Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 606 European Intelligence Analysis, Secret Shipping in the Gulf of Tonkin
39 8 Month 24 Day.

The Moulin Rouge in Paris, France.

Isabella stood in front of the backstage mirror, her fingertips tracing the gold-embroidered roses on her costume—a gown she wore four years ago when she performed at the Madrid Opera House. It was no longer in fashion, but it remained her most cherished possession.

The dressing room door was gently pushed open, and a man in a black trench coat poked his head in, his hat pulled low: "Isabella, your 'score' has arrived."

Isabella turned around, a glint of light flashing in her eyes.

“Pedro, please have a seat.” She handed him a cup of warm coffee.

The man known as Pedro is a liaison for the Spanish Republican government's exiled organization.

"How is the situation now?" Isabella asked.

"The Prime Minister has arrived in Paris and is under the protection of the French government, but the safety of others cannot be guaranteed. Franco has sent assassins and has put a bounty on our people in the Paris underworld. We can only meet secretly in cafes. I have obtained important intelligence from Britain. Franco's army has deployed three divisions on the border, and our guerrillas in Spain are about to collapse, but the French government is afraid of offending Germany and refuses to allow us passage to transport supplies; Europe is now focused on the Soviet-German Pact, and no one cares about the Spanish republic anymore."

Isabella's fingers tightened slightly as she thought of her comrades who had sacrificed their lives to defend the Republican government during the Civil War, and her eyes welled up with tears. "We can't just wait like this. Pedro, I can use the Moulin Rouge shows—there are diplomats and businessmen from all over Europe there every night. I can find people willing to help us."

“No.” Pedro frowned. “Your identity may not be unknown to everyone. Paris is full of spies now—Germans, British, Franco’s men. When you sang ‘Rain in Madrid’ last week, there was a man in a gray suit staring at you the whole time. I checked, he’s a businessman from Spain, and he probably recognized you.”

Isabella smiled, picked up a lipstick from the dressing table, and gently applied it to her lips: "I am not afraid of death; my ideals give me courage."

Pedro watched Isabella's retreating figure. "The government-in-exile is now demoralized, and many know that the situation is hopeless. Yet you persist. Is such a sacrifice worthwhile?"

Before Isabella could answer, he took out a document.

“I obtained important intelligence in England, but it seems that it is not of much use to us now. However, there is a place where it might be useful, and I would like to ask you to take the intelligence there.”

"where?"

“Yangon, Taishan Airlines has a special need for intelligence from Europe and often pays high prices to buy it. I think they definitely want this intelligence. Take it over there personally and talk to them about the aircraft purchase.”

"Buy a plane?" Isabella was stunned.

“I plan to establish a military base on Bioko Island and train armed personnel. Taishan Airlines’ aircraft have good performance and low price, which is perfect for us.”

Bioko Island is located in western Africa, near Equatorial Guinea, and was a Spanish colony in Africa.

That place is not yet under Franco's control; it's the only chance.

Isabella agreed without hesitation.

He then accepted the intelligence report, asked for leave from the opera house, and went to the Paris airport in plain clothes.

I bought a ticket for a Taishan Airlines Asia-Europe flight at the airport and departed that same day.

A day later, the passenger plane landed at Yangon Airport.

The flight attendant smiled and said, "This flight has arrived in Yangon. Passengers disembarking here, please collect your luggage and proceed to the boarding gate."

Isabella took the small suitcase and walked over.

She was the only passenger on the flight who disembarked in Yangon.

The cabin door opened, and she stepped down the boarding stairs.

She hadn't been here for a while, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity; this place held many wonderful memories for her.

After leaving the airport, she took a shuttle bus and got off at the final stop, which was the headquarters of Taishan Airlines.

At the northern Myanmar base, Fang Wen supervised production progress after returning from China.

The Independent Regiment was promised 10 medium tanks, 2 rocket launchers, and 5 upgraded gunboats. Currently, 2 medium tanks, 1 rocket launcher, and 3 upgraded gunboats have been produced.

The problem is how to transport this batch of supplies now that they've been produced.

A medium tank weighs 20 tons, and Taishan Airlines currently does not have that much air transport capacity.

If traveling by land, one would return to China via the Burma Road, then from Yunnan to Guangxi, and finally to eastern Guangdong.

Much of that road is unpaved, and people rely more on rivers for transportation; it would be difficult for a tank convoy to get through.

Therefore, he has been having a headache about this.

We have good equipment, but we can't get it delivered!
Actually, there is another method.

That is by sea.

The cargo is loaded in Yangon, passes through the Strait of Malacca into Southeast Asian waters, then sails along the waters near Vietnam into the Gulf of Tonkin, and unloads at Beihai or Fangchenggang.

This sea voyage has a chance, after all, the Japanese naval fleet cannot be stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin 24 hours a day, and the time they can appear there is certainly not long.

If we can track the movements of the Japanese naval fleet in the Gulf of Tonkin and then contact the cargo ship via airborne radio equipment, we can ensure the cargo ship docks safely.

Fang Wen can do this, but it will take some time to prepare.

Therefore, he needed to return to Yangon to prepare to unload the cargo ship carrying the tanks, as well as to design and scout the sea routes.

Fang Wen piloted the plane to Yangon Airport. After the plane was parked, he drove back to the company headquarters with Gong Xiuneng.

The car pulled up outside the company building, where the airport shuttle bus was parked. A tall woman carrying a suitcase got off the bus.

Fang Wen was stunned when he saw the woman's face.

Why is Isabella here?
Cars of that era didn't have tinted windows, and Isabella happened to see Fang Wen, so she walked over and tapped on the car window.

Fang Wen looked at Gong Xiuneng and said, "Go to your office first, I'll come over in a bit."

Gong Xiuneng glanced at the foreign beauty outside the car window, then wisely got out of the car and left.

He got out of the car, and Fang Wen quickly waved for Isabella to get in.

The car then turned and drove to a nearby riverbank where it stopped.

Fang Wen then spoke up, "Last time I asked someone from the Paris branch to invite you, but you didn't come. Why are you here now?"

Isabella opened her briefcase and took out a document.

"I'm here on behalf of the Republican government to deliver some very useful intelligence to you. Also, I'd like to briefly discuss the aircraft purchase."

Fang Wen took the documents but didn't open them. Instead, he started talking about the airplane.

"Buy planes? It's useless for you to have planes in Paris. The French government will not allow you to have armed forces."

"Not Paris. We are preparing to establish military bases in Africa to train soldiers. Gunships and aircraft will be very useful in Africa."

"I see," Fang Wen nodded, flipping through the intelligence report.

The first page of the intelligence report was about the Soviet-German Pact.

A few days earlier, the Soviet Union and Germany reached an agreement and signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Fang Wen understood the significant impact of this agreement.

This treaty completely relieved Germany's concerns. Previously, Germany worried that the Soviet Union would intervene from the east if it attacked Poland. Now that concern was gone, a blitzkrieg against Poland would soon begin. However, there were still some things that Fang Wen, this person from the future, knew, but which were not in the intelligence.

For example, the secret additional protocols contained in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which were later declassified, divided the spheres of influence of the two countries in Eastern Europe—Eastern Poland belonged to the Soviet Union, and Western Poland belonged to Germany.

Seeing this, Fang Wen looked up and spoke to Isabella.

What is your opinion on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact?

"It's a very normal agreement. Right now, the Soviets are having a border dispute with Finland, and they certainly don't want to have a conflict with the Germans while they are at war with Finland."

Isabella reinterpreted the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact from the perspective of people of this era.

This also fills in the gap about the real reason why the two countries signed the agreement.

Germany wanted to attack Poland, and the Soviet Union wanted to attack Finland.

If the Soviet Union took military action against Finland, it feared that Germany would take the opportunity to attack the Soviet Union from the west, leading to a two-front war.

The same applies to Germany; they fear that if they attack Poland, the Soviet Union will intervene by sending troops from Poland's eastern border.

Neither side wanted another powerful enemy lurking in the shadows during the war, so this agreement was signed to bind both sides together.

Fang Wen then turned to the documents at the back and continued reading.

This intelligence is indeed very valuable.

There was even intelligence about the British Navy.

After the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the British North Fleet canceled all holidays and entered a state of "Level Two Combat Readiness".

British destroyer squadrons began "intensive patrols" in the eastern North Sea (55°-57°N, 5°-8°E), deploying 6-8 destroyers daily, with carrier-based aircraft launched from HMS Daring searching for German submarines.

Three battlecruisers formed a "rapid reaction group" and patrolled the central North Sea. Once they spotted a large German surface ship, such as the Scharnhorst, they would immediately restrain its movements and buy time for the battleship group to rush to its aid.
The submarine force deployed "surveillance positions" off the coast of German ports. Eighteen submarines were divided into six squadrons, taking turns to lie in wait near the Kiel Canal exit and Wilhelmshaven, recording the frequency of German ships entering and leaving the port.

Such vigilance was a sign that the British were alert and specifically guarding against the German navy leaving the North Sea region and affecting their shipping lanes in the Atlantic.

After reviewing all the intelligence, Fang Wen pretended to be serious.

"Very useful intelligence. It seems that the Germans will soon go to war against Poland."

“They are trying to reclaim what they lost in the last war,” Isabella replied.

It felt a little strange that the two of them were just talking about the situation in Europe in the car.

Their eyes met, sparking a connection, but they quickly looked away.

Both of them now have their own responsibilities, but they are not as carefree as before.

"The purchase of the aircraft cannot be finalized for the time being. Our military aircraft manufacturing plant is already operating at full capacity. We will have to wait until at least next month."

"Oh. Then I'll head back to Paris first."

For some inexplicable reason, Fang Wen blurted out, "Would you be interested in participating in a maritime escort mission?"

“Yes.” Isabella agreed without hesitation.

Once the words were spoken, they couldn't be taken back, so Fang Wen could only drive Isabella to the company and arrange accommodation for her.

Fang Wen then returned to his office and began preparing for work.

Regarding the secret shipping operations in the Beibu Gulf, Fang Wen planned to use a 1000-ton cargo ship leased from a British shipping company.

The reason for using this type of cargo ship is mainly due to the situation at the Beibu Gulf ports.

Fangchenggang is still quite small, with a maximum capacity of only 500 tons, while Beihai Port can accommodate cargo ships of 1000 tons.

Therefore, there is no need to use very large ships for transportation; 1000-ton vessels are just right.

With the cargo ship in hand, Fang Wen arranged for tanks to be transported from the inland rivers of northern Myanmar to Yangon, while he piloted an aircraft to begin reconnaissance in the Gulf of Tonkin.

8 month 26 day.

Fang Wen piloted a Taishan high-speed fighter jet, which took off from Yangon and flew to the Gulf of Tonkin region to conduct military reconnaissance.

In the rear cockpit of the aircraft, Isabella, acting as an observer, is watching the situation below and drawing a flight path.

"Altitude 3000 meters, heading 120 degrees, expected to enter the Beibu Gulf airspace in two hours," she announced.

"It won't take that long." Fang Wen adjusted the control stick, climbed the altitude, and then accelerated the flight.

The clouds outside the window gradually changed from cotton-like to thin gauze, and the Mekong River below looked like a silver ribbon, winding its way towards the South China Sea.

In less than two hours, the plane entered the Beibu Gulf.

Fang Wen activated the radar target acquisition device and used his supernatural abilities to observe.

There has been no indication of aircraft or warships appearing on the radar yet.

It seems the Japanese naval fleet's warships haven't patrolled over yet.

Since that's the case, Fang Wen decided to go to Beihai Port first.

Ten minutes later, the fighter jets flew over the Beibu Gulf and arrived over Beihai Port.

It was still early morning, and the morning mist had not completely dissipated, making the sea outside the harbor look like it was covered with a layer of light blue gauze.

Fang Wen maneuvered the fighter jet to slowly descend and reduce speed, then swooped down over the port area.

Isabella immediately raised her binoculars, pointing the lens at the North Harbor below—in her view, the docks were quiet and sparsely populated.

"Where are the people at this dock?" she asked in surprise.

"The Japanese devils control the coastline, so fishing boats dare not go out to sea to fish, and cargo ships and passenger ships have also stopped," Fang Wen replied.

After saying that, he continued to look down, searching for his contact in Beihai.

Soon, a plume of red smoke was seen on the east side of the port area.

Beside the red smoke, two men are waving towards the sky.

Right there, Fang Wen flew his plane over, and when he reached a position directly overhead, he pulled the trigger to drop the bombs mounted below his fighter jet.

The airdropped items detach from the airborne equipment, deploy a parachute in mid-air, and slowly glide down.

Fang Wen explained, "The people below are the Guangxi clique's garrison. They agreed to cooperate, and I airdropped radio communication equipment so that we can contact them later."

Just then, Fang Wen suddenly became alert, as the radar detection device, which had been continuously activated, suddenly gave a weak signal feedback in the eastern edge of the detection area.

It appears that Japanese naval patrol ships are heading towards the Gulf of Tonkin.

(End of this chapter)