allonlinenovel Chapter 929 War of Words
Chapter 929 War of Words
The Imperial Palace was silent. Tojo Takehiro, the Prime Minister of the Fuso Empire, was walking hurriedly through the long corridor, his face full of solemnity and anxiety. In his hand, he held a war report that he had just received. The report recorded the cruel fact that Osaka Castle had been attacked by air.
When he arrived at the imperial study and gently pushed open the door, he saw Emperor Ninto sitting at the desk with a book in his hands, but his eyes were looking into the distance empty, as if they had lost all color.
In the imperial study, the flickering candlelight illuminated Emperor Jindong's extremely pale face and his crumbling body.
Tojo Takehiko's heart sank involuntarily.
He hesitated for a moment, his pace slowed down unconsciously, and his eyes lingered on Emperor Jindong. He knew very well that this emperor had endured too much pain and pressure. Now that most of the country had been lost, the future of the empire was full of unknowns and confusion.
At this moment, telling him the bad news about Osaka Castle was undoubtedly a heavy blow to him.
However, as a subject, Takehide Tojo knew that he had to fulfill his duties.
He took a deep breath, mustered his courage, slowly walked towards Emperor Rendong, and said softly: "Your Majesty, I have urgent military information to report."
Emperor Rendong slowly raised his head and said, "Xiong Ying, now that most of the country has been lost, I have nothing left to lose. If you have any bad news, just tell me directly."
Hearing this, Tojo Yuei lowered his head, considered his words, and then slowly said: "Your Majesty, last night, our enemies launched a large-scale air raid on Osaka Castle. According to the news from the front line, parts of Osaka Castle have been reduced to scorched earth, with heavy losses. We are currently organizing rescue operations, but the situation is still very serious."
In the imperial study, the candlelight flickered. Emperor Jinto's face was livid, and his eyes were burning with anger, as if he was going to set the whole room on fire. His clenched fists trembled slightly, showing his inner anger and unwillingness. Tojo Yuei stood aside, with his head lowered, his eyes wandering between Emperor Jinto's angry expression and his own heart, with mixed feelings in his heart.
"How ridiculous!" Emperor Jindong finally couldn't help but slammed the table in anger. "Osaka, that's our second largest city, with more than two million residents! They are so reckless, killing innocent people without caring about the lives of the people. They are simply insane! This behavior is no different from that of beasts!"
Hearing this, Tojo Yuei felt bitter. He knew that Emperor Jinto's anger was not groundless, and the fate of Osaka Castle was indeed heartbreaking. However, he also knew that they were not innocent in this war. In the past, the Fuso Empire had launched wars of aggression against other Asian countries, and it was not uncommon to massacre civilians and capture prisoners for fun. Now, this kind of thing has fallen on their heads, but they themselves can't stand it. This is indeed a kind of irony.
He looked up at Emperor Jindong, and hesitated to speak. But he finally mustered up the courage and whispered: "Your Majesty, you are right. The fate of Osaka Castle is indeed sad. But this is also part of the war. What we did to other countries before, we are now going to suffer. The key now is how to deal with it."
When Emperor Jindong heard this, his eyes narrowed slightly. He looked at Tojo Takehide, as if waiting for his next words.
"Your Majesty, we need to do two things now," Tojo continued. "First, the news of the attack on Osaka will surely stir up a storm. We must calm the people as quickly as possible and properly resettle the victims. This is the key to stabilizing the people's hearts and maintaining order."
Emperor Rento nodded in agreement.
"Secondly," Tojo continued, "the attack on Osaka is indeed good news in some ways. It can better arouse the people's resentment against China and give us more moral advantages in the war. But at the same time, we must also speak out in official newspapers and in international public opinion to condemn China's actions. We must let the world know that we are the victims and we are the righteous party."
The next morning, the official newspapers of Japan, Kyoto Morning Post and Fujisan Daily, flooded the world. The front pages of these two newspapers, without exception, published shocking photos of Osaka Castle after the air raid - broken walls, raging fires, panicked people, and helpless eyes, all of which told the tragic story of the disaster.
Below the photo, two newspapers strongly condemned China's air raid. They used passionate writing to accuse the Chinese army of cruelty and ruthlessness, accusing them of killing innocent people without regard for the lives of the people. Those fierce articles in the newspapers seemed to nail China to the pillar of shame in history. At the same time, the two newspapers also called on the international community to jointly sanction China and seek justice for Fuso.
However, the reality is far more complicated than the words in these newspapers. Under the shadow of war, the attitude of the international community has become extremely subtle. Many discerning people can see that the defeat of the Fuso Empire is an inevitable trend. In this war, Fuso has lost too much, whether it is military advantage or international support. Therefore, most countries have chosen to remain silent or wait and see for those who call for sanctions against China. They understand that getting involved in this dispute at this time is tantamount to playing with fire.
In the Fukuoka headquarters, Su Zhengyang sat quietly at his desk, holding the Kyoto Morning Post in his hand. He had a sneer on his face, and his eyes revealed a kind of disdain and ridicule. He gently threw the newspaper on the table and sneered: "The Japanese devils have started a war of words. However, these are just futile. The victors are the kings and the losers are the bandits. History will witness everything. What they need to do now is not to shout slogans and engage in verbal battles here, but to find a way to deal with our attack as soon as possible."
Su Zhengyang stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the vast sky outside.
"Pass the order down," he turned around and said to the staff officer beside him, "Intensify the offensive, and move faster! I want to conquer Kyoto in the shortest possible time and make their emperor kneel before me and beg for mercy!"
"Yes, President."
"Also, send a telegram to Liu Chengxu. After taking over the Waka region, they have rested long enough. Tell them to send troops immediately to take over Nara and Osaka to further increase the pressure on Fuso!"
From the headquarters, orders were continuously transmitted to the front line one after another. The entire expeditionary force was like a sophisticated war machine, advancing in an orderly manner.