When Cai Jigang had just arrived at Shundian Town, west of Xinzheng, with the reinforcements of the 4th Army, the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse and had deteriorated to the point of no return.

Linru, an important town in western Henan, is located more than 200 kilometers west of Xuchang, and is defended by a regiment of the 14th Army of the Nationalist Army. On the morning of May 3, the defenders of the city wall suddenly heard a strange noise, and the brothers looked at each other, and no one could tell what it was. The sound came from far and near, and soon converged into a huge wave. When one of the battalion commanders of the defenders heard this, his face immediately turned pale, and he shouted in a changed voice: "God, this is the sound of a tank engine......"

At this time, the soldiers on the city wall noticed that the yellow dust was rolling up on the horizon in the distance, and the sound of roaring engines was rolling in like a tsunami. The soldiers finally saw clearly that this was an assault group of more than 200 tanks, forming a wedge-shaped battle formation on a 10-kilometer-wide frontage, and rushing towards Linru Town at high speed......

The defenders, from officers to soldiers, had never seen this formation, and they were all frightened, and watched in a daze as the tank clusters approached step by step.

The first tank opened fire 100 meters from the city gate, and it took only two shots to blast open the wooden city gate, and the huge tank cluster guided the cavalry column through the city quickly, ignoring the stunned defenders, who seemed to disdain to engage in a battle with the defenders.

The battlefield situation showed that the Japanese assault corps was carrying out more important strategic tasks. The commander of the garrison was the first to recover from the shock, and he knew very well that the Japanese infantry units that came later would put down their bodies and greet the defenders.

What else is there to consider about this? Run! Now there is still a chance to run, and there is no chance even if it is late. A regiment of defenders did not fire a single shot, and ran away without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The Japanese 12th Army, which attacked from Xuchang, took only two days for its tank and cavalry units to penetrate into place, occupy Linru Town, cut off the retreat of Shijue's 13th Army, and complete the encirclement in the south and southwest. The 110th and 62nd Divisions of the Japanese Army worked together from both flanks to attack the 110th Division of the 4th Group Army of the National Army near Mi County, and after a short battle, the Japanese occupied Mi County and completed the encirclement northeast of Dengfeng. At this time, the 13th Army of the National Army, the 29th Army of Yuxian, which was gathering and resting in the Dengfeng area and preparing for a counteroffensive, together with the remnants of Liu Changyi's provisional 15th Army and the 1st Division of the 87th Army that had withdrawn westward, suddenly fell into a huge encirclement composed of more than 100,000 Japanese troops, and their situation was extremely critical.

Cai Jigang received a telegram from the 14th Army at the headquarters of the 15th Army, and he hugged his head in frustration: It's over! Nearly four corps had all been packed into large pockets laid by the Japanese army. Again: it's not that the enemy is too smart, it's that we're too stupid.

Tang Enbo, who was in Ye County, was also shocked when he received the report, and the incident was completely unexpected by him. His heart, the 13th Army, was in danger of being wiped out, and Towneburgh trembled. In 1932, according to the order of the National ** Military Commission, the 89th Division with Tang Enbo as the commander and the 4th Division with Xu Tingyao as the commander were combined into the 13th Army, and Qian Dajun served as the commander. The 13th Army participated in the encirclement and suppression of the Red Army from the time it was formed, and it was an absolute descendant and an ace unit in the Central Army. In 1936, he became the commander of the 13th Army, and he has been inextricably linked to the 13th Army ever since. By the middle of the Anti-Japanese War, the national army had formed four major lineages, including He Yingqin's "veteran department", Chen Cheng's "civil engineering department", Hu Zongnan's "Jiang family's first division" department, and Tang Enbo's "13th army department". Tang Enbo's army of 200,000 people, one of the four major descendants, was known as the "King of the Central Plains", and without the support of his backbone force, the 13th Army, he would never have today's status. It can be said that without the 13th Army, there would be no Tang Enbo.

Now that the 13th Army is suddenly under siege, how can Tang Enbo not burn it all in the world?

But fortunately, the Dengfeng area is close to Songshan, and it is easy to do it if there is a mountain, don't you Uchiyama Eitaro just rely on tanks and heavy artillery? Have the ability to pull your heavy equipment into Songshan for a walk. God has eyes, this is really a blessing in misfortune, if the troops of these four armies are surrounded on the plain of central Henan, it will be a catastrophe.

Tang Enbo calmed down and issued an order to the besieged troops: "The 13th Army, the 29th Army, the 15th Army and the 87th Army of the provisional formation, quickly transfer the troops into Songshan, strive to avoid being surrounded and annihilated by the enemy, and jump out of the encirclement of the enemy!" ”

The Japanese assault group finally closed the encirclement and prepared for the final blow. On the highway from Linru to Luoyang, more than 100 tanks of the Japanese army shuttled back and forth on the road, forming a tight blockade line. At the same time, the Japanese 110th Division, 62nd Division, and 37th Division pressed the besieged Nationalist troops from three directions to the vicinity of the Luoyang-Yexian road, preparing to be annihilated in one fell swoop.

The national army was resisted by the besieged troops and retreated into Songshan.

Cai Jigang got in touch with Wang Zhonglian, commander of the 31st Group Army, and Wang Zhonglian ordered them to temporarily follow the troops of the 13th Army into Songshan, and Cai Jigang could use the radio of the 13th Army and its subordinate divisions to communicate with the Chongqing Military Commission at any time.

Cai Jigang stood on the side of the road with his guard squad, and the troops of the 13th Army walked past him in a four-way marching column. He had heard a lot of rumors about Tang Enbo and the 13th Army before, but he had never had close contact, and he also wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to take a good look.

In the end, it is the descendants of the national army, their logistics supply should be good, the soldiers are strong, ruddy, and seem to be in good nutrition, compared to those miscellaneous troops who do not have enough to eat, it is a world of difference. What is even more enviable is the equipment, if Commander Liu Changyi, who is temporarily organized in the 15th Army, is here, he will definitely drool. The officers of the 13th Army and above are equipped with command vehicles with radio stations, the divisional artillery battalions of each division are equipped with German-made 75-mm mountain guns and Danish-made 20-mm anti-aircraft guns, the mortar company of each infantry regiment is equipped with 82-mm mortars, and the infantry's light weapons are also very neat, medium formal rifles, Czech light machine guns, and water-cooled Maxim heavy machine guns...... Cai Jigang came to the conclusion that with China's existing field army, except for the special army stationed in India, the equipment of this 13th Army is already first-rate.

Cai Jigang thought of the defense of Xuchang, Tang Enbo knew that the new 29th Division had only more than 3,000 people, and its equipment was in tatters, but he did not care about putting this unit under the attack of tens of thousands of Japanese troops equipped with heavy equipment. If it is said that the sacrifice of this army can achieve the goal of a major battle, it is worth it, but when Cai Jigang reviewed this siege afterwards, he had to regretfully conclude that this siege had no impact on the overall situation of the campaign, and it was just to deal with Chiang Kai-shek and the Military Commission. While the officers and men of the new 29th Division were fighting to the death, the well-equipped 13th Army was resting in the Dengfeng area. Tang Enbo was reluctant to use the 13th Army to defend the city, and this kind of unfortunate thing was naturally completed by the miscellaneous troops.

This situation is touching, the same Chinese army, facing the same enemy, has such a huge disparity in logistics supply and weaponry. Such favoritism will undoubtedly affect the overall combat effect, and many major defeats of the Chinese army in the past have been related to this.

Cai Jigang was thinking about it when he saw three Japanese fighters passing along the valley at low altitude, and the plane's belly flashed with terrifying fire, and the dense strafing fire turned the road into smoke and dust. The well-trained troops immediately dispersed, and several anti-aircraft guns on the side of the road also opened fire at once. The enemy planes did not expect anti-aircraft fire, and suddenly tried to pull up the nose of the plane to dodge, but it was too late, a black smoke came out of the tail of a Japanese fighter plane, roared and planted itself on the opposite mountainside, igniting a raging fire. The troops of the national army were jubilant, and the cheers and cheers resounded through the valley.

As soon as the large army entered the mountains, the benefits of the mountains became apparent. The complex terrain in the Songshan area greatly limited the actions of the Japanese air force, and the pilots were unable to coordinate operations with the ground forces. It is difficult to grasp the height of the aircraft group, flying high will affect the effect of the attack, flying low will easily hit the mountain, and the anti-aircraft guns of the 13th Army are not easy to deal with.

The armies of China and Japan went around in the lofty mountains of Songshan, and no one could help anyone for a while. The heavy equipment of the Japanese army could not enter the mountain, so they could only send lightly armed troops to chase after them. Compared with the 150-mm heavy artillery and tank units that the Japanese could not carry, the light 75 mountain guns and 82 mortars of the national army showed an advantage. The 13th Army had a very good way of dealing with the enemy who was trailing, once the rearguard unit found the enemy, it immediately fired a warning gun, and the large troops on the march immediately dispersed to the foot of the hill on both sides, and the artillery turned the muzzles of all the guns backwards, and when the Japanese pursuing troops entered the firing range, they opened fire and fired rapidly, turning the valley behind into a sea of fire. The valley was flanked by cliffs, and once shelled, the Japanese infantry had no place to hide, so they suffered heavy casualties. After suffering several losses, the Japanese pursuing troops distanced themselves from the Nationalist troops, and only followed them from a distance.

Cai Jigang has been acting with the military headquarters of the 13th Army in the past few days, and he also has the opportunity to discuss the battle situation with the army commander, Lieutenant General Shi Jue. Shi Jue is a native of the Yao ethnic group in Guangxi and graduated from the third phase of Huangpu. His experience is similar to that of those generals from Huangpu, who started his career as a platoon commander and participated in civil wars such as the Central Plains War and the encirclement and suppression of the Jiangxi Red Army. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Shi Jue served as the commander of the 10th Brigade of the 4th Division, and participated in almost all the general battles, such as the Battle of Nankou, the Battle of Taierzhuang, the Battle of Wuhan, the Battle of Suizao, and the Battle of Zaoyi...... At the age of 34, he was appointed as a lieutenant general.

Like most generals from Huangpu, at first Shi Jue was very dismissive of soldiers like Cai Jigang who stayed abroad, he didn't take West Point or Virginia Military Academy seriously, thinking that no matter how good these famous schools were, they also trained American officers, unless you served in the American army after graduation, it was meaningless, and graduates of American military academies could not take Chinese soldiers because the national conditions were different.

Cai Jigang has long been accustomed to this view. He knew in his heart that not to mention Shi Jue thought so, even those high-ranking officials of the Chongqing Military Commission probably thought so. The national conditions are different, and the US military's system will not work in China, and an officer like Cai Jigang, who has stayed abroad, can only serve as a staff member or senior staff member, and cannot be a military commander who leads the troops. Cai Jigang didn't say anything, but he was unconvinced in his heart, how do you know that I can't lead soldiers? Did you give me a chance? Didn't I also go from captain to deputy commander in the tax police corps? I have independently commanded regimental construction and construction battles in wars, experienced the most tragic and bloody modern wars, shed blood and been wounded, is it just because I went to the US military academy that I am not as good as others?

Although Shi Jue's military rank is higher than Cai Jigang, he is a few years younger than him, and Cai Jigang is a war supervisor sent by the Military Commission, so he politely calls Cai Jigang his brother and discusses everything with him. When marching, Shi Jue always invited Cai Jigang to sit in his jeep, and the two of them talked about the battle situation the most.

"Brother Yunhe, I only heard the news of Lu Gongliang's martyrdom a few days ago, but unfortunately, Gongliang left earlier." Shi Jue sighed.

Actually, he also got his wish. We have talked about death before, and we have no dispute on this issue, and we all believe that hitting the last bullet on the battlefield and then dying in battle is the best destination for a soldier. Cai Jigang replied calmly.

Shi Jue expressed his appreciation: "I agree! If I had a choice, I would choose this way to die. As a soldier, the worst thing can do is to be killed by an inexplicable stray bullet at the beginning of the battle. Brother Yunhe, I heard Gongliang talk about you, and he said that you are one of the few generals in the Chinese military circles who have strategic vision. ”

"He's polite, Cai is just running errands in the Military Commission, just fulfill his duties, where does he have a strategic vision?" Cai Jigang said modestly.

"Brother Yunhe, you're welcome, I really want to ask you a few questions. To tell you the truth, we Huangpu students have limitations, after all, the school period is short, and we train junior officers. Most people think about how to lead troops and how to use tactics, but few study strategic issues. ”

"Okay, what's your problem? Let's just talk about it. ”

Shi Jue asked the question bluntly: "Brother Yunhe, in your judgment, can we stop the enemy in the Central Plains region in this battle?" ”

Cai Jigang replied without thinking: "Impossible, I see that the offensive momentum of the Japanese army is not only difficult to protect the Central Plains, but also Xianggui is also dangerous." ”

Shi Jue was taken aback: "You're too pessimistic, aren't you?" So, what's your reasoning? ”

"There is a problem with our strategic guiding ideology, which is completely passive defense, desperately guarding the point, and then throwing it away one after another. Theoretically, there is no fortress in the world that cannot be overcome. Xuchang has been lost, and the next step must be Luoyang. Once Luoyang is lost, the main force of the Japanese army will quickly move south and attack Changsha with all its might. If Changsha is lost, the Pinghan line and the Guangdong-Han line will be opened, and the enemy's first strategic goal will be achieved. ”

Shi Jue retorted: "It's not so easy for the enemy to take Changsha, in the previous three battles of Changsha, which time did the Japanese army not end in defeat?" ”

"The previous three battles of Changsha were because the Japanese army did not concentrate strong forces to attack, and although our army held Changsha, it could not be considered that the Japanese army was defeated. For example, in the First Battle of Changsha, the Japanese 4th Division had already occupied Changsha, and although it was abandoned three days later, the 4th Division still retreated with little loss. In my opinion, although these three battles of Changsha were fought well, the results of the battles were exaggerated. Of course, it is understandable that the press exaggerates in terms of reporting in order to boost morale. Cai Jigang commented a little harshly.

Shi Jue nodded and said, "Okay, you continue." ”

"In this campaign, the enemy still has two strategic objectives: one is to destroy the Sino-US air bases in our southwest region and eliminate the threat of bombing the Japanese mainland; The other is to wipe out to the maximum extent the main forces of our army, especially the units of the Central Army. I judged that in order to achieve these two goals, the next point of attack of the Japanese army after taking Changsha should be Hengyang. Hengyang is followed by Guilin, and our air base in the area of Henggui will not be guaranteed......"

Shi Jue's expression was gloomy: "Alas, if that's the case, it's simply a catastrophe. Brother Yunhe, according to your judgment, the Japanese army will take these cities one by one, and every time we lose a city, we will take a big step back, why do you think so? ”

Cai Jigang asked rhetorically: "Don't you want to talk about strategy?" That's strategic analysis. As I said, there is a problem with the strategic guiding ideology of our high command, and with all due respect, if we blindly go on the defensive passively, the result will inevitably be like this, and there is no other possibility. Our command does not have the slightest sense of attack, just like a crappy boxer, who does not throw a punch throughout the game, but only carefully protects the vital parts, passively dodging the opponent's attacks, he does not seek to make achievements, only seeks self-preservation, and wants to survive until the end of the game. Our opponents were very fierce and superior to us in terms of the intelligence of the campaign command. Offensive consciousness is the soul of grand strategy, and when the enemy attacks, we must also attack, and from the tactical counter-assault to the local counter-offensive at the strategic level, it can be called an offensive. Anyway, we can't be beaten passively, we have to attack by all means, and if we don't have the sense of attack, what awaits us is death. ”

Shi Jue sighed: "I have communicated with some division-level commanders before, but no one has talked about offensive awareness, including myself, I always thought that we don't want to attack, but there must be material conditions for attacking." For example, it is necessary to concentrate strong forces, have strong air support and strong firepower, and also have sufficient mechanized equipment to solve the problem of mobility. Without that, we can't talk about attacking, we can only defend from point to line. Brother Yunhe, what you said just now woke me up, from the tactical counter-assault to the local counter-offensive at the strategic level, it can be called an offensive. You have a point, I'm going to sort it out. ”

"My understanding is that a soldier who has no offensive consciousness is doomed to defeat. We have to soak this consciousness into our bones and dissolve it in our souls. Cai Jigang looked out the car window and said thoughtfully.

"Brother Yunhe, do you have any good suggestions for my 13th Army at the moment?"

"At the moment we are not out of the crisis, we are still surrounded by the enemy, and there will be a fierce battle after we get out of the mountains. But it's nothing remarkable, the enemy's forces are limited, and their appetite is too great, and their encirclement cannot be tight. In fact, breaking through is the same thing as attacking, as long as the two sides make a little contact, we will immediately apply heavy punches, concentrate all heavy firepower and superior forces, and defeat it with a lightning attack! Cai Jigang said confidently.

After tens of thousands of troops trekked hard in Songshan for four days, the officers and soldiers of the vanguard of the 13th Army suddenly brightened up, and their horizons suddenly broadened. The battalion commander of the advance battalion understood that they were about to get out of Songshan. Shi Jue and Cai Jigang got the news and hurriedly drove to the advance camp, at which time the vanguard had stopped advancing and was on standby by the roadside.

Cai Jigang and Shi Jue climbed a huge rock and looked at the vast plain of central Henan, which was red and yellow, with only a few shrubs, sparsely dotted with a pitiful bit of green. They condescendingly observed with binoculars, but did not notice the movement of the Japanese troops, and the surroundings were extremely quiet.

At this time, the radio of the 13th Army received an order: "Order the 13th Army, the 29th Army, and the 87th Army to turn southwest and go to the area north of Songxian after leaving Songshan. At the same time, the rest of the 15th Army and the rest of the 87th Army were ordered to turn northwest along the Yexian to Luoyang Highway to rush to Luoyang. ”

The first battle out of the mountain was fought in the Ruyang area north of Song County. The 37th Division and the 1st Division of the 27th Division of the Japanese Army were already impatient to wait here, and as soon as the vanguard of the 13th Army of the Nationalist Army appeared, the main force of the Japanese army launched an attack with all their might. Dozens of tanks of the 3rd Tank Division of the Japanese Army formed a wedge-shaped battle formation and rushed forward at full speed.

Shi Jue had already taken precautions, and he concentrated three mountain artillery battalions of the whole army on both flanks, and several regimental mortar companies were arranged behind the mountain artillery group. When the Japanese tank cluster approached, the artillerymen lowered the muzzle and fired at close range with direct aiming, the front armor of the Japanese Type 95 tank was only a pitiful 12 mm thick, where could it withstand the direct hit of the 75 mm shell, after the first round of shooting, more than a dozen tanks in the front row immediately caught fire and exploded, and the rest of the tanks retreated.

The firing of the mountain artillery group had not yet ended, and the nearly 100 mortars behind it fired another burst of rapid fire, and the shells rained down on the crowd of Japanese infantry cavalry......

After the artillery fire, Shi Jue concentrated three infantry regiments to form the first attack wave and launched a counterattack on the whole line.

The Japanese commander obviously did not expect that the encircled Nationalist troops would actually put on a posture of all-out attack and concentrate all their heavy firearms at one point, causing a large number of casualties among the Japanese front-line attacking troops. The Japanese troops were stunned and retreated to both flanks, and a huge gap appeared in the Japanese position......

A large number of infantry of the 13th Army of the Nationalist Army quickly ran through the breach, and the rearguard troops commanded by Shi Jue were also very distinctive, they mounted light and heavy machine guns on jeeps, covered the infantry with dense firepower, fought and retreated, and methodically rushed out of the Japanese blockade line and withdrew to the southwest.

In the first battle out of the mountain, the Japanese army's blocking corps was defeated, and the 13th Army really made an extraordinary move, worthy of being the elite of the first theater. Cai Jigang secretly exclaimed: From a certain point of view, the Chinese army is not unable to fight, the key lies in the commander's ability to control the troops.

In accordance with the orders of the Commander's Department, Cai Jigang accompanied Liu Changyi's provisional 15th Army and 87th Army to aid Luoyang. When they broke up with Shi Jue, the two were reluctant to give up. They weren't familiar with each other before, but through these few days of contact, the two formed a friendship.

Shi Jue held Cai Jigang's hand tightly and said, "Brother Yunhe, it's too late to see each other, take care!" We'll see you later. ”

Cai Jigang said with a smile: "I'm sorry, we talked all the way, just listening to me talk about attack, in the end you fought a beautiful battle without saying a word, and interpreted my offensive theory with actions, admire, admire!" Take care too! ”

Shi Jue's 13th Army joined Tang Enbo and his staff, who had been transferred here, in Song County, and retreated towards the lofty mountains of Funiu Mountain, south of Song County.

Okamura Ninji's encirclement did not have the desired effect, and the 13th Army of the National Army was like a loach in his eye, slipping through his fingers. Not only the 13th Army, but even the 29th Army, the provisional 15th Army and the 87th Army also successfully jumped out of the encirclement, and Okamura Ninji fell short.

During the 20 days when Tang Enbo's corps fought and maneuvered with the enemy in the Zhongmu, Xuchang, and Dengfeng areas, and attracted all the main forces of the Japanese army, Jiang Dingwen's 11 corps had been squatting on the south bank of the Yellow River, quietly waiting for the Japanese attack.

This strange battlefield situation reminds people of the "sit-down battle on the Western Front" during World War I.

Cai Jiheng got up at 5 o'clock in the morning, although he is still an idler with no combat mission, but among the flight crew members who went out today, there are many of his classmates and friends, Lieutenant Dennis, an American pilot of the 308 Bomber Group, Ding Zhentian, a Chinese co-pilot "Pirate", and Ji Yunpu, a "bull"; The pilots of the 23rd Fighter Group, Sun Zhengqing, Lei Jintao, and others, who served as escorts, must be seen off by Cai Jiheng. In fact, everyone knows in their hearts that the casualty rate of aircrews during the war is alarmingly high, and every time they take off and go on an expedition, it means that they may never come back.

As soon as the day dawned, the crew members of the B-24D bombers and the fighter pilots who served as escorts were already dressed neatly, and after they hastily ate breakfast, they walked to the intelligence room with a safety umbrella weighing more than 20 pounds on their backs, waiting for the intelligence officer to explain today's specific tasks.

In the cold wind of the early morning, Cai Jiheng was caught in the busy crowd, through rows of barracks, and entered the tarmac of the airport. At 5:30 a.m., the tarmac on the east side of the runway was already full of people and brilliant lights, dozens of C-46 transport planes were arranged in two rows on the taxiway, the runway for planes to taxi was vacant in the middle, the hatches of all transport planes had been opened, and thousands of recruits in khaki military uniforms were sitting quietly under the huge C-46 wings, ready to board.

Cai Jiheng knew that these recruits were all preparing to go to the Ramja training base in India to supplement the soldiers of the Chinese army stationed in India, and this unit formed for the great counteroffensive had long been famous; they were well fed and well-dressed, and their weapons and mechanized equipment were equivalent to those of the Class B unit of the US military on active duty, and even the platoon-level training subjects were personally guided by American instructors. With such good treatment, almost all the officers and soldiers of the country want to go to India to open foreign meat. In short, this is a cowhide coaxing army, and it is already very famous before the battle is fought.

Cai Jiheng looked at the recruits with excited expressions with pity and thought, these recruits probably don't know the danger of the "hump" route, not to mention the complexity of the climate and terrain and the interception of the Japanese fighter group, even from the performance of the C-46 aircraft alone, it is not very reliable. On this "hump" route, C-46 transport planes often crashed due to icing wings and engine stalls, and this kind of aircraft, which was originally designed to carry out the task of transporting materials at low altitudes, now has to fly in highland areas, and the probability of accidents naturally increases. The contrast between the hot and humid conditions of Indian airports and the cold, dry conditions encountered by airplanes flying at high altitudes is so great that even when the C-46 aircraft is inspected on the ground, once in the air, the aircraft parts will fail one after another. Due to the critical situation of the war and the need for a large amount of supplies on the Chinese battlefield, during the airlift of the "Hump" route, the C-46 aircraft were often forced to take off with a fault, and the losses caused were also huge, especially the planes transporting troops, each crash would cause hundreds of deaths.

Cai Jiheng walked into the intelligence room with the flow of people, this is a huge iron-roofed wooden room, which can accommodate about 400 people for meetings, the four walls of the intelligence room are full of war zone maps, enemy photos and identification maps of various types of combat aircraft of the Japanese army, more than a dozen rows of long wooden chairs are placed in the middle of the hall, and on the front podium sits an intelligence officer of a US military major, he greets the soldiers who come in one after another with a smile: "Good morning, gentlemen!" ”

A large number of American pilots had arrived, sitting loosely on wooden benches, chewing gum in their mouths, some whistling and joking with each other. They all arrived in jeeps, so they naturally arrived earlier, but the Chinese pilots did not have a car to pick them up, so they had to come on foot with heavy umbrellas. Cai Jiheng counted that there are more than 100 US soldiers, and according to the establishment of 10 people per B-24D "Liberator" bomber, today's dispatch is a formation of 12 planes, plus 20 escort P-51 fighter pilots, the total number should be 140 people.

Cai Jiheng saw Colonel Robert Scott, commander of the 23rd Fighter Group, coming over, and hurriedly greeted Colonel Scott: "Good morning! Colonel, I have a request......"

Colonel Robert also saluted, "Crocodile, do you have anything you need me to do?" ”

Cai Jiheng said: "Colonel, I ask to participate in today's battle, if you can lend me a P-40 fighter, I will be grateful!" ”

Colonel Robert shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands and said, "Crocodile, I am sorry that I can only refuse you, because I am not your commander, and you are currently only under the orders of General Chennault. ”

"But...... Colonel, today's task is not trivial, 12 bombers only 20 fighters escort, it is too dangerous, I think, one more escort fighter is one, anyway, I am idle, it is better to let me participate in the battle as a volunteer......"

"Crocodile, I've already said it, no! I will not violate military discipline because of your stubbornness, please don't delay any longer, you should go wipe the plane, good luck! Colonel Robert turned and walked away.

At this time, the Chinese pilots walked into the hall one after another, and Ding Zhentian, who was carrying an umbrella bag, happily greeted Cai Jiheng from afar: "Hi! Crocodile, why are you here as a ground crew? ”

The bull next to him also smiled and said, "Crocodile, you better go and wipe the plane honestly, this is not where you came from." ”

The hideous-looking Sun Zhengqing patted Cai Jiheng's shoulder and joked: "Crocodile, you dare to eat empty stoves as a ground crew wiping planes?" It's too unusual. ”

Cai Jiheng asked with a wry smile: "Glider, is there a P-51 on the tarmac that is fully fueled?" Even the P-40. ”

Sun Zhengqing asked vigilantly: "Crocodile, what bad idea are you thinking about?" I advise you to think less crookedly, there is no possibility of success at all, the rules and regulations of Yangjie Airport are very strict, it is impossible for a plane without a combat mission to refuel and reload, there is no hole to drill, you kid will die of this heart. ”

After the arrival of the air crew members participating in the mission, the intelligence officer on the podium gave a detailed account of today's combat mission. According to him, there is a large amount of ammunition stored in the Sanya Japanese army's material transfer base, as long as one ** is dropped, it will cause continuous explosion and combustion, B-24D's sailing altitude and bomb drop altitude should be maintained at 6000 meters, and the other 20 P-51s are responsible for covering the attack, of which 10 are at a height of 1,000 meters above B-24D as cover, and the remaining 10 fighters are at the same height as B-24D, accompanying left and right within a distance of one kilometer.

After explaining the mission and the main points of the flight, the intelligence officer pointed to the map on the front wall and said: "Gentlemen, there is an infantry brigade and two anti-aircraft artillery battalions of the Japanese army stationed at the port of the material transfer base and the nearby station. In addition, in Haikou City and the surrounding areas, there is a wing of the Japanese army, most of the rest of the island is a civilian guerrilla area controlled by Chongqing, and there is a small guerrilla area controlled by the Qiongya Column of the Chinese Communist Party in the Wuzhishan area. ”

Finally, the intelligence officer asked the group, "Do you have any questions?" ”

There was silence below, and no one asked questions.

The intelligence officer nodded, and announced: "Okay, if there is no problem, please go and get the accident reserve immediately, we are scheduled to take off on time at 6 o'clock!" ”

As a result, all the American servicemen received a cloth belt containing two gold bars and some U.S. dollars, legal tender from the Kuomintang zone, military stamps issued by the Japanese occupation zone, counterfeit money from Nanjing, and currency from the Communist base area. The U.S. military was quite thoughtful about its pilots, and the money was used to help the pilots parachute or make a forced landing, both to repay those who provided convenience for themselves, and to bribe enemy personnel to buy a way out for themselves. Of course, if nothing else, the money must be handed over every time you return from a voyage.

The American soldiers who received the accident reserve money tied their cloth belts around their waists, and they didn't care about the money, anyway, they were passing by the God of Wealth, and if there was no accident, the money did not belong to them.

The scene of receiving the accident reserve is also familiar to Cai Jiheng, who has been stationed at many airports, Hengyang, Guilin, Chongqing Liangshan...... It seems that any airport is the same, before the expedition, the US military air crew can receive this kind of cloth belt with money, but the Chinese air crew has never been, Cai Jiheng is very used to this.

At this time, the Chinese pilots walked out of the hall first with great interest, and Ding Zhentian smiled at Cai Jiheng and said: "Brother, people are wide and small, we can't compare, who makes us poor?" It's better than skill and courage, and we're no worse than the Yankees. ”

Cai Jiheng held Ding Zhentian's hand and said with a little bitterness: "Don't say anything, I wish you good luck!" They all come back safely. ”

Cai Jiheng sent Ding Zhentian, Ji Yunpu, and others to the tarmac, and at this time, the 12 huge B-24D "Liberator" bombers, which had already been filled up with fuel and tested for the car, were already neatly lined up on the tarmac, and the small doors under the nose for people to enter and exit were all opened, and the crew members boarded the iron ladder to enter the cabin one by one, first the co-pilot, then the navigator, bombardier, and mechanical non-commissioned officer, and finally the shooting non-commissioned officer who operated the machine gun.

At 6 o'clock, a red flare rose from above the tower, and the engines of 12 B-24D "Liberator" bombers started deafeningly at the same time, and the huge group of planes began to glide slowly, and one bomber after another slid towards the runway, and the red navigation lights on the wingtips flashed one after another......

Cai Jiheng saw Ding Zhentian waving goodbye to him in the cockpit, he raised his hand to salute the group of planes going out, and watched the group of bombers accelerate on the runway one after another, and finally took off and disappeared in the clouds.

This was followed by a spectacular sight of 20 P-51 fighters sprayed with shark mouths and beautiful body motifs, which disappeared into the distance after completing the formation in the air......

Cai Jiheng was stepping on a ladder and carefully wiping the cockpit canopy of the P-40 fighter, he was sweating profusely and his upper body was naked, and he was wearing a bamboo hat common in the Yunnan-Guizhou region on his head, which looked very funny. The climate of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is not hot, but the sun is extraordinarily strong, only a few days, Cai Jiheng was almost sunburned off a layer of skin, he went to the market to buy a hat to wear on his head, feeling better.

A group of Chinese and American nurses from the Red Cross Society at the airport passed by the path next to the tarmac, and Shen Xingyun was among them. The female nurses couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh when they saw Cai Jiheng's embarrassed appearance, Cai Jiheng suddenly came to his senses when he saw the beauty, he took off his hat and waved it to the nurses a few times, and greeted him in English with great interest: "Hi! Good afternoon, beauties! ”

A blonde American nurse smiled and replied, "Hello! Sir, are you a new ground handler? ”

Cai Jiheng introduced himself without blushing: "No, I am the newly transferred Colonel Cai Jiheng, who was appointed by General Chennault and was preparing to take over the position of Colonel Robert Scott, commander of the 23rd Fighter Group. Thank you for your kind attention! ”

The American nurse's eyes widened exaggeratedly: "God, what a young colonel, you will be in the military colonel at about ten years old, right?" ”

Cai Jiheng jumped down from the ladder, put on his shirt and said solemnly: "This is normal, Mozart can compose music at the age of five, why can't I enter the military academy at the age of ten?" ”

The nurses laughed, "Haha, we have a young genius here......" and they laughed and walked away.

Shen Xingyun stayed, and she laughed breathlessly: "Brother Cai, you can really blow, you dare to pretend to be a colonel when you open your mouth......"

"Yo, isn't this my dietitian? Then I have to wait well, otherwise I will offend Miss Shen, I can't even eat the empty stove, come, take a drink! Cai Jiheng casually handed Shen Xingyun a bottle of Coca-Cola.

Shen Xingyun was not polite, took the bottle and took a sip, and joked: "Well, although he is a pretending colonel, he is still quite gentlemanly." Brother Cai, you can stay up slowly, sooner or later you can get to the colonel. ”

Cai Jiheng snorted disdainfully: "What is the colonel, one day, the colonels will have to pretend to be Cai Jiheng when they see a beautiful woman." ”

Shen Xingyun squirted out the Coke with a "poof" and laughed again.

Cai Jiheng bent down and wrung out the rag in the bucket, then boarded the ladder to continue wiping the plane.

Shen Xingyun raised his face and looked at Cai Jiheng and said, "Brother Cai, rest for a while!" ”

Cai Jiheng opened the cockpit canopy of the plane, jumped into the cabin and sat down, he fiddled with the joystick and said, "Miss Shen, I dare to say that you have never entered the cockpit of a fighter jet, haven't you?" ”

Shen Xingyun had indeed never seen the inside of the cockpit of the plane up close, she curiously climbed the ladder and stretched out her head to look.

Cai Jiheng pointed to the red button at the top of the joystick and asked, "Do you know what this button is for?" ”

Shen Xingyun shook his head and said embarrassedly, "I don't know." ”

"This is the machine gun fire button, when you need to shoot, first open this cover, this is the safety cover, and then press this red button, and the six large-caliber machine guns on the plane will fire at the same time......"

Shen Xingyun asked strangely, "Then why didn't I see the machine gun?" Again...... It seems that there are no six machine guns in such a narrow cockpit? ”

Cai Jiheng said with a smile: "Do you think the machine guns are all in the cockpit?" The machine guns of fighter jets are generally mounted on the nose or wings, and the model of the P-40 fighter is constantly improving, and the number of machine guns installed is also different, for example, this aircraft is a P-40E manufactured after 1941, with three point 50 machine guns installed on each wing on each side, and the rate of fire is 600 to 1200 rounds per minute. ”

Shen Xingyun pointed to a meter and asked, "That...... What is it? ”

"Oh, here's the altimeter, you can determine your flight altitude by this gauge."

"What about this meter......

Cai Jiheng interrupted her unceremoniously: "I said, why are you so curious, and you still can't stop asking?" I'm going to get to work, what are you going to do! ”

Shen Xingyun is a good-natured girl, and she was not angry when Cai Jiheng counted two sentences, she reluctantly grabbed the edge of the cockpit and begged: "Brother Cai, just tell me about it." I'm off duty this afternoon and it's fine. ”

Cai Jiheng rolled his eyes and asked, "So, are you okay this afternoon?" ”

"yes, I only go to the restaurant for dinner time."

"Oh, I see, you're so uncomfortable that you have nothing to do, this is easy to do, I still have a few rags here, how about you wipe the plane with me?" Cai Jiheng looked at Shen Xingyun suspiciously.

"Okay, but you have to give me the hat, I'm most afraid of the sun."

Cai Jiheng didn't expect Shen Xingyun to agree so happily, he was overjoyed and took off the hat and buckled it on Shen Xingyun's head: "Ouch, my aunt, you are really a good girl, I have been here for three days, so many old classmates and old friends, none of them came to help me, this kid came to the organ and ran away after two strokes, I am called Tiantian......"

Shen Xingyun picked up the rag and wiped it while saying, "Oh, the organ you're talking about is Lieutenant Dennis, right?" This guy is bad, every time he sees me, he comes over and says, Miss Shen, can you be my girlfriend? ”

"And how did you answer him?"

"I say, dear Dennis, your rank is too low, and my boyfriend should at least be a major. As a result, Dennis and I competed, every time I went to the restaurant on duty, as soon as he saw me, he deliberately ate desperately, once he actually ate five eggs and half a kilogram of ham at a time, I went to stop him, he looked at me affectionately and said, Mies Shen, if you don't promise me, I will eat myself to death, anyway, it's not interesting to live......"

Cai Jiheng laughed: "This kid's way of chasing women is too clumsy, and he is not afraid of dying?" ”

Shen Xingyun also smiled: "Actually, Dennis is a very good person, he just hasn't grown up yet, and he's still a big boy." God bless him and come back safely today! ”

"Miss Shen, do you believe in God?" Cai Jiheng asked.

"Of course, I grew up in a church school, and most of the people around me were Christians, and I was baptized when I was 18."

"Oh, you're a Christian? That's not supposed to be in the army, it's not a place for mercy, the value of the army's existence is to kill, and that conflicts with your beliefs. ”

Joan of Arc was also a Christian, and she led thousands of troops to defend her country, and there was certainly no shortage of murder in it, but God did not blame her for it. War always has a difference between a just war and an unjust war, so my joining the army does not contradict my beliefs. ”

"The question is, who determines the nature of the war? As long as it is a war, who does not say that it is a just war? Of the eight crusades of the Crusades, which one was not in the name of God? When is it not in the name of a just war? In fact, it was just an organization to go to the East to rob property. ”

"Brother Cai, on religious issues, we'd better not debate, okay?"

"Okay, then let's not talk about religion, let's talk about something else, Xiao Shen, is there anyone else in your family?"

"My parents died when I was five years old, and I only had one older brother, who later enrolled in military school and is now serving in the army."

"Oh, it's also a soldier, what unit is he in?"

"My brother worked in the Chongqing Military Commission, was a major, and served as an adjutant to a general surnamed Cai."

Cai Jiheng was shocked and raised his head: "Your brother's name is Shen Guangya, is he from Chongqing?" ”

Shen Xingyun said in surprise: "Yes, you know him?" ”

Cai Jiheng jumped off the ladder and said, "What a coincidence, Shen Guangya is my brother's adjutant." ”

Shen Xingyun threw away the rag and pouted: "Oh my God, this world is so small!" My brother is your brother's adjutant, and I'll help you wipe the plane again, and our brothers and sisters are waiting for you two brothers, why? ”

"This shows that we are destined! Hey, pick up the rag and get back to work. ”

In the evening, Cai Jiheng and Shen Xingyun walked into the large dining room where the aircrew were eating, which was a temporary building with a long wooden plank structure and an iron roof, which could accommodate more than 200 people at the same time, and the director of the restaurant was American Sergeant Major David.

Sergeant Major David is a ground maintenance officer and a canteen director. He is a very dedicated sergeant major, and he is meticulous in his work. In order to put flowers on the table every day, he even built a glass flower room at the back of the club and hired a full-time florist. Fortunately, the climate in Yunnan is very suitable for raising flowers, so the restaurant is always decorated with flowers.

David's actions puzzled the Chinese soldiers, thinking that he was simply insane, which is a typical move where form is greater than content, and there are still such poor and sophisticated people during the war? The presence or absence of flowers on the table does not seem to delay eating.

Whenever there was a large-scale combat mission, David always personally arranged the meal schedule of the flight crew, and before the returning flight crew entered the restaurant, David and the waiters must wear washed snow white overalls and stand in line at the entrance of the restaurant to welcome them. According to David, this is to make the pilots feel the warmth of family, and the Sheep Street base is a warm family.

When David saw Shen Xingyun, he said happily, "Miss Shen, are you on duty today?" ”

Shen Xingyun raised his hand and saluted: "Hello sergeant!" Today I am on duty. ”

David looked at his watch: "Just now the tower attendant called, saying that the flight crew had already gotten into the car, and it was estimated that they would arrive soon." Everyone is in place! ”

As soon as David's words fell, the aircrew had already entered the cafeteria one after another, and the pilots of the 23rd Fighter Group came first, followed by the pilots, navigators, and shooting non-commissioned officers of the 308 Bomber Group. Cai Jiheng was very sensitive, and he immediately found that all the flight crew members were pale and silent, without the usual laughter and noise. This scenario is not right, there must have been casualties among the marching personnel. This is not surprising, however, as it is a common phenomenon in war.

Cai Jiheng was looking for someone he was familiar with, and after looking around, his heart sank, Dennis, Sun Zhengqing, Ji Yunpu, Lei Jintao and others were gone, and the last one to come in was Ding Zhentian with a gloomy face, Cai Jiheng went up to greet him, and Ding Zhentian walked straight in front of him as if he didn't see him.

Sergeant Major Davy, the director of the cafeteria, suddenly turned pale, he counted the number of people, and looked down at the list of diners in his opponent, and found that there were 68 people missing, of which 60 belonged to the 308th Bomber Group and 8 belonged to the 76th Squadron of the 23rd Fighter Group.

The muscles in David's face twitched, his lips trembled, and he grabbed an American pilot and yelled, "There are 68 people missing, why is that?" Tell me! The American pilot shook his head and said nothing, only two lines of tears running down his cheeks and onto his chest......

Shen Xingyun burst into tears and cried silently.

Cai Jiheng's heart turned upside down, and the grief in his heart was uncontrollable, for the Yangjie base, today's long-distance expedition became a big disaster. From this, 6 B-24D bombers and 8 P-51 fighters were lost today, and a full 60 bomber crews and 8 escort fighter pilots will never return.

At this time, all the flight attendants and waiters in the restaurant were silent, everyone was suppressing their grief, and the hall became silent, and even the air seemed to freeze.

Suddenly, Sergeant Major David roared hoarsely, "God, this damn war ......" and he slammed over a table, the shiny cutlery and vases filled with flowers fell to the floor with a clatter, and the hall resounded with the sound of metal colliding and glassware shattering...... The suppressed emotions of everyone present suddenly exploded, and everyone threw the dishes and utensils on the ground and cried loudly......

Only Cai Jiheng in the crowd did not cry, because since he was sensible, he had never cried again, and after a long time, he felt that his tear ducts seemed to have degenerated, and he couldn't shed a single tear when he encountered something sad. Moreover, Cai Jiheng has his own views on the war.

In mid-December 1937, Nanjing fell, and Cai Jiheng was in the southward migration team of Tsinghua University from Changsha to Kunming. At the end of December, the detailed news about the Nanjing Massacre came one after another, and the students were shocked and wept bitterly, and China made a strong complaint to the League of Nations on the Nanjing Massacre, and the news media in the rear reported the tragic news about the Nanjing Massacre one after another, and the people in the rear were all grief-stricken and inexplicable, and the atmosphere of extreme sadness enveloped the entire Kuomintang for a while.

On May 4, 1938, the National Southwest Associated University, which was composed of teachers and students from Peking University, Tsinghua University, Nankai University and other universities, officially opened classes in Kunming. At that time, the campus of Southwest Associated University was very simple, there was no self-study room, and students sat on the lawn of the campus for self-study classes. Cai Jigang saw a scene that surprised him: several female classmates were accusing Cai Jiheng in a fierce tone, while the younger brother was sitting on the grass with his back against the tree, reading his book indifferently, turning a deaf ear to other people's accusations, and it seemed that he didn't hear them at all.

Cai Jigang learned after understanding that it turned out that the students had just discussed the Nanjing Massacre, and almost all the students cried during the discussion, but Cai Jiheng not only did not shed a single tear, he didn't even bother to participate in the discussion. The classmates were angry, thinking that he was an emotionless cold-blooded animal, so they accused him one after another, but Cai Jiheng neither explained nor defended, just concentrated on reading his own book.

Cai Jigang pulled his younger brother aside, and the two brothers had a conversation about the Nanjing Massacre.

Cai Jigang said: "Jiheng, what's the matter with you? It seems that you are indifferent to the criticism of your classmates, so why don't you defend it? As far as I know, you're not an emotionally apathetic person. ”

Cai Jiheng said disdainfully: "I'm too lazy to explain to them." Hmph, a common problem of Chinese literati is that they will practice their mouths, and they will not be able to solve any problems. ”

"Jiheng, you should know that our capital is occupied by the enemy, and there is news from all sides that there are hundreds of thousands of captured soldiers and civilians who have been slaughtered, aren't you sad to hear this news? What the hell are you thinking? ”

Cai Jiheng closed the book and replied calmly: "I was thinking that when I was a child, boys often fought with each other, and since there would be times when they fought, I was often beaten with a blue nose and swollen face. Brother, do you know how to deal with this problem between our friends? ”

Cai Jigang shook his head: "I wasn't like you when I was a child, I rarely fought, and I can't remember how to deal with this kind of problem at that time." ”

"Brother, let me tell you, as a boy, being beaten is a very shameless thing, if you are beaten, and cry and cry to the teacher and parents, so-and-so bullies me, you don't care? Brother, isn't this even more faceless? ”

Cai Jigang smiled: "Well, it's kind of interesting!" I kind of get it, you continue. ”

In fact, on this issue, boys' thinking seems to be more straightforward and closer to the truth than adults. Since crying is a shameful thing, then the teeth fall out and swallow into the stomach, recuperate, find a chance to do it again, and subdue the bad boy who bullied people. ”

Cai Jigang said in surprise: "Jiheng, you really got to the point, this is the real military thinking." ”

Cai Jiheng said thoughtfully: "A country should be like this, crying and complaining to the League of Nations when it is beaten, counting on the international community to uphold justice for us, and counting on some countries with unrelated interests to punish the wicked for us, which is not at all." Brother, let me ask you, what is the purpose of China raising so many soldiers? ”

"Do you need to ask? To defend the country, of course. Cai Jigang replied.

"That's right, defending the country is a matter for soldiers, and expecting other countries to uphold justice, so why does the country raise so many soldiers? War has the law of war, once the war starts, whether it is good or bad, anyway, if it is fought to the end, it can't be 40,000 people who are slaves of the country, right? If the Chinese are like this, even if the Japanese do not kill us, we ourselves may not have the face to live in this world. Brother, I think that the military defeat is not terrible, but what is terrible is the mentality of the Chinese people, and our spirit is too weak. We can't win this war if we don't solve this problem. ”

Cai Jiheng always believes that ordinary people can shed tears, women and children can shed tears, but soldiers cannot shed tears, and soldiers need the blood of the enemy, not their own tears.

This expedition suffered heavy losses, and it is imperative to find the cause, otherwise the tragedy will be repeated. It is clear that this defeat was a major mistake in intelligence and tactics, and on the face of it, the use of 20 fighters to escort 12 heavy bombers is reasonable, but if there is no first-hand information on the situation in the theater, it is equivalent to a blind man riding a blind horse, which can invite annihilation at any time. Cai Jiheng deduced that if the Japanese spies were lurking near the Yangjie Airport, he would immediately use a radio to inform the enemy's command headquarters of the number, model, and direction of flight of the planes when the fleet took off. The flight distance from Kunming to Haikou is about 1,200 kilometers, and the devil knows how many Japanese spies will constantly report the direction of the aircraft group on the way, and the Japanese command will mobilize a large number of fighters to intercept it at any time as long as it determines the number and destination of the aircraft group. There are at least a dozen or so air bases of the Japanese navy or army along the coast of Guangdong and on Hainan Island, and they have ample time to react.

Cai Jiheng called the crying Ding Zhentian and asked, "Zhentian, tell me, were you intercepted by enemy fighters today?" ”

Ding Zhentian wiped his tears and said: "We encountered three interceptions along the way, lost two P-51s, and finally encountered a large group of enemy planes over Sanya, with more than 40 Zero planes. The 18 P-51s of the 23rd Brigade fought with more than 40 Zero aircraft of the enemy, and they were really unable to cover the bombers, and the brothers of our 308th Brigade used machine guns to fight with the enemy in the air, while braving anti-aircraft fire to dive and drop bombs on the target, Dennis's plane had just dropped **, and was hit by anti-aircraft fire, and it disintegrated in the air at that time, and I could see clearly that none of the 10 crew members had time to parachute. Ji Yunpu's plane was shot down by the enemy's Zero when it climbed up after dropping the bomb......"

Cai Jiheng interrupted him: "Did the material transfer station blow up?" ”

"Even the warehouse and the wharf were destroyed, and for this goal, our bombers were shot down 6, and the 23rd Brigade lost 8 P-51s, but they shot down 12 Zeros, of which Lei Jintao alone shot down two. At that time, my position was not far from him, and I saw that his plane had burned into a big fireball, but his six machine guns were still firing, until an enemy plane exploded in the air, Lei Jintao opened the cockpit canopy, he was covered in fire, even the flight cap was burning, it seemed that he really didn't have the strength to climb out of the cockpit and parachute, he beckoned to me, as if he shouted something, and just fell down......"

Cai Jiheng held Ding Zhentian's hand and said, "Zhentian, don't be sad, judging from the results of the battle, the sacrifice of the brothers today is also worth it." ”

Ding Zhentian looked out the window and muttered: "On the way back, I kept thinking about what Lei Jintao shouted before he died......

Cai Jiheng said coldly: "Maybe in a few days, we will meet Lei Jintao, and you can ask him when the time comes." ”

At this time, Shen Xingyun, who was beside him, suddenly shouted regardless of it: "Cai Jiheng, shut up!" Please, don't say it......"