Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 136, page 135: The D-332 Passenger Plane, An Assassination That Shouldn't Have Happened
A reminder from an investor at the Shanghai Stock Exchange made Fang Wen realize that the Japanese had ulterior motives.

The Japanese Chamber of Commerce, which is colluding with the Japanese military, actually wants to control Taishan Airlines using their tried-and-tested methods.

This is what that investor meant by "cutting off the fuel supply at the root."

Using this tactic, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce has gained control over many Chinese-owned enterprises; the methods are all quite similar.

But it didn't work for Taishan Airlines.

Even if you own all the planes, so what?

It's just an aircraft leased by Taishan Aviation.

Moreover, Fang Wen had always regarded the Boeing 247 as a transitional flight asset, intending to replace it once Boeing produced a better-performing aircraft.

However, if the Japanese are willing to take over early, Fang Wen would not mind replacing it with another aircraft with good performance.

During his trip to France, Fang Wen met with senior executives of Farman, who looked down on everyone else, but praised one of his colleagues highly.

That company is called Devatina, a French domestic aircraft manufacturer.

This is a company named after an aircraft designer, the French genius aircraft designer Devatini, who was extremely talented in the fields of fighter jets and transport aircraft.

When Fang Wen purchased the F.220, he compared it to Boeing's transport aircraft. However, the executives at Farman dismissed the comparison and instead mentioned a passenger aircraft model that Devatina was about to launch.

That's the D-332 passenger plane.

After thanking the exchange investor who had come specifically to remind him, Fang Wen told his employees to return to their posts and went home himself.

He took a notebook from the bookshelf in his bedroom.

Those are some records from my trip to Europe.

The document contains data on the D-332 passenger plane that was purchased from France.

He turned to that page to look.

D-332 passenger aircraft

Crew members: 4 people.

Empty weight 6960 kg.

Maximum takeoff weight: 11100 kg.

Cruising speed: 260 km/h; maximum level flight speed: 300 km/h.

Service ceiling 5000 meters
Range: 2000 km (full fuel, normal) 850 km (maximum load).

Capacity: Can carry 22 passengers.

Powerplant: Three V16/17 piston engines jointly developed by Spain and Switzerland, with a power output of 650 horsepower.

Compare this data with the Boeing 247.

The Boeing 247 has an empty weight of 4000 kg and a maximum takeoff weight of 6000 kg.

That is to say, the payload capacity is only 2000 kg, while the D-332 passenger plane has 4000 kg, more than double.

波音247的航程1200公里，D-332型客机搭载22名乘客的普通航行情况下，是2000公里。

It can realize various domestic and international flight routes, and can even carry out multi-stop feeder flights within the country.

Passenger capacity has doubled, and flight range has increased by 80%.

What about the price?
Thinking of a way to cut off the Japanese supply lines, Fang Wen decided to ask someone to inquire about prices.

He still has friends in Europe.

For example, the American agents and German officers who participated in the treasure hunt at Lake Van.

Indiana reserved a telegraph communication frequency for himself, saying that he could contact him at 4 p.m. if needed.

Four o'clock in the afternoon in Tehran is about 11:30 in Shanghai.

Fang Wen rolled up his sleeve and glanced at his watch; it was almost 11 a.m.

He took out the telegraph machine, cranked it to charge, adjusted the frequency, drafted the Morse code, and waited.

At 11:30 sharp, I pressed the send button, and the radio wave crossed the sky and flew to the distant Mediterranean Sea.

Tehran, 4 p.m.

Telegraph operator Roberto Kerr was preparing to finish his last hour of work before taking a break.

Although he has money now, he still chooses to stay here and live a more exciting life.

As he did every day, he switched frequencies and listened to different radio waves, including a special private frequency that only he and Indiana knew about.

Suddenly, Roberto Kerr heard a regular radio wave sound amidst the noise.

He glanced at the frequency instinctively; it was the one he had arranged with that Eastern pilot.

Two months have passed since the breakup in Paris, and I wonder how that pilot is doing now.

Roberto Kerr felt a need to confide in the other person and wanted to talk to them.

But first, we need to know why the other party is sending the message.

He held the earphone in his left hand and skillfully translated Morse code with his right.

After finishing writing, he got up and went outside, shouting, "Boss, come quick, there's news from Eastern Flying Eagle."

"Eastern Flying Eagle" was a nickname he and Indiana gave Fang Wending, so that they could mention it in public. Indiana immediately finished his work, went to the telegraph room, and closed the door.

"Did he send a telegram?"

"Yes, the contents of the telegram are here."

Indiana looked at the telegram; it wasn't a big deal. Fang Wen had asked him to find someone to inquire about the international price quote for an aircraft from the French company Devatina.

That was a civilian passenger plane, not yet officially on sale to the public, and I don't know how Fang Wen found out.

But it wasn't difficult and didn't violate any rules, so he agreed without even thinking about it.

“Send him a message saying that I will find someone to do it. Also, I have something else to say to him.”

Fang Wen waited, and soon received a reply.

He translated Morse code.

I will send someone to France to inquire about prices. There's also something else I need to tell you.

[A major crisis has struck Weimar. The "Law on Eliminating Suffering of the People and the State" has been passed, allowing the Prime Minister and his cabinet to pass any legislation without parliamentary approval.]

Fang Wen was stunned. The Nazis had become a dictatorship so quickly!

He recalled the fire at the Reichstag building that he had seen flying over Berlin that day, and the words he had heard from the officers.

It appears that the Nazis framed the Weimar Communists through the arson attack on the Reichstag.

The Weimar Communist Party was the second largest party in the Weimar Parliament. Given the suppression it faced, coupled with the ambiguous stance of Hindenburg, the leader of the largest ruling party, it was quite normal for such a bill to emerge and be passed.

The thoughts in my mind only lasted for a short while.

He continued copying and translating.

[Those seven men, after returning, funded an assassination attempt. Six of them have been arrested and executed, only William escaped. Ten days ago, I arranged for him to travel to the Far East by ship.]

The cruise ship he was on was the Albatross, operated by the French maritime transport company Messageries Maritimes, which departed from Marseille, transited the Suez Canal, and arrived in Shanghai.

The telegram has ended.

Fang Wen put down his pen in surprise.

Within a month of returning to China, such a major event occurred in Europe.

Moreover, it was related to himself.

If it weren't for their treasure hunt, those Weimar officers wouldn't have become millionaires.

Unfortunately, these people, having acquired wealth, did not know how to enjoy it. Instead, they returned to their home country and spent money to organize assassinations against Hitler.

Was Mustache really that easy to assassinate? He was in power for so many years, facing numerous assassination attempts every year, yet he managed to evade them all, which is enough to prove how robust his security was.

Now things are really bad. William, the only one who escaped, can only flee to the East, and he can't go back until World War II is over.

Fang Wen calculated the time. If they were coming from the Mediterranean, they should be arriving soon. What should he do with this refugee then?

By the way, he has no relatives or friends in the East and has no one to rely on, so he can be used by me.

The 100 soldiers at Xiangxi Airport are in dire need of military training personnel. Sending him there would be perfect.

Of course, whether the other party is willing or not can only be determined after asking.

Fang Wen put away the telegraph machine and went to the airport to find Zhao Shanhu, who was a security guard at the boarding gate.

"Zhao Shanhu, I have something I need you to do."

Zhao Shanhu stood up straight: "General Manager, please speak freely."

"Go to Huishan Wharf to wait for someone."

"Yes, General Manager, I'll go right away."

"Don't rush, I haven't described his features yet. You know who he is, right? His name is William, he's a foreigner, and he came from Marseille, France on a ship. You..."

Fang Wen suddenly realized that it was useless. Zhao Shanhu didn't understand foreign languages ​​and had never met the other party. No matter how detailed his explanation was, he might not be able to find William.

He found a piece of cardboard, wrote and drew on it, and then handed it to Zhaoshanhu.

"These next few days, you should go to Huishan Wharf and keep watch. When a ship docks, hold up this sign. He will see it and come looking for you."

"Okay. I'll be right there."

Zhao Shanhu boarded the shuttle bus with the cardboard between his fingers.

Huishan Wharf was Shanghai's international passenger terminal during that era, where all international passenger ships entering and leaving Shanghai would dock.

Fang Wen was right to send Zhao Shanhu to Huishan Wharf to wait for others.

During the January 28 Incident, the Japanese naval combat force landed at Huishan Wharf to assist the Japanese army in fighting at Hongkou.

Therefore, this place is now actually under Japanese control.

Zhao Shanhu was bold, but not stupid.

He changed his appearance, putting on a suit and a hat, instantly transforming himself from a security guard into a successful person.

With this kind of attire, the Japanese probably wouldn't even notice a nobody like him.

He arrived at Huishan Wharf in a very casual manner.

Whenever a passenger ship docks, they hold up a sign.

The cardboard sign read: "William, cross, diving."

Passing travelers looked at the cardboard sign, not understanding its meaning, and no one took the initiative to approach Zhao Shanhu.

No results were obtained from the first day's in-ear monitor.

The next day, Zhao Shanhu went over early again.

In the afternoon, a ship sounded its horn and docked at the pier.

Those who disembarked from the ship were all foreigners.

Zhao Shanhu immediately held up the cardboard sign, looking expectantly at the passengers disembarking.

Among the passengers was a middle-aged man.

He looked haggard and was preoccupied with worries.

After disembarking, he looked around blankly, feeling completely unfamiliar with this city that was praised as the Paris of the East.

His gaze was drawn to the cardboard sign held up by Zhao Shanhu in the distance.

The words on the cardboard gave him hope, and he strode over.

Zhao Shanhu spoke in English, but he couldn't understand a word; he just kept talking.

"Buddha's leaky rice. Buddha's leaky rice."

It means go with him.

Not many people knew the secret of the True Cross, and William followed Zhao Shanhu away from Hongkou without hesitation.

The two took a rickshaw to the old town and then took a shuttle bus back to Shanghai Airport.

Led by Zhao Shanhu, they went to the general manager's office at the headquarters of Taishan Airlines.

"General Manager, I've brought him. Is this him?"

As Zhao Shanhu spoke outside the office door, Fang Wen, who was handling company affairs, looked up and saw a familiar face.

It was William, the one of the seven Weimar officers who knew English.

Fang Wen stood up, smiled, and walked over: "William, long time no see, come in and let's chat."

After William went inside, Zhao Shanhu closed the door and said, "General Manager, you two talk, I'm leaving."

Fang Wen nodded, "Shanhu, go next door and find Chuncao and Qiuju, ask them to make you a cup of coffee."

Spring grass and autumn chrysanthemums accompanied Kuang Mingzhu, but they couldn't do nothing, so they simply became the company's secretary, which can be considered a reasonable use of human resources.

Zhao Shanhu replied, "Okay."

At this moment, Fang Wencai started chatting with William.

“Indiana told me something, that you organized an assassination. What exactly happened? Oh, and about the cross. Anyway, we have plenty of time, so why don’t you start telling me from when we parted ways?”

William nodded and recounted what happened after Fang Wen and the Van Lake treasure hunting team parted ways.

After Fang Wen parted ways with them that day, the rest of the Van Lake treasure hunt team discussed how to handle the True Cross.

They contributed a portion of their share of the profits, along with 10% donated by Fang Wen, to fund the construction of the True Cross Church.

The money and the True Cross were ultimately put into William's control, and he was put in charge of the church's construction.

The others took their share of the wealth and left.

At this point, Chuncao pushed open the door and entered, placing a cup of freshly ground hot coffee in front of William, along with three sugar cubes on the tray.

"Young master, would you like something to drink?" Chuncao asked.

After Fang Wen shook his head, Chuncao left.

Watching William add sugar and stir in his coffee, Fang Wen asked, "So you weren't involved in what happened after that?"

“I wasn’t involved, but I knew everything,” William replied. “After they arrived in Weimar, they called me frequently to talk about life. They spent a lot of money and made many new friends, who offered some advice.”

Fang Wen listened as William recounted his story.

The six Weimar officers, who were indulging in a life of luxury with a huge sum of money, naturally attracted more friends because of their wealth.

Among these friends was a member of an anti-Nazi organization, who said he had a plan to end the current farce.

That is to pay a member of the Nazi Party to assassinate Hitler.

The plan was just short of money; without enough money, it was impossible to bribe that Nazi Party member.

These six were the sugar daddies he had chosen.

Before they had the money, the six Weimar officers probably wouldn't have dared to even think about such a thing.

But that day, under the influence of alcohol, they agreed.

And he paid the man a large sum of marks on the spot.

If that person had taken the money and run away, then nothing would have happened.

But he actually did it.

He gave a third of the money to a member of the Stormtroopers as a deposit to carry out the assassination.

Subsequently, in Berchtesgaden, 120 kilometers southeast of Munich, in the area where Hitler and Nazi officials resided, the SA member who had been tasked with the assassination entered Berchtesgaden wearing a SA uniform, unaware of where Hitler lived.

During his search, he attracted the attention of the guards and was arrested on the spot.

As a result, the assassination weapon was found on him, and after interrogation, he immediately revealed who hired him.

That person was subsequently arrested as well.

He claimed that he was just an intermediary and that the real employers were six Weimar officers.

The next morning, six Weimar officers were arrested and all executed.

William, too, was implicated because of his close relationship with six Weimar officers. In order to avoid being captured by the Nazis, he entrusted the True Cross to Indiana and fled to the East.

(End of this chapter)