The shuttle bombing did not stop. Two groups of bombers that took off from airports in Yantai and other places landed in Southern Liaoning, and the bomber group at the Southern Liaoning airport took off. Southern Liaoning originally did not have an airport capable of handling four-engine bombers; these behemoths required a runway over two thousand meters long. Even after emergency reconstruction, the concrete runway at the Southern Liaoning airport was only 1500 meters long. The remaining nearly one thousand meters of the runway were covered with thick steel plates.

Air Force Deputy Commander Xiang Fei was stationed at the Southern Liaoning airport. He was truly full of admiration for the grand handwriting of Chairman of the Military Commission Chen Ke. The steel plates came from Anshan Steel. After liberation, the industrial development in the Northeast was very fast, especially since the Anshan Iron and Steel Group had the foundation of Mantetsu, so it developed even faster. Even so, seeing that the silver-gray metal runway did not bend or sink at all under the heavy weight of the aircraft, Xiang Fei felt a great sense of pride as a soldier of an industrial country for the first time.

"Did we take out the Japanese airport?" Xiang Fei asked the commander of the air force bomber unit.

The bomber unit commander replied excitedly, "Report to the Commander, the runway took at least five or six bombs. We have already taken photos. Even if the Japanese airport isn't completely rendered useless this time, after a few more rounds, that airport definitely won't be able to hold up."

The primary bombing objective must be to destroy the enemy's combat capabilities. Once destroyed, many future troubles can be eliminated. If the rocket artillery coverage fire cannot eliminate all the enemy's important targets, then it is the Air Force's turn to show its power.

The commander then said with regret, "However, we didn't manage to hit the Japanese warships this time. We are quite disappointed. We will definitely try hard to hit them next time."

"Don't say that, and don't think like that!" Xiang Fei immediately replied, "Execute according to orders. Our planes can't withstand a single shell, so don't think too much. The lives of comrades are the most important. It is not yet time to risk your lives."

"Yes!" The bomber group commander immediately replied, "I will go make preparations for takeoff now."

Watching the behemoths on the airfield slowly turning their fuselages, Xiang Fei was filled with pride. With such war strength, they would definitely be able to defeat the Japanese army and recover the national territory.

The Air Force could stay far away from the enemy forces, but the Army had to engage in a bayonet-to-bayonet battle with the Japanese. On the positions leading to the Lushun Fortress, a long line of tricycles formed a mobile unit. These were the diesel-powered tricycles common in mountainous areas in later generations, capable of carrying several tons of supplies at a time. They were very suitable for driving in undulating terrain.

"Party members and Communist Youth League members drive. Comrades sitting in the car, if you see something wrong, jump off immediately. Did you hear me?" The commander shouted loudly, "I'll say it one last time. If you encounter something wrong, comrades must jump off immediately and protect themselves."

Attacking a fortress cannot be done with rifles alone. Bullets with a diameter of less than one centimeter are useless against solid concrete no matter how many are fired. There must be assault equipment. Carrying heavy assault equipment to the front line by manpower alone would consume a lot of time and manpower just for the transportation process. No matter how fast New China developed, it did not have the ability to build tanks from World War II. Therefore, simple motorized tricycles were the important transportation force for this assault.

After listening to the commander's shout, the soldiers shouted in unison: "Yes!"

"Then get in the car, let's go!" The commander shouted, and he himself jumped into the carriage of a tricycle very close to the front. Signal flares and other items were already piled up inside. A squad of eleven soldiers also leaped onto the tricycles. The troops behind them boarded their respective transport vehicles in the convoy according to their formation.

The red flag on the commander's car was held high and waved vigorously. This was the signal for attack. The convoy started moving forward like a long dragon waking up from a deep sleep.

The vanguard officers opened roads through mountains and built bridges across waters. The vanguard troops penetrating deep into the enemy's defensive positions were not meant to rush headlong into the enemy positions, but to control the starting point for the next step. Real offense was not their specialty; offense had to rely on better-equipped troops. Aside from soldiers, every carriage was piled with bullets and other supplies. Heavy fire units also had various small-caliber siege artillery and ammunition. Engineering units also carried some engineering equipment and paving materials like steel plates.

The carriages of these tricycles were also detachable. Once they reached the position, the partitions and such would be removed and thrown on the position to be used to pave roads that were more convenient for vehicles to travel on. In the troops further back, there were also 50mm, 75mm, and 105mm artillery. Since the fight had started, there was no need to hold anything back.

On the road ahead, there were not only tricycle convoys but also many infantrymen. Seeing the convoy rushing over, the troops immediately turned to roads that were more difficult to traverse. Only the engineers were still rushing to repair a simple road that would allow motor vehicles to continue advancing.

At this time, the sky was already bright, and the Japanese artillery had also begun to fire at the advancing positions of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. The rocket artillery of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army also immediately began suppressive counter-fire. Shells fell from time to time in the possible direction of advance of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, while clouds of smoke continued to rise from the Lushun Fortress. In such an exchange of fire, a shell could fly over and hit the convoy at any time. After all, tricycles were not small targets, and the Japanese army would not turn a blind eye to the convoy.

However, the drivers did not hesitate at all. They increased the vehicle speed to the maximum allowed by the road conditions. These were vehicles that had been used quite a lot in mountainous areas. Most comrades of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army came from rural areas, and many even had experience driving this kind of vehicle before enlisting. The advance seemed dangerous, but it did not stop the vehicles from moving forward. On the contrary, the comrades sitting in the cars felt that the tricycles were undulating like small boats on the waves. In many places, they seemed to tilt as if they were about to overturn. But everyone knew this was an illusion. If they didn't move, the vehicle would be fine. Once the comrades on the car moved around, it would be easy to cause problems. The comrades held on tightly to the vehicle, trying to keep their bodies in their original positions. At the same time, they used their legs to brace against the equipment and ammunition loaded in the car so that these things could also maintain their original positions.

The Japanese army indeed discovered this team quickly approaching the fortress. Without much thought, the Japanese army could know what it meant for the enemy to approach them. But this troop was as slippery as a cunning fish, and could not be simply caught by the Japanese artillery.

The Lushun Fortress consisted of more than 40 fort groups and more than 70 artillery batteries. All forts and batteries were protected by barbed wire, traps, landmines, and a large number of infantry bunkers. The rocket artillery's coverage fire turned all barbed wire, traps, minefields, and infantry bunkers into powder, except for the semi-permanent forts and batteries. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army destroyed the Japanese defense plan with the power of steel and fire. The semi-permanent firing points that were still standing firm were all subjected to concentrated strikes by the rocket artillery units. These firing points all had to face a probability problem. If weapons with a large killing area like rocket artillery kept hitting them, then no matter how narrow the gun port was, there was a possibility of being hit. Not to mention that the rocket artillery of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army did not just have high-explosive warheads, nor was it only used as a launch device for poison gas shells.

The convoy was very far from the batteries, and only large-caliber artillery could hit it. While the Japanese artillery was adjusting parameters according to the firing table, preparing to deal a devastating blow to the distant convoy, a new round of artillery fire flew fiercely towards the Japanese batteries, and some of them actually exploded in mid-air. After the explosion, it was not just shrapnel that pounced on the surroundings like a storm. A large number of steel balls were instantly heated to a red-hot degree by the explosion and flew towards the surroundings in large patches.

When the dense steel balls flew towards the battery, the Japanese troops hiding inside were no longer safe and sound. Some Japanese soldiers who were not unlucky enough were directly shot through the head or chest by the steel balls, their bodies collapsing softly. Some unlucky bastards were not killed immediately but suffered heavy injuries, falling to the ground amidst screams. The firing was interrupted instantly. Only a few shells flew towards the convoy.