Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 264 263 Bombing Effects, Military Competition Within Mount Tai
Taishan-1 hovers high in the sky.

Fang Wen, in a state of mechanical perception, observed the city of Tokyo below.

There aren't many high-rise buildings here, and the nighttime lights aren't as bright as in Shanghai, but the city covers a large area.

In the very center, there is a large, dark area.

That should be the residence of the Japanese Emperor, the only place in Tokyo covered by a large area of ​​trees.

It is surrounded by numerous military and political buildings.

While observing, Fang Wen suddenly received a radio wave positioning signal.

He immediately began preparations for the airdrop, and the plane flew to the signal marker and dropped the first auxiliary fuel tank bomb.

(Aerial view of the Tokyo Imperial Palace during World War II)
April 2, 29:3 in the morning.

Soldiers gathered inside the Prime Minister's residence, waiting for daylight to arrive beside a burning pile.

They hoped to be received by the Emperor and then realize their ambitions, but they did not expect that this assassination attempt would lead to their demise.

But this time, I can't wait any longer.

A huge auxiliary fuel tank bomb fell from the sky and landed in the fire, causing a massive explosion.

Countless sparks shot out, igniting the Prime Minister's residence, while the aviation fuel at the epicenter also experienced a terrifying explosion.

The insurgent soldiers at the epicenter of the explosion perished in the inferno.

Yoshida, who was hiding in the distance, was stunned by this amazing accuracy.

Seeing the sky filled with shooting fire, he suddenly pounded on the room where the Prime Minister was hiding.

"Prime Minister, open the door quickly, we have a chance to escape."

The door opened, and the prime minister, dressed in servant's attire, leaned out to look at the towering flames outside. "What's going on?"

"I don't know either." Yoshida pretended not to know and helped the prime minister toward the back door.

Because of the sudden explosion, the guards at the back gate were gone, and the two of them were able to leave the Prime Minister's residence safely.

On the dark street, the two had no idea where to go.
Yoshida helped the Prime Minister walk toward the military headquarters.

Along the way, the rebel forces of the First Division set up outposts at various locations, making it almost impossible to get through.

With a determined heart, Yoshida activated the airdrop guidance device in his backpack once again.

He aimed at the palace gates, the Metropolitan Police Department, the rebel stronghold, the government building, and the military headquarters in the distance.

Then, the bombs arrived as expected, each target being hit by a secondary fuel tank bomb, with towering flames accompanied by continuous burning.

Then came a continuous barrage of small napalm bombs raining down from the sky.

The bombings plunged Tokyo into chaos, and the situation, which had eased during the day, deteriorated rapidly.

A barrage of gunfire erupted, accompanied by air raid sirens and shouts for help to put out fires.

Taishan-1, flying over Tokyo, completed all its airdrops in just 30 minutes.

Six auxiliary fuel tank bombs were dropped on six different targets, and 200 packs of napalm bombs were also used to fuel the fire.

From Fang Wen's mechanical perception, the six fire zones below, with their numerous burning wooden houses, must have caused enormous damage.

However, the Japanese Air Force did not remain indifferent to this bombing.

A radar alarm sounded in the cockpit. Although there was no definite location information, Fang Wen judged from the alarm feedback that dozens of aircraft had taken off from a military airport near Tokyo.

These planes came to intercept us; the Japanese planes, completely inexperienced in night flying and attacking, had gone mad.

Fang Wen felt that these planes might even use suicide ramming to intercept him, and he didn't want to get entangled with these Bushido lunatics, so the plane climbed up again.

Taishan-1 climbed to an altitude of over 6000 meters and, under the cover of night, flew northward.

Now we need to create a false impression so that the Japanese know the mysterious bombers are preparing to return to a secret base somewhere in Siberia.

Japanese fighter planes, taking off one after another, were also exploring this direction.

They darted through the night sky like blind men, trying to find the stealthy bombers.

Two Ki-5 biplane monoplane fighters collided in mid-air because they were not flying in formation.

A massive burst of fire erupted upon impact, but the light illuminated the shadow of a large enemy bomber hidden in deep space, prompting Japanese fighters to immediately turn around and encircle it.

It was discovered!

Fang Wen's heart tightened.

His mechanical perception revealed a large number of aircraft of various models flying towards him, as if he had stirred up a hornet's nest.

Among them was the Type 95 fighter jet, which had a speed of 400 kilometers per hour.

Although this biplane fighter lacks maneuverability, it has a significant speed advantage, and once caught up, it is difficult to escape.

Fang Wen immediately adjusted his flight strategy, tilting the aircraft and heading northeast.

Two Type 95 fighter jets passed each other, completely unaware that they had lost track of their target.

However, not all of these enemy aircraft could be shaken off.

Three more Type 95 fighter jets spotted the Taishan by the light from their air-fired bullets and followed it.

One of them even crashed into the right wing of the Taishan.

As it approached, Fang Wen made a downward maneuver with his right wing, and the huge bomber wing cut off half of the Type 95 fighter's wing.

The enemy plane instantly lost its balance and tumbled toward the ground.

The impact caused a violent tremor inside the cabin, and Pan Jiafeng exclaimed, "Master, have we been hit?"

"No, the wing just hit an enemy plane. It's too fragile; it fell apart." Fang Wen joked with a smile.

In such a tense environment, the words spoken by the master and apprentice made the atmosphere more relaxed.

While controlling the aircraft to escape pursuit, Fang Wen talked with Pan Jiafeng. Although it was a conversation, he was also educating the three Red Army pilots.

“During night flights, especially when carrying out covert missions, secrecy and stealth are of utmost importance. Therefore, I removed all the original machine guns from the Taishan-1. The light source emitted by the machine guns would expose our location and cause us to lose a precious opportunity to evacuate.”

“I understand, Master. The success of the operation and our safe return are what we need to consider,” Pan Jiafeng replied.

Fang Wen replied, "That's during special missions. If it's a head-on battle, it's different. At that time, we need the cooperation of the entire combat team to achieve victory and safety through offensive and team combat capabilities."

After saying that, he fell silent, controlled the plane to change direction again, successfully broke through the last layer of blind interceptors, and the plane entered the sea area.

After entering the sea area, Taishan No. 1 continued to fly north until it was certain that there were no pursuers, then suddenly changed direction and flew south.

At 4 a.m., the plane turned back to the Korea Strait.

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to lighten, and the edge of the sun's wheel appeared on the distant horizon.

Fang Wen immediately controlled the plane to climb higher and disappear into the clouds.

Under the cover of clouds, the plane crossed the Korean Strait and the Yellow Sea, and flew into Chinese airspace.

Once inside Chinese airspace, it was considered safe. The Nationalist government's air force wouldn't patrol here every day, and Japanese planes wouldn't come over either.

And so, having completed its bombing run over Tokyo, Taishan-1, under the cover of the rising sun, disappeared into the clouds and flew back to Xiangxi Airport. It was already 2 p.m.

That afternoon, Taishan No. 1, loaded with a cabin full of cigarettes and traditional Chinese medicine, flew to Nanchang and Fuzhou.

With such cover-up, no one would suspect that the Taishan was related to the bombing of Tokyo.

After the bombing of Tokyo, Japan, ended, Fang Wen instructed those involved to keep it a secret and then looked forward to the effects of the bombing.

He had two channels to learn about the subsequent developments of this matter: one was Yoshida, and the other was intelligence channels in Shanghai.

Yoshida's reply didn't come until a week later.

He described what happened next in the telegram.

He was commended for his heroic rescue of the prime minister, and no one suspected that he was involved in the bombing.

This also allowed them to escape the negative influence of the Imperial Way Faction.

The subsequent gathering of intelligence from various sources also gave Fang Wen an understanding of what was to come.

The prime minister ultimately resigned as a result.

The First Division was immediately dispatched abroad, and the Imperial Way Faction was completely purged.

Meanwhile, some intelligence analysts believe that the Soviet Union was likely involved in the mutiny, and the bombing that night is one piece of evidence.

In response, Japan lodged a protest with the Soviet Union, but received no response.

These results did not achieve the effect Fang Wen wanted.

His original plan was to kill several high-ranking Japanese officials during the bombing, thus muddying the waters even further.

However, the daytime defection increased the security awareness of the high-ranking officers, and as a result, the nighttime bombing did not achieve much except for burning down a large number of Japanese military and political buildings and causing some casualties among the soldiers of the 1st Division and the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters.

In response, Fang Wen could only lament that Japan's fate was not yet sealed.

The bombing of Tokyo has come to an end.

Fang Wen continued with other preparations.

1936 October.

One month after its establishment, the American Taishan International Security Company recruited 500 retired military personnel from Europe and the United States as its first batch of employees.

The company signed its first business deal, and its first batch of employees were sent to the Marshall Islands to become local mercenaries, responsible for security and protection.

On March 7, Germany sent troops to take control of the Rhineland, a demilitarized region that had been separated during World War I, and the situation in Europe suddenly became tense.

The remilitarization and even Nazi-ization of Germany, a former main combatant in World War I, has caused some concern among European countries.

Meanwhile, in Asia, the first batch of mercenaries recruited by Taishan has arrived in Yangon.

Meanwhile, the third Taishan Flying Club event will also be held.

Furthermore, research is also underway on plans to militarize civilian aircraft for wartime use.

Fang Wen, who had spent a month in Wuhan, had no choice but to return to Yangon.

The plane landed in Yangon. Fang Wen got off the plane, followed by William and Howard.

William is there to manage the mercenaries, while Howard is there to help with the military conversion of civilian aircraft.

As for the three Red Army flight cadets, they remained in Wuhan to continue their flight training.

He took William and Howard to the industrial park, had Bai Zeshan take Howard to the aircraft manufacturing plant, and then took William to the place where the mercenaries were staying.

The mercenaries were stationed near the shooting range behind the industrial park, which was originally a bullet testing area. Now, a long row of bungalows has been built there, making it a suitable camp for the mercenaries.

He and William entered the barracks area and witnessed a scene of chaos.

Everywhere you look, there are burly mercenaries playing cards, soccer, doing laundry, and even watching fights.

Fang Wen asked William, "What do you think of these people?"

William responded, "They are all very confident people, and I think none of them are willing to submit to the others, which makes them difficult to manage."

"Then do you have any idea?"

“I can’t do anything about it. They’re not even from the same army. There’s bound to be competition and hostility between them. Forcing them into one group would probably only make things worse.”

Hearing William's words, Fang Wen agreed. How to integrate this group of mercenaries who were capable of fighting but did not cooperate was a problem.

At this moment, Wu Yingzong, Chen Suoxin, and Liu Yinshou arrived.

These people were recruited by Chen Suoxin and Liu Yinshou. Fang Wen was going to listen to their opinions.

Unexpectedly, Wu Yingzong interjected, "General Manager, I think it's okay for soldiers to be a little arrogant, but they have to be truly capable to be arrogant, otherwise they'll be looked down upon by others."

Wu Yingzong is the commander of the Taishan Volunteer Army. His soldiers are martial arts figures recruited from across the country, and they are all people with some skills.

Clearly, he felt that these foreign soldiers were a bit too arrogant and had developed a competitive attitude.

Yes, the thing the military fears least is competition; a soldier who is afraid of competition cannot be considered a good soldier.

Through competition, these foreign mercenaries should be able to quickly integrate and develop a sense of teamwork.

Immediately, Fang Wen discussed the matter with Wu Yingzong and William.

On that day, accompanied by Chen Suoxin and Liu Yinshou, William announced that he had become the commander of the mercenaries.

After becoming a commander, William communicated with soldiers from all sides of the mercenary group. After establishing a certain emotional bond, he suddenly assembled the troops and made an announcement.

"Gentlemen, our Taishan International Mercenary Corps is newly established. Other friendly forces do not recognize our capabilities and have challenged us. They have agreed to a competition in three days. If we win, they are willing to pay compensation and apologize to us. If we lose, they will have to hang a banner of the loser outside our camp. Do you dare to accept the challenge?"

This was a competition that inspired a sense of collective honor, and the foreign mercenary soldiers could not tolerate the humiliation of being a coward, so they immediately accepted the challenge.

Three days later, the two sides began military competition.

The competition content was specially designed by the general manager.

The competition is divided into three parts: orienteering and intelligence gathering, tactical shooting competition, and battlefield rescue and medical assistance.
Orienteering and intelligence gathering objectives:
Teams must navigate complex terrain (mountains, jungles, rivers) within a limited time, using maps and limited intelligence clues, to find and collect "intelligence documents" scattered throughout the area.

Rules: Use simple navigation tools such as compasses and maps to evade the pursuit of the "enemy" patrol team while completing physical challenges (climbing, jumping obstacles, etc.).

Scoring: The score is based on a combination of the amount of intelligence collected, the number of remaining operatives, and the completion time.

Tactical shooting competition content:

Simulating real combat scenarios, multiple shooting areas are set up, including static targets, moving targets, and concealed targets, testing the participants' shooting accuracy, reaction speed, and tactical application capabilities.

Rating: A comprehensive score based on hit rate, time taken, and tactical execution effectiveness.

Battlefield rescue and medical assistance objectives:
Simulates personnel search and rescue and emergency medical care procedures in a battlefield environment.

Content: Participating teams must conduct preliminary injury assessment, hemostasis and bandaging, stretcher transport and other first aid measures for the "injured" within a limited time, and safely transfer them to the designated area.

Scoring: The overall score is based on the effectiveness of the treatment of the wounded, the speed of transfer, and the quality of teamwork.

The three events include competitions that assess field combat capabilities, as well as shooting and battlefield medical treatment competitions, which can most directly evaluate the overall strength of the two sides' troops.

Fang Wen also wanted to use this opportunity to see which of the two units he had assembled was stronger.

(End of this chapter)