"General, the Japanese on the other side have raised white flags. Are they surrendering?" General Glais's adjutant, Morse, looked at the twenty-odd small boats that had remained behind in surprise.
Glais sneered. "Heh, so they've stopped pretending now. What fisherman raises a white flag at a warship? Wouldn't it have been better if they'd simply left just now? This only further confirms their identities."
Morse said, "Does that mean the Japanese truly want to surrender now?"
Glais shook his head. "Don't jump to conclusions. If they are surrendering, then the ones who withdrew must have been the Japanese main force, while those left behind are only a tiny fraction. Think carefully—why didn't they stay in step with the larger force?"
"Perhaps they want to stay and negotiate. After all, we more or less know the Japanese objective. Their thieving hearts are not yet dead; there's no way they would give up their interests in the Southern Ryukyu Islands the moment we arrived."
Glais said, "Impossible. If it were negotiations, there would have been no need to withdraw at the beginning. They could have retreated after the talks broke down."
He did not know that Japanese soldiers had a tradition of juniors overthrowing their superiors, so he could not quite make sense of Takashō Morita's intentions.
"Then should we let them come aboard and see what exactly they want?" Morse asked.
Mm. That was what Glais had been thinking as well. The advantage was on their side now, so he was not worried about the other side pulling any tricks. At the same time, Glais wanted to know what kind of wishful scheme the opposing commander was plotting.
Thus, Glais ordered, "Send out a communications boat. Have our men approach them..."
As he said "approach," a flash of inspiration suddenly struck