Ambassador Sato's telegram to Tokyo, reporting the complete severance of diplomatic relations between Germany, was never sent by Andriy, despite his promise. The Germans themselves broadcast this news a few hours later.

In the early hours of that day, when the second wave of nuclear strike planes was hundreds of miles away from Nagasaki, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' telegraph office overheard the news.

Thus Togo's striving-assertion - though he knew in his heart that there was no hope - that the last hope of peace talks through Germany was dashed, and Japan was plotted without prior warning, and he was as furious as Hull on the day of Pearl Harbor.

He personally reported the news to Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso, blaming him for not convening an emergency meeting of the "Big Six" the day before. In fact, it is not necessary for Dongxiang to get angry. This time, Kuniaki Koiso neither defends nor beats around the bush, and his response is simple and straightforward.

"Let's end the war," he said. However, he first had to determine whether the emperor agreed to surrender immediately. He went to the Imperial Library to meet the Emperor, and Hirohito agreed to accept any conditions that would lead to peace.

After receiving this assurance, Koiso Kuniaki convened an emergency meeting of the "Big Six". It was 11 a.m., one minute before the second nuclear bomb landed on Nagasaki. "In the present situation," said Koiso Kuniaki, "my conclusion is that the only way is to accept the Hankyo Declaration and end the war." I'd like to hear your views on that. ”

No one spoke.

"Why don't you speak?" "Unless you speak upright, we're going to get nowhere." ”

The other three military leaders were unhappy with Mine's willingness to discuss surrender, but. The United States has retreated to the Americas, and aid to Japan has become an extravagant hope, and Germany has completely severed diplomatic relations with Japan. In the past, Japan was still trying to impress Germany on the grounds that there were no permanent friends in the world, only eternal interests. But this has been shattered by the facts. The Germans simply refused, and were extremely unkind to the Japanese. The last straw in the eyes of Japan seems so far away.

An officer walked into the conference room with a telegram. The second wave of atomic bombs has been dropped. This disturbing news, coupled with news from Berlin that long-pent-up grievances against Anan, Umezu, and Toyota had openly erupted, were well understood by the three of them. Surrender is inevitable. However, he refused to accept the Hankyo Declaration, even if the emperor was allowed to continue to rule. In addition to this, they insisted that the Japanese themselves try the war criminals, and the army was disbanded by Japanese officers. The number of occupying forces should be limited.

Togo was impatient. Trying to make them admit the reality of the situation. Japan has reached the point of collapse. The Allies would undoubtedly reject these conditions, which would jeopardize all efforts to find peace. Can the military come up with any hope of victory? Lu Xianganan couldn't take it, but he still demanded that Japan fight another big battle -- to fight on Japanese soil. Can you stop the enemy from landing? Togo continued to ask.

"If you're lucky. We can repel the invaders before they come ashore," replied Umezin, "and in any case, I dare say, we can annihilate most of the invading force." That is, we can inflict extremely serious losses on the enemy. ”

Dongxiang is in hot pursuit: So what? The enemy will attack a second or third time if necessary. There is no other way than to make a minimum counter-claim to sum.

The meeting lasted for three hours, but the problem was still not solved. Kuniaki Koiso adjourned the meeting and personally reported the inconclusive results to Kido. "There is only one solution," he said to Kido, "and we ask the Emperor to decide." ”

This is a bold suggestion, and although the emperor's power is great, it does not include proposing policies. But Kido also realized that only an exceptional move by the emperor could save Japan. Kido did not hesitate to explain the situation to the emperor. Hirohito also believes that tradition must be broken.

The cabinet meeting held that afternoon, like the "Big Six" meeting in the morning, did not solve the problem. The military - with the exception of Mi and Wai - was once again unanimously opposed to civilians. According to Miné, there can be no gain from continuing the war. "Therefore, we must throw away the 'face', surrender as soon as possible, and immediately start thinking about how to best preserve the country."

His words furious fellow officers. Anan simply couldn't restrain his hatred. "When the enemy invades Japan, we will certainly inflict heavy losses on him," he said, "and it is not impossible to turn the tide of the war from defeat to victory." "Also, the army units on the front line will not obediently obey the order to disband." Imperial soldiers will refuse to lay down their arms. They knew that they were forbidden to surrender. We really have no other way but to continue the war. ”

Four civilian officials - the Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry, Commerce and Industry, Transport and Quartermaster - disagreed. The people are on the verge of exhaustion, the rice harvest is the lowest in years, and the country is no longer able to fight.

Anan interrupted impatiently. "Everyone knows all this, but no matter how bad it is for us, we must fight to the end!"

――――――――

At the mouth of the Urakami River, a circular gas storage tank near the train station was thrown into the sky like a large fireball, falling to the ground and then bouncing into the air. The drum drum flies higher. To the north, the survivors are in a daze trying to escape from the Heartburst Zone. There was a naked man, with no expression on his face, carrying a child whose intestines had come out. There was a cat, whose fur had been burned into knots, licking the intestines hanging from a horse's belly.

Nishida is a mailer for Mitsubishi Steelworks. The flash burned her hair. She hurried across the railroad bridge above the stadium to escape, but she didn't know she was heading towards the center of destruction. Since the sleepers had been burned, she had to staggering along the crooked railroad tracks, balancing her body step by step. The river was littered with corpses. On the shore, there was a woman whose buttocks had been blown up like a balloon. Nearby, there is a black and white spotted cow, covered in purple and red spots, drinking quietly.

Nishida almost fell at one point, and hurriedly called for a girl who came to him for help. The man was her classmate, but Nishida's burned face startled the classmate. The classmate burst into tears, reluctant to touch Nishida. Nishida slowly came to the east shore in frustration. She walked past a charred, naked man who stood like a statue. Limbs stretched out - already dead.

In the distance, she saw packets of charcoal. She almost stepped on it, and suddenly realized that it was human. Their faces were round and swollen, as if they were inflated. There were no buildings around, only flat and smoking rubble. Near the place where the heart broke out, she met a male classmate in the same class. He didn't recognize her until she spoke. "Are you really Nishida?" He asked.

All around them were cries of pain for help. Nishida walked towards them involuntarily, but turned in horror and ran to the river. The two of them walked slowly south along the riverbank, and when they reached a shallow place, they crossed the river. They passed a mother and daughter sitting on a charred futon. The daughter's body leaned forward, dead, her head soaked in water. Her mother looked at her blankly. Why didn't she pull her daughter out of the water? Nishida was puzzled. She continued south. After passing through the steel factory, he didn't even notice that the soles of his shoes were burned through.

As night fell, the horrors of Nagasaki gradually became invisible. Thousands of survivors were unable to leave the blast zone because of injuries or weakness. Kazuko Tokai is the one who was only 275 meters away from the center of the explosion and was saved by a bomb shelter with a thin layer of soil. Curled up with their parents in a communal bomb shelter near their home. When the stars in the sky are about to come out. Kazuko's father died. The mother's voice also grew thicker and thicker. It's getting harder and harder. "Don't die!" Kazuko pleaded in the dark. There was no answer, and Kazuko told her not to wake up. She also died. The girl waited. In the vast world of nothingness, everything is quiet. Only I'm alive. She thought.

In the sky, a Globemaster flies a thousand meters in the air. The Grand Lama, who was specially installed on the plane, read the Hankyung Declaration in Japanese over and over again.

This declaration was issued by the Chinese Empire and the leaders of the European Union and the small countries that stood on the side of China. There were three declarations, one for the United Kingdom, one for Japan, and one for the United States.

At this time, the Globemaster hovering over Nagasaki read out over and over again was the declaration against Japan.

(1) Remnants: The Emperor of the Chinese Empire, Iran, Iraq, the Provisional Government of Afghanistan, and the remnants of Israel and other hundreds of millions of nationals have consulted and agreed that Japan should be given an opportunity to end the war. Japan surrendered

(2) China's vast army, navy, and army have been strengthened many times, and its troops and air forces transferred from the West are about to deal a final blow to Japan, and their armed forces, supported and encouraged by the determination of all the United Nations, will fight against Japan until it ceases to resist.

(3) The heart of Japan cannot be measured. If our military strength, backed by our resolute will, were to be carried out in its entirety, the Japanese army would be completely destroyed and there would be no escape, and the Japanese mainland would be completely destroyed.

(4) Now that the time has come, Japan must decide whether it will continue to be under the control of its military men, who have made a mistake in their calculations and brought the Japanese Empire to a state of total destruction, or whether it will go to the path of reason.

(5) The following are our conditions, which we will never change and have no other way. Hesitation to procrastinate, even more intolerable to us.

(6) The authority and power of those who deceived and wrongly led the Japanese people in their vain desire to conquer the world must be eliminated forever. The Gai U people insist that a new order of peace, security, and justice will not be possible unless they drive responsible militarism out of the world.

(7) Until the establishment of such a new order, and until the destruction of the forces of war in Japan, and when there is definite and credible evidence, the territory of Japan, designated by China, must be occupied, and the basic purpose stated hereby may be accomplished.

(8) The terms of the Hankyong Declaration shall be carried out, and the sovereignty of Japan shall be permanently limited to Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and such other small islands as we may determine.

9. After the Japanese troops are completely disarmed, they will be allowed to return to their hometowns and have the opportunity to live in peace, production and life.

10. We have no intention of enslaving the Japanese nation or destroying our country, but the perpetrators of war crimes, including the mistreatment of our prisoners, will be punished by law, and the Japanese Government will remove all obstacles to the revival and strengthening of the democratic trend of the Japanese people, and the freedom of speech, religion and thought, as well as the importance of fundamental human rights, must be established.

(11) Japan shall be permitted to maintain such industries as are necessary for its economy and for which it can pay reparations for goods, but it will be able to obtain raw materials, as opposed to the control of raw materials, and Japan's eventual participation in international trade relations shall be permitted.

12. Japan will depose all armed forces and reserve formations, except for the necessary police armaments, and the number of armed ships at sea shall not exceed 100 tons, and the number of aircraft shall not exceed 100. The development of strategic and weapons of mass destruction is strictly prohibited.

13. In order to ensure the security of Japan's territory limited to the four islands, China will permanently garrison the four islands. Protect the lives and property of the Japanese people, and safeguard Japan's territorial integrity limited to the four islands. The cost of garrisoning is to be borne by Japan.

13. We inform the Government of Japan of the forthright and unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and the good faith in the exercise of such assurances that Japan will be swift and totally destroyed. (To be continued......)