Back to morning.
Hankou Airport.
A large war room at the airport.
General Yamaguchi Munta, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese aviation force invading China, sat at the head of the long oval table with a gloomy face, causing the air in the room to almost condense. Standing on both sides of the table were dozens of officers and pilots from the navy and army aviation.
At this meeting, almost all the ace pilots among all the aces of the Japanese army in China were present.
Among them are Colonel Okuda Kikuji, known as the "King of Bombers", Colonel Moritaka Mori, the "King of Destroyers", Major Chiyoji Mori, the "King of Reconnaissance Planes", Major Naosaburo Hosokawa, the "King of Torpedo Planes", and "Ace of Air Combat" Major Kato of the "Squadron", ace pilot Captain Kondo, and the injured Saburo Itai were also standing on the side with crutches. There were also several Type 97 Marine Fighter pilots who returned from Kunlun Pass last night. All of them had their heads lowered. , Dare not take a breath.
Among them, Moritaka Nakaba, Naosaburo Hosokawa, and Chiyoji Mori participated in the Battle of Songhu. They once witnessed the air battle between Zhou Zhihan and Shichiro Yamashita, the God of War and the God of War. At that time, they were just emerging, but now they are famous.
The atmosphere in the war room condensed for two or three minutes before Yamaguchi Tawen slowly stood up. His angular face was covered with clouds. He turned around and reached out to take off the silver-inlaid sword hanging on the knife stand. He held it in his right hand. Holding the sheath of the knife in his left hand, he slowly pulled it back, flashing the cold light of the knife, which scared the legs of several pilots who returned from Kunlun Pass last night and turned pale.
Yamaguchi Tawen slowly wiped the knife, and after another ten seconds, he said:
"A total of 213 fighter planes of various types were destroyed or damaged. When the news spread to the country, the entire high command in Tokyo was shocked. The emperor was even more furious when he found out.
To make matters worse, General Masao Nakamura was killed at Kunlun Pass, and his body was obtained by the Chinese army. This was the first time since the imperial army entered China that the body of a general who was killed in action could not be returned to Japan.
The wartime cabinet ordered that the body of General Nakamura should be retrieved at all costs and returned to the country for burial.
These two consecutive failures brought shame to the empire, especially the losses at Nanning Airport. The cabinet ordered that all derelict commanders be escorted back to Tokyo for trial. Major Masaki Morimoto, the commander of the Nanning Airport air defense position, committed suicide on the spot. , which is considered to be an advantage for him. "
The pilots of the Type 97 Marine Combat who returned to the defense were staring at their toes, with sweat dripping from the tips of their noses. When they returned to the defense last night, they attacked the imperial air defense position outside Nanning Airport. They made a big mistake and landed at another airport. After that, he was put under quarantine and guarded. Not long after, he received the order and flew directly to Hankou Airport on a military plane.
During the flight, several people were separated, and there were special guards to prevent them from saying a word to each other.
After arriving at Hankou Airport, a captain inquired about their return to defense in detail one by one, and then waited for General Yamaguchi Tawen to decide their fate.
"Everyone, sit down!" Yamaguchi Duowen finally spoke, stretching out his palms to press down.
Except for the few pilots returning to defense who had no seats, everyone else sat down.
At this moment, the pilots who were returning to defense almost wet their pants.
Yamaguchi Tawen said to the pilots: "You guys have worked hard. I don't blame you last night. It was the air defense force that opened fire first. You should also sit down. I will ask you something later."
Immediately, an orderly brought a bench nearby.
"Hai!"
As if those pilots were amnesty, they discovered that their shirts were already wet with sweat.
Yamaguchi's eyes were like an eagle, and he looked around the crowd: "This major failure in Nanning, let's put it aside for now, and then discuss and summarize it later. Today, I want you to come, mainly to study how to defeat China's air force ace pilot, in order to Boost the sagging morale of our troops.”
Major Kato stood up: "General! After the Battle of Bishan, I asked someone to draw the appearance of the Messerschmitt flown by the Chinese pilot based on the intuitive descriptions of Yamaguchi Takashi and Ono, and brought it to us. The German Air Force, our ally, looked at it and they confirmed that it was a Bf 109F0 fighter, which is the most advanced fighter of the Messerschmitt family. The Germans were skeptical about this. They did not believe that the Chinese could get such a fighter. A fighter jet.
According to the information given by the Germans, the performance of this Messerschmitt is very amazing, and it is slightly faster than our Zero fighter. The only drawback is that its range is far inferior to that of the Zero fighter.
After comparing these two fighters in various aspects, the result is that the overall performance should be between equal. The final victory depends on the skills of the pilots of both sides and their respective luck. "
As he spoke, Major Kato took out a detailed performance index of the Bf 109F0 fighter from the folder in front of him and gave it to Yamaguchi Takan with both hands.
Yamaguchi Tawen reached out to take the information and read it carefully.
Major Kato took a step back and clicked his heel: "The advice given to us by the German Air Force is that if this Chinese pilot is really Zhou Zhihan, then we must be extremely careful!
The German Air Force suffered a lot from this Chinese pilot before, so it set up a team to study this person. Later, it was said that this person died in battle, and the information was shelved.
They promised to compile this record of the techniques this person likes to use in air combat into a detailed document and send it to us. "
Yamaguchi Tao Wen nodded in appreciation.
Colonel Moritaka Nakaba stood up: "General! I have sent people to inquire and got reliable information. This pilot is indeed Zhou Zhihan who returned from the UK. This is the same person who bombed our Qinzhou Bay aircraft carrier last time.
Our insider at Guilin Airport said that this person piloted a fighter jet he had never seen before and led eight bombers back in the middle of the night. Then the Guilin Airport celebrated with joy all night long. Yesterday, after dark, the fleet of aircraft at Nanning Airport was attacked. It was very... Maybe he was the one leading the team. "
Yamaguchi Tawen put down the document in his hand, and murderous intent flashed on his stern face: "This Chinese named Zhou Zhihan, he must have three heads and six arms, and he is so rampant. Kondo-kun, you must shoot him down this time, in order to It’s the shame of my empire’s pilots being defeated repeatedly at his hands!”
"Hai!"
Captain Kondo stood up, bent down and said.
Nakaso Moritaka picked up a report, stood up, turned around and said to the pilots who were returning from Kunlun Pass: "This information says that last night, you saw the Chinese fighter jet perform three pull-up jumps in a row?"
"Hai!"
Several pilots stood up and answered at the same time.
Nakasa Moritaka frowned, with a look of disbelief on his face: "Three pull-ups and jumps in a row? Did you read that correctly?"
"Yes!" One of the pilots bent down and said, "It's absolutely true. I saw with my own eyes that at the moment when the oil depot at our airport exploded, the Chinese fighter jet made three consecutive jumps and disappeared from above the explosion. None of our Army's Type 97 land combat aircraft in the explosion area was spared."
Nakasa Moritaka continued to ask: "This report says that you didn't see the shape of the Chinese fighter jet clearly at that time?"
Another pilot said: "At that time, we were still far away from the explosion point and couldn't see the shape of the fighter plane clearly, but we could see that he escaped by jumping three times in a row on the tip of the shock wave generated by the explosion. It’s clear and absolutely unmistakable!”
Kikuji Okuda, who had been silent, stood up and said: "Judging from the capacity of the oil tank at the airport, the shock wave generated by the explosion was very shocking. It is not terrible for the fighter jet to make three consecutive lift jumps under the shock wave, but if he can Under normal circumstances, doing three consecutive pull-up jumps would be terrifying. As of now, no one among the Imperial pilots can do it."
After Colonel Okuda Kikuji finished speaking, there was a deathly silence in the entire conference room.
After a while, Moritaka Nakaso said: "Yamaguchi Takashi and Ono intuitively said that the pilot named Zhou Zhihan can perform two consecutive lifting and jumping maneuvers." He said and looked at Kondo, "Kondo-kun, can you Do it?"
Kondo stood up and was silent for three seconds: "I can't do it, Mr. Colonel! But we all know that an excellent pilot must be comprehensive, and there are many factors for victory, including the performance of the fighter, the courage of the pilot, and the shooting ability." Skill, luck and style, but the one that has the greatest impact on victory is courage.
I believe that no one can be more courageous than me, a Japanese soldier. Therefore, I can definitely defeat this Chinese pilot. "
"Yes!" Yamaguchi Tawen nodded, and Kondo's answer satisfied him. An excellent ace pilot must have extraordinary courage and the belief in victory. He believed that Captain Kondo had both.
"General!" said Colonel Moritaka Nakasagi, the king of destroyers. "In order to win this ace vs. ace battle, I will fly the empire's new fighter jet as a Messerschmitt. According to the characteristics of Messerschmitt, I will compete with Kondo. The Captain piloted a Zero fighter to conduct a simulated air battle."
Yamaguchi Duowen nodded: "This is the best. Only when you know yourself and the enemy can you be invincible in a hundred battles! I will give you the honor of Lao Shengxiaojun!"
Nakasa Moritaka clicked his heel: "Hai! The new fighter jets will arrive at noon today. At that time, the general will be invited to observe the battle and give guidance on the simulated air battle between Kondo-kun and me."
Yamaguchi Dawen nodded: "The empire's new fighter plane arrived in China one day late for some reason, and luckily escaped the disaster at Nanning Airport. This is God's blessing to our Empire of Japan!"
Major Kato said: "The Chinese Air Force accepted our challenge two days ago. We chose the location in Yun'an Town, and the time is up to them. I estimate that in the next few days, they will finalize the time for the decisive battle."
Yamaguchi Duowen looked restrained and sat down slowly: "They are not in a hurry, and we are not in a hurry. We will let Sheng Xiaojun and Kondo-kun practice for a few more days."
Major Kato: "Hai! General!"
After the meeting, Yamaguchi Duowen called the intelligence officer alone and said sullenly: "Order us to stay on the inside line of Guilin Airport. After the Chinese decide the time, we will try our best to keep the Messerschmitt at bay. There was a mechanical accident during the air battle.”
At noon, a new Japanese fighter jet that took off from the Japanese mainland, refueled via Taiwan and then headed to China arrived at Hankou Airport.
In the afternoon, Moritaka Nakasa, who is known as the king of destroyers by the Japanese army, personally piloted the new fighter aircraft and conducted a fierce simulated air battle with Captain Kondo using the characteristics of Messerschmitt.
After resting for two hours, ace pilot Major Kato also flew a new fighter jet to appear on the Messerschmitt. Using another technique and tactics, he had another battle with the Zero fighter piloted by Captain Kondo.
In this way, the ace pilots of the Japanese army took turns flying new fighter jets to appear on the Messerschmitt, using various tactics to feed Captain Kondo.
That night, these ace pilots gathered together to study and discuss every possible situation that might arise in the upcoming air battle...
…
noon.
Guilin Airport.
After returning from the camp in Guilin and having lunch, Zhou Zhirou convened relevant Air Force personnel for a meeting in the large war room.
With Zhou Zhihan's consent, the meeting decided that the ace battle between Zhou Zhihan and Kondo would be scheduled for three days. This move was intended to continue to rub salt into the Japanese's wounds.
Whether the recipient's signature should be written directly as Zhou Zhihan needs to be discussed.
Zhou Zhirou believes that there is no need to hide it anymore. The Japanese should already know Zhou Zhihan's true identity, and he wants to hear everyone's thoughts.
Xu Jianghua, captain of the Fourth Bombing Group, also believed: "After fighting with the Japanese for so many years, everyone knows that the intelligence of the Japanese is definitely not inferior to that of the Chinese. I guess the Japanese have long known the true identity of Colonel Zhou. Identity, because the reality is here. After the war, there are fewer and fewer outstanding pilots in our Chinese Air Force, and people like Colonel Zhou are even rarer. After several battles, no matter how stupid the kid is, he can guess it. "
Everyone agrees with Xu Jianghua's view. Since we accept the challenge from the little Japs, we will openly let the Japs know that the one who defeated them is Colonel Zhou.
As for what the British would think if they knew Zhou Zhihan was still alive, they left it to the diplomats to handle. This matter cannot be kept secret forever.
After the day of the decisive battle was determined, Zhou Zhirou said to Zhou Zhihan: "Zhihan, you have been back to China for so long and you haven't brought Karen home yet. During this time, you bombed the Japanese aircraft carrier in Qinzhou Bay and fought against Kunlun Pass. You must be very tired." , give you a few days off, take Karen back to see your parents, stay at home for two days, relax, and then come back to defeat the Japanese."
Zhou Zhihan believes that he should take this opportunity to study the Zero Fighter. After all, the Zero Fighter will become the main opponent of the Chinese Air Force in the next few years. He must fully master all its performance in these days.
"Thank you Commander-in-Chief for your concern. I want to take Karen home after this ace battle is over. During this period, the Japanese will definitely study me thoroughly. We cannot take it lightly, and we must know ourselves and our enemies." .”
Zhou Zhirou nodded, Zhou Zhihan made sense, and said with a smile: "That's fine, then we will return home in glory after finishing this ace battle!"
Zhou Zhihan also smiled: "I need a big house that is independent and not disturbed by anyone. I can take a good rest and sort out all the battles with German ace pilots during my stay in the UK. I can sum up more experiences and learn from them." The strengths of others are shared with our Chinese Air Force."
Zhou Zhirou: "Okay! I'll have someone sort out a big house. You and Karen can live in it without anyone disturbing you."
"No." Zhou Zhihan said, "I live by myself."
Zhou Zhirou was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Okay! I will ask Qin Shu to stay with Karen every step of the way these days, and you will study hard by yourself."
That night, Zhou Zhirou asked people to prepare a large house for Zhou Zhihan near the airport, and sent two close guards to guard the door. No one was allowed to enter without Zhou Zhihan's permission.
At ten o'clock at night, Zhou Zhihan opened the system and entered [Air Overlord], and then a hangar appeared in front of him.
