Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 521 Entering the Soviet Union, Treasure Hunting and Flying Exploration in the Wilderness

The last telegram has been received.

Fang Wen and Pierre's assistant, Alyosha, translated the telegram together.

He said, "We have obtained clearance for aircraft to pass through Soviet territory, but we need to have our documents verified at the border airport in Pskov Oblast before we can fly to Smolensk Oblast."

"So we can enter the Soviet Union now?" Pierre asked.

“Yes.” Fang Wen looked at Pierre’s assistant, Alyosha: “Give the money to the port manager.”

Alyosha, fluent in Russian and other Slavic languages, stood at the cabin door and negotiated with the staff on the port management ship outside the plane; a stack of francs resolved all the issues.

As the boat departed, Fang Wen started the engine, turned on the water, and accelerated to take off.

The next leg of the voyage will take us through Latvia into the Soviet border region of Pskov.

After flying 200 kilometers from Riga, we crossed the Soviet border.

Without any military aircraft interception, Fang Wen flew freely within the Pskov region until he arrived at the designated border airport.

It was a very small dual-use military and civilian airport, with not even a single plane on the runway.

Fang Wen switched frequencies and picked up the microphone.

"This is a French private tourist plane, requesting to land."

While waiting for a response from the ground, Fang Wen piloted the plane and circled over the airport.

After a while, the ground responded that landing was permitted.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen piloted the plane to land on the airport runway.

As soon as the plane came to a stop, a squad of soldiers came forward.

They looked at the plane with floaters with great curiosity, while in the distance, an officer was walking towards the plane.

The cabin door opened, and the assistant, Alyosha, spoke to the officer who had come over in Russian.

“We have applied to the Civil Aviation Authority of Your Country, and they require us to conduct identity verification here. This is our entry document, as well as the flight license for our private aircraft.”

The officer examined the handed-over identification document carefully and raised an objection.

"The aircraft model listed on your flight license is different from the one you have now."

Alyosha, who was prepared, quietly gave her a 'gift': "There are no specific requirements. Take another look. Those are just commonly used aircraft models. It doesn't mean you can only fly one type of civilian aircraft. As long as you don't carry military weapons and there is no security threat, it's fine."

The officer who received the gift boarded the plane.

He looked at the situation inside the private jet and was quite surprised.

"You actually converted the inside of an airplane into a home. Rich people really do think differently."

After speaking, he inspected the interior of the aircraft, confirmed that there were no military weapons or items posing a security threat, took out his stamp, stamped the document, and then returned it: "Okay, the inspection is complete. I will report to my superiors. But you must comply with civil aviation regulations. When you stop at any civilian airport within the Soviet Union, you must register immediately."

"Ok."

Alyosha saw the officer off the plane, and the officer led the soldiers back, watching the plane take off.

The plane took off again and flew southwest.

They soon arrived in the Smolensk region.

Since he didn't know the exact location of the treasure, Fang Wen didn't use his special abilities to search for it, but instead flew to Smolensk.

(Smolensk during World War II)

This is a small town that still retains its medieval style.

There were even city walls.

Because it's small, there aren't many residents, and it doesn't even have an airport.

Fortunately, Fang Wen was piloting an amphibious seaplane, which could land anywhere there was a river.

The Dnieper River flows north of Smolensk.

Fang Wen then piloted the plane to land on the gentle riverbed.

After the plane landed and came ashore, Gong Xiuneng opened the cabin door, jumped ashore, and tied up the cable.

They were to wait there for the people Pierre had arranged to meet them.

After a while, a car drove up to the riverbank, and two men got out and walked over.

Pierre introduced the man in front of him: "This is someone from my company, Paul. He was sent here under the guise of acquiring art."

Paul then introduced the person he had brought: "This is the local guide I found. He is a hunter and knows the surrounding terrain very well."

Fang Wen asked the guide in French, "Do you know where the lakes near Samliobo are?"

After being translated by Paul, the guide nodded: "I know, I often pass by when I'm hunting."

"Could you mark it on the map?"

"can."

The guide marked the location of Lake Samliobo.

The lake is near the Dnieper River and is easy to find.

Fang Wen then had everyone board the plane, and it took off again.

The plane took off and soon arrived at Lake Samliobo.

That was just a marshland, probably formed from an ancient riverbed.

Fang Wen's special ability did not reveal anything unusual.

The absence of supernatural abilities only indicates the absence of any hidden treasures, but it doesn't necessarily mean there aren't buried gold or jewels below.

To this end, Fang Wen touched the bone bead necklace he was wearing around his neck and activated his X-ray vision.

With the added X-ray vision ability, the mechanically perceptive eagle eye pierced through the lake surface and saw the scene below.

The water is not deep, and there are no complicated terrains or dark caves; it is a flat lakebed.

There are some stones piled up on the east side, which seem to be the remains of some kind of man-made structure.

Fang Wen had an idea and asked Alyosha to ask the guide in Russian.

Do you know about Napoleon's treasure?

“Of course, everyone in the Smolensk region knows,” the guide replied.

It seems that the so-called Napoleon's treasure is nothing new.

Therefore, Fang Wen asked the guide to tell him what the locals knew about Napoleon's treasure.

The guide spoke eloquently, and Alyosha translated it sentence by sentence, allowing Fang Wen to learn more.

At that time, Smolensk was a necessary route for the French army to attack Moscow, the capital of Tsarist Russia.

Therefore, Smolensk was already occupied by the French army at the beginning of the offensive.

Later, due to the excessively long battle lines, frequent attacks on transportation, insufficient food and ammunition supplies, and the lack of winter clothing for the French army, coupled with Tsar Alexander I's refusal to accept peace talks, Napoleon was forced to abandon Moscow and slowly retreat southwest.

On their return to Smolensk, the French troops made a brief stop there.

When the French troops redeployed, the locals did notice that some supply trucks were missing.

This is the origin of Napoleon's treasure. There has long been a local rumor that Napoleon, feeling that he was in a dangerous situation and knowing that he could not take the looted goods from Moscow with him, and unwilling to let the Russian army take them, ordered these things to be sunk in Lake Samlyopo.

Therefore, a hundred years ago, the governor of the Smolensk region ordered engineering troops to survey the lake near Samlyop.

They found a rock-like pile about 5 meters below the water's surface, and when they touched it with a lead cone, they seemed to hear a metallic sound.

Later, the cofferdam was completed and the water was pumped out, but all that remained was a pile of ancient river embankments, and the search came to an end.

After listening to the guide, Fang Wen was basically able to conclude that the ancient man-made architectural remains he saw at the bottom of the lake were just a section of river embankment left by ancient people.

In other words, since no treasure has been found in this lake after 100 years of continuous treasure hunting, it can be ruled out as a treasure trove.

But was it really a treasure Napoleon buried in Smolensk?
Fang Wen controlled the plane to circle and talked with Pierre.

“You heard what the guide said; this is definitely not the treasure site. Next, I will conduct an aerial search of the surrounding area. But before that, you have to tell me why you are certain that Napoleon's treasure is real.”

Pierre dismissed his men and guide and spoke with Fang Wen alone.

“My ancestors were officers loyal to Napoleon in the early 20th century. After the Battle of Waterloo, my ancestor accompanied Napoleon to exile on Saint Helena. Many others went with him, but some of the most loyal officers suddenly disappeared. Later, after Napoleon died, my ancestor returned to France and tried to find the whereabouts of those people. He discovered that they had not returned to France, and he spent the rest of his life searching for where they had gone.”

After a pause, Pierre continued, "He was buried in our family cemetery. One year, I went to the cemetery and accidentally triggered a mechanism on his sarcophagus. As a result, I found a parchment scroll with his final judgment written on it. He believed that those people had received the emperor's final order to retrieve treasures from the Russian region in preparation for the emperor's restoration."

Hear this.

Fang Wen couldn't help but reply, "According to your ancestors' judgment, those people should have already taken the treasure. What's the point of this treasure hunt then?"

Pierre shook his head: "They didn't bring the treasure back. I invest in art, and I pay close attention to the art from the Tsarist era. The paintings and artworks that were looted have never appeared on the market. Unless they melted down all the gold and hid all the artworks from the outside world, which is unlikely."

It's unlikely.

With 80 tons of gold, plus countless royal artworks of immeasurable value, who could resist taking them out to squander?
The conversation ended there, and Fang Wen prepared to conduct a large-scale exploration of the Smolensk region.

But it cannot be a blind and aimless search.

He thought in his mind.

If you were a French soldier and wanted to bury treasure here, what would you do?

The terrain here is mainly swamps and forests, and the Dnieper River is the largest river in the area.

In this terrain, there are no caves or other places where treasures are buried, which is why there is a saying that Napoleon hid the treasure at the bottom of the lake.

The French army would find transporting 80 tons of gold and a large amount of treasure very troublesome, so they would naturally not go through those swampy areas.

The Dnieper River!

Yes, it's the Dnieper River. This river is the best mode of transportation. No matter where the French army wanted to hide the treasure, waterway transportation was the most convenient.

His gaze fell upon the Dnieper River winding its way through towering pine forests, and he then piloted the plane in the direction of the river.

In search of Napoleon's treasure.

While flying, Fang Wen activated his special ability to try to receive the signal from the secret treasure.

Only treasures imbued with the energy of faith can emit that mysterious fluctuation.

Russia was the largest Orthodox missionary country at the time, so it must have had religious treasures.

They flew for three hours without finding anything.

It was getting dark, and it was time to land and rest.

Fang Wen returned along the same route and landed at Lake Samliobo.

After the plane landed, he said, "We'll stay here tonight. Gong Xiu can bring out the food and prepare dinner."

Gong Xiuneng opened the wall cabinet, took out some convenient food, and prepared to make a simple dinner.

Fang Wen then spoke with Pierre.

"I will fly again tomorrow to explore further, and if I find nothing, I'm sorry, I won't waste any more time here."

“It’s normal not to find it. It’s been over 100 years since we found it. We can only say we’ve been unlucky.” Pierre was very cheerful. He approached the treasure hunt with the mindset of just participating. It’s normal not to find it. If we did find it, it would be like winning the lottery.

Fang Wen smiled slightly, said nothing more, and went to Gong Xiuneng's place to cook dinner together.

After a convenient Chinese dinner, everyone spent the night resting in one of the four rooms.

The plane was quietly anchored on the lake, with red lights dotting the shore and occasional howls echoing from it.

That was the howling of a local pack of wolves. They had clearly noticed the seaplane on the lake, but could only howl because they couldn't get close.

And so, accompanied by the howls of wolves, Fang Wen and his companions spent the night in the Soviet wilderness.

Its daybreak.

Birdsong drifted in from outside, and soft sunlight streamed through the window.

Fang Wen was the first to get up and looked out the window at the lake.

The wolves from last night have left, and the lush green grass on the shore is now empty.

He nudged Gong Xiuneng, who was on the bed next to him, and said, "Get up."

Gong Xiu opened his eyes and yawned: "Oh, was I sleeping so soundly? It's been a long time since I slept like this. I used to sleep like this when I was traveling with my master and camping in the Qinling Mountains. Commander, what's this called again?"

"It must be your Taoist concept of 'harmony between heaven and man,'" Fang Wen said with a smile.

“Yes, it’s about the unity of man and nature. Master said it’s something that can’t be sought but only encountered. It’s the best time to comprehend the universe and nature, but unfortunately I’m always drowsy.” Gong Xiuneng said as he got up, put on his coat, and went to prepare hot water for Fang Wen to wash up.

Fang Wen then woke up the others.

After washing up and having breakfast, the plane took off again and flew further along the Dnieper River.

The flight started in the morning and lasted for 3 hours, already flying along the Dnieper River out of the Smolensk region.

Everyone gradually became depressed, feeling that this treasure hunt might not be fruitful.

Fang Wen thought so too.

Perhaps the treasure is hidden somewhere below, but it's out of my reach.

He turned the plane around, flew away from the Dnieper River, and prepared to fly along a tributary for one last search.

The plane flew 30 kilometers southwest along the river when suddenly, Fang Wen sensed a familiar fluctuation.

Got it!

He remained silent, showing no outward emotion, and simply flew in the direction he sensed.

Five minutes later, they arrived at the area where the treasure was reacting.

There was actually a cluster of buildings there.

It is a religious architectural complex.

Fang Wen asked, "What's down there?"

With Alyosha translating, the guide replied, "It's the Holy Trinity Monastery in Borgia."

Could this be the location where Napoleon buried his treasure?

Fang Wen is uncertain.

But he was certain that there was a hidden treasure below.

Therefore, regardless of whether it was treasure or not, he had to land and get his hands on the treasure.

(End of this chapter)