Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 489 Independent Regiment New Army Training, Equipment Upgrades, and Xiangjiang Disaster Relief

In late November 1938, the transport planes led by Fang Wen landed safely at the base in northern Burma.

The Independent Regiment and the Provisional 7th Division, totaling 782 people, were quickly reorganized, with Pan Jiafeng, Wu Yingzong, and others in charge of coordinating the allocation of their garrisons.

Fang Wen made adjustments to the infantry's equipment.

The core elements of an infantry weapon system are precision firepower and rapid response.

Therefore, the main weapon, the Kar98k rifle, has been optimized.

The Kar98k rifle underwent targeted modifications, including the addition of components.

There are two types of add-on components.

One type is an enhanced optical sight, which uses the 4x PT telescope sight produced by the German company Zeiss. This 4x scope is currently used in the Soviet Mosin-Nagant 91/30 rifle, and after modification, it can also be mounted on the German Kar98k rifle.

It also adds a range scale (100-800 meters) for precision sniping (effective range within 600 meters).

Those equipped with this weapon will be soldiers with excellent marksmanship who have been tested in war; they will become professional snipers in the army.

The second option is to add a muzzle grenade launcher to provide infantry with short-range area-of-effect damage capability.

These modifications were all made to align with Fang Wen's elite troop combat strategy, enabling the rifles to possess both long-range lethality and greater flexibility in assault operations.

Regarding the modification of firearms, Fang Wen considered mobility and flexibility, and carried out lightweight modifications to the firearms.

Lightweight modification: The barrel was shortened to 600 mm (original 619 mm), the muzzle band was removed to reduce weight, and an aluminum handguard was added (referencing the "carbine" design), reducing the overall weight of the rifle to less than 3.7 kg (original approximately 4 kg), thus improving mobility during marches.

Bayonet configuration: The S84/98 III bayonet (38 cm long) is retained, and a hanging ring is added for quick access.

Tactical accessories: 4x scope, grenade launcher with grenades, capable of firing 3 high-explosive rounds (range 150 meters) or smoke grenades.

The number of protective equipment items has also been increased.

The main focus is on lightweighting and strengthening key components.

Helmet: Taishan Type 1 steel helmet (Soviet special steel, 1 kg weight), with a multi-padded fabric lining inside to improve wearing comfort and shock absorption. Metal mounting brackets are welded to the sides of the helmet, which can be used to install a battery-operated light for illumination or as a night vision device (with battery box, weighing approximately 0.5 kg).

Bulletproof vest: After a year of fighting the Japanese army, Fang Wen also figured out the Japanese infantry's conventional weapons. Complete bulletproof protection was impossible, so he tried to use a cotton bulletproof breastplate: the inner lining is a multi-layer composite material (canvas layer, special cotton, silk layer). This Taishan Type 1 bulletproof vest can withstand pistol bullets and shrapnel attacks. It weighs about 3 kilograms and only covers the front and back.

Tactical elbow/knee pads: Made of cowhide with removable foam padding to reduce wear and noise during crawling.

Tactical Equipment

Tactical equipment emphasizes modularity and mobility.

It consists of a backpack system and marching equipment.

Main backpack: A lightweight canvas backpack (approximately 30L capacity) designed by a clothing professor from Southwest Associated University. The internal compartments separate ammunition (6 rifle magazine pouches, holding 48 rounds), rations (3 days' worth of compressed biscuits), and tools (short shovel, wire cutters).

Waist attachments: Two Kar98k magazine pouches (5 rounds x 2 pouches each) on each side, and a pouch in the center front (rifle accessories, grenade launcher).

Unconventional tactical equipment: a simple gas mask canister (canister weight 1.2 kg, with filter canister), fixed to the waist belt.

Marching equipment: Marching boots (cowhide, rubber sole), with anti-slip steel studs on the soles (suitable for muddy terrain).

Backup marching equipment: nylon rope (50 meters, 200 kg load capacity).

Individual soldier communication equipment

Individual walkie-talkie (for units above the platoon level): Taishan walkie-talkie (model 38), with a range of 2-3 kilometers without relay, weighing approximately 6 kilograms (including battery), equipped with a throat microphone and earpiece.

Signal equipment (equipped to units at the company level and above and reconnaissance soldiers): illumination flare launcher (single shot, range 200 meters) and colored signal smoke grenades (red/yellow/green, used to mark targets or request support).

Reconnaissance tools (for reconnaissance soldiers and command personnel): Zeiss 6×30 binoculars (0.6 kg), with mil-dots engraved on the lens, used for battlefield observation and range finding. Folding periscope: 30 cm long, 1.2 m high when unfolded, used for observation from trenches and behind bunkers.

The significant changes to infantry equipment have enhanced combat effectiveness, but have also increased the load, requiring soldiers to undergo further training and adaptation.

New combat terrains in the south, such as jungles and rivers, also require adaptive training.

Therefore, a short-term training system was developed specifically for this purpose.

Among these, physical fitness and tactical foundations are based on daily training.

Training volume:
10-kilometer march with heavy loads (ordinary infantrymen carry 8 kilograms of equipment, snipers carry 12 kilograms, and reconnaissance soldiers carry 15 kilograms).
The course incorporates obstacle courses (climbing over 2-meter-high walls and passing through barbed wire) and climbing training (simulating mountain or building assaults).

Shooting training focuses on practicing rapid aiming and moving shooting, requiring standing rapid-fire hitting the chest target within 100 meters (5 shots/30 seconds, hit rate ≥80%), and prone accurate shooting within 400 meters (3 shots/minute, hitting the head or center of the torso).

In addition, there is special training.

Experience driving a medium tank like the one in Taishan Pine, including urban warfare simulation and explosives (how to use rifle grenades and individual rocket launchers to breach walls and exploit weaknesses in armored tanks).

Psychological and survival training and anti-interference training: Perform shooting and communication tasks in simulated artillery noise (above 80 decibels) and smoke environment to improve concentration.

Wilderness survival: 3 days of training without supplies, mastering skills such as using terrain for camouflage (how to weave camouflage with linen and plants), hunting, and water purification.

The troops are currently undergoing training, primarily led by Pan Jiafeng, Wu Yingzong, William, and others.

After staying for a week, Fang Wen left the base in northern Myanmar.

Guiding troop training is not his forte; air combat, technology, planning, and leadership are what he needs to do.

Back in Yangon from northern Myanmar, Fang Wen went into his office and sat down in a daze.

Before, when I returned to the company, my wife was always the first person to appear, but now, the place feels empty and lonely.

During the days his wife was away, he missed her and the baby in her womb.

Without thinking, I picked up a stack of telegrams from the table.

Those included intelligence reports, reports from overseas branches, and reports from the United States.

They were all neatly categorized and put away by Zhao Junping.

Fang Wen first looked at the telegrams from the United States and found those related to his wife.

Some were sent in the name of his wife, and some were sent by Kwong On-ming.

There's basically one letter every week, and the content is pretty much the same—it's all about letting everyone know they're safe.

Fang Wen got up and went downstairs to the headquarters telegraph room.

The employees in the telegraph room stood up: "General Manager, you've arrived."

"Hmm. I'd like to send a telegram."

"To whom?" the telegraph operator asked.

"I will do it myself."

As Fang Wen spoke, he sat down in front of the telegraph machine, and the two telegraph operators on duty tactfully left the telegraph room.

He adjusted the frequency, gripped the send button with his right hand, and though he had something to say, he didn't know how to express it. After a long pause, he managed to utter a single sentence.

"Mingzhu, take good care of yourself. Everything is going well here. Missing you, Fang Wen."

After sending the telegram, Fang Wen got up and went upstairs back to his office.

He continued to examine the telegram.

Many telegrams were processed by lower-level departments, and he only glanced at them; Fang Wen only glanced at these telegrams.

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a series of telegrams.

That was sent by the Xiangjiang branch.

The Xiangjiang branch is a joint venture with six seaplanes still in operation. Taishan Airlines has dispatched management personnel and pilots to the company, making it one of the few seaplanes still in operation.

However, these telegrams did not contain any information about business operations.

It was an investigation report on the Changsha fire.

Fang Wen remembered that when he first returned, he asked the company to look into the Changsha fire. He guessed that the headquarters had assigned the matter to the Xiangjiang branch.

He looked at the telegram.

On November 11th, Yueyang fell, and the enemy's advance was aimed directly at Changsha. War clouds loomed, and the people were filled with fear. Chiang Kai-shek telegraphed the provincial government: "If Changsha cannot be held, burn the entire city down immediately to prevent it from falling into enemy hands." The then-provincial chairman, Zhang, received the order and urgently summoned Feng Ti, the Changsha garrison commander, and Xu Quan, the head of the security department, to discuss the burning of the city. A plan for arson was established: a long siren and the ignition of fire at Tianxin Pavilion would serve as the signal; each arson squad would then act accordingly, setting the city ablaze.

Did it start burning at Tianxin Pavilion?!

Fang Wen thought of the Tianxin Pavilion he saw when he went to Changsha. He had heard the rickshaw driver say that it was the center of Changsha's literary atmosphere. He never expected that it would be burned down by fire.

Moreover, how could the order to burn down the entire city be issued so hastily?

Fang Wen recalled that when he flew to Xiangxi Airport on the 22nd (10 days after the fire), the Japanese army was still more than 100 kilometers away from Changsha, yet they did not even have the idea of ​​resisting and were about to burn down the entire city of Changsha.

This absurd order infuriated him.

Instead of resisting, they burned the city, which not only failed to frighten the Japanese, but also caused huge losses to the people.

He continued to read.

On the night of the 12th, all city defense units prepared according to orders, and arsonists, carrying oil and firewood, lay in wait. Unexpectedly, at 2:00 AM on the 13th, a sudden fire broke out near the South Gate, flames shooting into the sky. The arsonists, mistaking this a signal, set fires everywhere, the flames soaring into the air. The wind fanned the flames, and the fire spread throughout the city. In an instant, flames danced wildly inside and outside the nine gates of Changsha, thick smoke obscured the sky, and cries and explosions mingled together. The city's residents were awakened from their sleep and fled in panic, some perishing in the flames, others trampled to death.

This description allowed Fang Wen to see the chaos of that time.

The fire started from multiple directions before the public had been fully notified; it was simply absurd.

What followed made him even angrier.

At that time, the city's firefighters, military, and police had already evacuated as ordered, and not a single person offered any assistance. The fire spread like wildfire, from the south gate to the north gate, from the east to the west of the city. Ancient sites such as the Confucian Temple, Yuelu Academy, and Tianxin Pavilion, as well as bustling commercial streets like Pozi Street and Taiping Street, were all reduced to ashes. The fire raged for three days, and Changsha's thousand-year-old prosperity was destroyed in an instant. Post-fire statistics showed that over 90% of the city's more than 1,000 streets were burned; more than 10% of the more than 50,000 houses remained; over 20,000 people were killed or injured; and property losses exceeded one billion silver dollars. The economic devastation and the devastation of the people's livelihood were incalculable.

It was all burned to ashes!

A thousand-year-old city was completely destroyed by fire. Oh, the Kuomintang!

First the Yellow River breached its banks, and now Changsha is burning down.

Bang! Fang Wen slammed his hand on the table, scattering the stationery and documents everywhere.

Zhao Junping walked over from the secretary's seat outside the office to check on him: "General Manager, are you alright?"

Fang Wen suppressed his anger: "It's nothing."

He tidied up the scattered stationery and documents, then continued reading.

[After the fire was extinguished, public opinion surged, and the entire nation was shocked. Chiang Kai-shek personally went to Changsha and ordered a thorough investigation. A military trial was held, and Feng Ti, Xu Quan, and Xu Kun, the commander of the Changsha Garrison's Second Regiment, were executed. Provincial Chairman Zhang was dismissed but retained his post. Although the crimes were investigated, Changsha was in ruins, and its people were displaced. The Nationalist government allocated funds for relief, and various sectors offered assistance. Important figures from the CCP also participated in disaster relief, setting up stations to distribute porridge and comfort the displaced. Even today, the Japanese army has not reached Changsha, and the people in the city, whenever they discuss the matter, invariably lament the absurdity of the Changsha fire.]

After reading the series of telegrams, Fang Wen felt he should do something.

That fire killed more than 2 people, and displaced many more.

He picked up the phone and dialed the finance department.

"Old Liu, come up here, I have something to talk to you about."

Not long after, Manager Liu came up.

Fang Wendao said, "We can't ignore the fire in Changsha. Luckily, we have people from our branch office there who can arrange disaster relief."

"How do we do it?" Manager Liu asked.

Fang Wen thought for a moment and said, "It's almost winter now, and the temperature in Changsha should have dropped. Those civilians have no place to live and are short of food. How about this, we'll allocate some money from the finance department and send another batch of our own military blankets and compressed biscuits to Changsha."

Manager Liu shook his head: "General Manager, it's probably not appropriate for us to get involved. We might even be obstructed."

Indeed, it was Chiang Kai-shek who ordered the burning of Changsha. He went to inspect the city, killed three soldiers, and then tried to let the matter drop.

If Taishan Airlines were to conduct disaster relief in a high-profile manner, it might displease Chiang Kai-shek.

Fang Wen nodded: "Then what do you suggest we do?"

“We can do it in other people’s names. Several of the shareholders of the Xiangjiang branch are prominent figures in Changsha. If they come to provide disaster relief, no one will say anything.”

“Alright, you can arrange this.” Fang Wen nodded in agreement.

The warehouse at Xiangxi Airport has been opened.

Large quantities of clothing and compressed rations were transported to Changsha by seaplane.

After these supplies were directly sold, several prominent local figures jointly stepped forward to offer disaster relief.

Large numbers of displaced civilians lined up in long queues to receive supplies at a disaster relief point on the banks of the Xiang River.

Clothing and food alone are not enough to help the disaster victims get through the winter.

While there was still time, some people began using the funds raised to cut down bamboo and timber to build temporary sheds.

Although these shacks are simple, they are still shelters from the wind and rain, allowing people to get through the winter.

Because the entire process was handled by prominent local figures, the supplies, despite bearing the Taishan symbol, did not cause any significant impact.

The disaster relief efforts in Changsha were just a minor incident; in this chaotic era, there is far too much sorrow and suffering.

Fang Wen couldn't manage everything, so he could only do what he could.

As the training results became apparent, he began working on the development of new military equipment.

The Taishan motorized unit cannot rely solely on aircraft and individual weapons; other equipment that enhances mobility must also be deployed.

(End of this chapter)