In the past three days, Cai Jiheng has been scrubbing planes at Yangjie Airport, and according to Chennault's order, he has to scrub more than 40 P-40 and P-51 fighters on the tarmac one by one, and Cai Jiheng has only completed eight planes after working hard.

He had never wiped an airplane before, this kind of work should be done by ground crew, how could a pilot who is the pride of the sky do such a rough job? The army is like this, every order issued by the commander is a holy decree, whether you are happy or unhappy, anyway, you can't resist, you must honestly carry it out, even if you are asked to dig a hole today and fill it tomorrow, you must also carry out it meticulously, and you must not bargain. Cai Jiheng thought while wiping the plane, no wonder those old Flying Tiger members stopped doing it as soon as they heard that they were going to be transferred to active duty, they were volunteers, their identities were ordinary people, and they could be completely unconstrained by military discipline as much as they worked.

Speaking from the heart, Cai Jiheng would like to be a volunteer pilot, he can not be afraid of death, he can not care about money, and he is not rare as an officer, the only thing he needs is to do what he likes uncontrollably, at least no one forces him to wipe the plane.

Scrubbing the plane is a very tedious job, the P-40N fighter does not look big, but it is really difficult to scrub the plane from head to toe, the cockpit canopy and vertical tail on the top of the plane need to be pedaled on a ladder to be able to be on, and the transparent cockpit cover of plexiglass must be wiped bright and shiny, without a trace of stains. After a few days, Cai Jiheng was tired and had back pain. What's worse is that those air and ground staff who passed by, as soon as they saw him pouting his ass and snorting, they burst into a burst of gloating laughter, and pointed behind him, which made Cai Jiheng very annoyed.

The 23rd Fighter Group has five squadrons under its jurisdiction, which are distributed in an airspace of 2,000 kilometers from Yunnanyi and Kunming in southwestern Yunnan to Guilin in Guangxi and Hengyang and Lingling in Hunan, forming two operational airspaces in the east and west. The two squadrons at the Kunming and Yunnan post bases were mainly defensive, defending the "Hump Route" and monitoring Japanese aircraft in both directions of Vietnam and Burma. There are often two or three squadrons stationed in the east, mainly offensive, and the combat area starts from Wuhan in the north, along the Yangtze River route to Nanchang, and reaches Guangzhou and ** in the south.

Opposite the apron where Cai Jiheng works is the apron of the 308 Bomber Group, where rows of B-24D "Liberator" bombers are parked, the fuselage of this heavy bomber is very large, there are four engines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney, the range can reach 3540 kilometers, the bomb load is 3.6 tons, and the crew is 10 people, which belongs to long-range strategic bombers. As soon as Cai Jiheng saw this kind of plane, he secretly rejoiced, General Chennault was simply too merciful, he just let himself scrub the petite P-40, if he replaced this kind of big guy, it would be a big trouble, with him Cai Jiheng alone, it would be good to be able to wipe a bomber in a week.

There is also a branch of the American Red Cross at Sheep Street Airport, since it is a medical institution that saves lives and helps the wounded, of course, medical staff are indispensable, so those Chinese and beautiful nurses wearing white nurse uniforms have become a beautiful scenery of the base. It is said that when the Red Cross branch was first established, the number of sick people at the base increased suddenly, and even many pilots showed symptoms of physical discomfort and often lined up in long queues outside the waiting room.

The head of the Red Cross branch is Mr. Steven Watt. In order to enrich the spare time life of US officers and men, Mr. Watt proposed the establishment of a US military club at the Sheep Street Base, and this suggestion was immediately widely answered. With the joint efforts of Chinese workers and American engineers, the club's internal facilities were successfully completed at the Red Cross branch site, and a very good tennis court was also built. Since then, it has become a gathering place for US officers and soldiers, and it appears as a friend's face, using the form of "family" as a bond, so that the tense nerves of US officers and soldiers who are tortured by war every day can be temporarily relaxed.

On the third day of Cai Jiheng's report, a C-47 transport plane landed at the Sheep Street Airport, and the labor army troupe from the mainland of the United States came to the base to give a condolence performance, when a group of beautiful women dressed up in flowers walked down the escalator, the US military air and ground staff who were present were so excited that they almost went crazy, and a US military sergeant rushed up desperately to hug the famous cover girl Lois, who was his dream girl for many years, but the sergeant was unlucky, He was immediately thrown back into the crowd like a football ball by two tall American military policemen.

Lieutenant Dennis and Cai Jiheng, pilots of the 308 Bomber Group, were drinking friends, and he had an artistic nickname called "Pipe Organ," and the two met at a pilot party in Kunming two years ago.

On the first day of Cai Jiheng's wipe of the plane, in order to show his friendship, Dennis came to help him wipe the plane, and kept saying that he couldn't bear to let his old friend be punished alone, but Dennis wiped it for less than an hour and couldn't bear it: "Dear crocodile, I'm really sorry, I remember, my blood pressure has not been normal, the doctor said that people with high blood pressure are not suitable for climbing ladders, I am very dizzy now, I'm really sorry!" ”

Cai Jiheng said sarcastically: "If you climb a two-meter-high ladder, your blood pressure will be high, and the B-24 can fly 9,000 meters high, I'm so strange, your blood vessels didn't burst?" ”

Born into a wealthy family in New Jersey, Dennis was pampered since he was a child, not to mention labor, and he did not even participate in general fitness sports, but only liked to go for a ride in a bubble bar or drive a sports car in the wild. He became a pilot entirely out of love for flying, and in his own words, flying an airplane is a thousand times more fun than driving a sports car. On the whole, Organ was a very good fellow, he was brave in battle, skillful, warm for his friends, and he had few faults except for some laziness.

After the arrival of the Labor Army Troupe, the base was filled with a joyful atmosphere, and wherever the flowery Labor Army girls went, there were a group of admirers following them, and these ** American soldiers tried every means to offer their hospitality to the beauties, wishful thinking in the hope of creating some love stories, but it seemed to have little effect.

In the evening, the organ found Cai Jiheng again: "Crocodile, why are you still wiping the plane?" Put down your rags, hurry up and change your clothes, please, dress up nicely, I have cologne, you can spray some. There's a performance tonight, do you know who will appear? Let me tell you, there is the famous singer Ann Taylor, and Ruth Hilton. God, yesterday in the dining room, Miss Hilton and I were only separated by a table, I could even see every eyebrow of hers, this is really a beauty, to be so close to Miss Hilton, that is not everyone's luck, to be honest, I have fallen hopelessly in love with her! Hurry up, crocodile, let's go together, get your seat early! ”

Cai Jiheng lazily wiped the horizontal tail: "I'm not interested, isn't it just some Broadway lap dance?" What's there to see about this? Those women are covered in all kinds of feathers, bouncing around on the stage, kicking and kicking their thighs, that's all at best, right? Besides, I suspect you don't care what dances or shows people do, but you are interested in women's thighs. I'm not wrong, right? ”

The organ didn't care about Cai Jiheng's cynicism: "Crocodile, let's go and see, don't you think our life is boring?" I'm so fucking annoyed, I want to vomit every day when I see this damn B-24, and I even have fucking dreams of flaker bullets from anti-aircraft guns scurrying around in front of my eyes, and if I go on like this, I'm going to go crazy. ”

Cai Jiheng shook his head and said resolutely: "Don't go." Organ, you know, the beauty you see is nothing in my eyes, and it is less attractive than a bottle of red label whisky. I don't like Caucasian women, it seems to me that their skin is rough and every pore of sweat is clear at a glance, which easily reminds me of some kind of leather goods......"

The organ was puzzled: "Leather goods? What leather? ”

Cai Jiheng said with a sneering smile: "Organ, you've always seen pigskin shoes, right?" It has a very thick mane on it. ”

The organ suddenly became angry: "Crocodile, you are real racist, if you don't go, you won't go, but I won't allow you to slander the goddess in my heart......"

"Dear Dennis, don't be so angry, it's not racist, I'm just expressing my own aesthetics, no one has stopped you from pursuing Miss Hilton, what are you excited about? Go get your seat! Also, I would like to remind you that you are to enter the auditorium three hours early. As far as I know, there are at least 100 of the air and ground crews of the 23rd and 308th Brigades who have unrequited longings for Miss Hilton. Cai Jiheng sarcastically laughed.

The U.S. Army Club at the Sheep Street base is a makeshift house made of planks and iron sheets, which looks simple from the outside, no different from other sheds at the airport, but it is unique when you walk inside. The club's founder, Mr. Steven Watt, has set up the club in a moody setting, and the club is divided into several areas, including a bar, a small ballroom, a card room and a pachinko room, and a tennis court in an open space outside the club. This club is mainly set up for US military air and ground crews, and Chinese pilots are also allowed to have fun here. Due to cultural differences, Chinese pilots have little interest in dancing and billiards, preferring to gather in bars or poker rooms.

After dinner, Cai Jiheng walked into the bar in the club, he knew that it would be quiet tonight, because all the noisy American pilots had gone to see the Lao Jun performance, and it was the Chinese pilots who were having fun in the bar tonight.

The bar is localized, looking like any small-town bar in the United States, with a row of barstools in front of the curved bar, dartboards on the walls, movie posters of Hollywood actresses plastered on all four walls, and a cream-white tabletop piano in one corner of the hall.

Cai Jiheng approached the bar, just asked for a rum, when he heard someone excitedly calling him by his nickname, he looked back and saw seven or eight Chinese pilots sitting around a table by the window, half of them he knew, all of them were Cai Jiheng's classmates or cadets when he was training in Lahore, India, after graduating from the aviation school, he was assigned to serve in various units, and they were not in the same war zone, and they had not had the opportunity to meet each other for more than two years.

Cai Jiheng walked excitedly towards the group of pilots with a wine glass, calling out their nicknames when they were at the aviation school. The first to jump up and hug him was Ding Zhentian, nicknamed "Pirate".

The pirate hugged Cai Jiheng affectionately: "Crocodile, we heard that you were here two days ago, and we haven't had time to look for you, we have been busy in the past few days, and we have to take off two or three times a day. ”

Cai Jiheng was taken aback: "Oh my God, you all went to Hanoi?" What are the targets of the air strikes? ”

Another classmate of the Air Force Military Academy was Ji Yunpu, whose nickname was "Bull" when he was in the aviation school, Ji Yunpu replied with a smile: "Bombing the Japanese airfield and military warehouses, last night, we blew up 25 Zero planes on the tarmac, it's really enjoyable!" ”

Cai Jiheng was also very excited: "Is there a fighter escort for your B-24?" ”

The bull pointed to several pilots next to him and said: "These people are all from the 23rd Brigade, and they are old partners with our 308th Brigade, and they escort us every time we sail." ”

A pilot came over and punched Cai Jiheng in the chest: "Crocodile, you kid forgot about me a long time ago, right?" ”

Cai Jiheng raised his hand and punched him back, and said with a smile: "Lei Jintao, nicknamed '**', I heard that you have shot down four enemy planes, and one more will become a trump card!" Why, I heard that all the fighters of your 23rd Brigade have been replaced with 'Mustangs'[1]

Formula? It's so awesome. ”

Lei Jintao said: "Most of them have been replaced, don't you say, the performance of the P-51 is indeed a big improvement over the P-40, the range alone has increased by three times, and the maximum range with the auxiliary fuel tank can reach more than 3,000 kilometers, which is enough to cover the B-17 bomber for the longest range attack." ”

Cai Jiheng sighed: "It's really a comparison of goods to be thrown, our Sino-American mixed group is still all P-40N, who knows that we will have to wait until the Year of the Monkey to change clothes." ”

A short pilot took off his military hat and sunglasses, revealing a scar on his face: "Crocodile, look here, do you still know me?" ”

Cai Jiheng took a closer look and asked suspiciously, "Are you ...... Sun Zhengqing? ”

Sun Zhengqing smiled, revealing a mouth full of white teeth: "That's right, I'm Sun Zhengqing, nicknamed 'glider'." Count you crocodile with a conscience, remember your old classmates. ”

Cai Jiheng looked at his face in surprise: "Glider, I haven't seen you for two years, how did you become like this?" Is it burned? ”

"What's so strange about this, the plane caught fire during the crash landing, and it was like this when the waiters got me out of the cockpit. Of course, compared to the rest of my classmates in the aviation school, I was not the most unlucky. Do you remember Zhang Shuguang? This kid was hit by more than 50 bullets in an air battle, and he didn't feel anything at the time, but after the plane landed, he climbed out of the cockpit, and he felt that something was wrong, and he fell from the plane to the ground, and I just got off the plane at that time, and rushed over to check, and guess what? It was a coincidence that a 7.7 caliber bullet knocked out all two testicles of this kid. Sun Zhengqing described it lightly.

Cai Jiheng sighed: "Alas, this guy is really unlucky, when he was in the aviation school, he slept on my top bunk, and he would fall off the top bunk when he slept at night, I had seen him fall off at least three times, and I was still thinking about it, how to fall off after sleeping, what if I was flying a fighter?" Don't say it three times, it's enough to drop it once. And what about later? Where did Zhang Shuguang go later? ”

The pirate said: "Where else can he go, he can only retire from active service, and this war is over early for him." Now he is in a sanatorium by the Dianchi Lake in Kunming, and if you have the opportunity to go to Kunming, you can go and see him. ”

"Pirate" Ding Zhentian was good friends with Cai Jiheng when he was in the aviation school, this is a typical son-in-law, a rich man. My father was a big entrepreneur in Shanghai, owned several yarn factories and hardware factories, and also had some industries in the United States. In 1940, Ding Zhentian was in his third year at Yale Law School.

During the winter vacation of this year, Ding Zhentian went to New York to visit his aunt and met Chennault at a private party, Chennault's reputation at that time was not as prominent as it was later, his volunteer air force was only somewhat famous in China, but it was unknown in the United States, and even his rank of colonel was awarded by China, and his status in the United States was just a retired Air Force captain. Colonel Chennault briefed Ding Zhentian on China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Flying Tigers under his command. Ding Zhentian is a temperamental person, once he is impulsive, he no longer considers any way out, even if he decides to interrupt his studies and return to China to join the Flying Tigers. Ding Zhentian said to Chennault quite arrogantly, you give me a P-40, tell me how to fly it, and I promise that I can fly the plane to participate in the battle in two months. Chennault felt very funny, and he unceremoniously told Ding Zhentian that if a third-year student of Yale Law School joined the Flying Tigers, let alone a pilot, he was afraid that he would not be qualified to be a ground mechanic, and if you wanted to fly a fighter plane to fight the Japanese, you would have to honestly go to an aviation school for a year or two.

Ding Zhentian heeded Chennault's advice and returned to China to be admitted to the Air Force Military Academy, first in Kunming and then transferred to the Lahore branch in India, where he studied and trained honestly for two years. At the time of graduation assignment, Ding Zhentian and several other classmates were assigned to the 14th Bomber Group of the 308th Air Force. What annoyed him was that as a fighter pilot, when he arrived at the 308 group, he inexplicably became the co-pilot of the B-24 bomber, that is, unless the pilot died, he had no chance to fly the bomber alone, and his task was always to sit in the passenger seat and familiarize himself with the aircraft performance.

Cai Jiheng also felt incredible, what were these American commanders thinking? Why send a valuable fighter pilot to a bomber as a co-pilot? It's strange that there is no explanation for this.

Ding Zhentian likes to drink a cocktail called "Pretty in Pink", which is a habit developed in the United States. In just a few moments, he had already drunk five glasses of wine, and the more he drank, the more he talked, and he complained loudly: "Crocodile, do you think it's easy to be a co-pilot on the B-24?" I'm telling you, and I'm even more scared. You think, the pilot is busy driving the plane to dive, the navigator is looking at the course, the shooting non-commissioned officer is busy shooting the approaching enemy fighter, the bombardier is calculating the timing of the bomb, and the mechanical non-commissioned officer is maintaining the operation of the machinery. The entire B-24 crew of 10 crew members, each with their own work to do, but the co-pilot is idle, and if he is idle, he has to look out of the window, okay, it doesn't matter what he sees, it scares my scalp numb, outside the window is like a New Year's fireworks, a string of colorful tracer bullets are whizzing in front of your eyes, and I don't know how many anti-aircraft guns on the ground are playing against you. Crocodile, I won't tell you, this job is really not done by people, people with poor psychological quality, they will go into a madhouse if they fly a few times, and every time they come back from a voyage, my underwear is soaked with sweat, and I am not afraid of your jokes, this is a cold sweat that scares out. ”

The bull drained the glass in one gulp and beckoned to the waiter, "Another glass of gin!" He turned his head to Cai Jiheng and said: "The pirate is right, this kind of work is really boring, the flight of the bomber is not just a sight, you must fly it yourself to understand, when the co-pilot can't catch the flight, not to mention, the danger of death is not a lot." Last week we went to bomb the Hankou airport, and when we returned home, we were intercepted by a large number of Zeros, crocodile, you didn't see the situation at that time, our seven-plane bombers were escorted by 12 P-40N fighters, do you know how many Zeros intercepted us? Tell you, a whole 40. Oh my God, the sky is full of Zeros, P-40s and Zeros are chasing and strafing everywhere in front of you, tracer bullets are flying all over the sky, and each P-40 has to fight with two or three Zeros, how can you care about protecting the bombers? Now it's time for the bomber to be out of luck. I looked to the left of the cab and saw that one of the B-24s was on fire and was stalling and falling, and when I turned my head to the right, another B-24 was also on fire, and I saw that the co-pilot in the cockpit had turned into a fireball...... Alas, we were beaten badly that day, only two B-24s and four P-40s returned, and the rest were all shot down, and it just so happened that the pirates and I were on these two B-24s. It's lucky, or I wouldn't have had a chance to drink here! ”

Cai Jiheng wordlessly raised his wine glass, touched the bull's wine glass, and the two drank it all.

Sun Zhengqing asked: "Crocodile, have you officially transferred to the 23rd Brigade?" Did you cause something in the Sino-US mixed group? ”

Cai Jiheng replied casually: "Hey, what can I do?" It's just an ordinary transfer, probably General Chennault wants to reuse me. ”

The pirate scoffed, "The crocodile is still the same, and he always feels good about himself." As far as I know, the 23rd Brigade does not seem to lack commanders, but it lacks ground crews to wipe aircraft. ”

Cai Jiheng said with a smile: "It seems that you have heard about it, yes, I have changed to ground staff now, and I am responsible for the cleaning of the appearance of the aircraft." You may not know, but I used to learn to paint, but then it was buried, and now it has a place to use. Brother, I'm going to change all the shark mouths on the fighter jet to the cherry mouth of a beautiful woman, how about this idea? ”

Sun Zhengqing said: "I don't want a beauty's mouth, you can draw a pig Bajie mouth on my plane, I like Zhu Bajie." ”

As soon as he mentioned the plane, the bull became angry again: "What is this called?" I haven't touched a fighter plane since I graduated from aviation school, I even dreamed of having a P-51, I haven't flown a fighter jet, so is it still called a pilot? Pirates, we still have to write an application to the Aviation Committee, and resolutely ask to be transferred to the Sino-American mixed group! ”

The pirate suddenly stabbed Cai Jiheng, he looked towards the bar and whispered, "Crocodile, look, how is this girl?" ”

Cai Jiheng glanced up and found a Chinese girl in a white nurse's skirt standing in front of the bar, whispering something to the waiter. The girl was fair-skinned and delicate-looking, she had long hair, a slender figure, and moderate proportions, especially her two long legs, straight and sexy.

Cai Jiheng remembered that this girl was his nutritionist, named Shen Xingyun, and she had talked to him a few days ago.

Cai Jiheng said to the pirate casually: "Isn't she nutritionist Shen Xingyun?" We've met. ”

The pirate looked at the girl intently and said, "Crocodile, this girl is of the delicate type, and although she is not very stunningly beautiful, she has a lot of taste. For Shen Xingyun, you have to taste it carefully at close range, just like tasting a fine red wine, you don't feel anything when you first enter it, and the longer it goes, the richer and more mellow the taste. Of course, this is also different from person to person, and to appreciate this kind of woman, you must first have a taste that is different from ordinary people. ”

"I say, pirate, when did you study women? You didn't seem to show any talent in this area when you were in aviation school, did you? According to what you said, the longer the time, the more mellow the taste, have you tasted this glass of red wine? ”

The pirate said gloomily, "No, there is no chance yet. ”

Cai Jiheng said with a smile: "Oh, it's unrequited love for a long time, so why are you still sitting here and talking, why don't you take action?" It's not like you. Pirate, your sense of attack is too poor, it's all because you became the co-pilot of a bomber, if the pilot of the fighter doesn't know how to attack, then wait to be beaten! ”

A waiter walked over, bowed to Cai Jiheng and said, "Mr. Cai, Miss Shen Xingyun asked if you have time?" She has something she wants to talk to you about. ”

Cai Jiheng smiled: "I have too much time, please Miss Shen come and sit!" He turned to Ding Zhentian and said, "Pirate, didn't you say that you don't have a chance?" Now I'm going to create opportunities for you, it's up to you to do it, remember my advice, be sure to be aggressive! ”

The waiter led Shen Xingyun over, and Cai Jiheng, Ding Zhentian and others all stood up politely and nodded to her. Shen Xingyun gave a military salute to the pilots and whispered, "Hello sir! ”

Cai Jiheng sat down after returning the salute, he pointed to the chair and said, "Miss Shen, please take a seat, is it a cup of Coke or juice?" ”

Shen Xingyun sat down very generously and said, "Thank you!" All I need is a glass of water. ”

Ding Zhentian pointed at Cai Jiheng and said, "Miss Shen, crocodile and I are classmates in the aviation school, I heard that you already know each other?" ”

Shen Xingyun frowned and asked, "Why is Mr. Cai called a crocodile?" How ugly. I don't like reptiles the most, they're so ugly. Why don't you have a cute nickname, like stupid bear or something? ”

The pirate and Sun Zhengqing and the others laughed, and Sun Zhengqing said, "Crocodile, you can consider this suggestion." ”

Cai Jiheng said with a straight face: "Miss Shen, you may not know that Mr. Ding Zhentian has admired you for a long time, but he is very timid and has not yet had the courage to express it to you in person, can Miss Shen give him a chance?" ”

Shen Xingyun smiled politely, nodded to Ding Zhentian, and then said to Cai Jiheng: "Mr. Cai, I remember you said that a woman should not appear in the combat unit, so it is easy to affect morale. ”

Cai Jiheng shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's true, it is precisely because of Miss Shen's appearance that Mr. Ding has some mental problems, so he needs the help of medical personnel like Miss Shen." ”

Shen Xingyun stared at Ding Zhentian with a smile and said, "Yo, what's wrong with your spirit?" That's dangerous enough, Mr. Ding is piloting a bomber, don't throw ** on your own head. ”

The pilots burst out laughing.

Cai Jiheng said: "So Miss Shen must help him, the B-24D bomber has a bomb load of more than 8,000 pounds, and it is not a joke to really throw the wrong target." Please, Miss Shen! ”

Shen Xingyun said quietly: "As for Mr. Ding's mental illness, I can ask Dr. Smith to diagnose it later." Captain, I need to talk to you now! ”

Cai Jiheng said: "No, this is not good, I have a girlfriend, she will be jealous." ”

The pilots laughed again.

Shen Xingyun looked at the pilots, not annoyed at all, but whispered tolerantly: "Gentlemen, do you really think this kind of vulgar joke is funny?" Let's just disperse and don't interfere with my work, okay? ”

The girl's attitude of neither humility nor arrogance surprised the pilots, who were all well-bred young men after all, and would be rude if they continued to make noise, so they all walked away with their glasses in hand.

Only Cai Jiheng and Shen Xingyun were left in front of the table.

The Black Dragon Pond in Yuncheng is the location of the provisional 15th Army Shelter.

After Cai Jigang and Liu Changyi broke through, they rushed here to contain the remnants of the new 29th Division. When the news of the heroic martyrdom of Master Lu Gongliang came, Cai Jigang and Liu Changyi were so sad that they couldn't speak for a long time. Professional soldiers are different from ordinary people, they are accustomed to bloodshed and death, and when they learn the news of the death of their comrades or friends, they will also calmly accept the reality and quietly chew their grief and swallow it.

The troops of the new 29th Division that broke through from the north gate and the east gate of Xuchang suffered heavy casualties, especially the troops led by Lu Gongliang were almost completely annihilated.

Liu Changyi said to Cai Jigang sadly: "Alas, it's too late to say anything, if Senior Commander Lu listened to your advice, he wouldn't be like this......"

Cai Jigang's expression was gloomy: "The authority of my position is only to play the role of deliberation, coordination, staff counsel, and morale boosting, and I have no decision-making power, and it is normal for the supreme commander of the field not to adopt my opinion, which does not blame him." I think that when Division Commander Lu decided to break out, he was ready to kill himself, and he arranged for us to go through the south gate to leave the hope of life to us......"

Liu Changyi finally couldn't hold back his tears, he covered his face with his hands: "Brother, don't say it, I can't forget the scene when Gongliang and us hugged and said goodbye when we broke up, I have known him for many years, he has always been moody and angry, and he has never been so emotional." ”

Cai Jigang stood silently in front of the window, he looked at the mountains in the distance for a long time, suppressing the grief in his heart.

Tang Enbo sent a telegram from Yexian: "It is reported that the 1st Division of the Japanese 11th Army has occupied Xinyang, and its main force is moving north from Xinyang. The rest of the provisional 15th Army, together with the 29th Army and the 87th Army, was ordered to quickly rush to the north of Yexian County and concentrate in the area of Jiaxian and Ruzhou. ”

Cai Jigang and Liu Changyi looked at each other, they really couldn't figure out what Tang Enbo was thinking, what was the significance of this move? Originally, the 29th Army and the 87th Army were deployed in southern Henan in order to block the Japanese 11th Army attacking from Hubei and prevent the Japanese army from occupying the southern section of the Pinghan Line. When Xuchang was in an emergency, Tang Enbo transferred the 29th Army and the 87th Army to Xuchang to help, the Japanese are not fools, how could they not arrange reinforcements? As a result, the 29th Army and the 87th Army were blocked, with heavy casualties, and finally Xuchang was lost, and the new 29th Division was completely annihilated. When the 29th Army and the 87th Army got rid of the Japanese resistance and wanted to return to southern Henan, Xinyang in the south was lost again.

Cai Jigang looked up to the sky and sighed: "Alas! How unfortunate was the War I zone? This pair of commanders and commanders really took the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers! ”

Liu Changyi looked at the map and scolded: "The battle has been fought like this, and the defeat is like a mountain, but if you look at the 13th Army, there is no defensive task at this time, and it has been resting in Dengfeng." We miscellaneous soldiers are not full of personnel and poorly equipped, but the commander's department will take you to the cusp. ”

Cai Jigang snorted: "I'm afraid this is the reason why we always lose the battle." There are many factions in the army, and it has even become a private army, which is only responsible for private individuals, not for the country and the nation, and it is strange if such an army can win a war to preserve its strength. ”

At this point, both of them stopped. This kind of whining can no longer be said, and once it gets out, the consequences will be serious.

Complaining is complaining, the orders of the commander's department still have to be obeyed, Liu Changyi and Cai Jigang decided to rush to Yexian with the remnants of the 29th Division that had just been contained.

Liu Changyi organized the 12 people brought by Company Commander Chen into a guard squad to be responsible for protecting Cai Jigang's safety, while Company Commander Chen arranged other duties. Company Commander Chen remembered that Tong Mantang had been promoted to sergeant squad leader when he was guarding Xuchang, and he couldn't talk at this time, so he designated Mantang as the guard squad leader.

Man Tang and Tie Zhu are very happy to stay by Cai Jigang's side, the brothers like Cai Jigang very much, they feel that as long as Cai Jigang is here, their hearts will be steady. I heard that this Chief Cai has stayed in the United States and drank foreign ink, and he is a senior official sent by Chongqing, but he speaks kindly and has no official arrogance at all, so such a chief must not be served well?

At this time, Cai Jigang didn't know that in the past few days when he and Liu Changyi rushed to Yexian with the remnants of the 29th Division, the battlefield situation had changed drastically.

In Beiping, walking east along the moat outside the Donghua Gate of the Forbidden City, not far away is the Cuimingzhuang that the old Beijingers are familiar with. The building of Cuimingzhuang is a three-storey combination of Chinese and Western buildings with a green glazed tile roof, which is unique among the many ancient buildings in Beiping City. In the lonely city of Beiping under Japanese occupation, this house gives people a terrifying feeling: there are Japanese sentries with guns and ammunition standing guard outside the gate of Cuimingzhuang, four groups of infantry patrol around the building, and two watchtowers with searchlights are set up in front of the gate. It was the guest house of the headquarters of the Japanese North China Front.

In the luxurious suite on the third floor, the commander of the North China Front, General Okamura Ninji, stood in front of the window, and from here, he could see the gray walls of the Forbidden City and the golden corner towers.

Since the "77 Incident" in 1937, Senior General Okamura Ninji has been the 6th commander of the North China Front. In World War II, there were many famous generals in the Japanese dispatch army to China, and General Okamura Ninji was the most well-known of many famous generals. Both his friends and his enemies were unanimous in their evaluation of his character and talents: he was a rare and excellent soldier, but also an extremely difficult opponent.

Okamura Ninji was born into a family of declining samurai in the Shinasaka-cho neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan. According to the elders of the family, this family has a lot of origins, and their ancestors are Xu Da, the founding general of the Ming Dynasty of China, whose descendants were exiled to Japan after the death of the Ming Dynasty. How much truth there is in this legend, only God knows.

Okamura's military career began early, dating back to 1898 when he entered the Tokyo Army Infant School. The general is just 60 years old this year, and he has been in the military for 46 years. It is time for a soldier to become a fine soldier at this age.

During his long military career, Okamura served as an infantry squad leader, a press censor at the headquarters, and a military attache stationed abroad. He was promoted to major general at the age of 48, lieutenant general at the age of 51, and the rank of general at the age of 57.

In terms of campaign command, Okamura Ninji's rise to fame was the Battle of Nanchang in April 1939. In the face of the 200,000-strong army of Luo Zhuoying's group and the three wide rivers that crossed the marching road, Okamura Ninji did not hesitate to disobey the orders of Prince Zaihito Miyaji, the chief of the General Staff, and used the 101st and 106th special divisions that had suffered defeats[2]

As the main force, it launched an attack on the outer defense line of Nanchang. In the battle sequence of the Japanese Army, the ad hoc divisions are at best only third- and fourth-rate troops, and their combat effectiveness is extremely weak, especially the 106th Division, which is an extremely unlucky force, only six months ago in the battle of Wanjialing, the 106th Division was almost completely annihilated, and the casualties reached nearly 9,000 people, which made the combat morale of this unit not too high a devastating blow, and the Japanese base camp once even had the intention of canceling the number of the 106th Division. The 101st Division was not much better, and its subordinate 101st and 103rd wings were also completely annihilated in the Battle of Wanjialing, and all officers from the wing commander to the captain, middle, and squad leaders were killed, and no one survived. After the Battle of Wuhan, the two crippled Japanese divisions were demoralized and ridiculed by other units, and almost none of them were willing to cooperate with them.

What is amazing is that these two unfortunate divisions, under the command of Okamura Ninji, actually broke a big upset, Okamura Ninji concentrated 250 heavy artillery pieces and 130 tanks on the three-kilometer-wide breach, and mobilized the air force for close air support. The 101st and 106th Divisions suddenly burst out with extremely high combat morale, and the attacking troops broke through several defensive lines in succession and occupied Nanchang in only seven days.

This battle surprised the senior generals of the Japanese base camp, which really fulfilled the famous saying: there are no incompetent soldiers, only incompetent generals.

Half a year after the Battle of Nanchang, Nazi Germany blitzed Poland with the same tactics, and its lightning tactics shocked the world. Tracing back to the origins, the general who used blitzkrieg for the first time in the history of world warfare was not Germany's Guderian, but Japan's Okamura Ninji. It is no exaggeration to say that with this alone, Okamura Ninji can deservedly enter the list of world famous generals.

Okamura's strategy was not only military, but also political. In terms of China policy, he opposed the establishment of the Wang Jingwei regime, believing that this would provoke Chongqing ** and force it to embark on the road of desperate resistance to the war. He opposed the Japanese serving as officials at all levels in the occupied areas, and advocated using China to control China and give "dignity" to the Chinese. He put forward the slogan of "currying favor with Chiang and Aimin" and advocated dividing the anti-Japanese forces instead of focusing on military strikes. When Okamura Ninji learned that Japanese soldiers were raping women in the occupied area, and the military judge defended the criminal soldiers on the grounds of insufficient evidence and the other party's failure to denounce them, Okamura Ninji was furious and asked: How can a vulnerable victim dare to denounce a criminal during the war? With his intervention, the offender was severely punished.

In the summer of 1939, Okamura completed his research results and formulated a plan and guidelines for the administration and strategy of the Chinese army. Its core idea is to use political, military, and dispatch spies to counter the miscellaneous army, isolate the central army dominated by the Huangpu system, and then annihilate the central army.

For the Chinese army, Okamura Ninji is undoubtedly a formidable opponent.

Peng Dehuai, deputy commander-in-chief of the 18th Army, had this to say about Okamura Ninji: "Okamura Ninji is a more vicious and sophisticated opponent than his predecessor, Tada Jun. He has a lot of skills, can be realistic, meticulous and thorough. He doesn't show off, doesn't talk much, doesn't be rude to his subordinates, and you can't see any movement in his speech. He was the most powerful commander of the Japanese army in North China. ”

Okamura's cleverness is also reflected in the setting of security standards in the occupied areas, and his criterion for judging is simple: the Chinese girl's eyes can tell whether the local security situation is good or bad. First, there is absolutely no trace of the Chinese girl, which is evidence of the fear of the Japanese soldiers, which is "bad public security"; Second, the Chinese girl was surprised by the Japanese army's car and looked out of the window from afar, which was "slightly better security"; Third, if a Chinese girl walks calmly on the street where Japanese soldiers come and go, it is "good public order".

In this world, each person, each party, or each interest group will look at issues from different angles and often come to very different conclusions because of their different position. For the officers and men of the 18th Group Army, who have been fighting behind enemy lines in North China for many years, Okamura Ninji is an out-and-out war demon and a butcher who exterminates humanity. In 1941, Okamura Ninji mobilized tens of thousands of Japanese troops to carry out a brutal sweep of the Chinese army in North China, especially the 18th Army, and he proposed the "three lights" policy of burning, killing, and robbing, resulting in the death of about 2.7 million civilians, and the 18th Army alone suffered more than half of the casualties and suffered heavy losses. Okamura did not admit this historical case, and he wrote in his memoirs that the slogan he put forward at that time was the "three noes" policy of "no killing, no robbery, and no adultery", and the words were well documented.

In the eyes of Chiang Kai-shek's people, Okamura Ninji's personality is not bad, and his war crimes are relatively minor in comparison. In February 1949, Okamura Ninji was sentenced to "acquittal" by the National ** Military Court, and his old opponent on the battlefield, Tang Enbo, personally arranged to sail out of Shanghai Huangpu Port on the ship "Vickers" to return to Japan. When the ship arrived at the Japanese port, the American occupation forces in Japan specially hoisted the Japanese flag in his honor as a sign of unrepellent respect for the past.

The truth of history is always wrapped in a lot of fog......

At the pre-war military conference, Okamura Ninji did not approve of the No. 1 Operational Plan, and he proposed that the Japanese heavy army group should seize Xi'an, pass through Guanzhong, and attack Chengdu, but this was not adopted by the base camp. Now that the base camp has approved the No. 1 operation plan, Okamura Ninji will implement it to the letter.

At this time, Okamura Ningji's gaze crossed the Forbidden City, crossed Beiping City, and fell 1,000 kilometers south to the vast Central Henan Plain. He knew very well in his heart that the Japanese Empire, after a long period of war attrition, had now become the end of the crossbow. As far as the situation on the battlefield in China is concerned, this No. 1 operation was the last effort of the Japanese army, and if the goal of the campaign could not be achieved, the Japanese army would probably no longer have the strength to attack.

Compared with the hundreds of thousands of troops in the first theater of the Chinese army, the capital in Okamura's hands is very limited. The total strength of the Japanese North China Front was only 140 infantry brigades, and only half of the troops that could be used, about 120,000 people. Okamura Ningji's plan was to first eliminate the Tang Enbo group as a mobile corps, and then clean up Jiang Dingwen's garrison troops centered on Luoyang. As an opponent, Okamura knew Tang Enbo too well, this man was good at fighting sports warfare, and he was good at concentrating forces to assault one wing to encircle and divide when the Japanese army was retreating. This tactic does work, the first time you use it, you must be a genius, the second time you use it, you will be a mediocre person, and the third time you will be stupid. General Townenburg, you've used the same tactic more than three times, and it's safe to assume that you're a general who lacks creative thinking.

In order to deal with Tang Enbo, Okamura Ninji ordered the 3rd Tank Division stationed in Baotou to secretly move south and deploy behind the battle line. This is his trump card, ready to give a head-on blow to Towneberg in the event of a counter-attack. Tang Enbo was really fooled, and it turned out that the development of the situation in the battlefield in central Henan was completely in line with his expectations, and Tang Enbo's counteroffensive was defeated as soon as it showed some appearance.

Lieutenant General Miharu Oshiroto, chief of staff of the North China Front, stood in front of the open suite door and knocked politely.

Okamura Ninji didn't look back, but said softly, "The door is open, which means that you can come in at any time." ”

Oshiroto Sanji walked into the room: "Commander, I brought a piece of news that you may be interested in. ”

Okamura Ninji was still looking out the window, his body motionless, and said, "Oh, please speak!" ”

"Our radio detection team has just deciphered the secret telegrams sent by Tang Enbo to the various group armies, and obtained the movements of the 13th Army of the Chinese Army."

Okamura Ninji turned his head suddenly: "Has this information been verified?" ”

Oshiroto Sanji smiled: "Of course, absolutely accurate!" As soon as our offensive began, Tang Enbo ordered Shi Jue's 13th Army to move north quickly, and his intention was clear, using his usual tactics, to prepare to flank our southbound troops. ”

"The exact location of the 13th Army now?" Okamura asked eagerly.

"The assembly has been completed in the Dengfeng area, and it is currently on the way north. Commander, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and now is a great time to encircle and annihilate the 13th Army. Ojoto Sanji's eyes showed a little excitement.

Okamura Ninji's eyes lit up with excitement, and he walked back and forth in the living room a few times, like a hungry lion suddenly discovering its prey, so excited that he even changed his tone: "Sanji-kun, then what are we waiting for?" Immediately report to the commander of the 12th Army, Eitaro Uchiyama, and give an order to catch it and kill it! ”

"Commander, can I understand it this way: At present, our 12th Army should immediately stop moving south, and its main force should quickly turn westward and make a detour, complete the encirclement of the enemy's 13th Army, and completely annihilate the enemy at all costs!"

Okamura Ninji stared at the map: "Tell Uchiyama Eitaro that it is better to open the Pinghan Line a few days later, and to destroy the 13th Army first, as long as the 13th Army is eliminated, the other Chinese troops in the first theater will collapse without a fight!" ”

On May 1, tens of thousands of Japanese 12th Army, which had just captured Xuchang, poured out of their nests and carried out a rapid assault with the 3rd Tank Division and the Cavalry Brigade as the lead. The main force of the 12th Army made a ninety-degree bend to the west, and the front of the troops pointed directly at Xiangcheng and Yuzhou.

More than 300 tanks and thousands of horses of the advance corps of the Japanese 12th Army advanced recklessly on the central Henan Plain, and then the mechanized troops composed of artillery, infantry, and baggage troops followed in several columns, and the fighters and bombers of the 5th Air Division in the air made a deafening whistling sound and dived and dropped bombs and strafed the towns along the way. Yellow smoke and dust rose from the arid land of central Henan, and the garrisons of the national army in Xiangcheng, Lingjing, and suburban counties along the way completely lost their ability to resist.

At this time, Cai Jigang and Shen Guangya were on their way to Ye County with the guard squad.

Along the way, there was a chaotic scene everywhere, thousands of national troops had completely lost their formation, the dense flow of people on the highway was slowly squirming southward, all the intersections were blocked, and the infantry, artillery, and automobile soldiers were huddled together, and they did not give in to each other.

Cai Jigang thought that with his major general's badge, he could command and dredge the traffic situation at the intersection, but who knew that no one recognized the defeated soldiers who had lost their formation, and the major general's brand was not bullshit, and a few soldiers even threatened Cai Jigang with guns, telling him to get away and give orders here.

A corporal pointed to Cai Jigang's nose and said, "Don't say that you are a major general, what if Chairman Jiang comes?" Annoyed Lao Tzu and beat him like that! ”

The corporal's badge on his chest indicating the number of the unit had apparently been torn off by himself, so he had nothing to fear.

Cai Jigang was so angry that he smoked, and he shouted while pulling out his gun: "Muddy bastard! You dare to speak to the commander like that, which unit are you from? ”

Cai Jigang's action of pulling out his gun did not frighten the routs, the seven or eight soldiers around the corporal raised their guns and pointed their guns at Cai Jigang, and the brothers with the guard squad in the hall hula blocked in front of Cai Jigang, and they also raised their guns, and the two sides confronted each other.

Cai Jigang put the pistol back into the holster and waved his hand to the full hall in frustration: "Put down the gun, let's go!" ”

In the face of this chaotic state, Cai Jigang also had to admit that at this time, a major general is really bullshit, no one takes you seriously, and it is already polite for people not to beat you, annoying these lawless defeated soldiers, they really dare to shoot and beat you into a sieve.

The car soldiers who were blocked at the intersection finally got impatient, they drove the truck all the way over, and the people on the highway suddenly turned on their backs, screams and curses rang out, and the wounded soldiers who could not dodge were directly knocked off the roadbed, and the road was full of flesh and blood...... The routs were mad and raised their guns to shoot at the convoy, and for a time bullets flew on the road. One of the soldiers standing in the truck bed was shot and fell, which ignited the anger of the soldiers on the truck, and a sergeant picked up the "Maxim" heavy machine gun and opened fire, and the bullets swept over the crowd on the road like a fan of water, and seven or eight soldiers were immediately knocked down.

The truck immediately aroused public outrage, and the crowd on the road immediately responded with more fierce fire. A rout, armed with a Czech light machine gun, took a bite out of his mouth, and hit the fuel tank of the truck with a long shot, and the truck plunged into the ditch on the side of the road, igniting a huge fire, and the soldiers on the car immediately became a ball of fire, and they screamed and struggled in the flames......

Cai Jigang closed his eyes in despair. He didn't want to see it and didn't dare to look at it, is this still an army? What a gang of lawless thugs! Is it okay to have this kind of strength to fight devils?

Before the farce on the highway could end, the large formation of the Japanese army was in the air. Fighter planes swooped and strafed, bombers dropped bombs, and the noisy highway suddenly turned into purgatory, and the limbs of people flew into the air one after another in the sound of explosions......

Mantang and the iron pillar braved the flying shrapnel, desperately putting Cai Jigang into the ditch on the side of the road. Cai Jigang's eyes were blood-red, he violently pushed away the full hall and the iron pillar, and raised *** to fire fiercely at the Japanese plane, regardless of it, he roared while shooting: "Brothers, fight!" Don't patronize and beat your own people, you have the ability to do it with devils! Brothers, bring me all those who have guns, and fight them! ”

The soldiers of the full hall, the iron pillars, and the guard squad also raised their guns and fired into the air, and the thousands of routs on the roads and fields seemed to have just woken up, and they all cursed and shouted and raised their guns to shoot into the sky......

The enemy planes flew away, the road was noisy again, and the flow of people slowly continued to flow south. Cai Jigang sat on the edge of the ditch in a dejected manner, covering his face with his hands, unable to speak for a long time.

In the evening, Cai Jigang rushed to Tang Enbo's headquarters in Ye County.

He didn't bother to greet the officers, so he rushed into the war room and asked the operational staff officers about the battle situation, which was within his purview, and the staff officers had to report truthfully.

A major staff officer came out of the communication room, and as soon as he saw Cai Jigang, he came over and whispered: "Sir, the radio station has just received a report that Xiangcheng, Lingjing, suburban counties and other places have been lost one after another. ”

Cai Jigang was shocked: "What? That area is also lost? What a hell! That's ...... It's bad, the main forces of the Japanese army turned westward, and there must be an article in this. What about Chief Tang? ”

"In the command room, I'm throwing a tantrum." The staff officer said cautiously.

Cai Jigang stepped into the command room and saw Tang Enbo angrily facing the microphone. Cai Jigang waited quietly for a while, and Tang Enbo hung up the phone. Cai Jigang stood up and saluted, and Tang Enbo nodded angrily: "Officer Cai, are you here?" Is it easy to walk on the road? ”

Cai Jigang didn't care about greetings, he said bluntly: "Deputy Commander Tang, the communication room received a telegram from Xiangcheng, Lingjing and other places that were lost. There is a very important news that the Japanese 12th Army, which had just occupied Xuchang, did not continue to move south to join the 11th Army, but suddenly turned westward, and its attempt was very suspicious, and it seemed to have a big strategic intention. ”

"Big strategic intent? Commander Cai, what is your judgment? Towne was a little unimpressed.

"I think the sudden change of plans of the Japanese army is due to the drunkards' intention not to drink, and they must have a major attempt, I judge...... Uchiyama Eitaro is fighting the idea of Ishikaku's 13th Army. Cai Jigang reminded carefully.

Tang Enbo measured the map with his finger: "They want to fight the idea of my 13th Army, are they a little more appetizing?" ”

"Deputy Commander Tang, I think that in this campaign, the first purpose of the Japanese army is to open up the Pinghan Line, and the second purpose is to eliminate the main force in our theater, the 13th Army is the main force in our theater, and they have always regarded the 13th Army as a thorn in their side, and they will want to get rid of it as soon as possible."

Tang Enbo asked rhetorically: "You just finished saying that the first purpose of the Japanese army is to open up the Pinghan line, and at this time they should be eager to achieve the first goal, how can they put aside such a major strategic intention for the sake of a 13th Army?" ”

Cai Jigang did not flinch: "Sir, judging from the current development of the war situation, it is only a matter of time before the Japanese army opens the Pinghan Line, and there is no suspense about it." If I were Okamura Ninji, I would be faced with two choices, one was to quickly move south to join the Japanese 11th Army; The other is to postpone it for a few days, first destroy our 13th Army, and then continue to move south. Sir, I think Okamura Ninji will definitely choose the second one. ”

"Well, what else does the Overseer think? Please go on. ”

Cai Jigang said: "I would like to remind the commander, can you ask Commander Chiang in Luoyang to draw part of his troops from the river defense troops to the south, and the main force of Deputy Commander Tang to attack this main force of the Japanese army from the north and south......

Tang Enbo said politely: "The war supervisor is too worried, the situation is not so serious, our heavy army group is in western Henan, and it is blocking their way, and the Japanese are hitting it hard." Besides, I can't move Commander Chiang's troops. ”

"Chief Tang, I think Commander Cai's suggestion is quite reasonable, don't you think about it?" The Chief of Staff spoke cautiously.

"You don't need to say more, I think in this way, the 15th, 29th, and 87th armies have suffered many casualties in the previous battle, and they cannot be alone. I would like to place these three dilapidated units in the area from Yuxian to Mi County, so as to strengthen the strength of the 4th Army and block this westward enemy. Commander Cai, could you come along? ”

"Yes! Since Chief Tang has made such a decision, he resolutely obeys the order! Cai Jigang said helplessly.

When Cai Jiheng and Shen Xingyun faced each other alone, he was a little embarrassed and regretted his frivolity just now and made an over-the-top joke. Cai Jiheng coughed dryly, sat down and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Shen, I shouldn't have made this kind of joke, it's rude, I apologize!" ”

"It's nothing, generally speaking, I don't care about it the first time, but what about later? Can you guarantee that you won't make such boring jokes again? ”

"I can guarantee it, I can guarantee it, I mean what I say!" Cai Jiheng was busy assuring.

"Mr. Cai, when we met for the first time, I told you that my name is Shen Xingyun, and my position is a nutritionist in the air crew restaurant, which means that I am in charge of your nutritional preparation."

"Miss Shen, I have a question, my current job is to clean the plane, this should belong to the ground staff, right? So I'm sorry to think that I'm not in your hands! ”

Shen Xingyun's eyebrows were raised, and a naughty smile appeared on his face: "Captain, on this question, I asked the commander of the 23rd Brigade, Colonel Robert Scott, and the colonel replied like this, Miss Shen, you go and see which restaurant this crocodile is dining in, if he is dining in the aircrew restaurant, then even if he is an aircrew, it is up to you to be an aircrew." Captain, I found out that you've been dining in the aircrew restaurant for the past few days, right? ”

"Although I changed my career to become a ground crew, I have not been deprived of the treatment of air crew."

"Oh, that's the case, then I'll ask you for your opinion now, are you willing to give up the empty stove and lower your food standard to the ground stove? If so, I'll report to Colonel Scott. Shen Xingyun stood up businessmanlikely.

"Hey, don't, don't...... When did I say I was going to switch to a ground cook? I...... I declare that I am an aircrew member, and as a matter of course, it is under the responsibility of Miss Shen. Cai Jiheng has seen the food of the ground crew, it is too far from the empty stove to swallow at all, he doesn't want to be bombarded to the ground stove to eat.

Shen Xingyun sat down satisfied, opened the notebook casually and said, "Okay, since you have made a choice, then the following questions are easy to talk about, Captain Cai Jiheng, think about it carefully, have you violated the rules in terms of diet recently?" ”

"No, you may not know me well, but I've always been a very disciplined person."

"Captain, I've been observing you for a few days, and I found that you give the hard-boiled eggs that are rationed to you to some ground crew every day, am I right?"

Cai Jiheng said that she really saw a ghost, how could she even know this? When Cai Jiheng was 10 years old, he saw the cook at home making tea eggs, the child was greedy, he took advantage of the cook's inattention, he stole more than a dozen freshly boiled eggs, and devoured them all in a corner, which caused trouble, he vomited and diarrhea caused by indigestion, and was sent to the hospital.

According to the regulations, the habit of partial eating like Cai Jiheng is strictly prohibited.

Cai Jiheng patiently explained: "Miss Shen, there is no way to do this, I haven't eaten eggs since I was a child, and I will vomit when I eat them." When I was in the Sino-American mixed group, the nutritionist also knew about my problem and never forced me. ”

"Captain, it seems that I have to explain to you the knowledge of nutrition, eggs contain a lot of vitamins, minerals and proteins with high biological value, which are essential for the human body. If you're just an army officer, of course I wouldn't be so you, but you're a pilot, and you need a lot of physical strength to perform tasks in the air, so you also have high requirements for nutrients, which is my duty, otherwise what would we nutritionists do? Shen Xingyun replied without accommodating.

Cai Jiheng was a little annoyed: "Miss Shen, let me repeat, I don't eat eggs because I have a congenital rejection of this food, if you really think about my health, don't force me to eat eggs!" ”

Shen Xingyun was not angry at all, she still discussed with a pleasant face: "Do you think this is good, we can mix eggs with other foods, such as mixing eggs and flour together to make green onion cakes, or rolling them into noodles, don't worry, I will definitely make you unable to taste eggs." Captain, it's not a big deal, we can all discuss. ”

Cai Jiheng didn't give in at all: "No, I didn't discuss, I resolutely don't eat it, it's useless for anyone to say, if you have to force me to eat eggs, then you might as well get some poison and feed me!" ”

Shen Xingyun gave in without impatience: "Okay, okay, if you don't eat, you won't eat, don't be angry, I'm younger than you, I can't speak, you are an elder brother in terms of age, let me be a little good?" ”

Cai Jiheng unceremoniously taught: "Well, this is about the same, you should be more obedient when you are young, don't have so many ghost ideas, you female dolls, always hold chicken feathers as arrows, don't you just read this "Nutrition"?" Is it more serious? I don't believe that if you don't eat eggs, you can die? ”

"Hey, can I call you Brother Cai?" Shen Xingyun asked with a smile.

"Yes, as long as you don't dwell on the egg problem."

When the performance was over, a large number of American pilots walked into the bar in a noisy manner, and they were talking about the actresses and seemed very excited. Lieutenant Dennis came over with a glass of rum: "Hi crocodile, you're a lackluster guy, it's definitely your loss not to see the show, to be honest, tonight's show was just amazing, Miss Hilton's tap dance made me smitten and my voice was hoarse." ”

Shen Xingyun stood up and saluted Dennis, and said in English, "Captain Dennis, hello!" ”

Cai Jiheng was surprised to find that Shen Xingyun's English pronunciation was very pure, and it was simply an authentic Oxford pronunciation. He wondered in his heart, where did this girl learn such good English?

"Oh, Mies Shen, you're here too, have you known the crocodile for a long time?"

"No, we haven't known each other for long, and this crocodile just bared its teeth at me, it's scary." Shen Xingyun glanced at Cai Jiheng and teased.

Dennis laughed, "Is the crocodile baring its teeth again?" It's not surprising at all, he's an aggressive crocodile, and even if no one provokes him, he'll take the initiative to find someone to provoke. ”

Shen Xingyun asked, "Oh, what heroic deeds does Brother Cai have?" ”

Dennis asked for another glass of Martell, and as soon as he raised his head, he continued with great interest: "Last year, when I went to Hengyang Airport to transfer, I happened to meet a crocodile from Guilin. Old friends always have to have a drink when they meet, so we went to a bar outside the airport, and we drank a little more that day, and we were all a little excited. There were two American lieutenants next to me who happened to have drunk too much, and these two guys were banging on the table and singing "Susanna" loudly, and I kindly reminded them, "Hey, man, you're singing a little out of tune, please, can you get it right?" Miss Shen, I'm still polite, right? But...... Guess what the crocodile said? He banged on the table with an empty bottle and said, "Organ, are we drinking in a donkey shed?" I said, crocodile, you've drunk too much, this is the bar, where did the donkey shed come from? The crocodile said, since it is not a donkey shed, how can there be a grass donkey calling the trough......

Shen Xingyun squirted out a mouthful of water and laughed loudly.

Cai Jiheng asked for two glasses of rum with a smile, picked up one and handed it to Dennis: "Okay, okay, Dennis, you always say that you are like an angel, in fact, your words at that time were also very unpleasant, with obvious provocations." ”

Shen Xingyun covered his stomach with a smile and said, "Is this really what the crocodile said?" It's so much fun, but what about later? ”

"Of course the two guys were very upset, so they pounced on us, and the crocodile knocked one down with a bottle, and I scuffled with the other guy, and in the end we beat the two bastards half to death, and the barkeeper called the police and called the gendarmes......"

Cai Jiheng laughed: "Dennis, you are embarrassed to say that the two gendarmes have already caught you and asked me to knock down one with a chair...... I was a little too drunk at the time, and when I saw the letters 'MP' on that kid's helmet, I wondered, what is 'MP' for? I really can't think of it. I remember that the rest of the boy seemed to have a bit of Indian blood, not tall but brute force, and he picked up his baton and hit me, and I dodged away, and then I looked for you again, and you ran away without even a shadow, dear organ, you are really worthy of a friend! ”

Dennis explained with a blushing face: "Crocodile, you are pure slander, how do I know that you haven't gotten out yet?" I had already run far away before I realized that you didn't come out, and God testifies that I went back to save you without hesitation, right? ”

"Well, that's right, in general, the organ is still a righteous fellow, he took out the pistol from the gendarme's holster, and threw the gun into a huge fish tank, the gendarme hurriedly rushed over to get the pistol, the organ played a good trick, if the gendarme lost the pistol, it would be a big trouble, so he desperately went to get the gun, and the two of us took the opportunity to run." Cai Jiheng said happily.

Shen Xingyun was dumbfounded when he heard this: "Oh my God, you even dare to fight the gendarmes?" And then? ”

Dennis said triumphantly: "Nothing later, the next day we drove our own planes to change places, I returned to Yangjie Airport, the crocodile flew back to Guilin Airport, where did the two gendarmes go to find us?" ”

Cai Jiheng explained: "In normal times, we wouldn't dare to provoke the gendarmes, but didn't we drink too much that day?" I was confused and thought of the gendarmes as American officers who were fighting with us, so I also fought together, but fortunately I ran away at the time, otherwise I would definitely get into trouble and go to court-martial. ”

Shen Xingyun suddenly remembered his duties, and hurriedly opened the notebook in his hand and recorded it with a pen: "Hey! Gentlemen, this is your own statement, it turns out that you still have a habit of drinking. This is a new discovery, and I'm going to document it. Of course, I will also report back to the above in due course, do you have anything else to add? ”

Cai Jiheng and Dennis looked at each other, they didn't expect Shen Xingyun to have such a hand, she is a nutritionist, of course she can't care about violating military discipline, but she is in charge of drinking outside. The problem is that if you just go out and drink heavily, it is not too serious, but once this matter is reported, it will involve the beating of the gendarme, which is not a trivial matter.

Cai Jiheng explained with some embarrassment: "Actually...... Wine is really not a good thing, a little more drink is more talking, and sometimes it is easy to ...... Insist that you did it yourself, hey, it's all caused by men's vanity. Dennis, if you think about it carefully, a year ago, you were at Yangjie Airport, I was in Hengyang, so far away, and it wasn't a unit, we didn't seem to have a chance to meet, right? ”

"yes, yes, what the hell! Crocodile, didn't you notice? People often have some hallucinations sometimes, as if they have inhaled **, and once they enter this state, it is easy to confuse dreams with reality......" Dennis echoed carefully.

"Well, let's make it up, keep making it up, you mean, you often think of dreams as reality, right? Gentlemen, if this is the case, it will be even more serious, it seems that there is some kind of mental pathology, and I, as a dietitian, cannot solve the problem of mental illness, which needs to be grounded first, and then consulted by a specialist. ”

"Miss Shen, don't ...... This is no joke, there is a war going on now, there is a shortage of manpower everywhere, you don't want to send two good pilots to a court-martial, do you? Okay, okay, I'm out of the way, isn't it just eating eggs? I eat, I will eat! Now I solemnly state that in the future, I will obey the management and guidance of the dietitian, and let me eat whatever I eat, no two words! Is that okay? Miss Shen. Cai Jiheng looked at Shen Xingyun expectantly.

Shen Xingyun smiled proudly: "This is about the same, this is what you said, you will obey management and guidance in the future, I will believe you for the time being." Mr. Cai Jiheng, I have been a nutritionist for two years, and I have encountered a lot of thorns, and you are the most difficult to manage! Well, even if this thing is over, I'll rot it in my stomach. Gentlemen, I would like to remind you once again that as pilots, alcohol abuse is absolutely not tolerated, and excessive intake of alcohol can damage the liver and eventually lead to cirrhosis. I hope you will be able to moderate a little bit in the future, can this be done? ”

"Promise to do it, promise to do it......" Both of them breathed a sigh of relief and were busy making promises.

After Shen Xingyun left, Cai Jiheng said hatefully: "Damn the organ, I blame you for this stinky mouth!" I really want to sew your mouth shut, and you dare to say such a terrible thing? ”

Dennis knew that he had caused trouble, and quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, crocodile, I'm really sorry, it's all caused by alcohol, drunk gaffes, drunk gaffes......"

"Organ, don't you want to make amends for this leak? I still have more than thirty planes to scrub, you think about it, ...... tomorrow"

Dennis suddenly remembered something, he interrupted Cai Jiheng's words: "Crocodile, if you don't mention it, I forgot, tomorrow we have an important mission, to bomb the Japanese material transfer base in Haikou, this is a very tricky job, intelligence said that the Japanese army in that area has a lot of fighters, and the ground air defense fire is also very strong." ”

Cai Jiheng became serious, he said worriedly: "Dennis, you have to be careful, I really hope to fly a fighter jet to escort you, but it's a pity...... Chennault temporarily disqualified me from flying, and I was considering whether to steal a P-40......"

Dennis shook his head and said, "Crocodile, don't cause trouble. You can rest assured, tomorrow we will attack in a formation of 12 planes, and the 23rd Fighter Group will send a whole squadron to escort us, and there should be no problem with safety. Besides, I've always had good luck, I'm about to fly 400 flight hours, tomorrow is my last voyage, and after the mission, I'm going back home for a vacation. Crocodile, I am very sorry for you Chinese pilots, who are also on combat missions and face the same dangers, but you never take a vacation, which is so unfair. ”

Cai Jiheng replied lightly: "It's okay, this war didn't happen in the United States after all, you can risk your lives to come to China to fight, we already appreciate it, if you ask for the same treatment as you, it will be too ignorant." Dennis, I repeat, tomorrow's mission is dangerous, you must be careful! ”

[1]

The P-51 "Mustang" fighter is a new type of fighter developed and improved by North American Airlines at the end of 1940 on the basis of the P-40 fighter, and later continued to improve in the war, including the use of light-weight airframe, new propellers, all-horizon plastic cockpit covers, new airfoils, etc., to further improve its performance and maneuverability. The maximum speed of the aircraft is 788 kilometers per hour, the take-off weight is 5.02 tons, the power of a single engine is 1029 kilowatts, the ceiling is 12700 meters, and the range is 3860 kilometers. The armament includes six point-50 machine guns and can be attached to **900 kg. The P-51 fighter was voted the best fighter of the Second World War by many aviation historians and authorities.

[2]

The special divisions of the Japanese invasion of China were actually reserve divisions, which were formed temporarily by recruiting reservists at the beginning of the war. There is no big difference between the number of personnel of the ad hoc division and the active type B division, but the quality is quite different. The 106th Division of the Japanese Army was formed in May 1938 in Kumamoto, on the island of South Kyushu, Japan. The 101st Division was formed in Tokyo on September 1, 1937.