After the Lushan Conference, Zhou Zhirou did not return to the Nanjing Air Force Headquarters immediately. Instead, he took Zhou Zhihan to inspect various air force bases.
War is inevitable, and the Air Force is about to unsheath its sword. Before this war, morale needs to be boosted.
In wartime, morale is very important.
Before the war, there was no time to teach the pilots to hone their skills. Now, all that could be done was to boost morale.
In aerial combat, courage can sometimes make up for tactical and technical deficiencies.
"In the face of powerful enemies, our Chinese Air Force must dare to show our swords. Even if we are in deep trouble, even if there is no way out behind us, as a bloody Chinese man, we still dare to show our swords!"
This is what Zhou Zhihan said most often to the young airmen. Whenever he said this, not to mention the young air force pilots, even he himself felt as if his blood was being pumped and his blood was boiling.
The last stop was at Hangzhou Jianqiao Aviation College. Unfortunately, Chen Dade, Huang Panyang, and Huang Xinrui were not here today. It is said that the contract period of the three of them in China is about to expire and they may return to the United States.
Until now, Zhou Zhihan didn't know that the eleven P26 fighter jets sold to China by the United States last year were just the export version of the Boeing 281. The capabilities of the fighter jets were greatly reduced. What made him almost jump up and curse at his mother was that the Americans actually used the Boeing 281 fighter jets. All communication systems above were dismantled.
The Boeing 281 without a communication system is really worse than a toy gun now.
How can fighter jets without communication systems carry out joint operations? Wouldn't it be like a piece of scattered sand in the air?
For now, among all China's fighter jets, only the nine newly arrived Martin 139 WC heavy bombers and more than 90 Hawker 3 fighter jets, as well as the Gladiator fighter jets that were just delivered to the UK at the end of July and early August, have communications. Systems and communication systems on other fighter jets were mostly dismantled before entering China.
Zhou Zhihan almost jumped up and cursed his mother.
The war is approaching, and it is useless to scold the mother. The most urgent task now is how to bring out the combat effectiveness of the Boeing 281.
After a short period of thinking, Zhou Zhihan handed over some simple sign language to the air force pilots, such as the OK gesture, which means good and OK, and stretched out an index finger to swing left and right, the ON sign, which means no.
A young pilot named Ren Yunge suddenly came up with the idea of using some colorful ribbons to represent secret codes that only Chinese pilots know. As a code slogan for Boeing 281 fighter jets, everyone applauded and accepted it.
This is also a helpless move.
That’s all!
Because there is currently no better solution.
In early August 1937, Zhou Zhihan and Zhou Zhirou returned to Nanjing. Recently, the Air Force Headquarters was making intensive preparations for the war.
When Zhou Zhihan returned home, the Zhou family had decided to move their family south to Chengdu. His two uncles were now buying land and building houses in Chengdu. They should be able to move out of Nanjing and go to Chengdu, Sichuan by the end of August.
During this period, some relatives of Zhou Zhihan's family seemed to have smelled something. Seeing that the Zhou family moved south, several relatives also followed them to Chongqing. Now Zhou Zhihan is not only the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, Zhou Zhirou, a popular figure, but Principal Jiang personally gave him a gift. Word also spread about the sword.
Just after returning from abroad, he was awarded the rank of captain, and became a popular figure in front of the Air Force Commander-in-Chief Zhou Zhirou. Then he was valued by the principal, and he had a bright future!
Therefore, none of the relatives of the Zhou family want to follow the Zhou family to get promoted and make a fortune.
On the second night after returning, Zhou Zhihan went to find his mentor Mao Bangchu and took out the photos of the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters he had just returned to Shanghai, as well as photos of the Izumo and other battleships on the Huangpu River. To Mao Bangchu.
Mao Bangchu asked: "Have you ever seen these photos by others?"
Zhou Zhihan shook his head: "I just rinsed it out, so I will show you the first one."
Mao Bangchu nodded, indicating that he, as a student, always puts himself first in his heart.
"You also know the current situation. War between China and Japan is inevitable. If the photo you took standing on the Izumo battleship is taken out, people who know you will say that you are loyal and patriotic. People who don't know you will definitely keep it private. There are rumors and slander, which will damage your reputation to some extent."
Zhou Zhihan nodded. He was so patriotic that he looked for an opportunity to board the Izumo. After he came back, due to his full schedule, he almost forgot about the photos he took on the Izumo. It wasn't until he came back from Lushan that the battle Later, he remembered that he should take out the photos of the Izumo and other Japanese warships for everyone's reference.
Since entering the Air Force Headquarters and being awarded the rank of captain, he has attended more meetings and met more people of all kinds. He vaguely feels that many things are not as simple as he thought before. It is not that you have a patriotic enthusiasm. can be accepted by everyone.
Because he was promoted so quickly, there were inevitably people who said bad things about him behind his back, and there were inevitably people who were jealous and resentful. So when the photos were developed, he was the first to show them to Mao Bangchu.
Mao Bangchu stood on the Izumo holding Zhou Zhihan, holding a photo of the ship's weapons and looking at it: "Zhihan! On the eve of the war, many of the important matters of the people will become more complicated than before. If these photos are taken Coming out will definitely do more harm than good to you. Once troubled people gossip in front of some big shots, you may not be able to get clean even if you jump into the Yellow River. I am your mentor, and I believe in you, but others may not be all the same. I believe you. You said that you boarded the Izumo in order to find out Japanese military secrets. Who will testify for you? Who will prove your motive for boarding the Izumo in the first place?"
"Yes! Master!"
Zhou Zhihan stood respectfully with his hands down, his back dripping with cold sweat. If Mao Bangchu could say these words to him, he really regarded him as his disciple.
"Keep these photos carefully first, don't let anyone see them!" Mao Bangchu put all the photos into a photo bag, "Zhihan! I advise you to destroy all these photos and film."
"Yes! Teacher!" Zhou Zhihan replied.
After leaving Mao Bangchu's home, Zhou Zhihan suddenly realized that there were many factions within the Kuomintang, and they were fighting openly and secretly, which was of no benefit to the country or the people.
Just like what happened today, if it were an upright Communist Party, these photos would definitely become the best reference for studying enemy warships.
Before he traveled through time, he had already become an excellent Communist Party member in college. He knew that the Party acted openly and aboveboard, and that Party members served the people with no conscience. Compared with the Kuomintang's overt and covert struggles, the Communist Party won the hearts of the people.
At around 5 pm on August 9, 1937, Lieutenant Oyama Isamu and First Class Sailor Kaname Saito of the Japanese Marine Corps stationed in Toyota Cotton Mill in Shanghai barged into Hongqiao Airport with concealed guns and were shot dead on the spot.
This incident caused tensions between China and Japan in Shanghai, and war was imminent.
Both the Chinese and Japanese armies began to secretly deploy their troops and generals.
Japanese Consul General in Shanghai Yuki Okamoto took a very tough stance during negotiations with the Shanghai mayor, demanding that China withdraw its security forces from Shanghai and dismantle all fortifications.
The Chinese representative, Shanghai Mayor Yu Hongjun, sternly rejected the Japanese's unreasonable demands.
This incident was reported by foreign newspapers, and various public opinions were divided for a while, which further aggravated the imminent war situation between China and Japan.
On the same day, Commander Kiyoshi Hasegawa of the Japanese 3rd Fleet in Shanghai ordered Japanese warships to enter the ports of the Huangpu River and Yangtze River. His fleet rushed to Shanghai to prepare for the battle. He also ordered the 1st Special Marine Corps and other units on standby in Sasebo, Japan, to provide reinforcements. Shanghai.
The Chinese government and army showed no sign of weakness. After Zhang Zhi received the order to march to Shanghai at 9 pm on August 11 to prepare for the siege of the Japanese army, he acted quickly. The 87th Division, 88th Division, and 20th Independent Brigade moved from Changshu and Wuxi respectively. , Suzhou and other places advanced to the vicinity of urban Shanghai. In the early morning, the leading troops of the 88th Division entered urban Shanghai and launched a fierce attack on the enemy at any time.
On the evening of August 10, the Air Force Headquarters received an order that all fighter planes enter a state of first-level emergency preparation. All pilots are on standby and in uniform. Once the war starts, all fighter planes must take off to defend the enemy within 5 minutes after receiving the order. .
The war is about to break out, and all Chinese pilots are gearing up. They have been waiting for this day for a long time.
Facing the powerful Japanese invaders, each of the young Chinese pilots wrote a suicide note before the war.
There is one sentence in everyone's mind - in the face of powerful enemies, Chinese Air Force pilots dare to show their swords, even if they are deeply trapped, even if they have no way out, they will fight to the end.
——
Writing this, the author burst into tears. In the next three months, the Chinese Air Force shed blood in the sky, and all pilots died collectively.
Although the entire army was wiped out in the end, China's young pilots dared to show their swords, and their feats won the respect of the world!
We should remember their names.
ps: Junzhong - military (junzhong) government.
Some words are intentionally written in white, I hope everyone can understand them!
