The temporary garrison of the 1st Marine Regiment was arranged on the edge of the public concession. The public concession included the west and southwest sides of Tokyo, occupying about one-third of the land in total.
As a public concession, citizens of the major powers actually enjoy superior citizen treatment here. However, its actual operation and management are the responsibility of Britain, France and the United States, and the municipal committee is jointly negotiated by their representatives.
Previously, the Ming Dynasty also proposed to participate in the Tokyo Public Settlement Municipal Committee, but was opposed by the United Kingdom and the United States and was abandoned.
Today, it can be said that the tide has turned. With the withdrawal of British and French forces from the Japanese islands, this time when the court asked to participate in management, the Americans chose to remain silent.
"Very good, very good. My king's army is in good order, and everyone in the world is proud to see this heroic appearance. It feels so refreshing to defeat those arrogant Western barbarians."
The commissioner who came from the capital was a middle-aged man with a big belly and an arrogant attitude. However, he was different from the stereotype of "stern-faced and arrogant" Ming officials. This man always smiled and talked a lot.
"Please also pay attention to safety. After all, the war has just ended, and there may be someone trying to kill you." Yao Liangchuan straightened his expression and warned.
"I brought more than ten guards..." The commissioner surnamed Hu stroked his short beard and hesitated: "I'm afraid it's not enough."
Zhou Changfeng was flipping through a newspaper and said casually: "To be on the safe side, I will assign a squad of guards to accompany you."
"Okay, okay, please excuse me, Sir Zhou."
"fine."
The car carrying Commissioner Hu left slowly, passed through the concession checkpoint, and drove straight to the Municipal Committee Building.
In fact, standing at the temporary station, you can see the general situation there. The Union Jack flag and the tricolor flag had fallen a few days ago, and today they were replaced by a sun and moon flag.
A total of four checkpoints were set up at the junction of the public concession and the urban area. Originally, only the police from the concession municipal police department were on duty.
Now, two of them are taken over by the 1st Marine Regiment, and the other two are under the responsibility of the 4th Army Division.
The red-headed Ah San who used to be a domineering person here and the local ruffians in uniforms who turned into scoundrels are all gone.
"All ministries must pay attention to military discipline. Don't think that just because you are the winner, you can do evil. Think about your identity before doing bad things." At the officer meeting, Zhou Changfeng warned everyone present.
Everyone's reaction was that they didn't take it seriously and didn't take it seriously at all.
Seeing everyone's contempt, Zhou Changfeng, who was quite dissatisfied, knocked on the table and said seriously: "Robbery and murder are absolutely not allowed. Let's see who dares to test the law."
The officers then responded loudly again.
In fact, the general order issued by the military department did not have clear and strict requirements. It only said that discipline should be ensured and no illegal things that would damage the image of the Ming Dynasty should be done. Serious acts of violence must be punished in accordance with the law, and the rest should be dealt with as appropriate.
This order seemed a bit ambiguous to Zhou Changfeng. Although it was not condoning, it was far from being harsh.
Obviously, the military department wants both face and dignity. Firstly, it does not want to embarrass people and make a fool of itself. Secondly, it does not want the officers and soldiers to be too constrained.
"Report."
"What's up?"
"The wounded resistance general committed suicide in the hospital."
The news brought by Xiao Li made Zhou Changfeng, who was about to drink water, stop what he was doing. He asked in surprise: "Why did you commit suicide without saying anything?"
"That's not true. It is said that he even wrote a suicide note."
Because they were fighting near Tokyo, the Ming army sent all the wounded and captured resistance soldiers to local hospitals.
Due to the large number of people, several medium and large hospitals were all full, but they were still unable to treat a large number of wounded soldiers.
However, the Americans are obviously very good at winning people's hearts and disgusting their opponents - they publicly stated that they would allow injured resistance soldiers to enter the public concession for medical treatment, and all expenses would be earmarked by the municipal committee.
This is a dilemma for the Ming army - send it, and it will play into the hands of the Americans; don't send it, and reporters from various countries will make a fuss about it.
In the end, Nie Quan chose the former and let the Americans be good people again.
Under the supervision of the International Red Cross, hundreds of resistance prisoners and wounded soldiers were moved to prison camps and various hospitals.
Ordinary soldiers are of little value, but mid-level and senior officers still need to interrogate intelligence. Therefore, Lieutenant Colonel Fujiwara Yoshiharu, who was captured due to severe injuries and shock and coma, received special treatment. Several military police from the Fourth Division were specially guarding his ward.
However, no one expected the sudden change. When the military police were discussing what to eat for lunch, they heard the movement in the ward, as well as the screams and exclamations coming from below the hospital building.
After leaving a suicide note, he slowly moved to the window, then fell down from the fourth floor where he was, landing on his head straight on the masonry ground, and died on the spot.
The suicide note was also very concise, including three parts: reason, inheritance distribution, and expectations. The reason was very clear - since he was the one who ordered the organization of a desperate counterattack, it was impossible for him to survive alone after almost all his subordinates died.
Zhou Changfeng was silent for a few seconds and then said: "This...at least the basic ethics are adequate."
"It's a pity. I could have learned more about writing about the Resistance Army." Zhu Lizhuo said regretfully.
"A large part of these people are resistant and disgusted with our country because they are worried about being assimilated. They feel that once reduced to a vassal, the local culture of the Japanese country will soon be impacted to pieces, and no one in the future generations will respect the tradition. Culture." Yao Liangchuan said.
In the past two days, he took time out of his busy schedule to participate in many interrogations of resistance prisoners, questioning them about their original intention to oppose the Ming army.
"Wait a minute, I still don't understand. It sounds like they were able to maintain cultural autonomy before. After the Reform and Reform, the Japanese nation opened its arms to welcome the West. And what else... Oh, yes, leaving Asia and joining Europe. ." Xie Wancheng asked in confusion: "What? Are you treating them differently?"
"I'm afraid that's the case. People all admire the strong." Yao Liangchuan replied in a matter-of-fact manner: "In the past hundred years, after the rise of the Western and Eastern countries, they have spread their power all over the world and are at the height of their power. Our country has lost the status and clan status of the 'Middle Kingdom'." The vassal system almost collapsed, so the Japanese people naturally believed that the Ming Dynasty was similar to them, while the West was superior."
Zhao Hanfeng, who was eating melon and watching the show and joining in the fun, covered his forehead and said, "Yes, we are despised."
"After all, strength speaks for itself, and one of the important manifestations of strength is the fist. War is a stage for showing hard power." Zhou Changfeng smiled, looked at the Concession Municipal Committee Building and said, "Let's wait and see."
Although the resistance of just a few days was short-lived, the destructive power of "modern" warfare was astonishing. All warring areas in Kawasaki, Tokyo, Funabashi and other places were completely destroyed by artillery fire and air strikes.
Therefore, Nie Quan sent someone to propose to the Japanese officials, asking them to recruit some people to repair the places affected by the war. The resistance prisoners were also assigned to do the same thing, and their rewards were provided by the officials.
According to Article 53 of the Geneva Convention, when prisoners of war are assigned to work, they must be guaranteed one day off per week, no more than eight hours of work per day, one hour of rest per day, eight days of paid leave per year, and must Give corresponding rewards.
Obviously the Ming army will not pay for this, so let the Japanese take care of it themselves.
Walking on the streets of Tokyo, perhaps because they have long been accustomed to the aloof status of the citizens of the great powers, the citizens did not behave strangely when the Ming army was stationed.
When encountering soldiers wandering in groups, citizens naturally lowered their heads, quickened their pace, and walked away quickly.
The army has been a mixed place since ancient times. Among the soldiers, there are honest farmers and rogues who have been domineering in the past. It can be said that there are all kinds of people.
In addition to the First Marine Regiment, the Ming Army stationed in Tokyo also had many air force and naval officers and soldiers, as well as one each of the Fourth Division and the Seventh Division, with a total number of more than 40,000.
Although disciplinary violations are a small probability event, when the base increases to tens of thousands, it is impossible to expect them not to cause trouble.
The Air Force units have the lowest average disciplinary rate, followed by Fleet units. The Marine Corps has a slightly higher average disciplinary rate than Fleet units. The Army, as expected, ranks at the bottom of the list.
"What?! You are so brave."
Zhou Changfeng asked Jiang Ning, who had been promoted to military medical lieutenant, for a few photos, took a few more himself, developed the photos, and sent them to his father-in-law's house along with the letters he wrote.
However, at this time, they learned something outrageous - three soldiers from the 1st Marine Reconnaissance Team broke into St. Mary's Catholic Church last night, raped two nuns and then walked away.
Because someone accidentally left his belt buckle behind, the church personnel followed the three mountains and sea ripples exclusive to the Ming Dynasty Marine Corps to come to the door.
Zhou Changfeng was almost angry to death when he learned about this. Yesterday, he was glad that his subordinates were not as lawless as the army, robbing people in the street and raping women. But today it was his turn to be the one to blame.
"Hurry up! Call some military police to come over and screen them!"
Zhou Changfeng, Yao Liangchuan, and Xie Wancheng rushed to the reconnaissance team with more than a dozen military policemen. At this moment, more than a hundred people had gathered.
Now that someone has lost their belt buckle, it is very easy to find it, and they can be found out immediately.
The other two were quite honest. When they saw their "good brother" being caught, they immediately stood up.
"What do you guys think? There are fireworks everywhere in this place. You can't go there, but you have to break into someone's church to be happy?" Xie Wancheng said helplessly.
"People who work as scouts may not like to follow the rules." Yao Liangchuan, who couldn't laugh or cry, joked.
Zhou Changfeng glared at him, but then looked at Han Yi, the leader of the reconnaissance team, "How do you control your subordinates? According to the rules, you must be in a group of at least five people before you can leave the camp."
The latter looked calm, as if he didn't think it was a big deal, "This is indeed my fault, but this matter should be okay. Please don't punish me severely, leader."
"Are you kidding me? How come you are not under my control?" Seeing that he was still protecting the calf, Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but become even more annoyed. He waved his hand and said, "Escort him to the General Soldier's Office!"
The prison sentence imposed by military law in civil penalties such as this is roughly similar to that of ordinary criminal law, except that there may be more punishments.
The normal sentence is five to eight years in prison and a certain amount of compensation; for bad behavior, it can be increased all the way to the death penalty. The military discipline is the same, but with fifty, eighty, and one hundred more sticks.
After being escorted to the Military and Political Station of the General Military Department, the civilian officials who had witnessed many cases in the past two days couldn't help but sigh that these three people were indeed bold.
However, they were so busy that they did not have the energy to examine the case in detail, so they quickly handed down a sentence - one year in prison, fifty rods, and six months' fine.
"...That's it. Do you have any objections? If not, just go ahead and execute him."
After the sentence was completed, a stick was thrown down from above and fell to the ground with a snap.
This was already a light sentence, and the three soldiers naturally agreed with it, so they were immediately taken to the execution ground not far away by the military police.
Civilian criminal trials inevitably take into account public sentiment, public opinion, feelings, etc. Military criminal trials have even more to consider. Improper sentencing will directly affect morale. If it is not done well, there will be booing, and no one will Dare to joke.
If the law is violated in the country, the judgment will basically be based on written requirements; however, given that it is post-war and located in Japan, the civil servants responsible for judgment selectively abandon the principle of fairness.
What's more, the military department's order only states that "serious acts of violence must be punished in accordance with the law, and the rest shall be dealt with as appropriate." What is meant by serious acts of violence? In fact, only murders, arson, explosions and other acts that take human life count.
Other general acts of violence should be dealt with as appropriate. Once the word "discretionary" is used, it will by default have nothing to do with fairness and reasonableness.
The days of peace passed quickly. By the last day of mid-March, except for the Kansai region still occupied by the Americans, all other places had completed their takeover.
The weather was sunny, and the spring breeze in the early morning was particularly pleasant.
There are countless people gathered at Tokyo Airport at this moment, including police officers maintaining order, Ming troops guarding safety, citizens watching the excitement, reporters with excited faces...
After these days of preparation, the imperial envoy appointed by the Ming Emperor finally arrived carrying the canonization edict.
Although Western countries have always believed that the vassal states and the suzerain state under the vassal system were unequal and violated the spirit of equal status between states under the Westphalian system, the Ming Dynasty has always scorned this.
This is the characteristic of the Celestial Tribute System. Since this Eastern international system has not collapsed, it will not be the Westphalian system's turn to take over East Asia.
For newspapers from various countries, "The emperor of China will enthrone a new king, and Japan will become a new vassal state." Such a rare historical event cannot be overemphasized, and it is definitely worthy of front-page headlines.
Major newspapers in Britain, France, China, Italy, the United States, Russia and other countries have made preparations early. Whether they are dedicated to transshipment or patchwork, they have set up a complete set of live broadcast equipment at Tokyo Airport, which can not only send sound signal, and can even broadcast the picture live.
"Look! The plane is coming!"
Everyone followed the sound and saw that under the escort of six fighter planes, two passenger planes were slowly descending in preparation for approach.
(End of chapter)
