Shouting slogans about fighting and killing would certainly not annihilate the British Yangtze Fleet. Lieutenant General Zhong Yifu, Commander of the East Route Army of the Republic's National Defense Force, soon received a report from the East Line Staff Department. The only information that could be confirmed at the moment was the basic composition of the British Yangtze Fleet's vessels. As for the fleet's exact location, it could not be fully determined for the time being. It was roughly estimated that the main force of the British Yangtze Fleet was located between Nanjing and Jiujiang.

Climate and wind data for the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were extremely incomplete, and the troops were inquiring with Chinese shipping personnel to compile summaries.

As for actual channel depth data, after controlling Shanghai, Ningbo, Zhenjiang, Nantong, and other places, a portion was found in the concession archives.

This was the current status of China: geographical and hydrological data of one's own country were actually in the hands of foreigners. Moreover, this data was incomplete. The East Route Army leased many boats and began conducting measurements of water depth and flow velocity in the areas already under control, preparing for the artillery battles to come.

The British Yangtze Fleet consisted entirely of shallow-draft heavy gunboats. Among them, the eight capital ships were all steel-hulled, not iron-ribbed wooden hulls. With displacements of under 700 tons and steam propulsion, they were all equipped with several 152mm naval guns. Although the range of the Northeast Army's standard 120mm field guns was not inferior to the 150mm guns, the caliber was indeed no match for the British Yangtze Fleet. The East Route Army had brought 150mm heavy guns captured from the Japanese Army during their southward march, merely modifying the gun carriages and towing equipment. In terms of shell caliber and weight, they were at least not at a disadvantage.

The artillery certainly couldn't just stay in one place waiting for the British fleet to crash into them. How to implement artillery warfare in the currently controlled areas, and how to adjust during the subsequent westward advance along the Yangtze, kept the relevant teams of the Staff Department incredibly busy.

Other comrades of the army and the southward-bound cadres were carrying out their own work together: reclaiming concessions in the Yangtze River Delta region, arresting criminals, and establishing a new government.

However, the arrests at this time yielded little result. The people in charge of the various foreign concessions in China knew very well what they had done. They also knew clearly that if they fell into the hands of an army composed of Chinese nationalists, those crimes were enough to warrant a death sentence. These people had already fled; they had no delusions that their personal status could scare off the National Defense Force that had defeated Japan.

The concession officials had run away, and most foreigners with few assets in Jiangsu and Zhejiang had run with them. The foreigners who remained were, without exception, those with no history of evil deeds. Some had too many assets and were unwilling to leave them behind, or were left behind to guard massive assets by bosses who had fled due to their crimes. There were also some foreigners who had dealt with the Northeast Government and decided to gamble on staying.

In the blink of an eye, it was December 6th, the third day after entering Shanghai. Planes took off from the newly built simple airstrip near Shanghai, beginning test flights and collecting various data.

Looking down at the ground, neither the fields nor the cities attracted as much attention as the broad Yangtze River. Pilots from the north were used to northern rivers, and the magnificence of the Yangtze shocked them all. The river surface was on a completely different level from northern rivers. The turbid Yangtze water rolled into the sea. As the plane climbed to a higher altitude, the azure sea surface began to appear at the end of their field of vision. Compared to the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea in the north, the color of the sea outside the Yangtze seemed gentler, and the undulation of the sea surface was also quite different from that of the Bohai and Yellow Seas.

At this very moment, about 500 kilometers north of the Yangtze Estuary, a formation consisting of the battleship *Kongō* as the flagship, two cruisers, and two destroyers was on its way south.

***

The fleet commander was Vice Admiral Okada Keisuke. They had two objectives for this trip. The first was to proceed to the waters off Shanghai at the invitation of the British Navy. The second was to continue south to Taiwan after a friendly meeting with the British fleet, to guard against the National Defense Force doing something there.

This great war had caused heavy losses to the Japanese Army, leaving them unable to lift their heads. The war, combined with the Great Kanto Earthquake, had inflicted heavy losses on Japan, leaving the national economy in chaos. Only the Navy, having successfully organized the landing and suffered no losses, saw its voice greatly increased.

This sentiment was also quite evident within the Fleet Command. Vice Admiral Okada Keisuke sat in the mess hall outside of meal times, chatting relaxed with the officers on the flagship. The Vice Admiral asked Yamamoto Isoroku, "Yamamoto, I heard you went to see Lieutenant General Ishiwara before setting sail. Is that true?"

Captain Yamamoto Isoroku, like other naval officers, had been promoted for outstanding performance during the war. However, because Yamamoto had made some "whimsical" hypotheses that did not actually happen, he was recently looked upon with "fresh eyes" by his colleagues. Yet, Yamamoto's nature was not to care about such trivial matters. He answered the commander's question with a grin, "This subordinate went with Yamaguchi-kun. Yamaguchi-kun even argued with Ishiwara-kun and almost got into a fight."

The naval officers burst into laughter. Commander Yamaguchi Tamon was straightforward and rough; it wasn't strange for him to fight over a disagreement. Given the relationship between the Navy and the Army, a Navy Commander fighting an Army Lieutenant General—provided it didn't actually happen and cause problems, but remained a confrontation—was something the Navy was happy to hear about.

Vice Admiral Okada himself held Ishiwara in high regard, believing that although Ishiwara was Army, he was not a *baka* (idiot). He turned to the Operations Staff Officer, Commander Yamaguchi Tamon. "Yamaguchi-kun, what did Lieutenant General Ishiwara say to agitate you so?"

Yamaguchi Tamon also appreciated Ishiwara Kanji and answered straightforwardly, "Ishiwara-kun lamented that the guys at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are all *baka*. He said if they really wanted to make things difficult for He-kun, they should announce recognition of He-kun's government, and declare that the prerequisite for recognizing He-kun's government is that He-kun's government must acknowledge that there are no disagreements between the two sides regarding the ownership of Korea, Ryukyu, and Taiwan. I asked him why he held He-kun in such high regard, but Ishiwara couldn't explain it clearly. So I argued a few sentences with him. But it wasn't as exaggerated as Yamamoto-kun said, about fighting."

There were those among the Japanese naval officers who had good relations with He Rui. Hearing Yamaguchi Tamon say this, the officers also felt Ishiwara Kanji's ideas were indeed exaggerated and nodded in agreement. Although He Rui was powerful, building a navy required time. In the Navy's view, it would take China at least twenty years to build a fleet capable of challenging the Japanese Navy. So the topic naturally turned to the first item of this voyage.

Yamamoto asked Vice Admiral Okada, "Your Excellency, will the British fleet want to shell Shanghai?"

Asked this, Vice Admiral Okada didn't make a sound. Other officers felt Yamamoto was starting his "whimsical thinking" again. Someone immediately stated that Shanghai was the most important and prosperous city in the Far East, so the probability of the British shelling Shanghai was very low.

But Captain Nagumo Chuichi expressed support for Yamamoto. "The concessions no longer exist. The foreigners inside the concessions have all fled. Given He-kun's attitude, he cannot possibly allow the concessions to continue existing. Thus, the value of Shanghai to the British has greatly diminished. Shelling now is actually shelling He-kun's Shanghai; the British have no reason to feel heartache for He-kun."

Captain Nagumo Chuichi belonged to the scholar-type officers in the Navy. When he spoke, the naval officers fell silent. Many looked at Vice Admiral Okada, wanting to hear the Fleet Commander's view.

Vice Admiral Okada appreciated the views of Yamamoto and Nagumo. He had initially considered the possibility of the British fleet shelling Shanghai, but was unsure of the intensity. Seeing the officers looking over, he asked, "Yamaguchi-kun, if the British shell it, to what extent will they go?"

Yamaguchi Tamon thought for a moment. "This subordinate believes that even if Britain shells it, they won't scare He-kun. However, letting He-kun's subordinates feel the power of the British fleet through shelling can influence their views. Therefore, the warships entering the Yangtze must be vessels capable of defending against 150mm field guns. Through shelling, they will deal a heavy blow to He-kun's troops, especially the artillery units."

The naval officers quite agreed with this judgment. Someone asked, "Then why hasn't the Yangtze Fleet left? Do they want to rendezvous with the British shelling fleet?"

Another officer replied, "The news we received from Wuhan is that the purpose of the British Yangtze Fleet is to transport and escort the troops evacuating the concession personnel, and they have half-sold, half-given the ships of the Yangtze Fleet to the Zhili warlord Cao Kun."

Hearing that this news described exactly the British style of doing things, many laughed out loud. The Yangtze Fleet consisted of shallow-draft heavy gunboats. These ships had very limited combat capabilities at sea. Even if ships of a few hundred tons ran out of the Yangtze Estuary, they wouldn't be of much use. Selling them to Cao Kun earned a sum. If Cao Kun could use these ships to cause trouble for He Rui, they earned another sum. They really earned on both ends.

As for whether the Zhili warlord could defeat the National Defense Force, the Japanese naval officers had no intention of discussing it. They didn't even discuss the extremely low probability possibilities. If Cao Kun could beat He Rui, then He Rui would definitely be able to sink the British battleships with those small gunboats in his hands that the Japanese Navy wouldn't even look at. And sink them with one shot.

Finally, someone asked a question, "If the British fleet invites us to join the shelling, shall we participate?"

This question actually had no realistic possibility, but the implications within were much more complex. The Japanese Navy very much wanted to propose its own strategy, but knew it was not easy. Looking at the best possibility, Japan's optimal scenario was for Britain to provide massive support to Japan in order to blockade China. And if Japan could become the entrepôt for Chinese trade, the optimal situation would be achieved.

However, even the most arrogant naval officer would not publicly propose this idea, though everyone actually hoped in their hearts it could be achieved in some form. If such a strategy could really be realized, the Navy would completely master the initiative in national policy.

So no one answered this question. The officers engaged in a serious discussion about the future strategic situation.

At 9:00 AM on December 7th, the Japanese fleet met the British fleet off the coast of Shanghai. The two sides only exchanged friendly communications via radio and did not exchange personnel boarding.

This British fleet consisted of one battlecruiser, the *Indomitable*, two cruisers, and four light cruisers. In the design philosophy of warships, the armor of the ship should be able to protect against attacks from its own main guns. Even the four 'Town'-class light cruisers were each equipped with four triple-mounted 6-inch turrets. That is, twelve 152mm naval guns.

As for the cruisers and the battlecruiser, the main guns were 203mm and 305mm. Although the battlecruiser's armor was insufficient to resist 305mm naval gun attacks in pursuit of speed, "insufficient to resist 305mm naval guns" simply meant that; He Rui's 120mm field guns and the captured Japanese 150mm field guns, even using armor-piercing shells, would be nothing more than scratching an itch.

The fleet currently outside Shanghai was not worth mentioning compared to the British Grand Fleet. But the maritime combat power of such a small fleet was already powerful in East Asia. for the He Rui government, which had zero navy, it was a situation of being unilaterally beaten.

Sure enough, the British fleet expressed friendly greetings to the Japanese forces and, guided by British pilots well-versed in the routes outside the Yangtze, advanced towards downtown Shanghai.

Watching the silhouette of the battlecruiser *Indomitable*, the Japanese naval officers felt the British were truly crafty enough. According to the Washington Naval Treaty, the *Indomitable* was supposed to be scrapped by Britain. Sending it to the Far East to execute a mission now was truly making full use of waste.

It wasn't until the main guns of the *Indomitable* began to bombard Shanghai from 15 kilometers away that the boom of the 305mm naval guns made the Japanese naval officers feel renewed respect for the Royal Navy. The flagship of the Japanese fleet heading south this time, the *Kongō*, was one of four Japanese Kongō-class battlecruisers (*Translator's Note: The text says 'battleships' but Kongō was a battlecruiser/fast battleship. Keeping literal translation or context.*), and its naval guns were only 356mm. It was the core of the current Japanese fleet, a priceless treasure. Yet the battlecruiser Britain was about to scrap and dismantle was equipped with 305mm naval guns. Even though Japan was now the world's third-largest navy, there was still a huge gap with the world's number one navy.

The maximum range of the 305mm naval gun was 17.5 kilometers. Accuracy when firing from 15 kilometers was not to be expected. However, since the British fleet was demonstrating its power rather than truly trying to precisely destroy specific targets, those deviations didn't matter. The shells would definitely land inside the Shanghai urban area.

When the British fleet arrived outside the Yangtze Estuary, the National Defense Force's Air Force reconnaissance planes discovered them and immediately reported the matter to East Route Army Commander Zhong Yifu. Zhong Yifu's expression became grave. He ordered the headquarters to quickly execute the response plan based on previous relevant plans. He himself invited the Air Force Commander assigned to the East Route Army into a small room in the headquarters.

Closing the door, Zhong Yifu said in a steady tone, "Commander Qin, the planes that just transferred over have arrived..."

East Route Army Air Force Commander Qin Sihai immediately replied, "Commander Zhong, since the General Headquarters already has a prediction, we will execute the order. Do you have anything else to add, Commander Zhong?"

Zhong Yifu subconsciously bit his lip and sighed, "In that case, I want to ask one thing. Can those comrades execute the mission resolutely?"

Qin Sihai frowned and even looked away. But a moment later, Qin Sihai turned back, his expression full of determination. "Executing orders is entirely voluntary. We will absolutely not force anyone who is not willing. At a time like this, I believe in the comrades."

Zhong Yifu knew that ordering troops to charge was completely different from ordering this operation. When troops charged, although there would be casualties, luck played a large part. But an order where one would die if they sortied, and where the officers and men set out knowing this, challenged human nature, or was even anti-human. But Zhong Yifu had to make such an arrangement, so he said, "Tell the comrades, if there were any other way, we would not make such a decision."

Commander Qin Sihai was unwilling to discuss this further. He silently saluted Zhong Yifu, turned, and left the headquarters.

Three days were not enough to build a permanent airport, but during the Korean War, the Northeast Army had accumulated rich experience in temporary airfields. The construction of this kind of airfield was originally based on He Rui's memories of U.S. military techniques for building airfields in the Pacific. If planes could take off and land quickly in that kind of harsh environment, building a temporary airport near the warm and flat Yangtze River was at least an order of magnitude less difficult.

Planes were already parked full on both sides of the runway. When Qin Sihai rushed to the airfield, the Special Flight Team had finished assembling. Behind them, the air crew mechanics were completing final adjustments on those specially modified planes.

The British warships' shelling had already begun. The roaring sound and the subtle vibrations under their feet let these pilots know that the enemy was using artillery of unprecedented power to fire upon downtown Shanghai.

Qin Sihai wanted to speak, but couldn't say anything for a moment. Those encouraging words were insignificant compared to the sacrifice the comrades were about to make. Finally, Qin Sihai spoke, "Chairman He said, 'Land one punch to avoid a hundred punches coming.' The foreign devils use naval guns to scare us, calling it gunboat diplomacy. After we sink the foreign fleet, they will never dare appear in front of our Air Force again. Comrades, I have let everyone down. I can only ask everyone to fight for the country."

Having said this, he should have ordered the troops to sortie. But Qin Sihai suddenly felt his vision blur, his lips trembled, and he couldn't speak again.

Just then, Qin Sihai heard Shen Chonghui, the Captain of the Special Flight Team, ask, "Commander, can we depart?"

Qin Sihai wiped away his tears and nodded. At this moment, a sense of shame welled up in Qin Sihai. Since he was asking comrades to sacrifice themselves, how could he be such a coward that he didn't even dare to give the order?

Standing up straight, Qin Sihai said loudly, "All units! Attention!"

Following the order, the 24 pilots of the first attack wave of the Special Flight Team immediately stood at attention.

Qin Sihai ordered loudly, "This sortie is entirely voluntary. Anyone who feels they lack determination may remain standing at attention. The unit will absolutely not blame you. This sortie requires attacking all British warships simultaneously, striving to annihilate them in one fell swoop. To strike at the enemy's confidence so they never dare attack our coast again. Now, comrades who have decided to sortie, board your planes!"

After speaking, Commander Qin Sihai raised his hand in salute to the comrades of the Special Flight Team.

Captain Shen Chonghui immediately returned the salute and ran towards his plane without looking back. Just then, a pilot shouted, "Commander, I have a question!"

Other pilots intended to move but stopped. Even Shen Chonghui turned back, looking at the team member with displeasure.

The team member asked loudly, "Commander, if we sink the British fleet, they won't dare do this next time, right?"

Qin Sihai shook his head. "Next time they won't dare come over so casually. Next time they will be very careful, coming only when they are sure there is no Air Force of ours. However, I can guarantee you all, if there is a next time, it will be several years, or even ten years later. By that time, our Navy will have a fleet capable of fighting the British Navy. At that time, our Navy won't give British warships the chance to bully us like this!"

Hearing this, the team member immediately stood at attention and saluted Qin Sihai, saying loudly, "Commander, when our Navy has warships that can fight the British fleet, please be sure to burn some paper money for us and tell us that we have a Navy."

After speaking, the team member turned and ran straight to his plane. The other team members and Captain Shen Chonghui saluted Qin Sihai again and ran to their planes.

Qin Sihai wanted to watch the comrades leave, but couldn't help turning his back, tears raining down. He was considering the present, but what was in the hearts of those sorting comrades was China's future. They were not fighting for something in the present, but for the future of the country.

When Qin Sihai finally wiped his tears dry and turned around, the plane piloted by Captain Shen Chonghui had already started and taxied onto the runway. Commander Qin Sihai stood at attention and saluted. The ground crew and other officers and soldiers also raised their hands in salute. Although these comrades were still alive, they were already martyrs. No one doubted their courage and determination. Of course, even if someone abandoned the mission, everyone would not blame them. They only hoped they could come back alive.

Engines roared, driving propellers to churn the air. The planes taxied, faster and faster, and flew into the sky of the motherland.