Chapter 15: The Story of the Three Principals

“…… You and I are like cherry blossoms at the same time, blooming in the courtyard of the same military school. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

I have long had the consciousness of thanking as soon as I opened it, for the sake of the motherland, let's scatter calmly! ”

At the Etajima Naval Academy in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, normal classes have been completely suspended these days.

Students of all grades, seniors who have escaped from various places in ships, as well as some professors and ordinary sailors, gather on the playground all day long, conducting all kinds of speeches and debates, or singing "Sakura of the Same Period" while drinking soju, the song is miserable and weak, and people frown when they hear it. Some people, when drunk, even hold a tree with their hands and hit the trunk with their heads frantically, or stare blankly at the cloud-covered sky and pound the moss on the concrete floor with their fists in grief.

Listening to the singing of "Sakura of the Same Period" sounding from time to time on the playground outside the window, as well as all kinds of drunken scolding and roaring, the principal of the Etajima Naval Academy sitting behind his desk, Admiral Keno Kurita, wearing reading glasses and holding a cup of cold strong tea, only felt a slight pain in his brain.

What's the solution? It's all over. There is no hope for war. Pathetic Navy, Pathetic Empire, Pathetic Japan...... I am afraid that the gains of more than 70 years since the Meiji Restoration will be in vain. The Japanese archipelago will also survive under the enslavement of the US military, and there will never be a day of revival.

Alas, forget it, it's always good to have the energy to sing, at least it's slightly better than committing suicide by seppuku or living like a walking corpse, right?

As a veteran bureaucrat, General Keno Kurita has never been a very courageous guy, just like the commander of the Kuregang Town Guard Mansion not far away, Nagumo Tadaichi, who belongs to the old man of officialdom who has been smoothed out by the years. Because the combat level was really mediocre, they did not perform well in the previous series of naval battles, and even shrank back and lost their fighters, so these two old men were kicked out of the front line and sent to the rear to take up relatively quiet idle posts.

To be honest, they are tired of the long and brutal war, and they can't wait to get out of the turbulent stage of the times.

When they learned that Tokyo and the entire central government had been razed to the ground by atomic bombs, and that there was no one above their heads to give them orders, Kurita Keno and Nagumo Tadaichi reacted that they were completely confused, and they didn't know what to do at all, so they just watched the radio every day to inquire about the news. A few days later, I heard that a provisional government of Japan had emerged in Kyoto, and it was the former Prime Minister Konoe Fumima who took the lead, and the commander of the Kure Port Guard, General Nagumo Tadaichi, basically did not think much about it, so he subconsciously obeyed the order from there, and instructed the naval fleet to stop resisting, seal up the ships and weapons, and prepare to surrender to the American army.

And the principal of the Etajima Naval Academy, Keno Kurita, didn't have any idea of jumping up and crusading against the "puppet government" in Kyoto at that time, but he just felt that his current identity was an educator and he didn't have any military power, so as long as he didn't keep quiet, there was no need to talk too much.

Who knew that although the two old men felt that it didn't matter if they could say goodbye to the war, the young people below had completely different ideas. The order to surrender the U.S. military immediately triggered a riot at the Etajima Naval Academy, and then the army near Kure Harbor also broke out in a mutiny. A part of Kure's ships then dropped anchor and sailed to prepare for the main force of the Combined Fleet in the South Seas. The rest of them subconsciously gathered at their alma mater, wanting to discuss a countermeasure with their teachers and classmates.

As a result, as the principal of the Etajima Naval Academy, Admiral Keno Kurita was involuntarily elected as the temporary head of the Japanese naval forces in the Hiroshima area before he could figure out what was going on. After a few more days, more and more ships fled to Etajima from all over the country, and soon the Etajima Naval Academy was packed. Just arranging accommodation, food, and medical care for so many people kept Kurita Keno busy. Next, Jizaburo Ozawa, the president of Tokyo Naval University, also arrived on Etajima with his students who survived the nuclear bomb and the entire fleet of Yokosuka Castle Guards.

After being given a kick in the face by Jizaburo Ozawa, Kurita Keno finally understood what role he was currently playing: Admiral Enomoto Takeyo, who was probably the same as the Tokugawa shogunate's fall and the shogunate fleet and the Shinsengumi who went north to Ezo...... Although he never actually moved the nest.

However, in the face of this historical mission, Kurita Keno did not get excited, but only felt infinite fear.

“…… Kurita-kun, the current situation is already obvious! All of Japan is looking at Etajima! Look at us sea boys! ”

Principal Jizaburo Ozawa clenched his fists and knocked on the map of Japan nailed to the wall, with an expression of hatred on his face, "...... Yesterday I went to Hiroshima to meet with the Army, and Umezu Yoshijiro and Okamura Ninji were preparing to re-establish a wartime base camp in Hiroshima and lead the war against the United States on the imperial mainland! It is also necessary for our Navy to join in as soon as possible and make our voices heard in the new base camp! We can't let the people of the Army have a monopoly on power! ”

“…… Umezu Mijiro? Did he withdraw the Kwantung Army to the mainland? Kurita hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice.

“…… Yes, the Kwantung Army, the North China Front, the Korean Army, and the native armies in the western region are all massing towards Hiroshima! ”

“…… And what about Manchukuo? And what about Okamura's North China Defense Zone? What about over there? Kurita asked again.

“…… Japan is about to be lost, where can we take care of Manchuria? Jizaburo Ozawa sighed, "...... The Army reached a secret agreement with the Soviets that they would unconditionally relinquish all occupied areas north of the Yalu River, even Lushun and Dalian, and that they would not destroy any infrastructure until they withdrew. The Soviets, on the other hand, managed to get through the work of the Chinese Red Army and ensure that the retreat of the Kwantung Army and the North China Front was not hindered. Then, the immigrants of the Manchurian Pioneer Corps will also move into Korea one after another...... The results of the war against China over the years had to be completely abandoned! ”

“…… It is true that they can only give up, and they can't help but not give up: the Taiwan Army and the Fourth Division in Shanghai have already directly surrendered to the enemy! ”

Kurita nodded, "...... Well, in that case, Umezu Mijiro would probably be able to gather 200,000 to 300,000 troops in Hiroshima. ”

“…… In fact, relying on the Kwantung Army alone is enough to sweep away the traitors at home, but if you want to fight against Halsey's US Pacific Fleet, you must still rely on our navy! Kurita-kun! In order to save the motherland, let's do it together! Jizaburo Ozawa shouted with his fists waving.

However, Admiral Kurita Keno, who was nicknamed "Escape to Kurita" in the Japanese naval circles, and was once famous for driving a battleship and being chased all over the world by torpedo boats, obviously did not have such ambitions, and his first reaction was to shudder, "...... But can we beat it? ”

“…… Let's fight anyway! In any case, we are far from the end of the mountain! ”

Jizaburo Ozawa raised his voice an octave again, "...... Kurita-kun! Even if you don't count Maizuru in the Sea of Japan and Sasebo in Kyushu, we still have more than 500,000 tons of combat ships and at least 10,000 naval aircraft in Kure Port and Etajima alone! The huge sealed naval ammunition depots in the mountains of Shikoku Island stored 160,000 tons of shells and explosives! There are more than 40 huge oil storage tanks on the shore of Tokuyama Bay in the Seto Inland Sea, and there are at least 600,000 tons of various types of fuel oil, which is enough for us to fight at least half a year! ”

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Despite Principal Jizaburo Ozawa's vigorous encouragement, Principal Keno Kurita still felt a little lacking in confidence:

On paper, the current Etajima Naval Academy, or Kure Port Town Shoufu (which can be regarded as the same place from the map), is indeed a strong force, not only has a complete shipyard and maintenance workshop, has hoarded huge amounts of ammunition and fuel, has sufficient naval talents (not graduated), but also has assembled a fairly powerful fleet and thousands of aircraft these days, and it seems that relying on the geographical advantages of local operations and the coastal defense fortress built for many years, it should be able to compete with the Halsey fleet. But if you take a closer look, what kind of ships are moored on Etajima Island right now?

First of all, there are four battleships Haruna, Kongo, Ise and Hinata, four aircraft carriers Amagi, Katsuragi, Fengxiang, Ryuho, and a modified aircraft carrier Condor, which is estimated to be able to be transferred in wartime. But they are basically backward old ships that have been around for a long time, and their combat effectiveness is really not flattering.

Then came the cruisers Iwate, Izumo, Aoba, Tone, Yakumo, Kashima, Kitakami and Oyodo, followed by sixty-six destroyers, large and small, but half of them were old destroyers that needed a major overhaul before they could be used, thirty or forty years old, and even had the legacy of the Russo-Japanese War era.

This was followed by sixty equally old coastal defense ships, seventeen submarines of all kinds, more than one hundred and fifty torpedo boats, and more than a hundred gunboats that could only be used as maritime police...... Due to the collapse of the chain of command, many ships spontaneously moored in the shadows under the rocks of various seashores to avoid the bombing of American aircraft: how can some old ships conduct anti-aircraft operations, not even anti-aircraft guns, not even anti-aircraft machine guns?

There is no way, the elite main force of the Japanese Navy is now in Truk in the South Seas, and there is only a bunch of such messy rags on the local side.

What's even worse is that now that the command system of the Japanese Navy has already been bombed into the sky by the atomic bomb, just relying on the two unjustifiable principals Kurita Keno and Ozawa Jizaburo, can they really get all these strategic materials hoarded by the Imperial Navy in their hands, and command this rabble from all directions? Not to mention anything else, just wanting to get fuel from the military supply department in Tokuyama Bay and fill the tanks of ships gathered in the waters of Kure Harbor made General Keno Kurita wear out his mouth and waste the strength of his old nose. As for the shells, bullets, and firearms in the Shikoku Island Naval Ammunition Depot, as well as the canned food and rice in the food depot, Kurita Keno really wondered if he had to fight with the people in charge of the warehouse before he could get it.

- At this time, there are many greedy people, especially those who manage warehouses, who only think about how to embezzle public property!

“…… Ozawa-kun, you can't help but be too optimistic. The ancient Greek philosophers said that a mob is not equal to an army, just as a pile of building materials is not equal to a house. In the same way, a group of warships alone cannot be equated with a combat-ready fleet. Without the authority and deterrence of the base camp, the Navy Ministry, and the Military Command Department, without a complete staff team to direct the operation of the fleet, and without the local government to provide us with supplies and early warnings, we would not have been able to fight a decent battle by relying on these planes and warships on Etajima Island alone, as well as these students in the school who have not graduated! Kurita Keno smiled bitterly.

“…… Wait a minute! Kurita-kun! It's been so many days, haven't you even set up a temporary command and staff organs? There is no shortage of professionals here in Etajima! This time it was Ozawa's turn to be surprised," ...... What exactly are you doing these days? ”

“…… Food and lodging were provided for those who had fled one after another, fuel and provisions were provided for their ships, treatment of the wounded and sick, and berths for ships were divided and arranged...... Fortunately, the ammunition did not need to be replenished for the time being, and basically no matter which ship fired a few shots......" Kurita replied.

“…… Are you rehousing them as if they were earthquake victims? Jizaburo Ozawa was choked up and almost couldn't breathe," ...... Kurita-kun! Did you realize that we're at war right now!! ”

“…… Got it! So I sent students to take over the early warning radar, pulled torpedo protection nets in the port, and also laid out anti-aircraft guns. ”

General Keno Kurita spread his hands, "...... So far, however, US planes have not visited this place once, but because they did not have a good enough eye at the air lookout post, they almost shot down their own planes several times. ”

“…… That is, there is no fleet command at all on Etajima now, there is only one air defense command......"

Jizaburo Ozawa couldn't help but roll his eyes, "...... Well, we still have a little time, and we should have time to rebuild the command system of the fleet......"

“…… Well, it seems that it is really necessary to manage the fleet, and it can't always be so messy. But do we really have to keep fighting? In the past, the navy fought to serve the emperor, but now for what is it going to die? Principal Keno Kurita's attitude was still hesitant.

“…… If the U.S. military is still overseas, I am of course willing to solve the problem through peace talks. But now that the US troops have landed on the mainland of the archipelago, it is obvious that they are in a posture of wanting to kill us completely, and there is no reason why we will not fight! Unless we immediately scuttle the battleship and take off this uniform! ”

Jizaburo Ozawa's expression was also unusually complicated, "...... Otherwise we should fight for this country! Even if you attack in the ocean and keep the enemy out of the country, there is no way to achieve it. But it should be possible to hold the Seto Inland Sea, at least not to let the boots of the U.S. Marines step on Etajima, it should always be possible! The land under our feet is not a desert island in the South Seas whose name we can't even pronounce, but the sacred homeland of the Japanese nation for generations! Could it be that the Imperial Navy had degenerated to the embarrassment of the shogunate era, and that it was necessary to allow Western warships to come and go freely in the Seto Inland Sea?

Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty in China has a poem that says, 'The country is broken by mountains and rivers', but we must not 'The country is broken by warships'! At that time, with the weakness of the Qing Dynasty and the mediocrity of the Manchu court, the Beiyang Naval Division still had the courage to fight with our fleet until the last moment. If, after the defeat of the Combined Fleet in the war, most of the warships were handed over to the enemy intact along with the military port without firing a single shot, or even as if they were new, it would be the greatest shame for the Japanese boys! ”

Although Jizaburo Ozawa said it so impassionedly and righteously, he looked as if he was about to sacrifice his life for righteousness. But Kurita Keno was still full of war weariness and didn't want to die at all. Not only did he not want to die, but he also didn't want his subordinates and students to die - from the very beginning, he just wanted to protect the school and let as many of his subordinates and students as possible survive this war that has come to an end...... Seeing that it seemed impossible to convince Kurita Keno for a while, Jizaburo Ozawa had to shrug his shoulders and asked about the situation of the main force of the Truk Atoll Combined Fleet instead.

“…… Truk's side? After confirming the death of Marshal Yamamoto Isoroku, although there were still some intermittent communications, there was not much value. I only know that the main fleet is being assembled to Truk and the next principal after the death of the marshal is elected......"

At this moment, the phone ringing on Principal Kurita's desk suddenly rang "jingle bell", interrupting his conversation.

So, Kurita made an apologetic gesture to Jizaburo Ozawa and picked up the phone...... Immediately, Kurita Keno's expression became more and more strange, and finally he put down the phone and said to Jizaburo Ozawa in a subtle tone, "...... The new acting commander of the Combined Fleet was elected. ”

“…… Who is it? Nobutake Kondo? Toyota vice-take? Koga Mineichi? Or Horikichi who is in charge of Nanyang Heavy Industries? Jizaburo Ozawa asked.

“…… I guessed wrong, it was the principal of the new Nanyang Truk branch of the Imperial Naval Academy, Admiral Inoue Narumi...... Alas, the entire Imperial Navy, with millions of tons of ships and more than 300,000 troops, is actually commanded by our three principals right now! Is this a joke?! ”

And Ozawa's reaction was obviously even more intense," ...... Narumi Inoue? Damn it! Why is this Zhao Kuo of the Japanese Navy, a often defeated talent who can only talk on paper? How did Truk's Combined Fleet Command elect such a new commander?! ”

“…… Belch...... I can't pretend I didn't hear that! Two of you! ”

- Before Jizaburo Ozawa's words fell, he was stunned to see General Narumi Inoue in a white military uniform push the door and walk in.

Keno Kurita: "......??? ”

Jizaburo Ozawa: "......!!! ”

Facing the sudden appearance of Inoue Narumi, the two principals first blinked in disbelief, then looked at each other, and finally turned their heads together, and asked the third principal who had just come in in unison: "...... Inoue-kun, how did you get from Truk? ”

Inoue Narumi blinked, and was about to say something to the two principals, but suddenly heard a low engine sound coming from the distance overhead, and the sharp air raid sirens sounded immediately, and her face couldn't help but change, "...... There's no time to talk about that! It's an air raid! Come on! ”

In the next moment, a bright and huge fireball and a deafening explosion engulfed the campus of the Etajima Naval Academy almost instantaneously......

Lang said, "...... The new acting commander of the Combined Fleet was elected. ”

“…… Who is it? Nobutake Kondo? Toyota vice-take? Koga Mineichi? Or Horikichi who is in charge of Nanyang Heavy Industries? Jizaburo Ozawa asked.

“…… I guessed wrong, it was the principal of the new Nanyang Truk branch of the Imperial Naval Academy, Admiral Inoue Narumi...... Alas, the entire Imperial Navy, with millions of tons of ships and more than 300,000 troops, is actually commanded by our three principals right now! Is this a joke?! ”

And Ozawa's reaction was obviously even more intense," ...... Narumi Inoue? Damn it! Why is this Zhao Kuo of the Japanese Navy, a often defeated talent who can only talk on paper? How did Truk's Combined Fleet Command elect such a new commander?! ”

“…… Belch...... I can't pretend I didn't hear that! Two of you! ”

- Before Jizaburo Ozawa's words fell, he was stunned to see General Narumi Inoue in a white military uniform push the door and walk in.

Keno Kurita: "......??? ”

Jizaburo Ozawa: "......!!! ”

Facing the sudden appearance of Inoue Narumi, the two principals first blinked in disbelief, then looked at each other, and finally turned their heads together, and asked the third principal who had just come in in unison: "...... Inoue-kun, how did you get from Truk? ”

Inoue Narumi blinked, and was about to say something to the two principals, but suddenly heard a low engine sound coming from the distance overhead, and the sharp air raid sirens sounded immediately, and her face couldn't help but change, "...... There's no time to talk about that! It's an air raid! Come on! ”

In the next moment, a bright and huge fireball and a deafening explosion engulfed the campus of the Etajima Naval Academy almost instantaneously......