well, it's all well and good that he's doing his duty to Japan, but that does not any grandchildren make, and he hasn't even gotten married yet. Well, I suppose that he may try and find a pretty girl among the peers of the realm, now that we'll be nobility."
"You intend to leave it up to Shigeru, then?" The Emperor leans back in his chair, still sipping on his green tea. "I must admit, when I married my own wife, I was not displeased at all by the arranged marriage. I had some say, of course, but my late father's choice was not disagreeable in the slightest, and to this day, she is as dear to me as Japan itself."
"Well, we'll see. I still haven't had time to meet face to face with my boy since the war began. Little Hirohito and Nobuhito have had their father home, at least." You say, even knowing that Yoshihito's duties leave him less time than with his children than most children.
Yoshihito chuckles, "Not that they're too excited about that. To Japan, I may be the descendant of Amaterasu, but to my children, I am he who reminds them of their homework and tells them to be good to their mother. With Hirohito, Yatsuhito and Nobuhito, it's all General Hirano this and Fieldmarshal Hiiragi that!"
"Speak of the devil…" You say in English, as Hiiragi enters the room with a manila envelope, sharing a polite greeting with both of you.
"Pardon my intrusion, Your Majesty, but I think I may have some pertinent additions to the discussion." Hiiragi hands you the manila envelope as he sits down on Yoshihito's right.
"You'll find your deployment options in there. Now that the Expeditionary Army has disbanded, we need your expertise in more places than we can shake a stick at, so you get some leeway in choosing."
You open the manila envelope with a raised eyebrow, and inside are a number of documents detailing possible missions.
Overseas duties:
[X] Military Attaché to the British Empire (English speaker, Connections)
- Britain is at peace, and even Germany has realised that playing chicken with the Empire that covers nearly a quarter of the globe is a very bad idea. On the other hand, here's a chance to make political connections in the most powerful country on the planet. They will look to gain insights from your recent war against China.
- Crown Prince Hirohito and his mother, the Empress Sadako, are scheduled to visit London in 1917
- If possible, you will look to gain more insights in British naval matters, as the IJN is modelled on the Royal Navy.
- You will also serve as a military adviser for the diplomatic corps in Britain, including the ambassador.
[X] Military Attaché to the United States (English speaker)
- The United States is at peace, and militarily speaking, somewhat impotent. However, they're one of Japan's most important neighbours in the Pacific, even if not the closest one. As with Britain, they will hope to gain insight on the latest developments of technology and doctrine from the Second Sino-Japanese War.
- You will also serve as a military adviser for the diplomatic corps in the U.S., including the ambassador.
- The United States is fiercely racist, and more than one issue could stem from that.
[X] Military Attaché to the German Empire (Army, English speaker)
- Germany is at peace, but precariously located between the massive free-for-all in Russia and the similar situation in France, which is rapidly approaching an international debacle. You will be looking to exchange ideas gained in the latest conflict. The German Army is what the IJA is modelled on.
- You wlil also serve as a military adviser for the diplomatic corps in Germany, including the ambassador.
[X] Military Observer in the French Civil War (Army, ???)
- As an observer, you will take part in planning on the strategic scale.
- The three-way civil war is rapidly descending into more chaos, but you will probably be backing the incumbent (socialist/socialdemocrat) republican forces.
- (???)
[X] Military Observer in the Russian Civil War (Army)
- As an observer, you will take part in planning on the strategic scale.
- Depending on how the situation develops, you will either back the Whites or the Greens.
