The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943

Wow!

The barbecue master!

Wait, shouldn't he be in Chengdu commanding the B-29 bombers right now?

How did he end up here?

History has taken a slight detour here. Originally, after nearly twenty months of "barbecue training" against Germany, LeMay, already a master of the craft, was transferred to the Pacific theater to command the 20th Bomber Command in the China-Burma-India region. There, he began his "barbecue" campaign against Japan, earning the title of Grandmaster of Barbecue.

But because of the advent of aerial refueling, bombing Tokyo became possible. To ensure the best results, under Roosevelt's intervention, LeMay—who had brilliantly orchestrated the "Hamburg firestorm" that killed over 100,000 Germans—was sent to the Pacific, to Amchitka Island.

LeMay, a man of few words and not given to smiling, rarely greeted people proactively. But the aerial refueling technology showed him a whole new future for strategic bombing, and out of gratitude, he took the initiative to greet Pierre.

Seeing that Pierre didn't react, LeMay didn't mind. Clenching his cigar between his teeth, he turned his gaze to the bombers taking off. Just then, a light voice drifted into his ear.

"General, I noticed we're using high-explosive bombs, right?"

"Mm."

"I'm afraid they won't be very effective."

"What?"

LeMay, cigar in mouth, frowned.

"What did you say?"

"General, Japan is full of wooden houses. High-explosive bombs, while their shrapnel and shockwaves can easily tear apart wooden structures, that's about the extent of their effect. So why not use incendiaries? If you use incendiary bombs, each one can start a fire, and dozens can create a raging inferno. Remember, during the Great Kanto Earthquake twenty years ago, just a few toppled stoves set the entire city ablaze. If you use incendiaries, the effect will be far better than high-explosives."

Staring at the barbecue master before him, Pierre almost wanted to say—You've been experimenting with incendiaries for years, and in Hamburg you dropped over a thousand tons of them, creating firestorms that swept for kilometers and killed nearly a hundred thousand Germans. How come when you get to Japan, you suddenly play innocent?

Stop pretending. Hurry up and use incendiaries!

LeMay, turning silently to look at Pierre, cigar still in his mouth, gazed at him for a moment before finally saying, "Not enough planes."

"What?"

"Planes. Right now, I only have 100 B-29s, so I can only drop 200 tons of bombs in one sortie. To achieve the best effect, we'd need at least 1,000 tons. Right now..."

He paused, then continued,

"There's no need to alert the enemy prematurely. Besides, we still need to get familiar with the atmospheric conditions over Japan. We don't know yet whether the daylight precision bombing tactics we used in Germany will work here—the weather is different. So, we'll need a few raids before we can make a judgment."

You have to admit, a barbecue master is a barbecue master—an expert reveals himself with a single move. Clearly, LeMay is a true expert in the field. After all, anyone who could reduce Hamburg to ashes in just a few days is a barbecue master, just one step away from becoming the "Grandmaster of Barbecue" with a strike on Tokyo.

Standing before such a man, Pierre knew he'd be showing off before a true expert. After all, this barbecue master had spent dozens of months "grilling" in Europe, with plenty of hands-on experience.

"General, you are brilliant."

This was not flattery, but heartfelt admiration. There were few people Pierre truly respected, but this barbecue grandmaster was one of them.

After offering his praise, Pierre continued,

"But, General, you just mentioned daytime bombing. Actually, in my opinion, the best way to deal with Japan is still nighttime bombing."

"Oh? Why is that?" Li Mei asked in return.

"Because Japan is backward!" Pierre's answer left Li Mei momentarily at a loss, but then he explained:

"Japan is different from Germany. It's a backward industrial nation, especially in electronics, where it lags far behind Germany. This means their radar technology is very primitive. If we bomb at night, without the help of radar, Japan's air defenses are like blind men. The darkness itself is the best protection for our bomber formations. What do you think, General?"

With that, Pierre turned to look at Li Mei, his expression earnest. After all, nighttime barbecues would become Master Li's signature move in the future.

Come to think of it, isn't eating barbecue itself a part of nightlife?

Grill it up—human flesh, that is.

"That's true. Even in Germany, losses during nighttime bombing are quite low, and besides…" Li Mei trailed off. The B-29 bomber had another little-known feature: a cloud-penetrating radar. It could target bombing runs through thick clouds. Clouds obscure vision, and so does the night, but the cloud-penetrating radar works just as well at night!

After a moment's calculation, Li Mei realized that nighttime bombing seemed to be the best possible choice.

"Moreover, General, I think we can find ways to maximize our bomb load."

"Oh? Increase the bomb load? Do you have any good suggestions?"

Although Li Mei was usually a man of few words and a stern demeanor, he was always talkative with fellow professionals.

"There are several ways. For example, we could remove all the machine guns and ammunition from the planes. At night, Japanese fighters can't effectively intercept our bombers anyway. And if, in the future, we can take off from somewhere closer, we could reduce the fuel load as well. That way, we could carry even more bombs."

In fact, everything from using incendiary bombs, to nighttime bombing, to stripping the bombers of all their machine guns, to limiting their fuel load—these were all Li Mei's innovations. He used these very tactics to burn Japan into a wasteland, though the large-scale firebombing wouldn't begin until the following year. Now, with his own involvement, he could at least start a few fires ahead of schedule!

A fire in winter warms the hearts of the little Japanese.

Acts of kindness, like sending warmth in the snow, always bring joy.

Surely, when the little Japanese find out, they'll be moved to tears of gratitude.

What happens when a barbecue enthusiast meets a barbecue master? Of course, they'll have endless things to talk about.

In the time that followed, the two of them discussed "barbecue," and discovered they shared strikingly similar views on many points, feeling as if they'd met a kindred spirit.

For Pierre, the most gratifying thing at this moment was that he had truly contributed, however modestly, to the Great Tokyo Barbecue.

It wasn't much—just starting the fires a little earlier.

Even if it's just a few months ahead of schedule, that could mean tens or hundreds of thousands more burned...