Episode 89 Bombing of a Thousand Planes

At 4:55 a.m. on November 27, the central command hall of the Purple Mountain Fortress fell silent, and in the last five minutes, from the headquarters to the front-line troops, units at all levels had been arranged, and everyone was holding their breath and waiting, waiting for the order issued from Nanjing five minutes later.

In the center of the hall, Zhu Yourong stood in a military costume, with countless eyes on his body. She slowly took out an opened, flattened cigarette case from her pocket and held it up for everyone to see.

The story of this cigarette box is now known to women and children in Daming. The poem on this cigarette box is also widely circulated in Daming. It is well known that the "original cultural relics" have always been regarded as treasures by Her Majesty the Empress and properly stored.

At this moment, Zhu Yourong took it out again. Only Zhu Yourong's excited voice echoed in the hall:

"There is a saying that I have said many times, and you have heard it many times. That is: our Northern Expedition is not for land, not for resources, not for improving the geopolitical situation. …… Our Northern Expedition is so that all our northern compatriots will not have to flee south in the future.

"It's like what is written on this cigarette box...... Jun lives south of the Yangtze River, and his ministers live in the north of the Yangtze River. Dai Sijun did not see you, and drank the water of the Yangtze River together...... When will this water stop? When has this hatred ended? I only hope that the king's heart will be like a minister's heart, and he will live up to his loyalty.

"Everyone knows about this cigarette box, and they all know this poem. This poem was written to me by an unknown compatriot in the north. He asked me, "When will this water stop?" When has this hatred ended? …… I can finally answer him today: this water is closed today, and this hatred is over today! …… Today, I stand here to declare that we have only one strategic determination in this second phase of our military operation, and the only strategic determination - that is, to completely eliminate the criminal Manchu regime! If you don't destroy the captives, you will never withdraw your troops! ”

……

The middle and lower-level officers in the hall were still immersed in excitement, but Zhang Zhaoxian and Xiang Xiaoqiang's generals were taken aback: "If you don't destroy the Qing captives, you will never withdraw your troops"? Why is Her Majesty so arrogant? …… When I was in a meeting and making a plan, I never took this as a strategic decision! This is simply Her Majesty's temporary intention and self-imposed determination!

Several core generals looked at each other, and they all looked at each other.

Zhu Yourong said:

"I'm here, and I want to thank him."

As he spoke, he turned to Xiang Xiaoqiang and looked at him with a smile. All the eyes in the hall immediately turned to Xiang Xiaoqiang.

Zhu Yourong looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang, with a hint of tenderness in his eyes that could only be seen between the two, and said with a smile:

"Yes, you rescued the 12 crew members of the Grasshopper. This cigarette case was also brought back to me by you. Now, in front of all the generals and comrades, I want to promise you one thing. …… Do you remember on D-Day, which is also the time when I called you and finally read you a side poem? ”

“…… Yes. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang half-opened his mouth and looked at Zhu Yourong blankly, and Zhu Yourong's extremely sullen voice on the phone that day flashed in his mind:

“…… On the day of the return of the edict, I and Mr. will untie their robes ......"

Damn, this girl is really good at hiding people's eyes. This is really a "side poem", the first seven sentences are all "the general is bold in the northern expedition, and the waist is crossing, and the autumn water goose feather knife" is like this, and the last sentence "I and Mr. untie the battle robe", which made Zhu Yourong read it to the bones.

Xiang Xiaoqiang swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said:

"I remember."

Zhu Yourong smiled and nodded, his eyes a little hot. She took a deep breath slightly, tried to control her serious, sacred expression, and said:

"If our strategic resolve comes true this time, I will fulfill the contents of that poem."

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at her blankly, his chest beating wildly, and his brain was ecstatic.

Promised...... She finally agreed...... She's mine again......

After only a moment, Xiang Xiaoqiang also tried to control his expression with the same divine seriousness, and said in a deep voice:

"Minister—understand, minister—obey the Divine Commandment."

The generals and leading officers in the hall watched the two of them play dumb riddles, and they were all confused. The few who dared to guess on the top were also dispelled by Zhu Yourong's "side poem". - No, think about it too much, right? It's obviously a side poem, but what people say is a side poem!

At five o'clock in the morning, the second hand of the big clock above the hall had completed the last few squares, Zhu Yourong reached out and pressed the button, and a sharp electric bell spread throughout the hall.

Immediately there was an uproar in the hall, and the commanders of the various units were grabbing their phones and giving orders to attack. - Operation "Land Tour" began.

……

After receiving the order to attack, the ground crews of the major airports pulled out the wooden blocks in front of the wheels of the bombers and waved glow sticks to give the "take-off" order.

The wind blowing from countless propellers swept through the airport, and one behemoth roared one by one, slowly climbing from the lawn to the runway, crawling, accelerating, sprinting, and finally leaving the ground and rushing into the dark night sky.

In the western theater, 180 Swan bombers and 150 Osprey bombers took off with a roar one after another, each with a flashing red light on their wings, climbing and forming in the dark night sky like a cloud of ink, waiting for new bombers to continue to rise from the ground and join the group.

On the ground, the signal lights on the conning tower are constantly shooting three long and one short beams into the sky, which means "victory".

This land, which had not been liberated by Nanming Xin, was shrouded in a low roar. As the number of bombers circling over several airfields increased, the formation became larger and more complete, and a little dark blue appeared in the east, and the whole sky was no longer completely dead black. In ten minutes, the first light of dawn will pierce the darkness.

Within an hour, the visibility of the ground will be very ideal.

In an hour's time, in the western battlefield, the bombing of the Qing Army's Shanxi Corps by 180 horizontal bombers and 150 dive bombers will begin. After the start of the western battlefield, 280 horizontal bombers and 630 dive bombers will also take off and fly over the Central Plains Corps of the Qing Army in the eastern battlefield. Because they were shorter and had a shorter range from the Qing positions.

This time, the Ming army used all the air power it could must, trying to maintain a large density over the Qing army's Central Plains defense line, or rather, the density of the past.

In one day, 1,240 bombers were put into combat, not counting fighters. This is a veritable "bombing of a thousand planes". Nearly a quarter of these bombers were new to the factory during the month, and in addition to the traditional "Osprey", there were 63 new aircraft that rolled off the assembly line - the Stuka dive bomber, which was called the "Vulture Eagle" in Daming.

……

In the dark and cold sky, in the bomber cabin, the crew members were dressed like big cotton bags, wearing big leather gloves and oxygen masks, lying on their stomachs or sitting at their respective posts.

The fleet is heading north. Amid the loud noise and vibrations, the hearts of the occupants were about to jump out with excitement as the high-altitude currents jolted from time to time.

Through the cold glass cover, it was still pitch black above, below, and on the left. On the right, however, there is already light. In the faint twilight, he could barely see the huge black figure of his right friend.

Soon, however, as the time of the flight watch approached six o'clock, the visibility outside the glass cover almost suddenly improved.

The right head was already a piece of fish belly white, and soon a pale red appeared. The sun is coming out. The field of vision below widened, the land under the control of the Northern Qing Dynasty turned from black to gray, and all kinds of farmland, roads, villages, rivers, and hills gradually became clear. From time to time, a large cloud floated under the belly.

Each crew member was looking around, excitedly watching the friendly plane above their heads, under them, and on their left and right hands.

A group of several planes, a group of several and a large group, and then several large groups in a super-large group...... Dense, far and near, layer by layer, innumerable.

As the sky got brighter and brighter, everyone became more and more excited, and it was simply exciting. Such a huge formation, not to mention that the Qing army has never seen it, even the young men of the Ming army on these planes, they themselves have never seen it. Didn't even think about it. At this moment, everyone was sincerely proud, felt their strength, and felt the heartbeat of their comrades-in-arms from front to back, up and down, left and right, and across the air.

These Army Aviation boys have always considered themselves "the pride of the sky". At this moment, this feeling has another layer: I am not only the pride of the sky, but also the lucky one, who can use such a terrifying power with my own hands to witness the victory with my own eyes.

……

At six o'clock, the bomber group flew over the heads of the Ming army in Shanxi one after another. There was a sea of cheers on the ground. Of course, the pilots in the sky could not hear the cheers on the ground. However, all the troops spontaneously flashed their signal lights to the sky, three short and one long:

Victory...... Victory...... Victory......

At a quarter past six o'clock, the three bomber groups met in the sky over Pingyao County and formed a large group of 410 planes, which went straight to Taiyuan, 80 kilometers to the north.

At this moment, the entire Pingyao County was shrouded in a low roar. The people outside the city in Pingyao County put on their clothes one after another, stood in the courtyard, looked at the sky, and stared blankly at the scene they had never seen in their lives, and they didn't understand what was going on for a while.

Those officials of the Northern Qing Dynasty, the military and police gendarmes also stared at the sky in a daze, their necks were sore, and a cool breath rose from their backs, rushing straight to their necks, and cold sweat came down. …… Then, the quick response had already begun to pack up and contact friends in the military and police circles, ready to ask them to escape at any time.

At 6:30, a large group of planes flew over Taiyuan City. Then, they were divided into two groups and flew to the northeast and northwest of Taiyuan City respectively.

……

At 6:35, the city and plains were no longer under the belly of the bomber, the terrain began to undulate, and the vast mountains and forests were unfolded in front of them.

Although it was early winter, it was obvious that the mountains and forests were still densely vegetated, and everything hidden in them was impermeable. It's just that these forests are no longer the usual dark green, but have turned earthy yellow, earthy red, and gray.

Under the dry north wind of late autumn in Shanxi, the following is no longer a forest, but an endless stretch of dry firewood.

So far, not a single black cloud has exploded under the swarm. This shows that the Qing army below is not prepared at all. …… It may also be that you have just received a warning, but in the dense forest there is no vision at all, and the anti-aircraft guns are simply not usable.

At the front of the group, the captain of the pilot bomber broke the radio silence and issued an order to the whole group, "Everyone is in position, ready to drop bombs with me."

The bomb magazines of the bombers were opened, and the howling cold wind suddenly filled the entire plane.

The bombardier's eyes are firmly on the sight, his thumb is on the red button, and he is staring at the crosshair in the sight with a slight vibration. Underneath the cross target are the undulating mountains, and the yellow and red firewood on the mountains. Oh no, it's the woods.

The bombardier took one last look up at the flight chart, estimated it, and shouted:

"Enter the designated area! Ready to drop the bomb! …… Preparation...... Preparation...... Put!!! ”

In the mournful whistling sound, 82 large "hailstones" poured down in a crowded manner, rolled in the air a few times, and gradually spread out into a large area, and then, like a meteor shower, roared into the woods.

A large forest on the ground was like a boiling pot, and the dense smoke of the explosion caused all the big and small trees to be blown up and thrown up, burning with a fierce fire, and no one was spared.

Immediately afterwards, the 180 Swan bombers of the two groups dropped bombs, and wave after wave of bombs swept across all the hills north of Taiyuan like a storm.

Smoke billowed from below, and a forest fire was blazing. The dry and strong north wind was pulled stronger and stronger by the fire, blowing tongues of fire and quickly sweeping southward.

Almost instantly, dozens of square kilometers of mountains and forests were completely immersed in explosions and skyrocketing flames. More than ten meters high, flames swept from north to south, and the smoke almost covered half the day.

In the fire, there were explosions of large or small explosions, pillars of fire and fireballs rose into the sky, and from time to time various parts, tires, and human limbs could be seen thrown into the air, and then fell down on fire.

And at this moment, the "hail bombs" of the Swan bombers are still being thrown down in waves.

Among the large and small explosions on the ground, there is an even more powerful explosion. — or rather, this is not an ordinary explosion, but an "explosion" with a doubling intensity of flames and smoke.

This is the fuel dumping place of the Qing army. Dozens, hundreds of barrels of gasoline and diesel are piled together. These fuel dumps were either directly hit by bombs or ignited by fire, anyway, it was like hell had opened, and the black and white impermanence of the bull head and horse face was flying into the sky with the billowing black smoke, swaying in the air at a height of dozens of meters. The big oil drums were blown into the sky, rolled with flames, and were thrown into the distant mountains and forests, where they exploded, quickly igniting a large area of woods.

These fuel canisters are no less useful than incendiary bombs.

Thick smoke obscured the sky, and most of the view was blocked. But in the gap of the smoke, you can see the flames soaring into the sky. The flames were so fierce and so high that almost all the boys in the plane had the illusion that they were about to lick their belly.

……

Nearly ten minutes passed. On the bomber, lying in front of the glass cover and looking down, there is a spectacular scene below.

…… Or rather, a miserable scene.

Large swaths of the woods were completely charred and burned bald. On the black ground, there were clumps of black stuff all over the place. It is impossible to tell which ones are charred trees, which are charred equipment, which are charred people, and which are charred animals.

But even in these blackened mountains, there were still large clusters of flames rising into the sky. It was the fuel of the Qing army, and it was still burning vigorously, as if it would not be finished until the land under him was burned.

In many places where the fire was weak, large groups of Qing soldiers ran frantically, regardless of whether there was a road under their feet or not. Some of them had a fire burning on their bodies and just rolled down the cliff. More Qing soldiers panicked, and a large number of falls were killed and injured. Dive bombers and fighters in the sky began to show their skills at this time. They let out a terrible scream and pounced on them for a second kill.

The 100-kilogram bomb of the dive bomber showed its power. Each one thrown into the woods immediately has the same effect as a volcanic eruption. It was almost a landslide, and large swaths of trees and earth and stones were thrown high into the sky, and it looked as if half of the mountain had been cut off.