Chapter 999: Escalation

Itami stood in her war room, surrounded by her highest ranking generals who were not already deployed to some theatre of war. Sitting on the table was a large map, which represented all of Asia. In the region once known as the Philippines in her past life, sat a mostly conquered chain of islands. With one major exception.

In the north of the Philippines lies a territory which was currently occupied by several petty kingdoms who owed their allegiance to the Ming Dynasty. For the sake of strategic value, the Japanese Empire needed these islands. After all, if war broke out between Japan and the Reich, the German Army could use these islands as a staging ground to invade the rest of the region.

Such a potential reality could not be allowed to exist, and thus, Itami had spent a considerable amount of time negotiating with the Ming Dynasty in regards to the ownership of the Philippines. Ultimately, these discussions resulted in nothing but animosity between the two realms.

Thus, Itami had decided to take the only option she had left, and that was a full scale invasion of the northern islands. With a wave of her hand, the Japanese Empress motioned for the wooden figurines which represented her first fleet to invade the Philippines. A confident expression emerged on her flawless face as she made a bold claim to her general.

"The time has come! We can no longer sit idly by and wait for our enemies to buildup their forces on our own borders. In exactly six months, I will launch an invasion of the Philippines' northern islands.

Our Strategy is simple enough, our first fleet will blockade the port of Manila, as well as any other access to the territory that the Ming Dynasty might use as a means of support. From there, our soldiers in the first division will move forward from the Island of Panay and into Luzon.

Once Manila is under our control, we will announce the official annexation of the entire island chain, and, in doing so, route out any further resistance that might still exist within the region. Are there any questions?"

The various generals gazed upon Itami and the fierce glint in her blood-red eyes, with a hint of caution on their faces. They knew that to invade Luzon and the surrounding islands would most certainly draw the ire of the Ming Dynasty. So much so that it might risk outright warfare between their two Empires.

While Japan's Armada of Destroyers, submarines, and cruisers could easily defeat the Ming Navy. The Ming Army was an entirely different beast. Supplied and trained by the German Empire, the machine guns, and bolt action rifles which the Ming Soldiers wielded, as well as their overwhelming numbers, could prove to be a matter of concern.

There was also the fact that if the situation were to devolve into open warfare, then the Imperial Japanese Army would be completely incapable of making any significant gains into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Ultimately, it was one General, by the name of Abe Katsusue, who voiced this concern to the Empress.

"Tenno heika-sama, with all due respect, are the northern islands even worth the risk? I understand your concerns regarding the area being used as a staging ground by the German Army, but if we do this, we could risk open warfare with the Ming Dynasty. Presuming we do eventually end up in an armed conflict with the Reich, then the only thing this would accomplish is weakening our forces."

Despite this obvious concern, Itami simply scoffed before responding to the General who dared to question her orders.

"Of course I understand the risks. However, I assure you, even if the Ming Dynasty is foolish enough to declare war on us, we will emerge victorious and with minimal casualties. After all, we have new weapons that will be entering the field soon enough.

These are weapons that are entirely capable of drowning the Ming Dynasty in a sea of blood! When those Ming bastards see what our Empire is truly capable of, they will think twice before making any rash decisions. Now, are there any more concerns?"

The Japanese Generals did not dare utter another word of discontent. After all, they were aware of what these weapons Itami spoke of were. Machines of war, fuelled by oil, and entirely impervious to the majority of weapons the Ming could throw at them. Thus, Itami's six-month plan to invade and annex the rest of the Philippines was officially underway.

While Itami was announcing her plans to invade and annex the remainder of the Philippines to her Generals, Berengar was in a similar meeting with his own Generals who were reporting on the ongoing mission to provide military aid to the Asian powers.

Generalfeldmarschall Adelbrand von Salzburg, who was Berengar's Chief of Staff, held a list of reports in his hands from the Asian continent.

"My Kaiser, the sale of arms to friendly nations in the east, such as the Joseon Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, the Majapahit Empire, and the recently formed Indian Empire, is at an all-time high. We have simply run out of our stores of old equipment. Yet the demand for more weapons is still there. What do you propose we do about this?"

This turn of events did not surprise Berengar in the slightest. Since he first formed his army over ten years ago, he had replaced the standard armament of his army every few years, while also expanding his military at the same time. Thus, it was an inevitable that this day would come to pass. However, he was not dismayed. After all, the weapons he sold had cleared up storage, and netted him a hefty profit.

With the threat of the Imperial Japanese Military looming over the rest of Asia, Berengar doubted his trading partners would feel safe with a mixture of single shot bolt action rifles, repeating bolt action rifles, Gatling guns, and Vickers.

Thus, the time had come to sell more modern equipment to the armies in Asia, after all he had few if any actual ambitions for the region, and thus, he was more than happy to sell weapons to the armies of the East that were more than capable of making Itami's life difficult. After careful consideration, Berengar gave an order that shocked all of his generals.

"The solution to this problem is simple. I authorize you to increase the production of G27 Semiautomatic rifles. The Japanese Empire currently fields a semi-automatic rifle as their primary weapon, and it is only fair that we equip our trading partners in the east with a similar degree of firepower.

As for their machine gun needs, you can reopen a line of manufacture for the old Mg-25 heavy machine guns. We also need to restart the production of 10cm K 25s. With all of these weapons in the hands of our eastern proxies, we can rest easy knowing that Japan will have a difficult time making any advances in the region."

Adelbrand and his peers were slightly befuddled by this order, such weaponry was indeed more than enough to make the Japanese pay the price of any invasion attempt, but it would also have a similar effect on the German Army should they ever find themselves at odds with their current trading partners. However, Adelbrand knew that Berengar had taken this fact into account, and thus nodded his head in approval before voicing his opinion on the matter.

"Very well, within a year we can effectively replace the obsolete equipment in the hands of our eastern trading partners with the weapons you have listed. I'm assuming you will also want to increase the production of P-27s pistols to see service as their sidearms. So I will make a note for that as well. Is there any other weapon you can think of selling to our allies in the East?"

Berengar shook his head when he heard this before responding to Adelbrand's question with a polite smile on his face.

"No, that will be all for now. If the need for more advanced weapons arises, then we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Until we meet again, gentlemen..."

After saying this, Berengar departed from the room to take care of more pressing matters. Not knowing that on this day, the escalation between the German and Japanese Empires had reached a new level. One that there was no walking away from.