Empire of Fu Manchu

The Imperial Palace of Tokyo
Empire of Japan
November 16th, 1939


For a week now the guns had been silent. All along the fronts, in southern Korea, in the blasted suburbs of Shanghai, on the beaches of Hainan, Japanese and Chinese soldiers had upheld an uneasy truce while their Emperor’s negotiated in the halls of the Imperial Palace of Tokyo.

Since two weeks back, China was de jure an Empire again. The decision had been passed through parliament without debate and was presented in the newspapers as the logical next step in the restoration of Chinese dignity and pride. There were many diehard nationalists who refused to go along with a scheme that went against the grain of everything they believed in – but the top echelon of the party was strangely pliant to Chiang Kai-Chek’s wishes, and those on lower levels of authority that did protest had a tendency to be taken away in the night by men in dark hoods and cruel eyes. The protests died away quickly, to be replaced by sullen and fear-stricken silence. Many preferred to believe the official party line that the restoration was temporary and would not last for long. It seemed that the Kuomintang had Emperor Pu Yi in its pocket, since he depended on the Party in power to carry out his every command.

For a week, the world had waited for some hint at how the secluded talks between the two monarch’s progressed, but there was none. Each day, Pu Yi of China and Hirohito of Japan would meet the world press and shake hands and smile and tell how “fruitful” the talks had been so far but give absolutely nothing away as to the substance of their deliberations. From time to time, one or the other of the monarchs would call for some expert on matters legal, economic or military, make a few questions and then send them out before continuing their negotiations. To both Governments, who had promised in advance to abide by any agreement reached by the Emperor’s, the situation could not have been more frustrating. Both Heads of State adamantly refused to disclose even the smallest piece of information regarding their progress. Of course, there was one shadowy “advisor” to the Chinese government who knew full well what the result of the negotiations would be. But Fu Manchu, present in Tokyo with Prime Minister Chiang Kai-Chek and the most prominent of his ministers hid his impatience well. The Chinese delegation had been lodged in a wing of the Imperial Palace, and there he entertained many prominent Japanese high-rankers from the military, the world of business and of politics. All found him charming and were impressed by his intelligence and erudition.

And the world held its breath not only because of the Peace of the Two Emperors, but because momentous events were taking place elsewhere too.

In Europe, the German Wehrmacht had repeated the Schlieffen plan of the Great War with markedly greater success than the first time. Despite valiant efforts by the French army to stem the enemy advance, Belgium and Luxemburg had been overrun in the first week. The Wehrmacht with its ten Panzer Divisions had taken on the cream of the French Army head on and smashed it in a bloody battle in Flanders. The French were now in headlong retreat towards Paris, their fleeing and scattered divisions being punished by a triumphant Luftwaffe and overrun by German Panzers. The fall of the capital seemed imminent and there was already talk of a Franco-German separate peace.

At noon precisely of November 16th, a hush fell over Tokyo as national radio reported the two Emperors had left the conference room together and had now appeared on a balcony overlooking the Imperial gardens, where the assembled press of the world waited. A dense forest of microphones from every major broadcast service on the planet stood prepared for the historic announcement, and the Japanese waited in awe. For the first time in history, the voice of the Emperor would be heard over the radio.

Emperor Hirohito spoke first. ‘Since the dawn of time, these hallowed Islands have made up the lands of Japan, and while there is honour and courage in the hearts of its inhabitants, the lands of Japan shall endure. But the Empire of Japan is no more.’

A hundred million throats let out a sigh of despair and anger, but before any rioting could break out, Pu Yi spoke too.

‘For thousands of years, China has stood in the centre of the world as a tower of civilization and culture, and with the efforts and pride of the Chinese, it shall remain so until the end of time. But like the defunct Republic, the Empire of China is no more.’

Despair gave place to wonder and curiosity. What had the Emperors decided?

Now both spoke in chorus.

‘On this day, we declare that the fratricidal war between the Empires of China and Japan has ended. On this day, we the Twin Emperors, establish a new joint Empire which shall encompass the lands of China and Japan and all their possessions, to be ruled jointly by us and our lines after us. On this day, we proudly proclaim the Pan-Asian Empire! Behold its glorious banner!’


Banner of the Pan-Asian Empire

On the flagpole over the Imperial Palace, the Japanese banner of the Rising Sun had been lowered without anyone taking notice, so focused were all on the balcony. Now a Red and Gold banner was raised and as it unfurled in the wind, the Chrysantemum of the Imperial House of Japan and the Dragon of the Imperial House Manchu could be seen sharing the standard.

In all Japan there was such silence that one could have heard the fall of a pin. Now Hirohito spoke alone:

‘As the first act of our reign, we appoint Baron Fu Manchu Prime Minister of our Government. As Commander in Chief of our armies, we appoint Marshall of the Empire Chiang-Kai Chek who has proved to be without rival as a Warlord.’

Now it was Pu Yi’s turn to speak alone. ‘And as commander of our fleets we appoint Grand Admiral of the Empire Isoroku Yamamoto. All other members of our Government shall be appointed by our trusted Prime Minister.’

Now, the Emperors faced, embraced and turned once more towards the stunned mass of reporters, holding hands with raised arms. ‘Together, we The Twin Emperors, shall strive to maintain the dignity of the Empire and establish a new hegemony in Asia, by Asians, for Asians. Peoples of the East! The Age of Humiliation is at an end! Now begins your Age of Glory!’

In his office in Hong Kong, Sir Dennis Nayland Smith screamed in despair and smashed his glass of Scotch against the marble floor.​

The offices of the Prime Minister, Tokyo
Pan-Asian Empire
November 17th, 1939


Still feeling as if he was living in a dream after the surreal events of the previous day, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet of the Pan-Asian Empire, waited patiently in the waiting room for his meeting with the new Prime Minister appointed by the Emperor. He still refused to talk, much less think of the “Twin Emperors” – to Yamamoto, as to most other members of the armed forces of the former Empire of Japan, only obedience to their own Emperor made them follow orders from the newly appointed Government, which was led by a Chinese nobleman of ill repute. Yet Yamamoto had noticed with distaste how the most hawkish factions of Japanese political life had embraced the new Empire with relish. Instead of a humbled Japan, they now had what they had dreamed of when they launched the ill-fated war on China – a giant Asian Empire, rival in power to any other state in the world. They also had the promise of further expansion against the colonial powers of Europe. As always, Yamamoto thought, it was easy to lead people where they wanted to go. The new Prime Minister seemed to be an astute enough politician, he had to give him that.

The Prime Ministers lovely secretary walked up to the Admiral and bowed deeply. Like everything else in the offices of Government, she was dressed in western fashion. For a long time, Japan had striven to emulate everything western: for this reason Yamamoto was wearing a western style uniform, he was sitting in a plush sofa instead of on the floor, and he had been served coffee and cookies while he waited. Japan was no longer what it had been, but it was still a katana resting on his knees, not the ceremonial sabre a western Admiral would have had. Some thing would not change, would never be allowed to change or at least so he hoped.

‘Admiral Yamamoto, the Prime Minister will see you now. Follow me, please.’

The Admiral rose from the sofa and walked behind the girl, distractedly letting his eyes wander over her curves, clearly visible through her tight short skirt. He might be old, but not THAT old, and western fashion had its compensations. But he’d never allow any daughter of his to dress that way.

Fu Manchu was sitting behind a large desk of polished dark wood, absentmindedly stroking his long thin moustaches with crossed fingers and watching out through the large window next to the desk over the gardens of the Imperial palace. He was dressed in black silk robes without any adornment and an equally black skull cap with the coral bead of a Chinese Mandarin. After an instant he noticed, or deigned to notice his designated Chief of the Navy standing in the door and rose from his seat.

‘Admiral, welcome and please sit down. We have great things to discuss you and I!’

Yamamoto was surprised by the apparent strength and suppleness of the Chinese Baron, who he had assumed would be old and decrepit instead of in the prime of his years. He was even more surprised by the aura of undeniable authority the Prime Minister wore like a cloak. In combat, men would jump at the orders of such a man, trusting him with his life and deferring instinctively to his animal dominance. The deep rich voice was pleasant and well modulated, with just a hint of lightness in the tone to put a man immediately at ease, while the high brow and the brilliant green eyes spoke of a sharp intelligence. The face, however was hard and evil-looking even when wearing a friendly smile. If a man could be judged by his face, Yamamoto thought, the one before him was as capable as he was ruthless – a man not to be trifled with, for sure. Also, his Japanese was excellent, if not totally devoid of accent.

Yamamoto bowed. ‘Thank you, Prime Minister.’ He sat down in front of the Prime Minister of the Pan-Asian Empire and waited for him to speak. The prime minister lost no time with chit-chat but went direct to the point.

‘Admiral, it’s no secret that this Government’s long-term goal is to replace the dominion over East Asia by the European Powers with one of our own. What is the state of our naval forces at present and how do you rate our chances against the navies of Britain, France, Holland and the United States?’

Yamamoto cleared his throat. ‘Well, to be frank, and first of all, our naval forces are exactly what the Empire of Japan had before the Peace of the Two Emperors yesterday. China adds precious little to our inventory.’

Fu Manchu smiled. ‘I’m well aware of that Admiral. You might be pleased to know that the Twin Emperor’s intend to keep the Imperial Navy a mostly Japanese force, while China will be providing an ever growing share of the land forces. In all honesty, you Japanese have centuries of naval tradition, while China hasn’t been a naval power to be reckoned with since the 15th century. Such things make a difference.’

‘I agree completely, Prime Minister, and I can tell you this will be appreciated by the men under my command!’ Secretly, Yamamoto wasn’t so pleased, although he voiced none of his misgivings. It was all good and well to keep the Navy Japanese, but it was with the Army that the power to dictate policy lay, not with the Navy. The Navy would never be able to overthrow the Government and instate a dictatorship. So if the Army became predominantly Chinese, where would that place ultimate power in this new bastard Empire?

Still, the Prime Minister was clearly waiting for him to continue, so he cleared his throat. ‘Well then, speaking in very general terms, I’m only worried about the American Navy.’

‘AH? And yet the Royal Navy is generally considered the most powerful fleet in the world? And they have the French to back them up too.’ Fu Manchu seemed to be making objections mainly to force Yamamoto to vocalize his reasoning, so the Admiral quickly complied.

‘The Royal Navy has many carriers, but they’re small and used only for convoy escort and battle fleet scouting. They still rely completely on the power of their battleships, and they’re also tied down by the need to defend their Home Islands from German invasion. As to the French, they’re are about to be overrun by the Germans, they’re beaten and they know it. And in any case, their Navy is much inferior to ours, and cannot threaten us without bases. Indochina can be easily overrun by our mighty combined armies, the French know this too.’

‘You’re most perceptive. We’re already preparing an ultimatum to France demanding they surrender Indochina to us. We’re only waiting for France to sign a separate peace with Germany so that their alliance with Britain is broken. They should cave in without a fight.’

Yamamoto nodded, he was not surprised. He made no comment though and continued his evaluation of the would-be enemies of the Empire. ‘The Dutch Navy is a joke. They have some good officers, but nothing heavier than some light cruisers. We’ll swat them like flies if they oppose us.’

‘Leaving us with only the US Navy left to consider.’

Yamamoto nodded. ‘Indeed. While not overall as powerful as the Royal Navy, the US Navy has more battleships, fifteen to the British twelve and three battle cruisers. We, by the way have six, and not too modern. We were going to build two new super-battleships before the war, but…’

‘I have re-activated those plans’ Fu Manchu declared grandly. ‘The “Yamato” and the “Musashi” will be built as intended. I’m also ordering the construction of a new class of latest model carries, nine units in batches of three.’

Yamamoto was left gaping at the industrial power of this new joint Empire. Nine top-of-the-line carriers would have been a pipe dream to the old Imperial Navy, but was apparently within the realm of the possible for the Pan-Asian Empire.

‘That’s… astounding, Prime Minister. But those additions won’t change the balance with the USA until a year or more from now, right?’

‘You’re correct.’

‘Well, in that case, the US Navy is stronger than we. I’ve already mentioned their battleships, they also have five fleet carriers equivalent to our own, and they have an inkling about how to use them; at least the men commanding them do. For the rest, we’re evenly matched, we’ve got more light cruisers, they more destroyers. They also have a forward base in the Philippines from which they can block any advance of ours into Dutch East Asia.’

‘I see. Tell me, you have studied in the United States. How will they react if we start picking off the European colonies?’

Yamamoto considered the question for a few seconds, running through hypothetical scenarios in his mind before answering. ‘The Americans have little sympathy for the European colonial empires, since because they won their independence by seceding from one, they see them as oppressors of national independence. Of course they do not see their own domination of the Philippines and Puerto Rico in that light.’

‘Of course.’

‘But by the same token, they would not want to see Chinese and Japanese dominate other Asians. That would be just substituting a white master with yellow one and frankly, they’re not devoid of the European disdain for other races than their own.’

‘So they would support the British against us?’

‘Eventually yes, when they have built up their strength sufficiently. They would claim we’re the aggressors and use that as an excuse to incense their own people for a “just war”. Apart from what I’ve just said, they’re a young and naïve nation. To them the latest conqueror is always the worst one. I’m talking about the people now, their political elite can be every bit as cunning and cynical as the British, which is why quite apart from ideological considerations, they are aware that they cannot hope to hold the Philippines against a united Asian Empire. That’s why America always opposed Japanese expansion, and ultimately, why they’ll oppose Pan-Asia.’

Fu Manchu seemed to ponder Yamamoto’s words for a few seconds before moving on to his next question. ‘And if they move against us, Admiral Yamamoto… should we fear them?’

This time the Japanese Admiral did not need to consider his reply. ‘Yes, Prime Minister, very much so. The United States are an industrial powerhouse, they will help arm the British at first, much like they’re propping them up against Germany now, and build up their own power. When they finally intervene, they’ll be invincible.’

Fu Manchu nodded briefly. ‘Thank you, Admiral. You have provided me with some valuable insight in the American mind, but I had already decided on a course of action and what you said only confirms that it is the right one.’

Yamamoto felt an icy tightness in his chest. ‘What… what course of action is that?’

Fu Manchu smiled benevolently. ‘Come now, Admiral, I’m sure you’ve studied Sun-Tzu. I quote;

"The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy."

That is the strategy we expect the Americans to follow against us, but Sun-Tzu also said;

"Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength."

We have a window of opportunity now – if we squander it by engaging the British and the Dutch, we’ll have to deal with the Americans at the moment of their choice, when they’re ready for us and nigh near invincible. That is a recipe for disaster, Admiral, and I will not have it. No, we will strike first against America while she is weak and the British are busy with the Germans!’

‘Weak!?’ Yamamoto protested. ‘Prime Minister, have you not heard a word I said? The American Navy is stronger than ours!’

‘I heard you – but we will even the odds through a stratagem, my dear Admiral. I’ve already ordered the fleet to assemble at Kwajalein. In three weeks from now, we strike at Pearl Harbor!’

The Admiral shook his head furiously. ‘But Prime Minister! Because of the declaration of the Twin Emperors yesterday, the Americans have sent most of the ships of the Pacific Fleet to reinforce those of the Asiatic Fleet at Manila, making a show of support to the Philippines. There won’t be many ships to sink at Pearl Harbor!’

‘Precisely!’ Fu Manchu laughed and the sound sent shivers down Yamamoto’s spine. Was it the cold, disdainful laughter of a genius… or the demented shrieking of a madman? Desperately, he put forward his last argument to avoid a catastrophic war.

‘But… even if we defeat their Navy to a ship… what then? They’ll never agree to a humiliating peace! They’ll just rebuild their fleets and come at us again, what will we have gained by this war, except a powerful and determined foe?’

Fu Manchu stopped laughing. ‘Admiral, our army is currently the largest in the world, even after we disband all those good for nothing militias the Chinese fielded against you. We have a total of 203 divisions, of which 135 are infantry, 9 mountain infantry and 24 cavalry, all war-hardened and experienced. Add to that your amphibious regiments and all the garrison troops. We outnumber the Americans 8 or 9 to one. Also, within six months, all our troops will have been upgraded to the very latest standards, taught to us by our German infantry instructors. With our superior numbers, experience and quality, we’ll sweep the Americans from the field. We won’t offer the Americans even a humiliating peace, no: a year after hostilities open, no more, our troops will present our demands for unconditional surrender in the White House!’

EDIT: I finally gave up trying to get the japanese honorifics right. I'll write japanese conversation in normal English, just assume its not litteraly translated.​