Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 422: The local chieftain entrusts his orphan to the emperor; the Hui Muslim militia attacks Cangzhou City.
Late at night.

The stray dogs at the edge of the village kept barking.

Fang Wen, Gong Xiuneng, and Zhao Shanhu waited at the exit of the tunnel at the village entrance.

A dark figure emerged from the village along the base of the wall.

It was Cui'e, a young woman from the village; she was the one who contacted us yesterday.

She approached the flap and leaned against the wall, saying, "There are puppet troops lying in wait outside the village."

Fang Wen spoke to him through the wall: "Killing them will only provoke the Japanese to attack the village. Let's go out the other way."

"Then come with me. There shouldn't be anyone on the west side of the village."

Gong Xiuneng led the way by crawling out through the flip-up door, followed by Fang Wen, with Zhao Shanhu bringing up the rear. The three of them followed Cui'e westward toward the village, walking close to the wall, so they were easily missed if you didn't look closely.

Upon reaching the center of the village, they encountered a group of villagers blocking their way.

"Why did you all come here?" Cui'e asked anxiously.

The villagers replied, "Fifth Grandfather asked you to go over there."

"I have important business to attend to."

They spoke in the local Cangzhou dialect, which, though thick with local accents, was still understandable.

No matter what Cui'e said, the villagers just wouldn't let her pass.

Fang Wendao: "Who is Fifth Grandfather?"

Cui'e explained, "The Zhao family lives in the west of our village. Fifth Grandfather is the village's headman and also the person in charge of the ancestral hall. He is in charge of clan ancestral worship and organizing the birth celebration."

Fang Wen nodded.

The villages in the North China Plain have a long history, with many having more than 200 households. The village they hid in was a large village with 300 households and a history of several hundred years.

Large villages like these often have clans composed of one or two prominent surnames. In well-off villages, there are even birth festivals where members of the same clan can receive a reward money for having a child.

As the clan leader and the local headman, he held considerable prestige in the village. If they refused, there might be unforeseen complications.

Besides, the fact that the other side clearly knew he was hiding in the village and didn't inform the Japanese showed that he was on their side.

He agreed.

"Let's go, let's go there."

The group walked to a large courtyard in the west of the village, which was the Zhao Family Ancestral Hall.

Fang Wen met the village's local headman there.

An elderly man in his sixties.

The other party took the initiative to say, "Sir, blocking your way was my idea, it was just for my own selfish reasons. I only ask that you take my only grandson away."

Fang Wen remained noncommittal: "Where to take it?"

“I, Zhao Youliang, have seen the world, and I can tell from your voice that you are not a local. You must have come yesterday because of Peng San’s matter. I guess you will have to go back once things are settled. No matter how you came here, you must have a way to leave. I want to ask you to take my only grandson with you.”

This old man spoke clearly and logically, and he even managed to figure out roughly where Fang Wen came from.

He must have been a very shrewd person when he was young.

As for his grandson, he also obediently came over. He looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a refined appearance and a bit shy.

Just as Fang Wen hesitated.

The other party continued, “I only have two sons. My eldest son died outside Beiping, and my second son was killed by a bomb while defending Cangzhou. I only have this one grandson left. Now the Japanese are in power and they come into the village to plunder all the time. I went against my conscience and took the job from the Japanese just so that this grandson could have a way to survive. If you can take him away, I can fight against the Japanese with peace of mind.”

"Grandpa, I won't leave," his grandson said sadly.

“If you don’t leave, our family line will end.” The old man grabbed his grandson’s shoulder excitedly. “Listen to me, you must preserve our family bloodline so that we can continue the family line.”

After saying that, he suddenly knelt down in front of Fang Wen and kowtowed forcefully: "Please, give me a way out."

This scene brought tears to the eyes of the villagers, and some even cried out, "Please leave a bloodline for Fifth Grandfather's family, I beg you."

A sixty-year-old man kowtowed to him, which Fang Wen couldn't accept, so he quickly helped the old man up.

Does he have any relatives outside?

The old man shook his head: "That's all. After I get out, I'll follow you. As long as I have food to eat and live until the day the Japanese are driven away, I'll be content."

He turned around and took the bundle from the boy's hand. "Here is one hundred silver dollars, my savings. I know it's definitely not enough, but I beg you to have mercy."

Fang Wen pushed the bundle back: "Old man, take the money back. You'll definitely need it someday. I'll take your grandson with me. I'll make sure he doesn't go hungry."

Upon hearing Fang Wen's words, the old man became excited and was about to bow again, but Fang Wen could not accept it and quickly stopped him.

He looked at the old man's grandson: "What's your name?"

The boy honestly replied, "My grandpa said that from now on I'll follow you, and whatever you call me, I'll be that."

This was clearly taught by an old man.

Fang Wen remained noncommittal, saying, "We have to travel through the night. If you're willing to endure hardship, then come with us."

The boy nodded excitedly.

Fang Wen then bid farewell to the villagers and left with the boy.

They emerged from a small path on the west side of the village, with villagers scouting ahead beforehand, and encountered no problems along the way.

Once outside the village, the group walked briskly across the plain.

Fang Wen kept an eye on the boy, but was surprised to find that he could actually keep up.

He has good physical fitness and is sensible. If he's also intelligent, he could be a promising talent.

As he walked, he asked, "Your grandfather isn't here now, so tell me, what's your name?"

After a brief period of sadness, the boy who had left his grandfather became cheerful again. He replied, "Zhao Junping, my father named me that. I heard that he was transferred to Beiping when I was born, so that's how I got this name."

Fang Wen nodded: "Then you should still call yourself Zhao Junping from now on."

"Thank you," the boy replied, still quite concerned about his name.

Fang Wen didn't say anything more and continued on his way.

Zhao Shanhu, however, took a liking to this boy with the same surname and made a point of staying by his side to take care of him.

The group ran a distance of 4 kilometers.

Cui'e glanced at the direction and turned east.

After walking another kilometer, we arrived at the west bank of the canal.

Fang Wen looked at the river section and felt it was somewhat familiar; wasn't it the same river where he had landed?

Fortunately, a local guided us; otherwise, Fang Wen, who doesn't have a plane, wouldn't have been able to find this place.

Next, a wooden boat came from the other side of the river and carried them across.

After reaching the other side of the canal, we continued onward and walked another 4 kilometers before finally arriving at the reed field.

The reeds were taller than a person, and it was easy to lose one's way if one ventured into them, so Cui'e dared not wander off.

She was outside imitating the chirping of sparrows.

Birdsong could be heard responding from the reeds.

Guided by sound, the two sides met outside the reeds.

The guerrillas warned, "There are pools of water inside, covered with reeds. It looks fine on the surface, but one step in and you're in deep water. Follow me and don't wander off."

The group then followed the guerrillas into the reeds. This was their territory; they bypassed the danger zone and entered the central area.

In just one day, Fang Wen returned to the reed field and met the guerrilla captain again.

He explained the situation directly: "I will also participate in tomorrow's operation to provide you with air support."

The guerrilla leader's face lit up with excitement: "There are weapons on the plane? Like during the Battle of Taiyuan?"

"Two M2 aircraft machine guns and a 20mm rapid-fire cannon, with enough ammunition for two hours of continuous fire," Fang Wen replied.

Upon hearing this, the guerrilla captain rubbed his hands together. "During the Battle of Taiyuan, I went to the forward command post to deliver a message and was fortunate enough to witness this kind of gunboat combat. At that time, I thought how wonderful it would be to be able to cooperate with these aircraft in combat. I never thought that my wish would finally come true."

"You'll have many opportunities in the future," Fang Wen hinted. After returning this time, he would begin a large-scale modification of the gunboats, with 30 of them being sent to the Eighth Route Army's front lines. At that time, the North China guerrillas would also cooperate with these aircraft in combat.

But now, he needs to discuss with the guerrillas how to cooperate.

The two spread out a map on the ground and talked by the light of the torch.

"Shall we discuss your plans first?"

"We plan to take action at midnight tomorrow night. There will be 130 people involved, including guerrillas and agents infiltrating the city. The plan is to take the prison within half an hour, rescue the captured comrades, the Kuomintang anti-Japanese officers, and your people. Half an hour later, we will break out from the south gate and retreat back here."

Listening to the other party's plan, Fang Wen asked.

How many Japanese troops are in the city?

"More than 300 Japanese soldiers, and 800 puppet troops. The police officers can be disregarded, as they are connected to Zhao San."

Fang Wen was making plans in his mind.

As the Japanese army moved south, the number of Japanese soldiers in North China was not large; they were mainly supported by traitors and puppet troops they had cultivated in previous years.

If we use the air firepower advantage of gunships and aircraft to carry out precise strikes and suppression, we can take the county town.

However, the number of people attacking the city needs to be increased; more than 100 people are still not enough.

He said, "If we coordinate our attack, I think we have a chance to take the city if we have 300 men."

"Are you sure?" the guerrilla captain asked in surprise.

Fang Wen pointed to the map: "Look, this is the Japanese camp in the city, and the puppet troops are right next to it. They look like they're clustered together, making them hard to take down. But they don't have air defenses. I can suppress the entire street and prevent them from rushing out. If we have enough ground troops to coordinate the attack, we can even break in and completely crush them."

The guerrilla leader stood up and paced back and forth.

"We still have people."

He pointed to the west side of the map.

"In the Hejian area, there's a place called Dongxinzhuang, a Hui Muslim community. The locals organized a Hui Muslim Volunteer Corps to fight against the Japanese. There were over a hundred of them, so that makes a total of 300!"

With the manpower secured, Fang Wen continued, "Alright, let's adjust the plan. We'll coordinate an inside-outside attack, using both air and ground forces. Tonight, the troops inside the city will launch the attack, targeting the south gate. I'll pilot the plane to help the troops blow open the south gate, then suppress the enemy forces in the west of the city with firepower. You guys will arrive shortly after, block the street entrances, and prevent them from getting out. Then I'll drop some incendiary smoke bombs in; at that point, the Japanese soldiers and puppet troops inside will be thrown into disarray, and you can launch your attack and storm in."

The guerrilla leader remembered something.

"Is it the kind of bomb used in the blocking battle on the northern front of Taiyuan? I heard it releases a lot of poisonous smoke, rendering the Japanese soldiers inside incapable of fighting."

Fang Wen nodded. "It's not a good time to attack within 10 minutes of dropping the smoke bomb. After 10 minutes, the smoke will start to dissipate, and the people inside will be temporarily incapacitated. That's when you should launch your attack. Remember, the best time to attack is 10 minutes after dropping the bomb."

The guerrilla leader nodded: "I understand. I'll discuss it with the comrades from the county committee."

He went to send out the telegram.

He returned after a while: "Agreed. I'll send someone to inform the Hui Muslim Volunteer Army in Hejian right away."

He summoned two guerrillas and gave them instructions.

The two then left the reed field and headed to Dongxinzhuang, 20 kilometers away.

(Hui People's Volunteer Army)

In the morning, the people who went to Dongxinzhuang had not yet returned.

Fang Wen, however, began preparations.

This air raid was conducted in cooperation with guerrillas and local militias whom we had never worked with before. Good communication was essential to prevent any mishaps in the operation.

The Taishan walkie-talkie he brought was the best tool for real-time communication between air and ground.

In order to teach the guerrillas how to use it, Fang Wen patiently instructed them.

After repeated instruction, the travel team leader learned how to use it.

He slung a walkie-talkie over his shoulder, left the center of the reed field, and began his drill.

After everyone disappeared into the reeds, Fang Wen also boarded the plane.

He stopped at the cabin door, glanced at the boy, and said, "Zhao Junping, come here and come with me into the plane."

The boy jogged over, looking nervously at Fang Wen. When Fang Wen stepped onto the stairs and entered the cabin, he followed him inside.

The scene inside opened his eyes to a whole new world.

"This is the inside of the plane?! What's that?" he asked, pointing to an M2 heavy machine gun mounted on a gun rack.

Fang Wen did not answer, but instead instructed Zhao Shanhu and Gong Xiuneng in the cabin: "You two teach him."

Zhao Shanhu said enthusiastically, "This is a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, which can cut a Japanese soldier in half."

"So powerful?" The boy wanted to reach out and touch it, but he didn't dare.

Zhao Shanhu said proudly, "And this is even more powerful: a 20mm autocannon with two types of ammunition. One is an explosive round that can blast a wide area apart, and the other is an armor-piercing round that can even penetrate a tank."

As the two were talking animatedly, Fang Wen walked to the driver's seat, turned on the radio, and activated the walkie-talkie signal relay function.

After adjusting the frequency, a hissing sound of electricity was emitted.

After a while, "Hello, hello, can you hear me?"

Fang Wen picked up the microphone: "Can I hear you? How far away are you right now?"

"About 700 meters."

“It can go even further. If you make a call every 1000 meters, you should be able to reach a distance of 4 kilometers.”

"It's so far! The reed field is only 2 kilometers away. I'll try walking a little further."

The call has temporarily ended.

Fang Wen looked towards the rear cabin.

He sized up the boy.

He was thinking about how to arrange things for the boy.

If someone's family entrusts something to you, you should at least make some arrangements.

Should we send them to the rear base, or should they stay with us?
"Zhao Junping, come here."

Upon hearing the call, Zhao Junping immediately stopped talking and quickly walked over.

Fang Wen asked, "I'll give you two choices. One, you'll have no worries about food and clothing, and the place you go will be safe, where you can stay until the war ends. Two, you can become a soldier; there will be danger, but I will do my best to protect you. Which one do you choose?"

Zhao Junping turned to look at the aircraft machine gun, "Can I be a gunner?"

Fang Wen shook his head: "No, you're not strong enough."

"How can I stay on the plane?" the boy asked.

Fang Wen looked at him and beckoned: "Come here, I'll only teach you once. If you learn it, you can be my messenger."

(End of this chapter)