When they visually observed that the aircraft fleet was approaching, the people who had been prepared for a long time lit up half-sectioned oil drums filled with wood.
Flames shot up and black smoke shot straight into the sky. The leader of the team, a Type 35 torpedo bomber, immediately shook its wings, corrected its course, and then slowly dropped in altitude.
In order to maximize the use of transportation capacity across the country, airdrop supplies to rescue disaster areas were concentrated in Kaifeng Prefecture and Fushan Prefecture, with the air force responsible for the former and the navy responsible for the latter.
The first batch of supplies came from the 4th Team of the 2nd Lightning Strike Detachment, a torpedo bomber unit that took off from Fushan Naval Base.
The pilots who usually trained to identify directions at sea and throw torpedoes under strict requirements this time dropped airdrop boxes one after another.
Soon, white round parachutes bloomed in the sky, like large dandelions falling slowly.
"The accuracy is not good. Two-thirds are far behind. After all, temporary guest appearances cannot be compared to professionals." Zhou Changfeng waved his hand and ordered: "Follow the previous plan and organize manpower to recover it to prevent it from being robbed."
Each Type 35 torpedo bomber can carry 900kg of ammunition. Normally, it mounts one 448mm aviation torpedo, but now it mounts four 200kg cylindrical airdrop boxes.
More than forty twin-engine torpedo planes flew over in four-tiered formations. Since the flight height was only three hundred meters, the visual effects on the ground were quite shocking and very exciting.
For a time, cheers came one after another from the city.
After these two days of thunderous tactics, order in Caozhou City has been restored to some extent. Some of the remaining bandits have either disbanded or gone into hiding in despair, no longer daring to act recklessly.
"You're stupid, aren't you? You're just playing the piano randomly!"
Zhou Changfeng came to check out the airdropped relief supplies with great interest. The first few boxes were pretty good, but the contents of the fifth box left him with black marks on his head.
Thick cotton jacket and cotton pants?
It’s the kind of big cotton-padded jacket used in cold regions that holds four pounds of cotton!
South of the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River, a cotton-padded jacket can keep out the cold with one pound of cotton; further north, but within Shanhaiguan, two to three pounds of cotton is enough; only from Shenyang and continuing north do you need a large cotton-padded jacket with four pounds of cotton.
It's August now, with temperatures in the twenties during the day and over ten degrees at night. Although it was a bit chilly due to continuous rain in the past two days, what's the point of sending a big cotton-padded jacket?
I am really worried that the victims will catch cold, so just sending some thin blankets is enough. The same weight can transport several times more. Airdropping a thousand cotton jackets and trousers is simply outrageous.
In addition, what makes people unable to complain is that many boxes of cans lack matching can openers, folding camp beds, latex umbrellas, etc.
If you don’t have a can opener, how can you open this iron can that is so strong that it won’t break even if you drop it from the third floor?
What is the use of a bulky and space-consuming camp bed? Can't it be replaced by food and medicine?
Latex umbrella, this... Zhou Changfeng couldn't even figure out why he was carrying this thing.
Feeling speechless, he couldn't help but stamp his feet and said: "I must go and see who can think of transporting these things!"
Gao Senbai on the side said with relief: "This is not bad, at least it is real money. In the past, during relief operations, people would always take the opportunity to clear their accounts, and it was easy to erase the items that were resold in the past."
"Hey, some weird things happen." Luo Fu also sighed and said with emotion: "You can't usually tell that, only critical moments are the most testing of government functions. This airdrop was handled by the Fushan Naval Base. Something also went wrong..."
"A qualified government has a self-correction mechanism. It doesn't matter if something goes wrong. The key is whether it can be dealt with in time." Zhou Changfeng depressedly poked the sturdy iron can with a knife, and only a few appeared. dent.
Looking back at the history of ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, there will always be all kinds of weird and bizarre things happening in countries that are in decline. It can only be said that reality is often more magical than stories. For the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Changfeng feels that he has been mentally prepared.
After all, sometimes it’s just a matter of comparison, such as the falsification of steel data on U.S. nuclear submarines, the video taken by a female British nuclear submarine officer, the British Air Force’s ingenious “welcome” ceremony using mortars, etc. Many things are really eye-opening. .
Although there are many useless and outrageous gadgets, with the arrival of several rounds of airdrops, Caozhou's shortage of medicines has finally been adequately replenished.
High-protein, high-calorie foods such as canned meat and candies have greatly improved the lives of citizens.
Under such circumstances, what could be more pleasurable and satisfying than consuming meat and sugar?
Based on the original several private medical clinics and large government-run hospitals, a total of three temporary medical stations were set up in the urban area. The injured were transported in time and centralized treatment and care were provided.
Now it really means "life will get better day by day".
The gramophones that were dug out from the ruins of the store and were still in damage were distributed among various parties. As night fell, many men and women who knew musical instruments started playing with the accompaniment of melodious music.
The sounds of pipa, erhu, violin and other musical instruments are intertwined together, and they are still on the ruins, which gives people a different feeling.
Zhou Changfeng was quite pleased with people's spontaneous enjoyment of hardship. He moved a bench outside the tent at the command post, lit a cigarette and sat alone.
Looking at the bright stars all over the black screen, he was quickly distracted by his thoughts.
"Although it is said that 'born in sorrow and dies in happiness', I always feel that God has brought too many disasters to our country. Throughout the ages, it is normal to have a small disaster every year and a big disaster every three years." As he said this, Luo Fu also He moved the bench and sat next to Zhou Changfeng.
The latter was silent for a few seconds after his thoughts were interrupted, and said quietly: "There is no way to avoid natural disasters. As for the suffering, it is actually... relatively small."
He took a deep breath and changed the subject: "By the way, the Nanyang region is humid and hot. Air-cooled engines are more likely to overheat there. Have you considered this?"
Luo Fu was wondering about what Zhou Changfeng had just said, "the suffering is relatively small." Now hearing this question about being thousands of miles apart, he couldn't help but be stunned for two seconds.
He thought for a while and replied: "There are gains and losses. The air-cooling structure is simple and easy to maintain, but the performance will indeed be inferior. In Southeast Asia...for example, in Java, the daytime temperature in summer is more than 30 degrees, and the car is Continuous driving at noon and afternoon can easily lead to overheating and failure, so it is recommended to avoid driving during hotter times of the day.”
Zhou Changfeng said "Yeah", "That's okay, service reliability is also very important."
From August 4th, Caozhou began to improve day by day after the situation stabilized.
The patrolling security detachment has also become more and more strict. When queuing up to distribute food every day, some people line up again and again with a sense of luck. It would be okay if this behavior was not discovered. Once discovered, he would soon be tied to a nearby pillar with a rope and displayed to the public for a day and night.
When rescuing survivors buried under the rubble, they often find dead citizens. There are also people who are obsessed with money and secretly take the watches on the wrists of some corpses for themselves. Some thieves who were captured and shot had their sleeves rolled up and were wearing six or seven watches on their entire arms.
If you are inhumane, then you are not humane. In troubled times, you can only use heavy codes.
On August 9, the troops arriving from many directions arrived at Dongming County in the west and Dingtao County in the southeast, only a few dozen miles away from Caozhou.
On August 11, at dusk in the Western Mountains, a platoon from the Scout Battalion of the Army's 40th Infantry Division trekked through the rugged wilderness all afternoon and successfully arrived at the unrecognizable urban area of Caozhou.
The next morning, battalions arrived one after another. The division's engineer battalions repaired the dilapidated official roads along the way to allow subsequent teams of vehicles and horses carrying supplies to pass through.
"The staff department was ordered to arrive in Caozhou on the 12th, and the deadline must be reached." A major held his fists towards Zhou Changfeng and said: "Sir Zhou, please hand over."
The latter breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, after working hard for more than ten days, I can finally rest."
"Where are you going to rest? There should be a contact plane landing later. You can catch a ride on the way..."
"Of course I will go back to prison to recuperate."
? ? ?
August 12 was destined to be an extraordinary day. On this day, the Red Eagle Legion officially withdrew from the battle and began to evacuate Spain.
Although the International Brigade has not yet received clear instructions, it may not be able to stay for long.
The strategic decisive battle between the National Army and the Republican Army that lasted more than a month ago ended in a draw with mutual gains and losses. However, military observers and intelligence agencies from various countries believe that the latter has actually embarked on the path of failure.
In this decisive battle, even if the International Brigade was not considered, four divisions of the Republican Army with rich combat experience suffered heavy losses, and the remaining dozen divisions and brigades that participated in the battle also suffered varying degrees of losses.
The troops that the Germans spent more than half a year helping to train were unwisely wasted. In addition to the loss of personnel, the gap in weapons and equipment also expanded rapidly. Gold and silver were exhausted, and the Ming Dynasty suspended subsequent arms transactions. Deshe delivered all the unfinished arms half-sold and half-given, but then it no longer accepted other forms of purchase.
Also on August 12, the battleship Longshuo of the Toyo Fleet, accompanied by three destroyers, an oil tanker, and a food tanker, set sail and left Hangzhou Naval Base for the British Empire, thousands of miles away. island.
Also accompanying the ship were the right minister of the Ministry of Etiquette and the young minister of Honglu Temple who were envoyed by the emperor to attend the coronation ceremony of the British King, as well as various gifts.
Due to the Caozhou earthquake, the Navy suspended preparations for departure from the port a few days ago and only resumed these days. Therefore, the fleet of the Ming Navy participating in the ship review was three days later than the scheduled departure time, so it had to The speed increased during the voyage.
"I haven't seen you for a whole month. Welcome back, Commander Zhou."
At the gate of Qixia Prison, the warden Yuan Huai who came to greet him in person smiled and said with a smile.
Welcome back to prison? Zhou Changfeng almost gave him a kick when he heard this.
When passing by the lobby, he caught a glimpse of a scale in the corner, so he weighed himself on the way and found that he weighed one hundred and thirty-one pounds.
I was still 136 pounds when I was imprisoned more than a month ago. The weight loss effect is quite obvious.
"Being on the front line and sharing the joys and sorrows, it must be hard work." Yuan Huai sighed, and then ordered: "We also have to be more attentive and make a small effort for Commander Zhou in the past few days to make up for it."
Several people nearby agreed immediately, claiming that they would make a special trip to purchase some good tenderloins and hooves, and promised to make Zhou Changfeng gain five pounds within ten days.
Returning to prison life did not affect Zhou Changfeng's mentality very much. The combat experience summary report and recommendations he had been writing before were only completed in draft, and there were still areas that needed revision.
In addition, he was still thinking about all the things that happened during Caozhou's disaster relief, especially the two members of the Consultative Council and the sub-inspector who walked around after landing.
Seeing that Zhou Changfeng wrote a document specifically to complain about these two people and the weird things about airdropping supplies, Mu Yu couldn't help but persuaded: "You can't do it, right? Isn't this just looking for trouble? It's very offending to be so serious."
"I'm just discussing the matter. Those two people are so disgusting that others can't complain?" Zhou Changfeng shook his pen slightly, "I've asked about that congressman. Those who are pioneering the radical party. These guys are not well received by others. They should be treated differently in the future. If other people follow and criticize, it won’t be a big problem.”
This is the largest right-wing and ultra-right party in the Ming Dynasty. In recent years, due to the internal factors of capitalist development, class contradictions have inevitably intensified. The argument of pioneering the radical party has been pursued by many people in the Ming Dynasty. The National People’s Association, the Peasants’ and Workers’ League, The Republican Party and other parties have been jointly suppressing it.
"As for that sub-inspector, damn it, as a supervisory official, he can't even manage himself, so he still expects to control others? Hurry up, you bastard."
Seeing his resolute attitude, Mu Yu couldn't persuade him any more.
Zhou Changfeng was more cautious and called Zhu Lingjing for instructions.
Even though the latter was in a good mood today, he was very speechless after learning about it. You are already back in prison, why can't you be more honest? If you can do it less, do it less.
However, considering that the matter itself was considered legitimate, and that both the emperor and the crown prince believed that the growth of far-right forces should be curbed to a certain extent, and that the multi-faceted suppression was in line with the holy will, she did not express any objection.
"...You can exaggerate your words, but you can't involve others, do you understand?"
"Clear." Zhou Changfeng agreed readily.
Zhu Lingjing, who was on the opposite side of the microphone, hesitated for several seconds, but finally couldn't hold it back any longer. She complained: "I know you don't intend to sensationalize, but can't you just rest for a while?"
Zhou Changfeng, who was also a little helpless, was choked. After a while, he replied: "But, Your Highness, I don't want to be high-profile. I can only say that in the general environment of the Ming Dynasty, doing serious business will appear high-profile..."
"Just take care of yourself. Well...literally."
In fact, the Ming Dynasty's dignitaries are not very interested in the far-right forces that have been raging in recent years. Everyone generally believes that these guys are a group of instigating liars, but it cannot be denied that they can indeed divert certain conflicts and are beneficial to maintaining rule.
Therefore, the emperor and the crown prince have been treating it with caution, maintaining it to a level that is influential but not out of control.
Okay, the transitional plot has come to an end. More than 20,000 words shouldn’t be too much.
(End of chapter)
