After writing these words, Steinhoff closed the notebook. At this moment, there was the sound of sonorous footsteps outside the window, and Steinhoff came to the balcony again to look out, this time he saw the Soviet soldiers walking forward in a neat pace.

These Soviet troops came to assist the German army in the war, such as the attack on Gibraltar, Greece and Turkey, and these Soviet soldiers carrying shamisen, "**sha" submachine guns and red flags, and singing "The Internationale" are indispensable.

Seeing the red flags fluttering in the ranks, Steinhofer's face couldn't help but show a hint of disgust, he frowned, turned around and closed the curtains, and sat back down at the table.

Zomoto, Tokyo.

The Imperial Council was held in a spacious hall of the Imperial Palace, attended by the military and political leaders. There are two long tables in the room, and at the end of the table is a relatively short table, which is uniformly covered with a checkered tablecloth. Behind the long table, there sat the senior political officials and military leaders of the Cabinet, namely Prime Minister Ishihara Wanji, Minister of the Navy Mitsumasa Yoneuchi, Chief of the Army General Staff Headquarters and Emperor Hirohito's younger brother, Prince Kanin Miyakihito, and Minister of War Sugiyama Moto.

Since the outbreak of the Pacific War, it has been more than a year since the war between China and China, but the development of the war situation has contradicted the expectations of the emperor and the head of the army. According to his original plan, after the Chinese army launched an attack, the Soviet Union should send troops within a few months to flank China together with the Chinese army, but it backfired, and the Soviet Union was busy attacking Europe with Germany and turned a blind eye to the war in the east. And now the war has spread to the Japanese mainland, especially Tokyo has been bombed by the Chinese Air Force on a large scale, and the military and civilians have suffered heavy casualties, so before the meeting began, Emperor Hirohito's face was already very ugly.

"Have you counted the casualties of the air raids of the Chinese army?" Hirohito asked with a gloomy face after listening to the briefing of the Minister of War.

"It's being counted, and there will be definite results soon." Sugiyama was probably worried that the numbers that had been counted would surprise the saint driver after they came out, so he chose to blur it.

The Emperor glanced at the ministers in front of him with a cold gaze, and said, "I have heard a lot from you, but I am not satisfied, the battle against Shina has been going on for so long, but the result has not been as everyone said before, until today, the native has faced a great threat, do you have anything else to say now?" ”

None of the ministers in charge of military strategy spoke, and Ishihara looked around and said: "In order to resolve the issue of China as soon as possible, the cabinet has conducted in-depth discussions with the representatives of the Soviet Union, hoping that the Soviet side can send troops as soon as possible......

Hirohito nodded, but Ishihara could still tell that Hirohito wasn't very interested in what he said.

"I already know that." Hirohito said, "What I want to know now is, is there any new strategic approach to operations?" ”

Mitsumasa Yonechi, Minister of the Navy, hurriedly said: "According to the research of the Ministry of the Navy and the Ministry of the Army, we believe that it is necessary for us to continue the same practice as last time, and carry out strategic bombing strikes of the same scale on the enemy's rear, that is, Yanjing, where the central political axe of China is located, and various major industrial center cities, so that the enemy will fall into panic and lose control. If our strategic bombing succeeds, the Wu Peifu regime will either collapse or be forced to negotiate with us, both of which will be beneficial to us. ”

"The strategic bombing of China has already caused us unprecedented losses, can we inflict the same losses on China?" Hirohito asked, "Can you instinctively bear the results of this kind of strategic bombing?" ”

Prince Zaihito of the Kanin Palace placed a report in front of Hirohito: "It is entirely possible, Your Majesty. If we concentrate the air forces of the army and navy and deliver a fatal blow to the heart of the enemy, the Chinese army will not be able to fortify everywhere, and it will inevitably collapse at that time. ”

"What I'm worried about is that I didn't wait for the collapse of China, and I said that it would collapse first." Hirohito sneered and picked up the file.

"The issue of territorial air defense, which Your Majesty is worried about, will soon be effectively resolved." "We have developed the latest rocket-powered interceptor that can be used in homeland air defense operations. Germany has recently made significant progress in the field of territorial defense, and they have promised to provide us with research materials and samples of the latest interceptors. Germany's newest interceptors were very effective in battle. ”

Listening to Ishihara's words, Hirohito's face improved a little, he nodded, and began to quickly browse the documents in his hand.

"As the people of China have done to us, strategic bombing will not be limited to military targets, but political and economic centers will also be included in the target." Prince Zaihito said.

"Well, if you bomb political and economic centers as targets, you can say that they are military targets, because they are directly related to military behavior."

"Well, I think this plan is very good, but there are some details that need to be carefully studied, but this idea of strategic bombing can be implemented, this plan, let's decide like this first! I hope that this time, as you say, we will be able to solve the problem as soon as possible. ”

After saying that, Hirohito did not announce the adjournment of the meeting, so he stood up coldly, and the civil and military officials also stood up together, watching their god-like emperor leave.

Mitsumasa Yonechi, Minister of the Navy, thought that he had not yet had time to report to the Emperor about the Navy's plan of attack on the Chinese mainland, and he couldn't help but look at Prime Minister Ishihara Wanji helplessly.

Ishihara watched the emperor's figure disappear with a blank face, turned around and left the conference hall.

Nagasaki.

Inside and outside the train station, thousands of refugees are helping the elderly and the young.

Together with the war, this famous military port city has become a battlefield of flesh and blood because of the sudden arrival of the war. Flames were everywhere inside and outside the city, and fires and smoke engulfed houses, and explosions were deafening. As the war spreads, the people who thought they would be safe by hiding at home have finally become small animals that have been flooded with boiling water, and they have to rush out to escape.

In peacetime, people are divided into three religions and nine streams, officials are divided into large and small, and the social order is strictly hierarchical, but the fleeing is different, there is no distinction between the noble and the lowly in the ranks of the refugees, and everyone has only one identity, that is, refugees.

As soon as the train arrived, everyone was crowded, and the strong people squeezed up, and the women, children, old and weak had to be eliminated on the spot. But most of the trains were requisitioned to transport troops, so more and more refugees were stranded at the train stations, which were already infrequent, and many of them had been waiting in fear for two whole days.

On October 28, the sky was still gray, and news broke that Tokyo would send out two empty trains to transport refugees. The news spread, the station was crowded, and the people were crowded. This is a critical moment of hope and despair at the same time, and everyone has a good reason to get on the train and get out of the sea of misery before anyone else, but the problem is that when there are so many reasons to crowd together, everyone has no reason.

Because the full capacity of the two trains can only carry less than a quarter of the stranded refugees.

At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the train slowly entered the station amid the cheers of the crowd, and many people were so excited that they squeezed the police officers who were maintaining order in front of them off the platform, resulting in a tragic incident in which many people were crushed and injured on the spot. The police then fired warning shots into the air, and the bullets were bounced off the steel beams on the roof and injured several others. Unexpectedly, the people regarded death as their home, and the police had to take a back seat and allow liberalization to spread everywhere. In the next few hours, it was nothing less than a scene of the end of the world: on and off the car, everyone scrambled to be the first, you pushed me, you didn't push me, you dragged others down, climbed up by yourself, climbed the window, climbed the roof of the car, climbed everywhere you could climb people, and even the front of the car was covered with refugees as heavy as a honeycomb, so there were several incidents of squeezing, stamping, suffocation, and suffocation.

At around 3 p.m., the situation at the station was basically clear, and the train was greatly overloaded. Those who did not get on the bus hung their heads in frustration, those who crowded into the car couldn't help but secretly rejoice in the car, and there were many women and children who had been separated from their relatives shouting everywhere, shouting in and out of the car. Unexpectedly, at this moment, a sharp air defense siren suddenly sounded outside the station.

It was the Chinese planes who came to attack.

The people under the train got close and fled in all directions, or they lay down on the edge of the fields, or hid themselves under the banks of the ditches. It is difficult to break the people who have already crowded into the train, looking forward to the stars and the moon, and it took a lot of effort to win a precious place on the train.

Therefore, the people in the car are reluctant to get out of the car. The timid saw that others did not move, so they also strengthened their courage not to move, and everyone was lucky, and the pilot of the enemy plane saw that this was an unarmed refugee and not an army. A doctor with international knowledge spread a homemade Red Cross flag on the roof of the car so that Chinese planes would follow international practice to avoid civilian trains.

But this time they were wrong.

Twelve Chinese Javelin carrier-based attack planes that took off from Chinese aircraft carriers flew over the station in a neat formation, and their mission was originally to find and bomb military targets. However, due to the gloomy weather, the train at the station on the ground is vividly visible, but the Red Cross flag and the identity of the refugees are difficult to identify. Even if they can be recognized, for every Chinese [***] person who is surrounded by the impulse for revenge, they are never willing to let go of this great opportunity to demoralize the enemy in front of them. Do you say that this Yamato nation is not all one? Aren't you united to serve the whole people? Since your political axe dares to declare war against China, it is up to you to make all your citizens understand what the price of aggression means!

Therefore, when the Chinese pilots spotted the target of the train on the ground, they were undoubtedly in high spirits, their throats grunting, and a pleasure similar to driving the enemy into a slaughterhouse greatly stimulated the tense nerves of the Chinese [***] people's brains. The bombing of enemy trains was an order issued by the superiors, and the soldiers only had to complete the task without regard to morality, and it was the business of historians and philosophers to study morality, so the Chinese planes almost did not need any tactical action to disguise them, and one after another swooped down directly towards the target. bombing, strafing; Pull up, drop bombs, strafe again, and so on. Machine guns spewed tongues of fire, bombs fell one after another into the station, and some of the bombs actually went straight into the carriages, blowing up the flesh and blood inside, and the ghosts cried wolf, and the railway station was suddenly submerged in a pink blood mist and a sea of fire that covered the sky.

The bloody massacre lasted about half an hour, two trains were derailed by bombing, and the severed limbs and remains of people were littered inside and outside the station, many of whose bodies were no longer recognizable.

The officers and men of the 22nd Bomber Brigade of the Army Air Corps learned the tragic news of the Nagasaki Railway Station on the radio that night.

For the injured party, the bombing of civilians is, of course, a barbaric act against humanity and deserves to be condemned by international public opinion. But war itself is a massacre, and there is no humanity to speak of, so any words of moral condemnation and justice of war are pale and insignificant compared to the acts of war.

The detachment leader, Lieutenant Kono, felt some kind of speechless self-reproach.

Although it was not his fault that the civilian train was bombed, and the Army Aviation had done its best to attack the enemy fleet, the tragedy itself contained strong reproaches and expectations.

If the soldiers cannot destroy the enemy and protect their own women, children and children, then what is the use of the state and the people to feed the army?!

Yota Kono, a native of Satsuma, graduated from the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Tokyo, and his father was a high-ranking political official. That is, he had a fairly high social status at that time and enjoyed many enviable privileges. In the thirties, there was a strong trend of studying abroad and doing business, and many bureaucrats sent their children abroad to study. After graduating from Yota Kono University, he chose the path of joining the military without hesitation, and stepped into the door of the Imperial Aviation School to become an excellent pilot.

October 29, 1943, Sasebo, former enemy airfield

The weather continued to clear, and as soon as the morning dawned, the pilots of the 22nd Army Air Brigade assembled, having just received an order for them to take off urgently to bomb the attacking Chinese fleet.

“…… Let the enemy understand that the Yamato nation is not easy to bully casually! Fire on enemy aircraft carriers and sink them! "The commander's angry voice buzzed in the quiet sky above the aircraft carrier deck," ...... War is bloodshed, but the Yamato nation is not afraid of bloodshed, and blood debts must be repaid with blood! ”

The Commander's anger infected Lieutenant Kono and his comrades, who all felt their blood burning.

Combat sirens sounded, airfield motors roared, and bombers slid toward the runway. Lieutenant Kono's landline number is 209, and the co-pilot is Second Lieutenant Otorihisa. The Mitsubishi Ki30 "Jiuqi" light crit aircraft they drove had a bomb load of 400 kg and a combat radius of 1,700 km.

At this time, the army aviation had been participating in the war for some time, and the 22nd Brigade was responsible for patrolling, and although the pilots felt a little tired from the continuous patrol and their eyes were bloodshot, they were still full of fighting spirit and drove the planes in formation with the same hatred for the enemy.

About 30 minutes after the group took off, it entered the open sea, and in the distance it could see the plumes of artillery smoke rising from the battlefield on the sea, and some large and small enemy ships in the farther sea were gray shadows. The lead aircraft began to climb high, giving a combat signal "search for the aircraft carrier, ready to attack".

The "97" light bombers pulled away, the escort fighters had already occupied the altitude overhead, and Lieutenant Kono followed the long plane to climb into the air, and then searched for the target with wide eyes.

The enemy ship was in front of him, and the Chinese were firing at the fleet, and their planes stopped on the aircraft carrier to load bombs, refuel, and then flew into the sky with great momentum, and the planes quietly approached the enemy fleet under the cover of the sun.

“…… Ensign Big Bird, open the safety and get ready to drop the bomb! Lieutenant Kono ordered without looking back.

"Yes! …… Be sure to blow up the warship of the Shina people to the bottom of the sea! The bombardier, Second Lieutenant Otorihisa, replied loudly.

An inspiring moment of truth is on the horizon. Because for a few more minutes, no matter whether the Chinese fleet discovers or intercepts the bomber group, they will not be able to escape the taste of the bombs falling from the sky. The thought of throwing heavy bombs on the deck of an arrogant enemy aircraft carrier, and blasting their planes, pilots, and sailors into the sea, filled the pilot's heart with uncontrollable excitement and joy.

However, at this time, the "209" aircraft unfortunately suffered a serious mechanical failure. The engine suddenly stopped in the air, and the cabin was filled with choking blue smoke.

It was an unexpected but inevitable flight accident.

"Mitsubishi" KI30 "Ninety-Seven" light crit is a light bomber, this light bomber was put into production in 1936, put into use in large quantities in 1938, and was also very active in the early days of the Pacific War, mainly used to implement more accurate dive bombing, this light dive bomber was also exported to Thailand, is a very important bomber of the army.

After the outbreak of the Pacific War, due to the frequent bombing missions of this aircraft, there was not enough time between battles for major repairs and maintenance, and there were not enough spare parts to replace on time. It's like a car that is not maintained on time will inevitably cause accidents, or a person who has been suffering from illness for many years will inevitably be exhausted.

“…… Sir! The fire continues to spread, what do we do? The young Second Lieutenant Birdie could not hold his breath and cried out in panic.

"Hold on! …… I'll try to restart, you put out the fire in the cabin. Lieutenant Kono was oozing beads of sweat on his head.

The pilot's efforts soon failed.

(To be continued)