{Chapter 1} Guaran
Part I
The General’s Office was located in Napy, the capital of Miramar.
Guaran, the effective number two in the military government, arrived in front of the General’s Office with General Kaliguda and got out of the back seat of the Rolls Royce, the car reserved for the Prime Minister.
Although Miramar has its own parliament and the executive branch, the military has control of the legislative and executive branches of government, making the General’s Office the de facto national decision-making body.
The guards of the palace-like General’s office greeted the current Prime Minister and saluted him.
” Where is the General now, Imperial Guard Captain?”
“Yes! At the moment, General Kaliguda is in the reception room of the command center, meeting with a guest. I’ve been instructed to ask His Excellency Guaran to wait in the second reception room.”
“Umu. Then I will wait for him there.”
Originally, the term “Imperial Guard” was used to refer to the soldiers directly under the protection of the monarch in a hereditary monarchy.
But Kaliguda had established his own elite bodyguard called the Imperial Guard.
This reveals Kaliguda’s evaluation of himself, his thoughts, and what he plans to do with Miramar in the future.
Guaran had the captain of the Imperial Guard lead the way, and they entered the General’s office with firm footsteps.
He was now fifty-five years old, but his appearance was young, and he did not look like he was in his fifties. With his hair well set, he was tall and imposing. He was a former uniformed military officer turned politician, so he was not inferior to the Captain of Kaliguda’s Imperial Guard.
Guaran Seth Yen’s upbringing is said to have been poor, his parents passed away when he was young, he has no siblings, and he is currently single because he never took a wife. If the rumors are correct, he is a lifelong loner, and since he does not deny this story, it is believed to be true.
Guaran’s rise to the position of prime minister was largely due to his talent, but many people around him didn’t think so, and there were rumors within the military government about various voices, mainly stemming from envy and jealousy.
He may or may not have been aware of these rumors, but he acted in a dignified manner towards everyone, which in turn alienated the generals in the military government.
There were many rumors about Guaran, but there was one thing he had in common.
It was that he had a strong appetite for money.
It is common knowledge that top military leaders in this country collect money regardless of whether it is legal or illegal. However, when the rumor spread that Guaran, who was lonely all his life, was working hard to accumulate money, everyone laughed.
“He must be obsessed with money because he was born poor in a cold village, and there’s no one to leave it to.”
“Because of his low birth, he must have a taste for low-class women, and although he has women, he cannot take them as wives because of his position as Prime Minister.”
These groundless rumors included some resentment.
However, the fact that these were only rumors and no one spoke of them publicly, much less denounced them, can be regarded as a sign that the position of Prime Minister Guarin, who was said to be a strong man, was solid.
Guarang walks to the second reception room, receiving salutes from passing soldiers, and sighs lightly when he sees the obviously excessive number of soldiers.
(Even the arrogant Kaliguda is quite petty. ……)
Guaran thought about this inwardly, but of course, he didn’t show it on his face at all as he walked on.
At present, the General’s office in Napy, the capital of Miramar, is on high alert at all times under the orders of the Dictator Kaliguda. It has already been three years since the high alert was put in place. This means that three years have passed since the incident where he gave up on the complete containment of the pro-democracy movement.
“Your Excellency Guaran.”
A voice called out to Guaran from the Captain of the Imperial Guard who was leading the way diagonally in front of him.
“Yes?”
“Well, if you don’t mind, I was wondering if you had any comments on the General’s Office’s defenses.”
” With the other side being military or non-military?”
“Yes, non-military.”
Guaran and the Imperial Guard captain are referring to a popular uprising, but it’s not something they should talk about, so they use the word “non-military” in a roundabout way.
” Captain.”
“Yes, sir.”
“There is one thing we must not forget. People can be surprisingly tolerant of discrimination, misrule, and inconvenience, even when they belong to a crippled society. It is possible to live with such social conditions. Let’s take an example. Our country has the best government in the world by the grace of Lord Kaliguda.”
“Of course, I understand.”
Guaran laughed and continued talking. To the guard who reports directly to Kaliguda, the conversation seems like that of a master and his apprentice.
“But even so, humans can turn on even the most feared of organizations if certain conditions are met. There are several, but the first one is poverty with hunger. People are rarely willing to risk their lives to fight, even if they are crippled, as long as they can at least eat.”
“Yes.”
“In other words, if there is a non-military attack, responding with force alone is a poor strategy. The first step is to set the table for discussion, even if it means giving the army food, which will ultimately protect the place. After that, it’s all about politics. The military shouldn’t be out in the open.”
The Captain of the Imperial Guard nodded significantly.
“That’s very informative. Come to think of it, Your Excellency did so during the national crisis three years ago.”
The national crisis that the captain was referring to three years ago was the massive democracy protest in the former capital, Yangla. At the time, the scale of the protest reached more than a hundred thousand, and since it was called for mainly by young men, it was extremely dangerous and belligerent.
A single wrong move could have resulted in a major incident that would go down in Miramar’s history.
It was Guaran, of all people, who led this protest to dissolve with minimal damage and almost no ill effects.
This incident was also the catalyst for Guaran’s rise to his current position.
“Fu …… it’s nice to hear you say that, but not everything went well at that time, and I also had a hard time. Especially when it comes to the people under my command.”
Guaran laughed self-mockingly.
At that time, as soon as this large-scale protest broke out, Kaliguda, the head of the military government, ordered a quick suppression at the Supreme Council.
At that time, however, the military heavyweights were reluctant to accept the order. They ducked the order, citing various reasons and theories, saying that it would be difficult or unsuitable for them to be in charge.
The reason for the attitude of the heavyweights was the content of Kaliguda’s orders.
There was a statement that said, “The choice of any means is left to the field commander.”
If you read it backward, it meant that if something happened, all the responsibility would be attributed to the field commander.
This was a very Kaliguda-like approach. He never takes responsibility for anything. Although he would always take the credit and praise, he would push the failure and disgrace to his subordinates.
This is something that the upper echelons of the military, who have been under Kaliguda’s thumb for many years, know all too well. In addition, this protest was the largest one since the military regime was established. If a mistake is made, rather than being suppressed, it could provoke an uprising by the people, which could lead to a horrific massacre by the military.
In such a case, the military would suffer no small amount of damage, and even if the situation was suppressed, it was clear that it would be a major negative factor for the subsequent rule of the military government.
Naturally, this would develop into a problem of responsibility for the field commanders.
Considering Kaliguda’s political methods, the field commander would be punished with capital punishment, and the crime would be extended to his relatives, and all of their family property would be confiscated by Kaliguda.
After that, it is easy to see the path that Kaliguda will announce to the people in a big way to vent the people. Therefore, even at this moment of national importance, there was not the slightest inclination or reason for the military chiefs to accept this order.
However, …… there was one person who volunteered to take on this obviously difficult task.
“General Kaliguda, if you allow it, I’ll take care of it.”
“Hou…… you are, new here, I believe.”
That was Guaran, who at the time had risen through the ranks to the rank of Colonel.
Guaran had risen to prominence from his position as a regional commander and had pushed aside several rivals to move to the center of the military administration with great fanfare.
When the youngest Guaran, who had just been allowed to attend the Supreme Council, volunteered to lead the suppression of the protests, the other military leaders were surprised and inwardly snickered.
They thought that a naive man in a hurry for success had chosen the path of self-destruction.
To begin with, Guaran was not well-liked by the central military leadership.
Rumors were circulating in the center that this man was not very pleasant to the superiors.
This was the story of Guaran’s rise through the ranks.
During his time in the provinces, he had repeatedly exposed the wrongdoings of his superiors, the former commanders, and mercilessly brought them to justice when they denounced the military personnel involved, whether superiors or seniors.
And he would always present these reports to Kaliguda, under the guise of “returning to the treasury” the wealth accumulated by those he had judged.
This gradually caught the attention of the greedy Kaliguda and improved his image.
In the first place, there are few innocent people in the military. If you beat them, you will find not just dust, but bulky garbage. It seems that Guaran skillfully took advantage of this and used it to advance his own career.
Naturally, Guaran, who was not afraid to take such measures, had many enemies. However, he was cunning and clever and had no mercy for his opponents. He always took the initiative and kicked down any forces or rivals that seemed to be against him.
Eventually, everyone became afraid of him, and no one dared to oppose him. In a sense, it could be said that Guarang had taken control of the military district of a region.
Afterward, Guaran received a strong recommendation from the military district superintendent and was selected for the military center.
At the same time, however, Guaran’s military and political skills were regarded as outstanding.
Although Guarin was strict with the people, he was also consistently fair. In addition, many of the soldiers under his command respected him as their superior officer because the towns he was in charge of became more secure.
However, …… even here, his black rumors did not cease.
The rumors were that Guaran was holding the weakness of the superior who had recommended him and that the goods he had offered to Kaliguda had disappeared somewhere, …… but not all of them
Because of this, the military leaders were more excited than ever about Guaran’s suitability for this mission, hoping that this cocky newcomer would be destroyed.
“Oh, I think Colonel Guaran would be a good choice.:
“I agree with you. I’ve heard that Colonel Guaran has a deep knowledge of politics from his command of the troops.”
In response, Kaliguda also appointed Guaran to the task of suppressing the protests.
But the heavyweights were happy that a good sacrifice had been made. In fact, some of the top brass were beginning to think about how to pull his legs.
However, Guaran, who began making preparations immediately after ……, took advantage of the phrase “the choice of any means is left to the field commander,” nominated all the troops to be commanded and the subordinates to be taken by him, and thoroughly eliminated those who were under the control of the heavyweights.
In this way, he eliminated the risk of being trifled with by other executives and ensured freedom in the field.
“I’m off, then. Your Excellency, General Kaliguda.”
The executives lined up to stare at the calm profile of Guaran, who had finished his preparations only a day after the order and came to report his departure, with faces that seemed to bite down on the bitterness.
But even …… Guaran can’t see everything through.
Later on, Guaran was blamed for a major blunder that led to him being criticized behind his back.
It was because among the senior commanders Guaran had chosen was Mathew Ness Huell, a lieutenant colonel at the time and the current leader of the pro-democracy movement.
Guaran explained to the battalion commanders that the 20,000 security forces entrusted with suppressing the demonstrations would wait outside the city for a while, and then disperse the demonstrations in a temporary command center in a large tent.
“If we try to subdue them by force from the beginning, there is a high possibility that they will break out. We must first set the table to talk to the ringleaders. Therefore, we should try to win the hearts and minds of the ringleaders. Find out everything you can about them, from their families to their relatives and friends. Use that as a bargaining chip and offer them honor in return. During this time, share military supplies with the protesters. I’ve brought more than enough food from my stockpile. They’re making a lot of noise about democratization, but at the end of the day, it’s a food problem caused by poverty. This should calm them down a bit. We’ll leave the post-processing to the bureaucrats in Napy.”
In other words, what Guaran is saying is that the ringleaders should be treated politely as the leaders of the protest, and threatened while maintaining face. The battalion commanders believed that he was going to threaten the lives and livelihoods of not only the ringleaders but also their relatives and friends.
Some people might think it was a bit harsh, but considering the way the military regime had been going about it, it was a very moderate measure. At least that’s what the battalion commanders thought.
“The Colonel is using valuable military supplies? And what about Napy’s stockpile? Well, permission is ……”
“No, I brought them on my own. The order was to bring the largest demonstration in history under control as quickly as possible. It’s a small price to pay, isn’t it? You can get the approval after the fact. As long as we take care of the demonstration, they won’t be too upset about it.”
The battalion commanders were surprised by Guaran’s boldness and focused on him with serious faces.
“Do you have any opinions? Any opinion is welcome. I’m not going to impose my ideas on you.”
“The Colonel says we should start with a discussion. …… And that’s right now?”
“Yes. Today is the third day of the protests. The number of people protesting has been increasing, and I’ve heard that it now exceeds 100,000. As soon as we received this order, the city government told the local police and military not to move, but the situation is very dangerous. Besides, the people already know that we are coming near Yangla. So to speak, the people are both anxious and expectant of us. If we do not approach them, we will miss the opportunity. Because the discontented are hasty.”
“Colonel is lenient! If we show a soft face to the people here, we’ll just get carried away! All the same, they are suffering. It’s ridiculous to call for democracy when there’s a little hunger! A good citizen of Miramar should be able to endure this situation and work to enrich the land. If the colonel is in a hurry, it would be best to send the army in immediately to drive them away and educate them.”
Some of the battalion commanders expressed their strong opinions. However, this was close to the thinking of the elitist upper echelons of the military government. And they have never experienced hunger.
“Well, right now, just letting 20,000 troops into the city could cause chaos. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be the same if we overwhelmed them?”
At this moment, the guards outside the tent heard the loud voice of the battalion commanders, and their faces became tense. Many of them were commoners who had volunteered for service. They would do whatever was ordered, but they did not want to point guns at the people.”
In addition, they have a lot of sympathy for the appeals of the poor.
“So, let’s go with a few. Specifically, us.”
“……Whaa!?”
Suddenly, everyone’s eyes focused on the battalion commander who said something bold.
“Hoou, ……, let’s hear what Commander Mathew thinks. If it’s not just about bravado, you know.”
Guaran turned to face Mathew, who had raised his voice with a slight hint of sarcasm.
“Colonel Guaran, I would like to ask you a few questions.”
“What is it?”
“Colonel Guaran, what do you intend to do if the protests break out?”
“You sure say crazy things. Have I not just told you how to prevent that from happening?”
“That’s true. But sometimes it doesn’t work.”
Mathew displayed a soft demeanor, but everyone thought that what he was saying was disrespectful to his superiors.
Guaran also raised his eyebrows momentarily but answered without changing his expression.
“We can’t help it then. We will have to use force to subdue them.”
“In that case, there will be more than a hundred thousand people. The majority of them may escape, but some of them may turn on us. Or rather, they definitely will. If you don’t mind me saying, the captains here, as well as the colonel, seem to be looking down on the people a bit. This will not help the operation and will only add to the confusion.”
The other battalion commanders were outraged by this comment, which was directed at them as well, but Guarqn stopped them with his hand. Mathew continued with a clear face, not caring about the irritation around him.
“Just think about it. They’ve even started a protest. That alone is a dangerous act in our country. And yet, they are doing all of this. As the colonel said, poverty is probably the root cause, but it’s also possible that it’s not their only grievance. If we stop them from venting their frustrations here, it will be like damming a river. There will always be riots.”
“How dare you! If that happens, we’ll make an example out of anyone who disobeys us and kill them. ……”
“If that doesn’t stop it, we’ll be purged. As incompetent commanders who failed to suppress the protests. And again, I would like to add that the number of protesters exceeds 100,000.”
“!?”
The battalion commander, who was about to yell at Mathew, widened his eyes at his statement. As members of the military government, they are well aware of Kaliguda’s political methods. What Mathew said was not entirely wrong.
Also, his calm tone makes it difficult to comprehend what he is saying, but he is saying something very dangerous. In that sense, Mathew is a man with a lot of guts.
“So, let’s hear what Commander Mathew has to say then. Since he said that much. He obviously must have some good ideas.”
The battalion commanders who had been bristling with anger at Guaran’s quiet but strong words shut their mouths. They too had heard rumors about Guaran. That’s why they don’t want to make enemies with him.
However, the one who was the most unafraid to speak out against Guaran was Mathew, who looked the calmest.
“Yes, my idea is based on the Colonel’s plan with a few additions. First of all, we don’t want to break up the protest itself, but rather let it continue. In the meantime, it would be better to talk to the leaders.”
“What nonsense! We’re here to stop the protest!”
The other battalion commanders immediately shouted in anger and disgust.
“Indeed, sir. We’re here to stop the demonstration, but our purpose is to protect the security of the country. And the people are the foundation of the country. So our first priority is to respect and protect the people! If we do anything to harm the people, it will be more than just our own fault. It will be a shame for generations to come.”
For the first time, Mathew’s words became so strong that they echoed through the soldiers outside the tent.
At this point, only Guaran squinted his eyes and showed a thoughtful expression.
“Fumu …… So, commander, you’re saying that we should let the demonstration continue, but not leave it unattended, but let it continue solemnly under our control?”
“That’s right. It would be better not to bring weapons. That’s the bottom line. On top of that, it would be good to distribute food. Women and the elderly, especially those with children, should be given priority. Also, make the discussion notes public. If people know that there is a discussion going on, the possibility of an outburst will be greatly reduced. Listen, everyone, if we blow this thing up, we’ll be purged anyway.”
All the battalion commanders fell silent when he said that.
“The records of the meeting will be made public ……”
“Yes.”
Guaran wrinkled his brow. In his opinion, the discussions with the leaders involved things that he didn’t want anyone to hear.
“Let me draw up the meeting notes. I will prepare them and distribute them with the signatures of those present.”
” …… Thank you very much.”
This time Mathew raised his eyebrow but didn’t go any further.
He thought there was a good chance that Guaran would force him to sign the agenda, but Guaran was his superior. And Mathew also thought that the first priority was the lives of the people, so he turned a blind eye.
“By the way, Commander Mathew.”
Suddenly, Guaran’s eyes sharpened and his voice took on an unmistakable power.
“How may I assist you, Colonel?”
“Let me ask you something. What if the people are about to riot? The Commander tells us not to take any weapons with us. If we are attacked, we will not get away with it. Are you saying we have no right to defend ourselves?”
“No, sir. …… That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Well, then we’ll organize a unit to carry weapons. If something happens, we have to protect ourselves. If we do nothing because we are afraid of being purged after a failure, it will be a disgrace for generations to come. So, ……, I’m putting Commander Mathew in command of that unit.”
“……!”
Guaran raised the corners of his mouth when he saw Mathew’s expression widen.
The other battalion commanders nodded their heads in agreement with this decision, and it was as if Colonel Guaran had given Mathew a break from his earlier bravado. At the same time, they were in awe of Guaran for assigning this task to Mathew, who had a tendency to be overly supportive of the people.
“I understand. If we sense any danger of rioting, we will mobilize. So, Colonel, just to confirm, ……”
“Umu.”
“Am I correct in assuming that it also serves to deter riots?”
“Yes, it’s best if there are no riots. I was thinking about how to prevent riots from occurring, but it seems that the commander was also using his head a lot. Commander, I’ll leave that to you.”
“Your orders will be executed, sir!”
Mathew replied, and Guaran immediately gave the orders to everyone.
—Part I end—
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Thanks for the chapter can’t wait for more 👍
Thanks for the chap~~~