When Higashikurenomiya knew that he had been "hand-picked" by the emperor to be prime minister, he could hardly refuse.

"In this grave situation, I can't just think about personal happiness," he said firmly to Kido on the morning of May 16.

"If I am useful to the country, I will gladly accept this position." However, before he can make up his mind, he must first understand the current situation.

Kido told him that the Chinese side had requested that a liaison officer who could represent the Japanese government be sent to Jeju Island quickly.

"Therefore, it is necessary to form a cabinet as soon as possible. At present, we have no way to deal with the Chinese, and any delay will arouse the suspicion of the Chinese and make our situation even more difficult. "Last night's attempted coup made it necessary to pick a man who is respected by the Army." If you don't accept this position, you will cause great anxiety to the emperor. ”

Higashikurenomiya thought to himself that the burden of leading a defeated country would be onerous and cumbersome, but he knew that he could control the opposition rebellion in the army through his colleagues in the army, who himself held the rank of general. Once Japan's future is decided, he can resign.

"I would like to receive the great order of forming a cabinet."

Just before noon, Hankyo received a note from Japan to surrender, and the base camp ordered the naval and army forces to cease hostilities. In addition, the emperor ordered the three imperial families to go to their headquarters in various places overseas, reassuring the military that the decision to surrender was of his own free will.

Overt rebellion continues to torment the homeland. Pilots of the Atsugi Air Force distributed thousands of leaflets over the Tokyo area, accusing Shigetomi and the Koiso Kuniaki government of leading the emperor astray. Their leader, Ozono Daisa, was still arrogant in front of a naval admiral.

He attacked. The emperor must be crazy to surrender; The war must continue. But the rebellion collapsed. That night, the distraught Koon scolded Amaterasu and had to take care of him. Inject him with morphine, put him in a straitjacket, and take him to a naval hospital.

The Oita base, the airfield where General Ugaki set out for Japan's last "kamikaze" attack, was also filled with an atmosphere of rebellion. Ugaki's successor, Vice Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka, a veteran of the battles of Pearl Harbor and Midway, gathered all the senior officers together. A group of younger officers also came uninvited with hostility.

Kusaka said he knew that some of them, out of patriotism, thought the war should be fought - but. "As long as I don't roll my eyes (i.e. live). I will not allow recklessness. Those who want to rebel must first "break me to pieces." He closed his eyes, expecting someone to come and kill him. The jacques are silent - it seems to be endless. Then Kusaka heard someone crying, and he opened his eyes.

"Your remarks have calmed our heads," admitted one young officer. He and several other officers pledged to control their men. The grass deer looked around the room. "How's your older officer? Do any of you disagree with me?" No one spoke. "If someone changes their mind. Please feel free to come and see me. I had no guards at night. It's hot. I slept naked (defenseless). ”

Night. He was woken up by a shout, "Sir! Sir! "It turned out to be a fanatical Nakasa, with a pistol in one hand. A knife in one hand. He said that he had just received a "revelation" from the gods that unless Japan launched a final war, there would be no future. "According to God, only the chief can lead us."

The grass deer stared at him. "You can trust the prophecies of the gods, but I can't—maybe I'm not trained enough in my religion. In any case, it was the Emperor who ordered me to perform these duties, and I could not trust any god but myself. Feeling that time would solve the young man's problems, he suggested that he fly to Tokyo to report this divine revelation to the Commander of the Combined Fleet, the Minister of the Navy, and the Prime Minister.

That night, under the pressure of taking on responsibilities that he didn't want to take, the new prime minister couldn't sleep. Higashikurenomiya remembered an accident he had long forgotten. This happened twenty-five years ago, when he was still in France. He told an old fortune teller that he was a painter. She looked at his hand, looked up and said, "That's a lie." You will be the Prime Minister of Japan in the future. He chuckled and admitted that he was a prince and an officer. In Japan, the Imperial Family and Army Generals are not allowed to be politicians as a rule. How could I be prime minister,"

"There will be a revolution or some kind of big event in Japan. You're going to be prime minister. ”

At 11 a.m. the next day, on May 17, he presented the proposed list of cabinet members to the Emperor. Only Minai remained in his position. Togo refused to be foreign minister, and was succeeded by his predecessor Shigemitsu Aoi, and Konoe became the unappointed minister. The other emperors agreed.

The first task of the new government was to send a delegation to Jeju Island to arrange with the Chinese side the surrender of the various battlefield armies. The person selected to be the head of the delegation was Umezu's deputy, Lieutenant General Toroshiro Kawabe. Fearing that the rebel pilots would intercept the delegation's landline, some hollowed-out precautions were taken. Shortly after dawn on 19 May, 16 members of the delegation arrived at Haneda Airport. They flew in several small planes and landed at Kisarazu Airport after a few minutes over Tokyo Bay. Two battle-hardened, cigar-like Mitsubishi bombers await them. On MacArthur's instructions, the plane had been painted white-painted and painted with a large green cross.

Only after the deputies boarded the plane, the pilots opened the sealed command: destination, the Goto Islands. The two "Betty" flew west together. When they flew over Kyushu, the delegates were very anxious when they saw a convoy of planes flying towards them.

But after a closer look, they found that there was the logo of the Chinese army on the fuselage, which was reassuring, so the two bombers had more than a dozen fighters around them to protect. The Japanese machine issued a code: "Bataan", and the other party replied reassuringly: "We are the guards of Bataan." Come with us. ”

This group of extremely uncoordinated planes flew over the South China Sea for an hour and a half before the Goto Islands appeared in front of them. The first bomber landed safely at the airfield; The pilot of the second bomber forgot to put the landing flaps down, and the plane almost rushed off the runway. Fortunately, it landed on the coral, and the fuselage shook and stopped, and then slowly staggered to the tarmac. As the delegates stepped out of their planes, hundreds of personnel of the Chinese Navy and Army rushed up to surround them and take pictures.

Sixteen delegates were replaced by a four-engine Djinn bomber. They had lunch on the plane, one box per person. Two Chinese soldiers brought them orange water. Katsuo Okazaki, the High Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made a gesture to the secretary and asked him to tip each Chinese soldier 10 Chinese yuan.

As a result, they were puzzled that the two Chinese soldiers did not receive a tip equivalent to one month's salary. He turned around and left coldly.

When it's almost dark. The Djinn arrives at Jeju Airport. General Riverside led the delegation across the tarmac. Li Yongze, the interpreter of Qian Sihai, who came to the nearest Chinese representative to the delegation. When Li Yongze raised his hand in salute, he saw Okazaki walking towards him with his hands outstretched.

Li Yongze clenched his right hand into a fist and pointed his thumb upwards as an informal salute -- this was to avoid shaking hands with the enemy. He had practiced this twenty times in front of a mirror. And then. Li Yongzeer accompanied the delegation to Qian Sihai's intelligence minister, Major General Wang Xijing. Thousands of soldiers, residents and journalists gathered around. The camera clattered incessantly, and Okazaki sounded like a machine gun was being fired at a strange animal.

Riverside and Wang Xijing were in the same car.

The narrow streets leading to Dewey Avenue have long been filled with curious crowds. The Chinese soldiers behaved calmly, but the original inhabitants of Jeju Island were hostile. There are quite a few people who shout "Eight grids!" Or throw stones. When getting off the bus. The Japanese do not look away, but look straight ahead.

As soon as they settled down in their apartment in a two-story building near the Jeju Island Hotel, they were served a dinner with chicken, which they recalled years later as "relishing." After dinner, they drove to the town hall and were seated at a large conference table, opposite the Chinese.

Fang Zhengong, the chief of staff of Qian Sihai, sat down by the river, and Fang Zhengong read out General Order No. 1, specifying to whom the Japanese troops should surrender to each locality.

The formal surrender ceremony will take place in early September on a Chinese warship in Tokyo Bay. The Japanese representative was ordered to list the locations of all troops and ships, airfields, submarine and "man-torpedo" bases, ammunition depots and minefields.

In addition, from the moment of the formal signing of the instrument of surrender, Japan must disarm all its armed forces, all weapons, as well as its stockpiles of weapons and ammunition, and the industrial equipment for manufacturing weapons, and deliver them to the Chinese military within one month.

If the request is not done, it will be deemed that Japan has unilaterally resumed the war.

The meeting resumed the following morning. Fang Zhengong handed Kawabe a draft of a "surrender document" to be issued by the emperor. The river did not catch it and landed on the table, and then carefully picked it up, and according to the observation of a Chinese naval officer, it seemed to be some kind of deadly poison. Riverside pushed the file to his assistant. Second Lieutenant Sadao Otake, a graduate of Northeastern University in China, and said, "Yakuse! ("Translate!") )

The first sentence - "I, the Emperor Hirohito of Japan" - made Otake's face pale all at once! The emperor never used "Vadakusi" ("I"), but only he could use "I", the emperor's self-title. As he listened, he crossed his hands and closed his eyes, as if in great pain. As soon as he heard the word "Owari" ("end"), he slapped it on the table and said, "Himayi! ("Finished")

Lee Yongzel is an expert on Japan. He knew very well how insulting it was to the Japanese to write such unvarnished words to the Emperor - it was clear that the Japanese representatives were "about to die in their chairs". Inside the apartment, while the Japanese were packing up and returning home, Lee Yongzeer and Wang Xijing tried to convince Kabebe and Okazaki to reassure.

"I am sure," Mr. Lee said in Japanese, "that the Supreme Commander did not intend to belittle the emperor in the eyes of the Japanese. He told them not to care about the wording of the document - he would talk to Qian Sihai personally. He asked them to draft their own "according to the official format of the edict, ending with the customary end." Li Yongzeer explained to Wang Xijing his promise to the Japanese. Wang Xijing still couldn't understand why the Japanese were so worried.

"General Wang Xijing," Okazaki said in English, "is crucial. I really can't explain to you how important it is! ”

As the delegation left Rosario, Otake introduced himself to a Chinese Japanese standing guard. The guard also told him that his surname was Takamura. in China. Otake married a Japanese-Chinese, also surnamed Takamura. "Do you have a sister named Yuedai?" Otake asked. The sentry nodded. Otake said, "I am his husband. The two shook hands. Look for me when you get to Japan," Otake said to his brother-in-law as he got on the bus.

General Fang Zhengong thought that Li Yongzeer was right to ask the Japanese to revise the wording of the document, but told him to make it clear to Qian Sihai. Qian Sihai put his arm around the colonel's shoulders and said, "Li Yongzeer, you handled it very correctly. In fact, I really have no intention of belittling him in the eyes of his people. "Through Hirohito, an orderly Japanese government can be best maintained. He even asked if His Majesty the Emperor would come to visit him when he arrived in Tokyo. "If he comes, it will be the first time the Emperor of Japan has visited someone else, right?"

"Yes, General. will come. I'm sure he'll do that. ”

After the delegates returned to Jeju Island. It was discovered that there was a Mitsubishi-made plane that could not take off back to Japan. Several delegates said that it might have been sabotage, but Otake thought it was ridiculous -- the plane that couldn't take off was the one that landed on the belly. Riverside, Okazaki and six others boarded another bomber and began a long flight home. Okazaki dictated a memo. Recorded by a subordinate officer, Harumi Takeuchi. But the riverside general was pondering. Looking forward to the future promised by the Chinese people. "If human beings could exercise justice and humanity in their relations with one another." He later wrote, "The horrors of war could well have been avoided, even if war had unfortunately broken out." The victor will not be invincible, and the pain of the loser will be immediately alleviated. A truly civilized power is the first prerequisite. ”

After the sun went down, cool air whizzed in through bullet holes in the fuselage in the dark. In order to warm their bodies, the delegates drank the liquor that is abundant in China, and finally fell asleep. At about eleven o'clock, the pilot woke them up and said that there was a leak in the tank, so they had to fly to the nearest land. If it can't fly and falls into the sea, the plane can only float on the water for a moment. He asked everyone to put on their life jackets,

They were most concerned about the documents - if lost, the Chinese would think that they were deliberately delaying the surrender ceremony. The document was given to Okazaki, an athlete who had represented Japan at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924.

The engine slowly stopped turning, and the fuselage began to descend. Looking out of the window, Takeuchi could see the sea shimmering beneath the fuselage. He tried to put on his life jacket, but his fingers were cold and stiff, and he wouldn't listen. With the exception of Okazaki, everyone silently supported the seats in front of them with their hands on their heads. Okazaki clutched the precious document with both hands. The plane bounced into the sea, and the sea splashed on the windows. Like a stone flake skimming the water, it touched something and stopped immediately.

The oil drum flipped over and rolled over Takeuchi. He heard someone shout, "We're all right!" Takeuchi touched his face, sticky, thinking it was blood, but in fact it was oil. The pilot opens a side door. The sea water poured in, and Takeuchi hoped to climb out before the plane sank. Then he found that the pilot was standing in the water, which was only knee-deep.

Okazaki hit his forehead, groggy and staggered out of the plane and waded ashore. Ahead, Mt. Fuji is reflected in the moonlight.

In fact, Chen Shao didn't think much about the future of Japan, and it didn't hurt his mind at all.

First, he never thought of occupying Japan, because it was impractical, Japan is a very strange people, many of their temperaments are derived from the Chinese civilization, and they have mixed their own unique civilization with this civilization, and the hatred of the same enemy is extremely prominent. Unless Chen Shao is ruthless, he will exterminate the whole of Japan.

Second, there is no one in Asia to share the victory with China, because the war is borne by China alone. This is a lot less troublesome, as long as it is what China wants, there is no need to take care of anyone at all.

Chen Shao's attitude can also be clearly seen from the conditions for Japan in the Hanjing Declaration. He can admit the existence of Japan, but Japan can only be a "vassal state" of China. Although the title "vassal state" is not written, the change from the garrison and the waiver of indemnity to an indefinite industry necessary to maintain its economy and to pay indemnity for goods is fully indicative of the fact that Japan will henceforth strictly prohibit the possession of its own armed forces, and the same will be true of its economy. Except for those industries that can sustain their own economy, the rest must be given unconditionally to China in the form of repayment. This is already a vassal state than a vassal state, so there is no need to write the word "vassal state" at all.

This is not at all as troublesome as when Japan surrendered in World War II, because there is only one cake, and there is more than one person who shares the cake, and once the distribution is uneven, contradictions naturally arise. In later generations, as we all know, Japan and Russia have never signed any peace agreement. To put it plainly, since World War II, the state of war between Japan and Russia has not been lifted.

Later at the end of World War II, (the following is the real history!) The United States was more nerve-wracking to deal with the USSR than against Japan. Stalin demanded a larger share of the spoils. In a telegram to Truman, he said that the Kuril Islands had been "awarded" to the Soviet Union at the Yalta Conference, and that he proposed that the Japanese forces in the northern half of the islands and Hokkaido, the northernmost island of the Japanese mainland, be surrendered by the commander of the Russian Far East Army.

…… The latter proposal is of special significance to Russian public opinion.

As everyone knows, the Japanese army occupied the entire Far East of the Soviet Union from 1919 to 1921. If the Russian army does not occupy a part of the Japanese mainland, Russian public opinion will feel greatly insulted.

It is my deep hope that the above modest proposal will not be met with any opposition.

Later in World War II, Truman was annoyed, and he replied that he could agree with the proposal about the Kuril Islands, but also make it clear that the USSR wanted to create an air base on one of the islands of the Kuril Islands. On the question of Hokkaido, however, he did not budge an inch, and the present arrangement for the surrender of the Japanese troops on the four main islands must be maintained.

Stalin was also on fire. Two days later, on August 22, he replied that on the question of Hokkaido, "I did not expect to receive such an answer," and that the question of the Soviet air base in the Kuril Islands was not raised at all at the Yalta meeting.

…… As a rule, claims of this nature can only be made to a conquered country, or to a Soviet Union that is unable to defend certain parts of its territory by its own strength and has therefore expressed its willingness to provide an appropriate base for its Soviet Union.

Consider that the USSR does not belong to such countries ...

Since your telegram does not state the motive for the request for a permanent base, I must frankly tell you that neither I nor my colleagues can understand what prompted you to make this request to the Soviet Union. Truman's "first thought was not to reply to this strongly hostile telegram," but after reconsideration, he felt that it would be better to stop the pen war. He explained to the USSR that the United States wanted only to create temporary bases in the Kuril Islands during the occupation of Japan in case of emergency.

China's problems, however, are not so easy to solve.

The plans for post-war rule of the red Chinese were hampered by their ideological comrades in Moscow. The day before the surrender of Japan, Molotov signed an agreement with Kuomintang China. Such insults would become a lump in relations between the Soviet Union and Red China for decades to come.

At the same time, Russia was bent on firmly establishing itself on the Asian continent. The Soviet Red Army, almost without resistance from the already weakened Kwantung Army, occupied many parts of Manchuria. Every captured city was plundered. Tons and tons of wheat, flour, rice, sorghum and soybeans, as well as machinery, locomotives, paper, printing machinery, lighting equipment and electrical equipment were shipped back to the Soviet Union, and even the tables, chairs, benches, telephones, and typewriters of every organ were looted. Wagons of broken furniture and countless pieces of broken glass drove west, and for the Soviet Union, broken copper and iron were also treasures.

All the valuable things of the Japanese prisoners of war were robbed, and even the gold teeth were pried off. Adultery, plunder, and murder became common, but these atrocities were not motivated by hatred or revenge. These conquerors resembled their ancestor Adila (the Hun king who invaded the Roman Empire, c. 406-433 AD). Like the Huns, they were enjoying the spoils of war.

However, in this era, there is no longer a powerful Soviet Red Army, and the war of the United States is full of holes, and it only capsizes in an instant.

PS: The chapter name of the previous chapter is wrong, it should be "on", everyone knows it. (To be continued......)