Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 645 The Yellow Plane and the German Plane Crash in Belgium: Fang Wen's Attempt
The passenger plane landed on the runway at Paris airport.

Fang Wen looked out through the porthole.

The atmosphere inside the airport was somewhat tense. French gendarmes were carefully inspecting each landing plane, their rifles pointed diagonally at the ground, their eyes scanning the disembarking passengers warily.

"General Manager, things are a bit turbulent in Paris lately, you should be careful," Xie Yuwen reminded her.

"What happened?" Fang Wen asked.

“German reconnaissance planes circle the northern border every day. The French even inspect planes from neutral countries, and our company’s flights are no exception,” Xie Yuwen replied.

Fang Wen nodded, and he and Gong Xiuneng took their suitcases and got off the plane.

He used the company's own exit passage, where Lin Charlie, the manager of Taishan's European branch, was waiting.

A military police officer approached with two military police officers.

He said in French, "Please show me your identification; I need to check your luggage."

Charlie Lin quickly came over to explain: "This is the general manager of our Taishan Airlines. He has diplomatic immunity and does not need to be inspected."

The gendarme officer, however, remained firm: "I'm sorry, but diplomatic rights are useless now. To ensure the safety of Paris, we are ordered to conduct necessary security checks on all outsiders."

Lin Charlie was about to say something when Fang Wen raised his hand to stop him.

"Let's check it."

He and Gong Xiuneng then handed their respective suitcases to the military police and presented their identification documents.

Both he and Gong Xiuneng have diplomatic passports.

It was issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chongqing Nationalist Government, but unlike ordinary diplomatic passports, it had several extra pages listing multiple countries to facilitate his travel abroad.

This was processed last year when I went to Chongqing, since my passport, which I had previously obtained in Shanghai, had expired.

The military police officer looked through the two passports and then opened the two suitcases for inspection.

The box contained daily necessities, a change of clothes, some cash, and electronic products.

The officer picked up the electronic devices and asked, "What are these?"

Fang Wen wouldn't tell him that this was a device specially made for using superpowers, and explained with a smile, "I'm the first user of the latest Star Radio."

Upon hearing Fang Wen's words, the officer showed an envious expression but did not make things difficult for him: "The inspection is complete. I'm sorry to have interrupted your journey. You can leave now."

After saying that, he walked away with the military police.

The group left the airport and went to a nearby branch office.

"General Manager, the plane is ready and parked right here in the company. We have a small runway for takeoff."

Fang Wen was going to fly to the United States in the same privately-made seaplane that had flown to the Soviet Union last time, but instead of leaving immediately, he was talking to Charlie Lin.

How is the procurement of chromium steel progressing?

"General Manager, I'm afraid we won't be able to buy the kind of chromium steel you need in Europe. The suppliers I contacted said that civilian steel has been largely requisitioned by the military. Actually, Germany issued an order on January 8th that all strategic minerals should be prioritized for the armed forces, and civilian exports have been completely halted. Now that there's no German chromium ore, we can only rely on South Africa and India. Steel mills and military enterprises throughout Europe are stockpiling."

Just as Fang Wen had predicted, Europe's supply chain had been disrupted due to the war.

Now, the Soviet Union is at war with Finland and actively preparing for war against Germany, and is unable to obtain strategic materials as it used to.

Therefore, this trip to the United States is very important.

But we can't put all our hopes on one basket.

If we can get the necessary supplies from Europe, even if it requires some means, it's worth it.

He said, "Try to get through the military's channels and see if you can get it from them. If you can, buy it no matter how much it is."

"Buy as much as you want?" Lin Charlie asked, puzzled.

“Yes, what I need is a reliable supply channel; that’s more important than getting the goods in stock,” Fang Wen replied.

This was Fang Wen's idea: once France fell, instead of letting the Germans benefit from the supplies in France, he would rather take a batch of them away himself.

Fang Wen particularly wanted the equipment, supplies, and technical personnel from the French defense giant Schneider Electric.

Fang Wen did not explain these things to Lin Charlie, but only told him to prepare, since nowadays probably no one would believe that France would be occupied by Germany so quickly.

Fang Wen, remembering the military police at the airport, asked again, "Has something major happened in Europe recently?"

"Yes, there's something going on in Paris right now. Three days ago, a Bf-108 aircraft got lost in the fog and made an emergency landing in Belgium. The plane was carrying high-ranking German military officers and possibly important classified military documents. That's why the Germans have sent out a lot of reconnaissance planes to look for them."

"Have you found it?" Fang Wen couldn't help but ask.

"No, I heard that the Belgian military has arrested him, and the documents on the plane may have been transferred to Britain and France."

It seems that Charlie Lin will not be able to obtain more information about this matter through ordinary channels.

Fang Wen decided to use his connections.

He drove Gong Xiuneng into downtown Paris and stopped at a bar.

The two entered the bar, which was not yet open for business, and the bartender was cleaning.

Fang Wen stood in front of the bar and pushed a coin out: "I went to Blackjack, and he said I could buy what I wanted with this money."

The bartender glanced at the money, and his expression changed.

"what do you need?"

Fang Wen smiled and said, "I would like to know the details about the German military aircraft in Belgium."

"Please wait."

The bartender left the bar and went through the back door.

There are only Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng in the bar now.

Gong Xiuneng couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Commander, is the intelligence here accurate?"

Fang Wen nodded: "They are the best intelligence brokers in Paris. If we can't get the intelligence from here, we can only find out through national-level intelligence agencies."

Just as he finished speaking, the bartender came out through the back door.

He walked up to Fang Wen and said, "I can only tell you this verbally. There is no written information. If you agree, I will accept this coin as payment."

Fang Wen nodded: "Okay."

The bartender accepted the money.

Three days ago, German Air Force Major Erich Hornmans was piloting a BF-108 trainer aircraft, carrying Major Helmut Reinberger, the operations chief of the 7th Air Division, from Münster, Germany, to Cologne. During the flight, due to dense fog, they lost their way and Hornmans mistakenly steered the aircraft into Belgian airspace. During the emergency landing, the plane crashed into trees and was severely damaged; the wing broke off and the nose broke off, but both men survived.

Belgian border guards arrived at the scene and found the two men attempting to start a fire to ignite the military documents they were carrying, and immediately stopped them.

The documents that had not been completely burned and were seized from the two men were quickly handed over to the British and French authorities.

The bartender paused for a moment, then glanced at the money in his hand.

"The next piece of intelligence is absolutely worth the price. The briefcase Reinberger was carrying contained the top-secret operational plan for the German invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France, 'Operation Yellow,' which included detailed instructions for air force operations. Because of the intelligence leak, the French military is massing troops on the border. It is said that the one in Berlin is furious about this and may halt the operation."

Finally, the bartender made the sign of the cross and prayed, "God bless France."

Fang Wen casually replied, "God bless France."

He then took Gong Xiuneng and left the bar.

The car drove out of the city and back to the branch office.

Fang Wen took out a map to examine it.

Based on the information provided by the bartender, Fang Wen roughly understood what the leaked "Yellow Plan" from Germany was.

In this plan, the German army would use Belgium and Luxembourg as a breakthrough point to attack France.

However, Fang Wen recalled that the German attack route was a breakthrough in the Ardennes region, which led to the collapse of the French defenses.

It seems that the Germans changed their battle plan due to an intelligence leak.

and many more!

Fang Wen suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

What if this intelligence leak wasn't accidental?

Such a realistic and undeniable plane scramble incident further convinced Britain and France that the Germans would advance from the Belgian plains, thus concentrating their forces on the Maginot Line and the Belgian plains border.

The Ardennes region inevitably became a neglected defense zone.

Therefore, the Germans were able to break through the Ardennes and occupy France in just six months.

After figuring everything out, Fang Wen couldn't help but consider how he should handle the matter.

Should we offer some advice? Just in case it works, we'll have settled a karmic debt.

But it's not good to go there in person for this kind of thing. It's better to write it down and have Charlie Lin give it to the French military after I leave. Whether they believe it or not is up to them.

He then wrote his insights into a military analysis report.

After finishing writing, he found Charlie Lin and handed it to him.

"When you negotiate with the French military, give them this document, which contains my views on the Franco-German military situation."

“Yes, General Manager.” Lin Charlie took the documents.

"Alright, I have nothing else to do in France. Gong Xiuneng, get on the plane, let's go."

The two boarded the private seaplane belonging to Mount Tai, which was piloted by Fang Wen as it taxied and accelerated into the air from the runway.

As Fang Wen's seaplane disappeared into the Parisian sky, Charlie Lin immediately put the two documents into his briefcase.

One document was a military analysis report handwritten by Fang Wen, with the words "To the French Army General Staff: Assessment of the German offensive route" marked in pen on the cover; the other was a list of chromium steel procurement from Taishan Military Industry.

He straightened his suit and bow tie in front of the mirror and dialed a number: "Please connect me to Major Schroeder of the Army Supplies Bureau. Tell him that Taishan Airlines has a proposal to discuss 'cooperation in the transportation of military supplies'."

Two hours later, Charlie Lin sat in his office on the third floor of the Paris Army Headquarters. Across from him, Major Ted tapped his fingertips on the table, his eyes full of scrutiny.

“Mr. Lin,” Major Ted spoke first, his tone carrying the arrogance typical of French officers, “you proposed to contract the transportation of military supplies to Hanoi, but you’re asking us to provide chromium steel? You should know that all of France’s steel resources are currently being allocated to the military industry, so there’s no way we can agree to this request.”

Lin Charlie did not directly refute, but instead pushed the chrome steel procurement list over: "Taishan Airlines has three transport aircraft routes in Yangon, which can transport 500 tons of military supplies per month. Your troops in Vietnam urgently need a large amount of equipment to strengthen their defense capabilities due to the situation in the east. Only we can help you complete the transportation the fastest. We only need 10 tons of finished chrome steel as the cost of 'transport cooperation,' which is very reasonable."

These words struck a nerve with the French military, as France was unable to attend to its overseas colonies due to its war with Germany.

The French colony of Vietnam bordered the Japanese army, and conflict could break out at any time. Therefore, the French troops in the area urgently needed a large amount of military supplies.

Taishan Airlines' air transport capacity is the fastest solution to this problem.

Charlie Lin really found the other party's weakness.

The major put down his pen, clasped his hands together, and said, “Your proposal is acceptable. I will take care of the chrome steel, but we may not have that much.”

“I’ll take as many as you have.” Charlie Lin took out another document from his briefcase. “This is a military analysis document written by our general manager. We hope you can deliver it to the Army General Staff.”

"Oh?" The major took the document and flipped through it, then chuckled, "A businessman who understands military strategy?"

This angered Lin Charlie: "Our general manager is also a soldier in the East. He is very proficient in air combat and command. You should have heard of his name."

The major recalled a report he had read not long ago. "Oh, it's him! Okay, I can send this document up."

"Please make sure it's delivered to the Army General Staff," Lin Charlie reminded him.

“Okay, okay,” the major said with a smile.

The two then continued their discussion about transportation.

An hour later, the major saw Charlie Lin off in his car.

He returned to his office, saw the documents on his desk, hesitated for a moment, then picked them up and went out to the Army General Staff.

Upon arriving at the General Staff, Major Ted found his military academy classmates.

"Let me show you something. It was written by that legendary pilot from the East."

"Fang Wen? What did he write? Let me see."

The staff officer opened the analysis report written by Fang Wen.

When he saw Fang Wen's red circle of the Ardennes region, with the note "The German army may abandon the Belgian plains and instead use armored forces to cross the Ardennes Forest and break through the Sedan Line," his brows furrowed instantly.

"That's utterly absurd!" he coldly denied. "The Ardennes are all dense forests and canyons, tanks simply can't get through! Our intelligence has confirmed that the German 'Yellow Plan' is to attack from Belgium. The 1st Army is already deployed on the Meuse River. Are we supposed to move our troops to that no-man's-land?"

“Yes, that’s what I think too. How could a foreigner know the situation at the border better than us? If it weren’t for their transportation capacity, I wouldn’t have come all this way. Alright, I’ve delivered the goods to the General Staff, so I’ve fulfilled my promise.”

The two stopped discussing Fang Wen's military analysis and started talking about other things, and the document was put into the wastepaper pile.

This document, which could have changed the fate of France in World War II, simply disappeared without a trace.

(End of this chapter)