Chapter 227: William, My Friend from the United States

It was precisely because of Dai Anlan's words; though the voice was not loud, it was like a stone tossed into a calm lake, drawing every gaze in the villa.

The Principal, Stilwell and his wife, who had been discussing the Myanmar situation, simultaneously stopped their conversation and all turned to look at Jiang Anguo and Dai Anlan standing before the map.

The Principal's gaze was sharp as a knife; he stared at the red straight line on the map that ran from Chongqing toward Wuhan and then extended to Quzhou, his eyes filled with shock, doubt, and a spark of excitement.

Stilwell frowned; his first concern was feasibility, noting that this was a typical "one‑hammer deal," with extremely high risk.

The entire living room fell silent at once. Everyone's focus converged on the newly drawn attack route, full of madness and heroism.

The living room was dead silent; all eyes fixed on the red line spanning half of China. It was not merely an attack route but a gamble road brimming with madness, heroism, and death.

The Principal was the first to break the silence; he walked slowly to the map, his finger sliding along the line, his eyes showing a mix of worry over the risk and admiration for the bold idea.

"One‑way raid, no regard for losses, strike straight at the Yellow Dragon…" he murmured, his voice trembling slightly, "Jiang Anguo, your idea is grand yet dangerous; we cannot spare that many bombers and fighters."

Pull one hair and the whole body moves.

At present the air force has only one bomber regiment, four bomber regiments, four fighter regiments, one transport regiment, and one reconnaissance squadron.

Fighter aircraft are called destroyer aircraft.

On paper they possess over three hundred aircraft, but in reality the number is far lower, and those fighters are relatively outdated.

Of course there is also the Flying Tigers; the Flying Tigers have 99 fighters, but that was earlier—after those aircraft reached India they first joined the Myanmar Campaign, and a portion remained on the home front.

The Principal has very few usable aircraft at his disposal.

However, before Jiang Anguo could answer, Stilwell slammed the table hard, stood up, and his face showed a near‑fanatical excitement.

"Goddamn! Thisisbrilliant! (Damned! Fantastic!)" Stilwell couldn't help but blurt the English profanity, then exclaimed in Chinese, "Principal sir, this is a very, very typical American‑style idea! Only a madman could devise such a plan!"

His eyes glittered as if seeing his younger self: "It reminds me of Colonel Du Litu's Tokyo bombing! Same lack of range, same one‑way raid, same aim to deliver the heaviest psychological blow to the enemy! This is psychological warfare! It declares to the world that China is not blockaded, that China's sharp sword can still pierce the enemy's heart!"

Stilwell's words left the Chinese generals present all stunned.

They are accustomed to steady, methodical advances, and regarding this near‑gambling tactic they felt both intrigued and overly risky.

Because they dare not gamble, Huaxia has no capital left to bet; if they lose, the gates will be thrown open and the Japanese will surge straight in!

"But…" Stilwell's excitement was quickly doused by harsh reality; he slumped back into his seat, his face full of helplessness and frustration, "This is a madman's plan, but we lack the capital to let a madman splurge. I don't have enough fighters to escort bombers, nor heavy bombers with sufficient range for this mission. Each of our aircraft is as precious as gold; lose one, we have one fewer."

He spread his hands and smiled wryly: "So this genius plan is now only a dream drawn on the map. We… lack the means to realize it."

The atmosphere in the living room grew heavy again. A brilliant plan, yet it perished in the womb due to lack of basic equipment, which feels more frustrating and painful than having no plan at all.

Dai Anlan looked at her younger brother‑in‑law, her eyes also showing regret. She knew Jiang Anguo truly wanted to do something for those fallen pilots.

However, just as everyone thought the topic was over, Jiang Anguo suddenly spoke up.

His voice was not loud, yet unusually clear, full of unquestionable confidence.

"General," he said, looking at Stilwell, "You said we have no aircraft. But I have my own channels; the commander of the escorting flight squadron, William, is a friend I met in the United States, and I can have him provide fighters and bombers."

His words caused everyone in the room to gasp in surprise.

"Jiang Anguo, are you serious? How many bombers and how many fighters can this actually provide?" the Principal asked impatiently.

The Principal initially cooperated with the Soviet Union, then with Germany; now Germany faces a similar situation and naturally needs to seek new allies, and the United States is unquestionable.

Regardless of whether early United States dealings involved profiting from the Japanese or whatever.

But present‑day Huaxia truly needs American assistance.

"I will need to discuss with William before confirming specifics, but it will definitely be no fewer than fifty aircraft," Jiang Anguo said with certainty.

Jiang Anguo naturally knew the more the better, but how to explain that? The key is that this is not Lashu; he cannot directly exchange fighters and bombers from the system here.

A fighter costs only 500 points, while a heavy bomber requires just 1000 points.

Only a hundred fighters' worth of points; previously the WarSystem had awarded Jiang Anguo as a victor, and his system still contains nearly a hundred fighters and bombers.

Unfortunately they are all German fighters and bombers, with too short range—short, weak.

The Bf109's range is 870 km, the Stuka even shorter, under 600 km.

They work in Europe, but not from Lashu to Changde; halfway through, the pilot would have to bail out!

Especially Stilwell, with a decisive look, said, "Impossible; we lost two aircraft carriers at the Coral Sea, and currently no fighters can enter China."

"What!" everyone was drawn to Stilwell's words.

Because this is a United States military secret, only a few know, including American politicians, who publicly claim the US‑Japan Coral Sea battle sank one carrier while we also lost one.

Both sides ended up essentially tied.

On the battlefield, only Jiang Anguo sneered; had he not sent intelligence to Terauchi Hisaichi, that Little Devil probably wouldn't have so successfully defeated the US carrier at Coral Sea.

Indeed, originally whoever found it first had the advantage; moreover the Japanese Navy, unable to afford losses, became hesitant.

If Shanben Wushiliu had not decided to attack Midway, or had waited, first dealing with the US forces at Coral Sea and concentrating Japanese naval superiority to utterly destroy the US South Pacific Fleet, perhaps Japanese fleet commanders wouldn't have been so hesitant.