March 13, 1942, 3:00 AM. Under the cover of darkness, Midway Island had once again replenished its radar and anti-aircraft positions. The Japanese 6th Army, fully re-equipped and manned, waited nervously for the arrival of dawn.

The antennas of the air and surface search radars rotated rhythmically, scanning for signals from the sky or sea. Since Japanese fighter jets carried transponders, their signals did not appear on the fluorescent screens as unidentified blips. Judging solely by the radar display, the sky over Midway was completely empty.

By 8:00 AM, the sun shone brightly on Midway. The sea breeze brushed over the island, and while the smell of gunpowder, fuel, and blood still lingered like a thin mist around the Japanese defenders, the fresh breeze brought a ceaseless sense of comfort, gently but stubbornly stripping away the scent of war.

Upon learning that US aircraft were not attacking, the Combined Fleet Headquarters immediately ordered transport ships to bring more equipment and supplies onto the island. In addition to strengthening defenses, they were to repair the runway as much as possible.

The war had not ended; instead, it was developing into a more intense new stage. The Combined Fleet's goal had never been just to hold Midway, but to occupy the entire Hawaiian archipelago. Regardless of the reason for the US military's halt in attacks, the Japanese forces had to complete their operational objectives.

***

In the US Pacific Fleet Headquarters in Honolulu, Admiral Kimmel stared at the adjutant before him. Withstanding the admiral's angry gaze, the adjutant relayed the latest news, "Logistics informs us that the inventory of aviation gasoline has been depleted. From now on, we can only ship what is produced."

Admiral Kimmel had not expected American production capacity to hit a bottleneck at this moment. The high-octane aviation gasoline produced in the United States was one of the fundamental reasons for the superior performance of US fighter jets. The Rockefeller Company's oil cracking technology was unrivaled globally, having always provided a stable supply of aviation gasoline to the US military. How could there suddenly be a shortage?

The adjutant continued, "Admiral, I have already contacted the logistics department. They explained that domestic pilot training has been expanded, and a large amount of aviation fuel has been provided to various training centers..."

"Fxxk!" Admiral Kimmel cursed aloud in anger. At a time like this, with the war on the front lines being so brutal, to suddenly have a gasoline supply cut—there must be something wrong with the brains of the logistics department!

The adjutant waited for Admiral Kimmel to finish cursing and for his emotions to recover slightly before continuing his explanation. "Logistics said that Pacific Command agreed to their arrangement plan."

Hearing this, Admiral Kimmel stood up in anger, muttering under his breath but not cursing out loud. The US logistics department really wasn't joking; this plan had indeed been submitted to Pacific Command and approved. Kimmel remembered that at the time, everyone within Pacific Command was looking forward to expanding air force training to increase the number of American pilots as quickly as possible.

But that was then, and this is now. Back then, the Pacific Fleet believed the number of combat aircraft needing supply was only 50,000, with daily fighter sorties numbering no more than 6,000. Currently, US fighter sorties exceeded 30,000 per day. The scale had expanded fivefold. Naturally, fuel consumption had also increased fivefold.

It took quite a while for Admiral Kimmel's emotions to settle. He ordered his adjutant, "Contact the Navy General Board immediately. Ask them to prioritize mobilizing fuel supplies for the front line's needs at once. The front line is the highest priority!"

Before this telegram was even sent, the US Navy General Board had already completed its third debate on fuel supply. The Chief of Naval Operations, heads of the logistics department, and officials responsible for war logistics sat around the table, staring at each other in exhaustion.

The War Production Board had already ordered the Rockefeller Consortium to immediately begin building new aviation gasoline processing plants. Whether to build new ones or renovate existing refineries was left to Rockefeller's discretion. The US government demanded that aviation gasoline production be increased fivefold as soon as possible.

The Rockefeller Consortium replied, "Our company has already increased capacity as much as possible. At this stage, we can only complete production according to normal schedules. If the War Production Board believes that forcing Rockefeller to hand over production technology will increase output, Rockefeller is willing to fully cooperate!"

This really wasn't the Rockefeller Consortium deliberately trying to price gouge or hold the US government hostage via production capacity. During the war, representatives from the War Production Board and the military were stationed in every enterprise that accepted US military orders. The job of these "military representatives" was to supervise production. As soon as signs of fuel supply shortages appeared, the US military representatives at the refineries investigated with full force, inspecting and watching the production lines 24 hours a day. After a meticulous investigation, they found absolutely no issue of the Rockefeller Company deliberately holding back production.

The fuel supply for the front lines was five times greater than planned, and the fuel required for training 200,000 pilots in the rear had also increased five times over the plan. Under such ultra-high demand, relevant American industries were running their equipment at full capacity, producing as if their lives depended on it. In the near term, one really couldn't count on a rapid increase in capacity.

Seeing that the others remained silent, the Chief of Naval Operations asked, "Can the War Production Board continue to increase investment?"

The War Production Board representative looked troubled. The issue of money was indeed one of the core difficulties right now. The Pacific War had exceeded the imagination of the War Production Board from the very beginning. Originally, they thought 24 aircraft carriers and 100,000 pilots would be enough to fight this war. When the war actually broke out, the US War Production Board discovered that such preparations were barely enough to wet one's lips; the scale of the war was far beyond their imagination. Consequently, funds were currently stretched to the limit—simply insufficient. The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve were considering how to solve the funding problem. Money was needed everywhere, and it was impossible to pour massive amounts of capital into the aviation gasoline production sector.

But this couldn't be said aloud, so the War Production Board representative pondered for a moment before asking, "I wonder when the new engines and new fighter jets can be committed to the war?"

The officers of the Navy General Board turned their faces away at this, unwilling to meet the representative's gaze. A large reason why the fuel supply had ended up like this was that Chinese fighter jets burned aviation kerosene. The oil fields in Southeast Asia produced mostly light crude oil; the high-quality portion, after slight processing, became excellent diesel or kerosene. Therefore, Chinese fighter jets burning aviation kerosene not only obtained ample fuel more easily, but the price was also much lower than aviation gasoline. Calculating the overall cost, the supply volume of Chinese aviation kerosene was ten times that of US aviation gasoline, and the price was one-fifth.

The US military naturally knew that this type of engine had a massive advantage, but developing an engine that burned aviation kerosene would take several years—it was impossible to finish in the short term. As for the jet engines based on prototypes provided by Germany, even if the plan proceeded very smoothly, they wouldn't be deployable to the battlefield in large numbers until the end of 1942. They couldn't be used to turn the tide of the war right now.

As an old fox in American officialdom, the Chief of Naval Operations waited quietly for what the War Production Board members would say next. Because the other party could not possibly be unaware that such a request was ridiculous.

Sure enough, seeing the Navy General Board members staying silent, the War Production Board representative let his subordinate speak. The young man who spoke said, "What the Pacific Fleet needs now is gasoline. We can prioritize meeting the gasoline demand."

As soon as these words came out, some people in the Navy General Board attending the meeting immediately changed their expressions. Before long, several naval officers who understood the issue also showed a change in their demeanor. The gap between "meeting gasoline demand" and "meeting aviation gasoline demand" was vast.

Could fighter jets fly after burning some ordinary quality gasoline? Of course they could!

Was the difference between a fighter jet burning aviation gasoline and ordinary gasoline significant? The difference wasn't exactly heaven and earth!

But in this moment where the US and Japanese militaries were fighting to the death, a slight difference in fighter performance was enough to lead to being shot down in air combat. As soldiers, their natural thought was how to use the best equipment and fuel to achieve the best combat results. This bit of difference, in the eyes of soldiers, was enormous!

No one in the conference room continued to speak. Especially the US military top brass and the members of the War Production Board; they all knew how to distinguish between priorities. Between "no fuel at the front" and "fuel quality not high at the front," this group knew how to choose. Since the decision had already been made, how to whitewash this decision was not the job of this group of high officials, but the work of the "experts."

Whether it was the generals of the Navy General Board or the committee members of the War Production Board, their gazes inadvertently turned toward some of the experts present.

The meeting went on for another day. Pacific Command received news that they didn't need to worry about fuel supply anymore. The very next day, a report regarding fuel standards was delivered to the US Navy Command and the War Production Board. The United States was indeed the world's top industrial power; by slightly relaxing standards, the US military's aviation gasoline supply problem was solved.

However, the report that the Rockefeller Consortium's technical research division presented at their internal high-level meeting was another matter entirely. This solution was originally obtained by Rockefeller from a competitor. This "aviation gasoline" used more cheap components. Its impact on fighter combat performance was relatively small, but carbon buildup was severe, causing a significant impact on engine life.

The top executives of the Rockefeller Consortium originally thought it was a major issue. After listening carefully to the report, the executives all expressed "acknowledged" with flat expressions. When the head of the technical department left, some among the Rockefeller executives even revealed smiles. Cheaper additives meant it was easier to mass-produce, and Rockefeller's output could increase rapidly.

As for the engine life issue, in the eyes of the executives, it had no impact. At this stage, the average survival time of US fighter jets on the battlefield was less than 100 hours. No matter how severe the carbon buildup was within 100 hours, it couldn't cause real danger. Even if a few unlucky ones crashed due to carbon buildup issues, such losses were negligible.

***

On the morning of March 15, the US military once again launched an attack on Midway Island. Several thousand kilometers to the south, the battle between China and the US for the Solomon Islands had not ceased at all.

The Solomon Islands are located in the southwest Pacific, directly north of eastern Australia, consisting of over 900 islands. The land area is 28,400 square kilometers, with the largest island, Guadalcanal, covering 6,475 square kilometers.

Midway Island, currently being fiercely contested by US and Japanese forces, has an area of 5 square kilometers. The Solomon Islands have a land area of 28,400 square kilometers. To seize the Solomon Islands, China had committed 110 aviation groups, totaling 11,000 fighter jets, as well as 200,000 army troops and hundreds of warships.

For the United States to save Australia, it had to hold the Solomon Islands. And for the United States not to be driven out of the Pacific, it had to hold the Hawaiian archipelago. From the current perspective, the United States wanted to hold Australia and also did not want to be driven out of the Pacific. Therefore, massive forces were committed to both Midway and the Solomon Islands.

The battle for the Solomon Islands had only been going on for nearly two months, yet the waterways near the islands were already filled with large numbers of mines laid by both China and the US. The navies of both sides swept for mines laid by the other daily to ensure the shipping lanes to the islands they occupied. Furthermore, both sides deployed submarines in those broad channels to ambush enemy vessels and submarines.

In the air, as long as weather conditions permitted, air combat between China and the US was continuous.

At this stage, the forest coverage rate of the Solomon Islands was as high as 90%. When the war between China and the US first began, the forest coverage was about 95%. Approximately 5% of the forests—over 1,000 square kilometers—had been destroyed under the fierce artillery fire of both nations!

On these densely forested islands, assault squads from both sides moved through the woodlands, launching lethal raids. Both China and the US were powerful industrial nations, and they showed no hesitation when it came to unleashing saturation bombardment. Moreover, eliminating the forest made enemy movements easier to expose, which made commanders on both sides even less unscrupulous.

On March 15, heavy rain fell over the Solomon Islands, and both Chinese and US forces temporarily ceased fighting. At this time, a ship braved the heavy rain at a dock on a Chinese-occupied island to load a massive crate wrapped in layers of oilcloth. Under the protection of an anti-submarine squad, the ship left the dock and headed straight for the west.

Also on this day, Reichenau looked at the observer ID card he had received, pondering whether to actually attend as an observer. Or perhaps he should just leave Singapore directly.

Over the past few days, Reichenau had not received the news he expected regarding the Battle of Midway. With this ample time, Reichenau completed his assessment of Malaya and the Lanfang Republic. These two regions were undergoing land reform, and the effects were quite good.

Malaya had a population of over ten million. Although grain production in this place wasn't great, it was extremely suitable for planting economic crops like rubber, sisal, palm, and coconut. Therefore, based on Malaysia's geographical environment, China provided a planting direction focused on tropical economic crops.

Malaya still produced some grain itself. By joining the Asian Economic Cooperation Organization, Malaya could obtain grain from Vietnam, Champa, the India region, and Burma through the cooperative organization. Reichenau believed that as long as China could truly ensure the grain trade within the AECO, Malaya's food supply would not be a problem. Economic crops, on the other hand, could allow the living standards of the Malayan people to rise quickly.

Taking the current stage as an example, the Malayan section of the Indochina Railway being built by China was progressing rapidly. Through trade in tropical crops with China, Malaya had started no fewer projects than Vietnam.

One must know that Vietnam had been conquered by China several times since ancient times, and the local people in the regions bordering China belonged to the same ethnicity. In Germany's view, the relationship between Vietnam and China was equivalent to the relationship between Alsace-Lorraine and Germany. The relationship between Malaya and China was similar to the relationship between Belgium and Germany.

Malaya had only been free from colonial rule for a few days, yet it had already started projects similar to those in Vietnam. aside from Malaya's extremely important geographical location, a very important reason was that Malaya had a higher level of development and more commodities available for trade. Precisely because of its high level of development, the Malayan region, with its population of ten million, could provide 200,000 troops.

Among the various countries, the Lanfang Republic was the one that interested Reichenau the most. This country had a very long history; during the Ming Dynasty, some Chinese had settled here, and it gradually developed. It was eventually destroyed by the Dutch colonial government. Therefore, China specifically wanted to restore this country which had strong Chinese bloodlines.

The Lanfang Republic is located on Borneo, also known as Kalimantan Island. Here, mountain ranges extend from the interior in all directions, with the northeast being higher, featuring Southeast Asia's highest peak, Mount Kinabalu, at 4,102 meters above sea level. The terrain undulates gently, rainfall is abundant, and there are many large rivers that branch out into the sea. The forest coverage rate is 80%. Agricultural products include rice, rubber, pepper, sago, coconut, etc. The center of the island is mountainous, while the surroundings are plains. The terrain in the south is very low, forming vast wetlands. Indonesia occupied a large area of this island, mainly distributed in the southern region.

Kalimantan Island is located in the southern part of the Eurasian Plate. The geology is relatively stable, with earthquake zones distributed only along the southern coast. The center of the island is mountainous, while the surroundings are plains. The southern terrain is very low, becoming large wetlands where few people enter, though some indigenous tribes live in the forests. Many places in Kalimantan are covered by primeval forests; aside from the tropical rainforests of the Amazon River basin in South America, the tropical forests of Kalimantan are the largest in the world.

Because of its strong Chinese lineage, even though the population was only over 8 million—several hundred thousand of whom were local tribes—the Lanfang Republic, in order to demonstrate its utility, had openly declared that it would provide 200,000 troops one year after completing land reform.

At this moment, German officers came over with newly obtained newspapers to ask Reichenau for advice. Reichenau saw an article in the newspaper; China's investment in the Lanfang Republic was extraordinary. Targeting this highly humid and hot country, China had signed cooperation agreements with the nation for the planting of agarwood, sandalwood, teak, and Dipterocarpaceae plants. Logically, China's highest priority should be tropical crops, not these precious timbers.

The German General Staff personnel who came here were very puzzled by this and asked Reichenau for the reason. Reichenau's mind was clear at this moment; with a little thought, he understood the logic. So, Reichenau asked, "Do you consider a place that abounds in precious products to be a region similar to a living hell, or a very beautiful region?"

The German officers were stunned, but some had already begun to understand.