Chapter 1 Lin Fan's Shipbuilding Plan

Lin Fan was simply envious of their shipbuilding technology and equipment because Jurong lacked the conditions to build large warships. The Special Operations Brigade could only build inland river gunboats at the moment.

These gunboats were widely distributed in Jurong and the Jiangbei base areas. As for larger warships of thousands of tons, the Special Operations Brigade had no plans to build them at all.

When Lei Wenshan, Feng Wencheng, and He Haiqing flew back to the Wu Naval Port, the battle was already coming to an end.

All the bombs carried by the bombers had been dropped, and all the planes were now performing dive bombings.

Guo Yingwu led the seaplanes to salvage all the pilots and crew members who had been shot down in this battle.

Mao Wenxing received Guo Yingwu's report and then issued the order to return.

In this bombing of the Wu Naval Port, the Special Operations Brigade lost seven fighter planes and four bombers. Such losses were, of course, insignificant compared to the results of this battle.

Rear Admiral Matsushita Moto, commander of the Fourth Fleet, watched the Special Operations Brigade's aircraft formation leave and immediately rushed out of the command post, repeatedly asking, "Did we capture any of their pilots?"

The answer was destined: no!

No one was captured. Rear Admiral Matsushita Moto was immediately discouraged, and could only order his Japanese soldiers to continue to clean up the mess.

This time, the damage inflicted on his fleet by the Special Operations Brigade was far greater than the losses suffered during the typhoon in 1935.

Although his entire fleet was not completely annihilated like the Fifth Fleet, the situation was not much better. There were no intact warships in the entire fleet. All the small warships had sunk, and only a few large battleships had withstood the Special Operations Brigade's frenzied bombing and had not yet sunk into the sea.

He ordered the bomber formations to be transferred out, but all three airfields were destroyed. The entire Fourth Fleet had been crippled. Without one or two years and hundreds of millions of funds, it would be impossible to fight again.

Thinking of this, he deeply hated the situation: if his fleet's fighter planes were still there, this situation would never have happened.

Unfortunately, there were no "ifs" in life!

Yamamoto Isoroku listened to Matsushita Moto's report and learned that after the Fifth Fleet, the Third Fleet's combat power had been greatly damaged, and now the Fourth Fleet had completely lost its combat power.

All of this was caused by the Special Operations Brigade's air squadron. This was a thorn in his side, and he must find a way to eliminate them.

While the Japanese were cleaning up the mess, the Special Operations Brigade's air squadron returned to Saga, and learned that the Japanese had sent a large force to attack the airfield, but they had been defeated by the fighter planes on the way to the airfield.

Mao Wenxing immediately ordered Nong Xiuzhu to lead a bomber squadron to bomb the scene again.

Nong Xiuzhu, who had just replenished his bombs, immediately set off with twelve bombers. The target was only a dozen kilometers away, and could be reached with a single glide from the ground.

Commander Jimi Kota, the Saga Prefectural Air Defense Commander, was leading the gathered troops at this time. They had already left the section of the road that had been attacked earlier.

All the vehicles in Saga Prefecture had been destroyed in the previous strafing. The more than three thousand Japanese soldiers gathered this time could only walk.

Principal Go Kaido, who was walking in the front, looked at the sudden bombing and the cute Fat Tiger painted on the belly of the plane, and was so frightened that he could only point at the bomber, unable to say a word.

The sound of machine gun strafing rang out again, accompanied by the rumbling of bombs. More than half of the three thousand Japanese soldiers had been scattered and then regrouped.

They began to run away again! This time it was not as effective as before, mainly because the bombers' firepower was too fierce, with four machine guns strafing on each bomber.

And countless bombs were dropped. Nong Xiuzhu and his men encountered no resistance at all when attacking these Japanese soldiers below. This allowed the bombers' combat power to be fully utilized.

The machine guns kept strafing, and the bombs kept dropping. After the twelve bombers strafed the nearly thousand-meter-long Japanese marching column on the highway.

At least a thousand Japanese soldiers were left dead and wounded on the entire road. Nong Xiuzhu had no intention of letting go of the remaining Japanese soldiers.

He turned around and continued to pursue and kill the Japanese soldiers who were fleeing in all directions. Principal Go Kaido was so frightened that he couldn't speak, but he still had the reaction of an adult.

He was the first to rush out of the highway and into the fields to escape.

It wasn't that he wasn't brave, it was just that the approaching bombers were too fierce. Although his reaction was sufficient and his movements were fast.

But Principal Go Kaido was unlucky and was eventually hit. He himself didn't know whether he was hit by a stray bullet or a bomb fragment.

Principal Go Kaido, who fell to the ground, shouted loudly the names of the students running past him, asking them to take him with them.

He was the principal, and his shouting was still useful. Just as four Japanese soldiers, who had just been turned from students into soldiers, were lifting him up, a bomb exploded nearby.

This time, Principal Go Kaido was finally smashed to pieces.

The bombing and strafing did not stop and continued!

Nong Xiuzhu and his men's battle here was seen by Takahashi Masaki, who was not far away and was still rescuing the wounded. They all saw the bombers in the air.

These were all ordinary people who had never been to the battlefield. Seeing this scene, what wounded could they rescue? The most important thing was to escape!

After Nong Xiuzhu and his men cleared the Japanese soldiers in front, they came to this battlefield and saw only corpses everywhere. This time they did not strafe or drop bombs, but circled around once and returned to the airfield to resupply.

The time was already six o'clock in the afternoon, and Lin Fan decided, "Cancel the bombing of Okinawa and return directly."

Lin Fan had considered the cancellation of the bombing operation: after the entire aircraft formation was ready, the departure time would be around eight o'clock, and they would bomb the Japanese naval port at night.

If the Special Operations Brigade's planes were damaged, it would be very difficult to search for them! This was the main reason.

After continuous operations today, the Special Operations Brigade had lost twenty-three fighter planes and seventeen bombers.

Such losses indicated that pilots might have to parachute during the bombing, and the possibility of searching for them in the sea at night was too low.

Lin Fan made the decision, and the entire squadron was still as busy as before, with everyone moving supplies onto the planes.

All the planes had to be refueled, and all the bombers had to be loaded with supplies.

Everyone also had to seize the opportunity to eat some dry food. Jurong Airfield and Guangde Airfield had sent telegrams saying that the runways had been repaired and could be landed on.

After Lin Fan received the telegram, he immediately replied, "Received!" He did not reveal the specific return time of the entire aircraft formation. Every plane in the Special Operations Brigade's aircraft formation was now full of fuel, and there were still twenty tankers that could refuel the fighter planes on the way back, so there was no need for the tankers prepared by Guangde Airfield to come and meet them.

Therefore, there was no need to reveal the return time in advance. Lin Fan was also afraid that the information would be leaked and the Japanese would ambush them.

Lin Fan had always been like this, being most careful when he was most proud. Extremes meet, and he didn't want the expeditionary force he led to encounter a "Waterloo" after achieving successive victories in bombing three Japanese naval ports and three shipyards.

It was already evening, and after the attacking force organized by Jimi Kota, the Saga Prefectural Air Defense Commander, suffered two consecutive devastating blows.

Although he still had the determination to continue advancing, the Japanese soldiers he had temporarily recruited were unwilling to do so.

Not to mention the reserve Japanese soldiers he had temporarily recruited were unwilling to set off, even the military police directly managed by the Air Defense Command were unwilling to continue advancing.

These Japanese soldiers had already seen clearly: they were just going to deliver food. The enemy's planes strafed, the enemy's planes bombed, and they had no power to fight back at all.

Commander Jimi Kota initially wanted to shout for his men to summon back the scattered Japanese soldiers, and he did summon back a group of Japanese soldiers.

But these Japanese soldiers would rather pretend to clean up the battlefield in the fields, collect corpses, and rescue the wounded than pick up their rifles and follow him.

These Japanese soldiers were cunning. They were very clear that if they contradicted Commander Jimi Kota, they would easily be charged with the crime of fearing the enemy and disobeying orders.

But they were now busy rescuing the wounded and collecting corpses, and they were also doing things, so this crime would not be easily added.

Principal Miyagi Reishi was still the temporary fourth battalion commander, and he personally participated in the work of collecting corpses. While carrying the dead bodies, he was thinking: fortunately, there were many Japanese soldiers who died here, so he could carry them until dark.

This way, he wouldn't have to go to the airfield to die. The corpses he was carrying now were all Japanese soldiers who had been temporarily conscripted from the school.

As their former principal, Battalion Commander Miyagi Reishi also specially found those Japanese soldiers who had survived by chance and lined up the dead according to their teams to facilitate their families to come and claim them.

When these Japanese soldiers left the city, Saga Prefecture had beaten gongs and drums and set off firecrackers to see them off. Many of the people who saw them off were the parents of these dead Japanese soldiers.

When these parents received the corpses of their children, they didn't know what to think.

Sato Kaori was busy among the wounded. She was not a nurse or a doctor. In the morning, she was still reading in the classroom, and she was only conscripted into the medical team at noon.

In the afternoon's rescue, Sato Kaori had seen many men die on the road, and had also seen many men with missing arms and legs.

Tenbo Taichi was originally famous in the school for being tall and mighty, but now he could no longer be tall and mighty: Sato Kaori knew that this person's life had been changed because of the two legs that had been amputated by the doctor.

Thinking about the past, when she secretly liked Tenbo Taichi, could she still like him now?

"Impossible! It's already impossible!" Ito Kaori said to herself in her heart.

These girls were all conscripted to help. When the plane came over for the second time, they also scattered in all directions.

After the bombers flew away, they slowly gathered again and started working again.

Sato Kaori asked in confusion, "Didn't the broadcast say that we have been winning? How did they bomb us here?"

Her question was too profound, and no one around could answer it. Takahashi Masaki did know a little bit about the inside story, but he didn't dare to say it.

Takahashi Masaki was already too busy. The wounded here had not yet been cleaned up, and there were thousands more wounded waiting for them to clean up in front.

Lin Fan did not know what the Japanese were thinking. At this time, he was helping to move aircraft tires into the bomber.

The warehouse at this airfield was really too full.

Of course, there were also too many bombers of his own. The goods that more than two hundred bombers could carry were still very many.

All the pilots, bomber crews, and most of the soldiers of the three infantry companies all came to serve as porters.

Even so, after being busy for an hour, the bombers had not yet been filled.

Although Lin Fan and his men had not yet set off, their achievements today had already spread within the Special Operations Brigade.

Gui Shiyun was originally not qualified to see the battle report of this expeditionary force in the first time. Li Xian considered that she had provided accurate information, so he also let her see the results of this battle.

Gui Shiyun had always admired Lin Fan for leading the soldiers to attack the 76th headquarters. Today, seeing that the aircraft formation led by Lin Fan had actually chosen two of the several targets she had provided.

She was still very proud. Back in the office, she couldn't concentrate on her work no matter what, and always had a smile on her face.

Her state was of course seen by those who had provided the plan together today. These people heard that Brigade Commander Lin had led the aircraft formation to bomb all three Japanese naval ports and shipyards.

They were also happy and all clamored to go out for a good meal and celebrate with wine.

A group of people walked on the streets of Jurong, looking at the market that had been bombed in the morning and had already opened.

The goods were dazzling, the shops were lined up, and the streets were crowded with people, as if the bombing in the morning had never happened.

Careful Gui Shiyun still saw the traces of the bombing: some shops were surrounded and not open. She knew that this shop must have been bombed and the boss was busy repairing it.

Walking closer, she could indeed hear the clanging sounds, as well as the voices of many people talking.

When Lin Fan led the entire aircraft formation away from Saga Airfield, it was already past eight o'clock. After leaving, Saga Airfield was ablaze with flames.

Although the entire bomber formation tried hard to transport supplies, it was still impossible to take all the things here away. If they couldn't use it themselves, they couldn't leave it to the Japanese for aggression.

When leaving, the entire airfield had to be completely destroyed, and the only thing intact was the airfield's runway.

The return journey was very smooth. At ten o'clock in the evening, Lin Fan notified Guangde Airfield and Jurong Airfield that the entire aircraft formation would arrive within an hour.

Various preparations had been made here, and they were just waiting for them to return. Part of the expeditionary force landed at Guangde Airfield, another part followed Lin Fan and landed at Jurong Airfield, and some returned directly to Xuzhou Airfield.

The Japanese had launched a large-scale attack on the various base areas of the Special Operations Brigade this time. These planes, which had been summoned from various base areas, needed to return to their respective base areas to participate in the battle.

After getting off the plane, Lin Fan saw that all the main leaders of the Jurong base area were here waiting for him. Li Xian pointed to Old Man Qian and said, "Old Man Qian heard about your feats today and insisted on coming here to welcome you."

Old Man Qian bowed to Lin Fan and the soldiers who had just flown the planes, "Your expedition has greatly enhanced the prestige of China. I, an old man, cannot personally go to the battlefield, so I can only express my respect to everyone here."

Lin Fan quickly helped him up. Old Man Qian was very famous in the Jiangzhe area, which Lin Fan only learned later. Now that he was serving as the chief procurator of the base area, he was truly impartial, and Jurong had won a very good reputation among the ordinary people and the gentry.

While helping him up, Lin Fan said, "Old Man Qian, this gift is too great, I can't bear it! It is the duty of us soldiers to expedition to the Japanese bandits!

Destroying the enemy's prestige and boosting the morale of our soldiers and civilians! This is also our duty, and we cannot bear such a great gift from you."

Old Man Qian smiled and stroked his white beard in front of him, and then said, "There are so many anti-Japanese teams in the world, and the Special Operations Brigade is the first one that can cross the ocean for an expedition!

I am also a flattering person, if I say you deserve it, then you deserve it. Tomorrow I will also write an article for Brigade Commander Lin's expedition and send it to the newspaper."

Lin Fan quickly said, "That's of course good! Our cause needs publicity."

Lin Fan had originally planned to publicize the bombing of the Japanese mainland today, and he had already taken many photos during the bombing of the Japanese naval ports and shipyards.

These photos had to be developed. Lin Fan continued, "We also took a lot of photos back when we bombed the Japanese.

If Old Man Qian wants to publish an article, he can choose a few as illustrations, which will be more convincing."

"Good! Good!"

After returning to Jurong Airfield, Lin Fan only exchanged a few words with the people who came to welcome him here, and immediately came to the operations command.

He wanted to understand the specific situation of each base area today. Before this, although Lin Fan knew that the Japanese had gathered a large army and would definitely attack the base areas.

But he didn't know when they would choose to attack. Only when he led the bombers to Nagasaki and received the news that the Japanese were fully attacking the Jurong base did Lin Fan understand: the Japanese had always planned to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

They wanted to lure away the aviation squadron of the Special Operations Brigade and annihilate them in Nagasaki, and at the same time send a large number of planes to bomb the two largest airfields of the Special Operations Brigade here in the Jurong base.

This way, they could win air supremacy, and then reoccupy the entire Jurong base through infantry.

The Japanese plan was very good, but they miscalculated the combat power of the Special Operations Brigade. They not only miscalculated the combat power of the Special Operations Brigade's aviation team, but also miscalculated the air defense strength of the Special Operations Brigade in the base area.

Lin Fan listened to Yang Daren's report on the defense situation of the Jurong base area during the day: the Japanese attacked fiercely, and our defense was very successful.

This sentence applied to the entire Jiangbei base area and the Lunan base area. Those two base areas had withstood the Japanese attack today.

With this, Lin Fan was relieved. He then wanted to know in detail how Jurong Airfield managed to shoot down nearly two hundred enemy planes today?

Of course, this question was best answered in detail by Regiment Commander Hui Jianming himself.