Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 416 Spanish gunboats deliver goods, and talks between chieftains in northern Myanmar.

The Pan Am employee did not believe that the Xuanming model was designed by Fang Wen.

However, the mechanics sent to Manila by Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant can attest that this is indeed the general manager of Taishan Airlines.

The Pan Am Manila airport manager granted Fang Wen permission to board the plane for inspection.

For the safety of his family members during their journey, Fang Wen conducted a thorough investigation of the Xuanming-type long-haul seaplane parked at the airport dock.

Under the mechanical sensing, some minor problems with the aircraft were identified, and then Fang Wen and the mechanics resolved the issues one by one.

Afterwards, Fang Wen saw his family members off onto the plane and watched it take off and depart.

Now that he no longer has to worry about his family being held hostage, Fang Wen can finally relax.

Feeling completely relaxed, he boarded a seaplane and took off for the white emirate of Sarawak.

There is a Southeast Asian sea route operated by Taishan Airlines, which flies from there to Yangon.

After a journey of over 4000 kilometers and multiple transfers, Fang Wen finally returned to Yangon after 12 hours.

The rush was also to send the Spanish gunboat training team back to Europe.

Given the current situation in Europe, it is impossible for them to fly gunboats back through the airspace controlled by Italy and Germany via normal routes. They can only return safely to Spain by taking the secret route from Asia to Africa that Fang Wen flew over, bypassing the sea blockade.

This was also a condition agreed upon by both parties when the gunboat aircraft was sold.

Rest overnight in Yangon.

Fang Wen got up early and went directly to the dormitory of the seaplane training center.

There, the Spanish Republican Army had already packed their bags and were waiting for him.

Fang Wen said, "Let's go to the cafeteria for a meal and talk while we eat."

The group went to the canteen, carrying rice porridge, steamed buns, and dumplings, and ate first.

After finishing their meal, everyone put away their tableware, and Fang Wen took out the map and unfolded it.

He pointed to the flight path drawn on the map.

“We’re going to take this route, which isn’t a common one. It’s your first time flying this way, so you’re bound to mess it up. I’ll fly you back in a navigator.”

After speaking, Fang Wen looked at the pilots of the Spanish training team.

"Is there a problem?"

All the other pilots said there was no problem, only Isabella was looking at Fang Wen.

"Okay, that's all for now. We'll call it a day. We'll meet up again in two hours and head out."

After Fang Wen finished speaking, he left the cafeteria, and Isabella followed him out.

As Fang Wen walked out of the cafeteria, he turned into an empty hangar. He stopped and turned around, and saw Isabella walking towards him.

The two looked at each other in silence. After a moment, Isabella opened the bag she was carrying and took out its contents.

It was a sweater, blue with a pattern and buttons.

Holding the sweater, Isabella said, "I knitted this Pollylo sweater for you."

Fang Wen took off his coat, and Isabella put it on him.

It seems to fit quite well.

"Is that alright?" Isabella asked.

“Okay.” Fang Wen turned around.

Fang Wen, who was originally very good at socializing, and Isabella, the Moulin Rouge opera singer, both seemed to have lost their ability to speak.

After a long pause, Fang Wen finally managed to say, "Be careful in Spain. Although gunships and aircraft carriers have bulletproof plates on their chassis and sides, they can still be penetrated. Don't be overconfident in their armor. If fighter jets approach and attack, immediately order the gunners to fire airburst rounds."

Before she could finish speaking, Isabelle stretched out her finger and pressed it against her lips.

The two hugged each other tightly.

Two hours later, a lead seaplane and three gunboats took off from the waters of Yangon port.

Under Fang Wen's guidance, the plane flew to Kolkata, then crossed the Indian subcontinent and landed in Mumbai.

After refueling in Mumbai, the plane flew to Karachi, then crossed the Arabian Sea to enter the secret route that Fang Wen had once flown.

The flight was so long that it couldn't be completed in a day, and they spent the night on the Nile River outside Cairo.

The next day, the four planes continued to take off, and after several transfers, they arrived in Algiers in the afternoon.

The journey from Algiers across the Mediterranean to Valencia is the most dangerous voyage.

In response, Fang Wen activated mechanical sensing and used the aircraft's radar to detect the situation within a 300-kilometer radius.

Only after confirming that there was no feedback from any aircraft did he lead three gunboats to fly over the Mediterranean.

After an hour and a half of flight time, the four planes arrived over Valencia.

Fang Wen switched the radio frequency, picked up the microphone, and called out in English.

"Mount Tai is calling the ground. Please respond if you hear me."

A moment later, the radio device emitted a sound.

"Call received. The gunboat landing point is not here. We will send an aircraft to guide it. Please wait."

After the call ended, the two Il-16s took off.

One of the Il-16 pilots flew alongside Fang Wen, communicating with hand gestures.

He meant that he would lead the flight, and Fang Wen responded with a gesture of agreement.

Subsequently, six planes flew over Valencia, heading northwest, and eventually landed on the Turia River, which flows out from the mountains.

Fang Wen also landed and refueled.

Finally, he shook hands with Isabella, said goodbye, and left.

Three days later, Fang Wen returned to Yangon, rested briefly, and then flew his plane to Jinghong.

The plane landed at the sea airport outside Jinghong City, where he was greeted by Liu Jinrui, the director of the penicillin factory.

After Fang Wen got off the plane, Liu Jinrui said, "General Manager, Zheng Hanlong is hosting a banquet for you in the city."

“This guy just loves to make a scene and pull stunts. Let’s go over there,” Fang Wen said with a smile.

Immediately afterwards, he, Gong Xiuneng, and Liu Jinrui entered Jinghong City.

Upon seeing Fang Wen come upstairs at the largest restaurant in the city, Zheng Hanlong happily got up to greet him.

"Long time no see! You've become a great hero, while I'm still stuck here. Come, sit down, I have a favor to ask."

Fang Wen sat down, but was a little puzzled. He had come to ask Zheng Hanlong for help, but the other party had spoken first.

Zheng Hanlong poured wine for Fang Wen, then raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Then he smiled and said, "The victory at Taierzhuang owes much to my Yunnan army. My family is from a remote area in southern Yunnan. I missed the last time the army was formed, and I wasted a chance to make a name for myself. This time, I plan to lead my troops north to participate in the war of resistance."

"You're leading the troops yourself?" Fang Wen asked in surprise, not expecting Zheng Hanlong to have such courage.

"Yes, the Zheng family is not afraid of fighting, but our weapons are inadequate. I've heard that the Japanese devils are well-equipped, and I don't want my own sons to go to war with Hanyang rifles."

The Hanyang rifle is arguably the most widely circulated rifle in China. It has been around since the late Qing Dynasty and remains a common rifle used by various Chinese military units to this day.

Zheng Hanlong actually looked down on the Hanyang rifle.

Fang Wen picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and replied, "The Hanyang rifle is pretty good. I've even seen people using homemade guns and cannons to fight the Japanese."

Zheng Hanlong shook his head: "No, I know you have connections and can get good guns. I'll offer a high price, give me 500."

This request was no problem for Fang Wen. He still had some of the German rifles he had bought last time, which he could sell to Zheng Hanlong.

Moreover, this is precisely an opportunity.

Fang Wen replied, "If I help you get a gun, you have to do me a favor too."

Zheng Hanlong was overjoyed: "Go ahead and tell me." "Last time I flew you to northern Myanmar, were those two local chieftains the most powerful in the area?"

"No. There are several other tribes there, they're all about the same size, and none of them is the largest."

"If I want to talk to them, do you have a way to get several of them here?"

What do you want to see them for?

Zheng Hanlong asked, puzzled. Northern Myanmar was a remote and impoverished area that even the Zheng family looked down upon. He didn't understand why someone as important as Fang Wen would want to go there.

Fang Wen explained, "I plan to buy land there, a very large piece of land."

"How big?"

"Buy 10000 mu first."

Zheng Hanlong was stunned. Ten thousand mu was no small amount, and judging from his tone, it wasn't even all of it.

After a long pause, he nodded and said, "I don't care whether it works out or not, as long as they're all here, you have to sell me the gun."

"can."

Fang Wen raised his glass.

Only after Zheng Hanlong agreed to help did the situation in northern Myanmar have a chance to develop.

After all, it's very difficult for outsiders to deal with the indigenous peoples in northern Myanmar.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen piloted the plane directly, taking Zheng Hanlong to northern Myanmar.

He met with the chieftains of the two Tu tribes in the name of the Zheng family, and then the two tribes sent people to contact other tribes.

The meeting was to be held at the Mandalay Royal Palace.

When the tribal chiefs heard that the meeting would be held in the former Burmese royal palace and that they would be transported by private jet, they happily agreed.

Three days later, two seaplanes arrived in northern Myanmar at the same time and landed on a local river.

The clan leaders who were going to attend the meeting, dressed in their best clothes, boarded the plane.

The plane flew to Mandalay and landed in a small lake within the royal palace grounds.

Fang Wenhe and Zheng Hanlong, who acted as the middleman, greeted them at the lakeside pier.

These people, dressed in armor and ancient costumes, were someone Fang Wen had seen once before when he escorted Zheng Hanlong to northern Myanmar, but it wasn't on such a grand scale.

He greeted them with a smile and quietly asked Zheng Hanlong, "What are they wearing?"

Zheng Hanlong said in a low voice, "Those are the armor and official robes bestowed upon the Xuanwei Envoy during the Ming Dynasty. After the Ming Dynasty fell, they kept them all, only wearing them on important occasions. The last time I wore this outfit was to attend the coronation ceremony of the King of England as the Emperor of India."

(A group photo of the chieftains of northern Myanmar attending the coronation of the British King)

"Really?" Fang Wen adjusted his mindset. Since the other party was taking this meeting so seriously, it meant that the probability of reaching an agreement was increasing.

He then, with a broad smile, led a group of northern Myanmar tribal chiefs to the dining room in the Mandalay Royal Palace.

The dining room was once where the Burmese king received guests. Although Taishan Airlines uses Mandalay Palace as a flying club, it has preserved most of the original facilities.

Even the food was specially prepared as a Burmese royal meal.

This is the set menu we're serving this time.

Furthermore, the staff of the flying club will specifically explain the special significance of the dishes before serving them.

This allows the chieftains who have never been here to relive the scene of the Burmese king at this time through the food.

After the meal, Fang Wen stood up and asked, "Did you all enjoy your meal?"

The people Zheng Hanlong brought translated the words, and they all nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, let's go to the conference room to talk business."

After Fang Wen finished speaking, he led the way and left, with the others following behind.

They walked through the royal palace complex and arrived at the large conference room at the rear, which had been converted from a British military barracks.

There, Fang Wen began to explain the purpose of inviting these people.

He pulled off the cloth covering his back, revealing a map of northern Myanmar.

One area, circled in red, is precisely where the territory controlled by these people borders.

Fang Wen pointed to the area and said, "Gentlemen, let's be frank and not beat around the bush. Could you please sell me this land?"

After listening to the translation, the chieftains understood Fang Wen's intention.

One of them was the first to ask, "If we sell the land to you, how will our people live?"

“The residents of those lands can move elsewhere, and you will receive generous compensation. I guarantee that the price of the land will absolutely satisfy you.”

"How much?" someone asked.

“Three rupees per mu,” Fang Wen replied.

The rupee is a currency printed by the British. As a province of British India, Myanmar naturally uses British currency as well.

Currently, the exchange rate between the Indian rupee and the US dollar is approximately 1 US dollar to 2.7 rupees.

In other words, the price is a little over $1 per acre.

This offer immediately provoked dissatisfaction among some chieftains.

"No, it's too low."

"Is that low?" Fang Wen replied with a smile, "1 mu of land is 9 rupees. These barren mountains and fields can be sold for that much money. How many lifetimes of farming could earn that much?"

Another chieftain played the emotional card.

“You can’t calculate it that way. Our ancestors have lived here for generations, and we have an emotional connection to this land. If we sell it and move to another place, it will cost us even more.”

The chieftains were haggling over the price for their own benefit.

Fang Wen knew the truth: there were hardly any residents in that area, and all the money from the sales would end up in the pockets of these people.

But that's business; you feel like you've made a profit, and others feel like they haven't lost out.

Fang Wen quoted a very low price in order to counter these people's exorbitant demands.

He patiently negotiated with the chieftains, maintaining one principle: bargaining was acceptable, but raising the price too much would be considered a lack of sincerity.

This principle was triggered when the chieftains bargained the price down to 20 rupees.

That is, $7 per acre.

In response, Fang Wen deliberately stood up, feigning impatience: "I am very sincere in wanting to buy the land, but your offer is too high. We'll have to look elsewhere. I'm sorry."

When they realized things were about to fall apart and the wealth that was within their grasp was about to disappear, some people panicked.

"I'm willing to sell. How much do you want?"

His words shattered the fragile alliance, and other chieftains immediately joined in.

Fang Wen replied, "10 rupees per mu. That's the highest price I can offer."

10 rubles is equivalent to a little over 3 US dollars, so 10,000 mu would be more than 30,000 US dollars.

For impoverished and remote areas like northern Myanmar, this is a tremendous asset.

After discussing it, they agreed.

Fang Wen extended his hand and gave them a high five.

"Alright, I'll send someone over to measure the land in a while and start construction. We'll do the transaction on-site then, and the money and land will be settled."

The chieftains happily boarded the plane and left.

But Fang Wen's task was not that simple.

He wanted to talk to the British in Burma, since the British were still in control here, and some things couldn't be done without them.

(End of this chapter)