Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 629: The Battle Ends, Fang Wen Returns Home, Transistor Computer
After the meeting, Fang Wen returned to his dormitory with the intelligence about the Japanese 4th Cavalry Brigade that Wu Youdong had given him.

On the bed, Fang Wen opened the booklet.

The Japanese 4th Cavalry Brigade, belonging to the North China Area Army, was a mobile strike force drawn from the North China battlefield.

This brigade's core advantage lay in its high mobility, equipped with cavalry regiments, machine gun squadrons, and light armored vehicle units. It excelled in battlefield reconnaissance, flanking maneuvers, and rapid assaults. The Japanese command assessed it as "advantageous for penetrating defensive lines and disrupting the defenders' deployment."

[In this operation, coordinating with the 6th Division, they attempted a rapid breakthrough of the Xinqiang River and Miluo River defense lines to seize Changsha. However, after being blocked, they retreated and roamed the eastern area using mobility.]

Currently, the Japanese 6th Division is retreating and being pursued by our army. The 4th Cavalry Brigade has immediately become the rearguard, using cavalry and armored vehicles in mobile operations to continuously harass and block the pursuing Chinese troops.

This is why the theater command ordered the Zhijiang Air Force to launch a full-scale air raid on the Japanese 4th Cavalry Brigade tomorrow.

Fang Wen put down the intelligence folder, washed up, and went to sleep.

On the morning of October 2, the pilots got up early and went to the command post to assemble.

After breakfast, everyone boarded the plane and waited for orders.

Through the radio equipment that the Chinyuan had turned on, Ivanov's instructions came through: "Start your engines and taxi to the runway in formation!"

Fang Wen sat in the cockpit of the Qinyuan and started the engine, which roared as it drove the propeller.

He used his supernatural abilities to confirm again: the bombs were securely mounted, the cannons and machine guns were working properly, the engine was functioning normally, the fuel was sufficient, and everything was correct.

He then had a brief communication with his wingmen Ivan and Peter to learn about their situation.

As the staff at the runway raised the green signal flag, one Il-16 after another taxied onto the runway, accelerated into the air, and finally Fang Wen and his two wingmen also took to the sky.

The roar of engines echoed in the air as the fleet quickly disappeared into the horizon.

More than forty minutes later, the aircraft group arrived at the Xiangbei war zone.

Fang Wen observed the battle below using his mechanical perception.

The Japanese 6th Division, now the rear guard, is retreating.

But the National Army held on tight, making it impossible for them to break free.

Meanwhile, in the eastern region, a Japanese force was conducting mobile operations, putting immense pressure on the Nationalist army pursuing them from the east.

On the road, a large contingent of Japanese cavalry, along with several light armored vehicles, moved in coordination, with machine guns mounted on both sides of the armored vehicles firing intermittently in the direction of the National Army.

That's not all. In more distant areas, hundreds of cavalrymen were scattered into small squads, constantly harassing the pursuing National Army.

This situation put the Nationalist Army on the east side in a very passive position.

At this moment, Captain Ivanov issued combat orders via walkie-talkie.

"Each combat squad shall launch a free attack on the Japanese cavalry units below."

As the combat order was given, three Il-16 fighter jets in three squadrons broke away from the formation and swooped down over the road.

They fired upon the Japanese troops.

And after them, more fighter jets attacked.

The IL-16 swooping down spewed fire, its bullets raining down on the Japanese cavalry on the road.

A Japanese cavalryman had just raised his musket when he was shot in the chest and fell to the ground in the mud, horse and all.

The only thing that could put them at a disadvantage was the Japanese armored vehicle. The machine gunner inside raised his gun in an attempt to retaliate, but at that angle, he couldn't aim at the rapidly flying dive fighter.

Meanwhile, the AO-50 fragmentation bombs carried by the Soviet air force inflicted further damage on Japanese cavalry and armored vehicles.

Fang Wen did not immediately participate in this attack.

With his superpower granting him a global perspective, he naturally aims to make the best attack.

The Japanese 4th Cavalry Brigade below was tasked with blocking the National Army's pursuit of the 6th Division.

Their plan was shrewd: if the National Army stopped attacking them, they could use their mobility to retreat immediately.

In this way, the Nationalist army cannot catch up, and after giving up, they will follow again, harassing the Nationalist army incessantly.

Therefore, the 4th Cavalry Brigade's formation was very dispersed, launching attacks and harassing from multiple directions.

Is there any way to break this formation?
Of course there are.

Fang Wen was very familiar with the Red Army's guerrilla tactics and had also developed his own rapid response operations that combined airborne and air-ground coordination, so he knew the shortcomings of this model.

All rapid response warfare models emphasize "short-term, precise, and highly mobile" to maximize "speed advantage," but when implemented on the battlefield, they can easily lead to "information confusion" and "coordination failures."

Therefore, Fang Wencai equipped all the junior officers of the Independent Regiment with walkie-talkies to ensure the smooth and accurate transmission of information.

However, the Japanese army did not have walkie-talkies. Their method of rapid response command inevitably required a mobile command center on the battlefield.

In other words, the brain of the Japanese 4th Cavalry Brigade was mixed in with the troops below. If we could find him and destroy him, the unit would fall into chaos because it lacked unified command.

Immediately, Fang Wen's mechanical senses spread out like a fine net over the battlefield on the east side of Xiangbei, sweeping across the area below.

He didn't linger on the soldiers who were firing, but instead looked for the logic behind the troop deployment.

The command center of a rapid reaction force must be a "node" of the entire formation. It must be able to observe the overall situation and transmit instructions quickly. It will never hide on the front line or be far away from the main force.

He then ruled out the armored convoys along the highway.

Although these vehicles were blocking the enemy head-on, their actions were rigid, clearly indicating that they were only carrying out pre-set tasks rather than receiving real-time instructions.

Next, he narrowed down the search to the hilly area to the east—where three cavalry squads were arranged in a triangular formation, about 500 meters apart, yet they were able to harass the National Army's flanks in a coordinated manner. This kind of marching and fighting was clearly a unified and coordinated operation.

And it looks like they're protecting something.

Fang Wen immediately shifted his gaze to the rear of the cavalry.

Behind it is a pine forest.

Through the branches and leaves, Fang Wen spotted a troop of cavalry that had not yet engaged in battle in the woods.

Among the cavalry were three Japanese officers carrying swords, one of whom was observing the battlefield through binoculars.

He would also issue orders, which the officer beside him would immediately relay to a cavalryman, who would then gallop off towards the three cavalry squads.

Clearly, this was a new combat order being issued to his subordinates.

Troops further away were commanded via military telegraph machines.

It seems that Fang Wen's judgment was correct; this was indeed the battlefield command center of the Japanese 4th Cavalry Brigade.

Since that's the case, let's send him to his death.

Fang Wen immediately picked up the microphone: "Ivan, Peter, follow me and bomb the woods below. Drop all the bombs in the woods."

After saying that, he piloted the plane and swooped down.

Ivan and Peter, the two wingmen, had no objections and followed closely behind.

Three fighter jets swooped down from high altitude and arrived over the pine forest in a short time.

Under Fang Wen's supernatural ability, the cavalry hidden in the woods 800 meters below did not move. He operated with one hand at lightning speed, fine-tuning the firing angles of the machine gun and aircraft machine gun, while pressing the fire button.

12.7mm machine gun bullets and 20mm cannon shells flew rapidly into the pine forest, breaking branches and trunks, and sending leaves flying everywhere.

Moments later, the Japanese cavalry was hit by a hail of bullets from the air, and many of them fell.

Fang Wen saw that the officer, who should be the brigade commander, had been hit, but he did not stop the next attack.

Two high-explosive bombs fell. Afterwards, Ivan and Peter also threw the Soviet-made bombs they were carrying into the woods.

In an instant, a huge explosion occurred in the forest, with flames, smoke, and shockwaves knocking down tree trunks.

After the mushroom cloud dissipated, Fang Wen observed the area that had been hit.

The area had been reduced to flat ground; the entire Japanese cavalry unit had been wiped out, leaving only a few warhorses running around in panic.

Now that the command center of the Japanese cavalry brigade is gone, is it really as Fang Wen judged?
Fang Wen observed the subsequent air raids.

He discovered that the three cavalry squads, which had previously worked in perfect harmony, had suddenly become chaotic and were no longer cooperating as well as before, and that problems had also arisen in other areas of the Japanese cavalry units.

Seeing this, the commander of the National Army immediately ordered his troops to launch a counterattack against the Japanese cavalry under the cover of air fire.

At this time, the Japanese cavalry units, lacking a unified brigade-level command, were commanded by junior officers of each cavalry unit.

As a result, they lacked coordination with each other, and how could a single cavalry unit suppress the large force of the National Army? The Japanese cavalry units were thrown into chaos and ran amok on the eastern battlefield.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the National Army diverted some of its forces to continue fighting the cavalry, while the majority pursued the Sixth Division.

The Battle of Changsha was drawing to a close.

After the Japanese forces on the east and west flanks were thwarted, the Japanese forces in the center suffered even greater losses.

The Japanese army in the central sector retreated across the board. After the 4th Cavalry Brigade was defeated, the 6th Division of the Japanese army also suffered heavy losses.

Along the way, they encountered resistance from the National Army and aerial bombardment in many places.

It wasn't until October 6th that the National Army completed the encirclement, and the Japanese 10th Division escaped the encirclement at great cost.

With this, the Battle of Changsha came to an end.

The battle is over.

After a week of continuous operations, the pilots can finally relax.

Ivanov, captain of the Jiangsu United Air Force, announced: "Two days of leave."

The Soviet pilots cheered excitedly, preparing to rest and relax for the next two days.

Fang Wenze found Ivanov and said, "Captain, I'm leaving."

Ivanov shook hands with Fang Wen: "These past few days, you've proven yourself a true ace pilot. In Asia, no one can surpass you. I hope we'll have the chance to fight together again in the future."

“It will happen,” Fang Wen replied.

Ivanov suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "By the way, could you leave those walkie-talkies with us?"

"Of course, this was originally part of the arms sales contract between Taishan Military Industry and the Soviet Union, but I must remind you that these walkie-talkies can only be used by you and must never be given to the Japanese."

“I understand.” Ivanov paused, glancing at Major Wu Youdong, who was celebrating with the Soviet pilots. “The Nationalist government might award this medal, and I want to try to get it for you.”

"No need." Fang Wen refused outright, then took Gong Xiuneng to the dormitory to pack their luggage, and then sent a telegram to Yangon.

Five hours later, a Taishan seaplane arrived at Zhijiang Airport.

The remaining supplies from this operation were loaded and transported back to Zhijiang, along with Gong Xiuneng, the mechanics, and other staff members.

Fang Wenze piloted the Qinyuan escort flight.

In the evening, the two planes arrived at the base in northern Myanmar and landed.

The Qinyuan landed on the runway of the No. 2 Aircraft Manufacturing Plant. Fang Wen, carrying a canvas bag, slid off the plane.

Factory Director Lin Yifei, along with the factory's key technical personnel, came to greet them.

"General Manager, what are your takeaways from this campaign?"

They all wanted to know from Fang Wen how the Taishan fighter jet performed in large-scale air combat.

Fang Wen smiled and said, "Very good. After this operation, I have some new ideas that will be used in the subsequent aircraft improvements. But now is not the time to talk about them. Let's wait a couple of days."

After he finished speaking, he left the group of expectant engineering and technical personnel behind and departed from the No. 2 Aircraft Manufacturing Plant.

At the entrance of Factory No. 2, Zhao Junping and Gong Xiuneng were already waiting.

"General Manager, there's some good news lately." Zhao Junping couldn't contain his excitement and wanted to share it right there.

"Go back to the office," Fang Wen stopped him.

The three then headed to the office area of ​​the base in northern Myanmar.

Fang Wen's office in the base's office area.

Zhao Junping took a stack of documents and placed them on Fang Wen's desk, categorizing them accordingly.

"This shows the operational status of the civil aviation sector, the operational status after the merger of the first and second phases of the power plant, and the status of the ammunition factory and the semiconductor factory."

Fang Wen flipped through them one by one.

Surprisingly, the civil aviation business did not shrink due to the impact of the war; on the contrary, it grew by 2%.

That's because Taishan Airlines was the only airline operating normally between Asia and Europe, and many Europeans began choosing to take Taishan Airlines' Asia-Europe flights to Asia to avoid trouble.

Their destinations include Southeast Asia, as well as India, Iran, and other places.

Even in Yangon, Myanmar, there are many more British people.

All newly installed thermal power plant units have been completed and are operating normally, providing a stable power supply for the base's production.

Semiconductor manufacturers have reduced some civilian production capacity and allocated more production lines to the production of military semiconductor components.

The assembly workshop for Taishan walkie-talkies is also located within the semiconductor factory, with assembly handled by factory personnel to ensure that the technology is not leaked.

The ammunition and rocket factories are operating normally.

Fang Wen put down the document and couldn't help but ask.

Where is the good news you mentioned?

Zhao Junping put down the last two documents.

"Our refrigerated food ship has arrived in Australia. According to the contract, the first batch of 1000 tons of frozen beef and mutton has been loaded. Since this shipment does not need to go to New Zealand, it is expected to arrive at the port in five days."

Fang Wen nodded; this was indeed good news.

As the war progressed, the domestic demand for meat became extremely high, especially for the military, which urgently needed to replenish its protein reserves.

This 1000-ton capacity is somewhat small for a refrigerated ship, and may not even cover shipping costs. However, the cold storage facilities at the newly built meat processing plant in Yangon are only capable of holding 1,000 tons, so this is the only capacity they can transport.

He thought this was the only good news.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Junping spoke up again: "There's another piece of good news. The research institute has developed a ferrite core."

"What? Ferrite cores have been made?"

Fang Wen stood up excitedly.

This project was a task he assigned to the research institute; it was an essential component for the development of transistor computers.

With it, magnetic storage devices could be manufactured, solving the problem of "difficulty in data storage" and enabling the advent of transistor computers.

This brings us closer to developing microcontroller chips for missile guidance.

(End of this chapter)