Chapter 1 The Day's Events

That very day, telegrams flew back and forth within the Special Forces Brigade, all war reports sent from Huiyang to the various Special Forces bases.

Code: 563743675

Commander Gu Xiuming laughed heartily upon receiving the telegram. He immediately had its contents mimeographed and distributed to the various detachments and squads, instructing instructors to organize study sessions.

He also omitted the military secrets from the battle report and sent it to the Lunan base newspaper for publication.

At the same time, he had the revised content mimeographed into booklets and distributed to the base's various work groups, instructing them to vigorously promote it in the villages and hamlets.

Each wasteland reclamation team also organized people to lecture on it during their free time, with one goal: to make everyone understand that the Japanese devils were not as terrifying as they seemed.

The Special Forces Brigade's air force had mobilized and annihilated a full fleet of the Japanese devils' proud navy.

Chen Sichuan did the same upon receiving the war report. According to Chen Sichuan, every village, every hamlet, and every storyteller on every wharf in the Jiangbei base area had to learn the contents of this war report.

They were to tell it to everyone, so that the people of the Jiangbei base area would know that the Special Forces Brigade had won a great victory.

What made this victory different from previous ones was that the Special Forces Brigade had crossed the ocean and actively attacked the Japanese devils on Wan Island.

Li Xian knew about the morning attack on the Japanese Fifth Fleet in Jurong, but he was unaware of the temporary plan for Wan Island in the afternoon.

It wasn't until Lin Fan and the others returned to Huiyang that he learned that the Aviation Brigade had actually fought continuously, making a long-distance raid to bomb the Japanese devils on Wan Island.

He was both happy and worried. He was happy that the Special Forces Brigade's combat effectiveness was now so strong.

He was worried about the long-distance raid. What would have happened to Lin Fan if something had gone wrong?

And he was a little angry that Lin Fan hadn't notified him in advance about such a big matter.

In fact, he knew very well that Lin Fan had very high security requirements, especially for a long-distance raid plan like this afternoon's. If there was even a slight leak, it would result in complete annihilation.

The fewer people who knew about this plan, the better. The reason he hadn't told him was to avoid complications and accidents.

But the Aviation Brigade's achievements that day were enormous. It could be said to be the biggest victory since the establishment of the Special Forces Brigade.

Its significance lay not only in how many Japanese devils were killed, but more importantly, the Special Forces Brigade had opened up a new mode of operation and unlocked a new posture for fighting the Japanese devils.

First, he sent the war report to the various regiments in the Jurong base area, instructing them to organize the soldiers to study it.

At the same time, he sent the war report to the various villages, hamlets, factories, and companies in Jurong, so that the ordinary workers in the factories could see and hear it.

And that wasn't all. Li Xian's job was as a reporter. Using this war report as raw material, he quickly wrote a reportage of over 30,000 words.

He had it sent to the Jurong newspaper office. The front page carried a brief message about the annihilation of the Japanese devils yesterday, and the supplement published the reportage with the daily newspaper.

A heated propaganda campaign had already begun in the base areas controlled by the Special Forces Brigade.

Yu Hanmou, Commander of the Fourth War Zone, traveled from Qingyuan to Huiyang specifically to congratulate the Special Forces Brigade on its great victory over the Japanese Fifth Fleet in the morning.

But when he arrived in Huiyang, he saw that there wasn't a single plane at the airport, and Lin Fan was not in Huiyang either.

When he inquired, Liu Laopao only said that the brigade commander had gone on a secret mission and would be back in a few hours.

He asked Commander Yu to wait in Huiyang, and added that Huiyang was now prosperous and had several times more people than before.

Yu Hanmou walked the streets of Huiyang, watching the bustling crowd and the loud shouts of the shop assistants on both sides of the street, with all kinds of shop signs fluttering in the wind.

What a prosperous scene!

He knew that this abnormal prosperity was only because the Special Forces Brigade had become famous for fighting the Japanese devils some time ago, and all the refugees and merchants who had fled from Guangzhou and other places had come here.

Combined with the number of Special Forces troops stationed here, the place had become unprecedentedly prosperous.

Although there was not much expression on his face, he was secretly amazed: the Special Forces Brigade was good at fighting, and also good at managing the market.

He walked all the way and didn't find any opium dens or casinos. There were dance halls and nightclubs, but no opium dens or casinos. What was going on?

Liu Laopao said with a smile, "The brigade commander said that smoking and gambling are harmful to nature and reason, and ruin families and countries, so they are forbidden."

"You can even ban this?" Yu Hanmou was shocked.

Since Xu Zelin banned opium, many people had wanted to ban it, but none had succeeded.

"Don't you collect taxes on cigarettes?" Yu Hanmou asked.

"We don't smoke, and we don't allow opium to cross our borders. Anyone caught trafficking or selling opium has only one end: death!

Anyone caught smoking is sentenced to one year of reform through labor for the first offense and three years for the second offense," Liu Laopao said with a smile.

Yu Hanmou was silent for a long time. He was thinking a lot. Many warlords in the country were also banning opium, but they were banning private opium, wanting to make all the merchants in their territory only be able to buy and sell the opium they sold.

The purpose was, of course, only one: to make money! To raise funds!

The Special Forces Brigade had actually given up this best way to make money. It was really incredible.

Thinking about the fact that in the months since the Special Forces Brigade had arrived in Guangzhou, the Fourth War Zone, in addition to guaranteeing them 2,000 jin of meat every day as previously agreed, had not given them any supplies.

Now there were more than 30,000 troops in the Special Forces Brigade. How were they getting so many supplies every day?

Yu Hanmou only had to look at the ordinary soldiers of the Special Forces Brigade to know that they were eating meat.

He drank tea, tasted snacks, and even went to the theater for a while in the streets of Huiyang.

Suddenly, the roar of engines came from the air. He saw a dozen planes returning.

Liu Laopao then took Yu Hanmou back to the airport, where he saw a beautiful female officer in an empty military uniform, a pistol stuck in her waist, and a soldier with a submachine gun and a rifle standing beside her.

A group of pilots were talking to her very respectfully in front of her.

"Who is she?" Yu Hanmou asked curiously. He knew that men and women were equal in the Special Forces Brigade, but the woman looked young, yet had great presence.

Liu Laopao said, "That's Regiment Commander Ji, our hospital director."

Yu Hanmou said in surprise, "Is she Brigade Commander Lin's woman?"

Liu Laopao nodded. Yu Hanmou asked, "Why is her guard carrying two guns?"

Liu Laopao said with a smile, "The rifle is Regiment Commander Ji's. When we didn't have a hospital, Regiment Commander Ji was more ruthless than any of us when it came to fighting.

She has good marksmanship, is light, and runs fast.

If she weren't a woman, she might be the commander of the First Regiment."

Yu Hanmou couldn't believe it. When he walked over, Liu Laopao quickly introduced the two sides.

Ji Wudi nodded slightly and returned to the temporary field hospital on the side with her men.

Liu Laopao knew that Yu Hanmou wanted to know the situation, and he himself wanted to know what was happening on the front line.

He asked the pilots what the situation was on the front line.

The pilots were all beaming, saying that when the Aviation Brigade arrived on Wan Island, they had occupied Taoyuan Airport, and that they had filled their planes with supplies from Taoyuan Airport before returning.

More supplies would be shipped back later.

It was at this time that Yu Hanmou learned that Lin Fan and the others had actually gone to attack Wan Island.

Chen Ce, commander of the Humen Fortress, Chief of Staff Pu Xueliang, staff officers Xiang Zuyang and Bai Han then came out and greeted the old commander with a smile.

Now that the plan to attack Wan Island was underway, they could move freely.

When he heard that Lin Fan had not only bombed the island, but also sent people to land, Commander Chen said to Yu Hanmou with a smile, "Commander! No wonder they are getting richer and richer. This morning, they bombed the Japanese Fifth Fleet, which used a lot of gasoline and ammunition.

This afternoon, they went to the Japanese devils to get the gasoline and ammunition back."

Yu Hanmou was also happy. In any case, the Fourth War Zone had given a lot of support to the Special Forces Brigade's series of actions.

At least the situation in the Humen Fortress was provided by these people he had sent to assist, and the information about Wan Island that Xu Ce and the others were talking about was also provided by them.

He was even happier, and waited there until Lin Fan and the others returned, spending the night in Huiyang.

The next day, when he returned to Qingyuan, Lin Fan gave him all the remaining twenty-seven Japanese fighter planes that had been seized.

This made Yu Hanmou very happy, but he didn't have that many pilots under his command yet, so he decided to temporarily store the fighter planes at Huiyang Airport until the pilots arrived, and then fly them back.

Yu Hanmou happily returned to Qingyuan and immediately requested the Chongqing headquarters, "The Fourth War Zone has received a new batch of fighter planes and requests the reinforcement of forty fighter pilots."

At the end of the request, he specified the source and quantity of the fighter planes in detail.

Just as his request was sent, Gu Zhutong's telegram also arrived: "Have received thirty fighter planes sent by the Special Forces Brigade, requesting the dispatch of pilots."

Chongqing then truly believed that the Special Forces Brigade had actually captured fifty-seven Japanese fighter planes yesterday, but another doubt arose: "Why don't they use these fighter planes themselves?"

No one could guess this. If they knew that Lin Fan no longer looked up to the Japanese fighter planes, would they be hit hard?

Planes flew away from Huiyang Airport batch after batch. They were heading to Guangde Airport and Jurong Airport. The entire Aviation Brigade had not yet received orders to return to their original garrisons.

Lin Fan still wanted to organize a bombing raid. However, the entire Aviation Brigade had been flying continuously for the past few days, and the soldiers were a little tired and needed to rest.

Lin Fan landed in Jurong. He had come specifically to see Li Xian. For future operations, Lin Fan had new ideas and needed Li Xian to increase investment in aircraft manufacturing.

And it was also necessary to invest in the development of new models.

Li Xian had always unconditionally cooperated with Lin Fan's requirements. This time was no exception. However, Li Xian severely criticized Lin Fan for personally piloting a bomber to Wan Island.

When there were only two of them in the conference room, Li Xian roared, "A gentleman does not put himself in danger! You are now the brigade commander of the Special Forces Brigade. Tens of millions of people and nearly a million troops in the base area need you to lead them.

What will happen to these remaining people if something happens to you?"

Lin Fan said with a smile, "Isn't there you?"

Li Xian said angrily, "Do you think I can suppress those proud and valiant generals? These people only obey you, no one else.

Think about it! Think about the big shot in the north. After he was killed by the Japanese while riding on a train, his subordinates immediately fell into chaos, and his son couldn't hold on to his territory at all.

Giving the Japanese devils a bridgehead to invade our territory.

If something happens to you, all of our great situation will be ruined by you."

Lin Fan saw that Li Xian was really angry and quickly said, "It's okay! It won't happen again! It won't happen again!"

Seeing that Li Xian's anger had subsided a little, Lin Fan said, "To be honest, I came up with an idea this time. Aren't the Japanese devils good at naval warfare?

We will attack their fleet from the air. As long as we can suppress their planes in the air, the remaining warships will be meat on the chopping board, ready for us to slaughter.

At this time, we will use seaplanes to carry the landing troops to land on the beach, and then bring the soldiers back."

Li Xian said, "The Japanese devils' fleet also has strong air defense capabilities."

Lin Fan smiled, "The point is that we can withdraw the infantry."

Li Xian understood at once, "You want to..."

"Yes!"

"This is a good plan, it needs to be considered carefully."

Lin Fan said with a smile, "Now the most important thing is to have large seaplanes that can transport hundreds of people at a time."

"I will arrange it immediately and let the people at the Aircraft Research Institute see if they can manufacture it," Li Xian said immediately.

Lin Fan continued, "This time, our planes have been flying for such a long distance. Have everyone overhaul all the planes, and then launch an attack on Hongqiao Airport, Jianqiao Airport, the Racecourse Airport, and the Japanese warships stationed in Shanghai.

The Japanese devils have just occupied Wuhan recently, and they are very arrogant. We must strike them hard."

Li Xian immediately understood that Lin Fan wanted to use the manpower in Shanghai to find out the situation of the Japanese devils.

He said with a smile, "I understand! I will have the information sent back as soon as possible."

Lin Fan put forward his requirements at the Aircraft Research Institute. The seaplane had two floating islands under it, which increased a lot of drag, making it very difficult to increase the range.

Lin Fan put forward the minimum requirement: "The range must be at least 1,500 kilometers to meet the needs."

At the same time, he also asked here to speed up the research on helicopters. There was still good news here. The first-generation prototype of the jet engine jointly established with Hughes had been manufactured.

Although the thrust was not yet practical, this was already a big step forward. The next step was to continue to improve it.

As for gasoline engines and diesel engines, they could be mass-produced here. The Special Forces Brigade's planes now used all self-produced engines.

While Lin Fan was busy in Jurong, major newspapers around the world were reporting extensively on the Special Forces Brigade's annihilation of the Japanese Fifth Fleet.

The Japanese newspapers were busy arguing that their Fifth Fleet was currently resting on Wan Island, and that some of it had returned to the mainland to undergo new modifications.

In any case, they refused to admit that the Fifth Fleet had been annihilated.

In order to prove that the Fifth Fleet was still there, the Japanese also organized a group of their domestic reporters and people to visit the fleet. All the Japanese who visited said that the Fifth Fleet was being repaired and rebuilt.

These Japanese personally proved that their people believed that foreign newspapers and reporters were trying to destroy them, and that they were spreading rumors.

On the other hand, those people in foreign countries believed that the reports of their own country's reporters were true.

While the outside world was fighting fiercely in the war of public opinion, Lin Fan and the pilots of the Aviation Brigade were walking around the streets of Jurong these days.

Seeing the changes in Jurong over the past two years.

These people were the most respected and favored in Jurong. This was specifically stipulated in the base area, and it was also what the people here were willing to accept.

After all, their ability to live here in peace was inseparable from the protection of these people.

Lin Fan also had some free time and could finally sit with Ji Wudi in a coffee shop in Jurong and go to a movie theater in Jurong to watch a movie.

The movie theater was showing *The Eight Hundred Heroes* and *Blood Splattered at Baoshan City*. Lin Fan asked with a smile, "Which one do you want to see?"

Ji Wudi said, "I want to see both. Let's watch *The Eight Hundred Heroes* first, then *Blood Splattered at Baoshan City*."

After watching the first movie, Ji Wudi asked with a smile, "You weren't in that one."

Lin Fan said in a low voice, "Keeping a low profile is the key. When they started filming, I specifically sent someone to say hello. Nothing about the Special Forces Brigade in the Sihang Warehouse could be filmed.

Later, I realized that Dai Li had also sent someone to say hello, for the same purpose."

Ji Wudi tightened her grip on Lin Fan, "Will we all be one of the countless unsung heroes?"

Lin Fan stroked her hair lightly, "I'm afraid so! We will eventually disappear in history. Are you afraid?"

"With you by my side! I'm not afraid of anything." Ji Wudi snuggled up to him.

Lin Fan asked in a low voice, "Let's get married!"

"Mm!" Ji Wudi responded softly. Suddenly realizing something, she said firmly, "I won't marry until the Japanese devils are gone. We can get engaged first."

She still remembered the national and family hatred. Lin Fan said with a wry smile, "Fighting the Japanese devils is a long-term thing, you have to be mentally prepared."

Ji Wudi said, "I have been preparing for this. My training hasn't stopped in the past year or so. I have been exploring and training according to the Special Forces training manual you wrote.

It's just that I can't really go to the wilderness for jungle survival training now."

Lin Fan said, "Find some old hunters and old farmers to communicate with, and learn from them what can be eaten in the wild, what water can be drunk, and how to identify directions in the wild, and that's basically enough.

In fact, wilderness survival is different in the south and the north. Even the plants in different parts of the south are different, and it is necessary to adapt to local conditions. The most important thing is still your own strength."

Ji Wudi said proudly, "Now two soldiers in hand-to-hand combat are no match for me."

Lin Fan asked, "Did they hold back? You have to remember: Strength can overcome skill. Women are inherently weak, and the difference in strength is too great.

If you are caught by the opponent during a fight, it is difficult to turn the tables."