Chapter 12

The door to the meeting room burst open with a whoosh, and over a dozen Japanese soldiers rushed in, aiming their Murata Type 22 rifles with bayonets at Lin Yuan. Since the pretense was already shattered, Ito Sukenori no longer needed to feign kindness. He sneered, "Captain Lin, please tell me everything you know, or don't blame me for being impolite."

As he spoke, Ito Sukenori slowly lifted Shen Wanqing's hand, removed the ring from her finger, and examined it carefully, smiling. "This young lady must have received spy training; this ring must contain a deadly poison in its needle."

Ito Sukenori laughed and threw the ring into a jar, then drew the short sword he carried. In the Japanese army, many officers still maintained the traditions of the samurai, including the wearing of military swords. Samurai typically carried two swords, one long and one short; the long one for combat and the short one for suicide.

Ito Sukenori held the short sword close to Shen Wanqing's face and sneered, "Captain, if you don't speak, I'll cut a mark on this beautiful face."

Lin Yuan laughed carelessly, "If you dare to cut her, I'll blow up the Emperor's lair!"

Ito Sukenori burst into laughter, "I, the grand commander of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, have been talking to a madman for so long. I have no more interest in you." With that, he waved his hand, and over a dozen Japanese soldiers raised their rifles and lunged at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan suddenly burst into laughter, which made the Japanese soldiers pause. Lin Yuan leisurely checked his watch, 8:25, and said, "It's about time. You should have received a telegram from the Naval General Staff (the Japanese Navy's equivalent of the Army's General Staff, the reason it's not called the General Staff will be explained later)."

At that moment, a messenger rushed in and handed a telegram to Ito Sukenori. Ito Sukenori read the telegram, and his face changed dramatically. It read: "A severe explosion occurred at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo at 8:00 on September 17, suspected to be the work of Qing agents. The fleet is advised to be vigilant."

Just an hour before Lin Yuan set out, the deck and the catapult had been repaired. Half an hour before Lin Yuan's departure, a rescue Z-25 helicopter took off from the deck to be ready to rescue the pilot in case the aircraft failed to take off. Before any fighter jets took off from the aircraft carrier, a Z-25 helicopter had to be launched. Then, an KJ-2000 early warning aircraft, propelled by the catapult's several tons of thrust, took off from the deck and circled above the carrier. Due to advanced technology, the "Beijing" aircraft carrier did not have dedicated electronic warfare aircraft like U.S. carriers; electronic warfare tasks were handled by the electronic warfare modules on the early warning aircraft.

Finally, two J-24 fighters loaded with precision-guided bombs roared into the sky, forming a two-plane formation. Their navigation lights flickered in the starry night sky and soon disappeared in the direction of Japan.

This was the reason Lin Yuan dared to board the enemy ship alone; he wanted the planes to bomb Tokyo to force Ito Sukenori to submit!

The lead pilot of the two-plane formation was Xu Feng, and the bombing mission was secretly given to him by Lin Yuan. When they discussed where to bomb, Xu Feng suggested directly bombing the Emperor's lair—the Tokyo Imperial Palace. However, Lin Yuan considered the broader implications. If the Emperor were killed directly, Ito Sukenori might become enraged and kill him, which would ruin his plan.

So Lin Yuan thought of another place, the Yasukuni Shrine. This shrine enshrines Japanese soldiers and military personnel who died in service to the empire since the Meiji Restoration, most of whom died in wars of aggression, including 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II and over 2,000 Class-B and Class-C war criminals.

The Japanese have always held the dead in high regard, especially those who died for their country. If this were the 21st century, bombing the Yasukuni Shrine would be as significant as bombing the Imperial Palace. However, Lin Yuan realized it was 1894, and at this time, most of the enshrined soldiers were those who died in the Boshin War and the Satsuma Rebellion, which were internal conflicts. The soldiers who died in these wars were fighting to quell rebellions. The leaders of these rebellions, especially Saigo Takamori, who led the Satsuma Rebellion, were well-known in Japan. The current Navy Minister, Saigo Tsugumichi, was Saigo Takamori's younger brother. Therefore, bombing the Yasukuni Shrine would not provoke Ito Sukenori into a desperate act.

Xu Feng piloted the plane through the dark night toward Tokyo. In the 21st century, with the global "Beidou" satellite navigation system, Xu Feng could easily fly to any place on Earth. However, without satellites, the plane relied on terrain matching to determine its position. The radar on the plane scanned the terrain and compared it with the terrain data in the plane's database to determine its location.

In this era, there was no need to consider enemy air defense radars, so the plane did not need stealth capabilities. The J-24's bomb bay and external mounting points were fully loaded with precision-guided bombs. The plane also did not need to fly at extremely low altitudes to avoid air defense radars, so Xu Feng flew the plane at an altitude of 3,000 meters, boldly entering Japanese airspace.

The increased weight of the plane shortened the time to reach the destination, so Xu Feng did not take long to reach Tokyo. He circled over Tokyo. Since the modern Yasukuni Shrine and the 1894 Yasukuni Shrine were in the same location, the carrier's database had its precise coordinates. Xu Feng quickly locked onto the target and, following Lin Yuan's orders, launched the first precision-guided bomb at 7:30.

The bomb exploded 10 meters in front of the main gate, and the shockwave from the 500 kg of high explosives instantly blew away the wooden main gate. Behind the main gate was a statue of Omura Masujirō, a military and political figure of the Meiji Restoration, known as the father of the Japanese Army. This large bronze statue, which had been erected just a year ago, collapsed in the massive shockwave. The high temperature from the explosion immediately sparked a fire, which spread through the shrine with the help of the wind.

Xu Feng adjusted his position and launched the second bomb, which penetrated the roof of the main hall and exploded in the center. This was where the gods were enshrined, and the sword and mirror, symbols of the gods, were instantly destroyed by the high temperature and pressure of the explosion.

The raging fire at the Yasukuni Shrine seemed to console the spirits of the civilians cruelly killed by the Japanese army.

Now, back to Lin Yuan and Ito Sukenori on the Matsushima. Ito Sukenori could not believe that the explosion at the Yasukuni Shrine was related to this Chinese man. As Ito Sukenori looked at Lin Yuan in confusion, Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Commander, I know you don't believe we bombed the Yasukuni Shrine. Fine, I'll give you a chance to verify it. Name a place, and see if it becomes a wasteland in a few minutes!"