kingnovel Chapter 1219 Destroying the Airport!
Chapter 1219 Destroying the Airport!
"My orders were to destroy the entire Hankou Airport. By the time I retreated, there would be nothing left. I had to completely destroy it. Our headquarters had received some information from the Japanese. Hankou Airport would be extensively renovated by the Japanese and transformed into a large airport with hundreds of military aircraft, specifically for air raids on our inland areas. So it had to be completely destroyed; we couldn't leave anything useful to the Japanese."
When Liu Xiaoshan raised this issue, Vice Minister Wu's expression turned serious. Hankou Airport is already quite large; it's the largest airport in Central China. If the Japanese were to renovate it, it could very well become their largest airport in the inland region.
If there are hundreds of military aircraft here, then relocating to Shancheng would be a major headache. After all, Shancheng isn't that far from Hankou, and there's a daily risk of air raids. They'd had enough of this kind of life when they retreated to Hankou. Out of 30 days a month, they didn't even spend 10 days on the ground; most of the time they were like rats in underground bunkers.
"If you blow up the entire airport, it will give us six months to recover, which is quite good. I won't say anything more to you. Today I'm leading the first batch of people from my department to evacuate to the mountain city. I'll be relying on you all along the way."
Vice Minister Wu saw that most people had already boarded the plane, and in their eyes, they practically wanted to rush over and interrupt the conversation between the two. "Get Vice Minister Wu on the plane quickly! There's no reason for so many of us to wait here for you. What do you two have to talk about? We can't just ignore the lives of so many people, can we?"
"Commander Wu, please take care."
Liu Xiaoshan glanced at the people on the plane, saluted Vice Minister Wu, and then saw Vice Minister Wu onto the plane. The traffic controllers on the runway in the distance had already signaled that their aircraft could taxi.
As the plane began taxiing, some people on board finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, Liu Xiaoshan and his group thought, "Do you think life will be good once you get to Shancheng? The infrastructure there is incomplete; you'll suffer there. Besides, after the Japanese invade, Shancheng won't have many peaceful days either."
The plane flapped its wings and took off, leaving those on the ground who hadn't yet boarded filled with envy. They felt that if they didn't hurry and get on the plane, they might miss their chance. Some of them had narrowly escaped death in Nanjing, which was why they were arriving at the airport early. However, they were surprised to find that so many others shared the same thought, and the airport was now increasingly crowded.
Liu Xiaoshan tried his best to arrange for planes to take them away as quickly as possible. If these people gathered here, the Japanese would soon discover their location. If they concentrated their forces for an air raid, all the firepower near the airport would likely be exposed. Although the anti-aircraft firepower near the airport was strong, Liu Xiaoshan didn't intend to expose all the firepower here, after all, the Japanese army was still some distance from Hankou.
Unfortunately, calculations couldn't keep up with the changing circumstances. That afternoon, both Japanese spies and reconnaissance planes spotted the crowds gathering outside Hankou Airport. Dozens of planes then rushed over without hesitation. Our planes intercepted them in the air for a while, and combined with ground fire, the Japanese planes gained no advantage. However, ground casualties reached nearly 300.
These people were extremely difficult to manage. When Japanese planes approached, they ignored the loud shouts of the military and police and simply ran away from their positions, scattering aimlessly and unable to find a suitable place to take refuge. While they were running around, Japanese military aircraft strafed them at low altitude, which was one of the biggest causes of death and injury.
Liu Xiaoshan witnessed all of this firsthand. Although he wanted to save these people's lives, he was not a savior after all. He had already told them to stay in their positions and that their anti-aircraft firepower could stop the Japanese planes. However, many of these people were exceptionally intelligent.
They always thought what they were told was a trick to send them to their deaths, so when the Japanese planes came crashing in, these men still jumped over the railings and ran around on the ground. The Japanese planes were already overwhelmed by anti-aircraft fire and couldn't find any targets on the ground, so they dropped a few bombs and prepared to return to base.
But after these clever guys jumped out, they quickly guided the Japanese planes overhead. These Japanese planes, risking their lives, also performed a low-altitude dive, unleashing a barrage of bullets that left all of them lying in pools of blood. The first few who ran out were fine, but those who followed were truly unlucky.
War leads to social disorder. Liu Xiaoshan had heard Li Shaoyi say this before. Now, seeing all this before him, he knew he was powerless to reverse the situation. No wonder everyone wanted to evacuate early. After such massive damage to the airport, the medical team had disappeared. Now it was time to think about ourselves. If we didn't hurry to evacuate, we might also face a life-threatening situation.
The people of Hankou finally realized that war was coming. They had been advised beforehand that if they had relatives or friends in the surrounding countryside, they should try to leave as soon as possible. But who wanted to leave their home early these days? When they saw a large number of Japanese planes coming, they realized that war was imminent, and almost all the routes out of the city were blocked.
This gave the Japanese planes even more opportunities. When they saw the dark mass below from the sky, they immediately realized it was the Chinese civilians trying to leave the city. So these bastards didn't care whether they were soldiers or civilians, and launched a dive attack without any regard for any so-called international agreements.
The fierce Battle of Hankou ultimately failed to hold the city. Although we fought many brilliant battles during this period, due to the disparity in strength between the two sides, those who needed to retreat had to retreat. Tears welled up in Liu Xiaoshan's eyes, and the hatred between us and the Japanese deepened once again.
This debt will be repaid sooner or later! I'll pay it back double!