Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 12, Newspaper News, September 12 Incident, Secret Operations
The group got into the car and stopped at Danfeng Restaurant in Laoximen.

Manager Xie led everyone inside and enthusiastically introduced the restaurant: "This restaurant has a long history, dating back to the Guangxu era. It started as a noodle shop and later became a restaurant specializing in Anhui cuisine, which is quite delicious."

He was clearly a regular here, and the people in the restaurant gave him a warm welcome.

After taking their seats in a private room on the second floor, Manager Xie discussed with the restaurant owner what dishes they wanted to order.

Fang Wen looked out the window.

A newsboy ran down the street carrying a large stack of newspapers, shouting, "Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! Read the newspaper to know what's going on in the world!"

Newspapers were the best way to get information in this era. Fang Wen waved: "Hey kid selling newspapers, come up here, I want to buy a newspaper."

The newsboy looked up, then happily ran upstairs to show Fang Wen the newspaper in his hand.

"How much?" Fang Wen asked.

"Five copper coins a piece, sir, why don't you buy two to make it a round number?" the newsboy said ingratiatingly.

"Here you go." Yue Jinping took out some loose copper coins from her purse and gave them to the newsboy.

Then, Fang Wen picked up two different newspapers and slowly flipped through them.

At that time, newspapers contained many advertisements and various industry information, as well as recent major domestic and international events, and even included current affairs commentaries.

Looking at these materials, Fang Wen gained some understanding of the recent situation.

Italy invaded Abyssinia.

“Where is Abyssinia?” he asked.

“North Africa, roughly this location.” Fei Yizhen dipped her teacup in the water and drew a map of North Africa on the table.

Judging from his drawing, Abyssinia should be the future Ethiopia.

It seems that the prelude to World War II has begun.

After turning the page on this simply described report, Fang Wen turned his attention to the domestic situation.

"The Central Army and the four families of Feng, Yan, and Li engaged in a major battle in the Central Plains, vying for control of the Central Plains."

Was there such a large-scale war in China in 1930?

Fang Wen was surprised; the newspapers described hundreds of thousands of troops fighting a major battle in the Central Plains.

This includes all of China's important military forces.

According to the newspapers, 300,000 people were killed or injured. If it weren't for the Zhang family from Northeast China interfering after entering the pass, the fighting would have continued.

Fang Wen couldn't help but sigh. The September 18 Incident was about to break out next year, and the Northeast was about to fall. Yet the country was still in disarray, fighting for territory.

It's truly a deeply entrenched problem that's difficult to reverse!

Manager Xie noticed Fang Wen's unusual expression and asked, "Specialist Fang, what news did you see that resonated with you?"

"It's not the Central Plains War yet; the newspapers say the casualties are heavy," Fang Wen replied.

"I heard that the Central Army has sent its air force to fight, but unfortunately I won't have the chance to fly a fighter jet and fight the enemy." Fei Yizhen said with longing.

Fang Wen glanced at Fei Yizhen; he would never do something like piloting a plane to kill his fellow countrymen.

If we're going to do it, we should wait until the War of Resistance against Japan begins and then go fight the Japanese.

Of course, he wouldn't reveal this thought.

A stable life slips away quietly like this.

Fang Wen spends most of his time at airports and on airplanes.

This monotony was, however, a necessary form of training for him, because he would soon be facing the enemy.

He believed that the flying skills he had demonstrated would definitely be useful after the outbreak of the war, and that if he did not consolidate his training now, there would probably be many problems during the war.

Therefore, in addition to his regular daily flights, he applies for a test flight every day.

This is permitted by company regulations, yet no pilot has ever used this rule so frequently.

Through these test flights, he tried to reduce the difficulty by attempting small climbs, sudden descents, sharp turns, and cloud shifts in aerial tactics.

They will also cultivate good relations with the airport's security forces and spend some money to learn basic firearms shooting.

I also need to learn aircraft maintenance from Howard.

Fei Yizhen and Yue Jinping also benefited greatly from the flight and test flights, and gradually began to master the piloting skills of Detroit-type commercial aircraft.

And just like that, the new year arrived.

Fei Yizhen successfully completed her flight training and became another Chinese pilot for China Airlines.

However, Yue Jinping suddenly disappeared just as she was about to become a civil aviation pilot.

Fang Wen was very concerned about this and inquired about Yue Jinping's whereabouts.

Manager Xie said he didn't know anything; Yue Jinping disappeared without even saying goodbye.

He even tried to contact Yue Jinping using the contact information left in her file, only to find that all the information was fake. Only Fei Yizhen, who knew something, subtly indicated that Yue Jinping was fine and had simply gone to a better place.

1931 9 Month 18 Day.

Fang Wen, who had never asked for leave before, made a special request for a day off.

He returned to the city and ordered a takeout of braised beef, a pot of Shaoxing wine, some seasonal cold dishes, and peanuts from a restaurant outside the concession.

Back at his residence in the French Concession with these items, Fang Wen took out an FM radio that Howard had given him from under his bed.

We drank wine, ate beef side dishes, and then slowly tuned the radio.

The radio waves kept emitting static until we switched to the Nationalist government channel.

Next comes the waiting.

I don’t know how long it took.

The announcer solemnly broadcasts an urgent news report.

"The Japanese army in Northeast China today blew up the South Manchurian Railway tracks built by the Japanese near Liutiaohu, Shenyang, and blamed it on our army. They used this as a pretext to bombard the Beidaying barracks of the Northeast Army. We strongly condemn this behavior."

it has started.

Fang Wen downed his drink in one gulp. Condemnation was useless; the matter was already settled, and there was no chance of winning without resistance.

Unfortunately, history still unfolded the same way.

Following Zhang Xueliang's orders, Rong Zhen, the chief of staff of the Northeast Army, issued a military order to the Northeast Army: "No resistance, no movement, put the guns in the armory, stand still and die, everyone die for the country."

On September 19, at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Zhang Shaoshuai reiterated to a reporter from the Tianjin Ta Kung Pao: "I had long ago ordered my soldiers not to resist any provocations from the Japanese troops. Therefore, my troops at Beidaying had long ago ordered the collection of their weapons and stored them in the warehouse."

Due to the execution of the order not to resist, the garrison at Beidaying was defeated by a Japanese force that was less than one-tenth the size of its own, and Shenyang fell in less than a day.

These events, broadcast southward to Shanghai via radio, sparked outrage among students and patriots who took to the streets to protest the Japanese invasion.

Fang Wen was also considering whether or not to join the ranks of those fighting against the Japanese.

But where can you find a fighter jet that you can pilot at will?
With no immediate prospects, Fang Wen could only continue flying and piloting while waiting for an opportunity.

It wasn't until twenty days after the September 18 Incident.

Fang Wen, who was in the airport dormitory, heard a knock on his door.

Fang Wen got up and opened the door, and was surprised.

Standing outside the door was Yue Jinping, dressed in a crisp military uniform, looking dashing and spirited.

"Where did you go?" Fang Wen asked in surprise.

"I'm now with the Fuxing Society. Specialist, I'm here to invite you to participate in a mission," Yue Jinping replied.

Fuxing Society? Fang Wen was surprised. The name sounded familiar. Right, could it be the predecessor of the Military Intelligence Bureau?

This should have been a newly established intelligence agency at that time, and I never expected that Yue Jinping would go there.

"What mission?" he asked.

"Come with me on a civilian plane to the Northeast and bring back something very important."

"Why use civilian aircraft? You know that civilian aircraft are much less capable than military aircraft, and they would be in great danger if they were detected."

“We cannot use military aircraft to carry out this mission, so only specialists can do it.”

Fang Wen hesitated. This was clearly not a regular military operation, and he didn't want to participate.

"I am not interested."

Yue Jinping entered the room, closed the door, and immediately hugged Fang Wen's waist.

“Commissioner, I know you’re ambitious. You’ll receive a tenth of the reward after this operation. With that money, you can do whatever you want.”

Fang Wen was intrigued. Through Howard, he learned of a way to purchase new fighter jets from the United States.

The problem is money. A small private airport requires a lot of money to maintain, supply, and vehicles.

The currency has been changed in this chapter.

Based on suggestions from netizens and information found online.

The silver dollars at that time should have been:

The standard for a large silver dollar is mostly based on the Yuan Shikai silver dollar.

There were also smaller denominations of silver dollars (ranging from one-fifth to one-tenth of the original value).

However, ordinary people mostly used copper coins for exchange.

During different periods and regions of the Republic of China, the exchange rate between silver dollars and copper coins varied, but it was generally greater than 1000. In some places, it was even higher than 1500.
As for purchasing power, Xiangzi earned 4.5 silver dollars a month pulling a rickshaw, while Lu Xun earned 200 silver dollars a month. You can do the math yourself.

If there are any further questions regarding currency, they can be discussed in this chapter; I'm learning as well.



(End of this chapter)