Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 488 Large-scale aerial relocation, a new battle in the south

Yanchuan Semiconductor Assembly Plant.

The acceptance and delivery ceremony for the first batch of 50,000 semiconductor radios is underway.

The actual acceptance process is completed once the semiconductor radio comes off the assembly line.

However, Fang Wen still needs to conduct a public acceptance process here.

He randomly selected five transistor radios from the warehouse, turned them on, adjusted the frequencies, and listened to the broadcasts of a temporary radio station.

"Good morning, comrades. Today is November 21, 1938, the 30th day of the ninth lunar month. Yesterday, seven Japanese planes attempted to bomb Yan'an but were intercepted by our air force. Two enemy planes were shot down, and the remaining enemy planes fled in disarray. It is reported that recently, a major fire broke out in Changsha. Zhang Zhizhong, the chairman of Hunan Province, apologized for 'negligence in personnel selection' and expressed his willingness to 'make amends for his mistakes.' The three main culprits in the fire, Feng Ti, Wen Zhongfu, and Xu Kun, were executed by firing squad in Changsha."

Fang Wen was surprised that a fire had broken out in Changsha. He was unaware of this because he had been traveling between Hong Kong and the Dongjiang-Yangjiang area recently.

But he had been to Changsha, where there are many wooden buildings that are indeed easy to catch fire. He never expected that it was not caused by the Japanese air raid, but by his own people.

But he felt there was something fishy going on, and the three people were clearly trying to take the blame.

Out of curiosity, Fang Wen decided to go back and check the intelligence summary.

He turned off the radio and smiled, "Very good, just like the original assembly by our factory. Congratulations on passing the inspection."

Everyone present cheered; Fang Wen's affirmation proved that their efforts over the past few months had not been in vain.

Immediately, all the radios were loaded onto trucks, ready to be transported to the Yanchuan Yellow River Water Airport, where they would be loaded onto airplanes and shipped abroad.

After the goods were loaded, Fang Wen sat in the driver's seat of the second truck in the transport fleet, and Bai Yunfei also got in and sat in the passenger seat.

The car started moving and drove out of Yanchuan County.

Bai Yunfei suddenly blurted out, "Thank you."

Fang Wen smiled and said, "What are you thanking me for?"

Bai Yunfei replied sincerely, “Fifty thousand semiconductor radios, 10 assembly lines, 100 workers. On average, 1500 radios are assembled per day, with each production line needing 150 radios. Don’t underestimate these small things; the assembly process cannot be done carelessly at all. We worked on this for a month, but the returns for our hard work were astonishing. That’s $5! It can solve so many problems.”

Fang Wen was able to understand Bai Yunfei's meaning.

With one dollar now pegged to one gram of gold, that's 50 kilograms of gold!

It's definitely a huge sum of money, and you can have that amount every month.

With this money, you can do many things, such as purchasing military equipment, supplies, and Taishan fighter jets.

That's why Bai Yunfei thanked Fang Wen.

In response, Fang Wen replied solemnly, "I hope you become stronger, because only from you can I see hope."

His words came from the bottom of his heart.

Over the years, although Fang Wen has built a vast business empire, he has also come to understand the era better through his continuous interactions with people of his time.

He saw it all too clearly: the other powerful figures of this era—those warlords, those bureaucrats—did not care about the lives of ordinary people; they only thought about lining their own pockets.

The wheels of history are set in stone; this country is utterly corrupt and needs a new beginning.

Bai Yunfei smiled and said, "I hope we can continue to cooperate better. To be honest, Fang Wen, you are a genius. Your ability to make money is comparable to Tao Zhugong, and you are also first-rate at flying planes and fighting wars. I heard that you can also perform surgery. If someone like you were born in peacetime, you would definitely achieve even greater things."

Fang Wen remained silent, silently thinking, "Perhaps not."

In the future, he will just be a little Karami who keeps striving and fighting forever.

Everything is simply a result of my superpowers and precognitive memories of the future, which have shaped who I am today.

Or, as the saying goes, "circumstances create heroes."

Of course, he would never say these things.

The two chatted like friends, and as time passed, the convoy arrived at the water airport on the Yellow River.

五万台收音机装在50cm×40cm×30cm规格的木箱里，每个木箱400台，一共125箱。

The workers carried them onto the seaplane with its seats removed, cramming them full.

Bai Yunfei asked, "Will it be okay to fill it up this full?"

"No problem, these goods aren't heavy, they just take up space, they won't affect the flight. Well then, we'll say goodbye here, see you next time."

As Fang Wen spoke, he shook hands with Bai Yunfei, the transport team leader, and the people from the assembly plant who came to see him off, saying goodbye.

Afterwards, they boarded a plane and headed to Fuping.

More than an hour later, the plane landed at Fuping Water Airport.

Fang Wen immediately began arranging the troop transfer, and summoned Pan Jiafeng and Wu Yingzong, who were involved in the transfer operation, to discuss the matter.

Looking at Pan Jiafeng, who was already married, Fang Wen felt that he was more mature than before.

Out of a desire to train his apprentice, he wanted to test him, so he said, "This time, we need to transfer the entire 2nd Air Battalion, more than 600 people selected from the Provisional 7th Division, and a transport plane fully loaded with 50,000 transistor radios. Pan Jiafeng, if you were in charge of this operation, how would you arrange it?"

Pan Jiafeng asked in surprise, "Master, I'm in charge of such a big operation?"

Fang Wen nodded: "I think you can do it."

With his master's approval, Pan Jiafeng did not refuse, but instead thought about it seriously.

He expressed his thoughts.

"If I were to command this operation, the first thing I would consider is transport capacity. To transfer so many people at once, we would need at least 35 transport planes, plus the one for the semiconductor radio, making a total of 36. Currently, the Japanese army has occupied Wuhan and is launching an offensive towards Changsha. I think they have likely already converted the airports in Wuhan into military airfields for military aircraft take-off and landing. This would cause the enemy air force's operational radius to expand westward."

As he spoke, Pan Jiafeng used chalk to draw on the map.

He connected the airports in Wuhan and Xiangxi into a single line.

“If we use Xiangxi Airport as a transit point, it will be right on the edge of the Japanese warplanes’ combat radius, and we might be detected by the Japanese warplanes that are attacking Changsha. Unless we fly at night, but a night formation of 36 aircraft is still a very long distance, which is very difficult. I think the risk is quite high.”

Then, he sketched out the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan route on the map.

“If we take the logistics company’s transport route, we can avoid this danger. But we must also be careful when making a stopover to refuel, to prevent certain Kuomintang members from plotting against us.”

Fang Wen remained calm and asked, "Do you mean you prefer the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan route?"

“No, Master, I think the Japanese are easier to guard against. We should be more careful with the Kuomintang. After all, we can avoid the Japanese planes by conducting reconnaissance in advance, but if the Kuomintang tries to trip us up, it will be harder to defend against,” Pan Jiafeng replied.

Fang Wen agreed with his apprentice's idea.

With Taishan Aviation's comprehensive transformation into a military industry and its strong support for the Communist Party, it will inevitably drift further and further away from the Kuomintang.

If the 36 planes were forcibly seized by Kuomintang troops while landing and transiting in Chengdu, should we fight or not?

If we were to fight, we would certainly be accused of sabotaging the War of Resistance, and it would also have a great negative impact, since the propaganda mouthpieces are currently under the control of the Kuomintang.

If we don't fight, are we going to let 36 planes, hundreds of soldiers, and semiconductor radios worth millions of dollars fall into the hands of the Japanese Nationalist government?

At that time, it would be extremely difficult to get it back.

He nodded.

“Then let’s take the route to Xiangxi Airport. I’ll scout and guide the way.”

Pan Jiafeng let out an exaggerated sigh, "As long as Master can lead the way, this flight mission is almost a certainty."

“Then proceed with this plan and send a telegram to the logistics company,” Fang Wen said.

Upon receiving the telegram, Sun Debiao immediately arranged for twenty-four of the logistics company's seaplanes to head north.

To ensure the plane could arrive safely, Fang Wen piloted the aircraft to guide it.

This time, Fang Wen decided to fly during the day.

With the radar detection system activated, he led the transport fleet, avoiding aircraft within a 300-kilometer radius, towards Fuping. The journey was uneventful; they encountered no enemy aircraft and arrived safely at the Fuping seaport.

Twenty-four seaplanes, plus ten gunboats from the Second Battalion of the Independent Regiment, and one seaplane transport plane loaded with transistor radios constituted all the aircraft in this swarm flight.

Without fighter escort, all the pressure fell on Fang Wen.

The transfer operation began on November 23, 1938.

At 3 a.m., the soldiers, carrying their packed gear and weapons, loaded them onto the aircraft and waited at the seaplane airfield.

Each of them had a fixed plane number, and they lined up in queues according to their plane numbers.

Wu Yingzong checked each queue to avoid any incorrect positioning.

After checking, Wu Yingzong reported to Fang Wen: "Commander, the count is complete, and there are no errors."

Fang Wen nodded and looked at Pan Jiafeng, who was walking over from the other side.

After Pan Jiafeng arrived, he reported: "All 36 aircraft have been inspected and repaired without any problems, all fuel has been refilled, and the pilots are on standby."

"Let them board the plane," Fang Wen said.

Immediately, Pan Jiafeng picked up the megaphone and shouted, "Water Tiger No. 1 pilot, step forward and bring your crew to board the plane."

The pilot of Tiger One walked to the front of the line with his aircraft number and led the team toward the dock.

And so, the pilots led the passengers onto the plane one by one.

Starting at 3 a.m., the boarding process for all soldiers was completed by 4 a.m., and the pilots also boarded the plane and closed the cabin door.

Fang Wen glanced at Fuping Airport one last time. "Let's go, let's get ready to leave."

Immediately afterwards, he and Pan Jiafeng each led a team of mechanics and ground crew from the 2nd Aviation Battalion onto their respective gunboats.

After entering the Water Tiger No. 4 gunboat, Fang Wen asked Gong Xiuneng to close the hatch, and he picked up the microphone and turned on the air channel.

"This is the command center. Calling all members, please report your numbers in turn."

Every five seconds, a pilot would speak out on the radio to report.

After the pilots were counted, Fang Wen ordered: "Now, take off in the order of the count."

He was the first to start the engine, drive the Water Tiger 4 into the center of the river, and gradually accelerate into the sky.

Then, the planes took off one after another according to their serial numbers.

It was already 4:30.

It was still dark.

Fang Wen drove the Water Tiger No. 4 ahead, with the taillights lit up.

Guided by the dazzling lights, these slow-moving seaplanes formed a loose V-formation and flew south.

Throughout the flight, Fang Wen kept his mechanical senses activated to monitor the entire flight team.

He would use a radio to alert and guide any aircraft that showed a difference in speed or altitude.

Under this command, the large transport aircraft formation, which was initially a little chaotic, began to adapt and maintained a steady speed as it flew south.

After the flight formation issue was resolved, Fang Wen focused his attention on the radar target acquisition device.

This is the fundamental reason why he ensures there will be no problems with the flight.

Within a 300-kilometer range, no aircraft responded to the radar detection system.

It's not dawn yet, so it's normal that there are no aircraft. The key is what will happen after dawn.

As the plane flew south, the sunrise time, which was originally 7 a.m., was brought forward.

After flying over the Yellow River, the outline of the eastern sun rose above the horizon.

At this point, they were still halfway to Xiangxi Airport.

Fang Wen picked up the microphone and inquired about the fuel situation of each aircraft.

Currently, the auxiliary fuel tanks of each aircraft are more than half full, but after the main fuel tanks are fully replenished, there will still be fuel remaining after the aircraft arrives at Xiangxi Airport.

However, the danger of the journey ahead is also increasing dramatically.

When the plane flew over Shiyan, Fang Wen detected two aircraft through mechanical sensing.

Judging from the direction, it came from Wuhan and was probably conducting temporary reconnaissance in the vicinity of Wuhan.

Because the distance is about 300 kilometers, Fang Wen is not worried.

His main concern was the possibility of enemy aircraft flying the wrong attack route. This wasn't unprecedented; during the Shanghai air battle, he encountered a formation of Japanese planes that flew to the wrong place because they were unfamiliar with ground markings.

Time passed slowly, and the flight team had reached the Yangtze River.

Below is a county town.

Fang Wen even saw people in the county town running out in a panic.

Clearly, they mistook all those planes in the air for Japanese air raids.

Fang Wen couldn't explain this to them, so he could only silently lead the squadron across the Yangtze River.

Not long after crossing the Yangtze River, the radar detection device detected new feedback.

There are more than a dozen planes flying southwest, currently located in Yueyang.

It must have been enemy planes that took off from Wuhan to attack Changsha. Fang Wen recalled hearing about the fire in Changsha from the Yanchuan radio broadcast and felt a pang of regret that he couldn't go to Changsha to support the air defense battle now.

But there's only one person, and the fight is taking place all over the country, so it's simply impossible to be in two places at once.

He put his mind at ease and continued to observe, only to discover that three enemy planes had veered off course.

Judging from their veer-off course, they are very likely to encounter each other near Hefeng County.

Unexpectedly, we actually ran into trouble.

Fang Wen's heart tightened as he considered how to respond.

Now all of them are low-speed aircraft, including the Tiger 4 that I was piloting, and they don't have good air-to-air capabilities.

If we miss one or two enemy planes, it could very well result in our seaplane being hit.

Keep in mind that of these 36 aircraft, 26 were simply civilian transport planes without any defenses.

Fang Wen knew he couldn't act impulsively, so he chose to back down this time.

He picked up the microphone and announced the temporary course change.

The formation of 36 aircraft turned westward, away from the area where they would encounter enemy aircraft.

During the subsequent flight, Fang Wen continued to monitor the movements of the three stray aircraft using radar detection devices.

Just as he had predicted, the three enemy planes flew into the area where Fang Wen had previously flown, but did not encounter the large transport plane group led by Fang Wen.

The three enemy planes then realized they were lost, turned around, and flew back.

At this point, Fang Wen changed his flight direction from west to southeast and arrived at Xiangxi Airport 40 minutes later.

No further problems were encountered during the remainder of the flight.

With the southward relocation completed, the new independent regiment will continue fighting in the south, this time in a more advanced and elite modern warfare mode.

(End of this chapter)