Chapter 5, Hearts of Iron: Empire of the Rising Sun (Part 2)
PS: Correct a small mistake. The nickname of the B-29 strategic bomber is "Super Flying Fortress", not "Flying Fortress". Two words are missing in front.
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In the Japanese archipelago at the end of September, the autumn colors are full of red, and the leaves are flowing red. They are gorgeous, as delicate as fire, and as red as fat and clouds, which is touching.
——As the saying goes, "Appreciate the scarlet cherry blossoms in spring and the red leaves in autumn." Now it's the season of red leaves all over the mountains. The red leaves are as bright as fire, the leaves are colorful, and the forests are dyed... Various kinds of red leaves compete in Tokyo's famous Hibiya Park. The battle of beauty allows people to be immersed in it, and they can experience three artistic conceptions of watching red leaves: first, the colorful red leaves, second, the red leaves in full swing, and third, the red leaves floating in the air as they fall. It is really gorgeous like haze, gorgeous but not strong, charming but not charming.
Of course, this kind of leisurely feeling of admiring red leaves is limited to a very small number of people who have money, leisure and a worry-free life. It is definitely not something that can be felt by those mud-legged people who have to work all day long and have no knowledge of the wind, flowers, snow and moon. Now they only have A craving: How can I fill my belly?
——Japan’s war of aggression against China that began in the 1930s brought huge benefits. Relying on the rich minerals and grains in Northeast China, as well as sugar and rice from Taiwan, the living standards of ordinary Japanese people reached a peak in 1938. But then, as the war of aggression against China fell into a quagmire that could not be resolved quickly, military expenditures ballooned, and there were sanctions from the United States and the United Kingdom, Japan's domestic life gradually became difficult.
When the Pacific War broke out, the living standards of ordinary people in Japan plummeted. In the eyes of the Japanese people, after experiencing illusory glory and short-lived joy, what this war brought them was endless shortages of daily necessities, food Rationing, inflation, a booming black market and long working hours. During these dark days, the Japanese people suffered more than any other nation that waged war.
As early as the first month of the outbreak of the Pacific War, Japanese cities began to ration food, charcoal, and even soy sauce, with each person only receiving a ration of 330 grams of rice per day. Families purchased rice at designated rice stores with their grain purchase coupons, and a white rice ban was issued, requiring brown rice and polished rice to be mixed. Next, the rationing system was extended to cloth, candles, soap and almost all daily necessities.
What’s even more frightening is that in order to meet the large demand for metal raw materials for weapons production, Japan has begun to dig deep in the country. City residents were forced to make the ultimate sacrifice. Tokyo’s metal street lamp brackets, railroad tracks, metal traffic signs, and various signs on buildings were all dismantled. Even the copper gates of the Yasukuni Shrine were transported to the arsenal as raw materials for the production of bullets. Shinto shrines in Japan contributed bronze shrines; Buddhist temples contributed bells and gongs. The police went out in force and went door-to-door to force housewives to hand over their household utensils. It was stipulated that each family could only leave one pot and one metal bucket. Next, everyone was forced to replace the original aluminum one-yen coins with newly minted tin coins...
In Tokyo during the war, all the joy and laughter seemed to have been burned away by the flames of war. Weary citizens perform tedious tasks like robots and suffer from chronic hunger. The only thoughts in my numb mind are how long I have to hold on to get off work today, or how much quota is left in the rice and charcoal ration book at home, whether I can find some good stuff on the black market, or pawn a certain family heirloom at a more reasonable price. ... On the buildings on both sides of the street, you can occasionally see a few flags congratulating the "Empire's Great Victory", but they have long been covered with dust, just like people's mentality towards war.
Despite such sacrifices, they still failed to prevent the haze of war from getting closer and closer to them. The American bombs falling from time to time every three days always reminded them that war was around them. Although it was impossible to dispatch a large fleet and could only carry out sneak attacks in small formations or even single aircraft, the B-29 strategic bombers' high-altitude bombing of Japanese cities was very inaccurate, and most of the bombs were simply dropped. Moreover, the long distance of 4,500 kilometers from Midway to Japan forced American pilots to greatly reduce their bomb load in order to install temporary auxiliary fuel tanks. The average number of casualties caused to Tokyo citizens every day may not be as high as usual car accidents and production accidents. ...But the fear alone is enough to drive people crazy. To make matters worse, there are rumors that, in view of the Japanese army's use of poison gas on the Australian battlefield, the US military is preparing to bomb Tokyo with poison gas bombs in retaliation soon...
Even if only one bomber visits Tokyo, the relevant authorities have to mobilize the entire city's reservists and civilians, ordering them to join the voluntary fire brigade and emergency rescue teams to dig air-raid shelters in addition to exhausting work. Once a U.S. plane strikes late at night, people all over Tokyo have to get up tiredly and put on gas masks... What's more terrible is that after Americans discovered the above situation through some channels, they became more and more fond of nighttime. Bombing - even if the bombing fails to destroy anything of value and can keep the Japanese in Tokyo awake, it can still be considered a success.
As a result, in the past few years, the overwork death rate in Japan's rear factories has been astonishingly high, rapidly evolving from "sweatshops" to "death factories"...
At this moment, around Hibiya Park, many families whose children have joined the army have put up signs saying "No". Air-raid shelters are being dug everywhere in the once bustling shopping street, filled with new soil and broken bricks. The pavement has been dug up and a springboard has been set up. From time to time, people push loaded trolleys across. Some people stood on hastily erected scaffolding and painted the brightly colored store buildings with ugly yellow and green camouflage paint. Someone posted air-raid paper strips in the shape of "meter" on the glass windows. The neon lights have been removed, all the display windows are empty, and several shop assistants are busy removing glass and nailing wooden boards...
However, it is good to have work to keep busy at this time. The most unlucky ones are those poor people whose properties and houses were burned to the ground by US bombings. Now they are homeless and can only live on the streets, especially those children and women who lack the ability to work. Now I can only set up my bedding in Hibiya Park and sleep in the open for the time being. If it were in peaceful times, someone would have driven them away long ago. But in this day and age, the police and gendarmes have a rare sense of sympathy and turn a blind eye to these homeless people who "occupy illegal land".
More importantly, at this time in Hibiya Park, a group of "kind-hearted navy officers and soldiers" were distributing relief to these homeless people, and the content was surprisingly rich: large pieces of white bread, hot seaweed soup , as well as a variety of nutritious seafood, such as dried salted fish, Canned crabmeat, canned herring, canned pollack, canned cod, etc. were all brought into the park by truckloads and placed directly on the grass, attracting countless salivating eyes - even before the war. In times of peace, such delicacies are not something ordinary people can often taste.
However, the Imperial Navy's relief food is not free. Anyone who wants to eat these good things must sign a "sale contract" and sell the entire army to the Imperial Navy, and bid farewell to the homeland of the Japanese archipelago. , immigrating to the war-torn South Pacific or the Australian continent thousands of miles away to engage in "armed reclamation" - this requirement, which is similar to selling into slavery, obviously makes many people suspicious. For example, women are very worried about whether they will be stuffed into a "comfort station" after arriving in Nanyang... Their helplessly growling stomachs cannot resist the temptation. Thinking about their next meal, they have no idea what to eat, and it may be very difficult. Soon they would be drafted or called into some kind of "stand-up team", but in the end most people still gritted their teeth and signed up.
Suddenly, people everywhere in the park were squatting on the ground, shaking their cheeks, and devouring these exquisite foods that they had not tasted for an unknown period of time.
Of course, such a dazzling array of precious foods has also attracted many greedy eyes with malicious intentions. Although the navy uniforms worn by those in charge were enough to deter ordinary gangsters, there were some people who were so smart that they actually called in the gendarmerie, trying to charge them with "illegal gathering of people with ulterior motives" and so on, and confiscate the food. Collect... However, after a dispute, the military police were defeated in despair, because a navy chief happened to be here to support his own people: that is the commander-in-chief of the combined fleet, Yamamoto Isugao Six Admirals!
Facing such a military god-level figure, even if the military police commander and former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo arrived, I would not dare to offend him. There is no way, Marshal Yamamoto has been galloping across the oceans in the past four years, repeatedly breaking the brilliant record of the US Pacific Fleet. , it’s really too scary. There were more than fifty American and British battleships and aircraft carriers sunk under his command. The total tonnage of the sunk ships was said to have exceeded two million tons. Even Togo Heihachiro, who annihilated the Russian fleet in the Battle of Tsushima in the past, would probably feel inferior to Marshal Yamamoto's impressive achievements.
In Japan, Marshal Yamamoto's reputation has surpassed that of the ancient military god Kusunoki Masashige, and his photos and statues are placed in shrines for worship. And the model of his flagship Yamato is also the most popular toy among boys... In front of such a god-like figure, how dare a mere military policeman make a mistake?
Immediately afterwards, after the military police who came to make trouble resigned, Marshal Yamamoto Isoroku was immediately surrounded by young students who came up to ask for autographs, and several guards were sweating profusely. And many Tokyo citizens who could still barely make ends meet couldn't help but think of "going to Southeast Asia" after seeing this situation - seeing that life at home is getting worse day by day, why not just make up their minds and go overseas? The worst outcome is death! At least I can eat and drink well before I die, not to mention that even if I stay in Tokyo, won’t I have to be bombarded by beautiful animals?
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Under a certain maple tree in a corner of Hibiya Park, two officers in army uniforms were drinking and chatting while watching the conflict scene not far away. Like other wealthy and idle people who came out to see the red leaves, a layer of cloth was spread on the grass under their buttocks, and there were bottles of sake and some side dishes to go with the wine.
"...Tsuji-kun, the timing of your return is unlucky. You can't see the cherry blossoms in the spring, so you can just enjoy the red leaves in the autumn!"
Colonel Hattori Takushiro, Chief of the Operations Section of the Army General Staff Headquarters, sipped the sake in a shallow dish and murmured sourly, "...Oh, Yamamoto Isoroku is recruiting people without permission in Tokyo again to win over people's hearts. He is really arrogant. . I heard that he not only managed the naval fortress Truk Islands into an independent kingdom, but also established a military base in New Guinea, Noumea, and New Britain Island in the South China Sea. A large area of land was encircled in some places, more than 10,000 marines were mobilized, and armed immigrants ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions were recruited. Now they are actually building a branch of the Naval University in Truk. , He simply wants to create a new Japan overseas! According to this approach, does he really want to occupy the land there and become the lord of the domain? "
Sitting cross-legged opposite Colonel Takushirō Hattori was Colonel Masanobu Tsuji, who had just returned from the Australian front to report on his duties and was about to be promoted to major general. Hearing this, he just smiled slightly and said, "... Hattori-kun, you must be jealous! Seriously. , with Marshal Yamamoto’s merits, isn’t he qualified to be a feudal lord overseas? Besides, this recruitment matter is very important. It is actually our Australian Army and the Combined Fleet that are doing this. Unfortunately, the Army is not as generous as the Navy and cannot provide very good treatment, so I have to force myself to do this. On the way back to report on my duties, I recruited 5,000 volunteers from Taiwan. Another two thousand laborers were recruited from Vietnam, and finally four thousand coolies were tied up in Guangzhou, and they are now being shipped to Australia.”
Speaking of this, Tsuji Masanobu couldn't help but have a hint of resentment in his tone, "...Hey, on the Australian front and on the Nanyang islands, we are short of people everywhere. We are opening mines, building roads, building airports, and taking over Western white livestock. legacy Factories, farms and pastures, as well as encircling and suppressing stubborn enemies, replenishing the frontline soldiers' consumption, even the cat's paws are eager to pick them up. I didn't expect that when I returned to Tokyo, there were so many people with sound limbs. There are people everywhere who want to sell their children because they are unemployed and have no livelihood. Ginza and Kabukicho are almost crowded with women selling sex because they are unemployed! Why should we protect the domestic labor force and reject our large-scale recruitment of armed immigrants? Even half-year-old children are not allowed to do so! Isn’t this forcing us to act recklessly? ”
"...The domestic labor force situation is actually very tight. All the young and middle-aged people have been recruited by the army. Several coal mines in Kitakyushu are already using Korean and Chinese laborers to work in the mines. Under such circumstances, if the base camp agrees to your recruitment from the country, People, Mitsui and other consortiums will have great opinions.”
Colonel Hattori Takushirō explained this, but Colonel Tsuji Masanobu became even angrier: "...Hmph! They still have the nerve to complain? Speaking of which, the reason why the country is in such a difficult situation today is not because of the insatiable greed of Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo. Are the plutocrats poaching? It’s obviously a time of national crisis. We still need so many servants and maids to serve at home. I heard that the total number of servants serving the rich in the country is currently as high as two million... And on the Australian front, we are already raising reinforcements from the Chinese government of Wang Jingwei. Go fight with the American and British guerrillas!”
"...Well, I know about this. At that time, the General Staff Headquarters thought that the Australian Army Command was crazy, but it was really tight everywhere and could not squeeze out as many reinforcements as Australia needed, so they could only pinch their noses and ask for help from the Nanjing National Government. Are there any problems with the seconded troops?" Hattori Takushiro replied.
"...To be honest, the combat effectiveness is really not that good. Many of these guys are simply young men temporarily captured by Wang Jingwei's government, but they can still be used as individuals. Even if they can't fight, they can be thrown behind the battle lines to farm in the military farms. Working as a worker in a repair shop or working as a supervisor in a mine is not bad..."
Tsuji Masanobu raised his neck and took a sip of sake and said, "...At least he is much more diligent than those lazy Filipinos..."
"...Uh, that's not what I meant! I mean, in the General Staff Headquarters, many people were worried that they would surrender to the enemy on a large scale in Australia..."
"... Surrender to the enemy? Then you have to be willing to accept it! In the eyes of Australian white ghosts, we Japanese, Taiwanese, Koreans, Chinese, and even Vietnamese are all yellow monkeys who deserve to be skinned. Really If it falls into the hands of the white beast on the opposite side, I’m afraid I won’t even be able to get a whole body!”
Tsuji Masanobu sneered, "...In China, they may not be reliable, but in Australia, they can't even think about being unreliable. At most, they can kill the white animal guerrillas and let them see blood, and then pick a few leaders. If you go to the comfort station and find a white woman to eat meat, you'll basically be fine.
However, in the long run, there are still hidden dangers in doing so. Only the army marched south to kill the white animals, and without the pioneering group to follow, the imperial army's Australian strategy seemed to be specifically designed to help the Chinese and Koreans immigrate south... Well, there were also some Vietnamese. Light. ”
"...There is no need for you to worry, Mr. Tsuji. Australia is not Manchuria and Mongolia. It is too far away from Japan. The empire cannot be stable. At best, it is just a bargaining chip. Once peace talks with European and American countries begin in the future, , most likely it will be spit out.”
Colonel Hattori Takushirō replied disapprovingly, "...then the Imperial Army will pat their butts and withdraw and go home, and let those inferior ethnic groups stay in Australia and fight with the American and British white people! Well, the Imperial Army can also leave some more weapons and ammunition for them, okay Let them play more lively..."
"...Oh, I hope that's the case! Let's not talk about it for now. I just have wine today. Try the gift I brought you from the southern hemisphere!"
Then, Hattori Takushiro doubtfully took the rough tin can without any markings from Tsuji Masanobu's hand. He looked at it carefully and found that there was nothing marked on the surface of the can except a production date. Next, he took out a dagger and pried open the can, picked out a piece of meat from an unknown animal, frowned and stuffed it into his mouth. His face suddenly changed, and he spat out the meat, and said with a stinking look on his face. Tsuji Masanobu complained, "...What kind of meat is this! It smells so bad! It's like it's been soaked in urine, and it's more choking than natto!"
"...This is Australia's famous product! Canned kangaroo meat! The purest battlefield flavor!"
Tsuji Masanobu smiled and put his finger into the can, grabbed a piece of kangaroo meat rich in urea without any care, threw it into his mouth and chewed it, "... When the frontline supplies were most difficult, for almost half a year, we relied entirely on This thing and hare meat are used to survive, and occasionally some snake meat and crocodile meat are used to change the taste... Don't tell me, that place in Australia There are so many rabbits, it’s a disaster!” “…Then you can bring me some dried rabbit meat! Or maybe a rabbit skin hat!” Hattori Takushiro rolled his eyes and scolded, “ ...Forget it, I will share the joys and sorrows with the Australian soldiers today and have a taste of the flavor of Australian kangaroo meat..."