Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

June 1942, 6, Meihe area airspace.

After flying over the Leizhou Peninsula and crossing the Qiongzhou Strait where Japanese surface ships were present, the task force of the 1st Marine Brigade finally arrived at the second largest island in the Republic of China: Qiongya.

It was already afternoon.

The captain of the pilot plane tried to observe the earth from a bird's eye view, but his vision was blocked by thick clouds, and he could not see any trace of mountains, forests or rivers.

In such a terrible environment, the comrades need to expend a lot of energy just to maintain the formation, let alone deploy paratroopers.

In desperation, the captain and the co-pilot could only continue to circle at high altitude with the entire formation, and decided to mobilize collective strength to find a suitable airdrop point together.

"Attention all crews! Attention all crews! We are about to arrive at the designated coordinates. The current cloud layer is very thick. Please maintain a safe flight distance."

"Except in special circumstances, the firing of colored flares is not allowed."

"Everyone, keep your eyes open and observe carefully. Once you find airspace that meets the conditions for airborne landing, remember to report to me immediately through the communication channel."

After saying this, the captain of the pilot plane sighed slightly, and then controlled the transport plane to fly southwest.

There is no way. After all, the C-54 Sky Overlord is just a military aircraft developed in the s. Its performance and combat capability will ultimately be limited by the times.

If it was Liuye Gaigai or Tu-95 that formed a team to head straight into the Bering Strait, the entire formation would definitely not be so entangled now.

As if he had sensed something unusual, Li Yunlong first looked at the clouds outside through the observation window of the transport plane, and then walked into the cockpit without hesitation.

"Old Zhong, where are we now? How long will it take to reach Secretary Feng's base?"

"I just took a look, and the weather conditions in the surrounding airspace don't seem to be very good. With such thick clouds, can you two still determine the route and specific coordinates?"

"Where's Captain Wang Hai? Is there any news?"

Hearing this, the captain and co-pilot in the cockpit both looked bitter, as if they were wearing masks of pain at the same time.

The weather in Qiongya in June is mostly cloudy, so the two of them made a lot of preparations before leaving.

But plans cannot keep up with changes, and no one expected that the actual situation in the central mountainous area would be worse than imagined.

I can only say that northerners still don’t understand the coastal provinces well enough.

No matter how cautious you are, you can't avoid being caught off guard by objective factors such as climate.

However, as the elites of the Eighth Route Air Force, the two captains were obviously not ordinary pilots.

They quickly adjusted their mindset and then laid out their plans in full.

"Theoretically, the formation has reached the sky above the mission area. However, the clouds are too thick, almost blocking our vision, and neither of us can confirm the specific location."

"But don't worry, Commander. Each crew has plenty of fuel now. It won't be a problem if we use up a little more before returning. We can just make a few more turns until we find a suitable place to drop."

"If that doesn't work, then have the escorting fighters lower their altitude and conduct low-altitude visual reconnaissance for the transport planes."

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Yunlong's brows immediately furrowed.

This is not to blame the two captains for not being well prepared, but the current situation is really tricky.

Of course, it’s not Lao Li’s character to just sit and wait.

After a little thought, he took out a map of the Qiongya area from his chest pocket and began to analyze the pros and cons based on the useful information provided by the captains.

"Okay, let's make a few more circles. Even if we can't find a perfect landing area, we have to choose a few backups that are relatively less dangerous."

"By the way, make sure you keep enough fuel. The return trip is long, and no one knows what accidents might happen."

"As for sending fighter jets for low-altitude visual reconnaissance? Forget about that. The Japanese navy entrenched in Qiongya has land-based fighter jets. I am responsible for the safety of the entire formation."

"Roger that!"

······
Facts have proved that human power always seems very small in the face of the magnificence of nature.

Although the captains used all their life's knowledge in the reconnaissance process, the poor weather conditions always made it difficult for them to select an airspace that met the requirements.

Under the dual pressure of enemy fighter planes and fuel, Li Yunlong finally thought quickly and made a bold and crazy decision.

That is, without any ground identification signs or guidance, he personally led the accompanying guard platoon to perform a high-altitude blind landing to open up a landing point for the large force.

Having made up his mind, he decisively called his political commissar, deputy brigade commander and three regimental commanders on the communication channel and told them the next plan one by one.

"I don't agree! Lao Li, your decision is too radical!"

"The fuel levels of each crew are still above the safety line, and there are still a few hours until sunset, so we can continue to wait at high altitude." "If it doesn't work, we can also ask Captain Wang Hai to lead a low-altitude reconnaissance. The enemy's reconnaissance aircraft are definitely not operating around the clock, so there is no need to be too cautious."

As expected, Li Yunlong's crazy plan was opposed by most people.

Especially Political Commissar Zhao Gang, who has been trying to dissuade his partner from taking risks.

The reason is simple, because the entire formation is currently at an altitude of 5,000 meters.

Looking at the world's military history, no airborne force has ever successfully completed a blind landing despite the negative influence of mountainous areas and extreme weather.

Moreover, the terrain in Meihe area is complex with overlapping mountains, and there are 52 peaks with an altitude of more than meters.

Without knowing the ground clearly, no one can confirm whether the landing point is dangerous.

Before passing through the clouds, no one knows whether the first thing you see will be a deep valley or a nearby mountain.

What's more, when parachuting from an altitude of 5,000 meters, the temperature, humidity and wind speed will affect the soldiers' condition.

Although the political commissar listed the dangers one by one, Li Yunlong's expression did not become ugly. Instead, he looked more firm and resolute.

"We must not conduct low-altitude reconnaissance. Japan has built six airports throughout Qiongya. Once we are exposed, we will definitely be besieged from all sides. Even the Japanese army aviation in southern China will join the battle."

"At that time, the paratroopers can fight on the ground. But what about the transport planes and escort formations? Do they have to fly thousands of kilometers while being chased?"

"not to mention"

Before Li Yunlong finished his rebuttal, an impassioned mobilization call suddenly sounded in the communication channel.

Listening carefully, it was the voice of his deputy brigade commander Xing Zhiguo.

"Comrades!"

"Border Region and People! The time of testing us has come!"

"The common people in the occupied areas of Qiongya and our comrades in the Qiongya Column are all waiting for us! Everyone! Follow me!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the communication channel, which was already in the midst of a heated discussion, completely exploded.

Even Li and Zhao did not expect that Old Xing, who had been silently contributing to the entire brigade, would now step forward on his own initiative.

However, no one tried to stop their deputy brigade commander at this time. Instead, they reminded the other party to pay attention to safety.

The reason is very simple. Since the day the border region was formally established, any commander who uttered the mobilization slogan just now was prepared to die and sacrifice for the revolution.

It is because of countless people like this that China was able to complete the magnificent transformation from the BJ Treaty to the BJ Declaration.

Before taking off, Xing Zhiguo looked at the transport plane where his team leader was, and then said with a smile on his face in the communication channel:
"Old Li, when we had a meeting before, you often used the commander of the German 3rd 7th Air Division as a negative example. If he and his staff had not crashed at the beginning of Operation Mercury, the German paratroopers in Crimea would not have won such a tragic victory."

"I agree with what you just said. Low-altitude reconnaissance is indeed not a good choice."

"But I don't want the entire Marine Brigade to lose its top commander before the battle even begins. So, the task of opening up a landing point will be given to me, the deputy brigade commander."

Just as Xing Zhiguo was saying goodbye to his comrades, a hole appeared in the thick clouds below the formation.

This is the best time for airborne landing that the comrades have been waiting for for a long time.

"Follow me!"

The opportunity was not to be missed. With a shout, the team leader Xing Zhiguo took the lead and jumped from an altitude of 5,000 meters and left the cabin.

Seeing their deputy brigade commander taking the lead, a platoon of soldiers in the cabin of the transport plane did not hesitate at all and followed the commander's steps and jumped out of the cabin door.

When there was no more sound in the communication channel, Li Yunlong in the cockpit of the pilot plane suddenly became anxious.

In a sense, this was the first time that Lao Li experienced the feeling of being "disobeyed".

At this moment, he even resonated with his old superior.

But now is no time to think about it.

When the entire transport fleet was about to leave the gap in the clouds, Li Yunlong shouted to the guards who were on standby:

"Duan Peng! Take your special weapon and parachute quickly!"

"From now on, you are the guard of Deputy Brigade Commander Xing. You must protect him well! Don't worry about me, I have Heshang and Huzi by my side!"

"Yes! I promise to complete the task!" (End of this chapter)