The hydrogen bomb dropped on Sasebo in the early morning of April 7 not only shocked half of Japan, but also the entire Shijie.

From the Korean Peninsula, Ryukyu, Taiwan, and Vladivostok to Guam and Manila, almost all of East Asian land on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, I don't know how many people have been awakened from their sleep, and then they have seen blinding flashes of light in the night sky, and even heard deafening explosions. Even in the Hawaiian Islands, far away in the Pacific Ocean, there are people who claim to feel the ground shaking beneath their feet......

Because the electromagnetic pulse generated by the explosion of the hydrogen bomb disrupted radio communications within a radius of thousands of kilometers, and the mushroom cloud rich in radioactive dust also caused all electronic signals to be strongly interfered with. In addition, the shock wave of the nuclear explosion shattered telegraph and telephone lines, lifted ships and planes, and distorted the railroad tracks...... As a result, the nuclear explosion-stricken area has become an isolated island with almost complete interruption of communication and transportation in a short period of time.

Therefore, although at least half of the people in Japan were aware of the strange flash of light that pierced the sky in the early hours of the morning, it was not until a full five hours later that the central government in Tokyo, located on the other side of the Japanese archipelago, received some vague information from the vicinity of the nuclear explosion.

Therefore, Emperor Showa Renyu Bixia was still able to enjoy today's breakfast calmly, only to hear a vague bad news from the mouths of the important ministers who urgently entered the palace to meet - several cities in western Japan have lost contact with Tokyo for some reason, and the specific situation needs to be verified......

Even so, these sensational bad news. It has also plunged the whole of Tokyo into a commotion, and all kinds of rumors have spread falsely, and the more outrageous they become. Even the cultists who preached the end of Shijie jumped out and opened their mouths to fool around, so much so that the imperial government had to send out gendarmes to suppress it. And the well-informed dignitaries in the government and the court were as anxious as ants on a hot pot, trying their best to figure out what happened last night.

On the evening of April 7, the cruiser Atago, which had taken the lead in the disaster area, finally repaired its radio and sailed out of the center of the nuclear explosion at full speed. After overcoming the severe interference of radiation dust and electromagnetic pulses, and sending the first more detailed on-site investigation report to Tokyo, poor Admiral Okari was born. During the Imperial Meeting, his eyes darkened and he fainted.

- The entire Sasebo Town Guard was completely razed to the ground, and most of the Japanese Combined Fleet and at least 100 naval ships were reduced to ashes. Sixty thousand sailors, including the Marine Corps, the Naval Flying Corps, and the Base Garrison, were wiped out. Civilian casualties are simply not counted......

The situation in the Ministry of War was also full of mourning - just one day before the disaster broke out, the General Staff Headquarters had just transferred the 12th Division, the Kokura Division in Kitakyushu, to the port of Nagasaki to be loaded and shipped to Chinese mainland to participate in the war. As a result, as soon as the encampment was completed, the camp of the 12th Division was first swept away by the air waves, and then burned by fire, with heavy losses in soldiers and equipment, and even the whereabouts of the division commander were unknown.

Meanwhile. Seishiro Itagaki, a field investigator dispatched by the Army General Staff Headquarters, also flew in the twilight. Descending onto the still-smoky port of Nagasaki – the airport of Nagasaki had to be flown by seaplane since the airport had long since been destroyed – he saw a ruined city, a sea of death...... Isoroku Yamamoto, who was attending a banquet on an American battleship at the time, was lucky enough to escape, but Mitsumasa Yonechi, who had returned to Sasebo ahead of schedule, and other members of the entire Japanese Combined Fleet Command, were unfortunately wiped out en masse.

At this moment, the mushroom cloud over Sasebo has basically dissipated, but the radiation dust continues to fall, making it seem to be snowing within a radius of hundreds of kilometers around it—however, Seishiro Itagaki and other Japanese people have treated it as volcanic ash based on their previous experience and have not paid much attention to it—and after seeing the tragic scene along the coast of Omura Bay with his own eyes accompanied by Yamamoto Isoroku, Seishiro Itagaki didn't even have the courage to go to Sasebo, so he hurried home. Presented a report full of personal imagination to Tokyo: "...... In the early hours of April 7th, a large explosion occurred in the town of Morifu in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, and a huge fireball soared into the sky, as far as Kumamoto, Fukuoka, and the Amakusa Islands, which were clearly recognizable......

By 9 April, the Japanese Navy Ministry had finally made a preliminary report of the losses: the Combined Fleet had lost the battleships "Nagato", "Mutsu", "Fuso", "Yamashiro", "Hyuga" and "Ise", the aircraft carriers "Ryusho", "Fengxiang" and "Akagi", as well as six cruisers, 21 destroyers, four submarines, two training ships and a large number of minesweepers, torpedo boats, patrol boats, and so on.

The reason why these cutting-edge warships left their respective anchorages and gathered in Sasebo was, on the one hand, to prepare to support the Chinese mainland war, and more importantly, to hold a naval parade in front of the "British and American ghost animals" to "deter the barbarians...... Who knew that it would end up like this!

At this point, the third naval fleet of Shijie, which the Japanese Empire had built at great expense, had lost most of its large surface warships...... All that remained were four old Kongo-class battleships that were still modernized on the slipway, and an even older battleship, the Settsu – an old antique built shortly after the Russo-Japanese War and so worn out that it could only be used as a target ship – barely able to be towed out to fill the scene.

In addition to this, the Japanese Navy lost two battalions of marines, two battalions of naval base garrisons, a well-equipped military shipyard, about 150 combat aircraft, and supporting ground crews...... It can almost be said that the backbone was broken.

In addition, the British, French, and American expeditionary fleets, which are also suffering heavy losses, also rejected the repeated pleas of local officials in Nagasaki, Japan, after finishing the search and rescue work of their own sailors, and did not continue to participate in the rescue of Japanese civilians, but only gave some surplus food and medical supplies. On the morning of the day after the explosion, they hurriedly pulled anchor and set sail, leaving the land of death at top speed, preparing to return to their respective colonies.

However. While the sailors talked with trepidation about the catastrophe, rejoiced in their escape, and even wondered how they would have to relax when they returned, and how they would tell the wonderful stories of the expedition in the bars of the harbor to the idlers around them, they did not know that many of them were unaware of them. I can't go back to my hometown.

Because the "volcanic ash" that has been sprinkled on the deck has already sent deadly radiation into everyone's internal organs......

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Shanghai. Hongqiao Airport

The scenery of the south of the Yangtze River in spring is always intoxicatingly beautiful.

A few rays of rose-colored glow gradually emerged from the eastern sky, pure and beautiful. It's like a touch of rouge on the lips of Jiangnan beauty. The glorious morning light shines through the thick clouds. Bursting out of the crimson ribbons, tumbling with a glimmer of dazzling golden light.

Rice seedlings and a variety of vegetables sway in the wind in the green fields, exuding vitality. Swarms of butterflies and bees dance around the golden rape flowers to start the new year. Naughty kites float in the sky, tadpoles with twisting tails can be seen everywhere in the canals, and old cattle roaming the muddy field paths, showing an idyllic and leisurely scene.

However. With a loud roar, a silver-glittering jet reconnaissance plane swooped down. Breaking the peaceful atmosphere of spring. After a while, Colonel Ihonovsky, who was wearing a flight suit, jumped out of the cabin a little tiredly, walked straight to a jeep next to the runway, and took out a special military tablet from his backpack and stuffed it into the hands of Wang Qiu, who was sitting in the car.

“…… Phew, the nuclear explosion area has basically been photographed by the air, you send these data back and let your people from the General Staff study it! ”

The werewolf colonel, who had once been a good pilot, gasped a little tiredly and said rudely in Russian, "...... It's hard to fly long distances, and you don't have to drink alcohol on the way...... All right! Mission accomplished! Take me to the airport bar! I'm going to pour red card vodka down my throat! ”

He muttered as he rummaged around the jeep to get some exciting drink, but Zuihou just pulled out a can of beer, took a sip from his mouth, and spit it out unpleasantly, "...... Bah! It's not strong at all, it's really not something that men drink! ”

After listening to the translation of Miss Sonya, who was sitting next to him, Wang Qiu's face couldn't help but show a faint wry smile.

In the dictionary of most traditional Russian Maozi, there are many words, such as fear, rules, reason, abstinence from alcohol, etc., which basically belong to the same concept as "fart". Many hairy pilots with very hairy personalities and hairy bodies like to drink high-intensity vodka and juggle on the plane with a mouth full of alcohol...... If you don't let them drink, it will make them lose their spirits and their tempers will become irritable.

“…… Did this reconnaissance flight go well? I guess I didn't get intercepted by enemy planes! Or maybe the Japanese anti-aircraft guns? ”

Wang Qiu asked the colonel casually while instructing the driver to drive to the bar immediately, and then received a look like looking at an idiot.

“…… Are you kidding? Little comrades in China! Colonel Ihonovsky glanced at him with slight dissatisfaction, "...... How can the piston propeller plane on this shijie catch up with me now? And what kind of anti-aircraft guns are there at present, which can hit shells to an altitude of more than 10,000 meters? Not to mention that the hydrogen bomb has just exploded over there, everything is in a mess, where is the effort to pay attention to me in the sky? ”

…… Alas, aren't I worried that you will fly a reconnaissance plane in front of someone's anti-aircraft guns while driving under the influence of alcohol? Wang Qiu muttered to himself in his heart.

In fact, long before the 20 million tons of TNT-equivalent hydrogen bomb were officially used by the traversers, Colonel Ihonovsky had already piloted a long-range reconnaissance plane to take aerial photographs of the Sasebo military port and its vicinity, as a reference for the post-nuclear explosion.

At that time, the Japanese Navy and Army telegrams, which were closely monitored by the traversers, did not react to this matter at all, and it was estimated that they either did not see it, or they were treated as UFOs - this is still the case under normal circumstances, let alone the chaos after the nuclear explosion.

“…… Speaking of which. We have all dropped such a large hydrogen bomb, and the Japanese Empire should also surrender! ”

This time, it was Colonel Ihonovsky's turn to ask questions. “…… Did they send someone over to discuss the terms of the peace talks? ”

Wang Qiu only snorted from his nostrils about this, "...... Hmph, surrender? It's early! The Japanese are still dreaming of continuing to conquer China! Today's imperialist aggressors are all those who don't shed tears when they don't see their coffins! And Japanese militarism is even more crazy than the German Nazis! Just this morning, Japanese Prime Minister Keisuke Okada made a speech on the radio, calling on all the military and civilians to fulfill their duties and be united in one mind. Don't be defeated by a mere natural disaster, but turn grief into liliang and carry out the eternal hegemony of 'punishing the branch and carrying forward the imperial prestige' to the end! ”

Although Wang Qiu spoke a little verbose. But Colonel Ihonovsky still accurately grasped the key word, "...... Act of God? He grinned, "...... What do the Japanese actually think? ”

“…… That's right, not only the Japanese. Almost all of Shijie thinks so these days. He also ridiculed us for being greedy for the work of heaven for our own sake! It's incredibly calm. Wang Qiu nodded and complained depressedly.

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All in all, it seems to be unexpected, but it is reasonable - the 20 million tons of hydrogen bomb over the Sasebo Town Guard on Kyushu Island that buried the Japanese Combined Fleet did not stop the further expansion of the Japanese army in Chinese mainland!

On 9 April, the Battle of Xuchang ended because of the disunity of the Chinese resistance to Liliang, the internal sabotage of a large number of traitors, and the strong cooperation of the two Nationalist governments. The Japanese army only used one sixth division to defeat the 200,000 Northeast Army in one fell swoop. Frightened, Yang Hucheng's Northwest Army fled!

——The unlucky Zhang Xueliang had just set off from Xiangyang and rushed to the front line in Xuchang to supervise the battle, and several Northeast Army guards who stayed in Xiangyang were defeated by Chiang Kai-shek's "Silver Bullet Offensive", announced "peace and change of banners", and surrendered to the Wuhan Nationalist Government.

As soon as this incident came out, the Northeast Army on the Xuchang front line was immediately in turmoil. The Nanjing Nationalist Government also assembled six divisions of troops to cooperate with the Japanese army to carry out a flank attack on Nanyang, the logistics base of the Northeast Army, and also sent spies deep into various units of the Northeast Army, vigorously appeasing and buying many generals...... As a result, by the time the Sixth Division launched an attack from the southern front, the Northeast Army was already in a state of complete collapse and chaos, and it collapsed for thousands of miles without much resistance!

And Yang Hucheng, who was originally confronting the Fourth Division on the northern front and winning each other, saw that the entire right flank suddenly collapsed, and he was in danger of being outflanked and encircled, and the idea of preserving his strength suddenly prevailed, and he immediately turned around and retreated to Luoyang in stride-it seems that he is preparing to follow Dong Zhuo's old story of single-handedly challenging the princes of the Eighteenth Route in the eastern part of the country, and fight against the Japanese invaders again with the danger of the tiger prison that cannot be opened......

All in all, the losses of the Northwest Army in the Battle of Xuchang were not large, and Liliang continued to fight with the Japanese invaders.

In addition, through this stab in the back, Chiang Kai-shek recovered Xiangyang, the gateway to Jingbei, and at the same time, with the assistance of British gunboats, forced back the Sichuan army through negotiations, and recovered Yichang, which was holding the exit of the Three Gorges, thus basically controlling the whole province of Hubei, which can be regarded as a small winner.

On the contrary, Zhang Xueliang, who has always been a master and a low master, has become the biggest loser in this war, not only the 200,000 Northeast Army was defeated to pieces, but also lost a little territory in Zuihou in northern Jingbei and southern Henan, plus a little wife and a small treasury, and almost lost his pants...... At such a point, he could only collect the remnants of the defeated generals, while retreating to the Funiu Mountains in western Henan, the scene was extremely embarrassing, in stark contrast to the previous appearance of vowing to fight a war of shame, was jokingly called by the mean press: "The young marshal has a clever plan to calm the world, and he has lost his wife and broken his army!" ”

——When the news of the defeat in the Battle of Xuchang reached Shanghai, all the traversers were surprised: although they knew that Zhang Shaoshuai's fighting skills were not good, they didn't expect it to be so clumsy! I don't understand that even if the 200,000 Northeast Army is not attacked, after all, it is in a field fortification with deep ditches and fortifications, but in the face of the attack of only 30,000 Japanese troops, Weishenme will not be able to withstand it for even 48 hours?!

Zuihou, Comrade Fang Zhimin, who is still very familiar with the habits of various warlords in this era, broke through the sky in one sentence: "...... The Northeast Army, which handed over its territory and withdrew from North China after the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War, did not really have 200,000, but 'claimed' 200,000! With this amount, he only asked the central government for military salaries. How many people and how many guns there are, I'm afraid that even Zhang Xueliang and Zhang Shaomarshal themselves may not know...... What's more, it is impossible for Zhang Xueliang to suppress all the Northeast Army on the battlefield of Xuchang, and he has to leave some people in Nanyang and Xiangyang, plus some people in the army have been bribed and defected, and there seem to be assassins in the activities, it is not easy for this young marshal to escape with his life! Alas, the gun is inferior to the man, the cannon is inferior to the man, and that is secondary. The most feared thing is that people's hearts are scattered, in that case, no matter how well-equipped, even armed to the teeth, it will be in vain! (To be continued......)