mtl008 Chapter 1090 It Can't Be That Bad
Chapter 1090 It Can't Be That Bad
"Hi!"
Takasaki Gentoku bowed and accepted the order, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes like an ice blade.
"Your Majesty, rest assured. With 'Cherry Blossom' here, there will be no chaos."
Anyone who dares to harm the Tuo people in the slightest, or damage His Majesty's or the Empire's interests, will be shown what true "vanishing into thin air" means.
Inside "Between the Wutong Trees," the aroma of tea wafted through the air. The heavy topics from before had come to a temporary end, and the air in the room seemed to relax a little, yet it was still thick and heavy.
In the courtyard outside the imperial curtain, sparrows in early spring hopped on bare branches, chirping softly, which only made the depths of the imperial palace seem even more silent.
Emperor Hirohito took out a thin scroll from a mother-of-pearl lacquer box on the side of the imperial desk. He did not open it immediately, but instead gently tapped the dark blue cover with his slender fingers. The fingertips touched the cardboard and made a barely audible tapping sound.
A half-smile, a hint of mockery, appeared on his face as his gaze lingered on Takasaki Gentoku's perpetually lazy smile, as if he were admiring an interesting object.
"Speaking of which, there's a small matter I've been wanting to ask you about." The Emperor began, his tone as relaxed as if he were discussing what tea and snacks to have for dinner, but beneath that ease, something else was clearly hidden: "Yuan De, do you know that last year I sent Ishihara Kanji to Tianjin and Beiping? Besides official business, I also privately assigned him a special mission?"
Takasaki Motonori's hand, which was holding the Tenmoku teacup, paused almost imperceptibly. A slight ripple appeared on the surface of the warm tea, which quickly subsided.
His carefree smile remained unchanged: "Advisor Ishihara? The tasks His Majesty assigns him are naturally matters of national importance concerning the fate of the nation. Yuan De is just a brute who only knows how to fight and kill; how could he possibly understand such confidential matters?"
"Stop playing dumb with me." The Emperor laughed and scolded, "He was acting on my secret orders to collect, or rather, 'receive' some... well, quite historically and artistically valuable items from the former capital of China, Beiping."
Especially the valuable items from the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and those former Qing Dynasty princely residences that were scattered due to the turbulent times.
Upon hearing this, Jinweiwen's eyelashes drooped almost imperceptibly.
He was clearly aware of the matter and may even have handled part of the list.
As Prime Minister, he was all too aware of what this "historically valuable and artistically interesting" collection meant. It was by no means a refined scholar's collection, but rather the plundering of China's millennia-old heritage by the Japanese army after occupying Beiping and Tianjin. They did this through various clandestine means, openly looting and symbolically "purchasing" the artifacts under the guise of "protecting them from the ravages of war or destruction by rioters."
Bronze artifacts, Song and Yuan dynasty paintings and calligraphy, official kiln porcelain, imperial jewelry, rare ancient books... This was not a large-scale, overt looting by the military, which would have been handled by other departments. Rather, it was a more covert and clandestine act of plunder, more akin to a "personal collection," with participants often being members of the royal family, prominent nobles, and some high-ranking generals well-versed in such matters.
Ishihara Kanji, the key figure among the younger generation of the former General Staff, has now sided with the nobility, which is tantamount to aligning himself with the Emperor. It is not surprising that he has been entrusted with such a "refined post".
The Emperor gently placed the dossier on his lap and continued speaking in his slow, deliberate tone, as if recounting an interesting anecdote unrelated to himself: "Ishihara handled most things fairly well."
Three batches, totaling 174 boxes, have all been safely transported to Yokohama Port. Experts from the Imperial Household Agency and the Imperial Museum have taken over, conducted preliminary sorting, registration, and storage.
"I have reviewed the list, and there are indeed some excellent items that would enrich the Shosoin's collection."
He paused, picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip of the slightly cool Gyokuro, letting the bitter aftertaste spread on his tongue, but his gaze never left Takasaki Gentoku.
"but..."
These two simple words made the air in the room seem even more stagnant, and even the crackling sound of the oak wood burning in the fireplace seemed particularly abrupt.
"According to a secret report that Ishihara later privately handed to me," the Emperor's fingertip traced a meaningless arc across the dossier cover, "that most exquisite and precious treasures 'disappeared' in Tianjin, they were stolen..."
"Missing? Stolen...stolen..." Takasaki Gentoku blinked, his thick eyebrows raised, perfectly displaying astonishment and confusion, with an innocent look on his face: "You know Tianjin, it's a place where shallow waters breed turtles and big shots are everywhere."
Since our arrival, the area has become a melting pot of various forces: bandits, defeated soldiers, the Green Gang, the Red Spear Society, and even lurking Kuomintang agents and underground Communist Party members... In this chaotic and unpredictable situation, could we have fallen prey to some ruthless bandits?
Or... were they hijacked by resistance fighters in an attempt to damage the empire's prestige?
"Ishihara Kanji is incredibly intelligent; didn't he try to follow the clues further?"
"Investigate?" The Emperor tilted his head, his tone as calm as if discussing the weather, but beneath that calmness lay a chilling amusement: "Does he dare to investigate?"
The Emperor leaned forward slightly, his gaze pressing down on Takasaki Motonori's face as if it were a physical object.
"On that very night, at that very hour, the Tianjin Japanese Military Police Headquarters happened to have several well-equipped mobile units conducting 'nighttime security raids' on nearby roads."
Ostensibly, the operation was to apprehend anti-Japanese elements who might have infiltrated the port area and to investigate illegally stockpiled supplies.
The officer leading the group was named... Oh, let me think." He pretended to ponder, lightly tapping his temple with his finger: "Right, he's the Sakai family's son, isn't he?"
Oh, and the Nakagawa family too...
"Hey, I heard... those two rascals are quite trusted by Takuto, and they handle a lot of 'inconvenient' things."
Having said all that, the truth is as thin as a cicada's wing, almost easily pierced.
Although the Emperor did not explicitly name anyone, every word and every detail was like a precise carving knife, clearly pointing the finger at the same person.
Your son, Takasaki Takuto, Takasaki Motonori, commanded his elite military police force to pull off a brilliant double-cross, secretly intercepting and embezzling the most precious batch of Chinese cultural relics that the Imperial Family had specifically requested!
The flames in the fireplace suddenly shot up, casting shimmering light and shadow on Takasaki Gentoku's face.
The smile on his face finally faltered, like a finely crafted mask cracking.
Setting down the teacup, the porcelain made a crisp "click" as it touched the rosewood tabletop.
He rubbed his calloused hands together, revealing just the right amount of embarrassment, awkwardness, and a hint of being wronged.
"This... Your Majesty, could there be some misunderstanding?"
Or is someone deliberately framing him to sow discord between Tuo Ren and the royal family? He carefully chose his words, his tone tentative: "You know Tuo Ren, he can be a bit willful and mischievous at times, and he can also be quite audacious."
But... shall we intercept what Your Majesty specifically requested?
This is incredibly audacious!
He should have understood the stakes involved; he wouldn't have acted like this... Isn't he just lacking in common sense?
Ayako watched with a mischievous glint in her eyes as the Emperor pressed Takasaki Motonori for answers, secretly chuckling to herself.