Before the Battle

Reckoning 2/20

--Taira--

This negotiation did not go well. On the contrary. All my efforts went nowhere. I could offer them money, supplies, military aid, but they wouldn't listen.

The North Island was historically part of the Empire, but for many decades it had a life of its own. It was ruled by the local family clans, and even the Emperor had done nothing about them during his long reign, preferring to leave them alone. It wasn't worth the trouble.

But I hoped we could forge an alliance.

Now that we had stabilised the situation on the main island, I planned to bring the people of the North into the newly formed Republic.

Although I was realistic about the situation, expecting no miracles and certainly not wanting them to submit to the Resistance government, I at least hoped for something.

"Strength is the only thing they understand. Negotiate hard and from a position of power. You have to show them that you are a strong leader. That's the only way they'll respect you." That was Shira's advice to me before this disastrous meeting.

And I tried. I tried my best. Unfortunately, to no avail.

I probably didn't give them the right impression of the fearless hero they had heard about in all the wild stories they were now spreading about me and which had little to do with reality.

Shira grew up here in the North. His parents fled here when they fell out of favour with the old Emperor. He knew the local ways, the local dialect. His advice and insights were invaluable to me.

But I blew it anyway.

In the large command tent, several clan leaders were attending the meeting, the most important of whom, as Shira had pointed out to me beforehand, was a burly, middle-aged, black-haired man with the weathered face and stubborn gaze of someone who had grown up in the harsh mountain conditions of a remote island.

It was he who had made it clear all along that he was unimpressed by my babbling about friendship, alliances and a strong, united country.

My offer of cooperation, food supplies and other necessities did not meet with an enthusiastic response. But one look at their ancient weapons and equipment and it was clear that both sides could benefit from our potential cooperation.

"We don't need charity," replied the one I had renamed High Chief in my mind, though his real name was Kano. "And if your soldiers enter our territories, we will consider it an act of war."

His companions nodded in agreement.

Of course, I had a huge military advantage, and I could take the North Island by force if I wanted to. However, the longer I talked to them, the more I realised that despite their ancient weapons, it would not be an easy fight.

But I didn't want to break these people, I wanted them as allies. But after an hour of fruitless negotiations, I began to realise that I wasn't going to pull it off.

I was at the end of my rope.

"They speak of you as if you were a new leader, almost a new Emperor, but all I see is a scared boy," Chief Kano said with disdain.

Before I could respond to his biting remark, Shira, who was sitting next to me, abruptly stood up from the table, his hand shooting to the hilt of the katana at his waist. "We will no longer listen to your insults."

My officers present at the meeting were also apparently fed up with the fruitless bickering.

"I could give you a demonstration of what this scared boy and his army can do, but I was hoping we could come to an agreement," I didn't let the man's remark provoke me, even though I was offended by it. Perhaps because he wasn't that far from the truth.