---

* * *

Japanese Empire, Tokyo Imperial General Headquarters

Support for Mutaguchi Renya has increased here. In fact, most of Western Japan has effectively fallen under Mutaguchi Renya’s control.

“It’s no longer possible. Let’s surrender.”

“Western Japan is already in Renya’s hands.”

“His Imperial Majesty also suggested we should surrender.”

However, saying surrender is easier said than done.

If we lose this war, the Tojo Hideki cabinet would face certain death.

And the hardliners were still rallying everyone to die in battle.

The surrender faction and the hardliners were clashing internally. Regrettably, the United States had no intention of accepting a surrender, and even if we did surrender to Russia, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t hand over the Imperial General Headquarters to the Americans, making it all meaningless.

And then—

After the nuclear bomb was dropped on Kyoto, the majority of the surviving subjects lost their will to fight, and only then did discussions on surrender re-emerge.

“I hear the troops sent to Nanjing have been wiped out by Russia’s nuclear weapons.”

“There’s no guarantee they won’t drop one here in Tokyo next.”

“We must fight! Even if all subjects die! We must show them the will of the Empire!”

“We’re out of food because of the refugees.”

Of course, since their own necks were still on the line, the Tojo Hideki faction was crying that it couldn’t happen.

In the end, they belatedly offered to surrender under the condition of maintaining the Emperor system—but—

The answer from America, which had already declared its intent to turn the archipelago into a hell of flames, was the Tokyo air raid led by LeMay.

Four hundred B-29 bombers relentlessly bombed Tokyo, saturating it with incendiaries.

Tokyo was being relentlessly hammered, and the air raid started just as the Imperial General Headquarters began discussing surrender. The reason was simple.

Due to the execution of the Decay Operation, the US 1st and 8th Armies invaded Kanto, and with Japan being bombed across the board, refugees fled to Tokyo, exponentially increasing their numbers there.

The air raid on Tokyo commenced around this time, meaning it was intended to increase casualties.

“Sa—save me! Aaaah!”, “My—my home!”

With this, even Tojo Hideki had no answers left.

Southern Manchuria, the Korean Peninsula, and now the capital had been reduced to a state where it couldn’t function as a city.

The heart of the city lay in ruins, proving the place was a hell of flames as Tokyo glowed like a ring of fire even at night.

Only then did the Imperial General Headquarters cling to the hope of surrender.

“What’s happening? Why is there no response from the Americans?”

“They said they won’t accept a surrender!”

Of course, as I’ve said again.

The United States had no intention of accepting a surrender, and from the moment American forces landed in Kanto, Tokyo’s fate was sealed.

Even the surrender was not within our control.

Having lost the will to fight, the Americans who had finally landed in Kanto began entering Tokyo. The only things waiting to greet the American troops were charred corpses and burning wooden structures, barely recognizable.

And so, on September 9, 1944, Japan found itself captured by the American forces without even managing to surrender, bringing the Japan-US war to an end.

A struggle that ended with the unconditional surrender demanded by the Americans as they occupied Tokyo without even a conditional surrender being asserted.

Unlike the original history, there was no broadcast, and the war ended without a surrender.

Naturally, Japan’s greatest general, Mutaguchi Renya, completely engulfed in his hero complex, kneeled and cried out upon hearing the news of the surrender, the devastation in Kyoto, and the occupation of Tokyo.

“Ugh. Has heaven turned a blind eye? Is this truly where my limits lie! The incompetent Imperial General Headquarters has led the Empire to ruin! We should’ve raised the banner sooner!”

“Governor-General!”, “Waaah!”, “The Empire falls like this!”, “It’s not your fault, sir!”

Mutaguchi Renya, who wailed lamentably before Kyoto, became famous enough to be featured in a newspaper by a war correspondent.

To be fair, he was simply wobbling and collapsed after a night of drinking, delaying the advance for the sake of Kyoto as a spiritual capital, worried about fighting the Americans.

Nonetheless, on the surface, it looked like the shogun had exhausted himself and failed to achieve his purpose.

He became the general unable to restore the country because of the incompetent Imperial General Headquarters and gained considerable sympathy from the Japanese people. This would greatly influence Mutaguchi Renya’s rise to power in the future.

* * *

Factions of warlords broke off from the National Government of Soong Mei-ling.

It must be that they couldn’t handle fighting against us, who possess nuclear weapons.

At this point, one might even begin to suspect how Chiang Kai-shek met his demise.

Perhaps Soong Mei-ling might just be shivering in anticipation.

Either way, such a submissive Soong Mei-ling ultimately lost the legitimacy and justification to plan for a unified government.

With infidelity rumors already spreading, surrendering to the Tsar meant even more warlords would break away.

All Soong Mei-ling could do was maintain some semblance of the government left by her husband, that would be all.

For now, the Chinese issue was settled, for the time being.

The Qing Dynasty and our little bastard Mao Zedong’s regional government got their semi-autonomous areas, and the rest fell under semi-autonomous governance, but all we could do was recognize each faction’s government.

“This wraps up the Chinese issue for now.”

“Then, shall we continue with the material supply?”

“Of course we should.”

With the government fragmented, it would suffice to support them as needed.

“Let’s recognize each warlord’s autonomous government separately and supply materials accordingly. It would be good to regard the National Government separately as well.”

Soong Mei-ling wouldn’t be able to object.

You see, people need to know how to take orders.

These bone-deep Chinese nationalists must be suppressed now.

That’s their flaw. Once divided, there’s no choice but to fight each other for the sake of unification.

And if that solidifies, unifying in the future will become akin to that of North and South Korea.

“Indeed, if everyone is seen as equals, no side can hold the upper hand.”

Look at future Korea.

Unification is good, but if we unify immediately, we’ll have to take in over twenty million beggars—can Korea withstand that?

Ultimately, divided China will develop individually, creating a significant gap in national power.

The days of unification through fighting like in the past will be long gone, making unification increasingly difficult.

“But we must also consider the possibility of the National Government begging the US for help.”

That might be so. If we think about Soong Mei-ling’s original history, she might ask for American assistance to survive.

But so what?

Can America really intervene? They absolutely can’t.

While America will become a superpower like us, for now, they don’t have the standing to say anything to us.

In fact, they’re still far behind in missile technology.

If the original history is anything to go by, America will be awestruck by Germany’s missile technology post-World War II.

Furthermore, the America in this world lacks Goddard and is currently in a position to import technology from us—would they even consider aiding China, which holds no value right now?

“We must see that as a variable, but I doubt the US would think to use a weak government like the National Government to check us.”

There’s even Canada above the United States.

They could very well tighten their grip on Latin America.

In many ways, the current state of America compared to the original history shows that the places they can influence are limited—that is likely the answer.

The only great power title opposing the Rome Treaty.

Ha. Isn’t that cool?

Sure they could aim for a liberated Vietnam or Southeast Asia, but that’s about all. There are limits.

Moreover, America unified to take revenge on Japan.

Having finally captured Japan, MacArthur’s influence will only grow, and the unified status will likely last longer, but still.

Not long after, we finally heard the news we had been waiting for.

News of America capturing Japan’s high command with the occupation of Tokyo.

“Has the Japan-US war indeed come to an end?”

With the end of the Japan-US war, the Rome Treaty and the conflict with Japan also concluded.

From the moment the allied fleet was annihilated, the Chinese expeditionary force was repelled, and the Korean Peninsula was reclaimed, the Rome Treaty had completed its agenda, and consequently, with Tokyo falling to American hands, the war here too concluded.

It wasn’t a surrender; it was an occupation—quite surprising.

The America here is truly fueled by a desire for revenge against Japan.

And surprisingly, there was Mutaguchi Renya.

“Is it true that positions make the person?”

It felt peculiar seeing a newspaper with Mutaguchi Renya kneeling in the ruins of Kyoto, crying out.

In my view, he seemed to be self-induced into a hero complex, but this would greatly aid Renya in asserting control over Western Japan.

At this point, many Japanese people began to follow Mutaguchi, so it’s no wonder that such a portrayal would garner sympathy from many.

Moreover, with the impact of Kyoto being burned as a spiritual capital, anti-American sentiments would boil over in Western Japan.

Unlike Eastern Japan, which had been bombed long ago, the news of Mutaguchi Renya’s advance would attract soldiers and refugees from various areas, resulting in conditions far better than Eastern Japan.

“Renya’s forces have barely managed to enter Nagoya. But beyond that, it seems they’ve been blocked by the American troops.”

“Sounds like they want to hold the line.”

Had the Americans continued pressuring for surrender, Renya might have advanced as far as Eastern Japan. That would have been a bit disappointing.

What’s funnier is that the army of Mutaguchi Renya that advanced to Nagoya, at least in terms of scale, could still engage in a real fight.

The forces that surrendered to Renya’s cause included the Chinese expeditionary troops and many who willingly joined his ranks, totaling a significant number.

What would have happened had they fought the Americans?

Well, Japan might be a bully according to East Asia, but they certainly wouldn’t have won against the Americans.

If we stepped in behind them, it would inevitably escalate into a war between the Rome Treaty and the US.

Right around now, we’d be leeching money from America while they pay us without overextending—sounds just about right.

But does that mean there’s going to be a surrender signing ceremony?

* * *

It’d be quite amusing if Tokyo got taken without any formality. If I had known this was going to happen, I should have dispatched the Okhrana to capture the Emperor.

That way, they might’ve been more cautious of us.

It would have looked as though we were unnecessarily trying to gain more influence in Japan.

“When’s the surrender signing ceremony happening?”

“Actually, the US military command asked for representatives to be sent to Tokyo regarding the surrender agreement.”

So they want to hold a ceremonial surrender after all.

In that case, hmm, will the surrender signing proceed just like in the original history?

Looking at the photo of the surrender announcement, I can’t help but laugh.

It’s almost like a Tokyo hot photo, just like in the original history.

“Will it be signed on the Iowa-class battleship Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay?”

Or will it differ since Tokyo was occupied?

Perhaps the entirety of the Tojo cabinet will be dragged out like dogs to conduct the surrender signing ceremony.

What’s fortunate is that Tokyo was occupied before the angry Americans could begin rampaging through Eastern Japan, but who knows how they might conduct the surrender ceremony.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I see you know.”

“Then send him. It seems General Semenov would be a suitable representative for the Far Eastern Army.”

Additionally, delegates from various nations will also participate in the signing, just as in the original history.

Representing America will be Chester Nimitz, representing the yet semi-autonomous Chinese government will be Zhou Enlai, and representing the National Government will be Xu Yongchang.

Similar to the original history, the Allied representatives will include Bruce Fraser from Britain, Thomas Blamey from Australia, Lawrence Moore-Cosgrave from Canada, Philippe Leclerc from France, and others who will show up like in the original history, but now there will be mentions like “Rome Treaty—so-and-so representative.”

And additionally, Kim Gu will represent the Balhae Republic, recognized as a belligerent.

On the side of the Japanese Empire, representatives like Foreign Minister Shigemizu Mamoru and Umezu Yoshijiro will also appear, but the crucial point is that they are essentially being dragged out.

Looking at the statistics, Japan has already plummeted to the level of a least-developed country.

They fell into the same state as before history, almost entirely devoid of the functions of a city.

Fortunately, Western Japan, thanks to Mutaguchi Renya, retains some functional cities. However, it resembles a deserted wasteland with orphans and famine overflowing, effectively in ruins.

I wonder how the surrender signing will proceed.

“Your Majesty, General MacArthur wants to discuss how the future world will be divided. They wish to set a date for it.”

Americans are asking to split the globe through our Foreign Ministry.

Hmm, I see. For now, let’s just get the surrender accepted since Japan is basically American territory. The focus will shift to land arrangements later.

Shouldn’t that discussion be with our Prime Minister—

When you think about it, the Americans do have Huey Long, so it might make sense for me to handle this directly, hmm.

“It seems my turn is approaching.”

In this case, I should act like I’m saving Western Japan quickly.

Of course, I also have to handle the issues of Korea and colonies.

Basically, this meeting will define how far each region extends.

* * *

 

---