The Shiji, Book Two: Project Kaguya

Sima Qian said:

Typing up my next update now...

Click to expand...

Type fast...

Yes do type it fast before suicide!

Typing fast makes me prone to mistakes. Have you seen all the typos and grammatical mistakes I made, especially in those posts I wrote while stoned typing fast?

you could spellcheck.........

Meh... I wish it were that simple... otherwise I wouldn't have flunked a writing class in college...

There is spellcheck for postings you know.

Chapter 22: A Golden Purpose Makes the Chrysanthemum Bloom Again


Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was quick to prove the importance of air support for the upcoming attacks. The entire Japanese air force had now been moved to Bremen, from which they carried out round-the-clock bombing runs of the nearby German cities. While their main goal was to reduce the defenses, they also inflicted some serious collateral damage, destroying buildings and killing citizens as well.

On the ground, Minamoto no Yoritomo suddenly found his task much easier than before. Dortmund and Salzburg now only had a few stouthearted residents remaining. Are these the same people who refuse to evacuate when they are about to be struck with a typhoon? wondered the general. They ought to just lay down their arms and surrender.

Dortmund was also being bombarded by Greek ironclads, and Greek cavalry also made passing shots at some German units that moved by. Yoritomo chuckled at the obsolescence of Alexander's military, but he was more focused on taking action against Germany. Now, instead of facing the powerful mechanized infantry that his troops were previously hesitant to attack, he only found a few demoralized defenders cowering in fear when he arrived. Leaving Dortmund to the Greeks, he decided to strike directly at Salzburg, which would isolate Bismarck's northern outpost.


Curiously, it seemed that Bismarck had run out of resources, as the only units to counterattack were not Panzers, nor infantry, but longbowmen. Sacrificial lambs, muttered Yoritomo as he sent his tanks plowing through them to destroy his next target, Frankfurt, which had also been reduced to almost ruins by Yamamoto's planes. All that he needed was an open path, as the rest of the longbowmen could be easily dealt with, or he could just wait for them to launch their suicide attacks.


Frankfurt was gone now, and Yamamoto had little else to do. There were no other good targets within range of the planes at Bremen, as Yoritomo was not yet prepared to assault Nuremburg or Berlin. But the admiral had another idea, one that he was certain would bring the war to a quick and painless end.

In 1848 AD, Yamamoto submitted a proposal to the Kokkai requesting permission to conduct some scientific experiments with a "devastating new weapon." After some deliberation, the Kokkai members concluded that there was a high risk of failure in the project, and refused to allow the experiments to be performed on Japanese soil. However, Shogun Tokugawa intervened and granted special permission for him to work on this project, code-named Manhattan, in the former territory of Persia. Most of the land there was now uninhabited, except for the naval facility at Nagasaki, where Yamamoto set up his base of operations.


Indeed, the Kokkai was shocked to learn of the tremendous destruction caused by the first test of an atomic bomb in the Persian wilderness. Within split seconds of the detonation, the entire land, whether it had been plains, forest, or the ruins of Persian cities, was completely flattened, leaving only charred remains on the barren soil.


Radiation from the blast, however, was not as easily contained as the immediate damage. Within weeks, several of the project members complained of health problems, and before the end of the year Yamamoto himself was diagnosed with leukemia. He was sent back to Kyoto for medical treatment, but after a few operations the doctors told him that he would be a vegetable for the rest of his life, which would in fact not be very long.


While unable to serve in the military any longer, he did manage to declare the Manhattan Project to be not only a great success, but an inspiration for Japanese scientists, workers, and citizens alike for many years to come.

"What a shame," lamented Tokugawa. "For it is in the sunset years of this incredible leader that the nation of Japan experiences the very pinnacle of its power."


And so it was with renewed vigor that Yoritomo launched his next attack. "Those pathetic Greeks aren't being any help to us!" he complaied. "All we expect of them is to take over Dortmund, and they can't even do such a simple task?" Alexander's incompetence annoyed him to such a great extent that he decided to take matters into his own hands.


The first new discovery of the Golden Age was a technology called recycling, which would theoretically reduce pollution by a great deal. In practice, however, Tokugawa felt that it would cost far too much overhead to administer and maintain recycling centers, and decided to continue the buildup of Japan's nuclear weapons instead.


This decision did not go well with the citizens. Urged by environmentalists, they asked for an end to the war and the nuclear proliferation. They gathered in the streets and rallied in front of the presidential palace, demanding that the government continue to act in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol.


Tokugawa sighed. "Won't they understand that the Kyoto Protocol only works if every country in the world abides by the regulations? Clearly, Germany and Russia have that as the last thing on their priority lists, and I don't think Alexander is up to much progess in that respect either."

"Don't worry about that," suggested Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the trusted advisor. "I think this is just a sign that our people are faltering. They wish to gather around a more powerful leader, like the one they remember from the days of old who fought a glorious war against the Babylonians and recovered the Shikon shards."

It was an interesting suggestion. Tokugawa didn't like the thought of staging a revolution in the middle of the Golden Age, but Hideyoshi assured him it would be a quick and smooth transition. He even managed to remove the Chrysanthemum Throne from display in the palace museum, and placed it before the Shogun's desk.

"Your Majesty, please sit," he said, motioning toward the seat. "You deserve it."


Thus the Emperor of Japan was restored to his throne in 1854 AD. A magnificent ceremony was held to celebrate Tokugawa's coronation, with crowds cheering in support. Hideyoshi didn't care that most of the citizens were only cheering because they were being watched by the military police that surrounded them, for all that mattered was that Japan would remain stable and powerful.

Pretty short, but nukes!!!!! Nuke dem all!

Very good! Awaiting the nukes!!

Great update!

Oh btw, some guards look like they're about to side shoot the emperor. They must be anime spies from Persia trying to start a "terrorist" attack.

w00t!!! I just saw Sima Qian replying to dis!!! Another update!!!

Chapter 23: The Razor


"Tell me now, are you allied with us or not?" Alexander the Great had heard reports of the imperial restoration in Japan, and was not the least bit amused that Tokugawa had used his time to stage a revolution rather than continue to fight the war. "Don't you realize that every moment you waste means a new opportunity for the Czarina?"

Angrily he thrust an updated map in front of the Shogun, which showed the new limits of Russia's advance. Ellipi, the only Babylonian city that Greece had received as a spoil of war, had fallen to the Russians, cutting off Alexander's only supply of aluminum. And even more startling, the city of Corinth now also had a gray border surrounding it, clearly indicating that it had been captured by the Russians as well.

Tokugawa could have cared less about Ellipi, but Corinth was a proud and beautiful Greek city, and Alexander's defeat there would spell certain doom for the entire Greek civilization. Sparta and the Hoover Dam were now encircled, and Athens itself was not far away.

"Now, now, it is not time to worry yet," he assured Alexander. "We have airlifted many new tank divisions to Babylon in preparation for the upcoming attack, although I suppose we are a little bit late. Keep in mind, however, that Japan does not have the resources available to actually hold these cities, so just excuse us while we wipe them off the map." And thus Ellipi quietly disappeared beneath the rumble of Japanese tanks, which easily drowned out the loud complaints of the Greek leader.


In all the years that Japan had concentrated on fighting Germany, Catherine the Great had grown rather complacent and did not view the Japanese presence around Babylon as much of a threat. But the destruction of Ellipi suddenly changed that view. All of a sudden the Russian offensive against Greece collapsed, and she directed all attention at the new Japanese attackers. Alexander the Great gleefully took this opportunity to recapture Corinth, now firmly under Greek control.

Tokugawa wasn't surprised that he did not even receive a thank-you note from the Greek leader for all his efforts. What have we gained from this? he wondered to himself. All this is doing for us is consuming resources that could be used for our space program, Project Kaguya. But it was true that he did not have the extra troops to divert to Corinth, and the Greek victory there was certainly another blow to Russia's pride. Of course, Tokugawa would follow it up with an even stronger blow, as his tank divisions struck at Eridu, which Russia had received from the war with Babylon.


It still wasn't enough to drive Catherine to surrender. In Moscow, the Czarina continued her propaganda campaign, covering up the "difficulties" that the Russian military was going through and insisting that although cities and colonies were being lost, no true Russian core city was in any real danger. "The tiny nation of Japan is no match for us," she declared. "Our counterattack will push them right off this continent back into the sea, where only scum like them belong."

Ha, scum! Tokugawa chuckled upon hearing these words. Yes, the mighty Japanese navy is scum indeed. Let's hear you repeat that once they fire upon your coastal cities. His fleet was still involved elsewhere, and none of the Russian cities were within the range of their artillery. They would meet with his land forces at a later date, he decided. In the meantime, his tanks had reached the outskirts of Minsk, not a colony or a captured city, but a true Russian city. I wonder how the Russian peasantry will feel once the spices disappear from their markets...


Alexander the Great breathed a sigh of relief. With Minsk gone, Sparta and the Hoover Dam would be secure at last. The Russian threat to Greece was declared to be over, and from this point onward, he too would be on the offensive.

Greek railroads were opened up to the Japanese military, which took advantage of them to travel to the other side of the continent, where the first two battleships from the imperial navy had already started bombarding the port of Odessa. The ships had already destroyed the harbor and the iron mines around the city, but the tanks would clean up the rest.


With a relatively safe buffer zone created between Russia and Greece, Tokugawa took the opportunity to visit the front lines. "An excellent series of victories," he commended the commander. "Tell me, what might be your name?"

"Hideki Tojo at the service of the Imperial Japanese Army, Shogun," came the sharp and enthusiastic reply. "Your wish is my command."

Toyotomi Hideyoshi had also joined the Shogun on this inspection tour, and he whispered, "The soldiers around here call him by his nickname, the Razor. He's truly a brutal but incredibly effective leader."


Tokugawa smiled. Turning to Tojo, he said, "Well then, I'm in quite a pleasant mood today. And my, what a fine discipline you keep in your ranks. Let's see what they can do, and show me the true power of the Razor."

Tojo nodded and shouted to his men, "Charge!" Instantly the huge formation of tanks before them started up and sped away to the southwest. Within moments, the Russian city of Yakutsk, along with the nearby oilfields, had gone up in flames.


"Incredible," Tokugawa remarked. From that day on, he left Hideki Tojo with the final say of all military affairs in Russia, while he would concentrate on building the first spaceship parts for the J.S.S. Kaguya at home.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, however, had a few reservations about this Tojo character. "The Razor has a double-edged blade," he said. "General Tojo is merciless to both the enemy and his own men alike, and has absolutely no respect for human life. I fear the day that the evil within consumes him."

"What makes you say this?" asked Tokugawa. "Isn't discipline what we need in our military?"

"Shogun, you did not stay long enough to see what happened after the battle of Yakutsk, but I did. And what I saw was truly shocking. Believe me, this is not discipline at all." Hideyoshi held out a photograph, which showed the many atrocities committed by Tojo's men after they had entered the city. Beneath it was a caption, "The Rape of Yakutsk."


Tokugawa glanced at it and then quickly looked away. "I don't have time to deal with these things, we will worry about that once the war is over. For the time being, the spaceship is my priority. Speaking of which, how is that coming along?"

Hideyoshi sighed. He hated it when the Shogun changed the topic so suddenly. "We have only four parts complete, the engine, the thrusters, the docking bay, and the cockpit. We still lack the technology needed to work on the rest. But while we are in our Golden Age, why don't you devote more funds to research? We can operate at a deficit for some time." Tokugawa thought it over, checked the latest report from the treasury, and decided that all income could now be invested into the sciences.

Meanwhile, Tojo had gone on yet another rampage, slaughtering the entire population of Uruk. In his haste he had also destroyed a Great Wonder that the Babylonians had built long ago, but he explained in his report that the Magellan's Voyage was really quite useless at this time, so it was very little of a loss. "These outdated boats won't help you the least bit with that spaceship," he argued. "I'm sure you don't mind."


Tokugawa didn't mind, but one person did. Minamoto no Yoritomo was still stationed in Germany at the time, and he filed a formal complaint against Tojo. "He is corrupting our military," he wrote. "Any more of this madness, and our reputation shall be ruined forever."

The response from Kyoto was not what Yoritomo expected. "I cannot tolerate any disunity among my ranks at this critical time," the Shogun wrote. "If you do not like the way Tojo is doing things, feel free to resign your post. He may not be perfect, but he is truly a terrific military leader, exactly the kind of person I need to fight our enemies."

Tokugawa did not even raise an eyebrow when Tojo, clearly overstepping his authority, gave orders to the forces in Matsuyama and made them attack the Russian colonies on that island. In quick succession, the cities of Novgorod, Krasnoyarsk, and Rostov were all reduced to heaps of rubble, and their citizens butchered and slaughtered like those of Uruk and Yakutsk before them.


The Razor had cut, and Russia had bled. Where would it strike next?

Great update!! (World map Plz?)

@carmen510: you sure read fast

I think my WPM is around 250.

That's a little strange that most of those cities you've razed were size 1?

conquer_dude said:

That's a little strange that most of those cities you've razed were size 1?

Click to expand...

They've been drafting citizens, and obviously I bombarded the hell out of them.

It seems that the razor cuts ver deep indeed.....

Good update.... Now for me to get some time to update my story.....

Brutal. It's good thing for you Civ3 doesn't have war crimes tribunals. Just brutal. I used to laugh at the "mild violence" notices on the cd covers to civ.

Won't any more.