mesbooks Chapter 454: Crossing the Sea for Reconnaissance
Chapter 454: Crossing the Sea for Reconnaissance
When the news reached Nanhua Chemical, the company's financial director was so shocked that his pen dropped to the ground.
Payment in cash, 50% down payment, balance payment will be issued upon seeing the goods.
There is only one requirement for such a generous order, be quick!
Li Mei, who was eager to burn the Japanese island into a sea of fire, contacted the Pentagon directly and dispatched two 10,000-ton ships to the port of Yangon. Once the first batch of napalm bomb orders was completed, they would be immediately shipped to Saipan.
Zhang Chi, who got the news, naturally realized:
Curtis Emerson LeMay, the future recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun, first class Grand Cordon, heavy bomber enthusiast, believer and practitioner of strategic bombing ideas, initiator of the Tokyo BBQ, "Cold War Eagle", Army Major General, and bachelor of civil engineering, is about to make a move.
(During World War II, there were many American generals who were good at engineering.)
On Zhang Chi's side, with the end of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese Combined Fleet no longer had the strength to fight. He knew that the time had come to take action against Sumatra Island.
However, parody is not nonsense, adaptation is not random fabrication. No, bombing is not random bombing, the target cannot be hit randomly!
Unlike Li Mei who simply flooded the oil fields and clamored to increase the dosage, Zhang Chi's bombing of the oil fields in Sumatra and Borneo was much more meticulous.
After all, in his eyes, those were his oil fields and his refineries.
The Allied Theater Command needs the National Security Army to bomb those oil field facilities, and he has to produce results.
But in the future, mechanized planting in Nanyang, petrochemical products, and even ensuring that all urban families have an economical car and all rural families have a tractor will require countless amounts of fuel. If we really follow Li Mei's indiscriminate bombing and accidentally destroy the oil fields, what will we do?
"The intelligence must be carefully checked, and the coordinates must be accurate." Zhang Chi's instructions were passed down layer by layer and finally fell on Lin Laisheng.
Many years later, during an interview about the preparations for the new war-themed film "Crossing the Sea Reconnaissance", General Lin Laisheng recalled the situation with a smile.
At this time, he had already held the rank of lieutenant general and became the director of the Nanyang Military Internal Affairs Bureau, directly under the president, responsible for monitoring the internal affairs of the army, performing counter-espionage tasks, and monitoring and protecting soldiers and military secrets.
As a person involved in the investigation, he carefully described to the crew and editor the first-hand historical materials about that unremarkable investigation operation.
The screenwriter then artistically transformed it into a thrilling movie script that included elements such as gunfights, spy wars, action, and love. After its release, it received rave reviews both domestically and internationally for its stylish special effects, handsome actors and actresses, and excellent script, and it ushered in a craze for military action films in the 1950s and 1960s.
But in Lin Laisheng's opinion, the actual situation that day was far from what was presented in the movie.
The Musi River near the old port city is wide and quiet. The wooden speedboat cuts a trail of white waves on the river surface, and the engine roars, rolling water plants and fallen leaves behind the boat.
They took advantage of the night, set out from Banga Island, crossed the sea, entered from the estuary, and went upstream along the Musi River.
Karen sat at the bow, holding in his hand an oil field distribution map drawn by the Dutch in the early years, an unlit pipe in his mouth, his eyes alertly fixed on the riverbanks on both sides.
"Look over there—" He raised his chin and pointed with the handle of his pipe at a vaguely visible low hill on the north bank.
"That's the main tank farm of the Plaju Refinery. Royal Dutch Shell engineers built it southeast of the city, less than ten kilometers from the main Musi River channel."
Lin Laisheng looked in the direction of his finger and vaguely saw several towering oil pipelines and huge oil tanks interspersed among the trees, like the skeletons of a giant beast fallen in the tropical jungle.
The Musi oil field is the earliest developed oil field on the island of Sumatra. It has been mined by Royal Dutch Shell since the 1890s. Some oil wells are only 5-10 kilometers away from the center of Palembang.
Of course, with the merger of John Shell and Dutch Shell in the early 20th century, the majority of the shares in this oil field are now actually held by John people.
That’s right, in Southeast Asia, you can find Johns everywhere.
The presence of Dutch capital in Shell International Oil Company meant that King George VI of the United Kingdom (father of Elizabeth II) and Queen Minna of the Netherlands were natural allies.
Lin Laisheng didn't quite understand the twists and turns of capital and interests. He only cared about completing the task. He lowered his voice and asked:
"Is there anyone still at the refinery over there?"
As a local boss and former second lieutenant of the Dutch colonial army, Karen seems to know everything.
"Yes, there are two Japanese army squads guarding there. They can't get much new equipment, so they mostly rely on leftover equipment and forced laborers to work. Their daily output is at most a few dozen or a hundred barrels. They're now living on scraps."
"More than 100 devils, not many." Lin Laisheng muttered, "How are their weapons and equipment?"
"It's quite good, with rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars, and more..."
Karen was a little embarrassed when he said this: "...and the few Vickers MK.IV tanks we left behind."
"The important thing is that this place is too close to Palembang City. If there is any movement, the main force of the Japanese 25th Army in the city will be able to rush over immediately."
Lin Laisheng nodded. He knew this information. The Japanese had deployed the 25th Army on the island of Sumatra. Although the elite troops had been transferred to the Luzon battlefield, the remaining 6 Japanese were no match for the guerrillas.
"By the way, what do the Japanese use the oil they refine?" Zheng Yongchun also came over, holding a submachine gun in his hand, and changed the subject to ease the awkwardness.
Karen sneered. "They can drive their own trucks and patrol boats. There are large oil fields further away from the old port, and the output there is even greater."
Lin Laisheng frowned. It seemed that the Allied Command was targeting the oil produced here. He had to carefully investigate the location of the oil pipeline, factory area, and oil tank area.
Zheng Yongchun then said directly: "If you ask me, don't the Anmin Army have big planes? Just blow them up!"
"Bomb it?" Lin Laisheng shook his head. "Bombing the refinery is easy, but if you destroy the entire oil field, the Japanese will suffer, but we won't be able to use it after the war."
Karen felt the words 'ourselves' were extremely sharp and pierced her heart.
After a moment, he felt relieved when he thought that he was now one of them.
Anyway, Shell Oil won't give him a penny more, so he might as well join the Anmin Army.
"Alright." Zheng Yongchun shrugged. "Just don't be so reluctant to drop a single bomb."
As they were talking, the speedboat gradually sailed deeper into the river.
The forests on both sides of the river became increasingly dense. Huge vines hung down from the trees, casting dark shadows on the water. Cicadas chirped incessantly in the forest, and occasionally one or two monkeys' screams could be heard in the distance.
Lin Laisheng suddenly looked up, his expression stern, and reached out to press Zheng Yongchun's shoulder: "Stop the engine, stop the boat."
Zheng Yongchun was taken aback, but he did as he was told. The boat drifted slowly on the river. After the engine stopped, the sound of the water and birdsong around him became remarkably clear.
"There is a sound." Lin Laisheng said in a low voice.
A few seconds later, everyone else heard it too. It was the rhythm of propellers slapping the water—not wind, not rain, not birds. It was another ship, and it was very close.
"Heading towards us," Karen whispered, reaching out and cocking the submachine gun.
"It should be the Japanese patrol boat." Lin Laisheng pointed to a small fork in the west bank. "Go over there and hide first."