Chapter 124

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Matsui Iwane's gaze was entirely drawn to the small black dots in the distance; the entire Combined Fleet failed to notice that the fishing boats that had been fishing in the distance several hours ago had already vanished.

Just about two hours ago, several fishing boats passed far by the outer perimeter of the Japanese fleet; on the small fishing boats were many young fishermen sporting crew cuts.

These fishermen were actually sailors of the Torpedo Battalion; before the war broke out, Lv Muzhi had dispatched quite a few sailors who, under the guise of fishing, roamed the waters around the Yangtze River Estuary and the outer sea, scouting the movements of the Japanese fleet.

The captain of one fishing boat was actually a captain of the Torpedo Battalion; two hours ago he was calmly hauling in his net, looking like he was laboring, but in his heart he was already beaming with joy — after fishing for so many days in the wind and sun, he had finally found the location of the Japanese fleet!

While continuing to pull the net, the captain whispered to his fisherman-disguised comrade beside him, "Nagato is in the center of the formation, surrounded by four destroyers escorting it; note the bearing."

However, the little devils were not so friendly; seeing Xia Guo fishing boats appear, although they were reluctant to use naval guns on fishing boats, heavy machine guns still opened fire on them.

Da-da~ da-da-da~

Bullets whistled through the middle of the fishing boat formation; several sailors disguised as fishermen were hit.

The captain immediately ordered the crew to haul in the net, turn the bow northward, and radio the news to Lv Muzhi on shore.

Upon receiving the news, Lv Muzhi immediately began organizing naval and air forces to harass Matsui Iwane's Combined Fleet.

The torpedo boats and fighters that had received the order had already completed their combat deployment; the small black dots Matsui Iwane saw were naturally An Bang's Torpedo Boat Squadron.

In the outer sea of the Yangtze River Estuary, twelve S-type torpedo boats deployed in combat formation.

These torpedo boats displaced about 60 tons, were equipped with two diesel engines, had a maximum speed of 35 knots; each boat carried two 450mm torpedo launch tubes, one on each side, and a single M2 heavy machine gun mounted amidships on the deck for anti-aircraft self-defense.

Torpedo Boat Squadron Leader Lieutenant Colonel An Bang stood in the pilothouse of the command boat, gazing at the silhouette of the Japanese fleet in the distance; the walkie-talkie in his hand: "This operation is different from the last time we attacked Yunhao; don't force it — fire your torpedoes and leave."

Confirmation voices from each boat captain came over the radio:

"First Element in position!"

"Second Element ready!"

"Third Element deployment complete!"

An Bang calmly issued the order: "Engage the enemy according to the prearranged plan; remember, our primary target is the Japanese battleship."

Matsui Iwane saw the opposing side's speed was very fast; without thinking he knew these were Xia Guo armed boats: "The enemy is across the sea! Immediately enter combat readiness!"

Matsui Iwane turned around only to discover the navy personnel were already fully prepared; clearly the navy had long known these were enemy torpedo boats approaching.

"Bakayaro, this must be the same unit as the torpedo boats that sank the cruiser Yunhao; sink them immediately, damn bastards, trying the same trick again!"

"Hai! Commander Matsui, just watch; Nagato's big guns have been itching for action!" the captain of Nagato said, clenching his fist.

"Bad news, Captain! Enemy fighter formation spotted in the southeast direction!" the naval lookout reported.

At the same time, at three thousand meters altitude, Southwest Air Force Group Commander Gao Zhihang was leading two squadrons of BF-109 fighters on patrol.

The fighters of these two squadrons were different from the fighters previously committed to aerial combat over the Huangpu River; although Lv Muzhi's Southwest Air Force had one hundred BF109s, broken down there were multiple models.

The ones committed to combat over the Huangpu River last time were the early basic model BF109 produced by Hans State; in order to adapt to more combat missions, Lv Muzhi proposed multiple improved variants and proposed using the Xia Guo battlefield as a testing ground to verify the performance of Hans State's new fighters.

Therefore, Lv Muzhi's air force gathered multiple models of experimental BF109 fighters.

The two squadrons sortieing today were equipped with improved BF-109s.

One squadron's BF109 fighters were fighter-bomber variants; besides the standard aircraft machine guns, a 250-kilogram aerial bomb was slung under the fuselage centerline.

The second squadron was the standard latest-model BF-109, dedicated to air superiority combat, armed with two MG17 7.92mm machine guns and two 20mm aircraft cannons.

These fighters that Hans could supply were all to help Hans State verify weapon performance; after obtaining first-hand data, it would be convenient to improve the fighters.

Besides Lv Muzhi's Southwest Aviation Group, the Guofu Air Force Commander directly dispatched four aviation squadrons to fight.

The cooperating Guofu Air Force had two Hawk III squadrons; one squadron carried bombs for anti-ship attack, the other provided air cover.

Additionally there were two squadrons of P-26 Peashooter fighters, all carrying aerial bombs, dedicated to executing dive-bombing missions.

Facing the combined sea-air offensive formed by Xia Guo torpedo boats and fighters, the devils gritted their teeth.

The alarm aboard the battleship Nagato resounded throughout the hull; this sea fortress was 225 meters long, 35 meters wide, with a standard displacement of 39,120 tons.

Ten Kampon oil-fired boilers drove four steam turbines, enabling this steel behemoth to maneuver at 25 knots on the sea surface.

"Full ship enter Level 1 battle readiness!" The Nagato captain's order was relayed via voice tubes to every battle station.

Inside the anti-aircraft command tower, observers tensely reported: "Twelve enemy torpedo boats, approaching in three waves, distance about four thousand meters!

Enemy aircraft sixty-plus, altitude about three thousand meters!"

"Watch fire distribution!" the Japanese officer in charge of air defense shouted, "Number One and Number Two 127mm anti-aircraft gun groups handle the port-side torpedo boats! Number Three and Number Four gun groups engage air targets! All 25mm machine guns prioritize diving aircraft!"

Four twin-mounted Type 89 127mm anti-aircraft guns immediately went into action; the two gun groups on the port side depressed their muzzles and continuously fired at the torpedo boats speeding across the sea surface.

The rate of fire and power of the naval guns were staggering.

Shells exploded into columns of water ahead of the torpedo boat formation, attempting to block their breakthrough route.

The two 127mm gun groups on the starboard side pointed skyward, spewing shells at the diving BF-109 formations; the air instantly filled with black bursts.

Ten twin-mounted 25mm anti-aircraft machine guns all pointed skyward, forming a dense close-in firepower net; gunners frantically cranked the traverse and elevation gears, trying to lock onto the high-speed diving fighters.

Facing the siege of dozens of fighters, the Japanese 25mm anti-aircraft guns seemed somewhat powerless; the anti-aircraft fire appeared stretched thin.

The devils screamed and roared while stomping hard on the firing pedals of the anti-aircraft guns.

However, the captain's attention at this moment had already been drawn by Xia Guo's torpedo boats.

The torpedo boats drew closer and closer; the two 127mm anti-aircraft guns achieved little against the mosquito-like targets.

The captain added an order: "Damn it! Deploy the 140mm secondary guns to concentrate fire on the torpedo boats, barrage fire; destroyers advance to intercept!"

Upon receiving the order, Nagato's eighteen single-mounted Type 3 140mm secondary guns all swung their muzzles and carried out barrage fire against the torpedo boats on the sea surface.

In an instant the sea surface shook heaven and earth; ahead of the torpedo boat squadron the sea surface was instantly thrown up into a towering wall of water; the devils' naval guns seemed to have boiled the seawater.

On the sea surface, An Bang's torpedo boat squadron nimbly weaved through the artillery fire; one torpedo boat was hit by a 140mm secondary gun and disintegrated instantly, but the other boats continued to press the attack.

"We can't let them get any closer, fire torpedoes immediately!" Lieutenant Colonel An Bang shouted.

Matsui Iwane anxiously observed the battle from the bridge, suddenly seeing that on a 25mm anti-aircraft gun position below, most of the gun crew had been blown to pieces by aircraft machine guns.

Even worse, an aircraft dropped a 250-kilogram aerial bomb onto the Nagato Battleship.

Matsui Iwane stared at that bomb, cursing loudly: "Pathetic anti-aircraft fire, what exactly are you all protecting?!"