Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 315 The Inevitable War

The orange flames were so deadly and swift.

Faced with the sudden burst of bullets from a blind spot in the valley, Harada Yuki had no time to make any evasive maneuvers. Out of the corner of his eye, he only caught a glimpse of the dense trail of tracer bullets precisely passing over his aircraft and viciously slamming into the position of his wingman behind him.

The next instant, his best partner, the loyal wingman who had followed him for two whole years and covered his flanks in countless air battles, was unable to utter a single call before his entire fuselage exploded into a huge orange fireball!
"boom……"

The violent explosion echoed through the narrow valley, the shattered wreckage mingling with black smoke, like a flower of death that bloomed and withered in an instant. The shockwave even jolted Harada's plane.

"what……"

A piercing scream burst from Harada Yuki's throat.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the falling flame, the last trace of his most trusted companion.

Two years of living and working together day and night, countless times sharing life and death, have all vanished in an instant.

Endless anger and grief instantly overwhelmed his reason.

He slammed the control stick, ready to turn the plane around and fire wildly at the enemy aircraft that had launched the attack, to avenge his dear friend.

However, the opponent's tactics were frighteningly calm.

After completing a perfect "hit-and-run" raid, the massive P-47 painted with shark mouth markings showed no intention of lingering in the fight.

The pilot pushed the engine to its limit, and the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine roared as the aircraft jerked its nose up and violently climbed into the sky at a desperate angle.

Harada Yuki instinctively wanted to chase after him, but he quickly realized that it was futile.

The Zero fighter's prized climb rate seemed utterly inadequate in the face of that "monster" engine.

He could only watch helplessly as the other's enormous figure rapidly shrank and soon disappeared into the horizon, merging into the clouds above.

Before he could recover from this heavy blow, chaos had completely broken out in his headphones and in the valley.

Everywhere there was the deafening roar of machine guns, the screeching of fighter jets diving, and the sound of violent explosions.

In other directions, similar ambushes were unfolding. One P-47 after another emerged from unexpected valleys and clouds, raining deadly bullets down on the unsuspecting Japanese aircraft with their eight 12.7mm heavy machine guns.

In just a few minutes, the four Zero fighter squadron led by Harada Yuki had already lost three of its aircraft.

On the channel, screams and panicked reports came from another group of aircraft.

"Fell into a trap!"

A chilling truth slammed into Harada's head. He instantly understood: all that exhaustion, all that fear of battle—it was all an illusion! This was a meticulously planned, deadly trap!

All his previous smugness and fantasies were shattered by the cruel reality at this moment. He glanced at the empty sky behind him, and all his courage and will to fight were gone.

He suddenly lowered the nose of the plane and, using his skillful low-altitude flying techniques, weaved through the complex valleys like a stray dog, tail between its legs, fleeing in panic.

Just after Harada Yuki fled in a sorry state, the atmosphere in the control tower of Jiuquhe Airport had reached its peak.

One exciting piece of good news after another came through the radio communication channel, like the loudest firecrackers during a festival.

"This is the 'Thunder and Lightning Second Squadron'!"
Report to command: Japanese aircraft that came from the southwest have been driven away by our formation, and three have been confirmed to have been shot down.

Repeat, three more shot down.

"Only the lead plane was fast enough to escape!" This was Li Xiuming's voice, forcibly suppressing his excitement.

"Command post, this is 'Pirate Third Squadron'."

In the airspace to the southeast that we are responsible for, we shot down two of the four Japanese planes! The remaining two, seeing the situation was unfavorable, desperately fled into the mountains, and we are in pursuit.

"Report! Thunderbolt No. 5 formation reports from the Jinshaling direction: one Japanese aircraft shot down, and the battlefield is being cleared!"

Every victory brought news of a battle was met with a deafening roar of cheers in the command post.

The officers and staff who had been driven crazy and filled with anger by the Japanese harassment tactics were now flushed with joy, waving their fists and embracing each other, venting their happiness at the victory.

Even Doolittle, who had been standing to the side with a serious expression, couldn't help but smile and patted Cheng Rufeng's shoulder forcefully.

Cheng Rufeng was so excited that his face turned red, and he shouted instructions loudly through the microphone, his voice becoming somewhat hoarse.

Amidst this sea of ​​jubilation, Su Yaoyang slowly stood up from his chair, his hands, which had been behind his back, now relaxed.

He walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and watched as P-47s returned victoriously and landed on the runway, and he secretly breathed a long sigh of relief.

Despite his calm and composed demeanor in front of everyone, appearing confident and in control, he was actually quite nervous inside.

Vehicle radar is a completely new technology in this era. Although it is technologically advanced, it has never been used in actual combat.

In theory, it could perfectly counter the Japanese army's low-altitude infiltration tactics, but theory is just theory, and no one knows how effective it will be in actual combat or whether any unexpected problems will arise.

But he had no choice; he was practically being forced into a corner by the Japanese.

He never expected that the Japanese in this timeline would so quickly resort to underhanded tactics, knowing how to use the complex terrain of Shanxi to play hide-and-seek with his air force.

This underhanded tactic directly reduced the efficiency of his expensively built and proud fixed radar air defense network by at least 50%, leaving him with a feeling of powerlessness, like punching cotton.

In desperation, he had no choice but to take a gamble and use a matter converter to develop a "black technology" like vehicle radar, which the Americans wouldn't have been able to develop for another four years. He used the clumsy method of "compensating for quality with quantity" to weave a comprehensive network.

Fortunately, judging from the current results, the effect is quite good.

Otherwise, if the Japanese continue to harass us like this, the air force will be exhausted and unable to secure air superiority. He began to worry whether the long-planned general offensive against Taiyuan could be launched on time.

The officers' cheers continued, and Su Yaoyang did not disturb his subordinates from enjoying this hard-won joy.

He watched quietly for a while, then glanced at the jubilant crowd and gave a wink to his chief of staff, Pi Ruoyu, beside him.

Pi Ruoyu immediately understood, and the two turned around in tacit agreement, preparing to quietly slip away from the commotion and leave the stage to the real protagonist.

Unexpectedly, just as he reached the entrance of the command post, before he could even open the door, a loud, clear voice with a distinct American accent came from behind him.

“Boss, please wait a moment, I have something I'd like to discuss with you.” Upon hearing the distinctive title “Boss,” Su Yaoyang stopped in his tracks. He didn't need to turn around to know that the person was Doolittle; in the entire militia, only this straightforward American would address him that way.

He turned around somewhat helplessly, looking at Doolittle who was hurrying towards him, with a questioning expression on his face: "Jimmy, is something wrong?"

Doolittle walked up to him, glanced at the noisy surroundings, then at Pi Ruoyu beside him, and seemed hesitant to speak: "Boss, let's... go over there and talk."

He pointed to a relatively quiet corner at the end of the corridor.

“Okay.” Su Yaoyang nodded.

Pi Ruoyu, who was standing nearby, immediately understood. He realized that this might involve Doolittle's personal matters or some American affairs, and that it was inappropriate for him to be present. He took the initiative to say, "Sir, I'll wait for you in the car downstairs."

"Okay... then you go first." Su Yaoyang waved to him.

Pi Ruoyu saluted, turned around and went downstairs.

Afterwards, Su Yaoyang and Doolittle arrived at a relatively secluded corner at the end of the corridor, where there was a small observation window overlooking the entire airport tarmac.

Neither of them spoke immediately, and the atmosphere became somewhat silent.

Doolittle seemed to be organizing his thoughts as he looked out the window at the ground crew inspecting and maintaining the returning P-47, his expression complex.

After a moment of silence, Doolittle finally turned to look at Su Yaoyang and said in an unusually solemn tone, "Boss, I think I should say goodbye to you."

"Are you going?"

Su Yaoyang was slightly taken aback, and the relaxed expression on his face instantly disappeared.

The news was so sudden; he hadn't expected it at all.

As one of the earliest founders of the Shanxi Militia Flight Squadron, Doolittle played a crucial role in the formation and training of this air force. He can be considered the soul of the entire air force, apart from himself.

Moreover, he was well aware of the crucial role Doolittle played in this fledgling air force; it could be said that Doolittle's influence was present in every aspect of the Shanxi militia's flight squadron.

Although the flight squadron has now taken initial shape, under his careful training and assistance, Cheng Rufeng, Feng Mingqian, Ye Qiyuan and others are already able to stand on their own. Even without Doolittle, this unit can continue to advance and continue to fight.

But Su Yaoyang knew even better that, in terms of overall ability, even if you combined all of Cheng Rufeng and the others, they wouldn't be as good as Doolittle.

This is not even a comparison of magnitudes.

You have to understand, even in the global aviation industry, this guy is one of the very top, a monstrous group of experts.

He can not only build airplanes by hand, but is also proficient in various extreme flight techniques, making him the ace of ace.

He was also a legendary adventurer who set a record for solo circumnavigation of the globe in an aircraft.

What's worse, this guy is also a PhD in aerospace engineering, and he can even do his own research to improve the formula of aviation fuel in order to squeeze out the last bit of potential from the engine.

A versatile talent who can fight, manufacture, conduct research and development, manage, and lead a team—frankly, such a talent is one of a kind in the world today.

Su Yaoyang was truly reluctant to see him go. This was not just losing a capable assistant, but also losing a mentor and friend, a technical guide who constantly brought him surprises and breakthroughs.

But he was also well aware that a man like Doolittle, who had reached the world's top level in several fields, was absolutely top-notch in terms of both mental maturity and willpower.

Once such people make a decision, virtually no one can change their mind. Trying to force them to stay with money or status is simply ridiculous and disrespectful.

Since we can't keep them, we can only part ways amicably.

Su Yaoyang reached out and patted Doolittle's shoulder forcefully.

“Jimmy…can you tell me why?” His voice was calm.

"This……"

Doolittle's not-so-tall frame seemed to pause slightly, and he remained silent for a moment, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes as if he were carefully considering his words.

After a moment, he said:
"It was Washington that issued me a draft order, and I had to rejoin the army."

As for the rest, please forgive me for not saying more.

Upon hearing Doolittle's flimsy excuse, Su Yaoyang was taken aback for a moment, and then a suppressed chuckle escaped his lips.

"Hahaha……"

He shook his head with a wry smile, looking less like he had heard regrettable news and more like he had heard a rather clumsy excuse.

He looked at Doolittle's serious yet somewhat apologetic face and said in a tone that was half-joking and half-seriously, "Isn't it just that Washington realized war was coming and started preparing for it? Why make it so mysterious? Do you really think others don't know?"

Upon hearing this, Doolittle's expression froze instantly.

"Boss...you..."

His brow furrowed sharply, and his deep blue eyes filled with disbelief. He had never imagined that his excessively young "boss" would have such a keen sense of smell.

To be able to immediately deduce the strategic intentions of the highest levels of the US government from just one sentence about being "conscripted"! This is no longer a matter of military talent; it is an astonishing level of political insight!
Seeing Doolittle's shocked expression, Su Yaoyang waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to make a fuss. He turned around, strolled leisurely to the observation window, leaned casually against the window frame, and gazed at the distant, rolling mountains.

"Alright... Jimmy, it's not hard to guess."

His tone was calm, yet it carried a kind of all-knowing confidence.

"Japan and the United States are bound to go to war over control of the Pacific Ocean. Anyone with a bit of strategic vision can see that."

He stretched out his finger and gently traced it across the dusty glass.

"Your US government is indeed very clever. Through the three or four years of the Sino-Japanese War, you have made a fortune from the war while sitting on the sidelines and watching the two sides fight. You have almost emptied the Japanese government's finances and gold reserves. But now, Japan is getting deeper and deeper into the quagmire of China, and there is no sign that the war will stop."

He turned his head and looked at Doolittle, his eyes sharpening.

"Japan's demand for oil, food, and most importantly, steel is increasing. Do you know what that means?"

"It means war... an inevitable war!"

(End of this chapter)