Received news that the Japanese fleet was approaching.

All training at the Jiangyin Fortress immediately ceased, and the entire fortress tensed up again.

The heavy cruiser "Kinugasa" was in the middle, flanked by the light cruisers "Noshiro" and "Kitakami" as escorts.

Seven smaller vessels guarded them from the front.

These ships aimed to clear any mines that might be lurking in the channel ahead, removing obstacles for the larger vessels behind.

When the Japanese warships entered the range of the fortress's artillery,

the cannons on the gun emplacements opened fire immediately. Soon, the "Kinugasa" and its accompanying ships were all within range.

The three Japanese warships also stopped, and the entire fleet began to retaliate fiercely with all its guns.

The cannons on the fortress all targeted the "Kinugasa."

Because this cruiser was the largest, its firepower was also the most intense.

Lin Fan operated the 88mm anti-aircraft gun assigned to the Special Operations Company,

firing at the Japanese gunboats that were still advancing. After their main warships opened fire,

these gunboats did not stop but continued to move forward, wanting to take this opportunity to observe the Jiangyin Fortress's defenses and the Yangtze River's hydrological conditions in detail.

This section of the riverbed was where the National Revolutionary Army had sunk twenty ships.

The data the Japanese had surveyed before the war was now completely useless.

Moreover, these gunboats also had 75mm guns, and they wanted to get closer to attack.

These gunboats were not large, had a small displacement, and were extremely agile.

Lin Fan knew how convenient it was to have such gunboats in the water-rich Jiangnan area.

They were even more useful than tanks on land.

If I don't have it, I won't let you have it either!

Each shell used by the 88mm anti-aircraft gun weighed more than twenty-seven *jin* (approximately 30 pounds).

Every shell that hit a Japanese gunboat would blast a large hole in it.

Lin Fan only needed five shells to blow up a Japanese gunboat.

Now, not only were the soldiers on the Xiaoshan Battery greatly encouraged,

but Vice Admiral Chen Jiliang, commander of the First Fleet of the Navy, noticed that three enemy ships on the river had been hit, and all three gunboats had stopped moving.

He immediately ordered his small gunboats to attack, wanting to drag these Japanese gunboats to the shore and see if they could be captured.

The Japanese fleet was also panicked at this time: the escort ships at the front originally numbered only seven.

Their displacement ranged from a few hundred tons to three thousand tons.

The three small gunboats of a few hundred tons had now been completely destroyed.

Two warships with a displacement of more than two thousand tons were being bombarded by anti-aircraft guns.

Warships were much tougher than airplanes.

Lin Fan concentrated his firepower, firing continuously, one ship at a time.

Finally, he managed to flood these two Japanese warships with a displacement of more than two thousand tons.

Watching them tilt rapidly,

the soldiers on the shore, hiding in various defense lines to watch the battle, cheered loudly.

At this time, those watching the excitement discovered that one of the large warships at the front of the Japanese advance had been targeted by the battery again.

The advantage of anti-aircraft guns was their strength: they could fire continuously.

The firing rate reached twenty-five rounds per minute, which Lin Fan brought into full play.

A series of shells slammed into the side of another warship.

Watching this warship tilt and lose power,

six Japanese warships on the river had lost power.

Vice Admiral Chen Jiliang, commander of the First Fleet of the Navy, excitedly ordered loudly: "Send three more warships out!

Clean up the battlefield!"

At this time, anyone with a little strategic vision could see that the Japanese were bound to suffer a loss today.

They could only retreat.

Commander Kōsaku Ariga, a rear admiral commanding the "Kinugasa" cruiser, clearly did not think so.

So far, his cruiser had fired nearly a hundred shells.

The fortress on the opposite side was filled with smoke.

Kōsaku Ariga had to endure a little longer, just a little longer.

Their air support was on the way.

Just as Kōsaku Ariga was hesitating, the last destroyer, the "Kiyokawa Maru," with a displacement of more than three thousand tons, which was providing cover in front of the "Kinugasa," also lost power and slowly tilted.

The observer on the Xiaoshan Battery shouted excitedly: "Aircraft!

Alarm! Enemy aircraft approaching!"

His voice was like the villagers helping to serve dishes at a banquet, shouting, "Steamed Pork Knuckle!"

Lin Fan's performance of shooting down enemy planes in the morning, like setting off fireworks,

had already made these observers float! They no longer regarded enemy aircraft bombing as a nightmare.

On the contrary, these observers now wished that all the Japanese planes would report to the Xiaoshan Battery.

Hearing the observer's alarm, all the 88mm anti-aircraft guns immediately began to adjust their firing angles.

Preparing to meet the enemy!

In the past ten minutes, Lin Fan's gun position had fired more than two hundred shells.

Commander Xu Kang had already arrived at the position when he learned that the Japanese warships were attacking.

When he saw Lin Fan operating the 88mm anti-aircraft gun, one gun caused seven Japanese warships to lose power and tilt.

Now, three small gunboats had completely sunk.

The remaining four were also slowly sinking into the river.

The Japanese soldiers on those warships all jumped into the Yangtze River, swimming frantically downstream towards their own warships.

The National Revolutionary Army warships had not yet arrived at the battlefield at this time.

After three months of fierce fighting, the National Revolutionary Army's warships had been almost completely lost, and only small warships such as minelayers and torpedo boats remained.

However, this time, Lin Fan cleared the escort ships that the Japanese had sent in front of their main warships.

Torpedo boats had already been dispatched, and minelayers had also been dispatched.

At this time, not only were the soldiers of the Special Operations Company urgently replenishing shells for Lin Fan's gun position,

but Commander Xu Kang, who had been watching the situation here, had also ordered his guards to join the ranks of helping to deliver shells.

Lin Fan fired his gun too quickly; his speed was a little slower when shooting down planes.

When shooting at warships, he had not stopped firing since he started.

He was completely using this gun as a machine gun.

The rangefinder of the Xiaoshan Battery reported calmly: "Twelve thousand meters! Ten thousand meters! Eight thousand meters!

Entering range!

Seven thousand meters!

Six thousand meters!

..."

Various anti-aircraft weapons on the battery had begun to fire.

They did not have Lin Fan's terrifying hand speed and accuracy.

The soldiers could only make up for quantity and accuracy with numbers.

Looking at the familiar two columns, like wild geese returning south, the Japanese aircraft formations came to attack.

Lin Fan smiled: "Sending you west!"

This time, the attacking enemy planes were attack aircraft and fighters in the front, and bombers in the back.

The Japanese must have wanted to use attack aircraft and fighters to clear the position first.

In particular, they wanted to clear the anti-aircraft fire on the fortress before letting the bombers carry out the final mission.

The plan was perfect!

When the machine guns in the noses of the Japanese attack aircraft began to fire,

Lin Fan also began to fire.

This time, he still fired at the enemy planes, alternating targets as he had done in the morning.

Enemy planes flying in the air were actually very fragile.

Every piece of debris from those exploding in the air was a shell.

Thanks to Lin Fan's accuracy and the power of the shells fired from this gun,

those thin-skinned Japanese planes in the sky only had the fate of disintegrating in mid-air after being hit by a single shell!

The enemy planes following behind these disintegrating fighters did not have time to react and plunged straight into them.

They were immediately like being pierced by ten thousand arrows, trailing black smoke

as they struggled to crash to the ground.

What was also different from the morning was that the maneuverability of the attack aircraft and fighters at the front was obviously much better than that of the bombers.

Except for the first echelon, which was close behind the exploding planes and would be accidentally injured,

the attack aircraft and fighters following behind them could actually make emergency evasive maneuvers.

This forced Lin Fan to put in more effort.

A series of flames were launched from here.

Commander Kōsaku Ariga stood on the bridge of the "Kinugasa."

Originally, he wanted to watch the attack performance of the Empire's First Air Fleet.

Now, it had turned into a fireworks display by the First Air Combat Force.

In his eyes, one after another of the Empire's planes were actually rushing straight toward the pillars of fire from the battery as if they were seeking death.

The scene of moths flying into a flame was nothing more than this.

At this time, he did not have time to continue watching such a tragic scene.

The air force could not support him at all!

This was the most important thing. Commander Kōsaku Ariga immediately ordered: "The fleet retreats! Disengage from the battlefield!"

As for those Japanese sailors still struggling in the water, let them swim thirty kilometers downstream!

Sailors swimming was normal.

The three warships at the front were large, and it was obviously much slower for them to turn around than for the smaller ships behind them.

Just as the "Kinugasa" cruiser was turning across the Yangtze River, the ship's observer shouted in horror:

"Torpedo!

Alarm! Torpedo attack!

Three torpedoes attacking from the port side!"

It was the torpedo boats sent by the First Fleet of the National Revolutionary Army that had rushed out.

They were small and fast. When they saw that the Japanese cruiser in front had no escort ships at all,

they immediately launched torpedoes.

And they released all three torpedoes they were carrying.

Vice Admiral Chen Jiliang, commander of the First Fleet, who was watching this scene from afar, slapped his thigh in regret:

If only he had sent out the torpedo boats earlier.

If only he had sent one more torpedo boat in the first batch of ships he sent out.

Now he could only pray that the three torpedoes would hit the enemy ship.

The troops on the shore also saw the torpedoes moving in the water, and everyone held their breath, staring at the three torpedoes.

As if their breathing would affect the three torpedoes that were quickly moving in the river.

Among the eight batteries of the Jiangyin Fortress, only four were actually activated today in order to conceal their true strength.

Among the four batteries now, Dongshan and Xishan were fully attacking the Japanese warships on the river.

Although the Japanese warships were already retreating, the officers and soldiers were still pursuing them in victory.

A shell exploded on the deck of the "Kinugasa" cruiser as it turned.

As people were cheering, one of the three torpedoes suddenly exploded.

The water浪 (wave/surge) that was blasted into the air was dozens of meters high.

This was because the torpedo had hit a reef at the bottom of the water.

Immediately afterward, another torpedo exploded not far away.

Only the last torpedo was still moving on the river surface, leaving a long trail of water.

The "Kinugasa," which had just been hit on the deck, was obviously slowing down.

It could be seen from a distance that the Japanese soldiers on that warship were nervously extinguishing the fire.

At this time, the last torpedo fired by the National Revolutionary Army also hit the stern of the "Kinugasa."

Huge cheers erupted from both sides of the bank.

The wishes in everyone's hearts did not let the "Kinugasa" sink.

Dragging its crippled body, it stubbornly finally straightened its position and slowly slid downstream.

In the midst of his busy schedule, Lin Fan felt bad when he looked at the departing enemy ship with its injuries.

Unfortunately, he was now unable to split himself up. There were still many enemy planes in the sky waiting for him to set off fireworks.

This afternoon, the pilots of the First Air Fleet were all showing off their skills in the sky.

Performing all kinds of tactical maneuvers.

This was not voluntary; it was Lin Fan who was forcing them to do these dangerous performances with his anti-aircraft guns.

Those Japanese pilots in the sky would never know when a plane around them would explode in mid-air.

Every day when they discovered such exploding planes around them, they had to quickly turn, climb, or descend.

Only in this way could they avoid the fragments produced by the explosions of their own planes.

These attack aircraft and fighters could still make various dazzling maneuvers to escape.

Those bombers following behind them, protected by them, were originally not numerous.

It was obviously difficult for these bombers, dragging their heavy bodies, to make fast maneuvers.

These planes became Lin Fan's targets one by one.

Those fighters in the air were too cunning and not quiet at all.

They were always playfully trying to avoid the shells fired from the ground.

It was better to deal with these bombers, one by one, without any dodging.

After Lin Fan blew up all seventeen bombers that were still far away, he began to clean up those attack aircraft that were not afraid of death at all.

These attack aircraft were really brave. They dodged Lin Fan's attack and the other anti-aircraft fire on the battery.

After passing over the Xiaoshan Battery, they did not cherish the escape opportunity they had finally obtained.

They even flew back, ready to attack again!

Lin Fan accepted this insult from the Japanese First Air Fleet with a smile.

Now that he had cleared out those clumsy bombers in the distance, he originally thought that the battle this afternoon would end so regrettably.

He did not expect that there would be more surprises delivered to his door! When the anti-aircraft fire on Xiaoshan roared again,

those attack aircraft that had escaped the first round of attacks by the Grim Reaper had obviously run out of luck this time.

Lin Fan opened fire again. Although those who rushed up this time were all agile guys such as attack aircraft and fighters,

Lin Fan was not thinking about killing two birds with one stone this time.

He honestly fired one shell at one plane. This time, those extremely arrogant Japanese pilots were out of luck.

On the Yangtze River, the Japanese fleet could no longer be seen, and even the "Kinugasa" cruiser had dragged its crippled body out of sight.

Even so, the fortress guns on the battery were still firing continuously according to the directions reported back from the front.

The anti-aircraft weapons of the entire Jiangyin Fortress were even more fiercely firing.

These anti-aircraft units had been bombed and strafed by the Japanese countless times in the past three months.

Every time enemy planes arrived, everyone could retreat to air-raid shelters and bunkers.

Only they, these anti-aircraft units, had to stay on the position.

A few days ago, they had finally become familiar with the latest German-style 88mm anti-aircraft guns.

Shooting down two planes had already made all the officers and soldiers of the entire Jiangyin Fortress excited.

Today was different. In the morning, they had shot down fifty-seven Japanese planes.

The wreckage of those planes had not even been cleared yet.

In the afternoon, they, these anti-aircraft guns, had not only sunk seven Japanese warships but also shot down even more enemy planes.

With the experience of shooting down enemy planes with their own strength in the morning, the anti-aircraft teams on the entire Jiangyin Fortress

had now initially summarized that when Japanese planes came, they should not start shooting too far away in the beginning.

Because the distance was too far, it was really not easy to hit.

To hit enemy planes, the closer the distance, the better.

If they really put the enemy planes at a distance of one thousand to two thousand meters to shoot,

and the anti-aircraft fire of the eight batteries was activated together, they could still shoot down a few Japanese planes no matter what.

With a confident team, their hearts were not flustered, and they shot even more accurately!

Even better!

After the first wave of enemy planes was finished, here came another one.

All the officers and soldiers of the entire fortress now finally experienced the same feeling as the soldiers of the Special Operations Company: they were not afraid of enemy planes coming, but only afraid of them not coming.

This was delivering food! Was a big eater afraid of too much food?

When the sky was clear again, Lin Fan smiled and asked Commander Xu Kang, "Commander! Why didn't our army collect so much wreckage of the enemy planes that were shot down?"

Commander Xu Kang smiled: "You said they were wreckage. What's the use of collecting that?"

"Sell it as scrap!" Lin Fan said without hesitation.

Commander Xu looked at Lin Fan: "What do you want to do?"

Lin Fan said with a smile: "I want a tractor.

In the name of pulling scrap, go down the Yangtze River to look around.

To find out if there is a suitable place to ambush.

Next time, attack Japanese warships."

"Isn't it the same as attacking warships on the battery today?"

Lin Fan explained with a smile: "We can only hit their small ships.

If we are closer, I can sink their large ships."

Commander Xu Kang looked at Lin Fan and pondered for a while before saying, "Fight well!"

Lin Fan continued to suggest: "Commander! All the cannons on the fortress that can be moved

should be organized for the soldiers to drag out for training.

Just in case..."

Commander Xu Kang said coldly: "We retreated from the Northeast to Yanjing, and from Yanjing to Xi'an, and now we are here.

We have nowhere to retreat. There is no 'just in case.'"

What Commander Xu Kang was talking about was the 112th Division, an old unit in the Northeast Army.

They had retreated again and again, from the northernmost part of the country to the south.

They really had nowhere to retreat.