Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 354 352 Secret Behind-Enemy-Lines Transport Route: Taishan Airlines Fully Enters the Military Industry

The Battle of Taiyuan has ended.

Fang Wen did not lead the team into battle again.

Now in Fuping, he has many things to do.

For example, the construction of military outposts outside the county seat and the preparation of various military and living supplies are not easy tasks.

Therefore, Fang Wen needs to bring a group of professionals from Wuhan to assist him.

Before leaving, he made arrangements for each department.

The 1st Aviation Battalion (fighter battalion) of the Independent Regiment remained at Xi'an Airport until the situation in Fuping was consolidated.

The 2nd Air Battalion (gunship and aircraft battalion) and the 3rd Ground Battalion (lacking mobile units) had already arrived in Fuping and were mainly there to assist in maintaining order in the county and to guard against small groups of Japanese troops.

As for the Provisional Seventh Division, which was still marching in the Taihang Mountains, Fang Wen instructed Wu Yingzong not to pursue marching speed too much, but to wait for him to return from Wuhan so that he could airdrop marching supplies and ensure the quality of the march in the mountains.

After making these arrangements, Fang Wen took off from Shahe Water Airport in his Water Tiger No. 4 gunboat.

This flight is urgent; I won't be staying in Wuhan for long, but there are many things to arrange.

To ensure a direct flight from Fuping to Wuhan as quickly as possible, Fang Wen only brought Gong Xiuneng and Kuang Anming with him. At the same time, he unloaded the military supplies from the plane, so that they could fly more than 900 kilometers without having to transfer at the water airport on the Huai River.

The plane departed at night, flew over the Japanese-occupied area between Shijiazhuang and Yangquan, then crossed the Yellow River in the Kaifeng section into Henan Province, and then crossed the Huai River to reach Hubei Province.

After a flight of more than four hours, the plane crossed the Japanese war zone and arrived over Wuhan.

It was still dark, but the river surface near Wuhan Water Airport was brightly lit, guiding Fang Wen to the landing location.

The plane landed smoothly at Wuhan Water Airport. Fang Wen turned the plane around and slowly taxied towards the airport dock, where it docked a moment later.

Gong Xiuneng opened the hatch and was the first to jump onto the dock, where he tied the cable to the dock's anchor pile.

Fang Wen and Kuang Anming then got off the plane.

At the dock, many people were waiting for Fang Wen.

Manager Liu, Sun Debiao, Fang Shouxin, Shao Sishen, Howard.

Also present were Kwong Ming-chu, and Chun-cao and Qiu-ju.

They greeted them with great excitement.

Sun Debiao spoke up quickly: "General Manager, your deeds in Taiyuan have been reported in the newspapers and are known throughout the country. Even here, people are saying that you beat the Japanese really well. It's no fun for me, the manager of the Air Distribution Department, to stay in the rear. Let me go to the army and fight alongside you."

He started it, and others eagerly followed suit.

Fang Wen quickly spoke up: "War is not that simple. Without your hard work behind the scenes, where would our supplies, weapons and ammunition come from? What you are doing is also very important. I came back this time specifically to discuss with you the construction of combat bases behind enemy lines."

After hearing Fang Wen's explanation, everyone wanted to know the details.

Kuang Mingzhu spoke up, "Let's not discuss this here, let's talk about it back at headquarters."

Fang Wen nodded and followed a group of people to get into the car in the airport parking area.

As usual, Fang Wen had to drive himself. He sat in the driver's seat, and his wife sat in the passenger seat.

Gong Xiuneng and Kuang Anming, on the other hand, sat in the back.

As the car drove towards headquarters, Kuang Mingzhu turned to her younger brother and asked, "Anming, how are you doing in Shanxi? Are you feeling unwell? What do you want to bring back this time? Tell me and I'll prepare it for you."

Kuang Anming felt a little awkward: "Sister, you're such a grown-up, don't say that. I'm doing very well in the army, and the regimental commander takes good care of me."

"What commander? You should call him brother-in-law here. My parents asked me to give you a message: they want you to go on a blind date."

Hearing Kuang Mingzhu's words, Fang Wen asked in surprise, "I'll only be here for one day. Is there enough time for Kuang Anming to go on a blind date?"

“There’s still time. The woman works at the company and is someone Anming has known since childhood,” Kuang Mingzhu replied.

"Alright, we'll arrange for them to meet after the meeting," Fang Wen, representing Kuang Anming, agreed.

Now, even if Kuang Anming was unwilling, he had no choice but to obey.

A dozen minutes later, the convoy arrived at the headquarters of Taishan Airlines.

The security at Taishan Airlines headquarters is now managed by five top-notch investigative personnel, and is extremely tight, with security personnel both overt and covert. Fang Wen made a special trip outside the headquarters and was very satisfied with the situation.

The car then drove into the headquarters compound.

The group got out of the car, entered the headquarters building, and began the meeting.

Fang Wen directly explained the situation.

“Fuping is located in the Taihang Mountains, which has a natural geographical advantage and can block the advance of the Japanese army. However, it is relatively remote and is not a wealthy place. The county town's economy is difficult to support the locals, let alone the Independent Regiment and the 8000 soldiers of the Provisional 7th Division who are about to arrive. In order to ensure that the troops can operate normally behind enemy lines, I plan to open a secret route to Fuping to transport various supplies there.”

As expected of someone in the aviation industry, Fang Wen directly used his expertise to solve the problem.

Others at the meeting also agreed that this was the best approach.

Shao Sichen asked, "Then what should we do?"

Fang Wen asked Gong Xiuneng and Kuang Anming to unfold the homemade map they had brought.

"The Japanese army is still north of the Yellow River. I expect they will not cross the Yellow River for the time being. Our secret route will take us along the Han River. We will depart from Wuhan, transit through Xiangyang, arrive in Xi'an, and finally fly from Xi'an to Fuping."

This flight route design was the safest flight path Fang Wen could think of, and it would not encounter harassment from Japanese aircraft in most areas.

The most dangerous leg of the journey was between Taiyuan and Fuping.

Fang Wen then gave everyone an explanation.

With Shanghai already occupied, the Japanese army is preparing to advance south into central China. Japanese aircraft from Tianjin are currently targeting the Shandong area, making the airspace over Shanxi safer.

After hearing Fang Wen's explanation, everyone began to discuss this secret route.

Sun Debiao said first, "What I mean is that we will purchase supplies in Wuhan, then transport them to Xi'an, and then deliver them to Fuping. That's no problem. We can get started right away."

Shao Sichen, however, thought differently: "Even if Japanese planes don't appear over Shanxi for the time being, this flight route still needs to be kept secret. If the Japanese discover it during the flight, there will probably be problems later."

Fang Wen nodded: "Yes. Therefore, the flight from Xi'an to Fuping will be scheduled after nightfall."

"Using seaplanes for night flights? How do those pilots determine their direction? How do they land safely at the seaplane airport in Fuping?" Shao Sishen asked doubtfully.

In response, Kuang Mingzhu explained: "I recently went to Changsha and met with physics professors at Tsinghua University to convey my husband's message. They have already developed the corresponding equipment based on my husband's ideas."

Everyone was surprised and didn't know what it was.

Kuang Mingzhu asked Chuncao to open the door, and several staff members brought in a cart loaded with equipment. This thing was over a meter tall, and even Fang Wen, who had proposed the idea, had never seen anything like it before.

Kuang Mingzhu explained, "This is the radio wave pointing device that my husband suggested and that was designed and manufactured by the professors at Huaqing University. Now, the students from Huaqing University will explain it."

A shy student from Tsinghua University explains the equipment.

"This radio wave pointing device is mainly based on the amplification and modulation principle of vacuum tubes. It continuously transmits radio wave signals of a specific frequency through a ground transmitter, and the receiver on the aircraft is responsible for receiving these signals and determining the aircraft's heading based on the signal strength and direction. We have adopted radar positioning technology, which is currently under research, because it is a fixed signal source, making it easier to implement."

"The signal receiver locator we see on the aircraft has only one function: to receive specific radio waves from the location signal source. If the aircraft's heading does not match the location of the signal source, an alarm will sound, and the pointer on the machine will guide you to the correct position."

He then gave a demonstration.

Once the device is turned on, if the current segment is facing the wrong direction, an electronic buzzing alarm will sound, and the device's pointer will point in the correct direction.

This device is like a large automatic compass, using internal mechanical devices to locate targets.

Fang Wen was very satisfied with this; even a single guiding device has great uses.

He asked, "How heavy is the equipment? Will it be troublesome to install and use? Is the production process complicated?"

The student replied, "The weight on the aircraft side is 60 kilograms, and the weight on the ground side is 200 kilograms. The principle is still the same as radar positioning. The equipment is not complicated. Your factory should be able to make it."

Fang Wen nodded and instructed, "Then take the company plane to Yangon today with the data and the prototype. I will arrange for people in Yangon to receive you and try to produce the equipment as soon as possible."

"Let's go today! Okay." The students from Huaqing University didn't expect Fang Wen to be so decisive, but they agreed.

Immediately, Fang Wen contacted Bai Zeshan in Yangon by telegram, explained the situation, and then arranged for a Boeing 247 undergoing maintenance to transport people and equipment documents to Yangon.

After these arrangements were completed, Fang Wen continued the meeting.

Besides the secret transport routes, he had other things to do.

"That's all for now regarding Fuping. What we need to talk about now is some of the business changes that Taishan Airlines underwent after the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan."

He stood up solemnly.

"In this war, we have a significant gap in military equipment, and we lack decent domestic military industrial enterprises to support the war effort. Japan, on the other hand, has many such companies, such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Hitachi, Nissan, etc. They received orders from the Japanese military and produced all kinds of equipment, including aircraft, tanks, warships, artillery, and individual weapons. As for us, our domestic military factories, in terms of production capacity and innovation capabilities, cannot compare with those of the Japanese military factories. Therefore, Taishan Aviation must make adjustments at this critical moment and fully enter the military industry."

Upon hearing Fang Wen's words, the quiet meeting room suddenly erupted in applause, as everyone demonstrated through their actions that they had fully accepted Fang Wen's decision.

Fang Shouxin said excitedly, "Young Master, I've wanted to remind you to do this for a long time, but you've been fighting on the front lines all this time and haven't had the chance. With a business as large as Taishan Aviation, it's not impossible for us to transform into a military enterprise."

Fang Wen nodded: "That's true. Our aircraft manufacturing plant in Yangon, as well as our bullet workshop, machine gun workshop, and artillery shell workshop, have already proven that we have this capability. But it's not enough. War is a catalyst for military scientific research, and we need a large number of military equipment R&D personnel. Therefore, we must recruit a large number of researchers from within the country. However, the domestic scientific research foundation is insufficient, and there is a lack of high-end technical researchers. In this regard, I want to start from Europe and the United States, using high salaries and high welfare as bait to recruit a group of senior military industry talents."

The plan for large-scale recruitment was thus finalized.

According to Fang Wen's plan.

The first step is to recruit a group of college students from China and send them to Yangon for internships. Only after they have gained experience and knowledge related to military machinery can they be introduced to more advanced military research and development technologies.

The second step was to have Taishan Airlines' European branch recruit, while Lin Shuiwang and Zhao Jiu would be in charge of the recruitment in the United States.

With that, the meeting is now over. Everyone will proceed according to Fang Wen's plan to gradually achieve the two major tasks discussed at today's meeting.

Afterwards, everyone had a meal together in the headquarters canteen. Fang Wen, who hadn't eaten and drunk together for a long time, took the opportunity to relax and had a few drinks with everyone.

Under the influence of alcohol, the conversation gradually opened up, and Fang Wen remembered...

"Mingzhu, didn't you say that Kuang Anming has a blind date? Let's arrange it now and we'll give him our opinion."

Kuang Anming, who hadn't been drinking, immediately blushed and was too embarrassed to speak.

Gong Xiuneng was quite happy and encouraged his comrades: "Going on blind dates is a great thing. Don't be a coward and embarrass our Independent Regiment."

"What are you talking about!" Kuang Anming replied softly, but did not refuse. He had come to terms with the matter today; he could not escape the concern of his parents, sister, and brother-in-law.

Seeing this, Kuang Mingzhu smiled with delight: "Okay, I'll make the arrangements right away."

Instantly, the room was filled with joy.

After a while, Kuang Mingzhu returned.

"They're waiting for you in the lobby, hurry up and go out."

Kuang Anming was helped out of the private room in the cafeteria by the crowd.

Once he was out, his courage returned. He straightened his clothes and strode over.

"Hello, I'm Kuang Anming. My sister didn't tell me your name."

The woman who had been sitting with her back to him turned around and smiled, "Don't you remember me? I used to go to your house to play when we were little. Back then, I called you 'Painted-face Dog,' and you called me 'Big Basin.'"

Kuang Anming suddenly remembered and exclaimed with delight, "Big Basin! It's been so long! You were so chubby back then, with such a round face, that's why we gave you that nickname. You're much prettier now."

The woman laughed and replied, "Yes, back then, you were so dirty. You were covered in mud as soon as you went out, and you had such a mean mouth, always giving us nicknames. So everyone called you 'Painted-face Dog'."

Childhood memories naturally brought the two closer, and they gradually started talking more.

Fang Wen, watching from a distance, talked to his wife: "It seems that Kuang Anming and she have something going on."

"It would be great if we could get married next year. My parents have been urging us to get married," Kuang Mingzhu sighed.

“Yes, your family has had only one son for three generations, and they’re very worried about you. Don’t worry, I don’t think Kuang Anming can escape this time,” Fang Wen comforted his wife.

At that moment, Kuang Mingzhu remembered something.

"By the way, my father called a few days ago and mentioned that someone from the United States came to Guangzhou from Hong Kong and even contacted him, saying that they wanted to meet you."

"Someone from the US?" Fang Wen was stunned. Zhao Jiu and Lin Shuiwang were definitely not the culprits. Could it be Neil Toledo? But Zhao Jiu was in charge of Neil's affairs. If he got his hands on Boeing's pressurized cabin data, he wouldn't come from Guangzhou. Instead, he would contact him directly by telegram.

He asked, "Did the other party tell you where they came from?"

“My dad didn’t find out the details either. It seems to be an American airline that wants to buy your plane, and they also said they sent a letter to you to someone named Whitney.”

Fang Wen understood; it was Pan Am Airlines.

Fang Wen initially won a bet with Pan Am Airlines to fly across the Pacific Ocean, but later, due to the domestic situation, he did not launch a trans-Pacific route.

It seems that Pan Am has its eye on the Xuanming seaplane, which it originally designed to cross the Pacific Ocean, and wants to purchase it for its intercontinental routes.

That's something we can talk about.

Fang Wen has now decided to fully commit to the military industry, which requires a lot of capital. He cannot give up any project that can make money.

Moreover, the other party also brought a letter from the Whitneys, who were important intermediaries in Fang Wen's purchase of Pratt & Whitney engines. Fang Wen also wanted to know why they had sent the letter.

(End of this chapter)