The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 473 Aren’t you bullying General Stevenson, an honest man?

After the greetings, Tan Zhijie hung up the phone.

The professional seriousness on his face disappeared in an instant, replaced by a smile that was a mixture of complacency and cunning, and the corners of his mouth were almost stretched to his ears.

"That's great! The White Eagles are paying out of their own pocket to help us build the airport. Tell Ma Qiu from the Construction Corps that the planned large airport north of the Johor Strait can be built."

Ma Qiu used to be the platoon leader of Zhang Chi's guard platoon, and he was considered a veteran in the Anmin Army system.

He later became the head of the Agricultural Reclamation Corps, and taught himself a lot of civil engineering knowledge while in office. Now he has been promoted to major general of the Construction Corps, in charge of a division of troops, which is a super construction team in the military system.

"Chief of Staff, this...is this possible?" A young staff officer nearby looked worried. "The Commander-in-Chief has repeatedly stressed that the Palembang oilfield facilities must be seized as intact as possible. They are the lifeblood of our future industry.

If the White Eagle's B-29s were to bombard the area relentlessly, wouldn't it be reduced to rubble? What good would it do us to land and occupy a scorched earth? Furthermore, if they really were to move in, wouldn't they be the host?

"Hahahaha!" Tan Zhijie finally couldn't help it and burst into laughter. His laughter echoed in the operations room, attracting the attention of other staff officers.

The people around him couldn't figure it out for a moment and looked at Tan Zhijie with confusion.

Tan Zhijie pointed at the worried young staff officer and said, "You should take a long-term view and look at the overall situation from a higher perspective."

He stood up, walked to the huge world map, picked up the baton, first pointed to the location of Palembang in Sumatra, then swung it suddenly to the northeast, and landed heavily on the Sakura Islands.

"What does the White Eagle strategic bomber unit want most right now? It's military achievements, enough to allow them to break away from the army and become a full-fledged 'Air Force'.

Even if we bomb a small Palembang oil field and flatten it, is that enough credit?"

Tan Zhijie asked and answered his own questions, his eyes gleaming with a light of insight:

"Not enough! Far from enough. What they really covet is the bombing of the Japanese mainland, the burning of the Japanese heartlands of Fukuoka, Osaka, Nagoya, and Nagasaki. Only this kind of achievement is significant enough for them to go to Capitol Hill and bang the table and demand independence."

He paused, then pointed his baton at the Mariana Islands (Saipan and Tinian) in the Pacific Ocean:

"What's the size of the order the Pentagon just placed with our Nanhua Chemical? Two million napalm bombs. Who are they for? Is it for the Palembang refinery?"

What a joke! That was a "gift" for the wooden house on Sakura Island. Li Mei and her gang were holding back their energy in the Pacific Ocean.

While we are meticulously selecting a site, diligently designing, and diligently constructing the new airport on the Malay Peninsula, the large B-29 airfield in the Mariana Islands will likely be nearly completed."

Tan Zhijie's baton drew a line between Palembang and the Mariana Islands, and his smile grew even brighter:

"By then, do you think General Arnold and his group of arrogant B-29 pilots would still be interested in tiny Palembang?

Like sharks smelling blood, they would eagerly request to be transferred to the Pacific front to participate in the strategic bombing of the Japanese that was destined to go down in history.

"Who would still remember this small pond of Sumatra if they were to fight for the unparalleled merit that would bring glory to their family and establish the military's status?"

He looked around at the staff officers who had been awakened and whose faces showed expressions of realization and admiration, and winked slyly:

"Even... when we were building the airport, we 'accidentally' encountered some geological problems, 'accidentally' discovered that a more complex drainage system was needed, and 'had to' adjust the design plan... which resulted in a 'reasonable' delay of a month or two.

By the time we finally manage to repair the airport to a point where it's barely usable, our People's Army landing force will have already taken over the Palembang oil fields intact, singing songs."

"The most important thing is that the Pentagon paid for this airport. If they change their plans and stop using it, they can't get away with it!"

"Hahahaha." A burst of laughter of understanding suddenly broke out in the operations room, and all previous worries were swept away.

The young staff officer also scratched his head, laughed sheepishly, and muttered softly, "Aren't you bullying General Stevenson, an honest man?"

"Alright, let's have some fun." Tan Zhijie suppressed his smile and regained the composure of a chief of staff. "We can't delay the important matters."

He looked at the major from the Second Operations Intelligence Bureau and said, "Immediately draft a top-secret telegram, reporting in detail to the Commander-in-Chief the cause and effect of this incident, the key points of my conversation with Stevenson, and our analysis and response strategy.

His special train should be arriving in Yangon soon."

"Yes, Chief of Staff!" The major stood at attention and saluted with admiration in his eyes, then quickly turned and left.

-----

On the other side, on the island of Sumatra, separated from Singapore by a sea, the sky after the typhoon passed was pure blue, cloudless, and so clear that it could hurt people's eyes.

However, this was by no means a good sign for the Japanese soldiers huddled in fortifications and bunkers throughout Palembang.

The bright sunshine means a great view, but it also means...it's time to be bombed again.

The air was filled with a suffocating mixture of burnt smell and lingering humidity.

That's the smell of charcoal-roasted devils.

Ever since the People's Army Air Force gained a foothold in the Malay Peninsula, this "check in when the weather is good" bombing mode has become a daily nightmare for the troops stationed in Palembang.

As long as the weather cooperates, the B-17 "Flying Fortress" fleet painted with red Chinese emblems will appear on the skyline on time.

Like the Grim Reaper falling from the sky, rows of bombs were precisely poured down on barracks, warehouses, docks, railway hubs and any place that looked like a military target.

"W-W-W-W-!"

The shrill air raid sirens wailed in vain over the city, their voices dry and desperate, more like an advance death notice.

From the airport near Kuala Lumpur on the Malay Peninsula, the straight-line distance to Palembang is only over 600 km.

The B-17G has a maximum range of 3200 km, and when fully loaded with 8 tons of bombs, its combat radius is 1300 km.

They could leisurely climb to altitudes that were difficult for the Japanese's old anti-aircraft guns to reach, and form tight box formations.

In the sunlight, the belly of the plane gleamed with a cold metallic luster, and then the bomb bay door opened, splashing death.

What made the Japanese even more desperate was that they were escorted by a large number of P-47D "Thunderbolt" fighter planes.

These "Big Bottles" (nickname for the P-47) had a maximum range of 1600 kilometers when carrying large auxiliary fuel tanks.

The combat radius is more than enough to cover the entire island of Sumatra.

They were like a group of ferocious hounds with excessive energy, shuttling and circling around the bomber formation at high speed, vigilantly scanning the areas below for possible threats.

Although the possibility of such a threat occurring now is very small.