Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 106, 105: Human Body Sandplay, Discovery of Treasure, Armenian Church
The king's proposal brought the evening's normal agenda to a close, and everyone's attention turned to Fang Wen.

The guests dispersed on their own, revealing the central area.

It was a tacit understanding at the banquet, left for the next storyteller to recount.

“Your turn,” Indiana Deco whispered.

Fang Wen walked to the center of the field, but he was thinking about how to proceed.

At the dinner party here, everyone was simply curious about their presence.

If you go up there and start spouting nonsense, no one will listen.

After all, war in the East is meaningless to them, just as they had felt before.

We will still use the most authentic description to show the air raid at that time.

He stood in the middle of the field.

"I thank the King for giving me the opportunity to share our war with you all here."

"This was an air raid with a huge disparity in strength, and it was also an air raid full of drama."

"In order to succeed, we chose to launch a surprise attack."

A guest interrupted; it was the Weimar Republic officer we had just met.

"Excuse me, but I have a suggestion. Could you provide a more realistic description, such as a human body sandplay?"

"What is human body sandplay?" Fang Wen had never heard of this term before.

The other party explained: "It's a very interesting military game. You provide the battlefield data, and everyone here can play a role in the war, which will evolve according to your description."

His proposal successfully piqued the interest of the guests, and even some members of the Pahlavi royal family wanted to participate.

Fang Wen accepted the suggestion and added his own.

"Okay, but this place seems a bit small. Why don't we go outside and find a place with water?"

"Follow me." The king led everyone to the back of the palace.

There is a pool there.

The pool can represent the surrounding sea area of ​​Shanghai, and the human body sandplay takes place next to the pool.

Fang Wen recounted the situation at the time.

"Our side dispatched sixteen aircraft, which took off from Nanjing Airport and Hangzhou Jianqiao Airport in two groups, with the target being the enemy cruiser Izumo, which was anchored in the waters near Shanghai."

The king, acting as the commander, instructed his attendants to plant a flag by the pool, symbolizing Shanghai.

Two more flags were planted on the west and south sides, representing Nanjing and Hangzhou.

The sixteen guests were divided into two teams of five and eleven, representing the air raiding planes departing from the two sides respectively.

They moved towards Shanghai by the pool.

The king asked, "And then?"

"The Japanese planes belonged to the naval air force. When our planes arrived in Shanghai, they were notified by ground intelligence to take off immediately to intercept them. Due to the short notice, there were only twenty planes available. Ten planes from our Jianqiao Airport intercepted them, and five planes from Nanjing Airport joined us in the bombing."

Another group of guests dressed up as Japanese aircraft.

A model boat was placed in the pool.

The group then began to discuss the matter.

An officer from the Weimar Republic asked: "As far as I know, Shanghai was under Japanese control at the time, and there were a large number of warships on the coast. The number of Japanese aircraft was far more than 20, and more aircraft would subsequently take off to intercept them. Is that correct?"

Fang Wen nodded: "Yes, according to the plan at the time, the air raid had to end within ten minutes, and all planes had to retreat regardless of whether it was successful or not."

"This is still a very risky move. How many planes did you lose?" a woman asked with a worried expression.

“One of them, its wings and engine were strafed by enemy machine guns and eventually crashed into the sea, but fortunately, he survived and became a member of my company,” Fang Wen replied.

"My God, he's so lucky. In that war more than a decade ago, very few people survived when planes crashed," an elderly guest remarked.

Fang Wen nodded, took out his wallet, took out the group photo inside, pointed at Shao Sichen and said, "That's him. Half of his face was cut by shrapnel, and his right hand and right leg were seriously injured in the explosion, but he is still living a strong life and has become the administrator of the aviation school."

The photo circulated, and everyone admired the person who dared to fight against fate.

The conversation continued.

Someone asked for more details.

"Could you tell me the aircraft models used by each party at that time?"

"Yes, at that time we had 7 K47 fighters, 2 O2U-4 fighter-reconnaissance aircraft, 3 Lincock III fighters, 5 WACO 240As, and 1 Potez 25. The Japanese mainly used Type 3 carrier-based aircraft."

That's what makes human body sandplay so interesting.

There are people who are very familiar with aircraft performance and describe the performance of each model of aircraft.

Everyone began their analysis.

Both sides were using biplanes in combat. Although the Type 3 was about 10 percent faster and more agile, it did not have much of an advantage in that situation.

Aerial pursuit and interception of fighter jets with speeds of 240-260 kilometers per hour is like a race between a group of race walkers; you're always just a little short, but it's very difficult to catch up.

As for the bombing, it was mostly luck.

Everyone agreed that the bombing was successful and that the Izumo was sunk because it hit the center of the ship, delivering a fatal blow.

Someone proposed a hypothesis.

"Would this air raid have been more effective if a modern monoplane, such as the P-26 series, had been used?"

Fang Wen shook his head: "The current P-26 series is 70% faster than biplanes. For bombing fixed targets, only dive bombing can improve the hit rate. Current warships are equipped with anti-aircraft weapons, so dive bombing is tantamount to a suicide attack."

The questioner nodded: "So, your bombing that time was thanks to your talent, plus the fact that biplanes are slower. If the speed exceeded your reaction time, it would have been difficult to achieve."

Fang Wen nodded in agreement, but that wasn't what he really thought.

Since absorbing the energy of the Four-Faced Buddha, he felt that his mechanical perception ability had also been enhanced.

The capabilities that biplanes could achieve in the past can now be realized on the Shrike, and even better.

But this is your trump card, and you can't just reveal it casually.

That concludes our discussion on aerial combat.

Everyone then proceeded to the banquet area.

Although nominally inheriting the Persian Empire, the Pahlavi dynasty adopted European-style banquets for its foreign guests.

The long dining table is covered with a clean white tablecloth. Each guest is served by a waiter who pulls out the high-backed chair, brings out a Western-style napkin, and then serves the dishes one by one.

The order in which the dishes are served is first the king and queen, followed by the guests and princes, princesses and nobles.

Each dish is served at intervals to allow guests time to enjoy their meal.

During the meal, no one spoke; everyone was focused on finishing their food.

Fang Wen had never experienced this kind of dining style before, but eating Western food was not unfamiliar to him.

He naturally wrapped a napkin around his neck, ready to enjoy a feast.

The first dish was mutton rice.

It has a very fragrant aroma that perfectly masks the gamey smell of mutton.

There were also beans, which should be freshly cooked broad beans.

Fang Wen turned to Indiana and asked, "What's this dish called?"

When it comes to food, Indiana likes to say, "Saffron lamb is my favorite food."

Each person gets only one spoonful of this dish, about half the size of a fist.

After finishing the sweet mutton rice, Fang Wen looked forward to the next dish.

The second dish was stewed fish.

It has a very strong spice flavor.

Aside from tomato sauce, onions, and lemons, the rest were ingredients that Fang Wen couldn't explain.

This time, Fang Wen didn't ask Indiana, as he didn't like the dish. The waiter then removed the plates and replaced them with the last main course of the evening.

The small gold dish was filled with black fish eggs.

This time, without Fang Wen asking, Indiana spoke up to explain.

"This is the best caviar. The Persians started eating sturgeon roe 2000 years ago, and their caviar is the most authentic."

Top-quality caviar from the royal banquets of the Pahlavi dynasty.

Fang Wen must try it.

He picked up the long spoon, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in his mouth.

The fish roe burst in Fang Wen's mouth, the salty and fishy taste stimulating his taste buds.

People from different regions have different opinions on freshness.

Along the coast, this is the taste of freshness.

Fang Wen could accept it, but it wasn't his favorite.

He finished the dish of caviar.

Next up are the desserts.

Vegetable soup, desserts, fruit, and bread are placed in the center of the long table, and customers can choose whatever they like.

At this point, everyone started talking again.

Fang Wen checked the time; it was already 8 p.m.

Telegram communication with Istanbul has been missed.

Without notifying them, a landing cannot be arranged.

He whispered to Indiana for a while, and the other agreed to make the contact and give him the result the next morning.

Fang Wen remained at the banquet, silently observing the interactions between guests from various countries in the palace, until the banquet finally ended at 10 p.m.

He took a car from Indiana back to the airport, and for some reason, he felt a little hungry again.

The three main dishes were served in very small portions. I barely ate any of the second dish, the stewed fish. If I had known this would happen, I would have eaten more at the beginning.

Feeling hungry, Fang Wen took out the snacks his wife had prepared from his canvas bag.

After three days, the remaining snacks had dried out, but they were still edible.

Thinking that he would be able to move around freely once he arrived in Europe tomorrow, he devoured the remaining three snacks, took out a blanket to make the bed, and had a good night's sleep.

The biggest difference between coming from India, with its subtropical climate, and Iran, with its temperate continental climate, is that the nights are much cooler.

And there were no mosquitoes.

This allowed Fang Wen to have a rare good night's sleep.

He slept until 10 a.m. before waking up.

Indiana hadn't arrived yet, so Fang Wen had to pack his things first.

After taking another shower and changing back into my flight suit, Indiana finally arrived.

"It's all arranged over there. The transit airport is here. Take a look."

The map Indiana produced was marked with a place name: Van.

It's a city in Turkey, and to the west there's a large lake: Van Golu.

"This is the largest lake in Turkey. When you fly here, you need to find a pier on the east shore of Van Golu. There is a road next to the pier where you can land, and someone will provide you with fuel."

It turns out it was going to land on a road. Small planes like the Shrike are best suited for road landings.

Fang Wen nodded in agreement, carefully examined the map, and marked its location on his own map.

He then bid farewell to Indiana and boarded a plane to continue his journey.

Fly from Tehran to Istanbul, with a layover in Van Golu.

Fang Wen embarked on the final leg of his journey from Asia to Europe.

During this journey, the plane took off from the Iranian plateau, and the terrain gradually descended.

After traversing more than 700 kilometers of mountainous terrain, a blue lake appeared.

Fang Wen searched for the landing dock on the east bank of the lake.

The plane flew low along the lake shore and soon spotted the target.

There was a smooth road next to the dock, and people were waving their arms with their hands crossed on the road.

That's it.

Fang Wen was preparing to land when he suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.

That feeling was something I only experienced after several months of contact with the Four-Faced Buddha. I hadn't felt it for a long time since the Four-Faced Golden Buddha lost that energy.

Could there be treasure here too?

Fang Wen couldn't help but pilot the plane into the air again and circle around.

In a state of mechanical perception, he felt as one with the machine, his perception expanded instantly, and he discovered the source of that mysterious perception.

It is a small island in the lake.

There are also ancient buildings on the island.

After determining the location, Fang Wen turned the plane around and flew back to the east bank of the pier, landing on the road next to the pier.

Once the plane came to a stop, a man wearing a collared robe and riding shoes ran over.

Communicate in English.

"Mr. Fang, I am your receptionist. The fuel is at the dock. Would you like to refuel now?"

"want."

Fang Wen recalled the small island he had just seen and asked, "I just saw an island in the lake, and there was an ancient building on it."

“You mean Akdamal Island, where there’s a church,” the man replied.

“I’m very interested in old things. Can you tell me more?” Fang Wen took out a one-pound note.

After receiving the money, the other party readily replied.

“Sir, I know that church very well.”

An old car drove up from the dock, towing a fuel tank to refuel the plane, while Fang Wen listened to the receptionist tell stories about the island.

The church on Akdama Island is naturally called Akdama Church.

This church was commissioned by the Armenian king in the 10th century, specifically between 915 and 921 AD, and was meticulously built by King Gajik I of Vaspulakan.

In the 8th century AD, Arab armies invaded from the south, forcing the Armenian prince to flee to Akdamal Island for refuge.

After the Arabs withdrew, the Byzantines and the Persian Empire successively occupied the area, and Armenian rule fluctuated between the military powers that prevailed.

Ultimately, the Armenians were expelled from the island for religious reasons, but they left behind this church. Palaces and monasteries from the same period as the church have been destroyed, but this church has survived intact.

After listening to what the other person said, Fang Wen pondered.

This is a relic of a civilization whose lineage has been severed.

What treasures are hidden inside is likely unknown to anyone.

In that case, there's no need to rush into the church to avoid attracting the attention of the locals.

He decided that after his trip to Europe, he would recruit a group of professional treasure hunters to explore this place again.

Therefore, Fang Wen did not plan to stay now, but would wait until the fuel was replenished before continuing to fly the plane.

The last 1200 kilometers of the voyage took place in a Mediterranean climate.

The clear weather, warm sunshine, and fresh air made the flight comfortable.

(End of this chapter)