Chapter Forty-Three Explosive News

  When Zhou Zirou arrived at the grand auditorium in the afternoon, he found a crowd of people waiting for him.

  "I apologize for keeping everyone waiting. We were collecting the latest battle reports, and now we can explain to everyone." Zhou Zhi Rou bowed slightly to the reporters, "At dawn today, my brave air force soldiers launched a counterattack against the Japanese enemy. After a long flight, our air force bombers bombed multiple Japanese cities including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagasaki, and Nagoya, dealing a heavy blow to the enemy's military and productive forces. Here are some on-site photos, please circulate them."

  With a "whoosh", all the reporters rushed up, vying to witness this astonishing scene.

  "Commander, may I ask how the Chinese Air Force's bombers managed to traverse a distance of over 3,000 kilometers? As far as I know, our controlled airports and aircraft are insufficient to complete such a task!" Reporter Shang Jing from Shen Bao asked. Although she was very excited about this achievement, as a reporter, she still felt that she needed to clarify the details.

  "This lady, the results of this battle are absolutely true, without any exaggeration, and all have been recorded in photos. I believe that Japan will also report on this matter in a few days. However, as for the specific methods, please allow me to keep it confidential." Zhou Zhi Rou said with a smile.

  "It's said that your country used poison gas bombs in the bombing, which is a violation of international conventions!" The Italian journalist had already received news from home and understood some inside information.

  "This reporter's news is quite informed, but what I want to say is that these poison gas bombs were all seized at the Hankou airport, and they are from the same batch used by the Japanese devils in bombing Xi'an. This can be called self-inflicted sin. Moreover, we bombed military targets, while the Japanese devils attacked civilians." Zhou Zhirui replied.

  "But you also used incendiary bombs to attack civilian areas! Causing half of Tokyo to be on fire!" The Italian journalist retorted angrily.

  "Look at these photos, is this what you call a civilian area?" Zhou Zhi Rou's photos showed machinery such as lathes exposed in the ruins of burned-out houses. "These are small workshops, and it's precisely here that the planes and bombs that bomb our cities are being manufactured bit by bit. We're eliminating the enemy's war potential!" Zhou Zhi Rou said with a stern expression.

  The red-faced Italian journalist was soon pushed aside by Chinese journalists. Even German journalists found this fence-sitter disgusting.

  In the evening, major Chinese newspapers urgently added extra editions to inform citizens of the good news as quickly as possible. Many citizens who lost loved ones in the September 1st Japanese bombing spree were moved to tears while holding the newspaper, with some people biting their fingers and leaving "blood debts" on the paper as a memorial. Xi'an held a public mourning ceremony to mourn those who died in the poison gas bombing. The atmosphere of victory spread throughout the country, and even the people in the occupied areas secretly learned about this news, boosting the confidence and determination of the anti-war military and civilians. Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world also launched another wave of fundraising activities to support the construction of China's air force.

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  The situation in Japan was dismal. The damage in Tokyo wasn't cleared until 3 days later, and apart from the Nakajima Aircraft Company being destroyed, the Imperial Guard Division lost all its fighting strength, and the city of Tokyo suffered huge destruction. This was because the Japanese military's nighttime air defense capabilities were extremely poor, with a lack of radar resulting in almost no night-time warning capabilities, few anti-aircraft guns, and only a handful of night-fighter planes; secondly, Tokyo's firefighting capabilities were extremely weak, with 8 million people in an area of over 300 square kilometers having only 8000 regular firefighters, 2000 auxiliary firefighters, and 1117 fire trucks. Moreover, during the war, fuel could only be guaranteed for two hours, and most areas didn't have fire hydrants; even if they did, the water pressure relied on electricity, so as soon as the power went out, the firefighting pipes couldn't get the needed water pressure. Therefore, once a large fire started in Tokyo, it would be impossible to control; thirdly, Tokyo's houses were densely packed, with 38,000 people per square kilometer! The distance between adjacent houses was usually less than 1 meter, and they were mainly made of wood, so once a fire started, it would spread rapidly.

  Based on these reasons, the 18 tons of incendiary bombs dropped by the 12 bombers caused great destruction to Tokyo. The intense heat generated by the fires created a strong convective wind with cold air, reaching speeds of up to 50 km/h. The fire borrowed the wind's strength, and the wind assisted the fire's spread, almost igniting everything in its path. Metal was melted by the high temperatures, and people and wood self-ignited in the suffocating heat! Many people hiding in air raid shelters were roasted alive, while those fleeing in all directions were nearly driven mad. Flames danced everywhere, accompanied by terrifying screams. Believing water could extinguish fire, many jumped into nearby ponds and rivers, but the high temperatures generated by the intense fires boiled the water in the ponds! The ponds became giant cauldrons, scalding to death those who had sought refuge in the water! Rescue personnel arriving at Shimokitazawa at dawn were shocked by the horrific scene before them. Countless bodies floated in the ponds, charred beyond recognition as blackened carbon, making it impossible to distinguish between male and female.

  After the dawn, Tokyo became a hell on earth, and the scene after the great fire was terrifying to the point of being indescribable! The area of 19 square kilometers in eastern Tokyo was completely destroyed, with 167,000 buildings, accounting for one-eighth of Tokyo's total number of buildings, being thoroughly burned down. As a result, 500,000 people were left homeless. In this fire attack, 20,000 civilians died and 50,000 were seriously injured. This bombing also set a bad precedent for Japan, as the US military later replicated this method of attack, bringing devastating disasters to many Japanese cities.

  Other cities were also bombed, but due to timely warnings and the implementation of blackout measures, most bombs missed their targets. However, the people's minds had already begun to panic, no longer believing in the militarists' agitation as they once did.

  Hirohito again convened an Imperial Conference, this time he changed his usual calm attitude and scolded the Minister of the Army and the Minister of the Navy from the beginning. The Japanese mainland was bombed by the Chinese Air Force as if it were undefended.

  "Your Imperial Majesty, the air defense of our homeland should first be the responsibility of the Navy. The main force of the Army is on the continent of China making achievements for the Great Japanese Empire. Moreover, this time the Chinese Air Force also came from a sea-based attack." Minister of War Tojo Hideki shifted the blame to the Navy, but it's clear that Japan is an island nation and no matter how the enemy comes, they will come from the sea, so this is just making excuses.

  "Your Majesty, the Navy has shouldered most of the strategic bombing tasks on the Chinese mainland. Our fighters and bombers suffered heavy losses in the early stages, but we still achieved a great victory. The bombing on September 1 is an example." Minister of the Navy Yoshitsugu Saitō countered.

  "Hmph, I heard that this time the bombing of the Imperial homeland by China was to avenge your Navy's bombing on September 1st. Attacking civilian targets has proven to be ineffective, as China is not like the Great Japanese Empire which relies heavily on cities; many of their people and economy are distributed in rural areas. On the other hand, our Army Aviation almost exclusively bombed military targets to aid the army in capturing territory. In fact, this approach proved to be a non-wasteful use of Imperial resources! The Japanese Army's thinking on air power is still stuck in WWI mentality, treating air power as an auxiliary to land forces, whereas the Navy uses air power as a strategic force - which will prove to be the correct direction for the future."

  "When it comes to the battle on the Chinese mainland, the army has not achieved any results recently, and instead wasted a lot of resources. The resources that the Great Japanese Empire urgently needs cannot be obtained from the Chinese mainland, and the Great Japanese Empire should focus its attention on the South Seas! Moreover, the South Seas region is also strongly supporting China's side, and by occupying the South Seas, it can cut off the lifeline of the Chinese government, and I believe that the Chinese government will surrender soon. This is much better than wasting imperial resources on strategic bombing." The Japanese Navy still hopes to head south, where the sea is its domain, and it cannot operate freely in the rivers of the Chinese mainland.

  "Carrying out Operation 101 has indeed cost the Empire a great deal of resources, although there were some effects in the early stages, but the losses over the past two months have been too great. Your Majesty, I suggest that we immediately stop this plan and put the resources of the Navy and Army into Indochina." Chief of Staff Sugiyama Gen spoke out his own thoughts.

  "What method is the Chinese Air Force using to carry out ultra-long-range transoceanic bombing? Even if we stop bombing Chinese cities, how can we guarantee that the Chinese will not launch similar attacks again?" Prime Minister Abe asked.

  "This bombing is clearly similar to the attack on Hankou Airport, and I suspect that the Chinese Air Force already has an aircraft capable of flying very far, just like what the surviving ground personnel reported. The Empire needs to strengthen its intelligence gathering in this regard. However, it's slightly comforting that the Chinese Air Force's resources are apparently limited, otherwise they wouldn't have only dropped those few bombs, and those bombs were even captured from our military.

  Sugiyama Gen looked at Navy Minister Yoshida Zengō as he spoke, feeling deeply humiliated by being attacked with their own produced bombs. Yoshida Zengō lowered his head in silence, secretly seething with anger, determined to make Inoue Seiichi that fool pay for this when he gets back!"

  "The Empire of Greater Japan also needs to have the capability for long-range early warning, in order to repel the enemy at the gate!" Emperor Hirohito did not wish his authority to be challenged again.

  "Haiyi!" The crowd dared not be mistaken, and hastily stood up to respond to the Emperor.

  The most direct result of the Doolittle Raid was to force the Japanese Navy to keep two aircraft carriers, "Akagi" and "Kaga", in home waters, and to increase the number of fighter squadrons on mainland Japan. The production of Zero fighters was also prioritized for the air groups based in Japan, further dispersing the Japanese air power deployed on the Chinese mainland.

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  Chiang Kai-shek has been excited for the past two days, as the war of resistance has finally achieved his theory of trading space for time. The bombing of Japan's mainland has greatly enhanced China's international status. British Prime Minister Churchill has formally expressed to Ambassador Guo Taiqi his hope for technical cooperation with China and also hopes that China will send air force aid to Britain. US President Roosevelt has approved a large loan.

  Chiang Kai-shek first scattered a large number of medals again, as if these medals were easy to get. Then Chiang Kai-shek hastily summoned He Juncai to the official residence and asked him if he could continue this bombing, directly blasting Japan to pieces. He Juncai was at a loss for words at the chairman's idea.

  "Mr. Chairman, if it were that easy, it would be for the best. However, we have some practical difficulties to overcome. This bombing of Japan has almost exhausted the aviation bombs seized at the Hankou airport, and fuel is also in short supply, so we cannot sustain this scale of bombing for the time being. Moreover, another attack by the Japanese military will not have as good an effect, and it may even expose our floating airbase."

  "Our main task is no longer to defeat Japan, but to get a share of the spoils in World War II and lay the foundation for China's rise. So now our task is to force Japan to move south, beat up the colonies of Britain, France and the US, and fight with the US until we are covered in blood and can then take advantage of the situation. Why bother to take on Japan alone with so much effort? It's just doing someone else a favor!" He Juncai analyzed this for Chiang Kai-shek who was getting overexcited.

  "This I understand, a bit anxious, a bit anxious, haha." Chiang Kai-shek laughed and felt very uninteresting, thinking that his enthusiasm had been dampened by someone.

  "If we can hold this front steady, then we'll have time to accumulate strength. When Japan advances south and starts fighting with the US, Chairman Chiang, you can take action freely!" He Jun saw that his words had a bit of an impact on Chiang Kai-shek, so he changed to a milder tone.

  "Alright, you go ahead and do it, I will support you at the Military Commission!" Chiang Kai-shek had deeply realized that He Juncai was his savior. The change in the Chinese Air Force before and after He Juncai's arrival was very obvious.