Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 341, page 339: Aerial Deception, Ambush at the Hutuo River, Capture of the Pilot

Above the positions of the Independent Regiment and the Provisional 7th Division in the lower reaches of the Hutuo River, Fang Wen made a decision.

One order after another was given and transmitted by the communications officer to different battlefield departments via the central radio.

"Notify the fighter crew to immediately climb to an altitude of 5000 meters and remain concealed, awaiting further instructions."

"Issue an early warning to ground troops and put the entire army on high alert."

"Notify the air defense company of the 3rd Battalion of the Independent Regiment to prepare for an air raid."

"Gunship squadron, follow me."

Orders were distributed through the central radio station, and the various departments that received the instructions immediately mobilized.

Soldiers on the front lines, under orders from their officers, jumped into trenches and fortifications, staring intently at the opposite bank of the river, ready for battle.

Reserve troops, artillery positions, and tank companies are also on standby.

On three earthen slopes, soldiers sat behind the anti-aircraft gun positions, ready to fire at any moment, while loader opened the ammunition boxes to reload.

The four fighter jets have disappeared without a trace.

Only four gunboats remained in the sky, heading towards the vanguard of the Japanese 4th Division a few kilometers away.

This was a decoy, and also a prelude to the Japanese ground advance force's attack.

After flying over the Japanese vanguard, Fang Wen ordered a concentrated attack.

Four gunboats flew around the enemy, pouring bullets from their side firing ports.

The fierce air attack stunned the Japanese vanguard in an instant.

The three military vehicles accompanying the army were the most conspicuous targets and were attacked immediately. Under intense fire, the ammunition inside the vehicles was hit and exploded violently.

It was unclear how much ammunition was inside the three vehicles, but it caused such a powerful explosion. Fang Wen even saw several burning bodies of Japanese soldiers flying into the sky with the shockwave of the explosion.

Having dealt with the Japanese military trains, the gunboats and aircraft carriers turned their attention to the Japanese infantry.

These infantrymen actually raised their guns and fired into the air.

Even if the 6.5mm bullets fired from their Type 38 rifles hit the sides and bottom armor plates of the gunboats, they posed no threat.

The Taishan gunship, which could be considered an aerial armored aircraft, launched a counterattack against the provocations of the Japanese infantry.

The gunner gripped the machine gun handle with excitement and began firing at the ground.

Those Japanese soldiers who stood and fired at the air were the first to be attacked. When their fragile bodies were hit by 12.7 mm bullets, each shot left a large hole. The power of 20 mm machine gun shells was even more astonishing. The Japanese soldiers who were hit were covered in blood and their limbs were scattered.

The overwhelming firepower nearly caused the Japanese vanguard to collapse.

They were no longer as brave as before, and scattered to avoid aerial fire.

Meanwhile, Fang Wen, with his mechanical senses activated, was also using radar to track the approaching Japanese warplanes from the east.

The enemy aircraft was less than 20 kilometers away and could arrive in 3 minutes.

He immediately issued a response order to the gunboat squadron, instructing the three gunboats to cease fire.

The sudden cessation of aerial fire left the Japanese vanguard bewildered, with some daring soldiers emerging from their hiding places to look up at the sky.

They saw the plane approaching.

Judging from its appearance, the Japanese soldiers recognized it as one of their own and were immediately overjoyed.

At this moment, the gunboat squadron that had been attacking them actually began to retreat to the opposite bank of the Hutuo River.

Having suffered heavy losses in the attack, they shouted into the air, pleading with their allies to avenge them.

Upon encountering 10 Japanese warplanes, the gunboat squadron immediately returned to base.

Everything appeared to be a pursuit of the gunboat fleet by the Japanese army, with no flaws whatsoever.

With gunboats flying at speeds of over 200 kilometers per hour, the Japanese warplanes behind them were almost catching up after they crossed the Hutuo River.

At this moment, the air defense company of the 3rd Battalion of the Taishan Independent Regiment launched an attack.

Anti-aircraft guns on three small hills strafed enemy aircraft in the air.

A barrage of 20mm cannon shells flew into the air, forming a crossfire pattern.

These 20mm cannon shells are all explosive warheads, which will explode in the air even if they do not hit the enemy aircraft, due to the delayed fuse.

In an instant, shrapnel flew everywhere in that firing area, and the wing of a Japanese Type 95 fighter plane was hit by shrapnel.

The high-temperature shrapnel not only tore through the wing but also ignited the wing skin.

The fighter jet's right wing caught fire, and it attempted to turn and escape while belching black smoke.

But then, he was hit by a machine gun shell and was instantly blown up in mid-air.

In this aerial ambush, the first enemy aircraft to be shot down was by ground-based air defense fire.

At this point, Fang Wen also ordered the gunboat squadron to stop retreating and fly sideways.

This way, the gunship's firing surface will be aimed at the enemy aircraft.

The gunners, who were already prepared, gripped their gun handles and unleashed furious flames.

The simultaneous attack from the air and the ground sandwiched the enemy aircraft, and three more fighter jets burst into flames and crashed into the Hutuo River.

Faced with this situation, three of the remaining six Japanese warplanes took what they considered to be reasonable countermeasures.

That is to climb to a higher altitude and get away from the firing level of gunships and aircraft, so that they can turn the situation from high to low and become proactive.

Unfortunately, this approach had already been countered by Fang Wen's plan.

Four fighter jets suddenly appeared in the sky and launched an attack on the three Type 4 biplanes that were climbing.

Biplanes are inherently less agile when climbing, and during this process, they have absolutely no ability to defend or evade.

All of them were shot down under the encirclement of four Taishan fighter jets.

At this point, of the enemy's 10 fighter jets, only 3 remained.

But by then, 20 minutes had already passed.

A second formation of Japanese warplanes also arrived at the battlefield.

Upon seeing the reinforcements arrive, the three enemy planes recklessly turned and approached the reinforcements.

This behavior became their fatal mistake.

Under the attack of three forces, the last three fighter jets exploded as fireballs over the Hutuo River.

A perfectly timed ambush resulted in the deaths of all 10 Japanese fighter planes on the Hutuo River.

The 10 Japanese fighter planes that arrived later did not rashly fly across the Hutuo River to attack.

They were horrified by such brutal air combat; the Taishan Independent Regiment's air combat skills were indeed outrageously strong.

Therefore, after a short standoff in the air, the enemy aircraft formation chose to retreat.

The disastrous defeat and retreat of the Japanese warplanes dealt a heavy blow to the vanguard of the 20th Division.

They stopped advancing and waited for the main force to arrive.

With this, the first battle of the Hutuo River defense line came to an end. Fang Wen ordered the ground troops to remain on alert, while he himself returned to base with eight aircraft for rest and repairs.

The planes flew away high in the sky, and faint traces of gunpowder smoke still lingered in the air.

Wu Yingzong, the acting commander of the Provisional Seventh Division, got busy.

Before the enemy appeared on the other side of the river, he ordered all positions at the front to search the river and nearby crashed enemy aircraft for anything useful and to see if there were any survivors.

Soldiers from each position were dispatched to search the different crash sites.

Most of the planes that crashed were scattered into pieces, with no complete outline left.

However, a small number of the fighter jets that crashed into the river were still intact and did not sink to the bottom of the river due to the buoyancy of their wings.

Soldiers with good swimming skills swam over to search for the fighter jets.

After a search, a soldier climbed onto the plane wreckage and shouted to the shore, "Come help! There's a survivor. That bastard dares to resist. I can't handle him by myself."

Upon hearing that there were prisoners, several more Sichuan soldiers jumped into the river.

They swam to the wreckage and found a Japanese airman trapped inside.

Although he couldn't move, he was foul-mouthed, swearing and even biting people.

"Damn it, let's teach him a lesson."

Several soldiers joined forces and gave the other side a sound beating. This stern beating silenced their arrogance.

He even spoke Chinese.

"Don't fight, I surrender. According to international law, you must treat prisoners of war well."

"This bastard can actually speak our language, and he's still pretending." The soldiers gave him another beating, and he finally behaved himself.

Subsequently, the Japanese pilot, whose hands were bound, was dragged out of the plane and pulled back to the riverbank by several soldiers.

He was taken to Wu Yingzong.

Looking at the dying man, Wu Yingzong frowned: "I went a bit too far. Only living prisoners are valuable. But it doesn't matter. If one dies, we can capture more."

The dying man struggled to raise his head and pleaded, "Don't hit me anymore, I'll confess anything."

Wu Yingzong squatted down, coldly looking at the prisoner: "Tell me, if I find anything wrong, you can forget about living."

Faced with Wu Yingzong, who was filled with hatred for the Japanese, the prisoner couldn't help but shudder and blurted out.

“My name is Teruya Fujimoto. My family is from Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, Japan, and I belong to the Oda Air Group of the Kwantung Army. I am a nobleman, and my family will be willing to pay the price to redeem me.”

Judging from his words, Wu Yingzong realized that this Japanese airman was no ordinary person and that he might be of great value, so he sent a telegram to Fang Wen.

After landing at Taiyuan Jinyang Lake Water Airport, Fang Wen talked with his bodyguard Gong Xiuneng.

How have you been lately?

“Excellent! A true man lives life to the fullest, this is exactly what I want. If I had met the commander earlier, I wouldn’t have bothered with any cultivation.” Gong Xiuneng replied with a smile.

Fang Wen couldn't help but recall when he first met Gong Xiuneng; compared to then, Gong Xiuneng had changed a lot.

At that time, Gong Xiu possessed an air of ethereal freedom, as if he were detached from worldly affairs.

Gong Xiu is now more authentic and has become more cheerful.

Fang Wen couldn't help but ask, "Then didn't you corrupt your Dao heart?"

"What is the Dao Heart?" Gong Xiuneng thought for a moment: "My master said that the Dao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Dao. All things in the world can enter the Dao. The great Dao and the small Dao are all up to one's mind. Only those who are focused on asking the Dao can have the Dao Heart. I have cultivated for half my life and do not have the Dao Heart. I might as well be an ordinary person after I go down the mountain."

Fang Wen's heart stirred: "Isn't it said that everything can enter the Dao? Could it be that your Dao is right now, right beside you? I see that you quite like this state right now, isn't it just what you want?"

"Huh?" Gong Xiu was stunned, seemingly lost in thought.

It seems that a casual remark from Fang Wen gave him a great deal of inspiration.

But what the final outcome will be, we'll only know once he figures it out.

Fang Wen did not disturb Gong Xiuneng and prepared to disembark.

At that moment, the communications officer inside the plane spoke up: "Commander, a call from the front."

"Keep your voice down." Fang Wen walked over, looked at the telegram, and showed a surprised expression.

Through a series of battles, he came to understand more and more the importance of information in war.

The overall perspective brought by one's own superpower, as well as the ability to detect and predict the enemy's whereabouts in advance using radar, are all very important information gaps.

Information gaps also include concepts and knowledge from the future, historical predictions, and so on.

It was precisely by relying on these information gaps that Fang Wen was able to win many battles.

In addition to these, military intelligence is also an important channel for information acquisition.

With the two sides locked in a stalemate, the National Army lacks intelligence on the Japanese army and is often in a passive combat situation.

If the prisoner could provide useful military intelligence, it would have a very positive impact on the course of the war.

Therefore, he immediately ordered: "Gong Xiuneng, don't have any sudden enlightenment yet, let's go to the front line."

Gong Xiu woke up and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Let's pick up a potentially useful prisoner. We'll see how you handle that." After saying that, Fang Wen started the plane and took off.

More than 20 minutes later, the plane landed on the Hutuo River and took away the air force prisoner.

The plane landed again at the Jinyang Lake Water Airport.

Gong Xiuneng carried the bound prisoners out of the plane and took them directly to a private room at the sea airport.

Fang Wen then entered the room as well.

He coldly ordered, "Gong Xiuneng, use some methods to make him confess honestly."

Before Gong Xiu could make a move, the prisoner hurriedly said, "No, I'm willing to talk."

"I don't believe it," Gong Xiuneng replied honestly, and immediately used the bone-dislocating technique on the prisoner.

As soon as the joint of one arm was dislocated, the guy started crying with snot and tears streaming down his face.

"I'm really willing to confess, please don't hurt me."

The cries were desperate and strained.

Judging from his appearance, he's a spineless coward. Fang Wen said, "Stop, let him recover, ask him first."

Gong Xiu was able to restore the dislocated joints, and the prisoner hurriedly confessed.

This time he confessed even more thoroughly than he had on the front lines; to avoid further punishment, he made himself clear.

Teruya Fujimoto is from Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, Japan.

He was born into the Fujimoto family, an ancient and illustrious noble family in Japan.

The Fujimoto family has served the Japanese Imperial Family as samurai for generations, possessing a long history and profound cultural heritage.

During the Edo period, the Fujimoto family was one of the important pillars of the shogunate, possessing vast territories and wealth.

After the Meiji Restoration, the Fujimoto family gradually transformed into an elite class in modern society, venturing into multiple fields such as politics, economics, and military affairs.

Fujimoto Teruya's father, Fujimoto Ichiro, was a high-ranking general in the Japanese Army, while his mother was a daughter from another noble family who was skilled in traditional cultural arts such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and calligraphy.

Teruya Fujimoto received a strict family education from a young age. He is not only proficient in multiple languages ​​such as Japanese, English, and German, but also has a wide range of interests and profound knowledge in fields such as military affairs, history, literature, and art.

He completed his undergraduate studies at Tokyo Imperial University, majoring in military science.

After graduation, he went to Germany to study, where he delved into advanced aviation technology and tactical theory, and earned a degree from the German Military Academy.

After returning to Japan, Teruya Fujimoto quickly distinguished himself in the Army Air Force thanks to his education and family background.

He first served as a flight instructor, responsible for training newly enlisted pilots.

Because of his effective teaching, the pilots he trained performed exceptionally well in all assessments, and he was quickly promoted to flight squadron leader.

After listening to Fujimoto Teruya's account, Fang Wen was basically convinced that the other party was not lying.

Because it would be difficult for a liar to fabricate such detailed information in a short period of time.

Judging from what the other party said, he was a good Japanese flight instructor, but not suitable to be a soldier. However, because of his noble birth and family influence, he still became the captain of the air force.

Such a person should possess a great deal of useful information.

Fang Wen gestured to Gong Xiuneng: "Help him up, make him more comfortable sitting down, and untie the ropes too."

Gong Xiu was able to do as instructed.

Freed from his restraints, Fujimoto Teruya rubbed his wounds, expressing his gratitude: "Thank you, sir. I will cooperate. Please don't hit me anymore."

Fang Wen smiled, poured him a glass of water, and handed it to him.

"Have some water, and let's continue our talk."

Fujimoto Teruya took a big gulp of water and nodded vigorously: "Okay."

"Then do you know which unit the Japanese troops on the ground today belong to?"

Fujimoto Teruya blurted out, "It belongs to the 20th Division, but not the whole of it. They are divided into two parts. One part is cooperating with other units to attack Taiyuan from the north to the south, and the other part is starting from Shijiazhuang to attack Niangziguan. As far as I know, if Niangziguan is captured, Taiyuan can be attacked from both the north and the east."

Fang Wen's expression changed drastically.

The narrow strip of land where Taiyuan is located is one of the few geographical advantages in the Central Plains region that can resist the Japanese army.

Therefore, if Taiyuan is held, there is still a chance for the Central Plains; if Taiyuan falls, the Japanese army will advance unimpeded and occupy most of the area north of the Yellow River.

Did the Jin Army and the National Army know about such important military intelligence?
Knowing it is fine, but if you don't know the Japanese army's action plan, then it's dangerous.

Fang Wen immediately took Fujimoto Teruya and drove to the Taiyuan Garrison Command.

(End of this chapter)