Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

The joint raid by Japan's Army Aviation and Naval Aviation indeed tied down most of the Air Force and the 12th Division, and even locked the comrades in various airports on the Jiaodong Peninsula for a time.

However, the 3rd Air Division, which belongs to the military region’s general reserve force, was not actually affected too much.

With the early warning of the monitoring radar, this group of heavy bombers hid above the clouds one step ahead of the enemy, hanging its strategic iron fist right above the Japanese Bohai Task Force.

"Pay attention to the 3 o'clock direction, anti-aircraft guns are flashing!"

When fifteen squadrons of Lancaster heavy bombers crushed through the clouds in a textbook box formation, the air defense sirens immediately tore apart the dawn of Laizhou Bay.

Through the morning mist, the comrades could clearly see the orange flames of the anti-aircraft artillery positions.

The smoke clouds created by the explosions of medium and small caliber shells were always half a beat slower than the bomber formations, like stupid dogs chasing car exhaust.

“Haha, are they tickling the air?”

"Arrived at the initial positioning point, and will reach the bombing position in 30 seconds! All crews, all crews, prioritize destroying the small warships and civilian ships in the beach area. They are full of the Japanese army."

"Bombs out of the cabin!"

Accompanied by the unique sharp scream of high-explosive bombs, countless silver lotus flowers suddenly bloomed on the beach and sea of ​​Laizhou Bay.

A dozen lucky wooden fishing boats were directly hit and exploded into a rain of sawdust with a radius of 30 meters. The most effective near miss bomb even caused 18 transport ships to lose their maneuverability at the same time.

The 250-kilogram bomb is truly the most cost-effective killing weapon.

When the steel rain poured down, the wooden decks and rusty steel plates of the civilian ships were nothing more than a piece of tinfoil waiting to be torn apart.

"Good hit!"

"Round two, get ready! Light the birthday candles for the devils!"

"Don't worry, there are no civilians on the battlefield, and those ships are full of pirates! Take the bombs away!"

Several squadrons located at the rear of the fleet were all loaded with napalm bombs.

These incendiary bombs exploded in the beach area, burning all the piers into erupting volcanoes.

Many troop transports tried to break out of the wall of fire, but the sticky burning liquid had covered the entire offshore sea surface, and the fire tornado with a diameter of tens of meters made it difficult for the Japanese to move forward.

On the Lancaster No. 1192, the shutter of a self-defense machine gunner's camera kept clicking. He was preparing to send this spectacular scene of frying fish to a border newspaper.

When the 3rd Air Division completed its bombing mission and climbed to a safe altitude, the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery positions deployed on the beach were still stubbornly spewing flames.

At this moment, the smoke clouds that exploded three hundred meters below the fuselage looked like a string of belated salutes, bidding farewell to the guests.

······
Inside the bridge of the Kashii, Vice Admiral Wada Miken's gaze penetrated the glass and froze on the surface of Laizhou Bay. His pupils shrank slightly, reflecting a picture of purgatory.

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General."

The communications chief was holding the telegram he had just translated, his voice stuck in his throat.

The old devil just waved his hand, and this simple action seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He didn't need to look at those cold numbers, the burning sea in front of him had already explained everything.

After a moment, Wada Sanjian, who had adjusted his mentality, waved his hand and ordered the officers on standby:
"Send a telegram to Vice Admiral Makita and have him lead the original expeditionary fleet to retreat with us immediately. The enemy air force will definitely not give up, and the second wave of bombers may be on the way."

"Let the army idiots deal with the wreckage of civilian ships near the coast. Tell Okamura Neiji that we will never risk rescue unless the waterways are cleared." "That's right."

Before the old Japanese finished his words, there was a sudden explosion on the distant sea level. It was the sound of the dispatched fleet carrying out disciplinary shooting.

In order to prevent the severely damaged Ataka and Uji from falling into enemy hands, Vice Admiral Kakusaburo Makita decisively ordered the firing of torpedoes to completely sink the powerless gunboats.

Blessings are unparalleled, and misfortunes do not come singly.

Just as the Japanese were observing the soul-comforting ceremony through a telescope, the communications chief of the Kashii brought another piece of bad news.

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, Lieutenant Colonel Sekimoto is calling."

"Just now, in order to leave the port quickly and avoid the bombing of the Eighth Route Army Air Force, the No. 11 boiler of the Longtian cruiser exploded due to overpressure. Currently, the speed can only be maintained at knots."

"They are carrying out emergency operations, but it will take at least half an hour to redistribute power."

As soon as these words were spoken, Wada Sanken slammed the drawing pencil in his hand onto the chart table, he was so angry!

The Kashii was a training ship with a maximum speed of only 18 knots. This speed was not much faster than the iron turtles of World War I, and was no different from a floating live target. It was simply a joke in modern naval warfare.

But the Tianlong class is different.

These antiques, which have been in service for more than 33 years, still maintain an amazing speed of knots, which is enough to lead the torpedo warfare team to create huge waves in the waters near the Republic of China.

But after the explosion of boiler No. 3, the Longtian was like a tiger with its teeth pulled out.

This means that the entire task force can no longer provide even a single decent large ship. How could this not make the Japanese angry?

"Good-for-nothing, waste, pig! What on earth is this idiot Sekimoto Nagayasu doing!"

"We are now in enemy waters. Does he want to be cornered by the Eighth Route Army's navy and air force? Quickly activate emergency measures. The Longtian must resume 80% of its speed in 20 minutes!"

Just as Miken Wada finished deploying the order, a burst of firing from the Type 96 Divine Cannon was suddenly heard on the deck of the Kashii.

Just as the old Japanese was about to turn on the communicator to inquire about the situation, the Kamikaze, Matsukaze and Harukaze all started talking on the microphones at the same time, and the hurried voices of the three captains were heard.

"Bearing 055, enemy seaplane spotted. It's a single-engine, unknown model, probably a carrier-based aircraft of a cruiser!"

Upon hearing this, Miken Wada immediately ran out of the bridge and looked towards the direction of 055 with a telescope.

Within the extreme visual range, there was indeed a seaplane that had never been seen before, observing the Bohai Task Force from afar.

After a brief silence, the old Japanese quickly ran back to the bridge, grabbed the communicator and ordered:

"Kamikaze, Matsukaze, Harukaze, Asakaze, and Yuunagi, I will order the entire fleet to clear the channel. The five destroyers of you set sail immediately!"

"Your mission is to find out the movements of the Eighth Route Army fleet. If you really encounter enemy ships, find a way to sink them!"

"Hurry up and act!"

At the same time, Vice Admiral Kakusaburo Makita also issued the same order, and the original expeditionary fleet immediately dispatched its only three Sugi-class destroyers.

Soon, the Li, Tsuga, Lian and five Kamikaze-class ships formed a temporary torpedo squadron and headed towards the northeast of Laizhou Bay. (End of this chapter)