You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

A brief silence fell over the meeting room.

"Then immediately transfer those experienced and seasoned pilots from the Akagi, along with their new fighter jets, to the Soryu."

Yamamoto Isoroku loudly proposed a tactical deployment that seems perfectly normal to later generations.

"absurd."

Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu, the Chief of the Naval General Staff who had remained silent until now, suddenly opened his eyes and rebuked sharply:

"Pilots and warships are a unified whole."

How can the First Carrier Division's personnel be arbitrarily transferred to the Second Carrier Division's ships?

This would completely disrupt the Imperial Navy's personnel files and logistical support system.

This is completely contrary to the rules of the Imperial Navy.

"Yamamoto, don't break the Navy's traditions for the sake of temporary tactical needs!"

Yamamoto Isoroku was utterly speechless.

He looked at this group of old men who clung to rules and seniority, and felt a pang of sadness.

He knew better than anyone that the Empire had far too few aircraft carriers.

They look impressive in normal times, but when it comes to actually using them, they are often in short supply and simply not enough to meet demand.

As for the well-known Japanese main aircraft carriers of later generations.

The Shokaku has only been under construction on the slipway for a short time, and not even the hull has been completed yet.

Although the Flying Dragon has been completed, it is still undergoing sea trials and has not yet officially entered service.

The Zuikaku is still just a design on paper.

"Did you hear that, Yamamoto?"

Suetsugu Nobumasa sneered, his tone becoming extremely arrogant:

"Who do you think should be sent?"

The Empire simply doesn't have any spare aircraft carriers to send for escort missions.

"Just because we don't have an aircraft carrier, are we just going to stand by and watch Qingcheng Port fall into Lin Feng's hands?"

"Since there is no air fleet to provide cover."

Yamamoto Isoroku shrugged and sat back down in his chair, his tone icy:

"Then let's not even send out the artillery fleet."

Without air superiority, sending surface ships into the combat radius of Lin Feng's bombers would be utterly foolish.

"presumptuous!"

Suetsugu Nobumasa was furious and pointed at Yamamoto Isoroku's nose, cursing loudly.

Another heated argument broke out in the meeting room.

Finally, with the intervention of Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu, the two sides were forced to reach an extremely absurd compromise.

"The fleet must be deployed."

Prince Hiroyasu of Fushimi made the final decision:

"As for the issue of air cover."

The headquarters will coordinate the land-based air forces of the Army and Navy.

Fighter jets took off from nearby land-based airfields to provide cover over the fleet.

The operations staff officer immediately used a compass to calculate the flight distance on the map, and looked troubled:

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, the range of land-based fighter jets is limited."

The flight time to the outer sea of ​​Qingcheng Port is extremely short.

Considering fuel consumption, we can only adopt a rotation tactic.

Each round can only allow a maximum of a dozen or so aircraft to take off.

After escorting the fleet for half an hour to an hour, they must immediately return to base, otherwise they will run out of fuel and crash into the sea.

Upon hearing this proposal, Yamamoto Isoroku was completely stunned.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word for a long time.

A dozen or so planes? Escorting them for half an hour?

It seems like it's providing cover, but it also seems like there's no cover at all.

But Yamamoto Isoroku could say nothing more.

After all, in the Imperial Navy now, the Fleet faction is the real boss.

He alone could not change the final decision of the General Staff.

"It's settled then."

Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu stood up and issued the final battle order:

"Order the Third Fleet to deploy immediately."

With the Izumo-class armored cruiser as its flagship.

The heavy cruisers Ashigara and Nachi were selected to form the core artillery formation.

With the support of eight destroyers, including the Sixth and Tenth Destroyer Divisions, they headed north overnight.

Target: Qingcheng Port.

"We must use our 203mm naval guns to show those Chinese the wrath of the Imperial Navy!"

"Hi!"

Inside the meeting room, all the Japanese generals stood up and bowed their heads in unison.

A series of deadly radio waves swiftly flew toward the Japanese fleet on the banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai.

-----

The day after the general offensive on Qingcheng Port was launched.

The smoke of gunpowder completely obscured the sky over this coastal city, and the air was filled with brick dust.

Outside the Governor's Mansion, the Japanese soldiers gathered their last few hundred marines and the desperate civilian volunteers, and fought a final, desperate battle around the iconic building.

At both ends of the street, the Japanese soldiers used sandbags, dismantled door panels, and even the wreckage of destroyed cars to build thick barricades.

Behind the barricades, Type 92 heavy machine guns and Type 96 light machine guns were mounted.

Dozens of Japanese suicide squad members, with "Victory is certain" banners tied around their heads, were shirtless and clutching cluster grenades and explosive packs tightly to their chests.

They crouched in the blind spots of the barricades, their bloodshot eyes fixed on the empty streets, ready to charge out and perish together with the Great Xia's war chariots.

The officer in charge of defending this section of the street was Captain Tanaka of the Japanese Marine Corps.

Tanaka gripped his sword tightly, his palms sweating profusely.

"Keep a close eye on them."

Tanaka lowered his voice and roared at his machine gunners:

"As soon as the Chinese show their faces, we open fire immediately."

"Suicide squad, prepare for certain death."

However, ten minutes passed, then twenty minutes passed.

There wasn't a soul in sight ahead on the street.

Only the muffled explosions that echoed in the distance made the ground tremble slightly.

Tanaka frowned, a strong sense of unease rising within him.

The enemy's firepower is clearly very strong, with gunfire coming from all directions, so why is no one charging forward?

He had no idea that Lin Feng's elite troops had already memorized the "Urban Street Fighting Tactics Manual" that Lin Feng had personally compiled and distributed.

They simply didn't follow the usual path in the eyes of the Japanese.

At this moment, right to the right of the barricade in Tanaka, there was a two-story German-style row house right next to the street.

A newly formed 16th Division assault platoon was quietly positioned against the wall.

The platoon leader in charge made a hand gesture.

Two combat engineers immediately stepped forward carrying a long, rectangular canvas bag.

They deftly unzipped the zipper and took out a specially made directional explosive charge.

This thing is filled with high explosives and has a thick steel plate on the back, specifically designed to attack the load-bearing walls of urban buildings.

The engineers pressed the demolition charge firmly against the inner wall and pulled out the fuse.

"Prepare for demolition, take cover."

The sapper shouted in a low voice, then suddenly pulled the fuse and ran towards the back room.

The assault platoon soldiers immediately opened their mouths wide, covered their ears with their hands, and crouched behind the load-bearing pillars.

"boom--!"

A dull, loud bang exploded inside the room.

The entire villa shook violently, and dust fell from the ceiling.

The 30-centimeter-thick brick wall was blasted open by a directional explosive charge, leaving a hole one meter high and half a meter wide.

Broken bricks and tiles flew towards the next room.

"superior."

The platoon leader, carrying an MP40 submachine gun, was the first to crawl through the hole in the blasted wall.

The soldiers behind him, carrying guns, filed in.

In the next room, several Japanese soldiers who were lying by the window, ready to fire sniper shots, were stunned by the sudden explosion.

Before they could even get up from the ground...

"Da da da da—!"

The platoon leader swept the enemy with his MP40.

9mm Parabellum pistol bullets flew wildly in the narrow room, instantly turning the Japanese soldiers into sieves.

This is the "rat hole tactic" described in the combat manual issued by Lin Feng.

In the European district of Qingchenggang, many buildings are row houses with walls connected together.

The Great Xia's assault infantry did not advance on the perilous streets.

They used explosives to create holes in the adjacent walls directly inside the building.

Like a rat, it darted and pounced inside the house.

They completely avoided the Japanese's carefully laid crossfire network on the streets.

"Keep the demolition going, next wall!"

The platoon leader stepped over the Japanese soldiers' corpses, pointed at the wall in front of him, and gave the order.

"boom!"

Another muffled sound.

The assault platoon continued its advance, blowing up walls as it went.

Unbeknownst to them, they had already circled around from inside the building to the side and rear of the barricade in Tanaka.