In the War of Resistance Against Japan, countless compatriots fell under the bayonets of the enemy, and such a blood debt was indignant among the people and gods. And Okamura Ninji, as the commander-in-chief of the million Japanese army, has his hands stained with the blood of our compatriots.
After Japan's surrender, World War II ended, and the whole world was busy trying war criminals, but at this time there was an unbelievable scene: Chiang Kai-shek actually fought against me and repeatedly shielded Okamura Ningji. Why did Okamura escape the death penalty and even be acquitted at trial?
Okamura Ninji
Okamura Ningji was one of the biggest war criminals in Japan's war of aggression against China, and the crimes he committed are difficult to describe: for example, he created the Jining Massacre and ordered the bombing of Shanghai, and the most famous is the "ember extinguishing tactic" he formulated, that is, the "three-light policy" of killing, burning, and robbing the light, which has caused countless Chinese.
Don't look at Okamura Ninji so fierce, but he is not the only one. At the end of World War II, he was initially reluctant to surrender, and on the one hand sent people to Tokyo to apply for headquarters orders to continue fighting and reverse the situation, on the other hand, he mobilized his officers and men to hold the "jade broken heart" and prepare to resist to the end
It was not until the Japanese Emperor ordered the surrender that Okamura Ninji realized that he was doomed to death by what he had done, so he saw another "opportunity": the confrontation between the Kuomintang and the Communists.
Then, Okamura Ninji threw out the temptation condition: he could lead a million Japanese troops to assist Chiang kai-shek in battle.
How can Chiang Kai-shek sit still in the face of such conditions? But just as he was about to agree, the U.S. side also learned of the news. In order to protect its own interests, the United States firmly opposes this matter, after all, leaving such a large number of armed troops is simply a time bomb, and other allies will not agree.
Chiang Kai-shek did not dare to go against the will of the United States and could only shelve this plan for the time being, but he did not have a dead heart. At that time, the main forces of the Kuomintang were concentrated in the southwest, and they could not rush to the scene to accept the surrender of the Japanese army for a while, and because they did not want to see the People's Liberation Army gain, Chiang Kai-shek sent people to rush over and instructed Okamura to refuse to surrender and wait for the arrival of the Nationalist army.
Knowing that if he fell into the hands of the People's Liberation Army, he would not be able to escape a just trial, so he chose to agree to Chiang Kai-shek's request and ordered everyone to stand still and wait for the Chongqing government to send someone to receive him.
The New Fourth Army sent people to negotiate surrender with the Japanese General Command, but Okamura perfunctorily passed, and then He Yingqin arrived and held a surrender ceremony. After the surrender, Okamura, as the number one war criminal, should have been tried, sentenced to death or life imprisonment like other war criminals, but because of the operation of the Kuomintang top brass, for a long time, instead of being punished accordingly, he enjoyed preferential treatment and lived better than many officers and soldiers.
Chiang Kai-shek wanted to protect the laid-off village of Ningci, and He Yingqin also stood up and said that he should be "found not guilty," but Chiang also knew that this was a matter that went against the will of the people, and that it was necessary to proceed step by step and not be anxious. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek, under the pretext that the repatriation of prisoners of war was a huge workload and needed Okamura's assistance, applied to stay in China.
MacArthur, who was led by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East at the time, agreed to the application because of his friendship with Chiang, and also offered that China must hold a separate trial.
As a result, Okamura was appointed head of the Nanjing liaison group, and under the operation of Chiang, instead of accepting the trial on time, he lived a life of leisure.
In order to be able to hide the whereabouts of Ning Ci in Gangcun, Chiang Kai-shek sent people to transfer him to a quiet cottage, equipped with a cook and a maid, and his life was very comfortable. Okamura remembered Jiang's life-saving grace and naturally repaid it wholeheartedly. So he began to study how to assist the Kuomintang in dealing with the Communists, and even wrote many "works" and handed them to Chiang Kai-shek, many of which contained tactics and operational plans against our Party.
After reading this, Chiang Kai-shek was greatly appreciative and regarded Okamura Ninji as the "supreme military adviser." Among them, a guide written by Ninji Okamura was also translated and printed in large quantities and distributed to the commanders of the Nationalist Army.
But everything is on paper, it looks wonderful, and who knows how it will be implemented? Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek proposed that Gangcun Ningji command a battle in actual combat, which would allow him to improve his theory through practice and make meritorious contributions to his crimes.
He Had a personal relationship with Okamura Ningji, who assured Okamura that if the battle was fought well, he would be hired as a formal military adviser.
As a result, a very strange scene appeared next: Okamura Ningji, a war criminal who invaded China, actually put on a Kuomintang uniform and appeared in the command center of the Lunan Campaign.
At first, Okamura ningji believed that Chiang Kai-shek's side had abundant troops, and with his command, this battle would undoubtedly be won. However, the facts surprised him that the People's Liberation Army was not as weak as he thought, but on the contrary had courage and strategy, and with one move, it would defeat the Kuomintang army and annihilate tens of thousands of Nationalist troops at once.
This made Okamura Ningji very frightened, he knew that if he was useless to Chiang Kai-shek, he would lose his current protection. He Yingqin also did not want to watch his good friend get into trouble, and the two thought about going back and forth, only by "throwing the pot" could they keep Gangcun Ningji. Therefore, under the operation of He Yingqin, Chiang Kai-shek heard that the battle was lost because others obeyed the command of Okamura Ningji. In addition, they also falsely reported the number of enemies killed to exonerate Okamura Ningji.
Chiang Kai-shek believed it, did not accuse him of his mistakes, and hired him as a formal senior military adviser as promised. Of course, this was all done in secret, and on the surface, Ninji Ninji was still a war criminal who was going to face trial.
Of course, the people of the country have not forgotten Okamura, a war criminal, but whenever someone asks about Okamura Ninji, the Kuomintang government replies that the prisoners of war have not yet been repatriated, so Okamura's work as the leader of the liaison group has not yet been completed, and as for when to try him, the Nationalist government still needs further study.
The fact that a war criminal who is so vicious as to have to study when to try is basically to tell everyone publicly that we are stalling for time.
Soon, Chiang Kai-shek's behavior of shielding war criminals and "treating them as guests" aroused the anger of the public, and major newspapers reported the relevant contents one after another and strongly demanded that a trial be carried out as soon as possible. In the end, Chiang Kai-shek was under pressure and had to agree to hand over Okamura Ningji to the court for trial.
This time, Okamura thought his end had arrived and was very nervous. But Bai Chongxi comforted him that the court-martial was only to keep him in China, after all, it was safer than Japan, and the so-called trial was just a formality, don't worry. It is really ridiculous that Chiang Kai-shek, in order to shield such a war criminal, did not even pay attention to the courts of his own country.
After all the other war criminals had been tried, the Guidance of the Nationalist Government could not be postponed any longer, and Okamura's trial was held on July 20, 1948. The first procedure of the trial was pre-trial, and for such a number one war criminal, the pre-trial was completed after only more than an hour, during which only a few painless questions were asked.
After the pre-trial was over, Okamura Ningci could only be transferred to the Shanghai Station Prison, and it took three years to truly become a prisoner in our country. It's just that even in prison, Okamura still lives a life that is superior to others, picking flowers and planting grass for entertainment, and there is no difference between him and the outside.
The second pre-trial that followed was even more excessive than the first pre-trial, and it was over in only half an hour!
Chiang Kai-shek did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to hire three of the most famous lawyers in Shanghai at that time to defend Okamura, and in order to exonerate Okamura, these three people brazenly distorted the facts in court, claiming that what Okamura had done in China was actually an act of cracking down on treacherous businessmen and benefiting the people, which caused the shame and laughter of everyone present.
What is even more infuriating is that Okamura, who was originally the defendant, did not stand in the defendant's seat, but sat safely in a high chair! After the end of the debate, the judge announced his retirement from the court and the verdict was pronounced in the afternoon. Who knew that before the verdict was pronounced, Shi Meiyu received an order during the trial: suspend the trial, listen to the order, and the first-instance judgment ended so vaguely.
Everyone was waiting for the second trial or even the final trial, but there was no news after a long time, and the final trial was not held until half a year later. However, this time the final trial was also under the control of Chiang Kai-shek, and the trial results had been prepared before the trial began, and the court went through the procedures of the first instance trial, and even the content did not change much. In the end, Shi Meiyu announced the verdict, saying the result that made all the Chinese angry: Okamura Ningji was acquitted.
This result even Okamura himself did not expect, and later he brought up this matter, but also believed that Chiang Kai-shek was too explicit about his protection, the original judgment drawn up by Shi Meiyu was a sentence of seven years in prison, he also hoped to be sentenced to this, because on the surface it would not be too excessive, and the seven-year imprisonment behind his back was basically equivalent to nothing under Chiang Kai-shek's operation.
Of course, this result could not be accepted by the public, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China immediately issued a statement: it would not recognize Okamura Ninji's acquittal and demanded his immediate arrest. However, at the behest of Chiang Kai-shek, Tang Enbo sent Okamura to the "Vickers" and shipped it to Japan. When the ship arrived in Japan, Okamura ningji was welcomed by a large number of people, as if welcoming back a "big hero". Subsequently, he was arranged to recuperate in the hospital, and Okamura Ningji never forgot Chiang Kai-shek's "kindness", so when the Korean War broke out in 1950, Chiang Kai-shek invited him to Taiwan as a senior instructor, and he immediately dragged the sick body to be invited.
These two people are very moralistic from some points of view, but this is also the result of the exchange of interests. Okamura hoped that Chiang Kai-shek would save himself, and Chiang Kai-shek hoped to be able to get the support of Okamura's troops, otherwise Chiang Kai-shek would not have risked the world to shield Okamura Ningji. But in any case, before the national blood debt, Chiang Kai-shek was able to shield the enemy at all costs, and this alone was enough to make all the Chinese spurn him, and no reason could excuse him.
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