readytorunbook Chapter 693 The Dragon Flag of the South Seas Flies Above the Nine Islands of Japan
Chapter 693 The Dragon Flag of the South Seas Flies Above the Nine Islands of Japan
"The equatorial heatwave stirs up the smoke of war, the ocean waves forge iron shoulders; wherever the dragon flag points, demons and monsters vanquish, blood stains the South Seas to usher in a new era!"
The rugged, tropical-flavored military song melody was roared out in unison by hundreds of voices, resonating in the cool morning air of Fukuoka.
The singing replaced the priests' chanting and crows' cawing at the shrine in the early morning, and was filled with a strange and overwhelming sense of power.
The former site of Kashii Shrine, a vast, flat area in Higashi Ward, Fukuoka City, backed by mountains and facing Hakata Bay, was the villa garden of a certain hereditary daimyo during the Edo period. After the Meiji Restoration, part of it was incorporated into the shrine grounds and regarded as a sacred place with "royal aura".
Today, all decorations, torii gates, and stone lanterns bearing the marks of Shintoism and the old era have been brutally removed, the ground has been compacted, and barbed wire fences with thorns have been erected around the area, with numerous sentry posts.
This place became the headquarters of the First Division of the United States of Southeast Asia stationed in Kyushu.
At exactly seven o'clock in the morning, the sound of bugles pierced the silence.
On the newly leveled parade ground in the center of the garrison, a battalion of Nanyang soldiers had already lined up.
They wore modified tropical jungle combat uniforms, heavy military boots, and steel helmets with inner padding modified for tropical climates. They carried NTB44 combat rifles (Nanyang version of G3) produced in Nanyang.
The officers and soldiers were mostly dark-skinned, with muscular builds. They stood like iron stakes driven into the ground, their eyes fixed straight ahead. There was no curiosity or excitement in their eyes, only a cold, professional, and austere gaze.
At the edge of the playground, outside the barbed wire fence, a large crowd of neon-speaking people had gathered.
They were forced to come to witness the ceremony; most of the men wore tattered kimonos or traditional Chinese clothing and bowed their heads; the women covered their faces with headscarves and tightly hugged the children in their arms.
The crowd was deathly silent, save for suppressed breathing and the occasional soft whimper of an infant.
They watched as the unfamiliar, enormous Nanyang flag was slowly pulled up from the base of the flagpole by two tall Nanyang flag bearers.
This is completely different from the "Hinomaru" flag they are familiar with, which is now explicitly prohibited from being displayed in public. The dragon on that flag seems to carry a scorching aura, as if it wants to devour the sky of this country that once called itself the land of the rising sun.
Humiliation, fear, bewilderment, and deep anxiety about an unknown fate permeated the crowd.
On one side of the reviewing stand stood a middle-aged man dressed in the uniform of a lieutenant general in the Republic of China army, Sun Fumin.
He stood ramrod straight, his face resolute, but his slightly pursed lips and the complex emotions that flashed across the depths of his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil.
According to the initial ideas following the Yalta Conference and the spirit of the Potsdam Declaration, there should have been broader participation in the occupation of Japan.
In the initial plan, the South Pacific would be stationed in Kyushu, the United States would be stationed in the southern part of Honshu (such as Hiroshima and Kure), the Republic of China would occupy Shikoku, the United States would occupy the central core area of Honshu, and the Soviet Union would occupy Hokkaido.
The two major cities of Tokyo and Osaka are jointly administered by the Allied powers.
However, the Yamashiro government ultimately declined (in reality abandoned) the plan to send a complete unit of troops to Shikoku, citing reasons such as "the country's strength is insufficient, occupying foreign countries would be extremely costly, and the country is in dire need of rebuilding and urgently requires troops to maintain order and reorganize and demobilize its troops."
Only a small number of military observers and administrative personnel were able to participate in the Allied work on the neon control agencies.
Sun Fumin was one of them. He held the title of military liaison officer of the Republic of China representative office of the Allied Control Commission for Japan, but at this moment he could only stand as an observer on this land actually controlled by the Nanyang military.
A feeling of indescribable bitterness and sigh welled up in his heart.
As a professional soldier, he longed to see his troops, like these soldiers from Southeast Asia, set foot on this land that had brought endless suffering to their motherland with dignity, carry out a just occupation and reckoning, and wipe away the shame.
That is the highest glory for a soldier.
The reality is that those elite divisions that were supposed to go to the four countries are probably currently training in military camps somewhere in the country, or... have already been quietly mobilized.
The looming threat of fratricide and internal strife was far more worrying to the top leadership than sending troops overseas to carry out occupation missions.
He envied, and even felt a little jealous of, his counterparts in Southeast Asia.
Behind them is a unified, emerging, and determined regime.
The dragon flag rose to the top, fluttering in the sea breeze over Kyushu.
After the flag-raising ceremony, the troops were orderly dismissed, leaving only the sculpted figures of the sentries on duty.
On the same morning, in downtown Fukuoka, at the former Fukuoka Prefectural Government Building.
The old sign on the roof of the building has been removed, and a smaller dragon flag is now flying.
In front of the building, a brand-new bronze plaque reflected a cold light in the sunlight, with two lines of text engraved on it:
Allied Military Command in Kyushu
Office of Anti-Military Liquidation and Democratization
Abbreviated as "Military Control Command".
On one side of the sign is a line of smaller print: Headquarters of the United States of Southeast Asia Garrison.
The building was heavily guarded, with Nanyang soldiers behind sandbag fortifications at the entrance scrutinizing the documents of every person entering.
The third floor, formerly the county magistrate's office, has now become the headquarters command center.
General Qi Quan, the highest-ranking officer of the Nanyang Army stationed in Kyushu, sat behind his desk.
Standing before him were several middle-aged Japanese men dressed in wrinkled black suits or kimonos. They were members of the Fukuoka Prefectural Temporary People's Livelihood Coordination Council, hastily appointed by the Allied Command from among local gentry, scholars, and former low-ranking bureaucrats based on the criteria of "non-militarists," and temporarily responsible for communication and maintaining the minimum necessary municipal operations.
As for the former county magistrate, police minister, and local garrison commander, they are currently being held in a temporary war criminal detention center converted from a warehouse, awaiting identification and trial.
Qi Quan wasn't wearing a dress uniform, just an ordinary combat uniform, but the gold star of a general on his shoulder and the several shining medals on his chest were enough to demonstrate his authority.
He didn't put on a pleasant expression, his fingers lightly tapping a document on the table.
"In accordance with the directives of the Allied Command and the 'Guiding Outline for the Thorough Elimination of the Remnants of Japanese Militarism' issued by the Supreme Commander of the United States of Southeast Asia..." Qi Quan's voice was not loud, but it was clear that his actions were justified.
"In the Kyushu region, all former Japanese military, police, veterans' associations, youth groups, and all other semi-military organizations must be immediately and unconditionally disbanded. All weapons, ammunition, explosives, swords, standard uniforms, flags, and documents must be surrendered within a specified period."
He picked up a document and read aloud:
"From this day forward, within 72 hours, every household must voluntarily deliver any of the aforementioned prohibited items to the designated collection point. Those who fail to deliver them within the specified time or fail to report their concealment will be dealt with severely as if they were hiding war materials or plotting treason."
A man wearing round glasses, who looked like a former school teacher, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, bowed cautiously, and said in broken Chinese mixed with Japanese:
"General... isn't the time too tight?"
While some old items may indeed be scattered among the people, most are souvenirs and have no other purpose.
Moreover, some swords are family heirlooms, embodying the spirit of the samurai…
"A reliance?" Qi Quan interrupted him, his eyes suddenly shooting out like knives. "A reliance on the spirit of invasion, slaughter, and enslavement of other peoples? Bushido? Is that the kind of 'way' you've displayed in Nanjing, in Southeast Asia, and on the Pacific islands?"
Those few words were like a bucket of ice water poured over them; the men instantly turned pale and their legs went weak.
Qi Quan leaned forward slightly, which greatly increased the sense of oppression he exuded.
"It seems that you gentlemen do not have a deep enough understanding of the nature of war and the harm of militarism. You need to understand that we are not here to negotiate with you, but to carry out orders and eradicate this cancer."
He paused, his tone softening, which only made the Japanese soldiers more uneasy:
"Our policy toward die-hards who are stubborn and try to preserve the teeth and claws of militarism is simple: trial, and then public execution."
I believe that since you have been chosen to assist in maintaining local order, you must be "conscientious Japanese citizens" who are willing to distance yourselves from past crimes and would not want to be categorized as "die-hard militarists," would you?
Standing next to Qi Quan was a South Korean translator wearing a dark blue uniform issued by the Nanyang Army. He immediately puffed out his chest, his face showing an almost exaggerated, triumphant expression.
He translated in fluent but arrogant Japanese to the Japanese people, his tone even harsher than Qi Quan's original words, and even carrying a clear sense of reprimand and humiliation.