Canteen System Assistance Notes

"General!"

The diligent orderly knocked on the door, indicating that hot water and bedding were ready - after a hard day's work, it was time for him to have a good rest.

He stood up from the table and thought for a moment. There was nothing unusual happening recently. Although the Eighth Route Red Army had been active in the surrounding area, they did not dare to attack the Imperial Army in the city or on the transportation lines.

The Army Air Force's bombing operations, however, haven't been going smoothly. Honestly, compared to the Army's more convenient light bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, the fighter and heavy bombers have always been less popular. Yamaoka recalled today's report; it seemed to say the bombs had been transported to the airfield via animal-drawn transport, but the fuel for the heavy bombers wasn't enough. Never mind. He'd already told the heavy bombers that the Red Army had been cutting off the railway south for a while, so they needed to get used to it. The bombing could wait.

But at this moment, the beautiful transparent glass in the office suddenly shook. "General!"

Before General Yamaoka could react, Staff Officer Oda, who had just left, rushed in. His cautious, light-hearted, and polite expression had disappeared, leaving only a look of astonishment. "General! Something big has happened!" "What happened? As an Imperial soldier, don't lose your composure!"

"I'm very sorry, General!" the staff officer apologized hastily, saying quickly, "General, the airport north of the city has been attacked by an unknown enemy force!"

"What?!"

He sprinted out of the building and climbed to the roof of the Dashiqiao Division Headquarters. Beneath the low, level city skyline, Yamaoka Shigehou could hear the increasingly clear sounds of explosions, artillery fire, and gunfire—they were coming from the direction of the Daguo Village airport. Under the silver moonlight, flames rose from the northwest, like a blaze, illuminating the inky night. Because of the distance, the sounds and sights from the airport were out of sync, and for a moment, Yamaoka Shigehou felt like he was dreaming.

"Baka! Quickly gather the troops and go to support! I want to know who dared to attack the emperor..."

Before he could finish his words, a bigger fireball rose up, and a thunderous sound and shock wave came more than ten seconds later, like a loud answer to him.

Chapter 111: Sakaki Saburo's Diary

"July 22, 1949. It was cloudy, a bad day for flying."

Saburo Sakaki wrote in his diary.

It is said that normal people don't write diaries. After all, once something is written, it is definitely intended for others to see. However, a diary is something that naturally determines that it cannot be shown to others at will - unless you are mentally ill. It is a strange and contradictory combination of trying to maintain one's own privacy but trying to let others see what you say quietly.

Abbreviation: tsundere.

Although Saburo Sakaki had no idea what the concept of "蹭的累" (too tired to move) in Japanese meant, he knew that there was someone he could share his work with.

"Dear Fanzi, I'm currently in a place called Shimen in this country. We took off from an airfield near the Yangtze River, bound for Fushi, deep in North China. It's said to be the home base and headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, which recently cost our allies over a regiment. However, at our original airfield, we could deliver fuel and bombs via river ferry, but coming here isn't as convenient."

Saburo Sakaki was a flight officer—not a pilot, but a machine gunner, a position he wasn't particularly well-liked. After all, the pilot was the captain, and everyone had to obey him. The navigator was responsible for maintaining the aircraft's normal operations, and if the plane malfunctioned, he was the boss. He, on the other hand, could only operate his pitiful, small, swing-gun to protect the fragile underbelly of the aircraft.

Because there was basically nothing in the air here that could interfere with their bombing, all they had to do was put on the leather hat and big leather coat on the boat, then put on their glasses, hold the machine gun, look left and right, and wait to complete the flight.

"After all, Fanzi, I'm always teased here, called a useless burden on the plane, but that also means there aren't any decent enemies in the sky. After all, with a Type 93 bomb (P.S. I'll have to confirm this when I retire and return to China (crossed out). Fanzi is just an ordinary girl, not a spy, it doesn't matter) that only has a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. If the enemy has a squadron of fighter planes, we're in trouble—I'll never see you again. Haha."

"Although I am a soldier of the Empire and need to serve my country for seven lifetimes and die, I still hope to see you after I retire (turn to the second page of the back cover, the paragraph that determines victory or defeat)" Sakaki unconsciously increased his strength when he wrote this.

"When the time comes, after I retire, I'll withdraw the necessary savings and try to find a job in Tokyo, working comfortably in an office at a major company. Then I'll earn a lot of money. It'll be a lot of money, much more than I could earn in the countryside! Then I can marry you in style back home."

The pen's handwriting began to become messy, as scraps of paper got caught in the tip of the pen—the kind that happens when writing in a low-quality notebook like this. Sakaki carefully set the notebook aside, then squinted his eyes and pulled the paper fibers off the pen tip. However, he had left his tweezers at the base and hadn't brought them with him, so he had to use his fingers. It took several tries before he succeeded.

I'll just have to make do with it.

But it seems this mission is likely to be canceled. I heard the steam locomotive carrying explosives from the Fortress derailed, then the train carrying fuel derailed, then the train going to rescue them, and finally the train going to rescue the rescue train. Finally, I heard donkeys were used to pull back some of the explosives, but the fuel was gone.

He scratched his head, even finding it strange. He had never been on the railway in North China, and his mobility was mainly in the back seat of an airplane. Why did the trains of this empire have such a tendency to derail on the railways in North China? Was there a strange curse on the railways in North China that would cause trains to derail?

"Maybe it's because the local gods here don't like railway tracks and always like to pull them away at night? (P.S.: You must pretend to be exaggerated when talking to Fanzi here)" Then the pen clamped the fibers again, and the final Chinese characters became a twisted worm, blurred together, and could not be seen clearly.

Sakaki frowned. The items in the military consumer society were of low quality and high price, and the notebooks they sold were also of poor quality. He no longer wanted to let the precious keepsake given to him by his father suffer such a rough treatment. So, when could he return to Yicheng sooner?

"Oh! Our great machine-gunner, the great writer, is writing another love letter to his fiancée!"

An uncomfortably loud voice was heard, with a hint of alcohol. It was the captain, the sergeant major, the great pilot, and his immediate superior.

Saburo Sakaki was a second-class flight sergeant. After graduation, he was assigned to fly bomber planes, a relatively decent rank, but he was still at the bottom of the contempt chain on an aircraft: during his days in North and Central China, his plane rarely encountered enemy planes, so the status of a machine gunner was not very high.

They must have gone out to have fun again today, and spent themselves here watching planes... Due to the lack of supplies for another takeoff, the materials at Shimen Forward Airport could not support these heavy bombers. The entire squadron's planes were parked on the ground. Everyone was very bored. Seeing that there was no enemy around, the captain and his men bypassed the military police and went out to "find the pleasure of men" - but obviously, they did not find the beautiful sister, but they drank a lot of wine.

"Great writer! Let me tell you, this enemy country's liquor is really... The captain was a little unsteady. It was obvious that the alcohol content of the drink was very high. "It's so strong! I think... pour this cauldron into the oil tank of the plane. Can it make this big bird fly?"

"There must be at least four pretty girls, lined up in two groups, working hard in the back!"

Hahahahaha… The captain, co-pilot, and the other pilots laughed heartily. The highest-ranking pilot, the sergeant, cracked a dirty joke and laughed the most.

Sakaki was unhappy. The captain didn't act like a soldier at all. But there was nothing he could do. The captain was a graduate of the previous class, his senior, and he was irresistible.

"Captain, everything is normal today! There's nothing wrong with the plane! The airport is very quiet! It's already late..." He stood up and quickly reported, "Seniors and colleagues, I'm very sorry, I have to go back to the dormitory first!"

After saying that, Saburo Sakaki stood up from the table and prepared to push open the door to leave. Beside the airport was a row of low peasant houses, which were connected to electricity, making it convenient for him to write in his diary. Now that it was dark, getting entangled with a group of drunkards who had drunk "Luquan Shaoguo" here would not lead to good things.

Who knew that, though drunk, the drunkard wasn't completely stoned. Rather, their consciousness was still clear, but it simply gave them a reason to do things they wouldn't normally dare do. A flying Cao took advantage of the situation and arrived at the door, blocking the way out.

idiot!

The room was quiet, the light bulb hanging from the beam emitted a dim light, and there were five people inside. Four drunks and one machine gunner, Saburo Sakaki. But fortunately

The roof is not made of cement, but a straw roof covered with straw mats.

Already.

"senior?"

Sakaki Sanyou, clutching his notebook and pen, cautiously inched his way toward the door. There was not only a door, but also a window. The window, of course, didn't have glass; it was made of woven bamboo and papered over it. It wasn't very sturdy, and couldn't even keep out the wind. If some of the strange things he'd heard about were about to happen, he wouldn't hesitate to unleash the tactical skills he'd learned from his pilot training and burst through the window!

Idiot, I saved my virginity for my childhood sweetheart!

"Sakaki-kun,"

His captain, the flight sergeant, his superior, a year his senior, turned around under the light. The dim incandescent light cast his shadow on the wall of the mud house, along with everyone else's, just like the rules of the army. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a rough black pen.

“I! I…”

He spoke intermittently, "Let's exchange pens!"

Chapter 112 Gold, Steel, Aluminum and Fire

It was a Sanle brand pen with a steel tip. The clip had rusted from who knows how long it had been used. The attentive Sakaki noticed that half of a paper bag was sticking out of the Sergeant's trouser pocket, and there was someone's inscription on it—printed on it.

This was a "comfort gift," and the inscription printed on the paper bag must have been from General Sugiyama Moto. He recalled that during that time, there had been talk that the missing fuel from the derailed train would be delivered by trucks from the North China Transport Association—but in the end, no fuel was delivered, only a few trucks of "comfort gifts."

Sakaki had never seen the flight sergeant write much, not even his own flight logs, but in just a few days, the harsh treatment this pen had endured was comparable to decades of continuous abuse. Sakaki Saburo couldn't understand it at all, but he soon understood.

When receiving their pay, everyone signed their names in the "North China Military Note" receipt book. On that day, the pen at the signature area was broken, so the enthusiastic Saburo Sakaki gave his own pen to three other crew members to use and sign their names. The flight sergeant said at the time: "Oh! Sakaki-kun, you have a good pen!"

Of course! Saburo Sakaki protested silently in his heart. This was "Parker Tofu" made in the United States, a precious token with a precious gold nib and an orange shell. It was a family heirloom given to him by his father before he left. It was a testimony to the bond between family members and the last memory of prosperity left in his family during the golden age.

Hmm...even the memories I had with my childhood sweetheart when I was still learning to read...

You want to exchange my pen for the gift you just sent me, which you've already ravaged and messed up?

Sakaki didn't answer, but moved slowly towards the window.

Alcohol relaxed the self-control of these seniors, but also interfered with their judgment. At present, they did not pay attention to Sakaki's movements.

The drunken senior leaned against the door, squinting, looking difficult to break through. So, he probably needed to activate Plan Two and escape through the window. As for what to do after escaping, Sakaki Saburo had a plan: the only one eyeing his pen was the Sergeant Major. He could just build a good relationship with a fellow machine gunner, and then work together to persuade the senior co-pilot, posing as the weak and pleading juniors. Then, with three against one, the Sergeant Major would probably consider everyone's feelings and not do anything so damaging to the character of an Imperial soldier!

"Sakaki-kun, why don't you want to?"

"Senior... please... please don't embarrass me."

Sakaki's voice dropped a little, and he seemed to be shrinking. "This pen is really important to me. It belongs to my father..." "You bastard! Do you really think you are a great writer?"

"This is the kindness of our ancestors! Ah!" People around them joined in and started to make a fuss. KUSO! These hateful guys!

"You! This is a fountain pen made in the Empire! Why are you still holding this fake American-British thing? Don't you support the Emperor's products?"

This reason is too far-fetched. Since I can't use American products, why do you take them away for your own use?

Sakaki didn't know the word "bullying," but he'd often heard of widespread military practice: superiors bullying their subordinates, veterans bullying their seniors, even those in the front platoons bullying those in the rear. It was unusual, but common. Sakaki Saburo had encountered it before, though not seriously. For example, a few colleagues would read his diary, make frivolous jokes, or steal his own ink. He'd been able to justify it by saying it was just "seniors' pranks." But today, facing his alcohol-addled seniors, he felt he couldn't resist.

"Senior, I'm sorry, I still can't agree with this."

Since you can't resist, just run away first.

Sakaki lowered his head, dodged a shouting colleague, then lowered his head, exerted all his strength, and curled up, protecting his head and the pen and diary he was holding in his arms, and rushed towards the window. This was the action a pilot would use to parachute out of the cabin in an emergency. He had trained hard and mastered the movements. When he pushed off the ground, it was like a ferocious...

狼?

call out.......

There was a sound of something cutting through the air, and the window made of sparse bamboo strips and newspapers was suddenly broken. Sakaki ran forward with all his strength. In front was the place where the planes were parked, and he could make some moves there.

Then four piercing white balls of light appeared in the sky, each carrying a miniature parachute. The dazzling light was even brighter than the light bulbs in the house, separating the airport from the night.

Huh? Why would breaking a window make such a loud noise?

"Enemy attack!"

Sakaki shouted, but his voice was lost in the noise.

The airport guards and military police sprang to life at the noise. This must be an enemy attack! Airports had been attacked several times on the battlefield. Both the Eighth Route Army and the Nationalist Army had attacked Japanese airfields, attempting to compensate for their own air power disadvantage. So, under the cover of darkness, countless shouting soldiers would rush in from all sides of the airport, rifles in hand, launching a concentrated charge, intending to engage the Imperial Army in close combat, and then throwing grenades into the planes.

We must not let them succeed!

The excellent tactical qualities of the Japanese grassroots troops were demonstrated at this time. The military police were divided into several groups and began to rush towards the pilots' lounge and dormitory, trying to drive out the ground crew and mechanics and run towards the stone gate. At the same time, the airport garrison was quickly gathering, preparing to enter the preset positions and set up machine guns to deal with the subsequent intensive charge.

Sakaki heard the military police's whistle and knew he should run for shelter. Aviators were invincible gods in the air, but powerless on the ground. He wasn't worried. Just like the Dawenkou Incident, as long as the garrison entered their positions, they would be bombarded with bullets. The enemy lurked in the darkness!

Saburo Sakaki did not wait for the shouts of killing, but instead waited for more frequent sounds of breaking through the air.

And explosions.

It's a 7.5mm howitzer bombardment!

A group of six rounds landed at slightly different times, as if they were fired from two different positions: one group of four and one group of two!

Saburo Sakaki's mind raced. In the blink of an eye, even as the magnesium flares blazed in the sky, another barrage of shells descended, landing among the rows of Type 93 heavy bombers parked. One bomber was struck twice in quick succession, and orange fireballs bulged from its aluminum wings like a Gouki from hell, shredding the entire aircraft structure and sending debris flying all around, sweeping away nearby supplies.

"Senior, run! Get out of the bombardment zone!"

The landing points of the artillery bombardment are mostly fixed. The enemy's goal is to destroy the aircraft. They probably don't plan to charge, so it is safe for the time being to leave the aircraft.

Sakaki analyzed the situation and stopped, ready to run back to the rescue. Although the bullying from his seniors was annoying, he knew he couldn't let his temper get the better of him. However, just as Sakaki turned around, another set of artillery fire passed overhead and landed on another bomber.

That was his fighter plane parked in front of the rest house.

Violent explosions resounded once more. This time, the shells landed more scattered, but one still managed to hit hard. The aluminum fuselage could still withstand the impact of the fighter's bullets.

But facing the bombardment of howitzers, it is just like a piece of paper.

The shell fell into the house just now, and the roof made of straw and straw mats was easily penetrated. Then, the whole house exploded from the inside out like an inflated balloon.

Including the four seniors who were still in the room.

Under the violent impact, Saburo Sakaki was in a trance. He had no time to react and was knocked to the ground by the shock wave.

Why? Why is the bombardment area changing?

Chapter 113 Critical Hit

The Army Pilot's course includes a lot of ground force stuff. Although there is no artillery course, there is knowledge about "helicopter-assisted aircraft" that serve the Army's artillery. As a diligent student, Sakaki Saburo knows that the general artillery bombardment area is usually fixed, and the artillery will map the area according to the distance and direction of the corresponding target.

The above calculations are then performed to obtain the parameters of the bombardment, and finally the bombardment is carried out at a fixed point.

When firing, the shells would fall in a roughly fixed area. If there were any deviations, the artillery observer would issue corrective instructions. If flying a helicopter used for artillery observation and firing, the pilot would take the observer into the air and fly close to the shell impact area.

Corrected instructions....

Now, continuous artillery bombardment is falling on Shimen Airport. All the Type 93 heavy bombs have turned into flames. The airport no longer needs flares to illuminate everything. There must be enemy artillery spotters nearby!

Amidst the extreme chaos and fear, Saburo Sakaki managed to keep his head clear, and looked around. Under the raging flames, he lowered his body and ran towards the fortifications in his memory. There should be defense forces there. As long as he informed the commander on the scene of this situation, he would be able to drive away the enemy's eyes and ears in time, and thus gain precious organizational breathing time.

The enemy's artillery fire was obviously targeting the fighter planes. Sakaki moved to the side, and he was going to slip past the outskirts of the airport, which had not been bombarded for the time being and was relatively safe.

Subsequent artillery fire was targeting the reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft, sending shattered parts flying into the air. Aside from the recent heavy bombing, Shimen Airport didn't have many planes left, and soon, all of the remaining aircraft would be destroyed. Sakaki's breathing quickened, a sensation like an electric current pulsing through his body. He was running at a speed that surprised even himself.

The bombardment paused briefly, and Sakaki crossed the burning wreckage and turned to a half-open fire fortification. There were already garrisons inside. Seeing a figure rushing towards him, the soldier with the machine gun opened his mouth and immediately turned the muzzle towards him.

"Don't fire! It's me! Sakaki, Saburo Sakaki! It's a friendly fire!"

Regardless of whether the other party could hear him or not, Sakaki shouted desperately, shaking the notebook desperately, hoping that the other party would recognize him. Being beaten to death by one's own people would be too stupid!

Fortunately, from nearly 100 meters away, the enemy seemed to recognize his uniform, raised the muzzle of his rifle, and waved to him to come quickly. The sergeant next to him fired three Pentax rounds at the machine gunner, telling him to turn and aim outside the airport, preparing for the enemy's impending attack.

The cessation of artillery bombardment often means an infantry charge.

However, the expected wave of charging people did not appear, and the devilish bombardment came again. "Enemy attack!"

Sakaki Sanyou opened his voice, as if to squeeze out all his fear and shock. He reflexively lay down on the ground, then propped up his chest with his hands. The sharp whistling of shells came again, they jumped over his head, passed across the entire tarmac, and no longer targeted the fighter plane that had been shattered here.

This made him more convinced that the other side had artillery observers.

Boom! An explosion erupted from the other side of the runway, followed by a huge, bright fireball. The ammunition depot...

Saburo Sakaki is temporarily blind and deaf.