Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 485 Yuen Long Hakka Warriors Airlifted to Huizhou, Forced Landing and Fierce Battle on Jiangxin Island

In 1938, most of Kowloon Peninsula was still a remote area.

Yau Ma Tei Ferry Pier is relatively better because it's close to Hong Kong Island, but there aren't many buildings nearby.

It's like a transportation hub; after arriving at the station, you still need to go to other places.

Therefore, the people Fang Wen sent here were all picked up by their relatives one after another.

Some took a boat to Hong Kong Island, while others went to Kowloon Walled City.

When these people left, without exception, they all bid farewell to Fang Wen and thanked him for saving their lives.

After everyone had left, the dock became deserted again.

All that remained were the dock workers and a large number of unattended boats.

As for ships fleeing from Guangdong, they have become very rare since the Japanese navy imposed a blockade.

Fang Wen looked around the dock and ordered, "Gong Xiuneng, arrange for people to take turns on guard duty. The rest of you go and rest. We'll be busy tonight."

He then said to his assistant who was following him, "Junping, you should go to sleep too."

"General Manager, don't you need to rest?" Zhao Junping asked.

"I feel great, I'll go to sleep later," Fang Wen replied.

Immediately, everyone obeyed the order. Gong Xiuneng arranged for two armed staff members to stand guard at the cabin door with Thompson submachine guns, while the others took blankets from the rear cabin of the plane, spread them directly on the floor, and slept on the floor.

Fang Wenze walked to the cockpit, picked up the headset, put it on, and then adjusted the frequency to wait.

The agreed-upon time for telegram communication was between 9 and 10 a.m., but it's only a little past 8 a.m. now, so we have to wait.

Half an hour passed quickly, and a static sound came from the headphones.

Fang Wen picked up a pen and began to write down his notes on paper, while simultaneously translating them.

[We have contacted experts stranded in the occupied area and plan to board the plane in the lower reaches of the Dongjiang River. The exact location will be determined after on-site reconnaissance.]

[Additionally, a Hong Kong national salvation work team wishes to travel to Huiyang to participate in anti-Japanese activities. Could you transport them via your aircraft?]

"Of course, no problem," Fang Wen replied immediately, agreeing.

Then, the other party called again.

The message instructed Fang Wen to go to Yuen Long and find a contact person surnamed Pan.

After putting down the telegram, Fang Wen took out a map to examine it.

Yuen Long is located in the northernmost part of Hong Kong, bordering the former concessions. At that time, it was a very remote area.

It's a 20-kilometer walk from Yau Ma Tei, and because most of the area is undeveloped, the road is difficult to travel and you'll likely have to walk.

It will probably take most of the day.

However, if you fly there, you can land in the bay northwest of Yuen Long. (Shenzhen Bay)
Of course, we flew there; it would only take 10 minutes to get there. Fang Wen immediately called back.

I can fly to the bay northwest of Yuen Long and dock there to meet with my contact.

They didn't reply immediately this time; they called back after some time had passed.

[The contact person in Yuen Long has been notified; he will be waiting for you on the coast north of Lau Fau Shan in one hour.]

After checking the map, Fang Wen confirmed the location of Liufu Mountain and closed his eyes to rest.

An hour later, Fang Wen woke up on his own and prepared to leave.

He picked up the microphone: "The plane will be flying a short distance. Everyone, please don't get up and continue to rest. I will call you if anything happens. Gong Xiuneng, close the cabin door, disconnect the mooring lines, and weigh anchor."

Gong Xiuneng, who had not yet rested, jumped onto the dock, untied the cable, then jumped back into the plane, closed the cabin door, and went to the anchor room next to the cockpit to pull up and store the anchor that had sunk underwater.

After finishing, he reported, "Commander, it's done."

Fang Wen started the engine and controlled the aircraft's direction, gradually accelerating and taking off in the waters cleared by the Tanka boats.

After taking off, the plane circled and changed course, heading northwest.

In less than 10 minutes, the flight covered a distance of 20 kilometers and arrived in the Yuen Long area.

Below are both mountains and plains.

There are large tracts of farmland on the plain, as well as several villages scattered around.

In the northwest, near the sea, there is a mountainous area called Fuliu Mountain.

My gaze swept across Fuliu Mountain, and on the shore below the mountain, someone was waiting.

Fang Wen hovered in the air, and the people below waved to signal when they saw the plane.

He then piloted the plane to land on the sea north of Fuliu Mountain.

After the plane came to a stop, it headed towards the coast and landed at a convenient spot.

After Gong Xiuneng anchored the car, Fang Wen got up from the driver's seat.

He asked Gong Xiuneng, "Do you still have the energy?"

Gong Xiuneng stood up straight: "Commander, I can go three days without sleep and I'm fine."

“Alright, let’s go out for a bit, the rest of you can wait on the plane,” Fang Wen said.

Zhao Junping, who had been lying on the ground, sat up and said, "General Manager, I'm the secretary, I want to go too."

Fang Wen smiled and helped Zhao Junping up. "Alright, let's go together."

After instructing the remaining personnel to keep an eye on the aircraft, the three men opened the cabin door, set up the long plank, and went ashore.

The man on the shore came over and introduced himself: "I am Pan Zhengxin. I came here to wait for you as soon as I received the telegram from the Special Committee. I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly."

Fang Shi shook hands with him. "The Special Committee's telegram says I need to send a group of people to Huizhou. Can you tell me the specifics?"

“Let’s go to the village first; everyone’s over there,” Pan Zhengxin said.

Immediately, Fang Wen and the other two followed Pan Zhengxin.

After walking for an hour, the four of them arrived at a village.

The village was filled with people, men and women, young and old, with children and luggage.

In the most crowded area, porridge was being served.

(The Guangdong refugees who were settled in the village of Yuen Long at that time)
Fang Wen and his three companions made their way through the crowded people and entered the village.

Finally, we stopped at the village's ancestral hall.

There were dozens of people in the ancestral hall, all of them energetic young people.

They are learning how to use firearms.

Pan Zhengxin led Fang Wen inside and found a man wearing glasses, slicked-back hair, and a vest. "Captain Liu, the person has arrived."

The man shook hands with Fang Wen and said, "Come inside."

After entering the house, he poured water for Fang Wen and the other two while explaining, "We are all Hakka men. When we heard that our hometown had been occupied by the Japanese, we all wanted to go back and fight them. Just then, the Special Committee was preparing to establish several guerrilla detachments to fight the enemy, so we organized ourselves. A group of people have already gone to Dongguan County. Our group is going to Huizhou, which is quite far away. We are making preparations, but we didn't expect to have the opportunity to fly there."

Fang Wen asked, "How many people are there?"

Captain Liu replied, "We have fifty-three people, some equipment, and some dry rations."

Fang Wen thought that the number of people was not large, and with some individual equipment and supplies, they could be transported over in one trip.

However, we need to choose a suitable landing location.

He asked, "Seaplanes need a relatively wide section of river with a gentle current to land. Where do you think we could land?"

Instead of answering directly, Captain Liu took out a map, spread it out, and pointed out several possible landing locations.

Fang Wen noted down these locations. "Alright, I will land at Fuliu Mountain North in three days. Your people will be waiting there. The specific time will be notified to you by the Special Committee via telegram tomorrow."

After the negotiations were completed, Fang Wen returned to Fuliu Mountain, accompanied by Captain Liu and Pan Zhengxin.

The plane took off again and landed at Yau Ma Tei Pier 10 minutes later.

It's already noon, time for lunch.

Gong Xiuneng and his men took out their marching rations and used the hot water from the plane to make a simple meal. They ate together in the catering cabin.

While eating, Gong Xiuneng asked, "Commander, we need to help this side. We can't let the Japanese fight our way through."

Fang Wen nodded; he had the same idea.

Historically, the Dongjiang Guerrilla Force and the New Fourth Army persisted until the end of the War of Resistance against Japan, fighting bravely. If they had been equipped with new weapons, their combat effectiveness would have been greatly enhanced.

Moreover, the air force in the northern base area has gradually gained combat capability, and the Taishan Independent Regiment can also withdraw from Fuping to cooperate with the operations in the south. But this matter will not be discussed here. Fang Wen smiled and said, "Eat something, have a good rest this afternoon, we still have to continue night flights tonight."

A few hours later, night fell again, and the plane took off for Yangjiang, making two round trips and bringing another 200 people.

The next day, these people were also picked up by their relatives, but those who had flown in the first night brought food boxes to express their condolences.

For safety reasons, Fang Wen declined their condolences and remained in isolation, eating and drinking separately until nightfall, eventually transferring the remaining 200-plus people to Hong Kong.

On the fourth day, the plane continued its night flight, this time heading to the lower reaches of the Dongjiang River to pick up the stranded experts.

Before leaving, a group of anti-Japanese soldiers also had to be sent to Huizhou.

At 8 p.m., Fang Wen took off on time and landed in the northwest waters of Yuen Long 10 minutes later.

Fifty-three Hakka soldiers, who had been waiting on the shore, boarded the plane after it landed.

The plane then took off and flew to Huizhou.

The distance from Yuen Long to Huizhou is only about 80 kilometers, but the area below has already been occupied by the Japanese army. Without the cooperation of intelligence, landing randomly would likely be discovered by the Japanese army.

Fang Wen was extremely careful to ensure the safe landing of these anti-Japanese soldiers.

After arriving over Huizhou, he activated his Eagle Eye ability to carefully observe the situation below.

The city of Huizhou below is surrounded by water on three sides and land on one side.

In ancient times, it might have been a city that was difficult to conquer.

However, in modern warfare, the defensive capabilities of city walls have been greatly reduced.

Not to mention it suffered multiple bombing raids.

(Huizhou City after being bombed.)
Large areas of the city were destroyed, and the streets were filled with displaced civilians.

However, Japanese troops were stationed outside the city.

Clearly, landing near Huizhou City was not an option, so Fang Wen abandoned the first possible landing area.

The plane flew upstream along the Dongjiang River.

Fang Wen also maintained an eagle-eye observation.

Further up from Huizhou City, the traces of the Japanese gradually decreased.

Clearly, the Japanese are currently unable to spare any resources, as their forces are concentrated in Guangzhou to encircle and annihilate the Kuomintang's defeated troops.

Without Japanese troops stationed there, landing shouldn't be a big problem.

Fang Wen piloted the plane to the second landing point: Hengli Town.

Five kilometers upstream from Hengli Town, there is a desolate section of the river, but the water is relatively calm. He picked up the microphone.

"The plane is about to land, everyone get ready."

The Hakka soldiers inside the cabin packed their belongings and waited.

After straightening the aircraft, it descended, swooped down, and landed steadily on the river.

Because it was landing against the current, the aircraft's buoy and the river surface stirred up large waves, but because it was landing against the current, the aircraft quickly decelerated.

Fang Wen then steered the plane to a stop on the west bank.

Gong Xiuneng opened the hatch and set up the footboard.

Fang Wen also stepped out of the cockpit and shook hands with Captain Liu and the other soldiers one by one.

"Take care. We'll meet again soon," he said.

Captain Liu nodded: "See you next time."

After saying that, he led the soldiers ashore on the ramp.

Watching the fifty-three Hakka soldiers disappear into the night, Fang Wen asked Gong Xiuneng to close the hatch and then turned back to the cockpit.

Next is the second mission of tonight's night flight: to transfer scientists stranded in the occupied area downstream of the Dongjiang River.

The plane took off again and flew westward along the Dongjiang River.

The agreed landing area was in Dongguan County, on an island in the river called Liyuzhou.

Fang Wen searched carefully in that section of the river.

They soon discovered the island in the middle of the river, which also had a small village on it.

Those scientists should be waiting in the village.

However, the agreed-upon guiding signals were not found below.

Is something wrong?

Fang Wen quickly enhanced Eagle Eye's effect and began to explore the area around Jiangxinzhou.

After checking, I really found the problem.

He saw a group of people running on the north side of the river, and a fierce battle was taking place behind them.

A dozen or so guerrilla fighters were fighting against hundreds of Japanese soldiers.

Clearly, they stayed behind to fight in order to cover the escape of those people.

Fang Wen immediately concluded that there must have been a problem with the transfer operation. It could be due to a traitor's betrayal or the accidental discovery by the Japanese patrol, which was why they had not arrived at the agreed landing point for so long.

At this point, there was no time to contact them by telegram, so Fang Wen made a quick decision.

"Gong Xiuneng, arrange for someone to go to the rear compartment, set up the machine gun, and prepare for battle."

"It's the regimental commander."

Gong Xiuneng led a few men to the rear cabin and set up the spare machine gun, so that they could fire as soon as the plane landed by simply opening the window.

Fang Wen, on the other hand, did not land immediately.

He had to let those people know where he was going to land so they could run there.

Therefore, he then ordered Zhao Junping.

"Go get the flare launcher and fire the flares down through the anchoring hole in the anchor chamber."

Zhao Junping hurriedly ran to the rear cabin, took a flare launcher, and entered the anchor room on the right side of the cockpit.

He pried open the buckle and forcibly opened the anchor hole, letting in a strong gust of wind that made his face sway.

Braving the wind pressure, Zhao Junping extended the flare launcher and pulled the trigger.

Five flares were launched, and the flares, trailing white trajectories, drifted down, emitting light hundreds of meters above the ground.

The light illuminated the riverbed below and also signaled to the people running on the north bank of the river.

Those people looked up at the sky, determined the location where the flare was landing, and immediately turned around and ran over.

Then, under their watchful eyes, a dark shadow descended from the sky and landed on the river surface north of Jiangxinzhou.

After the plane came to a stop, it immediately docked. Gong Xiuneng threw out the footplate and said urgently, "Hurry up and get on! The Japanese troops are coming this way."

As he spoke, he and the other staff went ashore to help carry luggage and assist passengers boarding the plane.

As the crew boarded the plane, the flares attracted the Japanese troops, who then abandoned their attack on the interceptors and charged over.

In response, Fang Wen left the cockpit and ran to the rear cabin.

He grabbed the grip of a pre-installed aircraft machine gun and shouted, "Open the window!"

The Taishan Airlines staff next to him quickly opened the window latch, and Fang Wen gripped the handle and pushed it forward. The aircraft machine gun, along with its base, moved forward along the slide rail, and the muzzle extended out of the window.

At that moment, Fang Wen activated his mechanical perception and Eagle Eye. With the aid of these abilities, he aimed at the approaching Japanese troops in the distance and pulled the trigger to fire.

The sudden burst of bullets inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese troops.

The 12.7mm bullet was extremely powerful; the Japanese soldiers at the front were cut in half at the waist, and the bullets that penetrated the armor also hit the soldiers behind them.

The Japanese soldiers, who had been attacked, immediately lay prone on the ground and dared not advance any further.

The Japanese officer behind them drew his sword and shouted threats, which finally made the Japanese soldiers stand up again.

By this time, all the personnel had boarded the plane. Fang Wen released the machine gun grip and shouted, "Gong Xiuneng, you take over the machine gun and continue firing. I'm going to take off."

"Yes, Commander." Gong Xiuneng quickly put away the pedals, closed the hatch, and ran to the rear cabin.

He brushed past Fang Wen.

(End of this chapter)