Yes, Prime Minister of Japan

"Shuji Ogawa, president of Sumiyoshi-kai, has been confirmed dead."

"Kobayashi-kai Chairman Sagara Fukuichi has been confirmed dead."

"The Far East Association..."

"Kimi Kaneko, president of the Murata Association and a Korean resident in Japan, has been confirmed dead."

Li Xinghe coughed suddenly, trying his best to hide the smile on his face, and put on a strange expression like Jim Hack, saying to the people around him and the media reporters, "I am so sad."

"Yes, you are very sad."

No one believed a word of it, and they even had to speak up for Li Xinghe to help the viewers in front of the TV understand that this was the Taiko's 'sad expression'.

Instead of the exaggerated smile of relief that the gangster bosses he was trying to eliminate had all been taken down by a single mine fired by the US military.

"I regret."

Li Xinghe clenched his teeth and lips tightly.

"Yes, that's a pity."

Media reporters, officials, and public representatives couldn't help but laugh, trying their best to explain to viewers in front of their televisions that this was Li Xinghe's 'regretful expression'.

It wasn't the genuine happiness that came from not having to personally eliminate these Yakuza leaders.

Seeing that Li Xinghe was almost losing control, Ayako Aso and Emi Shikami quickly stepped in and asked the firefighters to move the body further away.

"We've sampled enough; take it away."

Ayako Aso, adopting the air of a prime minister, asked the fire chief:

How many people died in total?

They answered:

"A total of 1007 people died, more than 400 were injured, and about 800 escaped. Fortunately, most of the service personnel and crew members survived. Most of the dead were Yakuza who did not know how to escape. According to the world's maritime disaster rating, this is the eighth largest maritime disaster in the world, after the Titanic iceberg disaster and the sinking of the Haitian passenger ship 'Neptouro'."

Everyone's expressions were stern.

Their deaths have contributed far more than their lives.

As night fell, Li Xinghe stepped onto the makeshift stage and delivered a speech to the nation:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the greatest and most terrible disaster Japan has ever suffered this century. Unfortunately, it is not due to natural dangers, but because of the so-called mines released by the US military without provocation, which have created an unspeakable tragedy."

Li Xinghe set the tone for the matter as soon as he spoke.

This is a national disaster, it was done by Americans, it is a crime against humanity.

Of course, he also first presented awards to the First Joint Division:

"First of all, I would like to thank the officers and soldiers of the 1st Combined Division for their close cooperation and advance, which broke through the domineering and shameless blockade by some US troops. This bought precious time for the civilians to escape." (The last part, "梅有没林林你空你林在在没呢," is a nonsensical string of characters and doesn't translate directly.)

At this moment, the camera pointed to the scene where rescue efforts were still underway amidst the lights, with numerous boats pulling ropes to drag the capsized Swan Princess toward the shipyard.

Many American soldiers' fingers, palms, and arms are still floating on the sea, telling the public about the bloody boarding battle during the day.

What's rather funny is that the soldiers of the 1st Combined Division were singing the "Strong Army Battle Song" there, and it was also broadcast live.

But in addition to continuing to feel a sense of colonial decline and 'national ruin', the Japanese people watching television also developed a sense of identity and honor.

It has to be Chinese soldiers; they're the ones who dare to fight the US military.

The Japanese gradually reached a consensus that they were weak and incompetent and should not serve in the military.

Li Xinghe was very grateful for the assistance of the Seventh Fleet. This mine not only killed many Yakuza, but also brought Japanese anti-American sentiment to a fever pitch.

Therefore, Li Xinghe didn't hide anything and said:

"We must discuss one question here: When do we end the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty?"

Although we knew Li Xinghe was daring, this level of daring was beyond ordinary madness.

You actually dare to discuss the US-Japan Security Treaty directly?

That is the cornerstone of Japan's founding.

"How dare you!"

The Japanese were filled with awe.

As the saying goes, no one wants to open a window, but if you suggest demolishing the house, everyone will be willing to open a window.

"He's gone mad!"

Not only were the White House, the Pentagon, and many American media outlets shocked by Li Xinghe's "termination of the US-Japan Security Treaty," but many politicians, businessmen, and bureaucrats born in the late Showa era and raised in the Heisei era also felt a sense of suffocation.

"However, I want to tell the public that we cannot resort to large-scale warfare because of some frictions. We must recognize that the United States still has 11 aircraft carriers, four of which are currently operating at sea. China has three aircraft carriers active, and the Type 004 is preparing for sea trials."

Li Xinghe's skill in using sarcastic and unpredictable language reached its peak at this moment.

"4, greater than 3."

This is the political and military perspective Li Xinghe wants to convey: only when the balance of power between the US and Chinese fleets reverses will it be time to consider switching the US-Japan Security Treaty. Therefore, I will not act at the moment.

However, given the Americans' carelessness, they naturally couldn't understand the hidden meaning in what only the Japanese could understand.

Li Xinghe suddenly put down the topic he had raised so high and changed the subject to discuss:

"But in light of this tragic event, I need to make a decision."

Is it really a tragedy?

Why is there no sadness on your face?

Japanese viewers watched the live broadcast and expressed their dissatisfaction.

In reality, not only did Li Xinghe show no grief, but the Japanese people who watched and attended the memorial service generally looked relaxed.

Oh, me too. Never mind then.

Even the Japanese watching the live broadcast had smiles on their faces, because during Li Xinghe's speech, a long list of the dead was scrolling below, like fireworks during the Spring Festival, making everyone overjoyed.

Li Xinghe announced:

"I want to end the Seventh Fleet's privilege of being able to deploy at will, and order the Seventh Fleet to communicate with the Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Tokyo Bay Port Transport Management Department before each deployment, otherwise it will be considered an illegal activity and warships will be dispatched to control it."

Wow, awesome!

The idea of ​​controlling the US military, something the Japanese never dared to dream of, came out of Li Xinghe's mouth.

Is that all?

That's all?

Li Xinghe faced the faces of everyone, looking at the thousands of Japanese people with different thoughts and intentions, and then turned around to look at the brightly lit Yokosuka Port.

He waved his arms:

"I will work with the U.S.-Japan Combined Forces Command, the Coordination and Cooperation Command, the Pacific Command, and the Pentagon to jointly investigate this horrific crime against humanity. I also want to..."

At the pause, a cannon shot rang out from the distant Azuma Island, followed by the continuous roar of tank tracks and cannon fire, echoing like thunder.

The crowd stood on tiptoe, straining their ears to hear Li Xinghe's voice, which seemed as light as a feather yet as powerful as thunder:

"Enter Yokosuka Naval Base and arrest General Fred Katcher, Commander of the Seventh Fleet!"

Chapter 763: Li Xinghe's Global Offensive, Vance's Yellow Peril Theory and Anti-Chinese Sentiment (6300 words)

At the entrance to the Seventh Fleet.

The U.S. military refused to allow the 1st Combined Armored Division into its base.

"Report! They refuse to open the door!"

Hu Zhantian in the car was overjoyed:

"Damn it, crash it in!"

"Charge!"

At this moment, the Chinese soldiers in Japan were actually the ones who most wanted to fight. They floored the gas pedal, and the tanks rolled over the American soldiers, who scattered and fled in terror.

Tanks rolled over fallen American flags as Chinese-made VT-4 main battle tanks crashed into this tranquil land.

The soldiers charged forward and surrounded the Seventh Fleet's main building, arresting Fred Katcher and his staff who were trying to escape and burn documents and materials.

"Fred Katcher, you have been arrested by our side for crimes against humanity!"

The lieutenant general could hardly believe it:

"What do you want? I am the commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet."

Before he could finish speaking, he was struck by soldiers with sticks and knocked to the ground. The soldiers shouted in broken Japanese:

"Caught in the act, arrest!"

He became the first U.S. general to be arrested overseas, causing immeasurable damage to the United States' international image.

The last act of kindness Li Xinghe showed the Seventh Fleet was not to handcuff Fred Katcher and take him away, but to give him some dignity by letting him get into the car and leave with the police.

The Metropolitan Police Department announced that this was not an arrest, but a questioning:

"Lieutenant General Fred Katcher is willing to cooperate with us in the accident investigation based on the principle of free collaboration."

For the Japanese who were watching or looking at the media photos, this scene seemed like something they couldn't even imagine in their dreams.

The huge public opinion impact of the Swan Princess incident has led many Japanese to pessimistically believe that the government will likely have to kneel down again, send money to the United States to apologize, and grovel and smile obsequiously.

But today's powerful Japanese invaders started with Li Xinghe and his Chinese soldiers.

People were excited, and Li Xinghe's approval rating continued to rise.

But the arrest of Fred Katcher had its consequences.

The sailors of the Seventh Fleet, with dark circles under their eyes, lay down on the ground with peace of mind.

"Finally, it's vacation time."

Many sailors simply threw away their uniforms, took all sorts of military supplies that could be sold, and headed straight for the glamorous world of Japan.

Although they couldn't produce firearms and ammunition, they took as many items as they could—radars, commuter radios, operating tools, etc.—and destroyed anything they couldn't take, because they didn't want to come back to work.

This scene gave Li Xinghe quite a chill down his spine. His attack on the Seventh Fleet's base seemed to have opened a prison cell.

Higashikawa Yukami led his team into the Seventh Fleet to secretly gather intelligence on the US military, but things turned out very differently than expected. While they did have secret intelligence at the Seventh Fleet base, sailors were deserting at a faster rate than anticipated.

Master Kasukabe Tamako reluctantly came to report to Li Xinghe:

"The sailors ran away."

"Ok?"

"Almost 60% of the sailors ran away."

"what?"

Li Xinghe covered his face.

Master Yuko provides a more detailed explanation:

"I mean, many of the Seventh Fleet sailors have deserted; they don't want to come back. Many of them have gone directly to our agricultural settlements to sign up, wanting to become 'white-skinned Chinese'."

The joke about "white-skinned Chinese" stems from the overly broad vetting process during immigration. Both Li Xinghe and immigration recruitment companies were trying to expand the number of Chinese in Japan, including ethnic groups from Southeast Asia such as Hmong and Dai, and even many overseas Vietnamese of mixed Chinese descent. This led to the emergence of many joking terms like "XX Chinese".

As long as you submit documents proving that you have Chinese ancestry and pass a Chinese proficiency test within a year, you can be included.

Is the Seventh Fleet really that terrifying?

Li Xinghe pondered.

Master Yuzi's hard-won reward:

"According to the sailors, they worked an average of 115 hours a week, with no weekends or rest, and an average of 16.5 hours a day. Everyone was spinning like a top."

16.5 hours...

Li Xinghe vaguely remembered that his high school days were similarly filled with a grueling schedule. The American sailors, however, didn't have the same 16.5-hour workdays as the students who sat in classrooms. They had to do almost all the manual labor on the docks, yet their living conditions were worse than those of miners working underground.

This is treating people like machines.

Tamako also expressed her empathy and sorrow:

"What's worse is that the Pentagon owes them a lot of overtime pay, and almost everyone has lost most of their overtime earnings."

Many people join the U.S. Navy primarily out of patriotism.