afterglow

Chapter 575: Learn from history; what is the best way among the thirty-six strategies?
His words echoed in the meeting hall, and dozens of generals and senior counselors remained silent.

Many people still had expressions of disbelief and reluctance on their faces. It was obvious that they still could not accept the reality.

impossible! Absolutely impossible!
The king's division has already landed on the island, and the enemy will surely be frightened, running like a wolf, and completely defeated. Victory will be achieved in less than three days.

A series of fruits of victory came to my mouth too quickly. Even though I barely managed to win after several hard battles, the sweet taste easily overshadowed the few strands of bitterness.

The hardships of the process are forgotten intentionally or unintentionally, leaving only the glory of the results.

Zhou Changfeng, who was standing at the door, took a deep breath, glanced at everyone present, and sighed in a tone that said he hated iron but could not make steel: "It is easy to learn from history, but how many people have done it? No wonder there is a saying that historical tragedies always happen again."

He originally wanted to say something more, "Someone at the top must take responsibility this time, so that those who come late will be warned," but he held back his words.

Let's wait until this farce is over and then clean up a few.

A group of generals and senior counselors who were at least in their forties felt extremely ashamed after being criticized like this.

The sound of a needle dropping could be heard in the huge conference hall.

"How about an airdrop of supplies?"

Zhu Lingjing, who was in a good state of mind, still maintained a regular schedule and had just gotten up at this time.

The latter stared at the map and muttered: "We can't say anything now. We'll look at it later. If you can persist, persist. If you really can't stand it anymore, prepare to retreat."

"Fortunately, the feedback from the front line is that the enemy in person has no obvious desire to counterattack, and is generally relatively passive. Since withdrawing into the fortification mountainous area on the east of the island, it has been strictly defensive and rarely takes the initiative to attack." Cheng Han said.

"Yes."

It was still dawn at this time, the sun had not yet risen in the early winter morning, and the sky was dark.

Someone took a telegram from the 14th Division and read aloud:
"Informing all the superior officers of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, the offensive of the staff has been completely suspended. We are now stationed in the northwest of the island, waiting for a turnaround...Fighting for three days and nights, the soldiers and weapons suffered huge losses, more than a thousand wounded were in urgent need of treatment, and medicines and food were in urgent need... "

Then he looked at Zhou Changfeng diagonally in front of him and asked, "What do you think of Ke Xing?"

This is only the minimum supply of materials, and at best it can only protect itself.

Ok?
Zhou Changfeng met her gaze, looked at each other for two seconds, and said firmly: "No, Your Majesty, human life is at stake. Fighting opportunities are fleeting, but politics are not so harsh."

"Zhou Daizhao is so righteous and willing to help. Now...there is nothing to be afraid of." Some people couldn't help but express their gratitude.

With an indifferent expression, Zhu Lingjing fiddled with her fingernails, suddenly raised her eyes, and asked deliberately: "What if I ask you not to go first?"

After understanding the details, Zhou Changfeng quickly left the Governor's Mansion and entered the palace.

Stage three, maybe we should act, but nothing can be done.

"The Air Force said that it is not possible for the time being. Most of the transport aircraft are not in Hawaii. In addition, the runways of all major airports in Oahu are currently used by the pursuit aircraft."

孤军奋战的第十四步兵师现有1.17万人身处莫洛凯岛，每天基本食用要14.5吨粮食、防御战斗要11吨弹药、各种车辆要4吨汽油、骡马牲畜要1吨饲料、医疗药品重量较轻可以忽略不计，以上总共30.5吨。

"Sea transport is easy, but unloading is troublesome. It's great to be able to unload half of it in three to five hours. Enemy planes come to bomb at dawn."

Zhou Changfeng, who looked helpless, replied: "Wait until they take the initiative to ask for help? Then it is probably impossible for the gods to save them."

Of course, some people's attitude immediately changed 180 degrees, and they thought about retreating as soon as they saw that the attack was blocked.

"It doesn't matter if there are losses, as long as we can provide supplies."

Most people still want to wait and see to see if the situation can be stabilized. If the situation does not go well, it is not too late to consider retreating.

"Did they invite you there?"

"Is there any difficulty in this? It's a hundred miles by sea, and the warship will arrive in two hours. Just send the ship over at night."

"Is it really not that strict?" Zhu Lingjing asked playfully, but immediately answered herself: "Not necessarily. However, if you want to go, just go, it doesn't hurt."

"Uh...no."

"Have they realized the fault of arrogance?" This was her first sentence after meeting.

"Are you going to the front line?"

"Exactly, if there are not enough transport planes, bombers can be used instead. There are many ways!"

He stood up and said calmly: "There is nothing righteous or unjust. If you treat them as human beings, you won't think so much. In the end, they are all raised by parents."

Zhou Changfeng fell silent, and more than twenty eyes focused on him.

After ending the topic of how to ensure a firm foothold, the subsequent discussion turned to whether we should continue to fight.

Whether you lower your face and take the initiative to request is completely different.

Zhu Lingjing made a guess without even thinking about it. She shook her head slightly and sneered: "You are so soft-hearted, I can't stand it anymore."

In the second phase, something might happen, but we don’t need to take action.

In the first stage, we declare that nothing is happening.

Zhou Changfeng, who didn't understand why, was startled for a moment and said in astonishment: "This situation of the Fourteenth Division... should be enough to attract attention."

The Forbidden City was as cold and solemn as ever. The bright yellow light emitted by the street lamps illuminated the roads in the imperial city. The heavily armed squads of guards patrolled along the roads with flashlights.

In the fourth stage, maybe something could have been done, but now it is too late.

Seeing that the situation was not good and the atmosphere was awkward, Cheng Han tried to smooth things over to ease the situation.

"Yes, this is a big oversight. Take a seat, Kexing, and discuss countermeasures first."

"If Oahu doesn't work, Kauai can do it, right? In short, the supply cannot be delayed, whether it is sea transportation or airdrop, we must step up our efforts to calm the morale of the troops." An army general said eagerly.

"I hope it can be undone. I'll come back to settle the accounts when things are sorted out." As he said that, Zhou Changfeng raised his hand and looked at his watch.

"Do you need more reinforcements?"

"I definitely want the plane, but I can't say for sure about other things."

"it is good."

"My minister retire."

Repeated victories in battles led to the proliferation of arrogance and eagerness for quick success. Among the Ming army, smug arrogance spread from bottom to top, and became more and more serious as one went up. In Zhou's view, the Ming Dynasty's propaganda department also had to bear a considerable degree of responsibility. Their portrayal was too glorious and one-sided.

The official news agency of the Ming Dynasty did not pay much attention to the results of the war, and the data was relatively solid. However, in terms of propaganda, like other countries, it liked to report on individual heroism and praise those soldiers who had glorious deeds.

For example, a certain ace pilot shot down more than ten enemy planes, a certain marksman killed dozens of enemy soldiers, a certain tank commander destroyed more than ten enemy tanks, etc.

In addition, there are overt and covert efforts to belittle, smear, and ridicule the enemy, portraying them as stupid and vulnerable.

This model is very traditional and common, but its only positive effect is to attract more young people to join the army with aspirations.

Its negative effects are also obvious - it is very easy to mislead, or in other words, it has misled ignorant young people from the beginning, making them think that fighting is an easy thing, and I can do it.

This aggravated the unhealthy trend of being proud and underestimating the enemy, and objectively caused adverse effects.

Historically, John Basilone was transferred to the mainland to guide the training work. At this time, his heroic deeds on Guadalcanal had been widely publicized.

He was worried to find in the training camp that the new recruits were full of confidence and arrogance, as if the Japanese were just a group of monkeys with guns and could be easily dealt with.

All recruits with such a mentality suffered a lot in Tarawa Atoll, Pele Io, Saipan, and Iwo Jima, and even died in mysterious circumstances.

"I hope this time will teach me a lesson," he said to himself on the way home.

Only half a day later, some unfriendly and malicious rumors quietly appeared in the court - if it was the 1st Marine Brigade participating in the battle this time instead of the 14th Division with no experience, such a bad situation would certainly not have happened. .

Zhou Changfeng was about to leave when he heard the news. He was furious when he heard the news and immediately called the foreign police factory.

In the past two years, Shen Yu has been promoted step by step and has been going smoothly. I heard that he is vying for the third-in-command position in a foreign factory.

He complained angrily: "This kind of person is so bad. You must help me find him out. Damn it, you are still saying bad things about me behind my back at this time. You are just a bastard. It's so shameless!"

Shen Yu agreed wholeheartedly, claiming that he would definitely catch the guy who chewed his tongue.

Against this background, Zhou Changfeng said goodbye to his reluctant wife and drove straight to Nanjiao Airport.

In the afternoon of that day, a Type 38 heavy fighter jet accelerated and took off into the air, flying towards the east...

In order to reach the front line as soon as possible, he did not take a more comfortable passenger plane this time, but directly took a fighter jet to his destination.

Shuri, Saipan, Wake Island, Midway...

At 11:22 pm on November 16, Hawaii time, the twin-engine heavy fighter landed safely.

Looking around, the surroundings are full of fighter jets being replenished and anti-aircraft guns in readiness. The airport runway is a bit bumpy. It is obvious that it was repaired in a hurry after being hit by an air attack, and it is relatively rough.

The long journey sitting in the narrow seat was exhausting. Zhou Changfeng felt that his lower body was almost unconscious and he even walked with a limp.

The off-road vehicle was swaying all the way, and then I finally recovered.

Walking into the headquarters of the Hawaiian Expeditionary Force on Oahu, officers were already waiting here.

An exquisite sand table is placed on the long table in the middle, and a dozen aerial photos of aerial reconnaissance are nailed to the wooden board beside it.

Zhao Hanfeng, whose eyes were bloodshot, stroked his chest and saluted, and elaborated: "The situation is serious, Jun Zuo. The Fourteenth Division is completely unable to fight back now. It is trapped to death and can barely protect itself. The enemy's artillery fire on the island continues day and night, with average daily Thirty thousand rounds of bombs were dropped, and more than 100,000 rounds were fired on the first day of landing. This was unprecedented. Almost all the supplies left on the ground were destroyed, and the soldiers had problems eating and drinking. "

It has only been five days since the Molokai landing battle started. The US military has fired a total of 75 rounds of 105mm, 155mm, and 22.5mm artillery shells. The shells seem endless.

You must know that the Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for a total of thirty-six days in history, and the US military only fired 73.2 artillery shells.

It can be said that the US military is working hard to win a battle to defend the island no matter what. Tons of steel and explosives are poured out as if they are free. They hope to defeat the invading force in the simplest and crudest way. enemy.

The 14th Infantry Division of the Ming Dynasty that came ashore suffered heavy casualties after these days of fierce fighting, and at the same time lost almost half of its technical equipment.

Any supplies left on the ground would be blown to pieces by the intensive artillery fire within a quarter of an hour. They could only escape the indiscriminate bombing by placing them in craters or shelters. Therefore, the material situation of the 14th Division was precarious.

This round-the-clock shelling by the US military seriously hindered the Ming army's repair of the destroyed positions. It also became extremely difficult to mobilize troops. It was difficult for soldiers to move, and telephone lines were blown up every now and then.

The Fourteenth Division had never had actual combat experience before, and the soldiers who had not been tempered by the flames of war could not sleep all night. Even if they huddled in the foxhole and fell asleep due to excessive fatigue, they would soon be disturbed by the sound of explosions and screams. Wake up.

In contrast, the US 25th Infantry Division, with the help of dozens of construction machinery, used a steady stream of steel bars, I-beams, steel plates, and cement to build 627 bunkers and 34 solid supports in three months. Points, 45 large shelters, and 18 material storage stations, correspondingly, a large amount of materials are also stored.

Those large shelters are extremely spacious, with cement mortar on the walls. Canteens, barracks, toilets, and even a mini movie theater and an army canteen!
The U.S. officers and soldiers hiding in the fortified mountains on the east side of Molokai Island were extremely relaxed. In the five days and five nights of fighting, they lost more than 70 bunkers and six solid support points, and suffered hundreds of casualties. However, the Ming army's advance was difficult and the battle attrition was reduced. I'm afraid there are nearly 2,000 people.

After staring at the sand table and thinking for a long time, Zhou Changfeng suddenly said: "Let's go around the island."

Xie Wancheng and Yao Liangchuan were shocked when they heard this, and shouted in unison: "It's too dangerous Junzuo!"

"It's okay. If you don't land on the ground, just take a plane and look at it from the sky."

"This……"

The air battle between the enemy and our forces never stops, and flying in a plane is just as dangerous!

Everyone couldn't resist him, so they finally agreed.

The type 38 heavy fighter that carried him to Molokai was still a specialized Type D, which was a reconnaissance aircraft model. It was unarmed and had four cameras under the nose.

And this is the most cutting-edge D-type modified III - equipped with a Juan II V12 liquid-cooled engine, which has smaller wind resistance and faster top speed.

The wind is sunny, the sky is blue and the clouds are white, and Hawaii is still as warm as spring in early winter.

I saw a dozen Type 36-D fighter jets that had finished their patrols flying towards each other. When they met, you could clearly see bullet holes on the fuselages and wings of several aircraft. It was obvious that there had been an air battle before.

Before they even reached their destination, the black smoke rising straight into the sky was clearly visible, and the billowing smoke seemed to blacken the white clouds.

Getting closer, Zhou Changfeng saw light spots flashing on the ground, which were the explosions of shells poured down by the US artillery.

The plains to the west have been blasted into the surface of the moon, but they are green instead of gray; the rugged mountains to the east still look pristine, but in fact they hide countless murderous intentions.

Looking at all this from above, he looked solemn and couldn't help but sigh.

The pilot in front couldn't help but ask: "The killing was so complete, Commander Zhou, what should we do about this? Do you have any ideas?"

The cabin fell into silence for a long time, with only the roar of the two liquid-cooled twelve-cylinder engines on the left and right.

After a while, he picked up the binoculars and asked with a smile: "What is the best way among the thirty-six strategies?"

(End of this chapter)