On the eve of the fall of Liaodong, he led his troops in a remonstrance against the young marshal.

Twenty minutes ago, over the coastline of the Liaodong Peninsula.

Li Changkong sat in the cockpit of the Blague 27, looking out at the hazy coastline through the windshield.

His hands rested on the joystick, his fingers tapping the handle unconsciously, the rhythm as fast as a war drum.

The Liaodong Peninsula below the plane moved slowly backward in the setting sun, and the outline of Lushun Port had already appeared on the horizon.

The deep-water harbor, surrounded by mountains, shimmered in the twilight. The buildings and dock facilities in the harbor were faintly visible, but the water in the center of the harbor was empty.

"Captain Zhu,"

Li Changkong pressed the radio transmitter button, his tone filled with barely suppressed impatience, "I've looked around Lushun Port three times, and there isn't even a decent battleship, let alone an aircraft carrier."

"There are only a few small patrol boats and merchant ships in the port. Did the Japanese run away beforehand? Should we just blow up Lushun Port?"

"Bomb the oil depots, ammunition depots, and dock facilities to ruins; then the trip won't have been in vain!"

Zhu Wudi's voice came back through the radio, cold and decisive:

"no."

"Port Arthur can be bombed at any time, but the Combined Fleet can't be found at any time."

"Today they sent all their carrier-based aircraft out to attack Fengtian, and the decks are empty. This is when they are most vulnerable."

"After today, once they return to their homeland to replenish their carrier-based aircraft and pilots, it will be much harder to destroy the aircraft carrier."

"The Japanese navy posed the greatest threat to Fengtian, even greater than the Kwantung Army."

"As long as the Combined Fleet remains afloat, they can launch an attack from any point on the sea at any time. Our coastline is too long to defend against; we must cripple them today."

Li Changkong gritted his teeth and didn't insist any further.

He knew Zhu Wudi was right: Lushun Port was dead, but the Combined Fleet was alive.

By bombing a port, the Japanese could reorganize their offensive from Incheon and Busan on the Korean Peninsula, or even Nagasaki on the mainland.

But if an aircraft carrier is destroyed, the Japanese naval air force will be crippled.

At this moment, in the port of Lushun, the air raid sirens of the Kwantung Army's Lushun Garrison Command had already sounded, and the piercing sirens echoed over the port.

A staff officer stumbled into the commander's office, his face pale:

"Commander! A large number of unidentified aircraft have been spotted over the port!"

"There are at least a hundred of them! They're circling high in the sky!"

Major General Nakajima, the garrison commander of Lushun, suddenly jumped up from his chair, rushed to the window, and raised his binoculars to look up at the sky.

In the footage, dozens of silver dots of light are leisurely hovering at an altitude of 3,000 meters, moving at a moderate speed, as if they are taking a stroll in their own backyard.

He put down the binoculars, his lips trembling for a long time before he managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth:

"Anti-aircraft guns...open fire! Shoot down these Chinese planes!"

Dozens of anti-aircraft guns deployed around the port began to roar simultaneously, their shells exploding into plumes of black smoke in the sky.

But those silver planes didn't even bother to dodge.

The maximum firing altitude of anti-aircraft guns is far less than 3,000 meters. The shells explode below them, and the shrapnel is so thick that it can't even touch the plane.

One Mustang pilot even deliberately flew a little lower, circled in the black smoke from the exploding shells, and then leisurely climbed back to formation altitude.

Naked humiliation.

Major General Nakajima stood by the window, his face ashen, but he was helpless.

Zhu Wudi's Wild Horse fleet circled over Lushun Port for a while, and after confirming that there were no main warships of the Joint Fleet in the port, it began to assign reconnaissance tasks.

"Reconnaissance squadron, take note: the sixteen Mustangs are divided into four reconnaissance groups. The first group will search due south, the second group will search southeast, the third group will search southwest, and the fourth group will search due east."

"Use the current location as the center to conduct a fan-shaped search with a radius of 300 kilometers."

"Report the fleet sighting immediately; do not fire without authorization. I repeat: report the fleet sighting immediately; do not fire without authorization."

Sixteen Mustangs broke away from the formation, dispersing in groups of four in four directions.

The silver wings reflected four streaks of light in the setting sun, and soon disappeared into the twilight where the sea and sky met.

Zhu Wudi led the main fleet to circle and wait in the airspace outside Lushun Port.

Time passed second by second, and the only sound coming from the radio was the static crackling.

Li Changkong's Blackgay formation had begun to impatiently circle in the air, and the bomber group's fuel consumption was gradually decreasing.

Suddenly, a short call came over the radio; it was Zhang Wei's voice.

"Captain! Enemy fleet spotted! Heading due east-southeast, approximately 80 kilometers off the coast of Lushun Port, at the 5 o'clock position!"

"The enemy fleet is sailing south at a very high speed; it appears to be retreating!"

"Judging from the appearance, there are at least ten large surface ships, including three large aircraft carriers, several battleships and cruisers, with destroyers providing perimeter protection!"

"Reporting again, Japanese aircraft carrier sighted, located due east-southeast, approximately 80 kilometers offshore from Lushun Port, at the 5 o'clock position!"

Li Changkong and Zhu Wudi received the message at the same time.

Both men were overjoyed, never expecting that the Japanese would try to sneak back to their homeland before the Northeast Air Force could react.

But no matter how fast he runs, he can't outrun a wild horse.

Zhu Wudi pressed the radio transmission button.

"Attention all units! Target locked!"

"Main force of the Combined Fleet, bearing due east-southeast, approximately 80 kilometers away! Full formation, turn and pursue at full speed!"

.......

Twenty minutes later.

Above the Japanese Combined Fleet.

Zhu Wudi's Mustang took the lead, its silver wings cutting through the clouds at an altitude of three thousand meters. The setting sun poured in from the west, turning his plane into a red-hot blade.

He glanced out of the cockpit and saw the fleet on the sea, which was desperately trying to turn around. It looked like a centipede whose nest had been overturned, with the white wakes of dozens of ships twisted into a tangled mess on the sea.

The reconnaissance Mustang that had spotted the enemy fleet was circling overhead, its wings bobbing up and down as it continuously sent position signals to the following aircraft.

A cold smile appeared on Zhu Wudi's lips.

He reached out and pressed the radio transmitter button, his voice filled with murderous intent.

"Attention all formations, target locked."

"The entire Mustang team is proceeding according to the pre-arranged plan."

"The first, second, and third squadrons will form the first wave of attacks, responsible for suppressing the anti-aircraft fire of enemy battleships and heavy cruisers."

"Remember, attack the anti-aircraft gun positions first, then the bridge and superstructure. Use machine guns to sweep them, don't be stingy with ammunition."

"Lick these iron lumps of deck clean for me, not an inch is to be missed."

He paused for a moment and then instructed:

"Li Changkong, your Braggai squadron and Junkers formation will form the second attack wave, following behind the Mustangs to provide additional firepower."

"After the Japanese anti-aircraft guns were licked by the Mustangs, there must still be some remaining firing points. Your task is to take out all these stragglers."

"Do not risk a dive, maintain formation, and provide alternating cover."

"Bombers and torpedo bombers will form the third wave of attack. They will enter the field after the fighter firepower is fully prepared."

His voice suddenly turned cold. "Priority targets for bombers: the three aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, and Ryujo."

"Torpedo bombers' priority targets: battleships and heavy cruisers."

"Remember the order of attack: bomb the aircraft carriers first, then the battleships and cruisers."

"The destroyer can be let go, but all the bombs and torpedoes must be dropped, and not a single one can be brought back."

"I'll repeat it again, you're not allowed to take a single one back."

"Did you understand?"

Zhu Wudi's tactics were actually the same tactics used by American planes to bomb Japanese warships during World War II: first, use fighter planes to help bombers clear out and take out the gunners on the deck.

Then bombers and torpedo bombers would enter the fray and destroy the warships, thus minimizing casualties.

"clear!"

A response came through the headsets; the lead aircraft of each formation replied to the orders in the most concise way.

Zhu Wudi then switched to another channel, which was connected to the combat command center in Fengtian City.

He took a deep breath and spoke nine words into the microphone, one word at a time.

"Wind! Wind! Wind! Strong wind! Strong wind! Strong wind!"

In Fengtian City, Zhang Xueming stood up from his chair.

Everyone in the command center stopped what they were doing and listened quietly to the nine words coming from the loudspeaker.

According to the agreed signal, these nine characters meant that the Combined Fleet had been located, and that the air-sea battle that stemmed from the Battle of Fengtian had now officially entered its second half.

Zhang Xueming picked up the microphone and replied with only one sentence:

"Leave no one alive."

Upon receiving the reply, Zhu Wudi snapped the cover of the radio panel shut and pushed the accelerator to the floor with his left hand.

The Mustang fighter's Merlin engine roared, the tachometer needle snapped to the red line, the nose of the aircraft slammed down, and the whole plane plunged into the sea like a silver meteor.

"Broncos, attack!"