((Private))
He hadn't planned to do this, but it just...happened. An hour ago he was in downtown Edo for a morning walk, and the next thing he knew he was surrounded by a crowd of citizens, some of them reporters, some of them veterans of the Boshin War, and all of them asking what side he was on. Now he found himself on a platform in front of the Shogun's old castle, with hundreds of men, women, and children of all ages looking to him expectantly.
"Uh, people of Japan," he stammered. No, that was way too cliche.
Ignore those thoughts, said a voice inside his head, they will only weigh you down. Let me take control.
((Public))
"Citizens of the Empire of Japan!" he shouted. "Our nation is destined for greatness, yet there are those who wish to hold us back and take us back to the days of the Shogunate, to the days of military rule. I stand in front of the Tokugawa's castle, the symbol of the old Shogunate, which my father personally captured for the Emperor all those years ago and led us into the light. He made a vow that never again will the Shogun return, and I have taken that vow. Recently, Yamagata and a council of generals have taken control of southern Japan in an attempt to restore the Shogunate in all but name. They will not admit that they are doing so, of course, but it is their actions that define them, and they have chosen to resist the will of the mighty Emperor, the son of Amaterasu himself! They try to bribe me with a position on their so-called "cabinet," but they do not know I am an honorable man and I will follow in the footsteps of my late father, the brave war hero Sakamoto Naotari!
"People of Japan, the empire is at a crossroads. Do you want to return to a military government, to the days of the bakufu, to the days of the Sengoku jidai, to the days we were dominated by the gaijin? Do you want to see your sons, brothers, fathers, and husbands sent off to pointless wars with gaijin and fellow Asian brothers and sisters just to bring prestige and glory to the generals, generals who aren't even near the front lines, generals who kill thousands with the stroke of a keyboard or a pen, generals who sip tea and sit in their gaijin-made chairs while innocent men die for scraps of land? Do you want to live in a regime which only regards you as soldiers, pawns in the game of warfare, whose only purpose in life is to kill, be killed, and to make killing machines to kill more? Or do you want to live under a government that does have respect for your lives. The Emperor is the son of Amaterasu, and his will is divinely-inspired. To question his will is to go against the way of the gods. The generals who questioned his will are motivated by their drive for glory, death, and blood. The Emperor does not have such motivations, as he is the son of Amaterasu! He is above such motivations. Put the emperor in control and he will make Japan great again!
"But if we are to be a strong and prosperous nation, we must ensure that all of our citizens are happy and loyal to the emperor. As a member of the Privy Council, I will see to it that all citizens of the empire gain the rights that they deserve. The Ainu are not our subjects, they are equals and will be treated as such under our government! The Koreans are our brothers and sisters in Asia, and we must treated them as brothers and sisters, not dogs! The Filipinos have been liberated from gaijin oppression, and we must show them that life under the Emperor is better than life under the gaijin! Do you know what the generals will do once they are in control? Oppress them, impose our culture upon them, make them prone to rebellion, and when they do rebel, then the generals will get the fights they want and the glory they seek. They will turn on China, Vietnam, Siam, the other Asians once they have crushed all of the rebels, for the sole purpose of outdoing each other in the battles they fought, not for the noble cause of liberating Asia from the gaijin, as they so claim. And they will treat the conquered peoples the same way they treat the Koreans and Ainu and Filipinos, inciting them to violence and then sending in their troops to claim glory and prestige. We cannot allow that to happen!
"Join me, loyal citizens, and show your loyalty to the true ruler of Japan, the emperor, not to some ambitious quasi-Shogun who only wants blood. Together we can drive out the militarists and make Japan great again! BANZAI! BANZAI! TENNO HEIKA BANZAI!"
"BANZAI! BANZAI! TENNO HEIKA BANZAI!" boomed the crowd, which now numbered in the thousands.
((Also naxhi how are you going to play both sides of the civil war in the same singleplayer game?))