Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 641 Instant Fame (2), The Eighth Route Army's Heavy-Duty Bicycle Order

On the morning of December 10th, bugle calls echoed outside Nanning city.
The vanguard of the 5th Army of the Central Army was the first to arrive in Nanning; followed by the 170th and 175th Divisions of the 46th Army. Their flags fluttered in the wind, and from a distance, they looked like a long green dragon winding its way toward Nanning.

The news spread quickly throughout the city. Although they arrived a little late, the people spontaneously flocked to the streets, setting up colorful tents on both sides of the road and hanging banners that read "Welcome the reinforcements" and "Guinan will surely win."

When the reinforcements arrived at the gates of Nanning, Commander Wei and the officers of the 31st Army were already waiting there. Commander Du, the commander of the 5th Army, quickly stepped forward and shook hands firmly with Commander Wei: "Commander Wei, we're late! We've made you suffer!" Commander Wei smiled and shook his head: "Not late at all! With you here, Guinan is completely safe!"

As the troops entered the city, the sounds of gongs, drums, and cheers rose and fell.

Fang Wen stood in the welcoming crowd, a hint of satisfaction appearing on his lips amidst the jubilant scene.

That same afternoon, he piloted the Qinyuan for his final aerial reconnaissance mission.

This reconnaissance revealed that the Japanese troops who had previously retreated from the Yongqin Highway front had arrived in Qinzhou.

Through his mechanical perception ability, Fang Wen also "saw" the Japanese army beginning to build defensive fortifications around Qinzhou Port: soldiers were digging trenches, erecting barbed wire, and deploying the remaining artillery on both sides of the port.

Clearly, the Japanese army intended to hold Qinzhou and then devise further plans.

Meanwhile, there are still many Japanese warships in the Beibu Gulf.

He then flew back to base and drove to the 31st Army headquarters to inform Commander Wei of the situation.

After listening, Commander Wei breathed a sigh of relief: "Good! As long as they retreat to Qinzhou, they won't be able to cause any more trouble! Next, we can join forces with reinforcements to slowly wipe out the Japanese troops in Qinzhou and drive them out of southern Guangxi completely!" The staff officers also echoed his sentiments, and the atmosphere in the command post finally changed from tense and solemn to relaxed.

Fang Wen knew this was a morale-boosting statement. After the echoes subsided, he spoke again: "Our Independent Regiment has also completed this support operation. We are now informing the garrison in Guinan that we will be setting off to return today."

"Leaving now? I've prepared a victory banquet in the city tonight, firstly to welcome the reinforcements, and secondly to thank you for your help to Guinan these past few days. If you leave, this banquet will lose a lot of talking points!" Commander Wei said regretfully.

Fang Wen smiled and explained, "Commander Wei, thank you for your kindness, but I really can't keep my appointment. This battle has lasted for half a month, and there are many things back at home that I need to go back to deal with. If I don't go back soon, things will turn into a complete mess at home."

Commander Wei paused for a moment, then nodded understandingly: "I understand your thoughts. You're a pragmatic person, always thinking about how to fight the Japanese and how to strengthen the army. Since that's the case, I won't force you. However, Guinan will always remember your contributions. If you need anything in the future, just ask!"

Fang Wen extended his hand and shook hands tightly with Commander Wei: "Commander Wei, you're too kind. Protecting our country is what we should do. The defense of Guinan will depend on you. I believe you can definitely hold this land."

After a brief handover, Fang Wen relinquished command of the Guangxi Air Force and then began to notify the support troops from the Independent Regiment who had come to southern Guangxi to prepare to return.

At the temporary water airfield on the upper reaches of the Yong River, the crews of 10 independent regiment gunboats and the accompanying ground crew were busy packing up their equipment, taking back everything they could from the aircraft.

Afterwards, all personnel boarded the plane and flew to Nanning.

The Independent Regiment's gunboats and aircraft landed at the destroyed Guangxi-style seaplane base to receive Independent Regiment soldiers and anti-aircraft gun components from the south bank.

After everything was loaded, the gunboat took off again.

The commotion eventually reached the ears of the people in the city.

People flocked out of the city to the north bank of the Yong River to watch the gunboat fleet fly eastward.

Fang Wen, on the other hand, piloted the Qinyuan and returned alone.

After a four-hour flight, the Chin Yuan arrived at Yangon Airport.

It was already dark, and the airport's night lights were turned on for illumination.

Guided by airport staff, Fang Wen drove the plane into the hangar.

He and Gong Xiuneng from the rear cabin then disembarked.

Looking at Gong Xiuneng, who was stretching out his limbs, Fang Wen asked with concern, "Are you alright after lying down for more than four hours?"

"It's alright. As long as the commander doesn't fly the plane into battle, I feel quite safe sitting here," Gong Xiuneng joked.

"You old rascal," Fang Wen laughed.

The two chatted and laughed as they got into the Taishan Jeep in the hangar (the civilian version of the Taishan military vehicle, currently only available to Fang Wen).

The jeep drove out of the airport and stopped in the courtyard behind the Taishan Airlines headquarters building.

As the two entered the building, they saw Manager Liu, led by Fang Shouxin, welcoming them in the lobby on the first floor.

Fang Shouxin announced loudly, "General Manager, congratulations on leading the Independent Regiment to a great victory in Guinan."

"How did you know?" Fang Wen asked in surprise.

"It's all in the newspapers! First it was the Japanese, then the British and Americans joined in, making things awkward for the Japanese," Manager Liu explained with a smile.

Fang Wen became increasingly curious, but since he didn't want to ask too many questions in the lobby, he took the elevator upstairs with the company executives.

The elevator arrived at the top floor, where the general manager's office area was located, and the group sat down in the conference room.

Fang Wen then asked, "I didn't quite understand what you were talking about. Can someone explain it in more detail?"

Manager Liu recounted the whole story.

It turns out that the war in Guinan had been heavily publicized in advance within the Japanese territory.

After all, once the Guinan region is occupied, the entire coastline of China will be completely blocked, and support from the sea will no longer be possible.

As a result, Japanese newspapers and magazines engaged in extensive embellishment and propaganda.

In particular, the pictorial magazine published a large number of pictures of the bombing of Nanning and the battles fought by the Japanese army.

These reports all aimed to convey to the Japanese public and the international community that they were determined to acquire the Guinan region.

But who would have thought that the war would take such a dramatic turn? The Japanese army's long-planned campaign to conquer Guinan became increasingly difficult halfway through.

At this point, Fang Shouxin added with a smile, "The Japanese took their newspapers to Europe, wanting to spread the word. Manager Liu happened to be in Paris overseeing the accounts. With our general manager involved, how could we let the Japanese have it so easy? So, Manager Liu contacted two British and American newspapers and asked them to follow up with reports. This really put the Japanese in an awkward position. In the end, there was absolutely no more reporting about Guinan in Japan."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Fang Shouxin continued only after the laughter subsided.

"The writers at the British and American newspapers particularly enjoy digging up interesting information to increase readers' interest. They discovered that in the second half of the battle, the Japanese air superiority suddenly disappeared. This is why the Japanese original plan fell through. After digging deeper, they found all your past work, General Manager, and then re-reported it. Now, people in Europe and the United States know about your military achievements in Asia and have even given you the nickname 'Asian War Eagle'."

After listening to Fang Shouxin's explanation, Fang Wen was unsure how to evaluate the matter.

I had previously reported on myself in the United States, but at that time it was because of my unusual entrepreneurial experience of accumulating a lot of wealth at a young age.

Now, his participation in the war in China has been reported, even at the very beginning of the European war.

Would this be advantageous to me?

Clearing his mind, Fang Wen said seriously, "Alright, let's get down to business. Everyone, please share your thoughts on the company."

The meeting room fell silent as the heads of each department began to report.

From internal company management, material procurement, civil aviation operations, the status of remaining domestic feeder flights, to Southeast Asian maritime feeder flights, and so on.

Overall, although the civil aviation business did not expand during this period, the load factor increased, and the company's revenue increased by 40% year-on-year. This was mainly due to the impact of Asia-Europe routes.

Because a branch flight was opened in Switzerland, allowing Star Semiconductor Radios to supply Berlin from there, it also effectively granted Taishan Airlines a civil aviation exemption.

More and more people are traveling between Asia and Europe on Taishan Airlines flights.

Upon hearing this, Fang Wen's heart stirred.

He continued, “Increased passenger volume is a good thing, but we must also be aware of the potential risks. Among so many passengers, there are bound to be intelligence agents from various countries. They will take advantage of the convenience of this route to send agents to various places. The company must remain neutral and absolutely no employee can show any bias. Remember, we are a Chinese company. Apart from China, other countries are only of interest to us.”

Fang Shouxin nodded in strong agreement: "Our disciplinary department under the administration department will conduct special supervision based on what the general manager said."

After that report, the matter of civil aviation operations was considered finished.

The meeting has now concluded, and everyone has left the meeting room and dispersed.

Fang Wen then asked his assistant, Zhao Junping, to bring over the intelligence he had gathered during this period.

He wanted to see how the situation had changed over the past two weeks.

The first thing to look at is the situation in Europe.

As Fang Wen flipped through the intelligence reports, he gained an understanding of the situation in Europe.

In the past two weeks.

Germany was still digesting the newly occupied Poland. Although Britain and France declared war on the Western Front, neither side took any further action, which international media called the "sit-in war."

It is worth mentioning that while the French army was facing off against the German army at the Maginot Line, French public opinion was quite optimistic about its own army and did not believe that France would become a second Poland.

Meanwhile, to the east of Europe, the Soviet Union was also taking advantage of this opportunity to expand.

In early November, it annexed western Ukraine and western Belarus, and at the end of November, it launched a war against Finland.

Upon seeing this, Fang Wen couldn't help but sigh, no wonder Germany and the Soviet Union went to war first; both sides had the same desire for land.

He continued reading.

The Soviet Union deployed 45 troops, a force comparable to Germany's invasion of Poland.

However, the start of this war was not as smooth as the Soviet Union had imagined.

In temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius, the Soviet army fought to a draw with Finland, a nation mobilized for the war.

In some areas, the Finnish army even separated Soviet troops in an attempt to disperse and annihilate them.

After reading the intelligence about the Winter War, Fang Wen couldn't help but ponder it.

If I were to command the Soviet army in an offensive, would I have a chance to change this situation?

Images of the northern region of Leningrad flashed through his mind.

The area is already similar to the Finnish region, with dense forests, lakes, and swamps.

The Soviet mechanized forces would have been restricted in such an environment, and the cold weather only exacerbated the situation.

In addition, such low temperatures make it even more difficult for aircraft to provide air support and reconnaissance.

Finland, on the other hand, is familiar with the terrain and is better adapted to the local environment.

Therefore, even if I were to use my mechanical perception ability to command this battle, I would probably still find it difficult to gain a better advantage in Finland.

Therefore, war requires adapting to local conditions, rather than relying solely on resources to fight head-on. While victory may ultimately be achieved that way, the process and losses will be enormous.

The night passed.

Fang Wen left his rooftop residence, took his bodyguard Gong Xiuneng to the airport, and flew his fighter jet to northern Myanmar.

It took only one hour for the Qinyuan to land at the airport in northern Myanmar.

Upon arriving at the base in northern Myanmar, Fang Wen's first action was to convene a meeting of managers from various departments.

Lin Yifei, the director of the No. 2 Aircraft Manufacturing Plant; Huo Duanyang, the director of the Ammunition Plant; Bai Zeshan, the director of the Semiconductor Plant; Lu Zexuan, the director of the Taishan Research Institute; and Shen Weitao, the security supervisor of the base.

Lin Yifei was the first to report to Fang Wen: "General Manager, in the past half month, we have completed the modification of two gunship aircraft, all of which are new versions with rocket launchers added. In addition, people from Yan'an have already come and taken away three high-speed fighter jets."

Fang Wen nodded. With the addition of the two high-speed fighters already in the fleet, the Yan'an Air Force now has five high-speed fighters. Although the number is not large, they are currently the best in terms of performance, and there is absolutely no problem in protecting Yan'an.

Subsequently, Huo Duanyang explained the situation at the ammunition factory.

"General Manager, as per your request, 70% of the skilled workers at the bullet factory have been relocated to Yan'an. Now, apart from maintaining the supply of rifle ammunition to the Independent Regiment, our production capacity is focused on manufacturing 82mm rockets. Although we have increased manpower, the equipment capacity is limited, and we still cannot reach your requirement of 4000 rounds per month. We are working hard to upgrade the production line, and we expect to be able to increase production capacity next month."

Huo Duanyang stated two situations.

Because Yan'an had purchased a Soviet arms production line to manufacture Soviet-made rifles and bullets, but there was a huge shortage of skilled workers, Fang Wen sent a group of skilled workers from the bullet factory there, since these workers were originally there to support the Red Army's ammunition supply.

Now, the production capacity gap at the ammunition factories has shifted to rockets.

A single salvo can consume hundreds of rockets, and more than a thousand can be used up in just one week of combat.

Fang Wen led the Independent Regiment's air force in operations in southern Guangxi, firing 1800 rockets and achieving numerous victories, while also emptying the Independent Regiment's and ammunition factory's stockpiles.

Therefore, increasing production capacity is crucial for the existing independent regiment air combat model.

Fang Wen kept this in mind and would find a way to solve the production capacity gap. The necessary equipment would come from Europe.

Subsequently, Bai Zeshan from the semiconductor plant, Lu Zexuan from the Taishan Research Institute, and Shen Weitao, the security supervisor of the base, also reported on the situation in their respective departments.

Seventy percent of the semiconductor factory's production capacity has been diverted to military supplies, specifically for the production of Taishan walkie-talkies.

Therefore, for the next three months, Zhongxing Semiconductor radios will continue to be in short supply.

There haven't been many changes at the research institute. After all, every breakthrough in research requires continuous accumulation and a bit of luck.

However, Shen Weitao, who was in charge of the production of military bicycles, reported a new situation.

The first batch of heavy-duty military bicycles supplied to the Eighth Route Army received positive feedback, and the transportation tool was considered very useful by the soldiers and civilians in the base areas.

It has been used in various scenarios, such as transporting military supplies, transferring people and goods, and enabling combat personnel squads to move quickly.

In the absence of mechanized equipment, these heavy-duty bicycles provided assistance to the military and civilians in the base area in various aspects.

Therefore, the Eighth Route Army submitted a new batch of orders through Bai Yunfei.

We need to purchase 1200 heavy-duty bicycles.

(End of this chapter)