Lower the flags and stop beating the drums

  Tokyo, Japan, Prime Minister's Office.

  The entire afternoon, the staff at the Prime Minister's office were on edge, fearing they would become the target of the Prime Minister's wrath and feeling sorry for the cabinet members who were being summoned one after another. The general election was imminent, and under the influence of the economic crisis, the Liberal Democratic Party's approval ratings had been plummeting. In the last public opinion poll, it had even fallen to its lowest point in over 50 years. A group of ignorant thugs had made a big blunder at this critical juncture, and it would be strange if the Prime Minister didn't blow his top.

  At six o'clock, after two officials from the Ministry of Defense in charge of the Navy and the Army left, the Prime Minister's residence finally calmed down.

  After several hours, Prime Minister Aso, who had been worn out by the general election, gradually lost his "sharp spirit" after scolding more than a dozen cabinet members in a row. He couldn't understand why those defense ministry officials would make such low-level mistakes.

  Don't those fools know the consequences of provoking China at this time?

  To take chestnuts from the fire for others, they don't even consider their own party's interests. Can they still be considered qualified politicians?

  As he thought about it, a surge of nameless anger rose up from the bottom of Masa's heart. In his emotional state, Masa really wanted to shoot those fools with one bullet, so as not to add more trouble in the future.

  Masao, controlled by anger, did not notice that the door was pushed open and an old man with a cane walked in.

  Until two dry coughs were heard, Asaoka finally woke up.

  "Uncle, how did you come?"

  "I heard you've been in a rage all afternoon, so I came over to take a look."

  The old man sat down on the sofa, and Masaaki carefully made a cup of fragrant tea and quietly placed it in front of him. The old man was called Fukuda Takeo, the second son of Japan's former Prime Minister Fukuda Takeo, the younger brother of Fukuda Yasuo, and also Masaaki's uncle, the current head of the Fukuda family that founded the Liberal Democratic Party.

  Unlike most members of the Fukuda family, Fukuda Toyoharu did not participate in politics but was a real power holder.

  At first, Yasuo Fukuda competed with Taro Aso for the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party. Fukuda won because he believed that Aso's ideas were too radical and not suitable for the political atmosphere at the time. Later, Japan experienced its worst post-war economic crisis, and Fukuda failed to show decisive leadership during the crisis. As a result, Aso replaced Fukuda as Prime Minister of Japan with Fukuda's consent.

  "Uncle, you're not in good health, be sure to rest,"

  "I'm very clear about this, no need for you to worry." Fukuda said with a straight face, sitting upright on the sofa, his expression serious. "I've already seen the news from this morning, I heard you scolded all the officials at the Ministry of Defense?"

  "They're good at making claims, and yet at this time..."

  "Was it their fault?" As the cane struck the floor with a loud thud, Masaaki shut his mouth, and the aura of intimidation emanating from Fukuda Takeo instantly left the Japanese Prime Minister breathless. "As Prime Minister, you can't even control a small Ministry of Defense. This time, it was arranged by the US, what else could those officials at the Ministry of Defense do?"

  "But..."

  "I don't deny that you've been very diligent since taking office and have been striving to become the leader who will lead the great Japanese nation out of crisis, but you've never grasped the key point and don't even know what the core issue is."

  Aso immediately lowered his head and didn't dare look straight at Fukuda Takeo.

  "Think carefully, if you don't know where the key to the problem lies, you will never become a great leader of the Chinese nation."

  After finishing speaking, Fukuda Toshio stood up and left the Prime Minister's study.

  Masao stood still, with beads of sweat as big as beans rolling down his forehead one after another.

  Fukuda's last "ultimatum" has been issued, and if the current predicament cannot be resolved, Aso will not only lose his position as Prime Minister but also reach the end of his political career.

  It wasn't until two or three minutes had passed that Masaaki suddenly came to his senses, rushing over to the desk and grabbing the red phone receiver.

  On the other end of the line was a red phone in the Oval Office of the White House on the opposite side of the globe.

  Aubrey? Jaber had just finished breakfast and was busy processing today's first batch of official documents.

  This is the 553rd day of Joe Biden's presidency. In these 553 days and nights, Joe Biden has been more like a firefighter, constantly solving all sorts of endless problems. If the president is the captain of a ship, then in these 553 days, Joe Biden has been busy plugging the holes on the "America" to keep it moving forward in the financial storm without capsizing. As for when he can sail out of the storm zone, Joe Biden doesn't have a clue either, because he can't see that far.

  He who does not think of the distant future will soon find himself in trouble close at hand.

  This Chinese proverb best describes Jaber's situation at this time. All sorts of problems have seriously distracted him, and even made him rely on medication prescribed by doctors to barely fall asleep. In this case, as the supreme commander of the world's number one power, Jaber is not doing his job conscientiously.

  Another thing that has happened recently is even more exhausting for Jia Pei.

  He only found out about the conflict in Africa and the mysterious cargo months later, after the CIA botched an operation and the "Houston" attack submarine mysteriously "went down" in the Indian Ocean, from CIA Director Jonsson.

  To avoid a second "Intelligence Gate" incident, Jia initially was very cautious.

  It wasn't until Jonathan used the CIA director's position to guarantee and submitted a joint letter signed by more than 50 senior scientists who had been working in Area 51 at Mickel Air Force Base in Colorado that Jabel raised his vigilance and immediately authorized the CIA to mobilize all military resources of the United States and its allies to conduct search and interception operations.

  Yesterday evening, Jaber received both the final report of action and Jonassen's resignation letter.

  If the conflict could be ended with the CIA director resigning, that would still be a fortunate misfortune. The problem is that Jonassen's resignation will not compensate for any loss to the United States. More ridiculously, until the end, the CIA did not even figure out whether the mysterious cargo had fallen into the hands of "Dongfang Long" or "Beixiong". Because just when the Chinese Navy was making a big move, the Russian Pacific Fleet also fully mobilized and confronted the US-Japanese fleet that was tracking and monitoring the nuclear submarine "Yuri Gagarin" in the eastern waters of the Kuril Islands for over ten hours, with a scene no less intense than the East China Sea incident.

  The situation remains murky, but one thing is certain: the United States will be the ultimate loser.

  The loss of over a hundred special forces in Africa and the mysterious "disappearance" of the nuclear submarine "Houston" are nothing. The US may have missed the most important discovery of this century, with the greatest impact on humanity, and is likely to lose its position as the global leader in cutting-edge technology in the next few years.

  When the phone rang, Jia Pei habitually picked up the blue receiver, only to find that the call was coming from the red phone. After a slight hesitation, Jia Pei picked up the red receiver.

  Another troublesome thing, a huge troublesome thing.

  Last night I received a hotline call from the head of state of China, and then the Japanese Prime Minister called at this time. Apparently, East Asia has become lively.

  Half an hour later, Secretary of State Lynch arrived at the Oval Office.

  "You need to readjust your work plan."

  "Adjust work plan?" Lin Qi had just sat down and his butt hadn't even warmed up yet.

  "Alright, replace me on the visit to the three East Asian countries." Jia Pei handed the Secretary of State a cup of coffee. "The situation in East Asia is very unstable, China has just expressed its anger, and Japan's general election is imminent, someone needs to go and soothe the emotions of both sides."

  Lin Qi picked up his coffee cup, thought for a moment and said: "I've also seen the news. This time it's been blown out of proportion. I didn't expect Japan's Ministry of Defense to stir up trouble at this time. The problem doesn't seem simple."

  "It's not going to be easy." Jaber forced a smile, he didn't tell the most important cabinet member about that important matter. "Apart from easing tensions between the two countries, you also need to probe China's attitude."

  "What does it mean?" Lin Qi put down his coffee cup, feeling that the president hadn't finished speaking.

  "You also know that now all countries think China is the only country that can help the whole world get out of the financial crisis. A while ago, weren't they showing off and making many people think that China will become a great power on an equal footing with us?" Jaber said, observing the Secretary's expression. "Take this opportunity to figure out China's bottom line, so we can be better prepared."

  Lin Qi did not show any surprise or suspicious expression. He knew that the President had another purpose.

  "Alright, I'll arrange it as soon as possible." Lin Qi didn't think much more about it. "I'll wrap up the work on hand and once the diplomatic arrangements are made, I'll set off."

  "I'll personally arrange it for you, and tomorrow you can fly to Tokyo."

  "Tomorrow?" This time, Lin Qi was a little surprised.

  "Right, tomorrow. I've already arranged for an air force plane to be ready, you can depart early tomorrow morning."

  "I'll go back and pack my luggage now."

  After seeing off the Secretary of State, Jia Pei did not rush to deal with the tedious documents on his desk, but first made a hotline call to the heads of state and government of the two countries to report on Lin Qi's visit on his behalf. Then, Jia Pei took out the Cuban cigar in the sandalwood box and walked behind the window facing the garden.

  Until the cigar was finished, Jia Pei still stood motionless behind the window.

  In a few hours, a series of unrelated thoughts emerged in his mind and wove into a clear network. Gradually, a clear thought appeared in Jia Pei's mind.

  In his personal view, it is much more likely that China is secretly plotting against the United States.

  However, in terms of personal feelings, Jia Pei is more willing to believe that it was Russia behind the scenes. Because Russia used more than 70 years to ultimately prove that she was just a defeated general under the United States. China has never been defeated by the United States, and China is also the only country that can challenge the dominant position of the United States today and in the foreseeable future.

  Has God stopped blessing America?