Chapter Thirty-Two: Setting Off for Europe

The navy finally showed its mettle, leveraging the superior technical proficiency of its officers and men to maneuver torpedo boats into narrow rivers that the torpedo fleet had previously dared not enter. This took the unprepared Japanese forces by surprise, inflicting heavy losses. In just one week, hundreds of wooden river craft and over ninety bridges were destroyed, exerting immense pressure on the Japanese military.

As the Japanese had pushed deep into the interior, they had deployed few troops to their rear, focusing primarily on defending against ground incursions by the National Revolutionary Army. They never imagined that enemy vessels could penetrate rivers as shallow as waist-deep. Though these light torpedo boats were small, they were equipped with all-steel turrets that Japanese small arms were completely ineffective against.

Even the mobilization of cavalry proved futile. While cavalry could outpace the torpedo boats, they lacked staying power and were unable to engage the moving vessels effectively. Built for survival in naval combat, the boats possessed a level of defensive durability far beyond what ordinary infantry could handle.

The Japanese fleet attempted to deploy patrol boats and landing craft to counter the threat, but they lacked the necessary quantity of small vessels. Furthermore, their existing craft had a deeper draft than the national torpedo boats; even if they managed to enter the river channels, they dared not proceed, lest they run aground at the slightest misstep.

Left with no choice, the Japanese had to mobilize large formations to surround the encroaching torpedo boats. While they managed to destroy two of them, the cost was staggering. To neutralize two boats, they deployed over 3,000 troops, more than 50 artillery pieces, and 20 tanks, consuming over 500 tons of supplies and ammunition while suffering over a hundred casualties. A few more such encounters, and they would have to abandon their offensive on Jiangcheng.

Both the Japanese Army and Navy air services stepped up patrols, but to little avail. To deceive the enemy, our forces released large-scale smoke screens in the occupied zones, leaving the Japanese pilots exhausted and frustrated with no results. Not only did they waste vast amounts of precious fuel and aviation materials, but they also fell into two ambushes set by the Volunteer Air Force, losing a significant number of aircraft.

Under this series of coordinated actions, the pressure on the Jiangcheng front eased dramatically. It was not just the front-line troops who felt the relief; the citizens of Jiangcheng noticed a marked decrease in the frequency of Japanese air sorties, and night bombings had all but ceased.

Thanks to the navy's publicity, the reputation of the naval forces, which had hit rock bottom, finally saw some recovery, though it remained limited. The torpedo fleet had stolen the spotlight; while the Naval General Headquarters was conducting its operations, the torpedo fleet had already begun constructing a shipyard in Shancheng to produce its own boats. Ouyang Ge even declared he would fill the rivers of the Japanese-occupied zones with torpedo boats. Though everyone knew it was merely a slogan, it was a tremendous morale booster.

As for Wang Yue, he had no time for such excursions during this period; he was busy learning to fly in preparation for his next plan.

Although he knew how to pilot a Potez 36 transport, he was entirely self-taught and would be lost if forced to fly any other model. The problem was that the Potez 36 was agonizingly slow, with a top speed of 150 km/h, often struggling to exceed 100 km/h in turbulent air. The Japanese were simply too occupied to deal with him at the moment, but had they ambushed him, he would have been a sitting duck.

He now possessed six I-16 fighters. While not the most advanced, they were at least capable of avoiding easy interception by Japanese fighters. Wang Yue planned to use an I-16 as his primary transport in emergencies. To that end, he paid a high price to the commander of the Volunteer Air Force to secure the best ace pilot to instruct him.

Since he did not need to master complex tactical maneuvers, Wang Yue was able to independently take off and land the I-16 on field airstrips after a few dozen hours of flight. For his purposes, this was sufficient. But what exactly was Wang Yue planning?

He intended to take advantage of the recent chaos in Europe to secure some spoils. If he recalled correctly, shortly after the Munich Agreement, the Germans would move into the Sudetenland. There would be a window of roughly four days between the withdrawal of local forces and the arrival of the German army. While police forces would be maintaining order, they could not cover every detail.

Previously, when Ding Bu'er had nothing to do, he enjoyed surfing the dark web to read declassified government documents. He knew exactly what kind of "windfalls" the Germans had scavenged upon occupying the Sudetenland. Since the meticulous Germans had recorded everything down to the last pistol and bullet, he saw an opportunity to try his luck.

However, traveling from Jiangcheng to Europe was no simple task. By conventional means, Wang Yue would arrive far too late to scavenge anything. He had no choice but to risk flying there himself. It was dangerous, but not insurmountable. He had already tested his ability to transport himself and his plane into and out of his personal space, though he had to ensure the engine reached the required RPM upon exit to prevent a stall and crash.

After installing the wireless positioning equipment from the Potez 36 onto the I-16 and retrofitting an internal refueling system, Wang Yue embarked on his journey to Europe. He departed Jiangcheng in the Potez 36, switching to the I-16 under the cover of clouds mid-journey.

The flight was smooth while within national borders, but trouble began once he crossed into foreign territory. He was repeatedly intercepted by fighters; on several occasions, pilots attempted to force him down. They were baffled as to how an unidentified fighter could simply vanish while being pursued—especially when it was clearly just an I-16 with a top speed of 440 km/h!

His journey was a series of stops and starts. He was chased by fighters, targeted by anti-aircraft fire, and suffered through navigational errors. When he landed to ask for directions, he was even chased by locals. But these were not the greatest dangers. The most perilous moment occurred when he encountered severe convection currents and was struck by lightning. The cockpit filled with the smell of burning rubber; had it not been for the rugged construction of the I-16, Wang Yue would have perished then and there.

Finally, on the evening of October 2nd, Wang Yue arrived in the Sudetenland amidst a light drizzle. Had the Germans not been so brazen and had there not been such widespread fear of strategic miscalculation, it would have been impossible for an unmarked aircraft to penetrate the heart of Europe. One could not assume the imperialist air forces were merely for show; while they lacked a radar network, they possessed a sophisticated observation and early-warning system. Their response might have been slow, but they were certainly not blind.

Wang Yue, however, had no time to ponder whether he could manage a return flight, for another challenge stood before him: the local paramilitary organizations were already taking to the streets.