Chapter 42, Japanese Traitors (Part 2)
Due to the unlucky encounter with the "Tenchu" assassin on the way, although he was not injured, the bulletproof car was damaged by the bomb, which delayed the trip. In addition, there were a series of troubles in the aftermath, so Foreign Minister Kijuro Shitahara stayed until noon. Only then did we arrive at the office of the Provisional Government.
——At the beginning, the office of the Japanese Provisional Government was naturally located in the Yokohama City Hall Building. However, it was not long before it was bombed into a pile of rubble by the Japanese resistance bomber formation, along with the surrounding buildings. The entire neighborhood became a scorched earth. Next, because the entire cabinet team was unwilling to work in a dark air-raid trench, the provisional government simply moved to a high-end restaurant in the suburbs. Anyway, since the overthrow of the curtain, Japanese patriots have always had the opportunity to enjoy themselves in romantic places. Great Health” while talking about the tradition of state affairs. In the past, the famous prime minister Ito Hirobumi also lived in a brothel to handle government affairs. Now it seems natural to move the entire government into a brothel.
Although the Japanese archipelago is currently struggling in the whirlpool of war and destruction, no matter what, it is now the time when spring is bright and everything is fragrant. When Kijuro Shitahara walked into this high-end restaurant requisitioned by the provisional government, he immediately felt an elegant and quiet atmosphere.
Generally speaking, this high-end restaurant that was requisitioned as the residence of the provisional government is an elegant and quiet garden-style building, surrounded by flowers, plants and trees, and it looks full of vitality because of the sprouting grass and new branches and leaves. The clumps of low and knotted ornamental green pines and cypresses look quite pleasing to the eye; while the thick lying stones and the simple stone incense burner are used as a foil, which can be regarded as quite elegant.
What's even more amazing is that it's the cherry blossom season now. Although some had to be plowed away when digging emergency air raid shelters, the remaining Yae Sakura and Oyama Sakura in the courtyard are still in full bloom. The beautiful Somei Yoshino cherry, Hakumo cherry and Hanfei cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Such a splendid scenery, as well as the beautiful maids and singers with bright reds and purples, thick fat and light pink under the flowers, made Foreign Minister Kijuro Utahara, who had just been in a bad mood due to the assassination, feel relaxed and happy, and completely forgot about it. Only separated by a wall is a hell on earth mixed with hunger, plague, poverty, hatred and death, as well as the suffering masses who are sallow, skinny, and look like evil ghosts...
When he walked into a luxurious box that served as a conference room, he opened the paper door and smelled the aroma of wine and food, and then found that the cabinet members of the provisional government had already started eating. On the low, double-shaped table in front of everyone, there were grilled fish, tempura, green beans, Fukugami pickles and other dazzling foods, as well as foreign wine, cakes and canned fruits. These items may not have been too rare before the war, but now they are luxurious delicacies that most Japanese people cannot even dream of. The canned beef obtained from the US military was also cooked in a small pot, exuding an attractive aroma.
General Mutaguchi Renya, the Minister of War of the Provisional Government, who was already slightly drunk, was leaning on a few cushions, half lying on the tatami, raising a glass to pay tribute to Shigehara, "...yo! Your Excellency Shigehara, listen. You said you met Tianzhu again this morning? Let’s have a few drinks to calm down!”
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——Mudaguchi Renya, one of the celebrities of the Japanese Army in World War II, and the most hated general among the Japanese army by his own officers and soldiers. He was called the "Ghost Mutaguchi"... But this "ghost" does not mean how bloody and cruel he was. , but said that this guy is irresponsible and shameless. He is known for his showmanship and official tone and his extreme disregard for the lives of officers and soldiers. He looks like a politician. But his show was so clumsy that it only made people's balls hurt.
In the history of another world, this guy commanded and launched the famous Battle of Imphal in 1944, gathering 100,000 troops from Burma to attack Imphal in northeastern India - the reason why the Battle of Imphal is famous is not this The battle is so magnificent and epic, but it’s because it’s so funny: Lieutenant General Mutaguchi took the Imperial Army's tradition of "not needing military stations" to its fullest extent. He made outrageous strategic judgments, made frequent command errors, and extremely despised logistics. He created the "wisdom of Genghis Khan" (you can eat wherever you go). What a joke, more imperial troops died of starvation than died in battle.
What's even more shameful is that while the 100,000 troops on the front line were starving to death in the battle, he was in the rear headquarters in Yangon, eating beef hotpot while building a shrine, worshiping Amaterasu every day, and gaining weight by the way. In addition, it illegally dismissed three division commanders in a record-breaking manner (division commanders can only be dismissed with the emperor's order), forcing the 31st Division to collectively disobey orders and lose more than 80% of the troops involved in the attack. They were called "ghost beasts" by the officers and soldiers participating in the war. Mutaguchi".
After the defeat, he still pretended to commit seppuku and apologized. He thought that his subordinates would persuade him, but unexpectedly, all his subordinates wanted him to ascend to heaven quickly, and no one persuaded him to cherish his life. But after Lieutenant General Mutaguchi failed to show off, he still had the audacity to pretend that this was not the case, showing no samurai style at all. After the war, Mutaguchi Renya still refused to admit that he was responsible for Imphal's failure. Every time someone among his old subordinates in Burma died, Mutaguchi Renya would always be present at the funeral, and he would shamelessly apologize to everyone. People printed pamphlets everywhere explaining that he had nothing to do with the failure of Imphal. He refuses to give up even if people are watching and booing him, he is really stubborn. And "Mutaguchi Renya" has become a synonym for shamelessness in modern Japanese.
What's even more amazing is that this "devil Mutaguchi" not only suffered from brain damage while fighting the British army, but also became obsessed with the so-called "Genghis Khan" tactics. After the war, he was still stubborn and even changed his job and opened a restaurant. called "Cheng "Ghis Khan Restaurant"...The reason why modern Japanese call teppanyaki cuisine, especially roast lamb, "Genghis Khan" is actually a "new concept" invented by this "ghost Mutaguchi"...
In this time and space where warships invaded and history changed, Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Renya also sent troops from Burma to attack India and launched the Battle of Imphal, and the time was advanced from 1944 to 1943 - at that time At the time when the Japanese Combined Fleet turned around and marched westward after wiping out the U.S. Pacific Fleet for the first time, it invaded the Indian Ocean and easily occupied the island of Ceylon; India Nationalist leader Chandra Bose led the Indian National Army to land at Goa Port, which not only repelled the counterattacking British army, but also successfully instigated successive uprisings in several southern Indian states; the Kingdom of Iran also joined the Axis camp at this time , and sent troops to conquer Balochistan; the Indian National Congress took the opportunity to hold a conference and passed a "resolution requiring the British to withdraw from India"...
Amid the chaos, the beleaguered and beleaguered British colonial authorities in India resorted to another stupid move. They forcibly dissolved the Congress Party, executed a group of anti-British elements, and expelled two famous Congress Party members, Nehru and Gandhi. The leader was arrested and imprisoned, which in turn further intensified the situation, causing many indigenous Indian soldiers to mutiny one after another, and riots continued to break out throughout the Indian subcontinent from south to north. Nehru and Gandhi were soon rescued by rioting soldiers and began to turn the non-violent non-cooperation movement into armed resistance. British colonial rule in India showed signs of collapse.
Seeing such an extremely favorable situation on the Indian battlefield, the Japanese Army, represented by Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, was also itchy and wanted to compete for some military exploits with the Imperial Navy that was sweeping the Indian Ocean. Since the main force of the Combined Fleet was engaged in a fierce battle with the British Eastern Fleet and was unable to cover the landfall of the Army across the Bay of Bengal, the Army could only attack India by land. As a close confidant of Tojo, Mutaguchi Ren, who was still a lieutenant general at the time, immediately followed his advice and assembled three divisions of troops in Mandalay, the ancient capital in central Myanmar, plus General Aung San's more than 10,000 Burmese volunteers. , with a total of 100,000 troops, they are arrogantly preparing to march to East India and attack Imphal, preventing the navy and Bose's Indian National Army from getting ahead.
However, although the time was advanced by a year, the geographical environment of the battlefield remained unchanged - Imphal is a border city in the border area between eastern India and Myanmar. It is located in the India-Myanmar border area on the Himalayan ridge and is world-famous. barren land. From Burma to East India, the mountain range stretches for hundreds of kilometers, with towering peaks, some reaching as high as 10,000 feet above sea level. Moreover, before crossing these high mountains, there are two major obstacles in Myanmar. One is the Chindwin River with a width of 1,000 meters; the other is the Mingjing Mountains with an altitude of 2,500 feet and an area of 50 kilometers. , this area is a sea of forests and a miasmatic land rarely visited by natives. There are only two or three marching roads, the shortest of which is Mandalay - Ripple - Damu - Imphal - Kohima - Dimapur, but even this road is mostly steep. The small intestine trail starts from Mandalay and is 1,200 kilometers long. Moreover, this barren area is one of the areas with the highest rainfall in the world. During the monsoon period from June to September, this area will experience continuous torrential rains for days or even weeks, affecting all rivers and valleys. Flooding occurred, roads collapsed, and traffic was completely cut off.
Therefore, when Mutaguchi Renya put forward the campaign concept, all the staff at the frontline headquarters unanimously opposed it, believing that such an exaggerated supply line could not be maintained at all. The army would starve to death halfway through, and even if it did not starve to death, ammunition would not be transported. However, Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Renya gave full play to his evil nature at this time. He insisted on overcoming everyone's opinions and waved the military order from the base camp to force the generals to obey: "...You can't fight without supplies? How can that be done! Japan! The army can endure any hardship. Food can be taken from the enemy...Every detail of this operation has been discussed in detail and all solved, so success should be obvious..."
And his subordinates sarcastically said: "...the details discussed by Your Excellency the Commander do not seem to take into account the enemy's resistance. Moreover, the enemy is 1,200 kilometers away, and there is an uninhabited wilderness in the middle. We The soldiers starved to death on the road before they could capture the food..."
Despite this, the base camp has issued a combat order after all, and even active death actions such as the "Jade Broken Special Attack" can only be carried out obediently. So no matter how much resentment there was in their stomachs, the three divisions on the front line still began to prepare for war and mobilized, racking their brains to prepare ammunition and food. In view of the extremely poor road conditions on the India-Myanmar border, it is difficult to drive cars, and the baggage supplies can only rely mainly on mules and horses. However, due to the short preparation time, the Japanese army simply cannot gather so many mules and horses on the spot in Myanmar. When the staff came to When Mutaguchi Renya complained, the commander, Lieutenant General Mutaguchi, had an idea and proposed Following the ancient Mongolian army's fighting methods, a large number of cattle, sheep, elephants and even monkeys (!!!) were recruited. On the one hand, they could carry military supplies, and on the other hand, they could be slaughtered to satisfy hunger when the army was short of food. It killed two birds with one stone, and even prepared dry food. A lot can be saved - the so-called "Genghis Khan Operation Plan".
However, these cattle, sheep, elephants and monkeys are not as obedient as army mules and horses. They will not be led away, will back up, or walk around randomly. Once they encounter an air raid or hear the sound of gunshots, they will be frightened and flee. The cows scattered, carrying the Japanese ammunition on their backs, causing a large amount of material loss, but increasing the Japanese army's logistical crisis - after setting off, if a cow ran away, then the rations and ammunition of a Japanese team would be gone. ……
In this way, the 100,000-year-old Japanese-Burmese coalition marched westward into the vast jungle with less than enough food for a one-way trip, and only half the basic amount of ammunition. Because it took too much time to raise food and livestock, the Japanese army set off. By that time, the rainy season was approaching, and all the staff advised Mutaguchi Lian They also postponed the battle until after the rainy season. However, Mutaguchi Renya insisted on going his own way, believing that with the foot power of the Japanese Empire's samurai, they would definitely be able to complete the 1,200-kilometer mountain road before the rainy season. Next, he only needed to shoot three times into the sky. With an empty gun, Imphal's enemies will surrender.
As a result, the rainy season this year came earlier than the staff expected. As soon as the main force of the Japanese army crossed the Chindwin River, heavy rain began to pour down. For a time, the turbid waves on the Chindwin River surged, the river surged, and the ferries and pontoons were washed away. , the three divisions of the Japanese army had been unable to retreat for more than 85,000 days, so they had to hold their noses and continue to move forward. However, General Aung San's more than 10,000 Burmese volunteers were able to return safely because they were at the end and had not yet crossed the river.
Next, the Japanese troops of these three divisions experienced a nightmare death march in the heavy rain - the heavy rain, like a reservoir bursting its banks, fell from morning to midnight, and the roads turned into swamps, and everyone could only Can struggle and squirm in the mire like crossing a swamp. It became impossible to make a fire to cook. The soldiers first ate canned food and then ate biscuits. After eating the biscuits, they could only chew uncooked rice or kill animals to eat raw meat. As a result, many people suffered from digestive tract diseases. disease. Moreover, people kept getting lost or washed away by flash floods on the road... The three division commanders on the front line repeatedly requested airdrops of supplies from the rear. However, in the heavy rain, it was difficult for Japanese planes to take off, and there were not many Japanese Army aircraft in Myanmar. Airplane...
Therefore, Lieutenant General Mutaguchi, who was in Yangon, drafted a classic "ghost animal" telegram while eating beef hot pot: The Japanese have been a herbivorous people since ancient times. You are surrounded by such a dense jungle and you actually report a lack of food? What's going on!
As a result, even if they occasionally encountered a few sunny days, the Japanese troops struggling in the quagmire received very few airdrops of supplies. Instead, they were bombed more often by Allied aircraft... The soldiers who were going crazy with hunger began to use grenades regardless of the obstruction of their superiors. Frying fish and shooting birds without authorization, he barely managed to avoid starving to death.
In the end, when the Japanese troops of these three divisions abandoned most of their heavy weapons, consumed a lot of ammunition, and struggled to reach Imphal, the entire army had lost more than 10,000 men and had completely run out of food. Nearly half of the remaining ones are sick... Then, these have already formed The beggar-like Imperial Japanese Army got good news and bad news in Imphal: The good news was that in order to mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion in Bengal, all the British troops originally assembled in Imphal had withdrawn and voluntarily gave up. Once this area was reached, the Japanese troops could enter the city without fighting. The bad news is that the British army destroyed all supplies very carefully before retreating. Even the citizens were alerted and evacuated in advance. The Japanese army did not capture any ammunition or food in the city.
what to do? Naturally, they looted on the spot! Tens of thousands of Japanese troops began to loot houses in the surrounding countryside, which immediately aroused fierce resistance - the local indigenous militia and princes and nobles obtained a lot of weapons when the British troops withdrew, and those who had just walked 1,200 kilometers of mountain roads But the Japanese army didn't even have a few bullets, and they were hungry, sick and weak. After several melees, although the Japanese army grabbed some rice, tens of thousands more people died. Moreover, the ammunition was almost exhausted, and several local princes and tribal leaders were treated as bandits and were surrounded and suppressed. It was impossible to gain a foothold in the local area...
By the time they continued to advance southwest and reached the Bengal area of the Ganges Delta, and met up with a small group of marines dispatched by the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet, the three divisions combined had only a mere 20,000 half-dead and starved soldiers left. ——The entire battle did not eliminate a single British army, nor did it secure any territory, nor did it have any strategic or tactical significance. It was entirely a blind command just to grab credit, and ultimately led to the death of tens of thousands of people.
Mutaguchi Renya, who never left Yangon during the entire battle, was hated by all the soldiers and called a devil, but because he was a close associate of Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, not only was he not punished, but because "The battle was successful" and he was promoted to Army General - in any case, he still managed to capture Imphal, which can be regarded as achieving the campaign goal. Then, this devilish general was quickly put into the reserve force and sent to teach at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto: three divisions were destroyed at one time. This level of tactics only needs to be taught once. If it happens a few more times, the imperial army will collapse. .
However, Mutaguchi Renya seems to be the same shameless no matter which time and space he is in. Although he has been scolded as a monster, this guy still brags about his achievements shamelessly all day long, and even wants to enter the political arena... When the "Japan Provisional Government" advocating unconditional surrender was established in Kyoto, Mutaguchi Ren And the first time When he came to ask for his position, he even spoke more plausibly: "...Speaking of the Greater East Asia War, that is my responsibility. It was I who ordered the first shot at Marco Polo Bridge, so as the person responsible, I must try to end this war as soon as possible. War..."
However, Kijuro Hatahara and other chaebol representatives who presided over the provisional government were suffering from the lack of high-ranking generals who could not seize military power. Seeing that Mutaguchi Ren was a general after all, they made this "ghost Mutaguchi" a land general. Prime Minister, and then fled to Yokohama together.
And the famous "Ghost Mutaguchi" seemed to get along very well with the "American and British ghosts" after taking office. Relying on the daily necessities secretly hoarded by the chaebols and the logistical supplies provided by the US military, he recruited five people in just a few months. The division's artillery troops--although the Japanese in this era generally Brainwashed by militarism and the idea of respecting the emperor, the national consciousness has long been awakened, and they still consider themselves to be a superior nation. It is not so easy to defect to the enemy camp. But when they have no food and clothing, and the whole family is about to starve to death, they can't force Japan. The common people continue to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic...
Since China's Eighth Route Army can transform Japanese prisoners of war into "anti-war allies", then relying on the powerful strength and abundant supplies of the US military, it can naturally draw out a vote of puppet cannon fodder - in fact, shortly after landing in Japan, there were already After forcibly recruiting Japanese people to serve as army laborers, U.S. military generals then began to use canned biscuits and other daily necessities as inducements to recruit "volunteer" troops from the Japanese to supplement the U.S. military's transportation, security and logistics capabilities. However, they have nothing to do with the provisional government, and they do not have military status. At best, they are just personal servants hired by frontline officers.
It wasn't until the "Ghost Mutaguchi" Prime Minister came forward to reorganize and expand these stragglers with the support of the top brass of the US military, that they gave them the appearance of an army - although they were all light infantry without even machine guns. Although these soldiers Its combat effectiveness, organization and loyalty cannot be compared with the original Imperial Japanese Army, but this finally allowed the provisional government in Yokohama to grab a bit of a gun, and it was no longer completely an empty frame with no money and no soldiers, and no one listened to what it said. The government feels a little more confident. The U.S. military also initially achieved its goal of "Japanizing" the war, "using Japanese to fight Japanese," so that Americans would bleed less, and everyone was happy for a while.
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In addition to Mutaguchi Renya, the "ghost land prime minister", the maritime prime minister and military police commander of the Japanese provisional government in Yokohama was also a celebrity in the Pacific War - Lieutenant General Nagumo Chuichi! Mutaguchi Ren also provoked the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and fired the first shot of the Greater East Asia War, while Nagumo Chuichi commanded the Japanese aircraft carrier mobile fleet to attack Pearl Harbor four years ago and fired the first shot of the Pacific War...
However, compared to the high-spirited Mutaguchi Renya Rikuo, Nagumo Chuichi Haixiang seemed much more reserved. He seldom spoke at ordinary times. At this time, he just huddled in a corner and ate and drank silently. He only slightly raised his hand to signal to Hadohara Kijuro. Just a moment.
In fact, before joining the provisional government, Nagumo Chuichi and Mutaguchi Ren were also outdated window-sitters.
——Although they cooperated closely during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the relationship between Nagumo Chuichi and Yamamoto Isoroku was actually very bad. The two were political enemies in the past. In addition, Nagumo Chuichi was an expert in torpedo warfare. But he has no talent for aviation operations. For him to command an aircraft carrier is simply an amateur commanding an expert. If possible, Yamamoto Isoroku is very reluctant to promote and reuse Nagumo Chuichi.
But the problem is that in the early days of the Pacific War, the fledgling Yamamoto Isoroku had to reuse Chuichi Nagumo because the backer behind Chuichi Nagumo was Admiral Nagano Shushen, the soul of the Japanese Navy at the time. Without Nagano Shushen’s nod, , Yamamoto Isoroku cannot be the commander-in-chief of the combined fleet at all. No matter how reluctant he was, he could only let Nagumo Chuichi command the aircraft carrier and endure Nagumo's various mistakes...
Therefore, when he had accumulated enough merits and prestige and no longer had to fear Nagano Shushen, the veteran of the navy, Yamamoto Isoroku decisively kicked Nagumo Chuichi out of the combined fleet and was promoted to Wugang to become the commander of the garrison. Sir, I have become a window-sitter from now on.
The three words "Guardian Palace" sound very powerful, and the level is really high enough. In theory, it is the same level as the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, which is equivalent to the "Grand Military District Level". But why is it said that Nagumo Chuichi is allowed to serve as Wu? Should the Commander-in-Chief of the Hong Kong Governor's Office ask him to become a window clan member?
This is because the so-called "guard office" in the establishment of the Imperial Japanese Navy actually refers to a land and sea guard area divided according to the military port and the radiation control sea area of the military port. In other words, the so-called commander-in-chief of the guard office can actually manage That is, the military port and the shore facilities centered on the military port, Specifically speaking, it is just the following things: military port terminal facilities, naval air force airports, warehouses, factories, the Marine Corps and coastal defense forces stationed at the military port, and the minimum maritime military force required to maintain the vigilance of the military port. (Some armed boats) etc...
If you take a closer look, you will find that daily affairs such as the regular operation of the military port dock warehouse and the training of the Marine Corps basically do not require the intervention of the commander. The ships stationed in the port are not under the control of the commander of the garrison. Although the Marine Corps usually Returned to the garrison for dispatch, when wartime comes, the navy headquarters will have to reorganize it into a new order and put it into battle. In other words, unless the enemy hits Otherwise, the commander-in-chief of the garrison would have no work to do most of the time. In the words of a Japanese Navy insider, the characteristics of the position of commander-in-chief can be summarized as "three absolutes" - - "Absolutely spacious office, absolutely loud enough name, absolutely no power"... It is somewhat similar to the Party History Office in modern China.
Because of this, within the system of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the position of commander-in-chief of the garrison has always been used to "replace seniors", providing a better position for senior naval admirals who have seniority and have not yet obtained real power positions. Way out of retirement. When a veteran enters the garrison, it basically means dawdling around waiting for retirement, and is usually no longer considered to have any political future.
Therefore, after being driven to the position of commander-in-chief of the Wugang garrison, Nagumo Chuichi, the hero of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, really only had time to think about waiting for retirement. In addition to planting flowers and grass, sleeping in flowers and willows, Apart from occasionally visiting the nearby Etajima Naval Academy and reminiscing about his youthful school days, he no longer even cared much about the ongoing war.
Unexpectedly, when people are sitting at home, disaster will come from the sky. When they suddenly learn that Tokyo and the entire central government have been razed to the ground by atomic bombs, and there is no one above their heads to give them orders, and no one will give them military pay and pensions, Nan Yunzhong was completely confused. He had no idea what to do. He just listened to the radio every day to find out the news. A few days later, I heard that a Japanese provisional government had emerged in Kyoto, led by former Prime Minister Konoe Fumima. Nagumo Chuichi didn't think much about it, so he subconsciously sent a telegram and obeyed the order there, and then sent another issued a notice instructing the naval fleet in Wu Port to cease resistance, seal up ships and weapons, and prepare to surrender to the US military. The Provisional Government, which was still in Kyoto at the time, was naturally overjoyed when it heard that a famous naval figure like Nagumo Chuichi was willing to serve, and immediately gave him the high position of Navy Minister.
Unexpectedly, although the old man Nagumo Chuichi no longer wanted to fight anymore, the young people below had completely different ideas. The order to surrender the American troops immediately triggered riots and mutinies. Seeing that the situation was out of control, Nagumo Chuichi did not dare to take any harsh measures to suppress it. He immediately ran away without responsibility, going in circles all the way, and finally ran to Yokohama to find the provisional government to take up his post of Marine Minister... But compared to Mutaguchi Lianye, who at least had tens of thousands of troops under his command, was a "ghost" "Animal and Land Minister", Nagumo Chuichi's title of Marine Minister is completely empty. Except for an inland wooden boat transport team to assist the US military in transporting supplies, there is not even a decent combat ship, and the transport small boat team is also It takes orders directly from the US military and is basically not under his control. In order to give Chuichi Nagumo something to do, the provisional government also asked him to serve as the military police commander of Yokohama to manage the basic security of this area.
——Foreign Minister and Acting Prime Minister Shigehara Kijuro, Land Minister Mutaguchi Renya, Maritime Minister and Commander of the Military Police Nagumo Chuichi, these are the "troika" that constitute the provisional government of Japan in Yokohama. Kijuro Shitahara was responsible for communicating with the US military, Ren Mutaguchi was also responsible for forming the "puppet army", and Chuichi Nagumo was responsible for the security of Yokohama and at the same time managed to recruit and surrender naval members. In addition, although there are members such as the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, and the Minister of Finance, these are purely empty official positions, because the provisional government mainly relies on donations from chaebols and US military allocations to maintain it, and has basically no hematopoietic ability. It is not known when it will be able to function normally.
As for this provisional government, it has not yet been decided whether to establish another emperor and follow the monarchy, or imitate the United States and change to a republic. If the monarchy is followed, who should be appointed as the emperor? - The White House His initial opinion was naturally that he hoped to abolish the emperor system. Anyway, today the emperor's family has basically turned into radioactive dust. However, the provisional government, which has a thorough understanding of Japan's internal situation, is well aware of the emperor's huge role as a spiritual totem in Japan. Therefore, it has repeatedly made representations to the United States and persuaded some US military frontline generals... At present, the issue is still on hold.
In short, after sharing a sumptuous meal together, everyone was full of wine and food. The leaders of the Yokohama Provisional Government began their daily work meetings under the auspices of Foreign Minister and Acting Prime Minister Kijuro Hatahara - only to hear Kijuro Hatahara clear his throat, "...Ahem, everyone, this time The first topic of the meeting was, in order to match Cooperate with the Allied forces' mopping up operations, eliminate the Red guerrillas, concentrate the population in the Kanto Plain and Tokaido rural areas, and establish a 'strategic village' plan. According to the instructions I just received from General Patton in the morning, this plan requires..."
However, just as Kijuro Shitahara's speech began, he was interrupted by a secretary who suddenly broke in. I saw Kijuro Shitahara looking at the note handed to him by the secretary with an unhappy expression, and his face suddenly changed, showing a strange expression that looked like he was seriously frightened, but also looked embarrassed.
After another moment, Kijuro Hatahara managed to calm down. He raised his head and looked around at the curious cabinet members. He coughed dryly and said nonchalantly, "...Ahem, the latest information we just got, our government's Prime Minister Konoe Fumima... there is news!”
"...Oh? Really? Is there any news about Mr. Konoe Fumima? This is a good thing!" Prime Minister Mutaguchi Ren also said with a smile, smelling of alcohol, "...Since the provisional government withdrew from Kyoto, there has been no I heard about him... Are you okay now, Mr. Konoe?"
"... He is doing very well now! Serving as regent in Hiroshima for the new emperor supported by those red elements! It really takes both sides!"
Kijuro Shitahara replied angrily, "...This really follows the old practices of the Heian period. Who told him to be from the Fujiwara family!"
For a moment, all the "Japanese rapists" in the venue were all embarrassed, and they had a strange feeling of being messy in the wind.
——He was both the founding prime minister of white Japan and the founding regent of red Japan... serving as the supreme leader of both sides of the civil war camp at the same time? Even if one person plays two roles, it's not like that, right? Mr. Konoe Fumima, what exactly are you going to do?