Chapter 239: Before the Zhejiang‑Jiangxi Campaign

The relentless bombing made Jiang Anguo notice the pilots' fatigue.

The time lag, however, must be seized; once the Japanese Army reacts, his air superiority will vanish.

The Japanese Army's fighters, only the Zero's performance can match the P40, but their number of aircraft in Huaxia certainly exceeds Jiang Anguo's.

In the southeast and west, airports exist in every direction, so the Japanese Army's fighters are highly dispersed.

Jiang Anguo is seizing this chance, preparing to wipe out all Japanese Army airfields in Central and South China on the ground in one stroke.

"Orders," Jiang Anguo said calmly to Xiao Si, "Notify Lin Yi at Lashu to transport a hundred pilots over; we need more manpower."

The weapons and equipment are sufficient, the fighters are okay, but the bombers are lacking; now Jiang Anguo has no one to use, mainly because there is no unit structure.

He can't just ask the rear flight school for personnel, so it's better to transfer directly from Lashu.

One B25 Bomber requires a crew of five; even if Jiang Anguo reduces the flight crew to the minimum, he still needs three people.

The first time he asked Lin Yi, only a hundred pilots were transferred, which clearly no longer satisfies the situation; more pilots are needed.

But Jiang Anguo seems to have forgotten one thing: all transport aircraft have been reassigned.

Fortunately, Lashu still has a few seaplane transports.

Otherwise Lin Yi would have no idea what to do!

That was the seaplane transport originally used to deliver supplies to the th Division, for landing on the Mi Jie River Exchange.

"Yes!" Xiao Si saluted and turned away.

Xiao Si is becoming increasingly mature now.

Jiang Anguo stared at the map, his gaze profound. He knew this was only a beginning. He had provoked a hornet's nest; next, the Japanese Army's furious retaliation would come. But he was unafraid.

He intended to use this most direct, most barbaric method to tell the Japanese that China's skies are no longer a hunting ground they can roam freely.

Meanwhile, in Chongqing, Dai Li's residence.

In Dai Li's office, smoke swirled; habitually he held a Cigarette between two fingers, brows knit, listening to an intelligence officer's report.

Since the Japanese Army's first indiscriminate massive bombing of Chongqing, Dai Li keenly realized that passive defense led only to death. He immediately covertly dispatched several elite intelligence squads, equipped with Telegram radios, to infiltrate Wuhan, Nanjing, Shanghai and other core cities occupied by the Japanese Army.

Their sole mission: to lie in wait. Once the Japanese Army's airfields see large‑scale takeoffs, they will devise every means to create chaos inside the airfield, or to guide subsequent air strikes. It is a nine‑in‑ten‑to‑die mission, but Dai Li has no alternative.

"Director," the intelligence officer whispered, "The Wuhan squad has lost all contact since yesterday afternoon. Whatever frequency we call on, there is no response. We… fear they have been exposed."

Dai Li took a hard drag of his Cigarette, saying nothing. Loss of contact, in their line of work, usually has only one explanation. What pains him is not the few elite subordinates, but the intelligence network he has painstakingly built over years.

At that moment, a frantic secretarial officer rushed in, clutching a Telegram.

"Director! Urgent Telegram! Changde! Jiang Anguo's Independent Regiment sent a battle report!"

Dai Li's heart leapt; he snatched the Telegram.

His eyes flicked rapidly over the text, widening with each line. When he read "Wuhan Wangjiadun Airport suffered a devastating strike, enemy aircraft suffered heavy losses," his perpetually clouded face showed, for the first time, an incredulous shock.

He read it over several times to confirm he hadn't misread.

Then he leaned back slowly, exhaling a long, long puff of stale air. The smoke swirled and hovered in the air, as if releasing all the pressure in his heart.

Wuhan Airport was destroyed.

This means the squad he dispatched was likely not compromised, but was waiting for this opportunity, or rather, their actions formed a perfect tacit coordination with this air raid. Whatever the truth, the result is favorable. The knife threatening Chongqing has been brutally snapped.

The bombing of Wuhan Airport by Jiang Anguo's air brigade was precisely because intelligence personnel hidden near Wuhan Airport by Dai Anlan sent back information that was confirmed.

It also lifted people's spirits!

"Well, what a Jiang Anguo…" Dai Li muttered, a rare, genuine smile tugging at his mouth, "The Principal did not misjudge; he truly is a fierce general!"

He could no longer sit still.

Dai Li sprang to his feet, seized the Telegram, didn't even have time to put on his coat, and hurried out.

Facing the Japanese Army's bombing, Chongqing's side could be described as helpless; even building watchtowers atop the high mountains could not determine exactly where the Japanese Army was bombing.

Without radar, they could only set up manned observation posts on the mountains.

This is the defender's disadvantage: you never know when the enemy will strike, so you must learn to take the initiative and eliminate the enemy's living forces.

This year is somewhat better; United States aircraft have entered Chongqing, and the Japanese Army's planes dare not be overly arrogant.

"Prepare the vehicle! Go to Huangshan Residence! I must meet the Principal immediately!"

The car sped through the mountain city's streets. Dai Li's heart was even more urgent than the wheels. He knew this battle report, for the Principal who was being bombed into a frenzy by the Japanese Army, was no less than the strongest tonic.

Huangshan Residence, the Principal's office.

The Principal, clad in a long robe with hands behind his back, paced before the map. His complexion was poor; the explosions from the Yichang direction last night kept him awake all night.

"Chairman." Dai Li called softly.

The Principal turned, saw Dai Li and the tightly clenched Telegram in his hand, and felt a stir in his heart.

"Yu Nong, why such panic?"

Dai Li hurried forward, handed the Telegram with both hands, his voice trembling with excitement: "Principal! Great news! The Independent Regiment… destroyed over a hundred Japanese aircraft, a tremendous achievement!"

Earlier they thought Jiang Anguo was joking, or at most launching a small raid of a dozen aircraft; over a hundred implies that the Japanese Army's fighter planes at Wuhan Airport were almost entirely destroyed.

The Principal took the Telegram, his gaze falling upon it.

The office was silent, only the Principal's heavy breathing.

He read very slowly, very carefully. Each character was like a nail driven into his heart. When he finished the last line and lifted his head, Dai Li saw that the Principal's eyes were slightly moist.

The Principal said nothing; he simply walked to the desk, picked up a brush, and forcefully wrote two characters at the end of the Telegram:

"Very good."

The Principal hadn't expected that plans made yesterday would, within just one day, be executed as a ground bombing with notable results.

Then he turned, looking at the city outside the window that had just endured bombing; his voice was low yet filled with boundless strength:

"Relay my orders: commend Jiang Anguo and the Independent Regiment's entire officers and soldiers! Tell An Guo he did well! Also notify the publicity department; once the photos from An Guo's side arrive, they must be heavily publicized."

Indeed, William's squadron not only bombed Wuhan Airport; William and several other accompanying groups, after expending all bullets and clearing their bombs, also filmed their masterpiece.

The photos of Wuhan Airport, now a furnace after the bombing, are about to be delivered into Chongqing's hands.

However, what no one knew was that Jiang Anguo was not only preparing to bomb Wuhan's airport, but also preparing to bomb Japanese Army airports elsewhere.