mtl008 Chapter 987 Getting angry won't solve anything
Chapter 987 Getting angry won't solve anything
According to Japanese military practice, troops that capture major cities have priority in "requisitioning" resources, which is actually the right to plunder. Now, this rule has been completely broken by the military police, cutting off the source of income for countless people.
At that moment, the curtain was lifted, and Okamura Neiji walked in with a gloomy face.
"Baka! You bastards, how dare you gossip about these things in private!"
"Hey!" Everyone quickly stood up, heads bowed, waiting for Okamura Neiji to reprimand them.
However, Okamura Neiji did not fly into a rage as they had expected, but instead walked over and sat down among them.
"What are you all standing there for? I'd like to have a couple of drinks too. Let's all have one together. I'll also tell you the inside story, so you won't cause me any trouble when you leave!" Okamura Neiji waved his hand, picked up a glass, and poured himself a drink.
Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances, then sat down cross-legged, waiting quietly for the division commander to explain.
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Similar discontent existed in the camps of the 14th Division of the North China Area Army, but it was expressed in a more subtle and calculating manner.
Division Commander Fumizaburo Kawagishi declined to comment, but his subordinates, especially the logistics and staff officers, began to actively campaign.
Kawagishi Bunzaburo had previously appeared indignant, outraged by the military police's unreasonable occupation of Nanjing. But now, he and Matsui Mikoto were secretly discussing something in a tent.
The 4th Division from Osaka, though belonging to the Kwantung Army, has a unique style and is now chatting with some officers from the North China Area Army.
“Getting angry won’t solve anything.” A senior staff officer from the 4th Division analyzed to his colleagues in the 14th Division in a private conversation: “Yusuke Ichijo is backed by Lord Takasaki, and it would be unwise to confront Lord Takasaki head-on.”
We need to find a way to "establish contact" with the military police system.
Another officer in charge of supplies for the 4th Division was even more blunt: "There must be plenty of good stuff in the city."
Even the most capable military police still need people to manage, count, and transport them, right?
Our division has experience in logistics, and perhaps we can "assist" the military police in handling these tedious tasks. As long as we can pull some strings, getting a share isn't impossible.
Under the tutelage of the 4th Division, the 14th Division also began to become "smarter." They started to figure out how to exploit the rules and even bribe military police officers to profit from future resource allocations.
In the military camp, more and more people began to secretly inquire about the backgrounds of the military police personnel and develop a liking for them.
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Compared to the complaints of the "victors" outside the city, the atmosphere inside and around the city, in several temporary prisoner-of-war camps, was one of utter oppression and despair.
The disarmed officers and soldiers of the Central China Expeditionary Force, mainly remnants of the 6th, 9th, and 13th Divisions, were placed under separate custody.
They lost their weapons, their honor, and their freedom, like lambs to the slaughter.
In a huge courtyard surrounded by barbed wire near Xiaolingwei, thousands of soldiers of the 9th Division huddled on the cold, muddy ground, their eyes glazed over.
They not only endured the humiliation of defeat, but were also constantly shrouded in fear of the future.
The "rebel" soldiers guarding the area looked at them with contempt and disdain. It was common for their rations to be cut, the wounded and sick did not receive effective treatment, and corpses were carried out every day.
In this extreme environment, some radical young officers began to secretly make connections.
Late at night, in a corner of the camp, several lieutenants and second lieutenants from the 6th Division gathered together, their voices low and filled with hatred.
"Commander Matsui is missing, and Chief of Staff Iinuma and the others ran away, leaving us here like trash!" A lieutenant named Iguchi said through gritted teeth. He had won the Order of the Golden Kite during the Battle of Shanghai, but now he felt that his loyalty had been wasted.
"The Kwantung Army and those bastards in North China, along with the military police, they're all in cahoots! They're trying to completely destroy our Central China Expeditionary Army so they can annex our territory and resources!" Another Lieutenant Kobayashi analyzed, a dangerous glint in his eyes: "We can't just sit here and wait to die!"
"But... what can we do? All our weapons have been taken away," someone asked pessimistically.
"We can always find a way to get weapons! Even if we don't have guns, we have stones and sticks!" Iguchi's eyes turned crazed. "Or... we can find an opportunity to kill a few high-ranking officers in the Kwantung Army. Even if we die, we'll take them down with us and let them know we're not to be trifled with!"
This extreme ideology, like a plague, quietly spread through the desperate prisoner-of-war camps.
While large-scale riots are difficult to organize, small-scale attacks, suicidal retaliations, and even more intense thoughts of resistance are growing in the hearts of these soldiers who have been stripped of everything.
They felt utterly abandoned by the empire and their superiors; this profound sense of betrayal was a more terrifying catalyst than defeat itself.
Meanwhile, various rumors about the fate of General Matsui Iwane, former commander of the Central China Expeditionary Army, spread rapidly in military camps and prisoner-of-war camps. The versions varied and the truth was hard to discern, like a series of Rashomon stories, further exacerbating the unease and speculation of all parties.
Version 1, the Tokyo Trials theory.
The most widespread rumor among Kwantung Army officers is that Matsui Iwane has been secretly taken to Tokyo to be tried by the Army's Supreme Military Court on charges of "poor command, causing internal strife, and harming the interests of the Empire."
Those who support this view argue that it conforms to "formal procedures" and reflects "the impartiality of headquarters," which helps to quell the huge controversy within the Army.
Version two: execution by military police.
Even darker rumors circulated among the POW camps of the Central China Expeditionary Army and among some officers dissatisfied with the military police system.
They believed that the military police had already ordered the "secret execution" of Matsui Iwane during transport or at some secret location in order to silence him and eliminate any future trouble, and to make it look like a suicide or accident.
This claim is rife with conspiracy theories and reflects fear and hatred of the military police's ruthless methods.
Version 4: Desperate seppuku.
Another version of the story, which is quite popular among the lower-ranking soldiers, claims that when Matsui Iwane's headquarters was breached, he knew he was guilty and committed seppuku in accordance with Bushido tradition. However, his second failed to behead him in time, resulting in a gruesome death.
This statement carries a certain tragic heroism, satisfying some soldiers' imagination of a "tragic ending."
These conflicting rumors have made Matsui Iwane's true whereabouts a mystery.
It was like a thick fog hanging over Nanjing, making the victors suspicious, worried that Matsui might leave behind evidence or political legacy that would be detrimental to them, and making the losers feel utterly desperate and uneasy, since even the supreme commander's fate was unknown. What would become of them?
Uncertainty is the perfect breeding ground for rumors and panic.