Chapter 11: The country is about to perish, and ship girls everywhere (Part 1)
Western Pacific Ocean, 151.8 degrees east longitude, 7.4 degrees north latitude, Caroline Islands, Truk Atoll
A beautiful calm lagoon, like the purest emerald, is surrounded by lush coral reef islands.
From a geostrategic perspective, the Caroline Islands have always been affiliated with the Philippine Islands. It was originally attached to the Spanish colony of the Philippines. When Spain suffered a huge defeat in the Spanish-American War and lost the Philippines, it sold these islands that could not maintain its rule to the Germans.
Truk Island is a volcanic island surrounded by coral reefs. It is located in the center of the Caroline Islands. It is triangular in shape, with each side 64 kilometers long, and in the middle is a lagoon with a diameter of 30 to 40 nautical miles. In the center of the lagoon, there are twelve volcanic islands. Although they are only 300 to 500 meters high, they are steep and towering. It makes people feel extraordinary, so it is also called "Mountain in the Clouds".
This is an extremely ideal natural berthing ground. No matter how rough the wind and waves are outside, the mountains in the clouds are still calm. It can accommodate many large ships to berth, and there are six channels for ships to enter and exit. Truk Island is also the core of the Caroline Islands. It is located at the heart of the Central Pacific and has a very important strategic position. As long as Truk is held, the east can move out to the Gilbert and Marshall Islands to meet the enemy at any time, the south can collect resources from New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, the west can guard the line from Palau to the Philippine Islands, and the north can become the Ogasawara Islands, Maria The Na Islands and even the three islands of Japan are a barrier.
To put it simply, the Caroline Islands where Truk is located is to the north the Mariana Islands, including the famous Saipan, Guam and Tinian Island, to the west is the Palau Islands, and to the east are the Marshall Islands and Gilbert Islands. The famous Tarawa Atoll is among the Gilbert Islands. To the south are the vast and resource-rich islands of New Guinea and New Britain, to the southeast are the Solomon Islands, whose capital is Guadalcanal, and further to the southeast is New Caledonia, with Noumea as its capital. island. Like bright pearls set in the vast blue ocean.
These islands and the waters surrounding them are places extremely rich in natural resources. First of all, this seemingly wild sea area is actually the largest tuna producing area in the world. The tuna production here accounts for more than half of the world's total production. About 50% of the world's canned tuna is produced in this Southwest Pacific region. In addition, it is also rich in shrimp and lobster. Although agriculture is limited due to the small land area, crops in the tropics grow rapidly and are still enough to support at least tens of millions of people. They can also rely on convenient sea transportation to grow coconuts, cocoa, coffee, palms and other tropical plants locally. As trading goods, rice is then imported from the Philippines and Indonesia, wheat from Australia, and meat and dairy products from New Zealand.
Next, from an industrial perspective, New Guinea is a source of high-quality copper and also produces oil and natural gas. There are huge bauxite deposits in the Solomon Islands, and the quality of nickel ore in New Caledonia is the best in the world. You can almost shovel off a layer of topsoil to get excellent nickel ore. And quite a few islands have very rich geothermal resources, which can be used directly to generate electricity, and there are hot springs that Japanese people like very much scattered everywhere...
Although due to environmental, human, technical, financial and political reasons, the rich resources of this archipelago and sea area were not fully developed until the early 21st century, let alone rational planning and utilization. However, if one day, a certain nation or force can rule this vast wilderness, overcome the test of hot climate and tropical diseases, and master enough technology to develop and refine these dormant resources. So, in this fertile sea area, there is really the possibility of forming an industrialized power!
In the strategic geography of the Western Pacific, Truk is equivalent to being in the center of a crossroads, occupying the position of the "Central Plains". As long as a powerful mobile strike fleet is deployed here, it can easily control a large area of extremely vast islands and waters around it.
Therefore, since the end of World War I, after the Japanese government took over Truk Island from Germany, it immediately designated it as a military restricted area and started construction projects. A dock was built in the lagoon and a floating dock was built in the deep water of the lagoon. , the lagoon became a anchorage for the fleet, repair workshops, barracks, large warehouses and caves were built on the island, fortresses were built on the hills, and the shores were covered with trenches and bunkers.
In the living area on the island, there are also complete daily facilities such as cinemas, military stores, brothels, pubs and hospitals, making it look like a modern small city. Busy soldiers and workers can be seen everywhere, as well as thousands of Japanese immigrants, especially military families, who came here to make a living. At first glance, it feels like you are back in Japan. In fact, it is a full 3,200 kilometers away from Japan, hanging alone in the vast Pacific Ocean.
Before the outbreak of the Pacific War, Truk was already the main anchorage for the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy out of the South Pacific. It was proudly called "Gibraltar of the Pacific" and "Japan's Pearl Harbor" by the Japanese Navy.
With the outbreak of the Pacific War and the successive victories of the Japanese army, Truk Island and surrounding islands have transformed from the frontier barriers of the Japanese navy into a safe rear hinterland. With the help of developed water transportation and unique geographical location, they vigorously Another wave of large-scale construction boom took place. Immigrants from the country and workers from North Korea and China quickly flocked in, causing the population of Truk and the entire Caroline Islands to surge rapidly.
——Just like the westward expansion movement of the United States, thousands of Japanese poor people were either forced to make a living or heeded the call of the army and crossed the sea one after another to the south, rushing to the legendary rich "New Japan" to build their own country. A new world for the Yamato nation.
Although most of the territory of this "New Japan" is still in a pristine and undeveloped state. Mosquitoes are rampant, drinking water is not guaranteed to be clean, rains and typhoons frequently visit, tropical diseases are rampant, and they are often troubled by volcanoes and earthquakes, but the Japanese don't care. They have long been accustomed to such days, used to cramped living quarters and rough conditions. For food, I am used to working in a workshop like a pavilion and living in a room like a pigeon cage... I can eat sweet potatoes and brown rice every meal in Nanyang, where crops are harvested three times a year. What's not to be satisfied with?
Under such conditions, the tenacious Japanese immigrants gave full play to the inherent diligence and wisdom of their nation and launched an arduous battle with nature: cutting down trees, reclaiming wasteland, building dams, sowing rice, vegetables and melons, raising pigs and chicken, harvested shellfish and Fish and shrimp... accompanied by countless blood, sweat and even corpses, rice farms, sugar cane plantations, tobacco plantations, rubber plantations, family farms, salt drying fields, agricultural products and seafood processing and trading enterprises, and commercial warehouses are springing up like bamboo shoots after a rain. Build it up.
The oil rushing out from under the shallow continental shelf has injected fresh blood into the industrial development and transportation of this land. The asphalt and oil residue left from oil refining can be directly used for road construction, supporting large-scale road construction in tropical rainforest areas.
Countless wealth gushes out from this fertile sea, allowing Truk's port to be greatly expanded. Although it is still heavily guarded and full of cannons, it is already used for both military and civilian purposes, including fishing boats, ocean-going cargo ships and oil tankers. The whistle blows all day long, and there are constant comings and goings. In recent years, Truk has not only built more deep-water berths, warehouses and port railways, but has also greatly expanded the size of the island through land reclamation.
On the islands around Truk that are rich in resources and have convenient shipping, a series of modern industrial, mining, shipbuilding and fishing towns are rising at an unprecedented speed. The shining of bright electric lights and the roar of various machines completely broke the silence of the tropical desert island.
Iron from Australia and Indonesia, copper from New Guinea, oil from Borneo, nickel from New Caledonia, struvite fertilizer from Nauru, sulfur from various volcanic islands... natural resources that have been dormant for countless years have been used by Japan Developed by immigrants and labor coolies from various East Asian countries, they were continuously shipped to The emerging industrial bases on the islands have turned into an astonishing number of various industrial products, and the population on Truk Island has swelled like a balloon - Japanese-style wooden houses and Japanese-style wooden houses are rising everywhere. Concrete western-style buildings and construction sites surrounded by fences or barbed wire can be seen everywhere.
Within a few years, Truk was no longer just a military fortress but an orderly and prosperous port city.
In other words, the great capital of a new maritime empire...
——The Japanese nation is currently at its most glorious moment in history: they have occupied a vast land that is hundreds of times the size of the Japanese archipelago, and have realized an imperial dream that has not been realized for thousands of years. Their territory spans the entire Asia and Oceania from south to north, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans from east to west. They defeated all the Western powers from Europe to America, and let the rising sun of the Yamato nation illuminate half of the Pacific and half of the Indian Ocean! Their fleet is recognized as the absolute overlord of this vast ocean, which makes the Westerners who have dominated the sea for hundreds of years lose their prestige and become frightened!
However, as the saying goes, "The sky never lasts a hundred days, and the flowers never last a hundred days red." At this time, the Japanese, who were full of confidence and pride, did not seem to have seriously thought about whether their unprecedented glorious hegemony would suddenly wither like cherry blossoms after blooming like cherry blossoms...
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On the hill behind the Combined Fleet Headquarters in Truk, stands an exquisite and luxurious shrine.
——The Japanese-style wooden house made of mahogany and yellow rosewood, the dark red torii gate made of high-grade rosewood, the courtyard is decorated with the most beautiful corals and shells, and the offering box is inlaid with gorgeous pearls... Surrounding the shrine, It is surrounded by dense palm trees, laurels, oaks and beech trees, mixed with some plants of the myrtle and willow families. Tropical flowers of bright red, pure white, pea green, golden yellow and purple blue are in bloom all year round, dotted among the wind-swaying woods and undulating thatch like waves, as if the shrine is surrounded by a colorful auspicious cloud.
This is the "Navy Shrine" whose foundation stone was laid by the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, His Excellency Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. It enshrines the models of every destroyer-level ocean-going ship of the Combined Fleet. Based on the launch of new ships and battle damage and sinking, Feel free to make adjustments.
No one knows why the Marshal spent money to build such a shrine, but it is indeed in line with the Japanese religious understanding of "animism"... Since even old clothes and broken rice jars can become fusangshin, those majestic Why can't heroic souls be born from steel battleships?
——There is even an "Electricity Shrine" in Japan, which enshrines Edison and Tesla as the "God of Electricity"!
Since the completion of this "Navy Shrine", it has become one of the most mysterious places on Truk Island. Because there has always been a group of young, beautiful, and mysterious "mikos" living here. The hair color and appearance of some of the "miko" even clearly have characteristics that are very different from those of the Japanese... So there were rumors about this shrine for a while. Around here, some say that the Western mistresses and illegitimate daughters of high-ranking generals of the Combined Fleet are housed here, some say that this is a gold-selling den where high-ranking officials and dignitaries enjoy singing, dancing, drinking and having sex, and some say that this is a training center for female spies run by the Imperial Navy Intelligence Agency... …
Rumors of all kinds of crimson and sexy things are flying all over the sky, but there is always no consensus. Because, all the idlers and spies who try to sneak into this shrine will end up disappearing without a trace... Over time, this place has become the most mysterious forbidden place in Truk. .
However, it must be admitted that the above-mentioned rumors are still slightly based on reality to some extent.
——Although the "miko" of the Marine Shrine, their true identities are far more than just female spies...
It was a gloomy morning. Light gray and purple-gray clouds gathered and rolled over Truk. It was obvious that a heavy rain was coming.
Obviously, in such weather, no one would be willing to walk on the slippery mountain road to visit the shrine halfway up the mountain.
Therefore, at this time, there are only a dozen beautiful women of different ages and hair colors in this naval shrine, lazily staying in a Japanese room covered with tatami mats. Some of them are wearing sailor uniforms, which are the formal attire of Japanese female students. , some were dressed as shrine maidens in red and white skirts, and others were wearing brightly colored embroidered kimonos. Each held a simple black pottery tea bowl, facing the fresh sea breeze blowing from the courtyard, and closed their eyes to relax. A gust of breeze blew, gently shaking the glazed wind chimes hanging under the eaves, breaking the silence in the house, and ringing out with crisp and sweet collision sounds...
All of the above constitute an ukiyo-e painting of tea ceremony beauties that looks very Japanese in classical style... But in fact, the tea bowls in their hands are not traditional Japanese matcha or sencha, but the strongest vodka and whiskey. , brandy and rum; the reason why they tilt their heads and close their eyes to relax now is not to feel Zen, but to capture and listen to the invisible radio waves that shuttle back and forth in the sky.
In the earth's atmosphere in 1945, the radio wave environment was far purer than in the future twenty-first century.
Although there was interference from lightning and thunder in the clouds, after some attempts and hard work, they successfully captured a broadcast signal from a mainland American radio station thousands of miles away, even in the Truk Atoll on the west coast of the Pacific.
"...Zizzizi... Next is the news briefing. President Truman delivered an important speech, firmly denying previous rumors about secret peace talks with Japan, and hoping that all citizens will remember the shame of Pearl Harbor and continue to support this campaign against Japanese fascism. The battle of revenge, declaring that no matter how long it takes or how much the price is paid, the righteous army of the American people will defeat this despicable and evil opponent and win a complete victory..."
"... General MacArthur, who had just won the Battle of Melbourne, was interviewed and once again publicly stated to reporters that defeating the Japanese in Australia was just the beginning, not the end. He will inevitably lead the soldiers of the United States to the Philippines again land. In view of General MacArthur's current record and the current Australian war situation, reporters on the scene expressed cautious optimism..."
"...The Pacific Fleet Command issued its latest battle report, claiming that it destroyed a Japanese submarine in the waters off Midway Island on the 15th of this month."
"...President Roosevelt's widow recently gave a speech, once again calling on women to come out of the house and use their hands to make more contributions to the country."
"...In order to maintain war consumption on the Pacific front, the gasoline ration quota for states in the continental United States will be reduced by another 10% next month."
"...The American Red Cross is recruiting the third batch of volunteers this year to be sent to southern Italy to help local war refugees."
"...the leading force of the Spanish intervention force was bombed by the Soviet Air Force in Toulouse, southern France, and a major general was killed."
"...The Zionist Movement committed another crime in Jerusalem, blowing up a local barracks and killing ten British soldiers."
“…Frontline correspondents in Rome reported that the Bolshevik regime’s brutal social reforms and illegal confiscation of private property in major cities in northern Italy resulted in a very serious humanitarian tragedy and the massacre of tens of thousands of middle-class Italian families. A large-scale trend of fleeing southward..."
"...Large-scale anti-war demonstrations broke out again in London, England. It is said that 100,000 people took to the streets to participate in the march. The London authorities dispatched mounted police to suppress and disperse the crowd, and arrested at least a thousand people at the scene...Britain Labor leader Attlee issued a statement condemning this atrocity..."
“…Today is the first anniversary of the founding of the State of Hawaii. In order to thank the Hawaiian people for their great contributions and sacrifices in this war, on this day last year, Congress voted overwhelmingly to successfully pass the transfer of the Hawaiian Islands to the State of Hawaii. The bill to be promoted to a state..." "...The following are today's highlights. The UK is currently in the midst of a government reversal and is facing a political crisis. Prime Minister Churchill rushed to New York yesterday to attend the United Nations preparatory meeting. Despite the fatigue of the journey, he held a press conference at the New York Airport and delivered a speech on the situation in Europe. The key contents included the threat to the entire world from the Soviet Union and Red Europe, as well as the threat from the United States. The responsibility of leadership for the free world. Play now..."