General Winter

General Winter… it's the humorous way that soldiers use to address the season of winter whenever they are out in the battlefield.

"Hey. You guys want some noodles?

"Noodles? Sure."

"Sure… it helps keep the shivers down."

"Alright. Keep watch over the ridge while I'm down in the pantry."

The late autumn of Yamato province finally rescinded to give way to General Winter, covering the northern frontier of the Shogunate capital with a foot high of snow that extends out to the neighboring provinces. At one of the border outposts facing the provinces held by the Northern Coalition, a trio of guards talked about warm food to keep the cold off themselves.

"Damn, these Coalitionists sure love to stare at us, aren't they?"

"It's their job and the same goes for us too. Just enjoy the fact that this is all that's happening. You'll never want to make this cold war even a little bit warm."

"Cold war, huh? It's funny since General Winter is also here to help in that."

"It sure is…"

Just months ago, their allies from the Southern Quartet Alliance successfully driven- out and took over the entirety of the Central Plains to free Yamato province from the deadlock of the Northern Coalition and the lordships and provinces in the Plains that has turned their backs on the Shogunate.

Although there were no notable battles that the Shogunate forces has fought in the war, save for random skirmishes to keep intruders out of their lands as well as the forces that was under General Furutani Garou who was placed under the alliance's command before the war, it would be a grave mistake to think that the Shogunate forces was a useless bunch.

"My pocket warmers ran out… Gotta use another one."

"Can I have a cigar? I've ran through my ration already."

"Sure. I'm not so enthusiastic with smoking these since they're too strong."

It is said that one of the best ways to test the ratio between experienced and inexperienced men in one's army is to ask who will volunteer for a foolhardy, purposeless and sure-death charge towards the enemy lines and seeing how many would actually turn up and how less would actually survive out of it.

The conversation between the guards showed that they at least know enough about fighting in a war to never desire for it to manifest for a reason that is easily avoidable or negotiable. In this era where "might makes right", war and bloodshed are undoubtedly the best way for those who can muster the required fighting force to push their wants across… and yet, the Shogunate soldiers knew better.

Perhaps because their master is one whose aim is to erase the need for such hostilities, that even they as common soldiers have learned that battles shouldn't be seen as a fact of life or a simple pastime, but rather, a real tragedy that should be avoided at all costs…

However, their enemies do not think the same as they do.

"Hey, you two. Here's the noodles that I cooked for us and-"

*BANG-! TYANG-!!!*

"Crap-!"

"Get down!"

As soon as their fellow border guard climbed back to their guard tower with the copper pot of cooked noodles. A far-off gunshot echoed a second before the cooking pot was pierced through with a bullet and the trio scrambled to get down to the floor that is now covered with their wasted warm meal.

*PATATATATATATATATATATA!!!*

"Drat! They're not letting up their fire!"

"Should we contact the border forces?!"

"Do it! Call in some mortar fire to silence them!"

The supposedly cold and uneventful winter of that year where both the Shogunate and the Southern Alliance expected no hostilities because of the incoming harsh winter, became warm and oftentimes hot after a heartless order came down from the despots of the Northern Coalition.

"I don't care about how much blood will be spilled! Drive them away from Yamato and return our people to their former glory!"

"What we desire lies at the lands falsely claimed and governed over by these mongrels! Reclaim all of it for our own!"

"The desire of our people is upon our shoulders! Bring them what they wish for!"

Spurred on by their overlords and driven to a corner by desperation, the people of the Northern Provinces chose to hold onto their weapons and their burning sense of desire to not suffer in the harsh winter.

"Mortar fire is on the way! Let's hold on just a bit more!"

"I'm reloading! Cover for me!"

"Go on! I'm manning the MG!"

"Alright!"

Border hostilities such as this has been happening ever since the end of the Autumn lightning war in the Central Plains. After being cut off from the food and textile supplies that came from their allies and trading partners in the Central Plains, the people of the Northern provinces became desperate to get that bountiful life back… even if it meant bowing down to their new leaders that has different uses for the victories that they attain just to sustain themselves.

"Mortar fire is effective. I repeat, mortar fire is effective. Fire for effect!"

{"Roger that. Sustaining fire for effect."}

"Keep the gunfire up! Scare them off before they get to cross the river!"

"Alright!"

Although these assaults have become frequent and seems to be increasing in intensity, Yamato province's borders was never breached… and the Alliance has developed all kinds of ways to curb the sense of desperation of the commoners of the North in order to swerve them away from fighting against them.

"General Shimura."

"Be seated. Get straight to the point."

"Mm. I'm here to report the success of several "Care Package" deliveries in the north… Although not every delivery was taken well by the locals, much of the men that the Coalition leaders expect to come to the conscription camps was successfully intercepted and has joined the rebels."

"I see…"

Following the in-depth study of Kiko's Intelligence Service agents regarding the situation in the northern provinces, an operation led by General Shimura Nobisuke made leaps and bounds in curbing the hostilities in the borders and even fragmenting several fiefdoms out of the Coalition's grasp.

"Have we received any news from the south regarding stirring up the place during the winter?"

"None so far, sir. Neither Iwasawa-sama nor Martial Leader Kusanagi has given any orders or putting orders for supplies that may indicate an advancement in the offensive."

"How about General Himeji?"

"General Himeji Kotori has become busy with handling the civilian supply lines across the Central Plains. I believe she even received requests from Minister Kurogawa to temporarily handle the transfer of non-military goods to Yamato province during the lull in the military supply line transportation in this winter season."

"I understand… that's for the better."

"What do you mean… Sir?"

"Nothing much. Just that it's better for her to be doing something meaningful during these times… In any case, continue with the Care Packages and let's ease the pressure at the borders. We have an insurmountable advantage in both technology and terrain against them, but these are still people that Iwasawa-sama and the other leaders wish to take in rather than further antagonize."

"…"

"The less of them we end up killing or injuring, the better it would be for us later."

"I understand, sir. I'll convey your words to the others properly."

After his subordinate left his office, Nobisuke opened a drawer at his table and from there, took out a scroll that seemed new but also has traces of age from the years such as yellow spots and faded ink.

/The War has begun,

I prepare my mind and soul,

For the victory/

On the scroll was a haiku that he wrote before their revolt against the Akizuki daimyo in Kiko. Six years ago, he wrote this and kept it away since then as he became busy with his new life.

"Six years ago… I can never even think of one day being at the gates of the Imperial capital with an army of my own behind me… Now, I am in the final leg of the vendetta that has kept me going all through my life… I am now just a few borders away from what I have envisioned to do all this time."

Six years was all it took for him who used to lead a motley crew of conscripted men who wielded spears, swords, and muskets to become inarguably the man who wields greatest military force in existence in this new world…

"I will end this and have peace… that is what I have promised to my own self."

At this point where everything he once thought would take his all to bring into reality can be easily done now, Nobisuke had only one thing in mind in order to finally end it.

"Just wait a bit more father, uncle, Chiyo… I will make sure to regain our honor and be at peace again."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Whenever I look back on my life, I begin to see how much it has changed and how it all seemed so distant from the kind of life that I used to live even in my past life.

"…"

"Good morning, Iwasawa-sama."

If I am going to be honest, at this point, I am no longer needed… This country has been brought to a point where it can confidently walk upright and decide to walk all by itself.

Not to mention the fact that Kyoko and the other leaders already share the same desire of uniting this country and enriching it further, I can already see from beyond the horizon, a time when I am no longer needed, and I will be asked to rescind from this throne that I was forced to sit on in the first place.

"What would you wish to do today, my lord? We have your carriage and a reservation for a train seat if you wish to travel out of Naka."

"No need. Cancel the ticket."

"Then perhaps a trip around the city? Your loyal steed, Shinzuke, has just been groomed and are ready to take his master around. Should I send for the stablemaster to-"

"Let him rest. Shinzuke has worked to the bone on my trips since last month. He needs ample rest."

"…"

"I think I need one too… I still need to rest after everything that just happened."

Far too many things have happened since I took the throne of the Kiko Lordship. As a Daimyo, I rushed to do all kinds of things in order to get a head-start and even surpass my more militarily and economically strong peers. Although I did end up deciding to ally myself with some of them in order to outsource a few of the advancements that Kiko cannot achieve by itself, the fact still remained that we held the bulk of the modern technological advancements within our borders…

And yet, ever since one of them betrayed us and I ended up having no other choice but to dispose of her and decimate her lands to subdue them, I came to the realization that no matter how much I try to reach out my own hand to convince them that cooperation and friendships are better than conquest, there is still an insurmountable difference between someone like me who lived in a relatively peaceful world that valued human life, and people like them who was born and grew up in a world where "might makes right" is the only truth in life.

I am… tired.

I don't want to sound like a whiny kid, but that is the truth that I came up with after thinking back on all of this… I can change their lives, but I cannot truly change their hearts.

After all… I can't even protect the person that I hold the dearest in my life. And now, I can't even appear in front of her without being reminded of what happens to those who are around me when life decides to remind me that I am not some kind of an almighty being…

"I am getting worried about you, Iwasawa-kou-sama."

"…"

"You helped me change my life and find true happiness… but why are you denying that same thing for yourself now?"

"…I am not doing that, Asada-san. I really just need time to be alone and sort myself out."

"Lady Chiyo is-!"

"-!"

"Lady Chiyo is waiting for you!"

"…"

After she suddenly shouted at me loudly like that, Asada-san's eyes became fierce as if she was holding back tears as much as she can.

"I… I can feel her desire to see you again after so long! Lady Chiyo wanted to see you and talk to you again, but every time I go there to speak to her, I always end up saying the same things because you don't want to see her yet!"

"I told you already, Asada-san… I cannot be with Chiyo right now while I am doing all of this. She already saw me when I thought I was in my lowest… but now, I don't think I can sink any lower any more than this…"

"What does that even mean, Kou-sama?! Why would you call this as your lowest when all of us know that you are fighting for us and our welfare!?"

"…Kh!"

"We all decided to follow you, my lord! We all saw you as someone worthy of our loyalty and we devoted ourselves to your cause! So, stop saying that you feel lost in all of this now!"

I am conflicted… I don't know what I am doing all of this for anymore.

Asada-san is right. There do is a part of all of this where I know that I am fighting for the sake of my people… but that's only a part of it. Because I know that right now, my goal is to dispose of that person that will undoubtedly harm all of us with his evil.

"…Leave."

"-!"

"This is an order from me… Please leave."

"Iwasawa-sama! I will not-!"

"Heed your master! I ordered you to leave my chambers!"

I didn't want to do this… I never will wish to ever do this…

But if this let me have some peace as I am sorting everything out, I will just apologize my heart out later…

"…I… I will be leaving now, Kou-sama…"

"…"

"Please call for me if you need anything else."

After Asada-san never even mentioned my name and simply called me as "Kou-sama", I understood that I have done something that would strain our relationship from here on out.

"I'm sorry, Chiyo… Asada-san… everyone…"

The Iwasawa Hiroshi that you know and admire… can no longer keep his appearances up anymore.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Move in. Take over the village as quickly and efficiently as possible."

"Aye, Himeji-sama."

I have already been warned by Iwasawa-sama and even secretly by Shogun Sora to never dip my toes into this kind of business anymore… but if their ire and castigation is what I will receive afterwards, I am willing to take all of it for the sake of my goals.

"These people are horrible… they deserve everything that we will bring to them."

"It's just as you say, Himeji-sama… but I do feel worried about how this will be seen by the other military leaders."

"Clean it up properly. If even then, something still sticks out, proceed with our claim that we fought back after being caught during a surveillance mission."

"Understood."

The last time this was done, it was one miscalculation after another because of my misgivings about just how much we can interfere with things. Because of that, the enemy found us out and it was the commoners who paid the price, although only a few or none of them at all was truly plotting against their landlords.

After that though, I was finally able to refine my cunning and conniving ways to the point that so far, I have fooled everyone… including the person who is the wariest and has been keeping an eye on me. He thought that I have been doing nothing but mind Minister Kurogawa's civilian trade transportation during the lull of the winter, but that couldn't be any further to the truth.

"Himeji-sama. I fear that the Crows are nearing our position. I highly suggest that we pull back now."

"Alright. Send the retreat signal and have everyone plant the evidence. Never let those Crows to even think that it was faked."

"""Yes, ma'am!"""

The Greenhoods. Terrorists led by our enemy who has done more than enough damage to our allies and even went as far as almost killing Lady Chiyo just when she and Iwasawa-sama were about to attain true happiness with each other.

For almost the past year, I have devoted all of my time and effort to tracking down, killing and piece by piece, toppling the entire organization from the bottom to the top.

I and my most trusted subordinates have learned countless valuable lessons about them so far… and that is the reason why I had to condemn this entire village to the search and destroy order that I gave.

{"The evidence has been planted, Himeji-sama. We have also disposed of the ones that we have confirmed to be with the Greenhoods."}

"Alright. Retreat now and let's leave the guesswork to the Crows. I expect them to see this as another purging of the Greenhoods with their members on the ground, considering that they still believe on the story that we left them."

{"Understood. Everyone, leave the village now!"}

{"""Aye!"""}

The outskirts of this remote village run by the Northern Coalition was littered with corpses and torn-up scrolls detailing the missions done by the slayed men for the sake of the Greenhoods. Some homes too, had their front doors broken into and the cabinets inside thrown out and wrecked in order to make the "purging" seem more believable.

"I'm sorry, Minori-dono… This is for the best. If you truly want Iwasawa-sama's will to be realized, you will not interfere with what I am doing anymore."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

In the northernmost tip of Honshu, at the current stronghold where the Southern Alliance's greatest enemy are staying at, screams filled with pain and hopelessness echoed out amidst dull sounds of something blunt hitting something hard.

"N-No more! Stop this already!"

"YOU SHUT YOUR TRAP! I HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH FUN YET!"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

Bloodied bats and batons, knapped and serrated knives and a whip whose end has sharp and bloodstained spikes lined the wall of the torture chamber… or in the words of the room's owner, his "playground".

"…"

"Oi, oi! Wake the hell up! How am I going to enjoy this if you just pass out like that!?"

"AAAAAHHHH!!! IT STINGS!!!"

"You want more?! Hahaha! I'll give you more!"

"HGYAAAA!!!"

After wounding his "toy" so much, he proceeded to pour vinegar on the poor man's injuries, making it sting so much that the man almost waned back to losing his consciousness.

"…When will this end…?"

Outside, after being left by the right-hand man to watch over their master and make sure that he won't exhaust himself during his "playtime", the left-hand man can only bitterly mumble those words below his breath as he hears the incredibly loud pained screams of Keiji's victim.

"Shogun-sama… please convince the alliance to finish this now. I don't think I can last anymore in this."

Originally, he was sent by Kawasaki Endou to just infiltrate the lower ranks of the Greenhoods so that they can know about any incoming attacks for their master, but after several purges and failed attacks on the Shogunate that crippled the numbers of the members, he found himself rising up the ranks until he became the left-hand man of the ringleader himself.

He has seen all kinds of cruelty that this Otherworlder has done… unlike his master, Shogun Amanogawa, who only uses cruelty against people who truly deserve it or to have the upper hand in a fight that he doesn't wish to sacrifice his people in, Miyazono Keiji follows no real sense of conscience nor moral code.

"SCREAM FOR ME SOME MORE! SHOW ME THE DEPTHS OF YOUR HOPELESSNESS!!!"

"HIYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

Miyazono Keiji is… a monster through and through.

Because of this kind of person that he has to serve all in order to gather information to help his master, the left-hand man often finds himself wishing to Endou or even straight to the Shogun for relief. He wanted to leave that position and just go back to the life that he once led… but his loyalty to his master still wins and he swallows back his complaints and misgivings for the sake of his mission.

"Oi! Clean that turd up while I'm finding a replacement. I don't want to see even a bloodstain on that chair once I come back, you hear me!?"

"Yes, master!"

"Heh… Now, to find another one who reminds me of that monster… I better see someone that looks just like him so I can be freed from the nightmares that he is giving me!"

"…"

Miyazono Keiji is still deeply traumatized with the last fight that he had in the past world… so much was its impact on him that now, he's doing all kinds of horrible actions against people that reminds him of those who was responsible for killing him… and a particular group of people who shares the features of his greatest enemy was at the apex of his list.

"If Miyazono Keiji is already this brutal… what did that person do to him for this much trauma to stick on Keiji?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It has been a few months since winter set in and the guerilla war in the Northern provinces became waged not through constant skirmishes but through endurance of both sides.

Against General Winter, who sides with no one, the freezing cold and need of food to keep oneself warm and away from illnesses took a toll on the supplies and the encampments of both sides. But this is the moment where expectations never lined up with what is really happening.

Ironically, the alliance soldiers and their rebel allies who had to be constantly supplied from the outside is in a better situation than the local Coalition troops who are in their own land and are supported by their people.

It wasn't just the technological and educational difference between the two armies, there is also the fact that the Alliance army has a better understanding of how the battlefield they are in are changing constantly.

"The temperature is lowering in the west side of the mountains. Once the snow and cold front sets in, the animals would either go into hibernation or go to the warmer areas."

"That will delay the advance of the Coalition troops… although I admit that it will also delay our ration supply."

"Don't worry too much about that. Even though we're basically living in caves, we're no doubt in a better position than our enemies… Speaking of which, how about we harass them with another mortar strike?"

"I believe the Major would accept it. If it will keep them out of our battlelines, that's a win for us. Let's suggest it once we're back. But wait, aren't we told to not provoke another skirmish for now?"

"Oh, you're right… but we have ways around that."

Attacking, ambushing, fortifying, defending, scouting and disappearing as if nothing happened… all of these traits that the Alliance army possessed that the Coalition forces wasn't familiar with, at least those who was conscripted by their new overlords, made their fight a multitude more difficult than it is supposed to be.

"Oi, I'm here for the change of shifts."

"Thanks… I'm feeling too sleepy already in my post."

"Sure. Get back and rest already… Wait, are you hearing that?"

"Hearing what?"

"A high-pitched noise… Something's not right-"

*KYAG-! TSSSSHHHHH-!!!"

"What the hell-!?"

"Kh-! A-A-Attack! There's an attack!"

At the bleak afternoon when dusk is about to be replaced by night and most of the Coalition soldiers are about to turn in for the night after fulfilling their tasks in their camp, a barrage of mortar shells rained on the camp from above, with their arrival signaled by the loud, high-pitched noise as they were shot through the air.

"What on earth is this smoke!?"

"HRGH-! It burns in my nose!"

"Don't breathe it in! Get out of the camp!"

"Darn it! Get those shells out of here!"

Harassment attacks through inconveniences like this has become common in the stalemate between the Alliance and the Coalition. From having rough rider cavalry groups galloping around and shooting their guns up to the air all of a sudden before disappearing as quickly as they appeared, to raining tear gas mortar shells on their camps in order to further torment the already worn-out Coalition soldiers, the alliance soldiers made it their aim to not let their enemies have any kind of pause even in these cold and quiet days at winter.

Of course, the aim of these harassment attacks isn't to inflict direct damage to their enemies through bloodshed, but instead make their life a kind of living hell. If instead of these kinds of attacks that aims to destroy rather than annoy, they wouldn't just make their enemies more willing to destroy them in the name of revenge, they would also invite the ire of the rebelling ones that are already on their side.

From the very beginning of his reign, the alliance soldiers, especially those from Kiko and was thus under his lordship, are already aware of Hiroshi's main precepts about what kind of war he wages. All of these can be summarized into two which is that first of all, we fight to win the people's trust in not only our might, but also our intentions, and lastly, we must inflict as little damage to the enemy as possible and through a means that are the least cruel.

"I can't take this anymore…"

"O-Oi! Don't you dare tell me that you're-"

"Yes, I am! I am done with all of this! If I wasn't forced, I wouldn't even want to get into this war!"

"…"

"I'm leaving… I can't fight for something that I don't even believe in."

According to Kiko's Intelligence agency along with the Crows sent out by Nobisuke, desertion amongst the Coalition soldiers have become frequent, with many of them opting to change sides into the rebels in fear that simply hiding out would either return them into the frontlines or worse, have them shipped out in the infamous "island of paradise" where they are "re-educated".

For the people of the north, the Coalition leaders of yore were people that they deeply respected and loved as their leaders. Wise and understanding, these leaders served the Shogun and led their respective lands with the same kind of care that a parent gives to their child.

All of those are already in the past… for in the foolishness, or perhaps, the fact that they were easily swayed by the words of their new overlords, those leaders were deposed or disposed… and now, all of them who once shared a bountiful life, now had to share the same kind of suffering.

Many more cruelties exists in the borders of the Northern Coalition… and now that the winter cold has ceased almost all hostilities, a single hope for this cold wasteland remains in the drafting table of the Southern Quartet Alliance's headquarters.

"General Shimura… it is here."

"Understood. I will go to the throne room now and present it to Iwasawa-sama."

This is the last step that all of them has to take before total war is raised across the northern provinces.

"You have my permission to do it, Nobisuke. Inform Kyoko about this and coordinate with our men on the field."

"As you command, my lord!"

This winter, cold snow and air wouldn't be the only ones to rain from the skies.

"Let the heavens burn red."