Chapter 181:
Chapter 181
The ports in every region were filled with panicked Japanese.
Upon hearing the news of the ferocious Soviet armys arrival, countless civilians abandoned their lives and rushed to the ports with their valuables.
Here! Over here! Im buying tickets!
Ill buy them! Double! No, triple the price!
Most of the transport ships had been sunk by the American bombing and mines, so there was a severe shortage of passenger ships.
Thats why the Japanese were even more desperate to grab the last chance to return to their homeland.
There were scenes everywhere of people carrying large bundles and children crying on their backs, pleading with the scalpers who were selling tickets for the passenger ships.
Of course, it wasnt only the Japanese who wanted to escape from Korea. Rather, the most desperate ones were the Koreans.
How can you do this to me!
Im sorry, but Joseon I mean, Koreans are not eligible for ticket sales.
Im a loyal subject of the empire! Ive been more loyal to the emperor and the Japanese empire than anyone else How can this happen to me!
Im sorry, but its an order.
The short-tempered shipping company employee quickly disappeared to attend to other customers who were screaming.
A wealthy Korean wrapped in silk clothes collapsed on the dirt floor, kneeling.
The huge amount of money in his briefcase was useless here.
How loyal I was!
The pro-Japanese collaborators were completely abandoned by Japan.
There was no room for the colonized people, rich or poor, on the passenger ships that were barely enough to evacuate the high-ranking officials and soldiers of the Japanese empire, or the Japanese tycoons.
One body, one body. Japan and Korea are one.
They had been saying that all along, but now they had been hit hard in the back of the head by the pro-Japanese collaborators, who looked stunned.
The rich, especially those who had betrayed their country, would not be spared by the Soviets.
And the independence activists, including the Korean Communist Party, were grinding their teeth at the pro-Japanese tycoons.
There had been some attempts to make peace between the two sides, but
What? They wont let us in at the port?
Thats right! Theres no way to escape! Were trapped!
The city was swarming with angry crowds, and the Soviet army, like a pack of hyenas, was approaching from afar.
The pro-Japanese collaborators, who knew the price they had paid for what they had done, tried various ways to survive.
Isnt that President Choi Pandeuk? Hahaha, what are you doing in such a shabby place?
Oh, sir. Youve been working hard day and night for the nation. I have something to ask you Please accept this
A man named President Choi Pandeuk, who had a fat belly and a thick chin, bowed and scraped in the office crowded with young men.
Next to him, a pale-faced servant carried a heavy bag that was as big as his body and dropped it on the floor with a thud.
Hey! You, that precious thing
Huh, what did you bring that for?
Yes! Hehehe, I thought you might need some funds for your activities Its just a small a very small token of appreciation.
It was a lot of money in the bag, for a small token of appreciation.
But the young men in the office didnt seem to be impressed by the huge amount of money, and they just snickered.
There was nothing to stop the Korean Corps, led by the tank battalion, as there were no geographical features or rivers.
The Japanese police forces, armed with only a few pistols or rifles, were no match for them.
Most of them either ran away somewhere, surrendered after seeing the tank cannon blow up the police station building, or were torn apart by the machine gun while attempting a suicide attack.
Even if not, thousands of people acted as infantry for the tank unit.
The Communist Party members, wearing white clothes and red bands on their arms, cheered enthusiastically for the Korean Corps and led them to capture the key points.
Waaaaah! Waaaaah! Long live the independence army!!
Hooray! Hooray! Hahaha!
Look at those bastards with wooden shoes! Euhahahaha!
The treatment of the surrendered Japanese was merciless.
The Korean Corps was a combat-oriented formation, so they had no proper way to manage the numerous prisoners.
So the local auxiliary forces, that is, the members of the Provisional Government Committee, took charge of them.
Thousands of people, from the Japanese empires police and bureaucrats, to the Koreans who cooperated with them, to the Japanese civilians, were dragged in line in every city.
They were terrified as they were dragged into the hands of the Koreans, whom they had always despised and looked down on.
Mother
Oh, Amaterasu Omikami
Shut up, all of you!
A middle-aged man with a grim face and an old-fashioned machine gun shouted in Korean. It didnt take long for those who knew Korean from living in Korea for a long time, or those who only knew Japanese, to understand what he was saying.
W-what will happen to us?
You? You
Gulp, the hall became silent as if cold water had been poured over it. Someones swallowing sound was audible.
The middle-aged man laughed as if he found it funny that the people were so scared, and then threw it out.
Youll be sent back to the Japanese islands. What use do you have for the Provisional Government Committee? I dont know if youll be able to go home or not, but anyway, well send you across the strait.
Thank you! Thank you!
The people bowed their heads and clasped their hands together in a servile manner, shedding tears.
There were ominous rumors that they might be torn apart by the Koreans for what they had done to them, but at least it seemed that the Korean interim government had no intention of massacring the Japanese.
A young wife wiped her tears and kissed her childs face as she hugged him.
The middle-aged mans expression was not comfortable as he watched her.
Even if its to bring out our compatriots
He had a keen ear and had a vague idea of what was happening in Japan.
Geonjun was preparing to bring out the compatriots in Japan through negotiations with the Governor-Generals Office, and the ones who would be used as bargaining chips were the Japanese who were gathered here.
Home, or a motherland they had never set foot on.
The Japanese who had escaped from the hellish Korean land and returned to their homeland were happy, but they didnt know if their future would be peaceful.
Just as there were evil pro-Japanese collaborators among the Koreans, there were also good and kind Japanese.
A businessman who helped young orphans out of charity, a teacher who taught Korean students without discrimination, or a lawyer who helped the powerless Koreans in front of the law
Some of them were individually contacted by Geonjun and Jogeon and persuaded to stay in Korea, but realistically, they couldnt reach out to everyone.
Id rather send those pro-Japanese bastards there
They had a principle of never sending the pro-Japanese traitors to Japan for punishment. He wondered what expression they would have when they went there and realized it was hell.
That was the only thing he regretted.
