lerbook Chapter 286 These Japanese devils in North China aren't very strong either!
Chapter 286 These Japanese devils in North China aren't very strong either!
The piercing shriek instantly tore through the rainy sky over the North China Plain.
In the sky, rows of Japanese twin-engine heavy bombers, escorted by fighter jets, streaked down through thick rain clouds, leaving long trails of white smoke.
The roar of the engines combined into a sound like the low groan of death, causing the rubble on the ground to tremble slightly.
"Take cover, quickly take cover!"
"The Japanese planes are coming to retaliate!"
Those Fengtian Army and Northwest Army soldiers who hadn't run far were terrified when they saw this, and scrambled into the bushes and trenches on both sides of the railway.
In their eyes, the Japanese Army Air Force is like a god in the sky, and any ground troops without anti-aircraft firepower are just lambs to the slaughter in front of bombers.
Meanwhile, the 88mm anti-aircraft gun positions that Chen Jiajun had just exposed were in perfect order.
The soldiers quickly put up camouflage nets in an attempt to provide final cover, but the massive outline of the cannons was still clearly visible from the air on the clearing washed by the heavy rain.
Inside the temporary command post, Shen Li's face was rather grim, his fists clenched tightly.
"Young Marshal, during the attack on Hirata Regiment just now, all the horizontal firing positions of the 88mm anti-aircraft guns were exposed."
"The Japanese bombers came too fast. The 88mm anti-aircraft guns needed time to turn towards the air, and their rate of fire was too slow to suppress so many low-flying enemy planes!"
"If they destroy these anti-aircraft guns, our later battles will be much more difficult!"
Shen Li's voice carried a hint of anxiety.
Chen Zijun stood at the observation post, watching the approaching dark silhouette of the plane, his eyes cold and unwavering, showing no sign of panic.
"What's the panic?"
"Since they dared to lure them here, I have no intention of letting them leave alive."
Chen Zijun's voice was frighteningly calm.
Under Shen Li's questioning gaze, Chen Zijun slowly closed his eyes, his consciousness instantly sinking into the depths of his mind.
A golden system interface suddenly lit up in my mind, and the funds section displayed an extremely large number: £18,453,200.
"System, open the anti-aircraft firepower exchange list."
Chen Zijun coldly commanded in his heart.
"Ding, the list of low-altitude air defense weapons has been unlocked."
"Exchange for 36 German-made FLAK38 quadruple 20mm anti-aircraft guns, equipped with two sets of low-altitude fire control and early warning radar, along with sufficient ammunition and soldier operation training. Exchange confirmed."
"confirm!"
"Ding, exchange successful. A total of £3,000,000 has been deducted. Current balance: £15,453,200."
"All supplies have been deployed to the secret warehouse at the rear defense line, and the relevant personnel are in place. Please collect them promptly."
As soon as the system notification sound ended, Chen Zijun suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes flashing with a violent light.
"Shen Li, issue orders to the front lines immediately."
"Drive all those thirty-six anti-aircraft tracked trucks that were previously transported to the rear train station and kept covered by tarpaulins up here!"
"That's a steel hedgehog I bought from Germany with my own hard-earned money!"
Chen Zijun suddenly waved his hand and gave a loud command.
Although Shen Li didn't know what was inside the covered vehicles, out of absolute blind obedience to Chen Zijun, he immediately grabbed the phone and roared at the top of his lungs, "Air defense battalion, bring all the special trucks from the rear up! Now! Immediately!"
The roar of heavy oil engines suddenly rose from behind the defensive line.
Immediately afterwards, thirty-six trucks equipped with heavy off-road chassis roared out of the rear concealment.
When the soldiers ripped the canvas off the truck bed, they revealed a series of extremely ferocious-looking steel monsters inside.
Those were rotating anti-aircraft turrets, each with four thick 20mm anti-aircraft gun barrels mounted side by side, gleaming with a cold and bloodthirsty light in the rain.
With its quadruple anti-aircraft guns boasting a terrifying rate of fire of nearly two thousand rounds per minute, it is the ultimate nemesis of low-flying aircraft.
Meanwhile, the Japanese naval air squadron in the sky had entered the final dive phase.
Squadron Leader Major Yokoyama sat in the cockpit of the lead aircraft, a cruel and contemptuous sneer on his face.
"Attention squadron, the Chinese ground troops have no heavy anti-aircraft weapons; they're just moving targets!"
"Everyone, descend to a low altitude of 200 meters!"
"Don't just use bombs, use aircraft machine guns to strafe and turn all the Chinese on the ground into mincemeat!"
Major Yokoyama roared arrogantly into the radio.
In his view, although the Black-Clad Army on the ground had annihilated Hirata Regiment in the land battle, under the absolute suppression of the Empire's air superiority, they could only become helpless trash.
Besides, those arrogant army idiots deserved to be blasted into dust by artillery.
More than thirty heavy bombers and fighters, like a flock of eagles hunting their prey, swooped down toward the ground with strange cries. The machine guns on the nose of the planes had already begun to spew fire, carving out trails of smoke and muddy water in the muddy wasteland.
"Two hundred and fifty meters!"
"Two hundred meters!"
On Chen Jiajun's position, the anti-aircraft battalion commander stared intently at the rangefinder in his hand, veins bulging on his forehead, before abruptly slashing down his hand flag.
"Air raid fire net, fire!"
In an instant, a terrifying roar, like tearing through thick leather, echoed across the entire wasteland.
Thirty-six quadruple 20mm anti-aircraft guns fired simultaneously.
One hundred and forty-four cannons spewed out thousands of tracer rounds in a single second, weaving an impenetrable red fire net in the dark rain.
This was not ordinary anti-aircraft barrage; it was a steel wall made of metal bullets that instantly enveloped the low-altitude airspace.
"Da da da da da da!"
The terrifying rate of fire caused the air to distort due to the intense heat.
The three Japanese Type 97 fighters at the forefront had no time to make any evasive maneuvers and crashed head-on into this wall of death.
Under the intense barrage of 20mm armor-piercing incendiary rounds, the aircraft's aluminum alloy shell was torn apart instantly, as if it were made of paper.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Three enormous fireballs exploded in mid-air, scattering limbs, broken pieces of the aircraft wings, and other debris everywhere.
"Baka! How is this possible?!"
"How could the Chinese have such a dense array of anti-aircraft guns?!"
Major Yokoyama's smile froze instantly, and he was so shocked by the scene before him that he was completely speechless.
Before he could react, the twenty-four 88mm anti-aircraft guns on the ground had also completed their elevation adjustments and began roaring into the sky.
"Boom! Boom!"
Huge plumes of black smoke kept exploding in the sky.
Those were pre-fragmented anti-aircraft shells fired from 88mm anti-aircraft guns. Under the action of the proximity fuse, the shells exploded near the fighter jets, instantly releasing hundreds or thousands of high-speed fragments.
The wings of the two bombers were sheared off by shrapnel, and they spun around and plunged into the muddy wasteland, turning into towering flames.
"Retreat! Immediately raise the price! Raise the price!"
Major Yokoyama screamed in terror over the radio, frantically pulling on the control stick in an attempt to get the plane back into the clouds.
However, the dense barrage of red bullets, like countless red whips, had already crossed and converged in the air.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do!"
On the ground, at an anti-aircraft artillery position, the gunner of a quadruple autocannon, with red eyes and gritted teeth, kept his sights firmly fixed on the command aircraft with red paint.
"Die!"
A dense hail of bullets poured out in an instant.
Major Yokoyama felt a violent jolt throughout his body as the glass dome of the cabin shattered instantly, and countless shards of glass and metal fragments pierced his body.
"Heaven will punish... Chen Zijun..."
After Major Yokoyama let out a final, desperate scream, his aircraft's engine and fuel tank were completely destroyed, turning into a dazzling firework in the sky.
The air battle lasted only fifteen minutes.
Of the forty menacing Japanese fighter planes that had come from the north, only four, riddled with bullet holes and billowing black smoke, managed to escape in panic. The remaining thirty-six were left behind in the ruins of the North China Plain.
Behind the sand dunes north of Lugou Bridge, several foreigners wearing woolen overcoats stood there blankly.
At this moment, the binoculars in the hands of British military observer in China, British Army officer, and British Army staff officer McChrystal were still trembling slightly.
"Oh, my God..."
"This is not a ragtag army of warlords; this is an air defense network even more luxurious than that of the major European powers!"
McChrystal swallowed hard, his voice filled with unprecedented shock.
"Thirty-six quadruple-mounted machine guns, and those heavy anti-aircraft guns... what an enormous amount of funding and industrial support that would require!"
"Chen Zijun's wealth is probably more than ten times that of the Nanjing government!"
The U.S. military attaché stared intently at the battlefield that was being cleared, his face grim.
"A telegram must be sent to Washington and London immediately. Chen Zijun's performance in North China will completely change the military landscape of the Far East."
On the battlefield, as the smoke gradually dissipated, the wreckage of Japanese aircraft was still burning, making crackling sounds.
Shen Li strode into the command post, clutching a metal briefcase that was charred black from the fire.
"Young Marshal, a resounding victory!"
"These Japanese devils in North China aren't very strong either!!"
"We practically fed the entire Hirata Regiment and an entire Japanese air squadron with turkeys!"
"In addition, the brothers found this briefcase near the Hirata Regiment's command post while cleaning up the battlefield."
"Inside was a top-secret letter from the Japanese Imperial Headquarters and a military deployment map!"
As Shen Li spoke, he handed over the pried-open briefcase.
Chen Zijun took the top-secret document inside, casually shook off the ashes, and coldly read on.
With just one glance, his brows furrowed sharply, and a terrifying murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
The document clearly states that three elite Class A divisions of the Kwantung Army have completed their assembly in Korea and will enter Northeast China by land within two days, attempting to completely annex the Northeast and force the Fengtian clique to surrender completely with overwhelming force.
"Three Class A divisions..."
"You want to invade Northeast China?"
A cruel and bloodthirsty smirk curled at the corner of Chen Zijun's mouth.
"The Japanese devils certainly have quite the appetite."
"Since he's willing to bury them, I can't just leave them here to be buried. So let's not go back, let's leave them all here on the Northeast Plain as fertilizer."
"I've heard that the soil in Northeast China is all black and very fertile!"
"Perfect for burying these heartless Japanese devils..."