Chapter 38

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At noon, four J-24 fighters roared into the sky from the Beijing warship, beginning their attack on Okinawa.

The fighters quickly reached Naha Military Port. Without the threat of anti-aircraft weapons, the fighters leisurely flew at an economic speed of 1.2 Mach. The sky was a deep blue, and the sea was a clear turquoise. The pilots even had the illusion that this was not a battle but a journey.

The fighters dropped their external aviation bombs. The pilots couldn't help but feel a bit heartache; such precious bombs were used to destroy just a few small wooden boats with sails! The small gunboats, with a displacement of a few hundred tons, were quickly obliterated by the precision-guided weapons. The fighters did not return but continued on to Shuri.

When they reached the skies over Shuri, the fighters descended, opened their bomb bays, and began to scatter leaflets. The use of aircraft to scatter leaflets is a common occurrence in history, and during World War II, it was easy to do so. For example, bomber crews could simply open the bomb bay and throw the leaflets out by hand. However, to scatter leaflets from a modern fighter like the J-24, the crew had to think of a creative solution. They eventually came up with a simple method: tie the leaflets loosely with a rope and place them in the bomb bay. When the bomb bay opened, the leaflets would scatter as they fell to the ground.

The civilians in Shuri Castle looked up at the sky, amazed by the paper leaflets falling like snowflakes. They picked them up, and although only a few could read, they gathered around those who could, hoping they would read the words aloud. However, those who could read were shocked and speechless, for the leaflets clearly stated: "The King Returns, Slay the Japanese, the Ryukyu Islands, Forever Chinese!"

At 2 PM, two helicopters carrying over 40 marines landed 1,000 meters from the Japanese military camp outside Naha. The attack on Naha Military Port left the Japanese confused; they had never even heard of aircraft, let alone thought they were being bombed. The Naha military camp was in chaos. A battalion was stationed there, and with such a significant event, the first reaction was to find the battalion commander, but he had disappeared.

It turned out that the troops stationed in Ryukyu were the least combat-effective, and the officers stationed there felt exiled. They indulged in debauchery, and at that moment, the battalion commander was napping in a geisha house.

What the marines didn't expect was that the first people they encountered were not armed Japanese soldiers but Ryukyu farmers carrying hoes. Ryukyu had been deeply influenced by Chinese culture, and Chinese merchants often traded there, so even the farmers knew some Chinese. When they saw the two helicopters land and the strangely dressed people jump out, they were stunned.

Finally, an old farmer mustered the courage to ask, "Are you heavenly soldiers and generals?"

A marine couldn't help but laugh and said, "Yes, we are heavenly soldiers and generals, here to fight the Japanese!"

The old farmer turned back and said something in the local language. The crowd cheered and then dispersed. The marines felt that this was more like an autumn outing than a battle!

When the gunfire started, the Japanese offered little resistance and scattered like birds and beasts. The marines entered the camp, finding the tea in the cups still warm.

At that moment, a hundred farmers, armed with hoes and shovels, surrounded the camp. An old farmer grabbed a marine and said, "Heavenly gods! We are willing to join you to fight the Japanese devils."

The marines reported this to the Beijing warship, and Han Mingguang excitedly said, "Great! Mobilizing the masses is one of the reasons for our army's growth!"

So the marines set out with a hundred civilians. As they moved along, more people joined with their farming tools, and the group grew like a snowball. They quickly reached the Japanese camp in Shuri, and with little effort, the marines occupied it. The drunk Japanese battalion commander was still passed out and became a prisoner.

The Japanese soldiers, like frightened birds, were quickly caught by the surrounding farmers. These Japanese had bullied the locals for a long time, and now the locals finally had the chance to take revenge. They killed the Japanese without even asking questions.

The marines entered the Japanese command room, and at that moment, the phone rang. A marine hesitated but answered it, hearing a voice urgently calling, "Come and support Shuri Castle, there's a rebellion in the city!"

In Japan, a prefecture is equivalent to a province in China, though much smaller. The prefectural governor is called a prefectural governor. When the leaflets were scattered, the governor of Okinawa Prefecture saw them and immediately ordered the Japanese police to confiscate them.

The Japanese police had long-standing grievances with the local citizens, and the confiscation of leaflets quickly became a trigger for conflict. Some police beat and insulted citizens, and in some places, citizens began to fight back. At that moment, the Ryukyu army entered Shuri Castle, bringing the exciting news that the king had returned!

To the surprise of the Japanese police, the Ryukyu army did not help the Japanese. Instead, they attacked the Japanese as soon as they entered the city. They first targeted the Okinawa Prefectural Government Building. According to the plan from the Beijing warship, they should have controlled the Japanese, but the angry citizens joined the Ryukyu army, and they attacked the Japanese officials with wooden sticks.

In the eyes of the locals, the soldiers in the Ryukyu army were seen as lackeys for the Japanese. To the Japanese, they were expendable servants, easily replaced. These soldiers, from the lowest rungs of society, such as landless farmers and bankrupt small craftsmen, joined the army to survive. Their hatred for the Japanese was even deeper than that of the general public.

The citizens' anger quickly infected the soldiers. When the first soldier fired at a Japanese official, the situation became uncontrollable. The soldiers began to shoot their angry bullets at the Japanese officials who had once lorded over them.

At the same time, the army began to attack the Japanese police. Don't forget that the police also included Ryukyu locals, whose situation was similar to that of the soldiers. They dealt with the Ryukyu people daily and knew how their fellow citizens cursed them behind their backs. The day of revenge had finally come. The police broke into the police station's armory and distributed batons, knives, and firearms to the citizens.

The citizens grabbed the guns but didn't know how to use them, so they used them like iron bars. The enraged crowd surged towards the areas where the Japanese gathered and searched for Japanese in various places. The arrogant Japanese never imagined that these "lowly" people would rise up against them.

For example, the president of the Chishima Trading Company, Chishima Masaharu, looked down on the Ryukyu people and treated the Ryukyu employees in his company with disdain. The company ostensibly traded in silk, recruiting young Ryukyu girls to work in Japanese silk factories. However, once in Japan, the attractive girls were sold to brothels, and the rest were imprisoned in factories, working up to 18 hours a day with barely enough food and subjected to the whims of Japanese foremen.

The Ryukyu people had long harbored resentment against him but were intimidated by his power. Now, with the Japanese defeated, they stormed his house. He tried to intimidate them with his usual authority, shouting, "What are you doing? Rebelling?" But before he could finish, he was beaten to a pulp by the crowd.

Once the vengeful people tasted the blood of their enemies, reason was lost. The citizens soon began to attack Japanese women. The more high-ranking the women, the more they aroused the desire to conquer. The white skin under the kimonos, which they had never dared to imagine, could now be savagely violated. This intense pleasure stirred the primal instincts of every man, and soon the streets were filled with the moans and pleas of Japanese women.

This situation was completely beyond the control of the Beijing warship and Shang Tai. The Beijing warship lacked the manpower to maintain city order, and Shang Tai, who hated the Japanese, turned a blind eye to the massacre.

The massacre lasted a day, and the frenzied crowd gradually dispersed. At noon the next day, just as Shang Tai was preparing to announce to the world via telegraph that Ryukyu had officially returned to China, Lin Yuan sent a message, instructing Shang Tai to declare Ryukyu's independence!

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