Chapter 27, the noisy and noisy era of comics

Ningbo Port, China

Under the blue sky, the murky waves crashed against the ship's freeboard, splashing and turning into a white foam, and finally slowly falling back. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Accompanied by the neighing of seagulls and the whining whistle, the Stars and Stripes are swept in the sea breeze on the mast.

Standing on the side of the ship in the harbor, you can see that there are dilapidated and simple shantytowns everywhere, mixed with a few slightly imposing Western-style buildings, like isolated islands surrounded by garbage heaps. There were also traces of war: steamers lay in the shallow waters, cranes and warehouses were twisted wreckage, and part of the pier had been burned down, leaving only charred piles...... Together, they form a breathtaking landscape.

As one of the first foreign trade ports in China, relying on the wealth brought by foreign trade, the cityscape of Ningbo Port was not so dilapidated. However, since the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, due to the blockade and shelling of the Japanese fleet, as well as the frequent bombing of Japanese aircraft, the port function of Ningbo Port has been suspended for a long time. With the basic severance of maritime trade, the market in Ningbo has also become extremely depressed, almost dead.

Fortunately, after the Japanese Empire was sent to heaven by the two nuclear bombs of the Yankees, and Chairman Chiang of Chongqing proudly "triumphed Nanjing" (although Nanjing has now been lost again), Ningbo, the long-dormant "dead port", finally ushered in the fleet on the other side of the ocean after many years.

At this time, in the port of Ningbo, a forest of masts and chimneys was towering, and a flotilla of hundreds of "Liberty Ships" flying the Stars and Stripes, escorted by the US Pacific Fleet, finally sent a large number of US aid materials to the Nationalist Government, which had been waiting to be fed for many years.

-- Since the "hump route" over the Himalayas was cut off three years ago, Chairman Chiang has not received any US aid for a long time, and this is one of the important reasons why he collapsed in the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party: Chairman Chiang himself believes that this is the only reason.

On the dilapidated dock trestle, crowds of laborers who had been forcibly recruited with bayonets, dressed in shabby and dirty clothes, or simply shirtless, were busily carrying all kinds of goods from the United States: flour, cans, ammunition, guns, fuel, automobiles......

In the market of Ningbo, people have not seen so many foreign goods for a long, long time.

There are also slightly well-dressed idlers who gather in the pavilions, tea sheds and teahouses near the port, vying to witness the rare western scenery in the harbor - huge steel warships, majestic bridges, terrifying cannons, and new twill livery...... All of this is filled with a shocking aesthetic of violence, so that everyone who witnesses it deeply feels the shock and ripple of body and mind.

This is the supreme force of the United States of America, which is now about to once again sound the clarion call for the conquest of the East by Westerners.

On the water around the warship, there are many small wooden boats of different shapes. The boatmen, dressed in shabby robes, carrying baskets of fruits, eggs, and vegetables, as well as miscellaneous knick-knacks, shouted at the sailors on the warships from a distance, and tried to sell them with a smile on their faces. The stiff and strange English mixed with the noise of the Ningbo dialect resounded chaotically in the harbor.

However, on the USS Enterprise, the flagship aircraft carrier of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Halsey, the supreme commander of this fleet, had no interest in these water vendors shuttling through the harbor, but stood outside the door of a certain cabin with a bottle of Coca-Cola in his hand, crossed his arms and watched a group of North Koreans coldly...... Or the Koreans, who say the same word in English anyway, spit and shout in the cabin.

They are members of the Interim Government of the Republic of Korea.

It's a very strange government, affiliated with a strange country that has never really existed on earth for a day.

- As we all know, before the Korean Peninsula was annexed by the Japanese Empire, there were only two country names: the Korean Kingdom and the Korean Empire.

As for the so-called Republic of Korea, it has always existed only in the imagination of some of its exiles abroad.

Of course, the so-called Korean Empire is also a ridiculous name. Imperial? Is this also worthy of a small state in North Korea?

Even the African emperor of Ethiopia at least had the martial arts to boast of defeating the Italians, but what capital and merit did the Koreans have in modern times? For a foot-rubbing mat sandwiched between Japan, China, and Russia, at the mercy of the Korean Empire? Does it deserve it too?

At that time, it was on the verge of losing even its credentials as an independent country. But the cheeky last king of Joseon completely ignored the reality that the country was about to become a colony, and insisted on proclaiming himself emperor, as if he wanted to have a good time before he died.

After the ridiculous Korean Empire was completely erased from the map by the Japanese, a group of even more cheeky Korean Christians fled their homeland and went into exile in China, and then pretended to overthrow the old dynasty and establish a republic, playing the sign of this "Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea" in Shanghai. In Halsey's view, this so-called provisional government of the Republic of Korea is probably similar to Norton I, the self-proclaimed emperor of the United States in history.

What is even more ridiculous is that this "Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea," which has neither subjects nor land, has been mired in fierce factional struggles since its inception. Eventually, the "Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea" split into two main factions, with a missionary named Syngman Rhee leaving the United States with his supporters to beg for the White House's assistance. Another killer leader, Jin Jiu, remained in China and continued to plot his quest to restore the country.

Admiral Halsey still had some impressions of Syngman Rhee, who was the head of the Korean diaspora in the Hawaiian Islands, and occasionally had some dealings with the Pacific Fleet during the war, such as helping to interrogate Korean laborers captured at the front. The U.S. military intelligence agency also included him in the scope of cooperation for a time, but unfortunately, although this Syngman Rhee missionary kept claiming that he could represent the whole of Korea, in fact he could not even find a Korean warrior who was willing to infiltrate the Japanese Empire to engage in espionage activities, so the disappointed American intelligence agency broke off its cooperation with him in 1943.

The only thing this Syngman Rhee missionary did for his country during the Pacific War was to submit thirty petitions to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, begging the United States to recognize the "Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea" and provide weapons, but the White House was very cold - even if the United States was willing to provide weapons, where would your troops be? Moreover, the provisional government of the Republic of Korea, which was in exile in China, was also trapped in Chongqing at that time, and after the Hump route was cut off, no American aid could be sent in. The above-mentioned petition of Syngman Rhee's petition is nothing more than the babble of a madman.

Therefore, it was not until after the collapse of the Japanese Empire that missionary Syngman Rhee boarded a special plane provided by the US military to join the Halsey fleet.

Another leader of the Koreans, Mr. Kim Koo, is a well-known assassination expert, who once assassinated the Japanese emperor and killed the Japanese general Shirakawa Yoshinori in Shanghai. It is a pity that there has never been a country in this world that has really relied on assassination to be established, so the future of Mr. Jin Jiu's great cause of founding the country has always been bleak. However, he has more than 100 South Korean expatriate armed forces in his hands, and he is slightly stronger than Mr. Syngman Rhee, who has only one mouth. Hey, I hope that the killers raised by Mr. Jin Jiu can all be comparable to the elite Assasin assassins of the Crusader era, so that they can come in handy to some extent.

In short, in the eyes of Admiral Halsey, neither Syngman Rhee nor Mr. Kim Koo are qualified politicians, but a group of purely self-centered dreamers. However, in order to block the Soviets who invaded Korea, they could only pinch their noses and use them first.

Then, after rendezvous on the American aircraft carrier in Ningbo Harbor, this strange government of gods and assassins immediately broke out into a fierce conflict over the distribution of power, and quarreled over the positions of several ministers, completely ignoring the fact that it had not set foot on the Korean Peninsula at all...... Halsey couldn't help but gloat at Secretary of State Hull, who was trying to mediate the dispute, standing in the middle of the South Koreans.

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After a few more moments, Secretary Hull finally walked out of the conference room with a tired face, looked up at Halsey, who was sipping Coke outside the door, and said in a somewhat inarticulate greeting, "...... Ah, Admiral Halsey, thank you so much for agreeing to our borrowing of the Enterprise's conference room......"

“…… It's nothing, it's a trifle. Halsey shrugged, "...... But you really worked too hard to mediate just now. With all due respect, you don't have to be so polite to some yellow-skinned monkeys who don't know the height of the sky. Speaking in a good voice like you just did will only make them kick their noses in the face. Only by teaching them a hard lesson can these arrogant North Koreans recognize their true identity. ”

“…… You are right, but there is no need for the time being, because the Soviet Red Army has already taught these Koreans a hard lesson on our behalf. ”

Secretary Hull raised a telegram in his hand, "...... The Soviets have just received information that the Soviets have installed a Korean puppet named Kim ♂ Il Sung in the northeast of Korea, established Soviet power in Korea, and are currently marching towards Pyongyang and Seoul. If the North Koreans on the Enterprise continue to quarrel and wait until the Soviets plant the red flag all over Korea, then there will be nothing for them on the Korean Peninsula......"

“…… In other words, the so-called provisional government of the Republic of Korea has finally settled the issue of the distribution of power within them? ”

Admiral Halsey pursed his lips and said, "...... That's good news. I thought they were going to keep arguing for a week! ”

“…… It can only be said that it was put on hold for the time being, because they had to get to Korea as soon as possible with our support and compete with the Soviets for time. ”

“…… But even if we send them to North Korea, what can we do with such a handful of 'long-distance revolutionaries' who left the Korean Peninsula more than 20 years ago? Can they still be expected to persuade the Soviets to repel their armored forces by paying lip service? Halsey complained.

“…… General Halsey, the situation in North Korea is not as pessimistic as you might think. And the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea is not entirely without supporters. The system of public ownership pursued by the Soviets, apparently very unpopular with the middle class in both Manchuria and Korea, had provoked great hostility among the local gentry and capitalists. and the Korean vassal army, abandoned by the Japanese, was also generally unable to accept the rule of a Soviet power......"

Secretary Hull gently explained, "...... Last month, when the Japanese decided to abandon Manchukuo, a young Korean officer named Park Chung-hee, who served in the Manchurian army, publicly declared his refusal to surrender to the Soviet Union and led a group of ethnic Korean soldiers to flee Manchuria armed and then cross the Yalu River into North Korea. Last week, he gathered thousands of ethnic Korean military and police in Seoul, staged a mutiny with the support of the citizens and gentry, took advantage of the gap between the retreat of the Japanese army and the absence of Soviet troops, took control of the Korean capital, Seoul, established a military government, and sent a telegram to the United States for help.

At present, we have airdropped a batch of supplies and liaison officers to Mr. Park Chung-hee, who bravely resisted the Soviet Union. Next, your fleet will travel there with the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and more supplies to build Seoul into a strong fortress against the Bolsheviks. ”

“…… Really? That's good news. Even if these Koreans were eventually crushed by the Soviets, they should at least be able to hold back the Soviet Red Army for a few months. It would be even better if that Mr. Park Chung-hee could do something miraculous, like the Poles in 1920. ”

Admiral Halsey whistled and commented, "...... What about the Japanese army? How did they react to this? ”

“…… Nothing happened. They continued to retreat with all their might towards their own country, leaving the mess behind them to the Chinese and Soviets to deal with. ”

Secretary Hull replied, "...... With the situation in the central part of the Korean Peninsula completely out of control and the paralysis of railway traffic through the peninsula, the remaining units of the Japanese Kwantung Army and the two million Japanese expatriates in Manchuria are now flocking to the Soviet port of Vladivostok and the port of Wonsan in eastern Korea, and then using the Soviet merchant fleet to return home by sea or temporarily stranded in refugee camps in the Soviet Far East. As for the Japanese troops stationed in Korea, they have now retreated to the port of Pusan in the southeast of the peninsula, and at the same time have taken with them more than 300,000 Korean Japanese nationals. ”

“…… In other words, the Japanese troops originally scattered in Northeast Asia have been very clearly colluded with the Soviets. and determined to give up the entire colonial empire in exchange for the opportunity to return to their homeland and continue to fight with us...... That's not good news! ”

Admiral Halsey touched his chin and muttered, "...... It would be better to let them all drown in the sea before the complete surrender of Japan. ”

“…… General Halsey, if you don't want to see these Japanese troops return to the Japanese archipelago, you can try to send ocean-going submarines to the Sea of Japan to break up the engagement, or send planes to bomb the fleet, but it is better not to rush the main fleet into the Sea of Japan......"

Secretary of State Hull said, "...... Although the Japanese Empire had collapsed, the Japanese Navy remained considerably stronger. Considering the Soviet Red Banner Pacific Fleet standing behind them, it would not be a sensible idea to engage them in such an extremely unfavorable battlefield if your fleet rushed into the Sea of Japan right now. Moreover, neither Congress nor the White House has yet made up their minds to go to war with the Soviets! ”

Speaking of this, he suddenly looked left and right, "...... By the way, where did General Stilwell and General Chennault go? ”

“…… They had already disembarked and left. Mr. Secretary of State. You know, we've just handed over two Canadian infantry regiments to Stilwell and twenty B-25 bombers to Chennault's 14th Air Force, and now they're all gearing up to do something in China! ”

Admiral Halsey replied, "...... It is said that he was preparing to go to Nanchang to lobby Chairman Chiang and ask this bald head to organize troops to counterattack Nanjing as soon as possible and annihilate the Japanese Fourth Division entrenched there. But I think that as long as the bald chairman is a pig teammate, any effort they make will become a joke. ”

“…… It doesn't matter, they can try it if they want to! Anyway, there were enough jokes made by Chairman Chiang. The Japanese Empire has perished, and he will be captured by the remnants of the Japanese army again! At present, Nanjing, the capital of China, is still entrenched by the remnants of the Japanese army, and Shanghai, China's most prosperous port, has actually allowed a guerrilla force of Chinese red elements (the New Fourth Army) to steal the opportunity! It's so hard to know what to say! ”

Secretary Hull shrugged his shoulders, "...... And the chairman of the committee also asked us to help recover Shanghai and return it to him in one piece......"

“…… If he wanted to, I could try to bomb Shanghai with Soman gas bombs and return an empty city to him. ”

Admiral Halsey said disapprehantly, "...... At the very least, the city's main buildings are in good condition! Anyway, I have already killed five million yellow-skinned monkeys in Japan, and it doesn't matter if I kill another five million Chinese monkeys. And the chairman complained all day long that his country was overpopulated......"

“…… General Halsey, do you think gas bombs don't cost money? The United States did not allow you to squander state assets like this! ”

Secretary Hull glared at him, "...... Besides, where do we have the spare energy now to help the bald chairman solve his problems? Isn't there still a lot of jokes on the battlefields of Japan? His Excellency MacArthur is still being paraded in an iron cage by those Japanese devils! ”

“…… Uh, yes, poor Douglas, and that hateful Masanobu Tsuji......"

Admiral Halsey sighed, and couldn't help but think of the color photo flyer he had just arrived: MacArthur in a dirty admiral's gown and unkempt in an iron cage, while Masanobu Tsuji was wearing the bright red armor of an ancient Japanese samurai and standing next to the cage with a knife on his hand, smiling triumphantly. On top of the cage was a canvas banner with the words "Serve the country with iron and blood, crush the white oni" in Japanese......

Obviously, MacArthur's capture was a mixed affair for every officer and soldier of the United States of America, let alone Halsey, his old friend. In fact, if MacArthur had been beheaded or tortured by the Japanese, and then showing pictures of his body everywhere, perhaps it would have provoked the indignation of the Allies and their determination to avenge him. But the Japanese just put him in an iron cage and paraded him through the streets......

In this regard, Halsey really didn't know what to say, was he glad that he was at least not dead? Or complain that he endured humiliation and secretly survived?

To make matters worse, MacArthur's capture further stimulated the vigorous development of anti-American forces in Japan, especially the various Soviet powers. The U.S. military's original plan to use the victory in the Battle of Nagoya to make the resistance forces in various parts of Japan lose their fighting spirit was basically ruined. Moreover, after learning of MacArthur's capture, the enraged Anzac launched a second retaliatory massacre against the citizens of Osaka, which intensified the hatred between the two sides.

Of course, the rapid expansion of the Bolshevik forces in the Japanese archipelago also seriously stimulated the old vested interests in Japanese society, such as the chaebols and landlords, so that in the face of such a major question of right and wrong as the class struggle, they completely abandoned the last bit of loyalty, patriotism, and national integrity, and rushed to the arms of the invading American forces without hesitation...... In short, in Japan at present, the number of anti-US forces and the leading party is swelling sharply, and the living space of the neutrals and wall-to-wall grass is rapidly shrinking.

In Halsey's view, only dead Japanese are good Japanese, and as long as they kill all the way, they can take care of everything. In any case, it is better to leave an uninhabited desert island to God than to leave an entire industrialized country to the Bolsheviks.

However, Secretary Hull's suggestion is that it is better not to be so simple and rude, and to learn to use force to fight the Japanese:

“…… The most urgent problem we need to solve at present is to stop the spread and expansion of Bolshevik power in East Asian countries, especially Japan, which is the most industrialized. But on the other hand, the federal army cannot afford to shed endless bloodshed and sacrifice......"

Secretary Hull explained the White House's latest policy to Halsey, "...... In order to reduce the number of casualties of our troops, the White House is ready to localize the war in the Japanese archipelago, that is, to rearm the Provisional Government of Japan, and let the Japanese themselves suppress the Bolshevik forces of their own nation......"

With the collapse of the Japanese Empire, war-torn East Asia has become more lively and noisy than calm......