Film and Television World Life Record

Most importantly, and what Li Mu values ​​most, is its speed and combat radius.

The improved version of the I-16, which was just rolled out earlier this year, weighs only 1.3 tons but can reach speeds of over 500 kilometers per hour, making it one of the fastest aircraft in the world.

At the same time, its combat radius is as high as 700 kilometers, which is even more exaggerated than that of the Hawk 75.

The improved version also has enhanced firepower, equipped with two 20mm cannons, making it a deadly weapon in modern air combat.

This aircraft remained one of the mainstay fighter planes of the Soviet Army until the outbreak of the Soviet-German War three years later, demonstrating its performance.

Such an aircraft is naturally not cheap, costing more than the Hawker 75, at approximately $60,000 per aircraft.

After thinking it over, Li Mu ordered six planes. Although he was the only one flying in Nanyang at the moment, it was better to be prepared and ordering a few more was a good idea.

In addition, Li Mu also ordered three German-made Bf-109 fighter jets.

Designed by Messerschmitt, a designer at the Bavarian Aircraft Factory, this fighter jet first flew successfully in 1935 and entered service in 1936. Its improved versions were one of the mainstay fighters of the German Army during World War II, and also one of the best-performing light fighters of the time.

Even the current version is an extremely excellent fighter jet in terms of all aspects of performance, especially its combat radius, which exceeds 700 kilometers, making it one of the fighter jets with the longest combat radius in this era.

Similarly, Li Mu also ordered three British-made Rafale fighter jets.

The Hurricane fighter was designed and built by Hawker Aircraft Company. It first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. It was a British single-seat, single-engine, monoplane piston-engine fighter. Its later improved versions were one of the main fighters of the Royal Air Force during World War II and one of the best-performing light fighters of the time.

After finishing up with the airplane business, Li Mu commissioned Far East Trading Company to order a batch of machinery and equipment. He didn't linger in Singapore and returned to China the next day.

He left half of the goods to be sold in Hankou, and that same day Li Mu took a motorboat back to Nanyang. With so many weapons brought back this time, he'd be busy again.

First, to defend against threats from the air, it is necessary to form an air defense battalion, mainly equipped with Solothurn ST-5 20mm autocannons and Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns.

However, machine guns can not only be used as anti-aircraft weapons, but also as effective weapons against armored vehicles and tanks. A total of eighty machine guns were purchased this time, with half left in the anti-aircraft battalion and the other forty distributed to various units to deal with low-altitude targets and armored units.

With forty Solothurn ST-5 20mm autocannons and thirty Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, their weaponry is top-notch in the country, more than enough to form an air defense battalion.

Next, a heavy artillery battalion was formed. As one of the heavy weapons of the era, the power of heavy artillery was undeniable, a fearsome presence that instilled terror in everyone. Whether it was an armored vehicle or a city wall, one shot would destroy them all.

Don't be fooled by the fact that there are only twenty guns. In this era, firepower was extremely scarce, especially long-range firepower. All the heavy artillery in the country combined did not even amount to a hundred guns.

Therefore, it can be seen how scarce twenty heavy artillery pieces were; even the elite mechanized divisions of the Japanese could not produce so many heavy artillery pieces.

Then an armored battalion was formed, consisting of thirty Praga LT-38 light tanks. It was a small, simple armored battalion, but still a rarity in China. It was more than capable of taking down the thin armor of the Japanese.

……

Having finally finished his work, Li Mu turned his attention to the battlefield. After reviewing the intelligence he had on hand that day, he flew his plane to bomb the Japanese positions in the early hours of the next day.

However, this time he didn't manage the time well and went over the allotted time. The plane almost couldn't fly back to Nanyang because of the remaining fuel, but it managed to fly back in the end, which gave him a fright.

If the fuel runs out in the air, there's no way to recover; the only option is to parachute out!

This incident made Li Mu reflect for a day. Had he become arrogant and complacent, thinking himself incredibly capable when he wasn't as powerful as he imagined? Even a plane running out of fuel in the air is helpless.

Ultimately, the problem stems from the aircraft's limited combat radius and its distance from Taierzhuang. Subtracting the round-trip flight distance, there wasn't much free time.

If you're not careful, too much gasoline will be consumed, and the plane will have a hard time flying back to Nanyang.

To address this problem, simply being vigilant and cautious is not enough; we must solve the problem at its root.

The new fighter jets he ordered have a longer combat radius than the current Hawk 75, but they won't arrive in the short term, and he'll have to find a way to deliver them himself.

After pondering for a while, Li Mu suddenly had an idea: since the battlefield was too far from Nanyang, could an airport be built somewhere else?

It doesn't need to be big or too formal; a simple one is enough. Fighter jets of this era didn't have high requirements for runways; they could easily take off from ordinary roads.

So, we can choose some secluded locations and build one or two backup airports. If we run out of fuel, we can land nearby to refuel, which won't be troublesome.

In fact, no other supporting facilities are needed; a simple runway is sufficient. There is enough space, gasoline, and various auxiliary equipment.

Even if the plane malfunctions, it can be directly recalled into space and replaced with a new one.

Moreover, the new airport means a larger operational range, giving fighter jets more room to maneuver and operate.

So Li Mu found a map, studied it for a long time, and finally found two suitable locations to build an airport.

One is the Taihang Mountains, a large mountain range spanning four provinces and municipalities—Beijing, Shandong, Hebei, and Henan—between Shanxi and the North China Plain. Extending over 400 kilometers from the Western Hills of Beijing in the north to the Wangwu Mountains in Henan Province in the south, it contains many secluded and easily defensible locations suitable for building airports.

Furthermore, with the airport located here, the operational radius is larger, the coverage area is wider, and even many occupied areas are within the operational radius.

Another location is the Dabie Mountains, situated in southern Henan Province, at the junction of Henan, Anhui, and Hubei provinces. It connects to the Tongbai Mountains in the west and extends to the Huoshan and Zhangbaling Mountains in the east, stretching for more than 380 kilometers from east to west and more than 170 kilometers from north to south. It is the watershed between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers and spans more than 20 counties in the Hubei, Henan, and Anhui regions.

The terrain here is complex, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is not difficult to find a secluded place to build a simple military airfield.

Once the airport is operational, Li Mu's operational radius will be further expanded, potentially covering the entire Nanjing area.

They are more capable of fighting the Japanese invaders.

Over the next few days, Li Mu would occasionally go to Xuzhou at night to drop bombs and kill some Japanese soldiers. During the day, he also spent a lot of time flying his camera-equipped plane back and forth in the Taihang Mountains or the Dabie Mountains.

Upon returning, they carefully examined the footage in the screening room, searching for a suitable location to build an airport.

Ultimately, considering various factors, the northern region of Henan and the southern part of the province were chosen; the southern region was the Lu'an area, near Huoshan, at the junction of Henan, Anhui and Hubei provinces.

After selecting a general location, Li Mu immediately dispatched professionals to survey the terrain of the two places and select suitable sites for building an airport.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the fact that these places have not yet fallen, and in addition to the need for secrecy, Li Mu sent a large number of engineers to carry out construction, which can also be regarded as a test of their training results over such a long period of time.

Shortly after the technicians and hundreds of engineers left, two battalions of soldiers, having taken off their uniforms, disguised themselves as a merchant corps and discreetly headed to the two locations.

Next, they will be stationed there to protect the airport's security.

Just as these matters were being arranged, good news came from the arsenal: they had purchased two bullet production lines, two grenade production lines, and one artillery shell production line, all of which had been installed, tested, and were now in mass production.

Li Mu was in a good mood. Accompanied by the person in charge of the arsenal, he carefully inspected the arsenal and nodded in satisfaction.

The Nanyang area has recently attracted a lot of skilled workers, many of whom have worked in factories and possess certain technical skills. After a little adaptation, they can get started directly, saving a lot of effort.

In addition, there is progress on the aerial bombs that he had arranged for the arsenal to produce.

Looking at the iron lump that was more than half a person tall in front of him, he realized that this was the aerial bomb he had produced himself, and it was completely different from the ones he had bought.

Li Mu frowned, then relaxed as if he had thought of something.

The purchased aerial bombs were well-made and meticulously crafted in all aspects, with excellent stability and sealing, clearly indicating careful production.

However, Li Mu didn't care about stability and airtightness. He didn't need these aerial bombs to be stored for long periods, mounted on aircraft, or have sophisticated manufacturing processes. As long as the explosives were the same, there was a detonation device, and the power remained consistent, that was fine.

The iron lump in front of us may be ugly, but its power is in no way inferior to the purchased aerial bombs.

Its production cost is only about one-tenth of the purchase price, and that alone is enough.

Li Mu inquired about some specific experimental data, and while they continued to make improvements, he also started mass production, as his subsequent demand would be substantial.

.........

Chapter 434 Great Victory

Two more days passed, and it was now April. The battle was finally coming to an end.

In the past few days, Li Mu has used the aerial bombs manufactured by his own arsenal—which can be described as lumps of iron—to achieve considerable success. The Japanese army's strength is now much weaker than it was during the original Battle of Taierzhuang.

Now that the encirclement has been formed, it's time to launch a full-scale counterattack.

On April 3, after several days of bloody fighting, Sun Lianzhong's troops defending Taierzhuang had suffered more than half casualties, and under the powerful firepower of the Japanese, most of the area had been occupied by the Japanese.

Due to the increasing pressure from the Japanese forces in North and East China, and the need to establish an encirclement, the defending troops had no spare troops to support them and could only hold on.

Looking at his fallen brothers and the wounded scattered everywhere, Sun Lianzhong's expression darkened. Few of his men were still alive, and he didn't know how many men would be left after this battle.

His only thought now was to wait for the order to counterattack. If this dragged on any longer, all his men would be lost.

It seemed that heaven had heard his prayers. Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone in Xuzhou called, instructing him to prepare, organize manpower for a counterattack, and the bugle call for a full-scale counterattack was finally about to sound.

Sun Lianzhong breathed a sigh of relief; he had finally made it through.

However, looking at his men, almost all of them were wounded, and a daytime counterattack would come at too high a cost. The only option was to form a suicide squad and launch a night raid.

Soon, a suicide squad of four hundred men was selected. Sun Lianzhong sighed and stepped forward with a solemn expression.

"Brothers! You've all done a great job. Normally, in a scene like this, you should be drinking heartily to boost your courage! But we're at war, and we can't find any alcohol. So I can only offer you a bowl of water instead! I hope you'll kill many more Japanese devils!"

Sun Lianzhong didn't say anything about returning in triumph. Everyone knew the capabilities of the Japanese. Even with a night raid, which was a surprise attack, how many of them could come back alive?

An old soldier stepped forward, saluted Sun Lianzhong, picked up a ceramic bowl from the ground, drank the cold water in it in one gulp, and turned to the suicide squad members, saying, "Brothers! Our old commander has treated us well, and fighting the Japanese devils is only right and proper. Today, let's risk our lives and fight the Japanese devils. Drink up, consider it a farewell drink, drink your fill! Good luck on your way! Kill the Japanese devils!"

After saying that, the old soldier threw the ceramic bowl at his feet, smashing it to pieces...

Many of the suicide squad members also raised their bowls, drank them in one gulp, smashed them on the ground, and shouted: "Fight to the death! Kill the Japanese devils! Fight to the death! Kill the Japanese devils!"

That night, the surprise attack caught the Japanese off guard, resulting in a significant victory. The fighting continued until late into the night before the Japanese were able to stabilize their situation, establish an effective defensive line, and launch a counterattack.

However, Li Mu's planes came again, dropping dozens of newly developed 250-kilogram aerial bombs, shattering the Japanese defensive positions and sending them scattering in all directions.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the suicide squad recaptured the entire city of Taierzhuang. As the epicenter of the battle, the call to counterattack had finally been sounded.

……

Xuzhou, Fifth War Zone Headquarters

When news of the recapture of Taierzhuang arrived, everyone was quite happy. At this stage of the war, the encirclement had been formed, and everything was going smoothly; Commander Li should have been in a good mood.

However, at this moment, Commander Li was pacing back and forth in the hall with his brows furrowed, and the faces of several staff officers were also not good.

This was all because Tang En's 81st Army had failed again. The order for a full-scale counterattack had already been sent, but the other side remained unmoved and gave a perfunctory reply.

It should be understood that as an elite force, Tang En's 81st Army played a crucial role in the annihilation battle. Such disobedience to orders and lack of cooperation with other units would greatly undermine the carefully planned strategy of the past half month.

Commander Li was angry for a while, but there was nothing he could do. He could only telegraph the principal about the 81st Army's avoidance of battle.