Chapter 46: The End of War
Two weeks later, the Japanese military was unable to organize a decent air counterattack, and the bombing campaign had achieved significant results. Japan's top leaders were all relocated to underground bases, and major cities across the country were in chaos. The whole world knew that Japan was finished. Subsequently, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement urging Japan to surrender, but the Japanese government not only rejected the suggestion from China but also accused Chinese troops of large-scale air raids that had caused 100,000 deaths and approximately 1.4 million refugees.
October 25, the Chinese military launched a new round of air strikes, and the Chinese fleet annihilated Japan's last remaining naval forces in the Sea of Japan, then joined the strike on Japanese cities through cruise missiles. As the Chinese army had absolute air superiority, they conducted a test of the "air-ground integrated warfare" combat theory, and through summarizing feedback from the battlefield, China's military theory has made new developments.
After the large-scale air raid began, the Chinese Air Force dispatched an average of around 500 sorties per day. Precision-guided munitions accounted for 90% of the air raids. In the three-week air campaign, a total of more than 15,000 precision-guided bombs and missiles and 750 cruise missiles were dropped, which is unprecedented in the history of warfare. From the perspective of combat effectiveness, all strategic targets within Japan were destroyed by air force bombing, and its ground forces were also severely damaged by air strikes.
After the air raid, the Japanese government collapsed thoroughly. Due to the Chinese Navy's comprehensive blockade of Japan, various living materials were in short supply within Japan. Now some cities in Japan have seen anti-war demonstrations, and most ordinary people still hope to end the conflict as soon as possible. However, there are also some stubborn militaristic elements that advocate resistance to the end.
The Japanese government also split, with most government officials feeling that they should negotiate with the Chinese government to end the state of war between the two countries. Since Japan had already lost the opportunity to seize Ryukyu, it should recognize the reality of failure and avoid further losses. There were also some extreme elements who advocated for unconventional attacks on mainland China, which would put Japan in a favorable position in future negotiations.
However, the proposal to launch a chemical attack on major Chinese cities sparked intense debate within the government and was ultimately abandoned due to fear of China's nuclear retaliation. Although Japan gave up unconventional warfare for various reasons, Lin Feng did not intend to let go of these despicable orientals, and this war aimed not only to recover lost territory but also to set back Japan's national strength by 50 years.
Due to the blockade by the Chinese Navy, Japan became an isolated island cut off from the world. A month later, famine began to appear in Japan and large-scale riots broke out. The Japanese government finally could not withstand the internal and external pressures and surrendered to China, while the US government, which had been expected to play a role, did not live up to expectations.
November 1, formal negotiations between China and Japan began in Beijing, and the Chinese military temporarily stopped its attacks on Japan. Countries around the world were shocked by China's swift and decisive victory over Japan, especially given that China's losses were almost negligible compared to those of Japan. After China finished off little Japan, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense issued a warning to some Southeast Asian countries, saying: "The Chinese military has the ability to safeguard national territorial integrity, and any attempt to occupy Chinese territory will be met with retaliation from the Chinese military. In particular, some South China Sea countries are still occupying our inherent islands, and we hope these countries will take heed and withdraw from Chinese territorial waters as soon as possible."
After the news of China's determination to recover the Nansha Islands spread, Indonesia and Malaysia, which occupied Chinese islands, suddenly became tense. In the past, they still had confidence in competing with China, but after the Xisha Sea Battle and the Ryukyu Sea Battle, the Chinese Navy has become the most powerful navy in Asia, and these countries have lost their hope of directly confronting China.
The Philippines, under the auspices of the United States, is actively contacting other Southeast Asian countries to form an alliance against China. These countries have joined the alliance for various purposes and are actively carrying out military cooperation to counter China's growing influence before it turns its attention to them.
A week later, China and Japan finally reached an agreement: Japan promised to compensate China with $200 billion; at the same time, both sides confirmed that Ryukyu is an inseparable part of Chinese territory; Japan will transfer some of its domestic industrial equipment to China to offset part of the compensation; Japan promises not to develop large-scale lethal weapons again; Japan will return all cultural relics and artifacts obtained from invading China free of charge to China; China and Japan end their hostile relationship, and in order to help post-war Japan recover economically, China provides a $5 billion low-interest loan to Japan.
After the signing of the peace treaty, the Chinese army quickly lifted its maritime blockade against Japan and various international humanitarian aids poured into Japan. Now Japan has over 2 million casualties due to war, a large-scale famine has swept across the entire island nation, and organizations such as the International Red Cross have transported various foods to Japan to alleviate the food pressure within Japan.
China organized a large-scale transportation fleet to move a large amount of industrial equipment from Japanese factories to mainland factories, while fully accepting the Ryukyu Islands. The Ryukyu suffered great damage during the war, and now that the Japanese have been sent back to their country, the local population is around 100,000. In order to strengthen control over the Ryukyu, the central government of the mainland is preparing to migrate 2 million people. At the same time, Taiwan's Lin Feng also launched an investment project, planning to invest $2 billion in the next 10 years to restore the economy of the Ryukyu.
Lin Feng was overjoyed that China had finally won a complete victory in the Sino-Japanese War, but he never underestimated the Japanese. Although Japan had given all its assets to China in exchange for peace, Lin Feng believed that if Japan had the opportunity, it would still take revenge on China. Moreover, the Japanese were good at learning and hiding their strength, and China had suffered several losses before, so Lin Feng did not relax his vigilance against Japan.
Some scholars on the island are now overconfident, believing that since China has already defeated Japan, it should show a great power's demeanor and exempt Japan from compensation and debt. Some have even suggested providing daily necessities to Japanese citizens for free. Lin Feng has expelled all these shameless suggestions from the national education and cultural fields under the name of "traitor". People like this who do not distinguish right from wrong and have no sense of nation or ethnicity will never have a chance to rise again in the future.
After the war, Taiwan's local financial groups and some red capital from the mainland seized Japan's assets on the grounds of helping Japan recover its economy. After a period of integration, Chinese capital has firmly controlled the lifeline of Japan's economy, and from now on, Japan will become the treasury and source of wealth for the Chinese people. The Japanese government is not unaware of the severity of the situation, but they are simply unable to react in time, and now the entire Japan is under China's surveillance.
The US government once attempted to gain control over Japan under the guise of the United Nations, but after being rebuffed by China's verbal rejection, they never made another move. The US currently has its main forces tied up in Europe, the Middle East, and facing off against the Soviet Union, and doesn't have enough power to spare for Asia. Now, some of Japan's large enterprises and factories have been taken over by Chinese people, who are shipping back home all the useful equipment and technical personnel, leaving behind only outdated stuff they don't need for Japan.
China smoothly recovered the Ryukyu Islands, bringing a bit of comfort to the nation immersed in sorrow. Celebrations erupted across the country as China's victory was hailed, and some friendly nations sent congratulatory telegrams. Lin Feng returned to Taiwan by warship from Naha Port after completing his work, where Taiwan's economy has now taken the lead among Asian regions. This year's per capita income is expected to reach $5,000, with fiscal revenue likely to break through the $100 billion mark - a feat that would have only been achieved in the late 1980s historically. Meanwhile, on the mainland, the economy also took off rapidly after the turmoil ended in 1970.
Next, Lin Feng needs to carefully plan China's strategic space. Currently, the small countries in the south are not a threat, and with China's current military strength, it is easy to take care of them. China's biggest concern is not them but the north. Only by thoroughly resolving the security issues in the north can China free up its hands to develop properly.
December 15, 1976, at a meeting of the Taiwanese government, Lin Feng first raised the fact that China does not recognize Outer Mongolia's independence and that China will sooner or later restore its sovereignty over Mongolia. The whole world was in an uproar for a time, with some Western countries believing that China had begun to take steps towards conquering the world. In addition, the Mongolian People's Republic lodged a strong protest with the Chinese government, again raising the issue of Mongolia being a sovereign state at the United Nations.
At the same time, the Soviet government also urgently dispatched a large number of troops to Mongolia, causing the recently eased Sino-Soviet relations to become tense again. The mainland central government reiterated that Mongolia is part of Chinese territory on the one hand, and proposed negotiations to resolve their disputes on the other. The US government secretly strongly urged China to recover Mongolia by force, hoping for a major conflict between China and the Soviet Union.
Lin Feng proposed this topic to probe the Soviet Union and shift the world's excessive attention from Japan. China is actively transferring wealth from Japan, and some things are better done quietly. After World War II, Japan accumulated wealth was plundered by China, making China's national strength increase by more than double in a short period. The mainland is now working hard to digest the benefits gained from this war. It is believed that after another decade or so of development, mainland China will reach the national strength of the late 1990s. By then, Lin Feng will have the confidence to recover lost territory when the Soviet Union is deeply trapped in Afghanistan. After all, the Soviet Union is much stronger than Japan, and it is impossible to achieve this goal with just Taiwan. At that time, it must rely on the mainland for help. Therefore, Lin Feng is now desperately handing over everything useful in Japan to the mainland side to quickly enhance China's overall strength. This truly fulfills the saying "a country cannot become rich without ill-gotten wealth".
Moreover, due to Lin Feng's relationship, most of the capital and resources on the mainland are now in the hands of their own people, with very few foreign and joint ventures occupying key areas. This is not like the later Chinese mainland where everything was dominated by foreign and joint ventures, and national capital could only survive in the cracks. Now, apart from state-owned capital, the mainland is mainly occupied by national capital.
