Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 419, 417: The Birth of Logic Circuits, Flight in Enemy-Occupied Territory
Fang Wen only touched upon the possibility of a Japanese military airfield in Chahar.

He doesn't have time to worry about that now; he has too many things to do.

The construction of the production base in northern Myanmar, the conversion of seaplanes into gunboats, and the large-scale production of semiconductor products—each of these tasks demanded his attention.

I also need to take Fang Shouxin to Cangzhou during the little time I can spare.

On his second day in Fuping, Bai Yunfei went to the sea airport and handed an envelope to Fang Wen.

"Inside are the radio communication frequencies of the underground Communist Party in Cangzhou, North China, as well as special coded messages, which are only valid for this operation and will expire afterward."

Fang Wen took the envelope. "Thank you."

"I should be thanking you. Ten gunship aircraft and 30 pilots were extremely important to us," Bai Yunfei replied.

He saluted Fang Wen and said, "Take care."

Then he turned and left.

Despite his numerous injuries, his back remained upright.

Watching Bai Yunfei's figure disappear into the distance, Fang Wencai opened the envelope.

There was only one piece of paper inside, with the radio contact frequency written on it, and a sentence.

[Cong Guiting's Medical Essays uses Morse code to convert numbers, corresponding to page and line numbers in the text, as a password.]

It must be the book title. Fang Wen put the note away and called Gong Xiuneng and Fang Shouxin over. Together they boarded the Water Tiger No. 4 gunboat.

The gunship aircraft took off and first flew back to Wuhan.

After landing, Gong Xiuneng asked, "Commander, weren't we going to Cangzhou? Why are we back?"

“We haven’t prepared everything yet, and we also need to take other people with us,” Fang Wen replied. Gong Xiu was unaware of the situation in Cangzhou. It wasn’t just Fang Shouxin who was involved there; there were also the 10 of Fang Shouxin’s nephews who had been brought out of Cangzhou.

He then went to the airport parking garage, drove a black sedan that he had prepared specifically for himself, and set off with Gong Xiuneng and Fang Shouxin.

As the car drove out of the airport, Fang Wen activated the mechanical sensors to observe the surrounding situation while driving.

Although this crisis is about financial gain, we still need to be wary of the other party's misbehavior.

Through his mechanical senses, he discovered the stalker, also in a black car.

Hanging 200 meters behind, following at a leisurely pace.

Fang Wen calmly stepped on the gas, and the car suddenly accelerated and turned right, driving into the street on the right.

As the car turned the corner, a bus also came along the street on the right.

It conveniently blocked the tracking vehicle.

The driver of the car following behind impatiently stuck his head out, cursing and waving his arm to make the bus blocking the way pass quickly.

Once the bus had driven off, he immediately sped off down the street to the right.

Little did they know, Fang Wen had merely set up a smokescreen, parking the car in a small alley.

Watching the car speeding past, Fang Wen silently counted to ten before reversing his car and driving in the opposite direction.

Having easily shaken off his pursuers, Fang Wen continued to use his mechanical senses to observe his surroundings. Only when he saw no signs of being followed by any of the surrounding vehicles did he feel relieved enough to drive towards the Huimin Bookstore in Hankou.

The three parked the car on the side of the road and went into the bookstore.

Inside the shop, Fang Wen asked the clerk, "Do you have Cong Guiting's Medical Novels?"

The shop assistant was unaware and called the shop manager.

Upon hearing the book title, the shop manager looked at Fang Wen strangely: "That's a book written by a Japanese author; we don't sell it."

Using a Japanese book as a codebook is a good idea; the Japanese army probably wouldn't have thought of it that way.

Fang Wen smiled and asked, "What book is this?"

The shop owner explained without hesitation: "Medical case and medical anecdotes written by Japanese traditional Chinese medicine practitioners 100 years ago were once used as case studies by medical students, but now nobody wants them and they're all being thrown into the warehouse to collect dust."

It's not that we don't have them, it's that we don't sell them.

Fang Wen gave Fang Shouxin a wink, and Fang Shouxin took over the conversation with the shop owner, who eventually agreed to get him a copy.

After a while, he came out of the back storeroom and took out a box of books, a total of seven volumes.

After obtaining the codebook, the three got back into the car.

The car drove back to the headquarters of Taishan Airlines, and they summoned the ten nephews that Fang Shouxin had brought from Cangzhou.

These ten individuals are no longer security guards; as they have grown older, they have taken up different positions at Taishan Airlines.

Fang Shouxin spoke up: "The general manager is considerate of us and has decided to fly to Cangzhou. Who among you would like to come along?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Shouxin's expression turned serious.

Zhao Shanhu, whom Fang Wen valued highly, took the lead and said, "We are Cangzhou men, and there is not a single coward among us. Let alone going back to our parents, if anyone dares to say a word against it, I will tear him apart."

The others agreed without hesitation.

Seeing his nephews' behavior, Fang Shouxin felt relieved, at least they didn't disregard their parents.

Next, it was Fang Wen's turn to speak.

He gestured to Gong Xiuneng to bring over a cart full of weapons.

"The trip to Cangzhou may involve various dangers, so you should all bring weapons, just in case."

The ten men walked over, and Gong Xiuneng issued them each a Mauser M1932 automatic pistol (box cannon), plus three magazines of ammunition. In addition, each man was also equipped with a British-made fragmentation grenade.

While distributing the weapons, Gong Xiuneng asked each of them individually whether they knew how to use the pistols and fragmentation grenades.

If you don't know how, learn it now; don't cram at the last minute.

Fang Shouxin also went over, asked for a pistol, and learned how to use it.

Seeing their lively scene, Fang Wen did not join in the fun, but instead went to the Taishan Research Institute.

Taishan Research Institute is a company department that was not affected by this crisis.

Even in the worst circumstances, these people continued their research in the research building.

After going upstairs, Fang Wen directly inquired about the researchers' progress.

His request for calculator technology has finally yielded results.

On behalf of the other researchers, vacuum tube technology expert William Short presented the findings to Fang Wen.

"Following the ideas you provided, we have created a semiconductor integrated chip, which can now perform computing functions."

"Really? Let me see," Fang Wen said in surprise.

The researchers brought out the calculators they had made.

It's a bit big; it's completely different from the palm-sized calculators that will appear later.

The input device keyboard uses rubber sheets to make soft keys, and there is a closing device under the key. Pressing the key connects the current to generate an input signal.

The output device uses a CRT, also known as a Braun tube, which employs the display technology developed by Berlin television manufacturers in Germany.

It's the technology used in early black and white televisions, where cathode rays bombard fluorescent materials on a screen to emit visible light and display images or text.

(A television set costing $100 in 45; such devices existed before World War II, with the Berlin television factory being one example.)
The input and output devices are well-made.

Fang Wen continued reading.

The researchers opened the cover of the calculator's main unit, revealing its interior.

Inside is a whole circuit board, with various components integrated on it through circuitry, based on the semiconductor technology concept brought by Fang Wen.

Its central position is what the researchers referred to as the semiconductor integrated chip.

It is actually a prototype of future integrated chips.

It contains a large number of transistors and other electronic components. These transistors, through complex connections and layouts, enable the calculator's basic calculation functions.

simply put,
When a user inputs numbers and operators via a keyboard, these signals are converted into electrical signals and transmitted to a semiconductor chip.

The transistors inside a semiconductor integrated circuit perform corresponding logic outputs based on the input electrical signals, which is the logic operation process. These operations are based on the binary principle, that is, using 0 and 1 to represent numbers.

Basic arithmetic and logical operations are implemented through a series of logic gates (such as AND gates, OR gates, NOT gates, etc.).

After the calculation is completed, the result will be converted into an electrical signal and displayed on the screen.

After listening to the researcher's explanation, Fang Wen couldn't wait to start operating the equipment.

He pressed 5 + 4 = on the keyboard.
The characters he typed appeared simultaneously on the fluorescent screen in the middle of the large monitor box.

The result was output when the = key was pressed.

5 + 4 = 9
Don't underestimate the power of such a simple calculation success; it signifies that Taishan Aviation has taken humanity a giant leap forward ahead of schedule.

Fang Wen suppressed his excitement and made the next step: "Your current research direction is the miniaturization of equipment and components. Something this big has no practical value."

The researchers nodded in agreement with Fang Wen's view, completely unaware that for the next thirty years, large and bulky equipment would remain the mainstream of semiconductor technology.

But they also have difficulties, William Short said.

"Boss, we don't have enough researchers. Can we add more staff so we can break down the project and assign more research points?"

This request is perfectly normal. Semiconductor technology has been developing for so many years, and even if Fang Wen can point out the direction, it is still a huge systems engineering project.

Not to mention, developing the military industry also requires a large number of technical experts.

Fang Wen replied, "Hang in there for now. I'll go to Europe and recruit another group of people."

After offering some words of encouragement, he prepared to leave the research institute.

The person had already reached the stairwell.

But then it stopped.

Fang Wen thought of something.

The invention of the calculator signifies the emergence of the first generation of logic circuits.

This technology can be used for military purposes.

Yes, I almost forgot about something so important.

Several application solutions came to mind.

All-transistor shortwave receiver (military use).

Transistor logic circuits were used, which greatly reduced the original structure and size.

This results in advantages such as small size, light weight, simple power supply, and convenient operation.

This is a true wireless communication device, more advanced than the Taishan walkie-talkie.

Even after the war ends, it can be directly converted for civilian use, serving as a security and police walkie-talkie.

Practical military radar equipment.

Transistor logic circuits are used for signal and data processing. These circuits can quickly process the signals received by the radar and output the results through specific logic operations, saving a lot of time spent on manual calculations.

This enables the rapid positioning function of current radar devices.

There are other ideas.

The guidance system used for missiles performs guidance calculations in a timely manner through feedback of electrical signals, thereby enabling the missile to be guided and strike.

Semiconductor devices used for listening.

Remotely controlled bomb.

Thinking of this, Fang Wen almost turned back and asked the researchers to conduct the research according to his ideas.

But in the end, he managed to restrain himself.

Under the current circumstances, the Taishan Research Institute is not suitable to carry out any military research projects.

I need to wait until I return from the North China Plain and move the research institute to Yangon, where I won't have to worry about being controlled, before I can conduct research.

After leaving the research institute, Fang Wen went to the headquarters office building to say goodbye to his wife.

"I'm going to the north. When I come back, I'll take you away from Wuhan."

"You need to be careful. Right now, you and my brother are the only two relatives I have left in the country," Kuang Mingzhu said softly.

His wife's words softened Fang Wen's heart. He patted his wife's shoulder and said, "I will definitely come back, don't worry."

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving no time for sentimental thoughts.

at dusk.

The group left the headquarters of Taishan Airlines and headed to the sea airport.

They did not depart immediately and are currently resting in the airport office area.

Fang Wenze and Gong Xiuneng entered the gunboat.

Under the illumination of a carbide lamp, Fang Wen flipped through Cong Guiting's medical novels.

He first found the text he needed in the book, and then converted it into Morse code based on the page numbers and the numbers formed by the paragraphs in cursive script.

In this way, the sent Morse code becomes a coded message, which is very difficult to decipher unless the source of the code is known to be this book.

After the translation was completed, Fang Wen adjusted the frequency of the airborne radio to a specific frequency and sent a telegram.

It was sent three times in total, and then I just waited.

Half an hour later, the other party called back.

[Arrangements have been made. Landing is scheduled for midnight tonight on the South Canal. The landing point is at the Imperial Stele on the canal; the triangular fire will be the signal. Please call back to confirm if this is feasible.]

This was a night flight that only Fang Wen could accomplish, and he didn't hesitate to call back to confirm.

Afterwards, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng disembarked and returned to the airport office area.

There, he said, "We're leaving at 8:30 p.m., so we have two hours left. Let's have dinner."

Fang Shouxin took the initiative to get up, and led a few of his nephews to the canteen to get some food.

After a quick dinner, everyone waited quietly.

Two hours passed quickly, and in the darkness of night, the group left to board the plane.

After everyone else had boarded, Gong Xiuneng loosened the dock rope and jumped into the cabin.

After closing the hatch, he went to the aft cabin and pulled out the anchor that had sunk to the bottom of the water.

He then reported it loudly.

"Commander, we are ready to take off."

Fang Wen nodded, started the engine, and the gunboat slowly turned around, accelerating on the water.

The speed increased to the takeoff threshold, the fuselage lifted, and it took off into the sky.

The flight from Wuhan to the North China Plain, within Cangzhou, is 900 kilometers.

We set off at 8:30 and entered the Japanese war zone at around 10:00.

The night sky was pitch black, and the plane disappeared into the darkness, silently flying thousands of meters above the ground.

Without satellite navigation or any reference points, Fang Wen relied on his mechanical senses to determine that the entire flight path was correct.

He became one with the airplane, like an iron bird spreading its wings and soaring.

The stars are his guides, the river reflecting the moonlight below, and the city lights are his landmarks.

And so, Fang Wen once again completed an impossible flight mission and arrived in Cangzhou.

Next, we need to find the Imperial Stele of the Grand Canal section and the triangular fire signal there.

His mechanical perception and eagle-eye ability allowed him to look down at the long canal.

(End of this chapter)