Chapter 25
Breaching the Wall
Marquesal Precinct, Tianjing
Gui Jiabao looked on helplessly as another sector went dark. They were being systematically blinded. All the countless cameras and sensors constantly monitoring the movement of practically every atom in the Capital were being knocked out. And they were hitting so many places at once that he did not know how he ought to be deploying his forces. The situation was completely out of hand.
The Emperor had hand-picked Gui to succeed him as Lord High Commissioner of the Capital Police because he was supposed to be a man who could get things done, but in the hour of crisis, he found himself completely paralyzed. He had never encountered anything like this. What was he supposed to do?
Gui closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been a Peaceman for nearly thirty years. He got his start patrolling the pleasure districts and slowly worked his way up the ladder. For the third son of a minor baron in the eastern borderlands, the Imperial Guard was his best shot at making a name and a living for himself and now he was the Lord High Commissioner. He could not afford to fall apart now.
He could not worry about the Central Block. That was Central's responsibility. Besides the Forbidden and Royal Precincts, all the most critical systems were there in the Central Block, meaning that any disruptions here were likely a diversion. The only thing an intruder would want out here in the slices, except for maybe an attempt on certain noble houses, was control of the docking bays. If the docking bays fell into the enemy's hands, they could land more forces to fully occupy the Capital. Gui needed to prevent that at all costs.
Just as he was about to give the order to send every available man to the docking bays, he stopped himself. As important as it was to keep the docking bays out of the enemy's hands, there was also the access routes to the Central Block to consider. He could not help it if a few rats had already gotten in, but if an occupying force managed to land and overwhelm his men, there would be nothing between them and the Central Block.
"Send the order to all sectors," he told one of the dispatchers. "Divide our manpower into thirds. Two-thirds will go to the docking bays and secure them while the other third will defend the access points to the Central Block. Call on all the houses to send their household troops to reinforce our men at the docking bays. If they cannot hold the docking bays, they must render them inoperable. If a docking bay is lost, the surviving defenders are to fall back to the access points to the Central Block. These points must be defended to the last man.
"If the enemy manages to land more troops, be prepared for a general call-up of any able-bodied man in the Capital. We must defend this place with our lives. Send the order."
"Yes, my lord," the dispatcher said, but as he clicked on his radio, nothing happened. He tried it a couple more times before saying, "My lord, it would seem that our communications have been cut off."
"Then send message runners!" Gui snapped. "Starting with yourself. Go."
"But, my lord, Iā"
"I gave you an order! Now go!"
"Ye-yes, my lord!"
The dispatcher scrambled to the door. As he did, the room went dark.
"They cut the power!" someone cried.
It took a moment for the emergency lighting to come on, filling the room in dull red light. The monitors remained dead, though.
"Get us back online!" Gui shouted.
He pounded his fist on the console.
"Damn it! Damn it all to hell!"