ebookland Chapter 982 The sky is falling
Chapter 982 The sky is falling
As Tojo Takehiro and Watanabe Motoyasu were discussing the deployment of the two acropolises, Otsu and Uji, time passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye, it was already an hour later. During the discussion, the two men sometimes frowned, sometimes looked at each other, and together they planned for the future of Fuso. Watanabe Motoyasu proposed to set up multiple layers of defense around the acropolis, using the terrain advantage to deal with the Chinese army, and at the same time strengthen aerial reconnaissance to ensure that any movement of China can be discovered and responded to in a timely manner. Tojo Takehiro emphasized that while deploying defenses, the safety of the people and the evacuation plan must also be considered to ensure that even in the most unfavorable circumstances, casualties can be minimized.
Just as Watanabe Motoyasu was about to end the discussion and go to the Otsu front to check on the troops and boost morale with practical actions, a burst of hurried footsteps broke the silence of the office. Then, a cabinet intelligence liaison officer rushed in with a panicked look. His arrival was like a bolt from the blue, instantly making the already tense atmosphere even more depressing.
"Report to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Military Affairs!" The liaison officer's voice was stammering due to nervousness, and sweat was sliding down his forehead. Obviously, the news he brought was not optimistic.
Tojo Yuei's expression suddenly darkened, and he sternly rebuked, "You are so flustered and have no manners at all. How can you be so disrespectful! Tell me, what happened?"
The liaison officer spoke with difficulty, his voice trembling: "We...we have lost contact with the evacuation teams of Prince Inqi and Prince Incheon. The signal is interrupted, and we cannot determine their exact location. And...and Prince Inyu has also...lost contact."
This sentence was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples.
Tojo Takehida and Watanabe Motoyasu's faces turned pale in an instant. They looked at each other and read the same shock and anxiety in each other's eyes.
"How could this happen? Hasn't the most reliable escort team been arranged?" Watanabe Motoyasu asked in disbelief, his voice trembling with anger and disappointment.
The liaison officer lowered his head and spoke even weaker: "We...we don't know either. Maybe there was an emergency, or the communication equipment failed. We have sent out a search and rescue team, but there is no news yet."
After hearing the news from the liaison officer, Tojo Yuei's face instantly turned livid. He stood up abruptly, his eyes wide open as if he was about to spit fire. He strode towards Watanabe Motoyasu, his finger almost poking the other's nose, and his voice rang out like thunder: "Watanabe Motoyasu! How on earth did you arrange the evacuation?! If all the princes have problems, the entire Fuso will be finished! Do you know what this means?!"
Watanabe Motoyasu's face was also very ugly, with cold sweat sliding down his cheeks. He had never seen Tojo Takehiko so angry. He tried to explain: "Your Excellency the Prime Minister, I... I have arranged the most capable escort team, and each team is equipped with the most advanced communication equipment. I... I really didn't expect something like this to happen."
Tojo Yuei didn't listen to his explanation at all. He waved his fist angrily: "Didn't expect that?! This is your dereliction of duty! Do you know that Inqi, Incheon, and Inyu are the future of Fuso and the hope of the country! If anything happens to them, how can you and I explain to His Majesty?!"
At this moment, Watanabe Motoyasu grabbed the liaison officer by the collar and lifted him up. His eyes seemed to be spitting fire: "Tell me! When did you lose contact?! How did you do it?!"
Liaison officer Matsumoto Rikidan was so frightened that he trembled all over. He answered tremblingly, "Just...just yesterday afternoon, after Prince Inki's evacuation team arrived at Maizuru Port, they told us that everything went well. After they boarded the ship and left, they...completely lost contact. As for Prince Inyu, he had agreed to send a signal to ensure safety after arriving in Changbin, but...there was no movement. I...I originally thought that the trip was delayed for some reason, until today, when all the royal evacuation teams lost contact, I realized the seriousness of the matter."
After hearing this, Watanabe Motoyasu threw the liaison officer to the ground, his eyes filled with anger and despair.
He knew very well that this incident not only concerned the safety of the royal family, but also the future of the entire Fuso. If the princes really met with misfortune, the situation in Fuso would become extremely serious.
Tojo Yuei took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down: "Immediately activate the emergency plan and intensify the search. We must find the princes."
Liaison officer Matsumoto Rikidan knelt on the ground, his face pale, his eyes full of fear and self-blame. He spoke again tremblingly, his voice as thin as a mosquito: "Prime Minister, Lord Watanabe, I have... I have arranged to search for the princes with all my strength. All available search and rescue teams have set out, and the communications department is also continuously trying to restore contact."
Hearing this, Tojo Yuei's expression did not ease. The worst possible scenario kept flashing through his mind, and he felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on his heart, making it hard for him to breathe. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. If the princes really fell into the hands of the other party, then the entire Fuso royal family, and even the future of the entire country, would be in an unprecedented crisis.
Thinking of this, Tojo Yuei could no longer bear the anxiety and anger in his heart, he strode to Watanabe Motoyasu, his eyes wide open, as if he was about to spit fire. He suddenly raised his hand and slapped Watanabe Motoyasu with a powerful force, with endless anger and disappointment, almost knocking him to the ground.
"Watanabe Motoyasu!" Tojo Takehide's roar echoed in the office, "Why don't you go find the prince! Especially Prince Inyu, he is the future of the country and the hope of the royal family! If anything happens to him, I will skin you alive!"
Watanabe Motoyasu staggered and almost fell to the ground, with a red and swollen slap mark on his cheek. He subconsciously rubbed his swollen cheek, his eyes full of shock and fear. He had never seen Tojo Takehiro so angry, nor had he ever felt such a strong sense of oppression.
After receiving the order and leaving, Watanabe Motoyasu immediately summoned his most elite intelligence personnel and search and rescue teams for emergency deployment.
The intelligence personnel acted quickly, using the resources at hand to try to restore contact with several evacuation teams. However, no matter how hard they tried, the signals they sent fell on deaf ears and received no response. Watanabe Motoyasu stood aside, frowning, praying in his heart, hoping that nothing would go wrong.
Time passed by minute by minute, and for a whole day, the evacuation team was still out of contact. Watanabe Motoyasu's mood became heavier and heavier, and the anxiety and fear in his heart surged like a tide, almost drowning him.
He tried to convince himself that this was just a temporary loss of contact, and that perhaps the evacuation team was avoiding the enemy's pursuit and could not respond in time. However, his intuition deep in his heart told him that things were far from that simple.
As night fell, Watanabe Motoyasu sat alone in his office, and the figures of several princes appeared in front of him. Their smiles and voices seemed to still echo in his ears. However, now, their lives and deaths were unknown, and their whereabouts were unknown.
Watanabe Motoyasu couldn't help but think of the worst scenario: the princes were most likely in danger and had fallen into the hands of the Chinese. Thinking of this, his heart ached like a knife, and he couldn't imagine what such consequences would mean to Fuso.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his fear and anxiety. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not escape the cruel reality: Fusang's sky had collapsed.