Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 478, Section 464: Zero Fighter Intelligence, Internal Investigation Department, Preventing Internal Traitors from Stealing Taishan Data
Fang Wen had no recollection of the code name 12.

It could be an experimental model for some series of research iterations, or it could have other meanings; in any case, it's not a formal model.

However, the prisoner's original words, relayed by Officer Liu, were: "It is absolutely comparable to the best fighter jets available today."

From this, Fang Wen made a conjecture that this aircraft was likely to be the mainstay fighter of the Japanese military in the future.

It could only be the Zero fighter.

In order to learn more about the new Japanese warplanes, Fang Wen sent a telegram to Japan at the agreed time of 8:30 p.m. after seeing off Officer Liu.

No response was received after the radio wave was sent.

This indicates that Yoshida was not receiving telegrams.

This has happened before. Yoshida may not have gone home yet because of something. Fang Wen plans to continue sending the telegram tomorrow night.

Tokyo.

Yoshida, the pawn Fang Wen planted here, is visiting a private residence.

The person who met him was Osamu Nagano.

The two sat opposite each other.

"How's the drill going?"

"Thanks to the general's guidance, everything went smoothly."

"Let's not be polite. You and I have been through life and death together, and you once saved the Prime Minister. Although he has now stepped down, our power has not diminished because of it."

Yoshida didn't speak, but kept nodding.

He sighed inwardly, recalling an old Chinese saying, wondering if he was in Cao Cao's camp but his heart was with Han.

The more important he is to others, the more pressure he feels.

But things have already progressed to this point, and he has no way out.

Osamu Nagano continued speaking.

“We have prepared a perfect resume for you. You have served as a deputy captain and worked in both the military affairs and exercise departments of the Ministry of the Navy. This resume is already qualified you to take on more important military positions.”

So that's how it is. Yoshida smiled bitterly to himself. He had become the representative of the young and middle-aged officers of this faction. No wonder he had been transferred several times in the past year.

He couldn't help but ask, "General, what military rank will I be assigned?"

"Minister of Emergency Preparedness Promotion Department, once you're there, familiarize yourself with the operations. In a while, there will be something very important that requires your cooperation."

Refusal was no longer an option, so Yoshida bowed deeply.

"Thank you General."

Osamu Nagano smiled and said, "Alright, let's stop here for today. Don't tell anyone about this. Just wait for your transfer orders."

Yoshida got up, left the room, and put on his shoes.

He stepped out of his private residence and stared blankly at the night sky. His position was rising higher and higher, but the pressure on him was also increasing.

Walking back to his residence alone, he closed the door and subconsciously took out the box containing the telegraph machine, but then remembered that the agreed time had passed.

We'll have to wait until tomorrow night to talk about it.

The following night, Nagano Osamu had dinner at an izakaya as usual and packed some snacks to take home.

He waited until 9:20 (time difference), skillfully took out the box from the cabinet, took out the telegraph machine, and started the telegraph.

The telegram was about his upcoming promotion.

He had just finished sending the message when he heard another radio wave at the same frequency.

Yoshida quickly recorded the Morse code and translated it.

[Investigate the situation of the 12th test fighter jet; report back immediately upon receiving results.]

Upon reading the telegram, Yoshida felt his anxiety dissipate for some reason and prepared to begin his intelligence gathering work.

Having worked in both military and exercise departments, he had his own information channels. Through private conversations with suppliers, he learned about the situation of the 12th test and sent a telegram to report it that very evening.

On the night of November 5th.

After waiting for news for several nights in a row, Fang Wen finally received a secret telegram from Tokyo.

He decoded the message.

The contents contain information about the 12th test.

Last May, the Navy submitted a design proposal entitled "Program Requirements for the Twelfth Test Carrier-based Fighter" to Nakajima Aircraft Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The requirements are:

[Single-seat, capable of taking off and landing on aircraft carriers and land bases, used for intercepting fighter jets and destroying enemy reconnaissance aircraft;]

[Its speed and climb rate are superior to the enemy's high-speed aircraft, and its maneuverability allows it to engage in air combat with enemy fighters.]

Fang Wen was completely engrossed in reading it.

Initially, the two companies designed the project according to these requirements, but as the situation on the Chinese battlefield changed, they had to make improvements in response to the military's demands.

The new plan is as follows:
携带20毫米炮1~2门，如只装设1门时必须追加7.7毫米机枪2挺。

携带1门20毫米机炮的弹药量为60发、1挺7.7毫米机枪为300发。

Practical combat altitude: 3000~5000 meters.

Furthermore, the aircraft is equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks, which can extend the flight time to more than 6 hours.

In addition, the fuselage can carry two 30-kilogram aerial bombs.

Looking at the contents of these design proposals, Fang Wen pondered.

Clearly, global air force competition is extremely fierce.

He designed the Taishan first-generation machine with similar performance, based on the German BF109.

The Japanese are doing the same thing.

But aircraft development is not so easy, Fang Wen continued reading.

Last year, based on the needs of the China battlefield, the Japanese Navy revised the aircraft's design requirements to a maximum airspeed of 500 kilometers per hour at an altitude of 4000 meters.

This design had already been approved, but with the emergence of the Taishan fighter jet last month, its performance advantage has been diminished.

The Japanese Navy requested that the maximum speed be increased to 550 km/h and the maximum climb altitude to 9000 meters.

[Nakajima Corporation therefore withdrew, and Mitsubishi Corporation took over.]

The new design, fully aligned with the Taishan's first-generation fighter, required the armament of two 20mm cannons, two 7.7mm machine guns, and the ability to carry two 60kg bombs. It also needed to carry various radio equipment, including a radio communication system, capable of sending and receiving telegrams within 300 nautical miles and conducting radio communication within 30 nautical miles.

Upon seeing this, Fang Wen's expression turned serious.

He developed the first generation of the Taishan fighter jet, experienced various problems, and had a clear understanding of how to improve the performance of fighter jets under the technological background of this era.

It would take the Japanese at least three years to meet the requirements of the new plan, and they might not even be able to achieve all of them, such as the wireless equipment.

Three years later, the Zero fighter officially entered service.

However, it is not impossible to achieve this ahead of time, namely by stealing various technical data from Taishan Airlines.

In this way, they don't need to spend a lot of time and energy to achieve it; all they need is someone to cooperate.

Thinking of this, Fang Wen couldn't help but feel worried.

Don't think this is impossible. The Japanese are masters of this. If our own people are actually recruited and defected, then we'll be in big trouble.

Although the security design of the Taishan Research Institute's archives was very tight, Fang Wen was still worried.

After all, these are all paper documents. If someone sneaks in, takes pictures of them, or even copies them onto paper and takes them out, it might go unnoticed without surveillance. The more Fang Wen thought about it, the more worried he became.

He immediately instructed Du Jiahuai to contact Officer Liu of the Second Bureau.

Officer Liu returned to the airport and spoke with Fang Wen.

This time, Fang Wen took the initiative: "I need to go back. I investigated the intelligence you gave me last time through my own channels. The Japanese army is also developing high-speed fighter jets. Their technology is not mature in many aspects. I suspect they will steal technical data from me."

Officer Liu was very astute about this: "Currently, the performance of the Taishan's first-generation fighter jet is indeed superior to that of the Japanese military's existing fighter jets. It is indeed possible that they will steal technology from you to shorten the development time of their newly developed fighter jets. I will report this situation to you, please wait a moment."

After finishing his sentence, Officer Liu quickly went out to report the situation.

He quickly returned to the airport. "We fully support you. We absolutely cannot let the Japanese steal Taishan's technology. Please let us know if you need anything."

Fang Wen hadn't thought of anything he needed help with yet, so he politely thanked him and immediately began preparations for going abroad.

He originally wanted to make a name for himself on the battlefield by piloting the first generation of Taishan aircraft.

However, the Zero fighter incident made Fang Wen abandon his plan to continue fighting.

He wanted to go back, but the fighter jets remained in the country.

A combat squadron of three interceptors was incorporated into the Yan'an Flight Team for better coordination.

As a result, the Eighth Route Army possessed a three-dimensional combat air force system consisting of fighter jets, interceptors, and gunships.

How will they perform next? Fang Wen is very much looking forward to it.

After making the arrangements, Fang Wen piloted a seaplane southward.

After transiting through Chengdu and Guiyang, Fang Wenfei flew back to Yangon.

Yangon Taishan Airlines Headquarters.

Company senior management meeting.

Fang Wen, Manager Liu, Fang Shouxin, and Shao Sishen are the four people.

Since they were all his trusted confidants, Fang Wen didn't stand on ceremony and directly explained the situation.

"When I was in China, I learned by chance that the Japanese were also developing high-speed fighter jets, but their technology was at least three years behind ours. I suspected that the Japanese might be trying to use our technical data against us. Therefore, we held a special meeting to discuss it."

Manager Liu was the first to speak up, "Even in business, people will investigate their competitors and even send their employees to infiltrate their businesses. What's more, now that two countries are at war, there's no morality or ethics, and any means are acceptable."

Fang Shouxin nodded and replied, "Yes. What we've done over the years has made us irreconcilably opposed to the Japanese. They're capable of anything. Fortunately, the base and headquarters are now far from the battlefield, so even if they want to cause trouble, they can only do it covertly."

"I'm really afraid they'll play dirty tricks," Fang Wen sighed. "No matter how much you guard against thieves within your own ranks, it's hard to guard against them. What I fear most is that our own people might be bribed by Japanese spies."

At this point, even Fang Wen's special abilities couldn't solve the problem, and even the danger warning from the bronze cauldron wouldn't be of any use.

Shao Sichen, who had been silent until now, spoke up: "Knowing a person's face but not their heart is indeed very troublesome. We should consider this matter with a skeptical attitude. Let's assume that there are already people within the company who have been bribed by the Japanese."

“Yes, we can conduct a preliminary investigation first,” Fang Shouxin said.

how should I do it?

The four people discussed this.

"Our administration department is conducting a thorough background check on all company personnel, especially those at the Taishan Research Institute. Everyone there will be investigated, and anyone who has had contact with them during this period will also be investigated."

“The research institute’s staff are currently scattered. I suggest that all of them be moved to a residential area and radio detection devices be installed there. If anyone uses radio to send messages, they will definitely be detected.”

"The security of the archives needs to be redesigned. Anyone entering the archives to borrow technical materials must be accompanied by a designated person and registered. The use of any filming devices is strictly prohibited."

After some discussion, Fang Wen and his team came up with a plan.

After spending a day in Yangon, Fang Wen set about taking action.

Taishan Aviation is expanding its military industry, and it must make targeted changes.

He conducted investigations into all personnel involved in the Taishan military industry and the Myanmar industrial base.

This includes their financial review, investigation of their social background and relationships, and records of any possible unusual behavior.

To this end, Fang Wen established a new department.

It is under the Internal Investigation Section of the Administrative Management Department.

All the staff in this department were selected from the long-term employees of the administration department.

While the internal investigation department was reviewing the documents, Fang Wen also went to northern Myanmar.

There, he announced that all research institute staff would move into the new residential area.

At the same time, all existing security measures were upgraded, and surveillance cameras were quietly installed.

For Fang Wen, who already possessed television technology, surveillance was not difficult to implement.

The television guidance system on the first-generation aircraft could be used as a surveillance system.

It's just that there's no medium that can store large amounts of images.

Therefore, at night, Fang Wen, along with a group of trusted staff, quietly installed camera devices in various concealed locations within the research institute.

These camera devices cannot move, yet they can capture the scene in front of the lens in real time.

These images were transmitted via connecting wires to the innermost room on that floor of the archives.

Because it was impossible to store a large amount of surveillance video data there, everything in this monitoring room could only be recorded by the monitors' mental records.

The search for potential moles is underway in secret.

Fang Wen used this operation as a template, and the Internal Investigation Department would conduct long-term investigations into traitors thereafter.

On the third day, the surveillance system was fully installed.

Zhao Shanhu, who was transferred to the internal investigation department, and three other employees entered the monitoring room to take turns monitoring shifts.

For the next few days, they kept a close eye on the images displayed on the six CRT monitors.

The whole process is tedious, often lasting for several hours, with nothing particularly noteworthy happening.

The occasional movement appearing on the screen would excite them, but most of the time it was just people passing by or being granted permission to visit the archives to look up technical documents.

These people were unaware that their actions were being secretly filmed.

Therefore, some behaviors that were thought to be very discreet were exposed.

Day five of the spy investigation.

Zhao Shanhu took over.

He took out a large box full of food from the cloth bag, and then slowly ate while reading.

After he finished eating, he stood up and paced back and forth in the monitoring room, his head constantly fixed on the six monitors.

Suddenly, he stopped.

His eyes were wide open, and he looked excited.

On screen number 4, a researcher is looking through documents, while his companion stands idly by his side, bored.

This kind of scene is nothing unusual.

However, Zhao Shanhu, who frequently watched the surveillance footage, noticed that the researcher's hand had a problem.

The other person's left hand was making subtle movements in the blind spot of the accompanying person, and a piece of paper with writing on it was quickly pulled out and placed under the desk.

Because the surveillance footage was somewhat blurry, Zhao Shanhu was unsure.

He kept a close eye on the situation and immediately reported it after the researchers and their entourage left.

(End of this chapter)