Chapter 1504: Guard for Another 10 Days!

After Lin Heng was rescued, he was rushed to the underground field hospital in Hengyang City for treatment at around 3 pm that day.

Three giants from the Hengyang Command went to the field hospital to visit him in person. As a result, when they saw the man with blood all over his mouth, Tang Dao, who was ranked last, laughed out loud and hugged Lin Heng fiercely: "Tu Yunsheng said that he rescued an air force captain named Lin. I wondered if it was you at the time. I didn't expect it to be you. Fortunately, I rescued you intact, otherwise Shen Chonghai would blame me to death."

"Commander Tang, Lin Heng, deputy captain of the 4th Flight Squadron, reports to you! Commander Tang will take care of me in the future." Lin Heng saluted Tang Dao in a proper manner.

This scene made the two giants, Sun Mingyu and Zhao Junmai, who led the group, dumbfounded. One of them was a lieutenant general and the other was a major general. They were considered senior officers in the army, but which of the air force pilots was not from an elite family? In addition, it is the most valuable military branch in China, and naturally has a sense of pride. Even if they meet army generals like them, they will just salute and leave it at that, but they will not directly classify themselves as subordinates.

Especially the one in front of him, who looks only 25 or 26 years old and has been promoted to deputy captain of the flight brigade, must be the elite among the elites of the air force.

Sure enough, Lin Heng saluted the two again, but mainly for courtesy, not like he did to Tang Dao.

Not to mention the two shrewd generals, even the medical staff on the side can see that the attitude of this air force elite towards Tang Dao is different from that of the two generals.

Just based on this, the degree of Tang Tuanzuo's awesomeness in everyone's mind has increased by 10% again!

They underestimated the weight of Tang Dao in the hearts of these young Chinese pilots. Not to mention that Tang Dao brought more than a dozen young pilots to help Chen Buping return home, and the gratitude and respect in the hearts of the backbone pilots of the air force, just say that two years ago Tang Dao brought hundreds of pilots to India to receive Wildcat fighters.

A heroic regiment commander in the army actually flew the latest fighter jet of the United States in a very decent manner, and frightened the ace pilots of the United States. In the hearts of a group of young pilots headed by Lin Heng, Tang Dao is like a god of war.

In the words of Shen Chonghai, who has become the captain of the flight squadron: "Commander Tang just likes to fight the devils with a white knife in and a red knife out. Otherwise, with his talent, he would definitely be the ace among aces in our air force."

"That's right. Now that you have entered Hengyang City, it will be difficult for you to leave given the current enemy situation around Hengyang. However, your car has been blown to pieces by artillery fire from both sides. If you, the big baby of the air force, are asked to go to the front line with a gun, not to mention that Chief of Staff Zheng Shaoyu will be mad when he knows about it, even Commander Fang will have to put me in solitary confinement!" Tang Dao replied with a smile.

"I can be the ground liaison officer of the air force in Hengyang!" Lin Heng blurted out.

This idea had been brewing in his mind for some time. Perhaps from the moment he was rescued and looked at the overwhelming artillery fire from both sides, this clear-headed Chinese Air Force elite had already understood that it was impossible for him to leave Hengyang City.

Since he couldn't leave, he had to fight to the end with the soldiers and civilians of this city.

But if he really had to go to the front line with a gun, his level would probably not be much better than those reserve civilians who had just picked up guns. He had to play to his strengths.

At that time, the Air Force and the Army had no future joint command organization. If the Army needed air support, it had to send a telegram to the Military and Political Department, and then the Military and Political Department would coordinate with the Air Force Command. Finally, it had to be approved by the Military Commission before the precious Air Force could be dispatched.

With that time gap, I don't know how many rounds of fierce fighting there were on the ground.

Otherwise, it was a separate action by the Air Force, and the Army had no right to know about it. They would not know that their own air support had arrived until the planes were over the positions, but the battle might have been over by then, and the Japanese had all escaped.

Although the Air Force bombed the Japanese positions in a lively manner, hiding in fortifications and being bombed in the wild are two completely different concepts.

"Okay! Deputy Captain Lin's proposal is very good. On behalf of Commander Fang, I appoint you as the liaison officer of the Hengyang City Defense Air Force." Sun Mingyu, the Chief of Staff of the 10th Army, immediately responded to Lin Heng's sudden proposal and gave the appointment on the spot.

Tang Dao also patted Lin Heng's shoulder hard to express his approval of his idea.

In this era, not to mention the Western world, even the Japanese Army has established its own Army Aviation, the purpose of which is to facilitate unified command. Once the infantry has a need, it will be reported to the upper level, and the command will call on the Army Aviation for support based on the actual battle situation. The response speed of its air support is much faster than that of China.

If Lin Heng, the Air Force liaison officer, could directly contact the squadrons at the airports based on his understanding of the Air Force, the response time could be shortened to one-fifth of the previous time or even shorter.

Fang Xianjue was also very happy after receiving this news, and immediately reported the situation to the theater command and the Military Commission, hoping to use this as an opportunity to establish a channel in Hengyang City that directly connects to airports such as Zhijiang, Guilin, and Liuzhou. Even if he could not directly command the Air Force to fight, he could always provide feedback to the Air Force on the ground situation or observed weather, air enemy situation, etc.

At this time, because 90% of the fighters have already used radio stations, even the ground can directly contact the fighters in the air after obtaining the frequency band.

Before, there was no one from the Air Force in the Hengyang Command. A bunch of outsiders said they wanted to do this, and no one would feel at ease. But now there is a deputy captain of the flight squadron, and he is also an ace pilot who has shot down 12 Japanese planes. Who else can be as professional as him?

Under the strong promotion of Major General Zheng Shaoyu, who had met Tang Dao and was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Air Force, at night, he finally agreed to establish an Air Force Liaison Office in Hengyang. Lin Heng was appointed as the director of the Liaison Office with the rank of Air Force Major. All the Air Force pilots rescued back to Hengyang City were under the jurisdiction of the Liaison Office.

Good guy, this is another promotion. Tang Dao looked at the three stars on his collar that had been hanging for almost 7 years, and could only say sadly that he had to go on the road he chose even if he had to kneel!

Fortunately, such days should not last too long. In just one year, the Japanese will succumb to the fireballs created by the two big fat bombs, and without foreign threats, the people and history will definitely make the most correct choice.

In order to ensure the normal operation of the Air Force Liaison Office, Fang Xianjue specially assigned one of the only two long-wave radio stations in the 10th Army Headquarters and the corresponding communication soldiers to Lin Heng, and Tang Dao also transferred a wireless communication radio and three walkie-talkies to Lin Heng.

All this was to coordinate with the Air Force more quickly, and the most important node of the unified combat mode of Hengyang's land and air forces had been reached.

The Japanese probably never thought that their original "excellent" performance of the air defense brigade, which had been called the "death star", would actually promote the enhanced communication between the Hengyang defenders and the Air Force, which further led to the Chinese air supremacy advantage in the sky above Hengyang.

For two consecutive days, before the Japanese bomber group arrived in the sky above Hengyang, Chinese fighters at the airport 200 kilometers away had already taken off from the airport and arrived at the battlefield in less than 30 minutes, attacking the Japanese bombers that had not yet completed the bombing mission.

That's because Fang Xianjue followed Tang Dao's advice when he arrived in Hengyang 20 days ago and sent three teams consisting of infantry, engineers, and communications soldiers to three directions 100 kilometers away from Hengyang.

Their mission is to stay on the top of a mountain that has no tactical value, observe the sky with a telescope, and immediately report to the Hengyang Command using a field radio if there is a shadow or roar of an enemy aircraft.

This early warning method of at least 15 minutes in advance can give the military and civilians in Hengyang enough time to hide in the air-raid shelter to reduce casualties.

But in the past, because there were too many barriers to communication with the Air Force, it was impossible to notify the Air Force in time to join the battle, so many times Japanese planes could still bomb positions or Hengyang City, and many carefully constructed fortifications were destroyed.

Now it is very different. Lin Heng's Air Force Liaison Office can directly inform the Air Force through the radio how far the Japanese aircraft group is from Hengyang, and the Air Force can decide how to join the battle according to its own situation.

The number of fighters can also be notified to the Chinese fighters still in the air at the first time, and they can make tactical changes accordingly.

Dozens of fighter planes deployed by the Japanese army were hit repeatedly in two days, which directly pushed the reputation of Major Sasaki, who was already regarded as an "imperial hero", to the peak. In the end, even the Japanese Army Major General who wanted to set an example could not bear it anymore. Not only did he stop sending Major Sasaki to the battlefield, but he was even unwilling to send a single plane to the Hengyang battlefield.

Starting from June 12, the Japanese army's full-scale attack on Hengyang was changed to a focused attack on one direction in the south of the city. However, the large-scale attack by the regiment in broad daylight was changed to a small-scale assault by the squadron and squad every night.

Every evening, while the Chinese aircraft group would not come again, the Japanese army mobilized various artillery to bombard the Chinese positions, and then the infantry attack was almost all night long.

When it was almost dawn, knowing that the Chinese fighter planes were coming again, the Japanese army immediately stopped and retreated immediately.

At dusk on the second day, they regrouped and fought again, repeating the same thing every day.

But obviously, night battles were not the strength of the Japanese army, and for the Chinese army, what kind of harsh environment had they not fought? Attacking the opponent at night was originally one of their ways to fight the Japanese army. Now the Japanese army used their own tactics to deal with them, so they were naturally welcomed.

After six consecutive days of fighting, the Chinese troops rotated twice, and the Japanese army could not advance an inch.

So far, the Battle of Hengyang has been going on for 15 days. In the bloody battles led by Fang Xianjue, the Hengyang defenders blocked the Japanese army that surrounded the city in the mountains and ponds outside the city. Not to mention letting the Japanese army enter the city, they haven't even seen the shadow of the city wall.

The Hengyang defenders only had 24,000 soldiers, while the Japanese army had deployed 75,000 soldiers. With a 1:3 ratio, the defense battle was fought like this, which was definitely a successful defense battle worth showing off to the whole of China and even the world.

Fang Xianjue, the highest commander of Hengyang who achieved such a record, still frowned, with a haze in his eyes.

Because he had fulfilled the promise he made to his teacher in the mountain city to defend the city for half a month, but what about the reinforcements promised by his teacher?

He hadn't seen them yet.

At this time, Fang Xianjue didn't know how grateful he was to Tang Dao in his heart. If it weren't for Tang Dao's persuasion, he believed that the battle of Hengyang would never end around the 20th as he expected, but would take more than a month or even longer, so he asked him for a large amount of logistical supplies.

And the logistical supplies that he thought were sufficient before would definitely not last another week. With the reinforcements still missing, it was really unknown how long this defensive battle would drag on.

Fang Xianjue had tried to test his teacher's tone, but he also knew that what he disliked most was that the generals in charge would send telegrams to the Military Commission for help when they encountered difficulties, so he asked more tactfully and not so directly.

And that person was also good, as if he had forgotten the 15-day defense of the city mentioned earlier, but he was generous in praising the Hengyang defense battle, and issued orders to promote and award medals to all the personnel who had military merits reported to the Hengyang Command.

But only living people are qualified to enjoy these things! Fang Xianjue felt extremely bitter, but he could only accept these invisible medals and awards.

So what has Fang Xianjue's teacher been doing in the past half month?

In fact, at this time, China had 6 armies led by Wang Yaowu and Li Yutang on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River, 5 armies commanded by the commander surnamed Xue on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, and these 11 infantry armies, with a total force of nearly 280,000, which was completely enough to play a big game with the Japanese army.

And the 11th Army was also concerned about the existence of these Chinese infantry armies, so it placed the main force of 140,000 people outside Hengyang and did not dare to use all its forces to attack Hengyang. Otherwise, even if Hengyang was cast in steel and iron, it would probably be overwhelmed by the more than 200,000 Japanese troops.

But the one who was quite hesitant and suspicious in his character did not immediately transfer the army to the vicinity of Hengyang. It was not until June 13 that he ordered Li Yutang's Corps to move from the southwest of Hengyang to the east, and the main force of the 9th War Zone to move from the Xiangdong mountainous area to the west, to "attack their respective predetermined targets fiercely", and then on the second day after Fang Xianjue sent a telegram to ask for reinforcements, he ordered the Hengyang defenders to hold on for another 10 days.

It was just another 10 days of holding out, Fang Xianjue gritted his teeth and accepted it, as long as the reinforcements could come.

Seeing that things had come to this point, the other generals in the command center could only cheer themselves up. After all, they had survived the 15th, so what was the big deal if they could survive another 10 days?

Perhaps only the silent Tang Dao sighed slightly, 10 days? In another 3 10 days, I'm afraid the reinforcements would not arrive in this city.

For example, this time the man finally made up his mind to mobilize 8 infantry armies and planned to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army outside Hengyang. The 3 armies commanded by Li Yutang moved, but the 5 infantry armies of Commander Xue stayed where they were.

Commander Xue has always been an extremely confident and even conceited person. In the Military Commission, he would only listen to the words of General Chen, the leader of the Civil Engineering Department. One was the supreme commander, so he had to listen, and the other was his political backer, so he had to listen.

But this time he did not listen, because deep in his heart, he felt that the military talents of these two men were just so-so, far inferior to his. He believed that the strategic goal of the Japanese army was to open up the Yuehan Railway, and Hengyang was only an important node on the Yuehan Railway. Losing it or not could not guarantee the complete smooth flow of the Yuehan Railway. As long as he locked another node, the Japanese army would have to point its spearhead at him, and the siege of Hengyang could be solved, which was much more reliable than mobilizing a large army to march long distances to the periphery of Hengyang for a decisive battle.

Therefore, Commander Xue insisted on leaving 5 armies east of the Yuehan Railway and relying on the rugged mountainous areas on the Hunan-Jiangxi border to deal with the Japanese army.

After staring at the map for an hour or two, he felt that this seemed to be a good idea.

The 27th Army, which had already rushed to a certain division of the Japanese army 80 miles outside Hengyang, almost had a collective back injury after receiving the news that the friendly forces had not moved.

More than 100,000 main forces did not move, so were their 60,000 people going to die? The 27th Army had to brake sharply.

With this kind of operation, can the more than 70,000 soldiers and civilians in Hengyang wait for the legendary reinforcements?

In Li Jiujin's original words: "Wait for nothing, it's better to rely on yourself than to rely on others. We will stay here. If one fights two, we will fight three. As long as the Japanese dare to come to exchange sincerely, we will exchange all of them!"

This man! Only when he falls into the last desperate situation will he burst out with more powerful power.

But obviously, Hengyang at this time still has expectations for some people.

Therefore, the Japanese army at this time has not yet realized that they have not encountered the most crazy Chinese soldiers.

The bloodier moment has not really come yet!