Chapter 395: Our Aircraft Carrier Sank Again

The Jianghan Plain under a torrential rain.

Jiang Anguo stood under the eaves, watching the rain pour down in sheets.

Behind him, Xiao Si hurried forward, "Young Master, the matter has already been taken care of."

Jiang Anguo nodded, "As long as it's done, that's fine."

"Young Master, why are you again providing intelligence to the Japanese?" Xiao Si was very puzzled.

Whether personally or nationally, Xiao Si harbored a bone‑deep hatred for Japan.

"The Americans are too powerful; once their industrial machines start, they cannot be stopped. Though Japan currently holds the advantage, within a year, whether aircraft in the sky, tanks on the ground, or aircraft carriers on the water, American strength will surpass Japan," Jiang Anguo said softly.

Indeed, Jiang Anguo supplied another piece of intelligence; after capturing Jingzhou, he immediately dispatched personnel, sending Xiao Si with the documents to Lashu, where he personally handed the telegram to Lin Yi.

Telegram content: United States, main fleet, northeast of Midway, 280 nautical miles.

Exactly, it is that simple and clear, even giving a precise location.

When the telegram was received by Intelligence Director Qingshui Xiao Jian of the Japanese Southern Army, his eyes widened again; this telegram could be said to change a national war, and it was sent through the Japanese 56th Division's radio.

"Yo—!" Qingshui Xiao Jian dared not waste any time, immediately handing the telegram to Commander Terauchi Hisaichi of the Southern Army.

Terauchi Hisaichi had no time to doubt and relayed it to headquarters at once.

Through repeated relays, within ten minutes it reached Nan Yun Zhongyi, who was searching the Midway area for American aircraft carriers.

Had the telegram arrived a bit later, Nan Yun Zhongyi would already have ordered the bombing of Midway.

Even now Nan Yun Zhongyi commands six aircraft carriers: Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, the recently replenished Zui He, and the fully repaired Xiang He.

On the American side, the carriers lost the Lexington and Yorktown in the Coral Sea, leaving only Enterprise and Hornet.

The strength on both sides is vastly uneven.

Of course, there is another carrier, the Midway.

At the war's outset, Nimitz had already ordered the transfer of fighters and bombers from the mainland to Midway to support the operation.

Yet the Americans could never have imagined that while the world cheered the victories in the Huaxia theater, they were being betrayed again by Jiang Anguo, who sold intelligence to the Japanese.

The Japanese Navy is positioned northwest of Midway; from this it is clear that Nan Yun Zhongyi is overly cautious, failing to use his advantage to cut off the main American fleet and to directly bomb Midway.

Had it not been for the telegram in Nan Yun Zhongyi's hands, he had already decided to dispatch the first wave of bombers to strike Midway.

Then, following history, he would have been discovered by the American Navy, with aircraft unable to land, torpedoes swapped, and fuel replenished.

Nan Yun Zhongyi is a hesitant man, indecisive in everything, unlike Shanben Wushiliu.

Thus, the attack order was personally issued by Shanben Wushiliu standing behind him.

Shanben Wushiliu is a gambler; he dares to bet, exposing all his cards, but Nan Yun Zhongyi is different, even more timid.

Since Shanben Wushiliu has already issued the attack order, Nan Yun Zhongyi says little. "Relay the order!" he croaks, "Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu— all four ships, all attack aircraft, take off immediately! Target: American carrier formation!"

Zui He and Xiang He are ordered to stay back, covering the fleet with fighter aircraft.

In an instant, 286 Zero fighters, Type 97 carrier attack aircraft, and Type 99 carrier bombers surged like a black cloud toward the northeast of Midway.

The American Pacific Fleet's Midway battle commander, Major General Raymond Spruance, had already received intelligence from Hawaii about the Japanese Navy's movement direction.

He originally planned to use Midway as the bait, ambushing the Japanese with Enterprise and Hornet to cut off their carrier group.

But now all tactics have lost their meaning.

"No way back," Spruance said coldly, "All ships, engage! Wildcats take off! Dauntless dive! Destroyer torpedoes ready!"

F4F Wildcat fighters rose first, followed by SBD Dauntless and TBD Destroyer torpedo bombers, forming a tragic wave of attack.

However, under the Japanese absolute strength, even the brave American forces were of no help.

Zero fighters hunted like a wolf pack, Wildcats crashing into the sea one after another;

TBD torpedo planes made low‑altitude attacks but were shredded by dense anti‑aircraft fire;

Only a few SBDs broke through, hitting Soryu and Hiryu, igniting massive fires.

But it was too late.

The Japanese aircraft swarmed like thunder into the American fleet.

Enterprise was pierced by three bombs through its flight deck, its magazine detonated, and it capsized instantly;

Hornet was struck by a salvo of torpedoes, the hull split, and it sank into the abyss.

Flames roared across the sea surface.

Two American carriers and over ten destroyers became wreckage, floating in the blood‑stained Pacific.

The Japanese, only Soryu and Hiryu were abandoned due to uncontrollable fires; the remaining main force survived.

Nan Yun Zhongyi gazed at the rising black smoke in the distance, feeling no joy at all.

He even felt some lingering fear, wondering if, had he launched fighters and bombers early to strike Midway, his Combined Fleet might have been cut off by American carriers.

"Victory!" an unknown Japanese sailor shouted, both hands raised.

Soon, more and more Japanese sailors also raised their hands and shouted.

Nan Yun Zhongyi finally cracked a smile and immediately ordered, "Send a telegram at once to Admiral Shanben, my Combined Fleet will destroy the main American fleet—Enterprise, Hornet—sinking them in the Midway area."

"Hi!"

At the same time Nan Yun Zhongyi ordered each carrier to recover aircraft, refuel, reload ammunition, and launch a final strike on Midway.

On the evening of June 6, all American forces on Midway were wiped out, and the Japanese occupied Midway.

Yet when the telegram reached headquarters, the frenzy grew, because the telegram reported no losses; the only loss was Hiryu catching fire.

The Combined Fleet stood invincible.

The public fell into ecstatic joy; bomb‑shattered Tokyo seemed to regain vibrant life.

In fact, it was so; the Japanese Navy reported only triumphs, not woes.

When Roosevelt saw Nimitz's telegram, he could not believe that the Enterprise, emblem of American daring and adventurous spirit, had been sunk by the Japanese Combined Fleet at Midway, and that Midway itself had been seized, further threatening Hawaii's safety.

The crucial point is that the American forces no longer have any carriers worth showing.

The aircraft carriers are all lying in the shipyard; they still need time.

After Jiang Anguo received the telegram in which Lin Yi deciphered the Japanese Army's revelry, he also exclaimed, "What?"

"Young Master, you, you are Japanese," Xiao Si said tremblingly, puzzled why the Young Master was helping the Japanese.

"No, I am Huaxia, just a bit excited." The telegram's content was clear: the Japanese suffered no losses, while the American lost two aircraft carriers; when did the Japanese become so resilient?