Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 112, Section 110: German Equipment Advisory Group, Mercedes-Benz 170, Officer's Bar

Inside the room, Fang Wen was thinking about how to call Shanghai back.

"Arrived in Berlin." He wrote down the first four words.

My thoughts then turned to this trip to the Weimar Republic.

Without any assistance, it would be difficult to achieve the goal of procuring military production lines.

In France, the operation was carried out with the help of Taishan Airlines' dividend shareholders and the assistance of the Paris consulate.

The F.220s purchased were also under the guise of military-to-civilian conversion, supposedly to be brought back to China to be used as large commercial transport aircraft for Taishan Airlines.

Only then can I fly back home from Kolkata.

So where does the support come from?
He remembered something: the National Army seemed to have German-equipped divisions.

To train German-equipped divisions, officers were likely hired from the Weimar Republic.

That's one direction. If we could get them to send a signal over the other side to make an introduction, that would be a viable approach.

Immediately, Fang Wen drafted the telegram and sent it back to China.

Fang Residence, outside Shanghai Airport.

After learning telegraph skills for a few days, Kwong Ming-chu tried listening to a telegram for the first time.

Manager Liu listened with another earphone, switching Morse code on both sides simultaneously. Even if Kuang Mingzhu was wrong, there was nothing to fear.

A telegraph message came through a special frequency, and the two men simultaneously translated it.

Afterwards, Manager Liu looked at the telegram written by Kuang Mingzhu and nodded in satisfaction: "Young Madam, you are very intelligent and have already learned it."

Kuang Mingzhu was overjoyed, finally able to communicate with her husband by telegram in person.

She looked at the telegram.

[Arrived in Berlin, but without connections. There should be military advisors from the Weimar Republic among the German-equipped divisions in the country; contact them to see if they can guide us.]

After a moment's thought, Kuang Mingzhu understood the meaning of the telegram.

It seems that her husband's trip to Berlin did not go smoothly, and he wants to pursue a career in the German-equipped division.

As for the military, apart from Shao Sicheng who had served in the Guangdong Air Force, none of the other members of Taishan Aviation had any connection. This path is not easy.

She thought of someone: Yue Jinping in Nanjing.

The next day, Kuang Mingzhu, accompanied by her maid Chuncao and Fang Shouxin, took a China Airlines plane to Nanjing.

The three found Huo Duanyang in Nanjing, and Huo Duanyang, after several twists and turns, found the Fuxing Society.

Yue Jinping met with Kuang Mingzhu, but brought bad news.

1 month 16 day.

Fang Wen, who had not yet found a way out, did not rush out.

There was some commotion outside last night. Fang Wen saw the chaos on the street from his room on the third floor.

Berlin police, Nazi stormtroopers, and military police were all on the streets.

Some stormtroopers were even armed and confronted the authorities.

Although no large-scale conflict has occurred, the chaos outside makes it unsuitable for foreigners to roam freely.

Fang Wen would only feel safe if he had a car and could drive it using mechanical senses.

Without a car, he decided to stay in the guesthouse and wait for a call from home.

We also eat here.

At noon, Fang Wen and Lin Shuiwang went downstairs and talked with the hotel owner.

Lin Shuiwang asked in German, "Can I have a meal with you?"

“Yes, but you can’t pay with marks,” the female shop owner replied.

In the end, they paid $10 a month for the food for both of them.

This amount of money, equivalent to half the rent, is a good source of income for a family-run inn these days, and the female owner happily went to the kitchen to get busy.

After a while, she brought out the food.

One portion per person.

A few slices of dark bread, half a sausage, potato soup, and a peeled, cooked potato ball.

Although it's very ordinary, it's enough to fill you up.

Fang Wen picked up the black bread, dipped it in the slightly meaty potato soup, and chewed it slowly.

The little girl next to her was leaning on the table watching.

They look like they really want to eat it.

Fang Wen picked up a sausage with his knife and fork and was about to hand it to the little girl, but was stopped by the female boss.

The female boss pulled her daughter to her side: "She can't eat the customers' food; we have our own."

Listening to Lin Shuiwang's translation, Fang Wen smiled and said, "I'm not hungry, give it to her."

The little girl looked up at her mother, then stared at the half-eaten sausage.

After her mother nodded, she happily took it and nibbled on it.

The mother picked up her daughter and placed her on her lap. She smiled happily at the sausage her daughter offered, but shook her head and refused.

Looking at this heartwarming scene, Fang Wen sighed, realizing that many things are still the same regardless of East or West.

He had Lin Shuiwang translate so he could talk to the shop owner.

"How come you're running a hotel all by yourself? Where's the child's father?"

“He’s an officer in the border army and hasn’t been back for a long time,” the woman complained.

Fang Wen didn't follow up on that topic, but instead asked about some common knowledge he needed to know in Berlin.

He took out ten one-dollar bills, paid for the meal plan for the month, and asked:

"Excuse me, I'd like to know why we're not using Mark?"

"Because I'm afraid that you're a foreigner who didn't experience the currency devaluation 10 years ago, which bankrupted my parents."

"What is the exchange rate between the US dollar and the mark? I plan to exchange some marks for everyday use."

"One US dollar is equivalent to 4.2 Reichsmarks, at a fixed exchange rate."

Fang Wen was stunned. The value of the German mark was actually quite strong, not as fragile as he had imagined.

It seems that Germany recovered quickly ten years after World War I.

At this point, Fang Wen stopped the conversation. There was no need to continue the exchange with an ordinary hotel owner; she couldn't provide the resources he needed.

Immediately, he got up and called Lin Shuiwang to go back upstairs together.

Lin Shuiwang did not move, but replied in Chinese, "I'll wait downstairs for a while."

Fang Wen noticed that Lin Shuiwang's gaze towards the proprietress was somewhat interesting, and he understood.

It's understandable that a seaman who makes his home anywhere would have this kind of temperament.

He won't interfere if it's something you both agree to.

She then went upstairs alone.

Upstairs in my room, I waited until 2 p.m., and promptly took out my telegraph machine to receive the signal.

After recording the telegram, Fang Wen glanced at it.

[The Weimar Advisory Group did exist, renowned for its combined infantry and artillery tactics and its focus on close-quarters combat. It supervised the German-equipped troops of the 88th and 87th Divisions under the Fifth Army, which also participated in the January 28 Incident. Currently, the advisory group is with the 17th Army at the Great Wall, assisting the Great Wall defenders in combat; it is not in Nanjing. Furthermore, your confidante advised you not to get involved with them, as the Presidential Palace is paying close attention to the advisory group.]

Fang Wen lamented that this route was no longer viable.

That makes sense, as the advisory group was an official military advisory body that went there under the guise of national arms sales.

And what am I? Just a civilian anti-Japanese activist. If the weapons I bought had gone through this channel, they would probably have been confiscated by the Nationalist government after I returned to China.

Fang Wen abandoned this unrealistic idea.

But they didn't know where to start.

Since we have no clue, let's try to go out and explore.

He went downstairs.

Downstairs, Lin Shuiwang and the landlady were chatting and laughing intimately.

Fang Wen went over and said, "I'm planning to buy a car so I can get around more easily."

"Buy a car? It's very difficult for foreigners to buy cars in Berlin. Lena's husband has a car, it's in the garage. Why don't you rent it? It would help solve her financial problem."

This guy is surprisingly familiar with the landlady.

Fang Wen also thought this was a good suggestion; buying a brand new car wasn't cost-effective, so renting was better. He asked Lin Shuiwang to negotiate with the landlady, Lena.

Upon hearing this, the other party naturally agreed.

She took the two of them out.

The motel is a sloping building with a half-basement below the ground floor, which can be converted into a garage.

However, the garage hadn't been opened for a long time, and the lock was rusty; it took quite a while to open it.

Lena opened the garage door, and a musty smell hit her nose.

She coughed and stepped back.

"Sorry, I don't know if the cars inside can be driven. Here, take the keys and try them out. If you can drive them, then we'll calculate the rental fee."

After saying that, she handed the garage door key and car key to Fang Wen, and took her daughter uphill back to the hotel.

Fang Wen covered his nose, entered the garage, saw a light next to him, and then found the pull-cord switch.

The light was still working, and the brightness allowed Fang Wen to see more clearly.

A car was parked quietly inside, covered in cobwebs, with some shelves next to it holding various tools.

Fang Wen and Lin Shuiwang cleaned the dust and cobwebs off the car, then took out the seat cushions, patted off the dust, and only then did they begin to test whether the car could start.

Fang Wen got into the driver's seat, inserted the key, and started the engine.

No response.

It must be that the gasoline evaporated.

Fang Wen got out of the car, found a well-sealed can of gasoline in the garage, and poured it into the car's fuel tank.

He restarted it.

The vehicle vibrated, and a roaring sound was heard.

Fang Wen, who possessed mechanical perception, immediately noticed the problem.

There is some blockage in the fuel line, right at the fuel tank connection. It's probably because some impurities condensed and blocked the fuel line during the gasoline evaporation process.

Everything else is fine.

He turned off the engine, found some tools in the garage, used a jack to lift the car body, and skillfully opened the fuel tank cap to clean the fuel lines.

Lin Shuiwang, who was standing to the side, was stunned: "Mr. Fang, you can fix cars too?"

"I can fix any plane." Fang Wen got out of the car, put down the jack, and said to Lin Shuiwang, "Have Lena bring her daughter out, let's go for a drive."

Lin Shuiwang was overjoyed and ran back to the hotel.

After a while, Lena, who had dressed up a bit, came downstairs with her daughter in her hand.

She was very excited: "I haven't taken a car ride in a long time, and neither has little Lena."

Little Lena is her daughter; the two depend on each other for survival and even share the same name.

She and her daughter then sat in the back seat, while Lin Shuiwang sat in the front passenger seat.

Before leaving, Lin Shuiwang asked, "What kind of car is this?"

“Mercedes-Benz 170,” Fang Wen replied.

The long-abandoned car was started and drove on the streets of Berlin.

Lin Shuiwang is the translator, Lena is the tour guide, and Fang Wen is the driver.

The entire driving process was guided by Lena, with Lin Shuiwang translating for Fang Wen, who then drove.

At first, this method was very inconvenient. Lena didn't know how to express herself, and she would just blurt out whatever she knew.

For example, when she says "Brandenburg Gate," she will rattle off a long list of place names, which Lin Shuiwang translates, but Fang Wen has no idea where to go.

Fang Wen ultimately made the decision.

"Let's go buy a map first."

Then, the car drove to the Berlin City Library, where tourist maps could be purchased.

Fang Wen pulled out a notebook labeled "Tourism of the Entire Weimar Republic" and spent 10 marks.

With this, Lena can specify her destination on the map beforehand, which allows Fang Wen, who is very sensitive to maps, to easily find the way there.

The car drove around the city of Berlin.

They went to the market and bought several large bags of food, then went to the Berlin Cathedral where Lena and her daughter went in to pray.

Sitting in the car waiting, Fang Wen looked at the pedestrians outside and blurted out a sentence.

“The world here is about to change. We’re just waiting for that change to happen. When that happens, power and interests will be exchanged, and those who are unwilling to accept it will cash in on their last bit of power.”

Lin Shuiwang didn't understand: "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Make friends. Friends will always bring us good luck."

How do I make friends?

“Isn’t Lena’s husband an officer? Go ask him where he often went for leisure when he was in Berlin.”

"Oh, I understand." Lin Shuiwang nodded. "I guarantee there will be results tomorrow."

Fang Wen looked at Lin Shuiwang with a strange expression: "What are you going to do tonight?"

"I'll do what I'm good at," Lin Shuiwang chuckled.

"You..." Fang Wen didn't know what to say. Everyone is different. Didn't he also succumb to Yue Jinping's temptation back then?

Just then, the mother and daughter returned after finishing their prayers.

The car drove back to the family-run hotel.

The next morning, there was a knock on the door, and Fang Wen got up and opened it.

Lin Shuiwang stood outside the door, looking refreshed and quite pleased with himself.

Fang Wen thought of something.

Where is her daughter?

“I sent her to her parents’ house last night. Mr. Fang, don’t worry, I’m careful and won’t fall for her,” Lin Shuiwang replied.

"I know you can't, but leave them some money when you leave, don't treat them unfairly."

“Okay. I found out last night,” Lin Shuiwang said, revealing the information he had obtained.

In the eastern part of Berlin, there is a bar where officers of the Wehrmacht often gather.

Lena's husband goes there often.

Of course, bars weren't just for military officers; there were also ordinary customers.

This message was just what Fang Wen needed, and he decided to go and take a look.

July 1th night.

Fang Wen put on a trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat, and went out with Lin Shuiwang.

In the cold wind, the two went to the garage at the bottom of the slope, got into the car, and drove towards the East District.

Dongcheng District has many old buildings, which housed various businesses.

One of these is an industry that is most popular with citizens at night.

Beer house.

People in Berlin love to drink beer.

After get off work and dinner, people from different professions would gather at their favorite beer houses to drink and chat.

Therefore, beer houses are not just places to drink, but also combine dining, entertainment, meetings, and gatherings.

The car stopped in an alley, and Fang Wen took out the keys to get out.

Lin Shuiwang asked, "Is it safe to park the car here?"

"I don't know either, but I can guarantee that no one else can drive it away."

Fang Wen smiled, bent down, fiddled under the seat, and pulled out the spark plug wire.

That way, even if someone tries to steal it, they won't be able to drive it away.

After finishing this, he closed the car door and went with Lin Shuiwang into the beer house called "Frontbirstab".

Frontbilstab is a transliteration; in German, it means "frontline beer house."

According to Lena, this place was originally a gathering place for officers during World War I, and later, after the establishment of the Weimar Republic, it became a gathering and recreational place for officers of the Wehrmacht.

(End of this chapter)