Early morning. May 15 was another scorching hot day. The army still occupies the palace, and the original order has not been canceled.

At 6:15, the attendant Toda attempted to go to the Imperial Library again, but this time he was unable to enter. A young officer was ordered not to allow anyone to enter. Toda pretended that he was going to bring the emperor to safety, as the air raid sirens had not yet been lifted. But it doesn't work. One of the older officers reasoned that if the rebels might all break into the Imperial Library and search for recordings that had not yet been found, what did it matter if one person was allowed to enter.

After entering the Imperial Library, Toda told his attendant Naotoku Fujita that the rebels could rush in at any moment, perhaps in hand-to-hand combat. The emperor must be woken up. At 6:40, Hirohito appeared in his pajamas. What happened during the night made him saddened. "Don't they understand my true intentions?" Tears welled up in his eyes. "All the officers and men of the Guards Division are assembled, and I personally tell you."

A mild-mannered attendant, Mitsui Yasumi, was selected to contact the military through the sentry line. He walked less than fifty meters when he met an elderly officer. The officer asked, "Are you an attendant?"

The officer was General Tanaka. He was a well-bred man, strictly disciplined, studied at Oxford University in his early years, and like Tojo, served as a commander of the gendarmerie in the Kwantung Army, and he came to restore order himself. He had arrested one of the rebels' lieutenants and ordered Hashiga Osa to withdraw all of his troops to their place.

"Don't be afraid," he said to his attendant. He bowed and handed Mitsui a large business card; Mitsui also gave him a business card of his own. The two bowed to each other again. "Sorry for causing so much trouble." The general said. "Everything can be controlled in an hour, don't worry. All troops are to be withdrawn. ”

He personally controlled the NHK building for two hours. He used a gun to threaten Mamoru Tateno, who was about to make an early morning news broadcast, to give him the microphone and he wanted to broadcast to the whole country. Tateno came up with several excuses: an air raid siren was about to be issued, and it could not be broadcast without the permission of the Eastern Military District; In addition, there should be time to notify local radio stations to conduct national simulcasts.

Tateno went to the control room and asked to speak to Admiral Tanaka's office. The technician understood, and began to shout into the telephone that had been cut off by the rebels. He excused himself by saying that the phone didn't work. He waited for a while, helpless, but one of the lieutenants was furious at the continued delay, stabbed the technician with a pistol, and threatened him. If he doesn't hurry, he's going to shoot.

Stop him. "I have to convey our feelings to the people." He said to Tateno. His tone was more pleading than demanding. In his hand he held a volume of scribbled speeches written in pencil. Tateno read the first few words, "Our troops have been defending the Imperial Palace......"

Tateno told them to be patient. "We do our best to contact the Eastern Military Administrative Region." The bell in the telephone room rang, shortening the dumb riddle. The technician answered the phone and looked at the pavilion uncertainly. The call came from the Eastern Military District. It was asked to speak to the "officer in the studio".

He took the microphone. Listen tamely. He had promised to renounce the rebellion. But he went back on his word, and now he was directly ordered to stop, but he still begged to be given a chance. In order to give a final explanation to the public, it was obvious that the other party did not agree. He put down the phone in frustration. It's all over.

At 7:21 p.m., Tateno broadcast a special notice to the nation: "At noon today, the emperor broadcasts an edict. All the people should listen to the Emperor's Tamayin with respect. Electricity will be sent to areas where there is no electricity during the day. Factories, train stations and government departments, the public can listen to the radio. The radio will be heard today at 12 noon. Tateno thought that he had just circled in a circle, and it was on this microphone that he was the first to announce the start of the war on December 8, 1941.

The organized resistance to the surrender has finally ended, but there are still a large number of uncompromising people and groups who are still ready to prevent the surrender with their lives. The staff of the Imperial Palace feared that someone would try to destroy the record of the Emperor's speech. Even taking the recording record from the safe on the second floor of the Imperial Household Province to the courtyard is dangerous.

A set of sound recordings stamped with a "copy" pattern is placed in a square lacquer box with the emperor's coat of arms. It was taken out of the labyrinthine dark corridor by the head of the Imperial Household Affairs Division, Suhiko Kazumi, with a swagger. Another set of records, stamped with the word "original", was placed in a squire's bento box, which he carried out on his shoulder.

Both made it safely downstairs. He wrapped the box in a purple furoshi, got into the royal car and went to the studio, where he handed the bag to another official, and he left in a police car. The copy was safely delivered to the backup broadcast studio in the basement of the NHK building, while the original was taken to the president's office and locked in a safe.

As a result of the call between Chung Zhong and the Eastern Military Administrative Region, military police were dispatched. As soon as the gendarmes arrived, the rebels in the building of the Broadcasting Association withdrew silently. He did not return to the Ministry of the Army. One of his ideas was to show his sincerity and put an appropriate end to the violence. Together with his unwavering companion Jiro Shiizaki Nakasa, he walked to the square in front of the palace. Here, they made a final futile gesture by handing out leaflets and calling on the people to rise up and prevent surrender.

At 11:20 a.m., he pulled out the pistol that had shot Lieutenant General Mori and fired a shot at his forehead. Shiizaki stabbed himself in the abdomen, then raised his pistol, aimed it at his head, and pulled the trigger.

Although His Majesty the Emperor was not present in person, the Yuyin broadcast was still very grand. Studio 8 was packed with NHK staff and witnesses from the Cabinet, the Intelligence Agency, the Imperial Household Ministry, and the Army. Almost at the same time as he committed suicide, the president of the Broadcasting Association took out the sound recording marked "original" from the safe. Some people suggested that it should be piloted first, but would it be disrespectful to the emperor to do so? The consensus is that it's wise to try first so that nothing goes wrong.

The Emperor's voice alarmed a military police lieutenant standing outside the eighth broadcasting room. He drew his saber and shouted, "If you surrender on the broadcast, I'll cut you all down!" An army lieutenant grabbed him and told the guards to take him out.

In the broadcast studio, Nobuyoshi Wada, Japan's most famous broadcaster, turned pale. Nervously sitting in front of a microphone, staring at the minute hand of the clock overlapping with the hour hand at twelve o'clock. At twelve o'clock, he said: "This broadcast is extremely important. All listeners are invited to stand. His Majesty the Emperor is now reading the edict to the people of Japan. We broadcast Yuyin with respect. ”

After playing the national anthem "Jun's Generation", there was a pause, followed by a voice that few people had heard: "Sue me for my loyal subjects." Observing the general situation of the world and the current situation of the empire, I decided to take extraordinary measures to clean up the situation......"

The whole country of Japan listened attentively, and the voice was high in pitch and almost distorted. Strange royal language. Plus the radio reception is not good. Only a few of His Majesty's subjects could understand what he was saying. It is clear that only surrender or the same catastrophic thing happened.

"Open the path of justice, cultivate a noble spirit, and work hard. Go hand in hand with the world. Carry forward the inherent glory of the empire. ”

There was silence. Listeners standing or quietly kneeling. Twitching his face, he could no longer control his feelings. Millions of people wept more than at any other time in the history of the world wept at the same moment. However. In addition to humiliation and grief, there is no denying a certain sense of salvation. The terrible burden of years of war, death and destruction has finally been lifted.

In the Imperial Library, the emperor listened attentively to his own voice through radios produced by the American Radio Corporation before the war. In the Imperial Interior, Kido's reaction was one of mixed feelings, and he was secretly complacent that the cause he was committed to had been realized.

In a dimly lit auditorium at the base camp, hundreds of officers, including Umezu, dressed in neat and ornate uniforms, wearing white gloves and medallied sabers, stood in solemnity and listened with tears streaming down their faces. But for some officers, the war was not over. At the Atsugi base, not far from Tokyo, Osano Kosono, commander of the 3O2 Naval Air Corps, climbed onto an earthen platform near the runway to address the pilots. He said that the order to surrender meant the end of the state, and to obey this order was tantamount to treason. He shouted, "Come with me and destroy the enemy."

His words caused dozens of people to burst into flames, shouting "Hurrah!" At the Oita base in northeastern Kyushu, Vice Admiral Ugaki, Yamamoto's former chief of staff and current commander of the Navy's "kamikaze" force, was similarly determined to die. He felt responsible for Yamamoto's death – he couldn't forget what happened when his superior crashed to his death. Not long ago, he wrote in a letter to Watanabe Daisa: "I have to pay for it. The emperor's words added to his sense of shame. More than ever, he was obliged to follow in the footsteps of all the "special attackers" he sent out to die.

"Crane sound" (The crane is the crown of the Japanese emperor or the symbol of the imperial family, just as the British used the crown to represent the monarch, the ancient Chinese jade seal. It reached troops thousands of miles away from home and as far away as Australia. A staff officer named Yuji Yamamoto was devastated to find that the voice above the mortal was trembling hesitantly.

How could he bow in the direction of the palace so many times in the past? However, he could not suppress his own crying because he was sobbing from the people around him, and out of habit, he turned to face the emperor's coat of arms hanging above the gate of the headquarters building, and gave it the last salute that a Japanese soldier should perform. Then he put on civilian clothes so as not to be captured by the approaching Chinese army.

In the Goto Islands, Captain Tsuneo Shimura, the captain of the brigade who once stubbornly defended the Maeda Heights, was still fighting guerrillas. In order to break out to the north, he is trying to steal a Chinese military vehicle. Suddenly, tracer bullets flew in the air, like fireworks, colorful and beautiful. He thought about it, this was probably the Japanese counterattack he had dreamed of. However, the scouts reported that it was China celebrating the victory. They were drinking and having fun, and they were shooting guns into the sky. What kind of disaster has befallen Japan again?

Words alone, even the words of the emperor, could not immediately put an end to the feelings cultivated by more than four years of war.

China's reply to Japan's surrender has not yet been received, but the naval forces have received orders to cease fire by midnight. However, the Army was reluctant to cease fire until it received an official response from Hankyung. At the last meeting of Koiso Kuniaki's cabinet held that afternoon, it was learned that it would take 12 days to notify the troops isolated in Australia. Therefore, it is necessary to inform China of this communication problem.

Kuniaki Koiso said he was ashamed that he had "twice troubled His Majesty the Emperor." Now it is necessary to form a new cabinet as soon as possible. Before 3 p.m., Kuniaki Koiso submitted to the emperor the general resignation of the cabinet. At the emperor's suggestion, Kido was asked to come out for the last time to choose a new prime minister.

Kido consulted with his retainers and decided that the most suitable candidate was Higashikuregu (Prince). But. The prince poured cold water on the proposal at the outset; Politics, he said, had bankrupted his father's family. In addition, he is a man who has no opinions. When he was a second lieutenant student at the Army University, he refused Emperor Meiji's invitation to a dinner; He had quarrels with the crown prince (later Emperor Taisho); He relied on the persuasion of a field marshal to retain his royal status. A few years later, he married Prince Satoko Naichi (princess), the daughter of Emperor Meiji. However, he still wants to be a free and easy citizen.

Today, however, the emperor approved Kido's search for a candidate who, as a member of the imperial family, was an apolitical man who was immune to criticism.

"I already said it last night," Higashikuregu said to Kido's messenger. "I don't want to accept the premiership at all. But. In the current critical situation, I would like to think about it. ”

At the Oita base in Kyushu, Vice Admiral Ugaki was preparing to set off with his men for the last "kamikaze" attack mission. In his diary, he called for revenge.

"There are many reasons for Japan's current situation. I have to take responsibility. However. Look at the big picture. The main reason for this is the disparity of power between the two countries (China and Japan). I hope. Not only military personnel, but also all Japanese citizens will endure hardships. Muster the spirit of Yamato and do his best to rebuild the country so that Japan can take revenge in the future. I am also determined to serve the country forever in the spirit of Nangong. ”

Ugaki arrived at the airport wearing a uniform with his rank badge removed, binoculars and a samurai dagger given to him by Yamamoto. According to the original plan, he would attack with three planes, but eleven bombers were parked on the tarmac. Ugaki stepped up to the podium and asked the assembled pilots if they were "all so willing to die with me?" Everyone raised their hands. He climbed into the rear seat of the pilot's cockpit of the pilot aircraft. Akiyoshi Nagato, a soldier who was replaced by Ugaki, protested: "You have taken my place!"

"I'll get you free," Ugaki said with a smirk. Endo didn't buy it at all, climbed into the plane, and squeezed around General Ugaki. Ugaki smiled and shifted to make room.

Four bombers were forced to return due to engine failures, while the rest continued to fly towards the Goto Islands. At 7:24 in the morning, Endo sent back Ugaki's emotional farewell message:

"For those who cannot defend their homeland and destroy the enemy, I am the sole responsibility. Over the past six months, the officers and men of our subordinates have fought bravely, and I am deeply grateful to them. ”

"I am going to attack the Goto Islands, where the death of our officers and men is like cherry blossoms falling to the ground, and I will ram and destroy the proud enemy Chinese warships in the true spirit of bushido and with the strong ideas and beliefs that my Japanese Empire will always have.

I am convinced that the officers and men under my command will be able to understand the motives of their duties, overcome the hardships and hardships of the future, and rebuild our great motherland so that it will be eternal and endless.

Long live His Majesty the Emperor!! ”

A few minutes later, Endo telegraphed that the plane was diving towards a target.

It was the last telegram from seven aircraft. Strangely, the Chinese side did not record that there was an attack by the "kamikaze" team that day. Rather, there were a few more prisoners in the prisoner of war camp.

The bodies of Anan and two rebel officers, Kanaka and Shiizaki, were carried to a building next to the Ministry of War for funeral. Hundreds of mourners lined up to bid farewell to the remains. Anan is especially missed because he used his life to bring order to the country.

It was almost dusk that day, and Ida Nakasa, the undetermined accomplice of Kanchu, came to offer condolences. Before that, he had written his will and said goodbye to his wife. He went into his own office next door and lay down, mentally ready for death. When everything was quiet, he got up and walked down the dark hallway to Anan's office. This is the fitting place for him to commit suicide. At the door of the office, he was stopped by a young man named Sakai.

"What are you doing here, Sakai?"

"What about you?"

"What do you care about me?" Ida said, "Leave me alone. ”

Sakai said he was instructed to "watch out" with Ida. "If you're going to die, you're going to have to kill me first."

Ida is on fire. "Don't you even understand the feelings of a samurai?" But Sakai insisted on his opinion, and the two argued, only to dispel Ida's idea of suicide. He thought with remorse that if a person missed the opportunity to seppuku, it would never be returned.

The two returned to Idada's office, lay down on two bunks, and talked for several hours. The next morning, Ida was woken up by a miserable cry of pleading. His wife and father-in-law (his surname is Ida and his son-in-law is his son) came to receive the body. Ida was very embarrassed and explained his thoughts clearly, but the look on his wife's face seemed to ask: Why are you still alive?

In another ward of Tokyo, Vice Admiral Otakijiro, the founder of the "kamikaze" team, attempted suicide at his home and was seriously wounded. He sent someone to ask his comrade and friend Kodama Yushifu, because he had borrowed Kodama's knife last night. When Kodama came in, she found that Onishi had cut her stomach open, and she was still stabbing her chest and throat a few times, but she was still conscious. He grabbed Kodama's hand and said, "Everything I want to say to you is written on the will, which is placed on the desk. There is also a letter to my wife, who is in the country. He smiled slightly.

"I thought your knife was sharper, but it didn't cut very well."

The knife was on the floor, and Kodama picked it up. "Lieutenant General," he whispered, "I'll go with you." ”

"Eight Grids," Onishi shouted, his voice startlingly loud, "what do you get by dying now?" You shall- there's a letter on your desk, send it to the Atsugi base at once, and keep those wayward lads under control. This is more beneficial to Japan than dying here. His forehead was already covered with beads of sweat and he had to open his mouth wide to speak: "Many nationalists will come out." Stop them! ”

Kodama found the letter on her desk. The vice admiral, who had asked Admiral Toyoda and Foreign Minister Togo to sacrifice 20 million men in the final battle to defend the homeland only a few days earlier, apologized in the letter for not being able to achieve victory. He asked the Japanese youth to draw spiritual strength from his death, "brute force can only help the enemy." You must unswervingly abide by the spirit of the Holy Decree, you are the treasure of the nation. With the spiritual strength of the special attackers, we will strive for the well-being of the Japanese nation and world peace. ”

There is a "wandering sentence" next to the letter, which is Onishi's last poem.

Kodama turned back to Onishi, who was coughing up blood. He begged Onishi not to die until he called his wife—about five hours.

Onishi smiled darkly. "Is there anything more stupid and ridiculous than a soldier committing suicide and deliberately delaying his death in order to wait for his wife?" He reached out and held Kodama's hand tightly, and said, "Goodbye!" (To be continued......)