Tyranny of Steel

Itami sighed heavily as she gazed upon the list of natural resources she had at her disposal. While she did not want for many things. There was a certain material she desperately needed, which she severely lacked. Iron was a relatively rare commodity on the Island Nation of Japan, and she needed vast quantities of it to fully industrialize and modernize her new empire. 

Without a large stockpile of iron, Itami could only produce limited quantities of her new Itami Rifles, and artillery pieces. If she wanted to take full advantage of industrialization, she would need a large supply. Unfortunately, she could not find it in her homeland, and lacked the means to sail to other, less developed regions of the world, such as the Americas of Africa, which were rich in such resources. No, if she wanted iron, she would need to search for regions in North-East Asia where she could gain access to it. 

Attacking China was out of the question. Even with her superior armies, and technology, it would be impossible for her to claim the Chinese mainland in any significant capacity. Let alone hold on to it. If there was one thing she found foolish about the Japanese Empire in her past life, it was the idea that they actually believed they could conquer China and subjugate its people. It was simply unfeasible no matter how she saw it. She would laugh about the whole idea if it hadn't ended so tragically. 

Since she would not invade China, that left one particular region rich in iron that she could exploit as part of her Empire. That would be the Korean peninsula. The problem with this was that the Joseon were a tributary state of the Ming, and invading the Korean Peninsula to seize the iron rich regions in the north was likely to result in hostilities with the Ming.

Unless she could convince the Ming Emperor that Japan was a better ally than the Joseon, she would likely fight the Ming in a conflict that would prove bloody for both sides. Itami could only sigh as she gazed at her map. The annexation of Korea was inevitable, but how she would go about it while avoiding the most bloodshed was her greatest concern.

For now, she would send emissaries to both the Ming and Joseon. Until she could build a powerful enough navy to defeat the Joseon, it would force her to trade for the iron ore she so desperately needed. She wrote a series of letters addressing her Korean and Chinese counterparts. For the Ming, she planned to pay tribute to them with gifts of cosmetics, perfume, and other products that could only be found in her Japanese Empire. 

Itami was not Berengar. Though she favored war as a means to achieve her ambitions, she was not above bowing her head to another Empire in return for the benefits she would receive. Ultimately, she did not have the pride of a man in her heart, and would thus resort to acts that Berengar would consider humiliating if it meant completing her objectives.

As for the Joseon, she would use a more heavy-handed approach in negotiations. Her military might was vastly superior to the Korean's, and she needed only a year or two to build up a navy capable of destroying their fleet. Naturally, since she could not produce ironclads for some time, due to a substantial lack of the resources required, she would devise vessels based upon a Korean design. 

The legendary Korean Turtle Ship had yet to be produced in this timeline. After all, they would not come into existence for another hundred years. However, she could build them, and ensure naval dominance in the Pacific for years to come. As part of her attempts to one up Julian in her past life, she had studied naval history extensively, as it was a more important part of Japan's history than it was Germany's. 

Though it would take some effort, she could effectively design a turtle ship from scratch. Which she immediately did. After spending hours at her desk with a pen and some paper, Itami designed the ship of her desires. It was essentially a steam powered turtle ship that utilized a triple expansion steam engine, a propulsion screw, and a set of boilers. She had a wicked grin on her face as she declared victory at that moment. 

"With these, my fleets will be unmatched in the entire world. After all, it will be some time before the Europeans invent their Ships of the Line... Though it is not a true ironclad, the turtle ship will be superior to anything else I can create until I get the necessary resources to create a fleet of them!"

Itami slunk back into her chair and rested for god knows how long until her door opened to reveal one of her ministers. Though she was surprised to see him, she was happy, as he was just the man she wanted to talk to about Naval Innovations. 

"Maeda-san, I was just about to go looking for you. Here, take these and look them over. You are the naval expert. I want to see your opinion on the new naval vessel I designed!"

The man named Maeda Akitoshi sneered when he heard the little girl had created a new ship design. Was it so easy to do such a thing? However, when he gazed upon the design in question, his jaw practically dropped."

The overall design was unique. The ship had a wooden shell which covered the deck and was plated with iron spikes. This covering made it difficult to harm the crew, while deterring any form of grappling. When armed with multiple cannons, it would certainly become an effect tool of war. 

While the original ship design from her past life boasted defensive and offensive capabilities alike, it was less capable than a European frigate, if not for the sole fact that it was severely lacking in both speed and maneuverable. The entire ship was practically a floating rectangle, and was powered by a combination of junk style sails and wooden rows. 

Itami solved some of these issues by replacing its primitive means of propulsion with a vertical triple expansion engine. Naturally, many things had to be redesigned to accommodate this, but the end result was feasible, at least in theory. It would probably take numerous modifications to actually make a practical naval vessel out of the blueprints she had designed. Still, the man named Maeda Akitoshi could see the practical advantages of such a vessel.

He was beginning to think this bloodthirsty cunt wasn't so useless after all. Like many of the people who supported Itami, Maeda Akitoshi was not an avid follower, but someone who was swept up in her reign of terror. Itami only wanted the most capable people working beneath her, and unlike Berengar, because she was a woman, many of them thought poorly of her behind close doors. 

Still, Itami continued to amaze these people with her intelligence, and because of that, men like Maeda Akitoshi would either slowly change their preconceived notions of her, or do something foolish that would get them marked for death.  After looking over the designs for a while, Maeda Akitoshi sighed heavily before nodding his head in agreement with Itami's wishes.

"I will need some more time to study these devices, but it should be doable. I will let you know when I have constructed the first prototype. Tell me, Itami-sama, are we preparing for a war with a foreign power?"

When Itami heard this, she merely broke out into a fit of giggles, before nodding her head and answering the old man's question.

"Of course. We will build a grand navy and conquer much of Asia beneath our banner. It is our destiny! But to do this, we will need a powerful navy, and this ship is the first step."

The veteran sailor, who now acted as Itami's Minister of Naval Warfare, nodded his head in silence. The Empress truly had grand ambitions. He was just about to leave when he thought of something important.

"What shall I name the vessel?"

Itami did not even think about the question posed to her. Instead, she responded with a single word before dismissing the man.

"Kame"

After saying this, the Minister of Naval Warfare left the Empress's office, where the young woman pulled out a bottle of sake and drank to her heart's content. With these vessels, she could successfully invade Korea. However, when and how she achieved this would be up to diplomacy with the Ming.  For now, she could only sit back and relax. Now that her day's work was over, she intended to enjoy herself in her hot springs, and drink all the Sake she could manage.