Chapter 572 Cease-Fire Line
It is not difficult for East Africa to block the Miyako Strait. The East African expedition fleet can do it. The Miyako Strait was not a very busy route at that time, so Japanese ships trying to pass through the Miyako Strait had to cause trouble every day. In this way, many Japanese ships slipped through the net during the daily patrols of the East African Navy. As for those who were caught, they could only pay a large amount of taxes to East Africa, otherwise their ships would be detained.
Under the protection and escort of the East African Navy, the construction of the South Ryukyu Islands, which had been almost interrupted, also underwent tremendous changes, especially in the northernmost Miyako Island. After resuming shipping between it and the Far East mainland, East Africa began to expand and repair its port on the island.
This time, the East African fleet certainly cannot stay on the sea all the time, especially the three ironclad ships will definitely return to East Africa, but gunboats and some other purpose ships will remain in the South Ryukyu Islands for defense.
"Now, you Japanese war criminals have lost your former arrogance after we sank seventeen of your ships. Most of the remaining creatures have surrendered. However, you should be proud enough to be defeated by our East African Navy."
Under the scorching sun, the East African Navy gave a lecture to the captured Japanese sailors, saying that not all Japanese ships were sunk by the East African Navy. In addition, the East African Navy promptly rescued many people who fell into the water. These Japanese sailors were "evidence" of the Japanese Navy's attack disguised as fishermen.
The East African garrison and workers on Miyako Island also watched with interest as the navy trained Japanese prisoners under the scorching sun.
"You can escape the death penalty, but you can't escape the punishment of life. From today on, you will start building a prison. I believe you will be proud of this new job. After all, you can personally participate in the passionate cause of building a prison to hold your own."
The instructor's words were quite hurtful. He let these Japanese build their own prisons to imprison themselves. However, criminals have no human rights, let alone criminals who attempted to attack the East African army. They are war criminals and are even more unpopular.
Of course, East Africa had practical considerations in allowing these war criminals to build a prison. Naturally, there had been a prison on Miyako Island before, but it did not meet East Africa's standards. Moreover, East Africa had now arrested more than a hundred prisoners at once, and the small prison left over from the Ryukyu Kingdom could not accommodate so many people.
Moreover, the East African trainer's words "You can escape the death penalty, but you can't escape the living crime" also need to be considered. If the Japanese government does not care about their life or death, they may really die. It mainly depends on whether Japan is willing to give them bargaining chips.
However, according to the thinking of the East African side, it is estimated that only big fish like Takayasu Morita can be redeemed. After all, his uncle is a senior official of the Japanese government and his family still has some weight in Japanese politics.
Moreover, Morita's behavior is still quite respected in Japan. As long as it is packaged, he can become a "hero defending national interests" in public opinion. After all, a fishing boat taking on a large warship is indeed a shocking feat.
The situation of East Africa's blockade of the Miyako Strait was naturally quickly reported to the Japanese government by the "victim" merchant ships and fishing boats. In fact, before this, Seiji Ozawa had already passed the news of the East African fleet's arrival in the Miyako Strait to the Japanese government, but no one expected that East Africa would dare to blockade the Miyako Strait.
So the Japanese government quickly approached the East African Legation and asked Card: "Minister Card, you East Africans are blocking the Miyako Strait. Are you trying to declare war on our Great Japanese Empire? The Miyako Strait is a natural sea passage and a fishing ground operated by our coastal citizens for generations. Your country's behavior is too overbearing!"
Card: "That's not the news I received. We have solid evidence that you Japanese used serving sailors to impersonate fishermen to harass and rob our East African merchant ships. We in East Africa are just fighting back. Your navy is in the name of a navy, but it's doing pirate activities, and now it's turning the tables. Our blockade of the Miyako Strait is a light punishment. In my opinion, it's not too much to cut off your eastern shipping routes!"
"Minister Kade, please stop slandering us. The Imperial Navy cannot possibly disguise itself as fishermen to attack merchant ships. As for the evidence, it must be something you fabricated."
"Hehe, we have both witnesses and evidence. As for your refusal to admit it and your attempt to deny it, we naturally have no way to deal with such a shameless country. However, as long as you do not publicly apologize and compensate East Africa for the losses it has suffered, don't even think about our country lifting the blockade easily."
Minister Card can now feel proud. He remembers the previous attack on the embassy very clearly. No one wants to be plotted against. Now that he can embarrass the Japanese government, he feels very comfortable and has a feeling of revenge.
The Japanese diplomat said gloomily, "Your terms are too harsh. We will never agree to them. Moreover, the Senkaku Islands and the Miyako Strait are our inseparable interests. It is extremely uneconomical for you to waste money with us. I can guarantee that this is a bottomless pit for you. As long as 30 million Japanese citizens are still alive, you will not ignore the loss of your territory."
Kade: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, don't be so sanctimonious. Don't think that we in East Africa don't know history. The entire Ryukyu Islands have nothing to do with Japan. Even if it is not an independent country, it is a vassal state of the Far Eastern Empire. You Japanese also paid tribute to the Far Eastern Empire during the Han Dynasty. If that's the case, your so-called 30 million citizens might as well jump into the Pacific Ocean and return the land to the Far Eastern Empire."
Minister Card's argument is sophistry, but it does make sense. Of course, the most important thing is that it can satirize Japan's shameless behavior.
Of course, East Africa is no less shameless. After all, the land was taken from the blacks, and they also enslaved the blacks. They are a typical ruthless country. However, East Africa's shamelessness is obvious and it has never been denied. Japan is trying to hide it and build a memorial archway.
The Japanese diplomat was very annoyed when he heard Card's sarcasm, but when he thought about the fact that the enemy was strong and we were weak, he could only swallow his anger and said, "Minister Card, what exactly do you want your country to offer?"
Kade: "This is actually a very easy matter to discuss. Didn't you want to divide the Ryukyu Islands into two with the Far Eastern Empire? Now we in East Africa have helped you implement this plan, but you Japanese want to go back on your word. I think you should stop making trouble. The two countries will use the Miyako Strait as the boundary to completely divide the Ryukyu Islands into two."
East Africa has no desire for the Northern Ryukyu Islands, so the dichotomy is acceptable to it. The fact that Japan previously proposed to divide the Ryukyu Islands with the Far East shows that they can also accept this plan.
Of course, the Japanese cannot hide their wolfish ambitions, but East Africa doesn’t care too much now. Without more than ten years of development, Japan will not easily start a war. So as long as the two countries can reach an agreement temporarily this time, East Africa can slowly manage the South Ryukyu Islands. As for the future, it is nothing more than the Miyako Strait becoming a temporary ceasefire line.
(End of this chapter)
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