Chapter 338
Yuri didn't know that his tit-for-tat dispute with MacArthur at the Consultative Conference of Representatives of Various Countries would be reported in newspapers around the world on the third day.
"This is a clash between the red generals of an authoritarian country and the blue generals of a democratic country," the British newspaper The Times reported on the event on its entire front page. "The 32-year-old Soviet general lacks the most basic respect for the 65-year-old five-star general of the U.S. Army."
"The liberators of Berlin look down on the occupiers of Tokyo," Le Monde, a French newspaper founded just last year at the behest of Charles de Gaulle, also took up a whole page, commenting in a gloating tone, "The former's arrogant attitude indirectly reflects a reality: whether you admit it or not, the Germans are indeed more difficult to deal with than the Japanese."
The Canadian Globe and Mail ended its official review with a very interesting sentence: "It turns out that for a general, even an involuntary escape will become a lifelong stain that is difficult to wash away, even if he has proved himself with countless victories. Especially when he stands with a truly fearless general, this stain will resurface and be infinitely magnified."
In the United States, there were obviously many media outlets that disliked MacArthur. The Washington Post mocked him: "When Douglas MacArthur was about to challenge General Ethel Howell, the red general from Moscow told him: 'Hey, man, you have to get the approval of those dead on the Bataan Death Road.'"
Yuri once again appeared on the cover of Time magazine, but this time it was not him, but MacArthur and Wainwright. In this issue, Yuri and MacArthur were on each side, with a blood-red "VS" in the middle, while Wainwright's thin and cold face was hidden behind Yuri, and there was a line of letters next to his head: "Hey! Douglas, I'm on this side this time."
The Time magazine report also included a comment from British General Mountbatten, who fought hard against the Japanese in India. The general said: "Although he is young, I still respect him because he made all the demands I wanted." This guy was a genuine anti-Japanese element. After the war, he never went to Japan once. After his death, he left a will specifically prohibiting Japanese from attending his funeral.
In the Soviet Union, this incident did not appear in the newspapers, as if no news had been received. But Yuri soon received feedback from Moscow. Comrade Stalin only gave him one sentence of instructions. No, perhaps it could not even be considered an instruction, because his reply only had one sentence: "Got it." Then he added Yuri's full name.
In the following two days, the US still did not show an attitude of concession, and Yuri, who received a reply from Comrade Stalin, did not give in. During this period, three more consultation meetings attended by representatives of various countries were held, but there was no result at all. Moreover, almost every meeting would inevitably turn into a battle between Yuri and MacArthur. So much so that at the last meeting, representatives of four countries were absent.
On the third day, the meeting was cancelled. MacArthur proposed to invite representatives from various countries to attend the US aircraft carrier entering Sendai Harbor in the afternoon, but Yuri asked what was the point of visiting an aircraft carrier as an army general? We were all soldiers, so we might as well go shooting. So the third day's activities were ruined. How could the people who could represent the military of their respective countries be fools? How could they not know Yuri's earliest famous act? This was a tough guy who killed the top Finnish sniper Matti Levisto, and he had only climbed up from the bottom of the army a few years ago. Would it be embarrassing to go shooting with him and compete with him in shooting skills?
On the fourth day, the negotiation meeting was finally restarted. This time, the US military represented by MacArthur finally made concessions. They accepted the conditions proposed by Yuri and changed the venue of the signing ceremony to the Chowaden Hall of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
The Americans had no choice but to make such concessions, because during the days when the negotiations were deadlocked, the Soviet army suddenly changed its previous lazy and slow attitude and accelerated its advance outside Yamagata Prefecture. Washington was unwilling to give up control of Yamagata Prefecture because of some trivial matters, so it asked MacArthur to make concessions.
Just like that, it seemed as if all the differences disappeared overnight, all the Allied representatives reached a unified opinion, and left Sendai Port and headed for Tokyo that afternoon on the warships provided by the United States.
…
A misty drizzle enveloped the entire Tokyo, and American warships, whistles blaring, slowly sailed into the port in Tokyo Bay.
Standing under the umbrella held by the guard, Yuri looked at the city that was getting closer and closer. At this moment, the scene of the Battle of Stalingrad emerged in his mind.
Yes, Tokyo at this time is very similar to Stalingrad after the war. No, it should be said that it is a little worse than Stalingrad, because from the warship, it is impossible to tell whether it is a city or a wasteland. There are only one or two lonely buildings standing in sight, and the rest of the place is flat land and ruins, and of course, there are a lot of dilapidated shacks.
Strictly speaking, the city was completely destroyed, just like Warsaw, it was razed to the ground by the war.
Although it was raining, you could see that there were still people moving in the ruins. There were quite a few of them. They were Tokyo citizens who were working hard to rebuild their homes. They were using all available tools to move the ruins away from the city.
Of course, this kind of labor was organized by the American troops entering Tokyo. In addition, some institutions in Tokyo were still operating, and those who participated in clearing the ruins could get a certain amount of food, similar to work-for-relief.
At the dock, the USO actually organized a large number of Japanese citizens to welcome representatives from various countries. Thousands of neatly dressed citizens huddled in the rain, waving small flags at passing vehicles. The small flags included flags from many countries, the most of which was the American flag, followed by the Soviet flag. It seemed that the flag representing the country that Japan hated the most had the most small flags.
Yuri declined the black Mercedes sedan prepared for him by the USO and chose a military jeep instead. One look at the bumpy interior and you'd know it wouldn't be very comfortable to ride in that kind of broken sedan with a low ground on such a slope.
There were two middle-aged men in the jeep with Yuri. One of them was a slightly bald Japanese named Tokuda Kyuichi, one of the founders of the Japanese Communist Party. He had ventured to Moscow more than 20 years ago to attend the "Far Eastern National Conference" and was received by Comrade Stalin.
He had been in prison in Japan for the past few years and was released not long ago.
The other of the two was a Soviet named Kirilin, who was sent to Tokyo by Comrade Molotov himself. He was a Soviet expert on Japanese issues and had spent a long time in Tokyo before World War II. He was also a member of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, responsible for the establishment of Japanese intelligence. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be the military attaché of the Soviet Embassy in Japan after it was established.
Yuri needed to learn from them about the recent situation in Japan so that he could submit a detailed report to Comrade Stalin after returning.
The convoy was driving on a bumpy road. Yuri looked out of the muddy window at the scene outside, while listening to Kirilin's report.
There were many crude marching tents on the side of the street. Some Japanese women in kimonos or skirts stood at the door of the tents without any disguise, chatting with some American soldiers passing by. Places like ports were the best places for these women to attract business. The sailors who came off the ships were often hungry beasts who would eat anything. The food and supplies in their hands were the most profitable.
It can be seen that compared with the Soviet military discipline, the American military discipline is not very good.
Kirilin told Yuri that the demands he made in Sendai have spread throughout Japan, and there has been a huge response in Tokyo, especially among the Japanese soldiers who were forcibly disbanded. Now some people are saying that if the signing ceremony is really held in the Imperial Garden, they are prepared to make Yuri pay with blood, saying that this shame can only be washed away with his blood.
In addition, some underground organizations set up a petition group and prepared to hold a bloody protest at the entrance of the Imperial Garden. If representatives of various countries dared to enter the holy land belonging to the emperor, they would commit suicide by disembowelment at the entrance.
Kirilin said that he had informed the US military of the relevant situation. Although the Americans took it very seriously, they still hoped that Yuri could be more cautious, especially to strengthen the guard force to prevent someone from really doing something desperate.
Yuri didn't care about Kirillin's statement. He just didn't believe that the Americans would let him get into trouble in Tokyo. Even if the Americans couldn't stand him, even if MacArthur wanted to make him into a super-large hamburger, they would never allow him to have any problems in Tokyo. That was not a good way to get rid of the thorn in their eyes, but a complete scandal, a huge scandal that would have a huge impact and leave a stain on American history.
In addition, Yuri had been through the hail of bullets in the past few years. When he heard the whistling sound of the shells flying, his conditioned reflex was not to hide, but to listen to where the shells might fall. How could he be afraid of a few so-called assassins? How many generals who had really walked through the flames of war were truly afraid of death? On the Soviet-German battlefield, those who were afraid of death had already died first.
