Chapter 9 The Snake Catcher Said (5)

  (Five)

  The first rays of sunlight at dawn shone on the red earth of Java, and the entire land was like a wound that had bled out all its blood. After a night of fierce fighting, the Chinese Expeditionary Force's northern line crossed the coast of North Jakarta and controlled the gateway to Jakarta - Bekasi City, while the southern troops arrived in Bandung, basically completing the pincer encirclement of the Greater Jakarta area.

  Before the arrival of the Allied forces, the Chinese Expeditionary Force and Indonesian Chinese Salvation Army had already begun preparations for a general offensive towards Jakarta. Meanwhile, in the northern coastal city, the remaining Japanese Self-Defense Forces were still resisting stubbornly.

  Several Type 05 tanks belonging to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' South Seas Dispatch Army Command's Directly Subordinate 18th Reinforced Tank Battalion had stopped burning in the middle of the street, while not far away on the other side of the block were the remains of a destroyed Chinese airborne infantry's ZBD-03 airborne IFV. Carrying an QBZ-95 automatic rifle and crossing through building after building that had been destroyed by artillery fire, Nagaki Osamu, who had lost his tank, returned once again to the command center of his unit.

  "The defensive line in Sector B on the left wing has collapsed, and the Chinese will soon encircle us." Lighting a cigarette, Nanmu said to his subordinates - a makeshift guard team of hundreds of people. "Hey, your guys are fighting well." Nanmu turned his face and said in English to the Chinese carrier-based aircraft pilot who was captured last night, and threw him a cigarette.

  "Not good enough!" The pilot replied in English. "The battle is not over yet! Liu Qingzheng, Lieutenant Colonel." As he lit a cigarette for the other man with his lighter, Nanmu said with a bitter smile. This Chinese pilot was captured by Nanmu's tank troops in the northern suburbs of North California coast before the Chinese attack last night, and he should be one of the pilots of the two J-11H fighter jets shot down in that small-scale tank battle two days ago. Before being captured, he had crossed more than 40 kilometers of the front line alone, almost making it back to his own position.

  "Actually, Java is far from both China and Japan, why do we have to come here and kill each other?" Perhaps the battle will erupt at any moment, but at this moment, Nanmu really wants to have a good chat with this Chinese man. "Because we are all soldiers!" Liu Qingzheng replied casually, blowing out a smoke ring.

  The entire defensive system of the northern coastal city has completely collapsed in last night's attack, with both sides' front lines now forming a saw-toothed pattern. The poor communication conditions made it impossible for Japanese soldiers besieged at various defense strongpoints to understand how many people were still holding out like them. The Chinese also seemed reluctant to take this already isolated and surrounded city, after all, street fighting means huge casualties.

  "It should be able to hold out until nightfall!" Nanmu crouched inside the makeshift machine gun bunker, recalling the fierce battle before dawn. The four Type 05 medium tanks he commanded had destroyed nearly ten Chinese paratroopers' wheeled armored vehicles, but eventually became burning scrap metal themselves. When Nanmu crawled out of the scorching turret, his gunner was already dead, and the infantrymen who rescued the driver found that an armor-piercing fragment had pierced his neck artery, and he stopped breathing after humming for less than half a minute.

  "Tanks, our tanks." Excited cheers from Japanese soldiers came from a two-story Western-style restaurant on the left. Amidst the rumbling sound of tank tracks, 2 Type 90 tanks and 3 Type 89 infantry fighting vehicles of the 16th Division escorted more than 50 Japanese Self-Defense Force infantrymen into Kusunoki's defensive zone.

  "Are there any 120mm armor-piercing shells?" A lieutenant jumped off the tank and asked Nanmu in a very impolite tone. "There are, but they've all been blown up." At this moment, Nanmu was also too lazy to argue with him, pointing to his own destroyed tank.

  "Alright, those who can still breathe, follow me. We're going to break through D district and head to Jakarta. There's enough ammo and food there to last us until reinforcements arrive." The lieutenant waved his hand vigorously at the Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers in the bunker before turning to get back into his own tank. "Wait a minute, we just clashed with the Chinese in D district at 4:50, it's already under their control," Nakagi said, hastily grabbing onto him.

  "If you're not interested, you can stay here." The lieutenant said coldly to Nanmu.

  "Japan is indeed a very dangerous nation!" The dawn light also shines on the Chinese "Shanghai No." nuclear-powered aircraft carrier battle group patrolling the Java Sea. Sailors who had been busy on the flight deck all night were changing shifts, and the dense bullet holes on the left elevator of the majestic Shanghai seemed to be enough to prove Colonel Xu Jie's words at this moment.

  Last night, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force launched a surprise attack, although it did not sink the pride of the Chinese Navy - the Shanghai, but the two most threatening missiles were intercepted just over 100 meters away from the aircraft carrier, which really made Xu Jie and Ma Lan sweat. Fortunately, the damage to the warship was not severe.

  But other ships in the fleet were not so lucky. The "Xiamen" destroyer of the "Hai" class was hit by 3 ASM-1 missiles

  Two anti-ship missiles hit in succession, and the crew on board fought with fierce flames for 45 minutes before finally announcing the abandonment of the ship. The Changzhou, a multi-purpose destroyer of the "Fearless 2" class, was also severely damaged by a missile hitting its stern and had to withdraw from the battlefield, while several other warships suffered varying degrees of damage.

  "The war zone command is now ordering my ship to withdraw from the battle, isn't it...?" Captain Ma Lan said to Commander Xu Jie, who had a similarly serious expression, standing under the huge island-type bridge. "Our opponent is not just Japan, at this moment Shanghai needs to return to its mother port to adjust its status, believe me, Ma Lan. The day we return to this ocean is not far away." Although China has 5 aircraft carriers, claiming to be the second in the world, only three carrier fleets, "Beijing", "Shanghai" and "Jiangsu", can truly roam the distant oceans in the Chinese Navy. Among them, "Beijing", which belongs to the North Sea Fleet, is also known as the "Marine Imperial Guard" and has been patrolling the Bohai and Yellow Seas for years.

  Therefore, facing the next war that is about to come, China urgently needs "Shanghai No." to quickly recover its best state, and the pressure from the west is increasingly showing.

  In the outskirts of Weihai City, Shandong Province, North China, in the biting cold wind of early winter, Li Hanwen, Vice Premier and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, smiled all over his face as he took from Japanese government special envoy and Deputy Foreign Minister Kawaguchi Masataro the final revised version of the Sino-Japanese Weihai Agreement.

  Later Japanese historians referred to the "Sino-Japanese Weihai Agreement" as the "21st-century Treaty of Shimonoseki". The agreement stipulated that Japan recognized China's sphere of influence in the Java Sea, and no military forces could be dispatched without Chinese permission. Japan paid China $250 billion in war reparations in the form of a 50-year interest-free loan, with an initial payment of $190 billion, followed by annual payments of $10 billion over the next five years, and the remaining amount to be cleared within 10 years depending on Japan's fiscal revenue and expenditure. Japan recognized the Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku Islands) and their affiliated waters as Chinese sovereign territory. Japan abolished its original non-tariff barriers for 15 domestic industries, including agricultural products, home appliances, and petrochemical products. In return, Japan only gained a five-day ceasefire in the Java Island area, allowing the remaining troops of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' Southern Expeditionary Army to withdraw, as well as China's commitment to export oil to Japan for 10 years.

  The news was transmitted back to Japan, and the political circles were naturally in an uproar. Japanese politicians, including former elder statesmen, criticized the Hatoyama cabinet for its incompetence, with Liberal Democratic Party official Takao Iwakura even making a statement that "the Japanese Self-Defense Forces would rather be annihilated than accept such a humiliating withdrawal." and "If China's right to station troops in Okinawa is added to the treaty, it will be comparable to the Treaty of San Francisco". However, these right-wing politicians' voices were soon drowned out by the cheers of ordinary Japanese citizens. For the Japanese people, who had become economic animals, the signing of the ceasefire agreement was nothing more than good news that would cause the stock market to rise.

  However, the signing of the Sino-Japanese Weihai Agreement in China was met with a chorus of scathing criticism from young patriots, with voices calling for "playing with the enemy" growing louder on the internet. In reality, however, the struggle for Java had already consumed too much of China's energy. Occupying Jakarta and annihilating the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' Southern Expeditionary Army was not a difficult task, but it would be unable to maximize national interests and would directly impact China's preparations for an even larger-scale war next time.

  "Resolving the Japanese threat should be a long-term national strategy. It's not just one or two decisive battles." said Hu Jianhua, Chairman of the People's Federation Republic of China at the Central Military Commission's enlarged meeting held in Zhongnanhai. Whatever history may evaluate, it is clear that in the first head-on confrontation between China and Japan in the 21st century around the Java Sea, a powerful China gained an overwhelming advantage.

  Inside a deserted and ruined building on the North Korean coast, Namu Kōji and others were pinned down by a barrage of Chinese mortar fire, unable to lift their heads. The so-called breakout had become a one-sided massacre by the Chinese. Two WZ-9D armed helicopters were sweeping the entire street with intense machine gun fire. Several Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers were crying helplessly behind a destroyed Type 90 tank.

  "I'm going to save them." Nanmu replaced his last clip, gesturing for the machine gun fire cover from the opposite rooftop. "It's useless. Surrender!" Although Liu Qingzheng had only met Nanmu briefly, he still reminded him in English - don't make unnecessary sacrifices.

  "Maybe next time." Kusunoki Yuzuka gave a friendly glance at the opponent, and with the firing of 2 Japanese Self-Defense Forces' 5.56mm machine guns and an 84mm recoilless rifle, Kusunoki rushed out of cover without looking back. Almost simultaneously, a Chinese People's Liberation Army Type 89 122mm self-propelled howitzer turned around the street corner, taking out the enemy firing point on the rooftop across from them with one shot. The bullets fired by the vehicle-mounted 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun also mercilessly pierced Kusunoki's body.

  "Surrender! The Chinese People's Liberation Army treats prisoners of war with kindness." Liu Qingzheng shouted loudly in English and Chinese after breaking free from several Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers. But the name Nagaki Osamu was forever left on the last line of Japan's list of fallen personnel.