Chapter 65: The World's Number One 'Sword' (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks)

  July 8, the Chinese Central Committee issued a telegram nationwide, calling: "Compatriots, Peiping is in danger! North China is in danger! The Chinese nation is in danger! Only by waging war on the whole nation can we find a way out!" And put forward the slogans of "Don't let Japan occupy China!" and "Bleed for the defense of our territory!"

  Chiang also put forward the guidelines of "not yielding, not expanding" and "not seeking war, but must resist war". Chiang Kai-shek telegrammed to Song Zheyuan, commander of the 29th Army, Qin Dechun (deputy commander of the 29th Army and mayor of Beiping) and others that "Wanping City should be defended firmly and not retreated", "Lugou Bridge and Changxindian must not be lost".

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  "Steve! Why are we hiding?" Eric shouted loudly over the radio.

  "Wait for the enemy planes!"

  Erik pursed his lips and said nothing.

  At this time came the sound of machine guns firing, and Bogart immediately heard the dense sound and shouted in the wireless: "Steve! They're here, they're here!!"

  "You bunch of young rascals who have never experienced the flames of war! Don't go easy on them next time!! Our era is about to begin!!"

  "ROAR!!!!!!" was the response Sun Xiang got back.

  A large number of F4Us broke through the clouds, charging towards the Japanese aircraft from the sunny side. Sun Xiang's bright silver F4U took the lead! A Japanese Nakajima Ki-97 entered range, and Sun Xiang slightly lowered his head, six tongues of flame spewing out. After a brief burst of fire, he pulled up his plane, and the two wingmen behind him also fired their machine guns and lifted their heads. A quarter of a second later, the sky erupted in a loud explosion, and the Nakajima Ki-97 turned into a fireball.

  "Yeeeah!!! First one! Steve, I'm open!!!"

  "Boeing's downed two planes already, you lazy bum!" Andy's voice came over the radio, prompting a burst of laughter.

  "Come on, come on, buddy, that's it, a little more to the left, yeah just like that, shake your little butt, hold still, that's the pose! ~OYE!!!! I got one down too!" Richie spat out a string of words like a machine gun, black people's rap skills are really not to be underestimated, probably all practiced this way.

  " Gentlemen, concentrate your firepower and take down the Japanese planes! We're 110 against 40, don't do anything that would make me lose face, this concerns our honor!"

  "Roger that, sir!" "Don't worry, Steve." "Yes!" A string of responses, and the entire squadron splits into two parts. Six teams start chasing after enemy planes, while five other teams continue to attack Japan's third squadron.

  Sun Xiang led his team to work hard to eliminate the plane, throttle fixed, control stick lightly pulled, the plane nodded, a 95 biplane appeared in the window.

  It's clear that the Japanese pilots also found themselves in a tight spot, and immediately shook off to the left and right. The Japanese planes all had one characteristic: their speed wasn't the fastest, but they were absolutely the most agile.

  The plane made a small, sharp turn to shake off Sun Xiang's pursuit. However, he was facing the world's top ace, and Sun Xiang didn't have time to waste on this. With just one glance at the enemy plane's movement, he knew the pilot wanted to make a tightest possible turn. Sun Xiang quickly pushed the control stick forward, and the F4U's powerful engine instantly pressed him back into his seat. The plane rapidly turned left, cutting out a small semicircle in the sky, with bullets tracing a beautiful arc towards the 95th fighter plane.

  The bullet hit the body of the 95-style aircraft, and the Japanese pilot was shot in the ribs. The powerful kinetic energy and penetration of the 12.7mm machine gun bullet created a through-and-through hole in the plane. When the bullet first hit the 95-style aircraft's fuselage, the bullet head deformed, and when it hit the pilot's body again, it had an effect similar to that of a dum-dum bullet (a cross is carved on the bullet because it rotates, after carving the cross, the bullet causes great destructive power when shot into the human body). The entire thoracic cavity was bloody and unclear, with the ribs seemingly blown open. The scene was extremely gory!

  The 95th shot down the pilot and crashed into the ground in the direction of the Japanese army camp, where the Japanese defenders were on the ground. This was a big blow to the morale of the Japanese soldiers.

  In this encounter, more than a dozen Japanese planes were shot down. The efficiency of the Chinese Air Force's attack was frightening. Out of 110 aircraft, only six squadrons participated in the assault, while the remaining five squadrons carried out ground strikes, coordinating with the 219th Regiment to attack the Japanese Third Battalion.

  Imagine 300 12.7mm machine guns that can move at high speed, firing and splashing bullets on the Japanese army's position, kicking up dust and rocks everywhere.

  The commander of the 219th regiment, Ji Xingwen, was beaming with joy in this battle. With the support of the air force, the army is a different story altogether. This battle was truly exhilarating, and all they had to do was follow the firepower line forward with the planes. Meanwhile, Japanese planes were constantly being shot down from the sky.

  Such a dense air support to deal with a large unit (a Japanese regiment has 1100 people equivalent to the Chinese army's division-level establishment) is simply too wasteful. The 60 F4U aircraft that were dogfighting with the Japanese planes chased them towards the direction of Beiping City, Sun Xiang relentlessly pursued a Nakajima Ki-97, this pilot was quite skilled and twice shook off Sun Xiang's pursuit, but good luck wouldn't come for a third time.

  Sun Xiang violently pushed the throttle control stick, and the plane's speed increased sharply. The high mobility brought by high speed is extremely important in air combat. Close to the enemy plane was a burst of bullets, and the steel torrent generally hit the tail of the enemy plane. The entire tail was blown apart, and the plane crashed to the ground while spinning. The Japanese pilot still wanted to save the plane, but ultimately it was destroyed and he died.

  Sun Xiang shot down 4 planes, Erik and Bovingdon each got three, the rest were divided among the US pilots like hungry wolves. In a formation of three planes, you often see that the firepower net formed by the three planes surrounds the Japanese plane, then brutally tears it apart, this is an unequal massacre.

  The air battle shocked the people of Beiping, and also shocked the military experts of various countries in Beiping, especially the Japanese, who were terrified by such a result. The people cheered, every time a Japanese plane was shot down, there would be a thunderous cheer inside the city! More than a dozen planes fell within the city, and some pilots who didn't die were also dragged out and beaten to death by the citizens.

  The air battle moved northward, until the sky was clear, all Japanese planes were shot down, and the entire air battle lasted for 15 minutes. The fleeing Japanese planes only ran more than 80 kilometers before being shot down in a wheat field north of Beiping City. After shooting down all Japanese planes, Sun Xiang led the Fulongjian squadron to circle over Beiping City three times, then returned southward...

  7.8 Large-scale air battle, the power of China's air force shocked the world! More than 150 aircraft engaged in combat in the sky, and all Japanese planes were shot down, leading most countries to extremely underestimate Japan's aircraft, calling them toys for children to play with.

  After the Fulong Sword Brigade left, the Japanese Third Brigade had already been attacked and reduced by 70%. However, these stubborn Japanese soldiers were still holding out here waiting for reinforcements. At 15:00, Japanese Lieutenant General Mutaguchi arrived at the front line to command the battle, on the one hand adjusting the First Brigade to concentrate on the Lugou Bridge front line after implementing combat exercises in Tong County.

  On the one hand, it forced the 3rd Brigade of Japanese troops to retreat and assemble near the railway station, preparing for the second day's attack on Wanping City. At around 18:00, the Japanese troops on the east bank retreated towards the train station.

  The 3rd Battalion of the 219th Regiment of the 29th Army launched a counterattack against the Japanese army, recovering the area east of the Yongding River. Due to the temporary ceasefire agreement between the Japanese and the Hebei-Chahar authorities, the Battle of Lugou Bridge came to an end. This marked the beginning of China's nationwide anti-Japanese war.

  July 9th newspaper headlines "The World's No.1 'Sword'" Sun Xiang and his Fulong Sword Squadron rose to fame in one battle, renowned worldwide! This aerial combat shocked the world, and Sun Xiang's great name once again resounded in people's ears; experts from all over the world also carefully analyzed this battle.

  French Republican reporter Henri, who witnessed the entire aerial battle, wrote in his report: I could hardly believe my eyes. In two relatively backward Oriental countries, I saw a first-class air force that is among the best in the world. Leaving aside the Steves or the Flying Dragon Squadron, just looking at the Japanese planes, with speeds of around 400 km/h, their maneuverability even surpasses that of Italy's CR·32 fighter planes. They climb quickly and turn nimbly. If the French air force were to encounter such a group of Japanese fighters, I estimate they would only be able to surrender.

  Central Daily News reporter Liu Wei wrote in the article: The July 7th Incident broke out, and the Japanese ambition was already evident. No matter what reasons they found, they could not cover up the fact that they launched a war of aggression against China. In the past, it was often seen that Japanese planes flew over the sky, but this time, it was the first sword of China! Legendary pilot General Sun Xiang led the Fulong Sword Squadron to conduct exercises in the Tianjin-Jingmen area. Unexpectedly, they encountered the Japanese military launching the July 7th Incident. A large number of our aircraft clashed with the Japanese fighter planes, and both sides engaged in a fierce battle in the sky. In the end, the Fulong Sword Squadron fought a perfect battle! They annihilated all enemy fighters and achieved brilliant results! Therefore, the 'Fulong Sword' is the first sharp sword of China!!