Chapter 81: The Summer of the Equatorial Ocean (I)

When the Allied prisoners of war in Melbourne, Australia, were drenched in the cold winter rain and trudged to the distant prisoner of war camps, thousands of kilometers away on Guadalcanal, those Japanese immigrants who had just stepped off the cruise ship were curiously looking at the novel tropical island scenery around them. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Guadalcanal, commonly referred to as Guadalcanal, is located near the equator in the South Pacific Ocean, at the southeastern tip of the Solomon Islands, and is the largest and most important volcanic island in the Solomon Islands, with an area of 5,300 square kilometers, with many ridges and sharp mountains in the middle, and the highest peak, Mount Makaracombu, is as high as 2,450 meters above sea level. The vast majority of Guadalcanal is covered by tropical rainforests, with many small and rushing rivers flowing from the densely forested mountains to the sea, and parts of the coast are mangrove swamps. The northern coast is dotted with some wide plains, while the southern shore is dominated by steep cliffs leading to the sea.

To put it simply, this is an island about the size of the municipality of Shanghai and the main island of the Solomon Islands.

In the history of World War II in another time and space, the United States and Japanese armies once broke out in a tragic battle on Kuah Island that lasted for more than half a year, and finally ended in the defeat of the Japanese army. The U.S. military also started with the Battle of Kuah Island, completely reversed the decline in the early stage of the war, and officially sounded the clarion call for a strategic counteroffensive against Japan.

However, in this time and space that was violently interfered with by the ship's ladies, the U.S. military collapsed in the early days of the Pacific War, and failed to gain a foothold in the Solomon Islands at all, but retreated all the way to the Samoan Islands, thousands of kilometers further east, before barely stabilizing its position.

In the following years, the U.S. and Japanese armies also repeatedly fought on the Fiji-New Caledonia-New Zealand front, and neither could easily make a breakthrough. In general, the Japanese had the upper hand -- in the major naval battles before and after, the Japanese army won a great victory similar to the Battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War, and completely annihilated the US Pacific Fleet twice. Although the United States can quickly build new warships with the world's largest industrial strength, it is difficult for the defeated sailors to recover their courage instantly, let alone make the rookie sailors who know nothing about the sea turn into old fur seals in the blink of an eye...... Basically, by the end of the war, due to the large number of newcomers, the quality of the US Navy had fallen to the deplorable point where warships blew themselves up at every turn.

As a result, Kuah Island, which had become the focus of contention between the two sides in the other world, was left behind the Japanese Navy's battle line in this time and space, farther and farther away from the battlefield, and finally became a relatively safe rear base and a settlement point for domestic immigrants -- an island like Guadalcanal, which is so large in size, fertile soil, and rich in fresh water and other resources, is rare in the South Pacific, where there are many small islands and reefs.

Therefore, before heading to Australia as its final destination, the southbound ocean liner Rukawa Maru first made a detour after crossing the equator and visited Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, where some of the immigrants, mainly military survivors, were unloaded, which was considered a certain degree of preferential treatment: compared to the devastated and arid Australia, the islands of the South Pacific seemed to be regarded by the Japanese as a more ideal place to settle.

-- Before World War II, the entire Solomon Islands, including Guadalcanal, was a sparsely populated wilderness, despite the good name of the wise king in the Bible. A small number of natives are ignorant and backward, and even have bad habits of headhunting and cannibalism. The British colonists had nominally managed the land for a hundred years, but apart from drawing it on a map, they had only created one or two plantations.

The later Republic of the Solomon Islands relied entirely on the large number of military facilities built by the US and Japanese armies on the island during the bloody battle on Kuah Island, and obtained the first pot of gold to truly modernize it. Its capital, Honiara, grew from the wartime U.S. military's remaining forward base on Kuah Island.

However, in this time and space when the bloody battle of Kuah Island did not take place, all the civilization facilities on this island can only be built by the hard hands of Japanese immigrants, and naturally there will no longer be Honiara, the capital of the archipelago, but on the same geographical location, a "Kuah Island City" full of Japanese-style street town style has been built - after all, the natural geographical conditions of the entire island have not changed, and the most suitable location for building a city and port is such a place.

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At this moment, the twenty-two-year-old widow Sunset Suzune, who was holding her baby in swaddling clothes, stood on the dock in the capital of Kuah Island at a loss - about half an hour ago, an old-fashioned motorboat emitting black smoke sent her and dozens of other military family members ashore, and threw them at the dock without saying a word, and then the ocean liner "Rukawa Maru" they had been on also sounded the whistle and anchored and drove away, making Sunset Suzune feel a little dazed for a while.

Looking around, you will see a poetic picture of white sandy beaches, thick green palm trees and calm bays like sapphires. The only town in sight sits on the west side of a headland, and the streets and alleys are full of verdant trees, green grass and colorful flowers. Although there are no high-rise buildings, those two- and three-story wooden houses are also very neat and exquisite, each house has a small garden or private vegetable garden around it, everywhere green trees, cooking smoke curling, people look very warm, there is a sense of home.

If it's any other time, Sunset Suzune might be in high interest to see the island's wonderful scenery. However, the heat of the weather at the moment was really unbearable for her, and the sun overhead seemed to burn herself out, spreading light and heat without hesitation, scorching the unobstructed cement dock, making the ground hot enough to fry eggs...... It didn't take long for her to feel as if she was about to suffer from heat stroke.

Fortunately, just as the people on the dock began to complain, a shirtless and dark-skinned old man finally greeted him.

“…… Ah! You're just a newcomer from home, aren't you? Welcome, welcome! But how did you get there now? ”

The old man said breathlessly, his face flushed, "...... It was just after noon, and the telegram said that the arrival time was in the evening...... Everyone is preparing for a campfire to welcome you! Anyway, let's go over and take a break for a drink! ”

So, a group of Japanese women and children, who were still confused, had to follow the old man ignorantly and walked into the town of Kuaham City, and then found that although this is only a town of 10,000 people, it is very luxurious to install street lights! With lots of dried fish and fruit hanging under the eaves of every house, and the occasional car parked in the shade of a tree on a street corner, the place was definitely affluent by the standards of Japanese society during World War II.

However, compared to the affluent living conditions, the local residents can only be described as immoral in terms of clothing: perhaps because the weather is so hot and humid, the children on the streets are all running naked, and even the drooping girls who are almost old enough to grow up walk around naked wearing only a straw hat; Adults, on the other hand, generally wear a pair of shorts around their waists, and women wrap an extra piece of cloth around their chests, or hang them around their necks with shells and glass beads, and hang them on their chests to cover their shame...... Sunset Suzune walked all the way, but she didn't see any man in a shirt.

――Thinking that she might have to do the same in the future, the little widow Sunset Suzune's heart couldn't help but feel a little shy.

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Since Kuah Island City is just a residential area that has not been built for a few years, the area of the town is not large, and the newcomers soon came to the end of the road, a small square paved with white sand. At the end of the square is a small wooden shrine with a banner on the torii gate that reads, "Welcome to the banquet for local compatriots." A row of makeshift stoves and sheds were erected next to it, and countless women and children were smiling and carrying baskets full of ingredients and cutlery to and fro in the square, and some people set up drums and firewood piles, as if to have a good time.

Because the newcomers who were going to hold a banquet to welcome them in the evening actually arrived so much early, everyone present was suddenly a little ignorant and overwhelmed. Soon, however, they greeted them warmly, offering water and coconuts to the newlyweds, and greeting them with gossip.

A young man graciously took out a white melon the size of his head, cut it on a stone slab, and invited the little widow Sunset Suzune to taste it, "...... The dish is not ready yet, so let's quench your thirst with a melon. It's all here on Kuah Island! How can you do it without eating a melon? This is our own home, but it's sweet! ”

In the face of great hospitality, Sunset Suzune took the white melon and a wooden spoon, dug it and ate it, feeling that the melon pulp had a very wonderful sweet fragrance. At the same time, the young man who seemed to be very rapping was still chattering, "...... Aside from the fact that the weather is a little hotter and there are a little more bugs, the days on this island are quite good. There are delicious fruits all year round, the sea is full of big fish that you can't catch in Japan, and lobsters and crabs are easy to find. Oh, and there are hot springs on this island! We just built a hot spring bath last month......"

The shirtless young man turned around and pointed to the volcano that was haunted by clouds and mist more than thirty kilometers away, grinned and said diligently, "...... No, it's halfway up the mountain, so you might as well take your kids and enjoy it if you have time! What kind of Japanese are you if you don't soak in a hot spring bath? ”

Sunset Suzune smiled while eating melons, and after a little respite, with the instinct of a housewife, she offered to help in the kitchen...... Then she saw all kinds of colorful and unnamed tropical fruits, all of which she had never seen or eaten in Japan, and at this time they were stacked into a hill beside the sink where the fruits and vegetables were washed. Huge tuna, freshly caught from the sea, were being cut up in public in the square, cut into small pieces, and given to the women to cook different flavors.

The little widow Sunset Suzune, who came in to help, also took a piece of fatty fish and prepared to make a sashimi that she is good at, only to see that the color of the fish skin is fresh and attractive, and the fish meat on the cross-section shows a pink and tender texture, which is placed in Japan at the moment, but I am afraid that not many people can afford to eat it. Even in the years of relative prosperity before the war, the middle-sized families in the city could only use it for tooth sacrifices during the New Year's holidays.

However, according to the locals, they eat these big fish here every day, and they are not rare at all......

As a result, these newcomers, who were still slightly suspicious of the unfamiliar new environment, quickly put their minds at ease while eating and drinking. I felt that I had indeed handed in good fortune and successfully escaped from my war-torn homeland and moved to a good place with a prosperous life......

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PS: Taiwan passed the illegal party property liquidation case, and the party property from the beginning of Japan's surrender will be deprived, and the Kuomintang will be finished unless there is a military mutiny. However, even if they want to carry out a military mutiny, they can no longer do anything, because a large number of high-ranking blue battalion leaders have already openly collaborated with the enemy, and they will only change to green skin after they are dispersed.

In the process of promoting the clean-up of party property, former Legislative President Wang Jinping openly ate party meals and smashed the party pot, completely standing on the side of the green camp.

Alas, this century-old party is really a funny comparison of life and a nest of death. When it was born, it was smoky, and when it died, it shrank its eggs.

I wonder what mainland fruit fans think about this? The strange thing is that at this critical juncture when the Kuomintang is in danger, why didn't anyone stand up and shout a few words of encouragement? Since they have blown the Republic of China into the sky, they are now unwilling to go bankrupt to save the blue camp, why don't they even have the strength to scold the green camp for a few words?