Reincarnated as an Imperial Prince

October 29, 1927.

In the Imperial Army Headquarters of the Yamato Empire, the high command officials gathered around a long table with grim expressions blanketing their faces.

"The First Imperial Yamato Fleet that fought the Ruthenian Pacific Fleet in the Yellow Sea were sunk. The estimated number of survivors is unknown, we assume that they are captured by the Ruthenians,"

"How do we tell the Emperor about this? Another defeat, and a huge one at that," one of the generals voiced his concern. Since the war started, there's nothing but bad news they are getting.

The night raid operation conducted by the Imperial Yamato Army and the Air Force was a failure as they were downed and intercepted by the Ruthenian Air Force.

It's truly infuriating, to suffer major losses on a country they've easily defeated in their first war. One gentleman can't contain his anger boiling within him, it seethes beneath his calm facade, and he slams a fist onto the large conference table. The other members of the group flinch at the loud noise, the sound causing the high command officers in charge to tense up. They turn to Aritomo.

"This is infuriating. How are our forces so utterly useless? Why are we always getting pushed back? Don't give me that 'we are behind in terms of technology reasoning. It won't work here. Our forces are just incompetent who only know how to play around like a fool. Our Air Force, our Navy, and the Army. They are all useless!"  Aritomo rants on, and he's being quite vocal about this issue. "The Yamato Empire can only exist with its colonies, should the Ruthenians win this war, we will lose our colonies and bring shame to our country."

This is bad, super bad for Aritomo. The one behind the attempted assassination of the Ruthenian Grand Duchess to provoke war with the Ruthenians and reclaim their lands is not turning out like Aritomo thought it would be. He could only blame this unfortunate string of events on the men on the ground to save face. Just what happened to the Ruthenian Empire? They were a backward and underdeveloped nation four years ago and now they have suddenly become the second largest economy in the world and possibly one of the strongest militaries in the world.

That's just impossible, Aritomo couldn't believe it. There must be a way to turn this thing around. Otherwise, this is a great shame that even death would not be enough to redeem himself. There must be a way...

Aritomo pondered for a second, considering whether he would use his trump card. There's only one way for the Yamato Empire to win this war. That is, he needs help from the international community, probably the Britannian Empire, as they have a defensive treaty with them.

The problem is, they can't invoke their treaty unless one nation joins the Ruthenian side in the war. He never expected this war situation would go down like this. In that case, there's no choice but to use it. But before that, he must act reasonably and take suggestions from his subordinates.  So he glanced at his subordinates who were looking down in silence and shame. It was a depressing sight, yet he had to return to his collected expression in front of the staff of the Imperial Yamato Armed Forces.

Aritomo clears his throat and begins speaking in a calm tone. "I apologize for my outburst earlier. It was unprofessional of me and I am sorry if any of you felt hurt or insulted. Now, returning to the issues at hand, the Ruthenian Empire is winning on every front and things are looking bad for us. I will welcome any ideas and recommendations that you have."

The generals exchanged glances and muttered about something. Aritomo watched them closely and waited for a reply from his subordinates.

They looked hesitant to speak, but they eventually did.

"If I may, Your Excellency," a man spoke in a gruff tone. It was General Katsura Taro.

"You may, General," Aritomo replied in return.

General Katsura cleared his throat and looked him resolutely in the eye.

"This might earn the attention of the international community but this suggestion of mine could give us desirable results."

"Hoh?" Aritomo mused, he leaned forward as he took interest in what the general had to say. "If this suggestion of yours is useful and delivers what we want, then I will consider that."

"Thank you," the man continued. "Then, it involves bombing, but instead of a conventional one we use a chemical one." he paused dramatically and continued. "Mustard gas."

"What the...!" One of the generals exclaimed, his eyes opened wide with disbelief. "Are you hearing yourself, Katsura? Aren't you aware of the Geneva Convention which prohibits the use of chemical and biological weapons?"

Katsura remained silent and focused solely on Aritomo, ignoring the protest from his colleagues. "Your Excellency, just like you said, we have to do everything to prevent defeat. The Yamato Empire hasn't lost a war against the Western powers but we know what will happen if a country loses to one. Unequal treaties, exploitation, concession, or worst, annexation. Do you want our beloved country to be ruled by a foreign power?" his gaze flickered at the general who protested his suggestion, apparently it was General Hajime Sugiyama.

General Sugiyama was silent after Katsura finished speaking. His lips were pressed tightly together and he refused to meet anyone's gaze. Katsura made a valid point and he doesn't want his country to be ruled by a foreign power like the Han Dynasty. He won't even dare to imagine it.

He simply returned to his seat, allowing the discussion to continue.

"Aside from General Katsura, does anyone want to contribute?" Aritomo asked, his voice laced with authority and seriousness.

"I would like to suggest something to the table," General Sugimaya speaks again, his voice more gentle. "By thinking of Katsura's suggestion deeply in my mind, I would like to say that I'm on board with the suggestion. But should the operation fail and the Ruthenians prevail, there must be a backup plan. You see, the Ruthenians badly want the Chosonese Peninsula. But they can't annex it due to the terms of the St. Petersburg Treaty. What if we make the peninsula miserable to live in? I'm talking about burning everything to the ground as our forces retreat all the way south."

"Are you talking about a scorched earth tactic?" Katsura questioned while tilting his head to the side, clearly surprised by his colleague's suggestion.

Sugiyama gave a small smile and nodded. "Yes. We already saw the Ruthenian air capabilities when we conducted the night raid. They intercepted all our planes. If they intercept our planes carrying mustard gas then it will be impossible for us to win strategically without air superiority. The scorched earth tactic will ensure that Ruthenian will not benefit from the liberation of the Choson Empire," he concluded.

"Your Excellency, I'm curious about our next step. Should we lose the Choson Empire to the Ruthenian Empire, what will we do? Continue fighting or sue for peace?"

"That is something I haven't discussed with the ministers," Aritomo said. "But should it come to that, expect that the Yamato Empire won't back down easily. So, chemical warfare and scorched earth. Is there anyone here who would like to add?"

No one spoke or raised their hands.

"Good, scramble our bombers. I will speak with the Prime Minister and inform him of the naval battle in the Yellow Sea and discuss the worst-case scenario with him as well."