Chapter 63 Concessions: no longer a sanctuary

After the Meiji period, Japan was dismissive of Asia, and the famous slogan was "leave Asia and join Europe".But in front of Europe and the United States, it has some inexplicable inferiority complex.Torn between pride and inferiority, the Empire of Japan looked around and seemed to see hostility.So it buried itself in building a strong army and a strong navy.The result is just like the military theorist Jiang Baili said: "The strength of the Japanese army is rare in the world. The strength of the navy is also rare in the world. But the combination of the two forces is equal to weakness."

Jiang Baili came to this conclusion because of a thorough analysis of the characteristics of the Japanese.He found that the Japanese are proud of the Eastern culture every day, but their actions are always imitating the West.And also because its mind is too meticulous and meticulous, it often pays attention to the details, but forgets the big ones; it pays attention to the special and ignores the ordinary. "For example, Japan studies India in more detail than people in any other country. He is very envious of Britain's acquisition of India. But he forgot that the British took 300 years to complete India in an era when everyone did not pay attention. The Japanese , but wants to be successful within 30 years under the watchful eye of the big powers. The Japanese also study Chinese personalities, their biographies and actions, and he will remember them with great interest, but he has forgotten the unity of Chinese geography and the universality of writing. He wants to use force to change the power of 5,000 years of history and divide China. He also envies the emerging Italy and Germany, talks about control, but keeps talking about fascism. But he forgets that he cannot produce a leader.”

In Japan’s national defense plan in 1936, the Soviet Union in the north, the United States across the ocean, and Britain, the Netherlands, and France in the south were all listed as imaginary enemies, and China was also seriously included in the imaginary enemies for the first time. In July 1937, it attacked China, which seemed to be the most bully, but since then it has been mired in a quagmire and anxious. In the final negotiation with the United States in 1941, Japan could give up a lot, but it just couldn't bear to withdraw its troops from China and give up its four-year war in China.For this reason, it does not hesitate to go to war with the United States, and it uses a sneak attack to preemptively strike.The attack on Pearl Harbor was a model of tactical action. The Japanese once again demonstrated their ability to deal with precision and precision in tactics, and at the same time exposed their stupidity in grand strategy.

Japanese poet Kotaro Komura wrote a poem titled "December 8th" in the atmosphere of victory in the early days of the Pacific War, praising the Japanese Empire that opened a new page in world history. Chinese politicians are also secretly happy for the arrival of this day, because they all know that from this day on, Japan will lose, but when will it lose everything.Some smart politicians have lost their aggressiveness and are already calculating how to easily share the fruits of victory.It seems that China's laziest strategist also sees farther than Japan's most diligent strategist.The Japanese samurai who had already embarked on the road of suicide finally took the initiative to recruit Americans who could kill them from behind.

At 11 a.m. on December 8, 1941, Japanese troops entered the Shanghai International Settlement.In addition to the Chinese, there are more than 73,000 foreigners including Jews and Belarusians.From this moment on, the concessions, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia are no longer safe havens, but new cages.