Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 704 Exorbitant Airfares and Secret Routes (Part Two): A Letter from a German Nobleman

The air in the basement was stuffy and stale, and it also smelled of alcohol.

Fang Wen glanced at the oak barrels beside him. Clearly, this was not a private air-raid shelter, but rather Pierre's family's underground wine cellar.

The cellar was crammed with dozens of people in a limited space. Some leaned against the cold stone wall in a daze; some kept glancing at their pocket watches, their brows furrowed; and a noblewoman clutched a picture frame pendant necklace, weeping with her head down.
Pierre explained to Fang Wen in a very low voice, "Fang, you've finally arrived. After the German air raid last night, things were in chaos outside, so I called people over. Most of them are my business friends who also want to leave. I think you can sell them expensive plane tickets and make a profit."

Fang Wen was intrigued. Pierre was a Parisian art investor with a wide social circle, and the people he knew were all wealthy and powerful. If he could make a lot of money through this, he might as well make a few more trips.

He also thought of the British seaplane that landed off the island of St. Louis; those wealthy people must have paid a hefty fee to escape to England by plane.

This is a business opportunity; you might as well make money off it.

Therefore, he asked, "How many people are there?"

Pierre raised his right hand slightly, pointing to the people in the cellar: "There are six of them. They all thought the French defenses were impregnable and didn't plan to leave early. Now they've seen the Somme defenses crumble and Paris is about to fall. They're afraid the Germans will move too fast, so they don't dare to take the land route. I've known them for many years, so I told them about the secret route. Fang, please take them with you."

Fang Wen nodded and walked towards the six people.

"Why don't you go to England? There are flights to England this morning."

A middle-aged man with neatly combed hair replied, his tone full of disappointment and resistance: "Mr. Fang, we're not going to England. The British deceived us and fled after only a few days of fighting. If they can't even hold France, where can England be safe? We've inquired and found out that you have routes to the French colonies in South Asia, and Africa, or even Australia via a detour. As long as we can leave this dangerous place in Europe, we're willing to pay a high price to fly on your plane!"

The other five also chimed in.

Fang Wen raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. "It's wartime now, and my company had already closed down before the war. There's only one plane left in Paris, which was originally there to pick up the technicians our company hired, and the cabin is already full."

This was said to the French technical experts recruited by Fang Wen in the cellar, to make them feel valued.

This is also a warning to these six wealthy individuals.

The wealthy woman who had been crying while holding the photo frame pendant necklace panicked and said, "Please take me away. My son is in Hong Kong. I'm willing to pay any price just to see him."

Fang Wen nodded: "I'm a businessman. If there's enough profit, I'm willing to risk adding more flights to send you away. Here's what we'll do: if you can find people to fly with, as long as you have 30 people, I can add another flight. As for the cost, it'll be 50 francs to Asia. If you pay extra, our company can also send you to Africa and Australia."

After a pause, Fang Wen suddenly realized something was amiss. After France surrendered, the franc would definitely depreciate, so why would he need to keep the francs? He quickly changed his mind: "No francs, buy the tickets in US dollars. One ticket is $5000."

Upon hearing Fang Wen's words, the six men immediately beamed with joy. They also had their own connections, most of them were quite wealthy, and some of them were still in Paris, so gathering 30 people would not be difficult.

While a $5000 ticket is outrageously expensive, it's wartime now, and being able to buy a ticket at all is already a good thing.

Therefore, they all took their leave and departed.

After those people left, Fang Wen communicated with the experts to understand the situation.

This group of experts also brought their teams and family members, totaling more than 30 people.

Therefore, Fang Wen immediately ordered a truck from the branch office to send the 10 people in the cellar back to the branch office, and then went to pick up people from several other places.

One truckload of people drove into the Taishan branch office outside Paris airport. The technicians and their families got off the trucks and were led by Taishan staff to the guesthouse and dormitory to rest.

We were just waiting for nightfall so we could board the plane and leave.

Meanwhile, a secret message circulated among Paris's wealthy circles: "For $5000, you can buy a plane ticket to Asia or Africa from Paris."

This price is very high.

The Atlantic route, which just opened last year, costs only $700 from New York to Lisbon.

It has increased by about 7 times.

And it was paid in US dollars.

Although the official exchange rate for the franc has not yet depreciated significantly, banks are no longer able to conduct foreign exchange transactions, and the black market exchange rate for the franc to the US dollar has plummeted from the official rate of 43.5 to 100.

In other words, if you want to exchange francs for US dollars, 1000 francs can now only be exchanged for 10 US dollars.

Even so, the black market remained bustling, causing the black market exchange rate to rise by another 2%.

10pm late at night.

Inside the Paris branch, the hangar is open.

Fang Wen piloted the Huashan No. 1 passenger plane out of the hangar and parked it on the runway.

More than 30 French technicians and their families emerged from the guesthouse and dormitory building carrying suitcases.

They lined up and boarded the plane, then took their seats.

Gong Xiuneng closed the cabin door.

Fang Wen, inside the cockpit, picked up the intercom: "Ladies and gentlemen, take your seats. I will take you to Geneva, and you will be able to take a Taishan Airlines flight to Asia tomorrow during the day."

The people inside the cabin were silent and depressed.

Fang Wen had seen too many people fleeing like this, so he didn't say anything more, started the engine, accelerated on the runway, and took off.

One hour and twenty minutes later, the plane arrived at Geneva Airport.

After communicating with the ground control tower, the aircraft landed smoothly on the airport runway.

Passengers disembarked with their luggage and, guided by Taishan staff, left the airport to spend the night at the Geneva branch.

Subsequently, Paul Lin, the Geneva branch manager, boarded the plane.

"General Manager, something happened during the day. Our civilian aircraft encountered German military aircraft in the Mediterranean airspace."

Fang Wen's heart tightened: "Our plane is alright, isn't it?"

"No, the German military aircraft only escorted the plane for a short distance before leaving. But in the afternoon, German diplomats in Switzerland delivered a letter."

Fang Wen took the letter, tore open the seal, and took out the letter to read its contents.

It was written in German.

Fang Wen has also been learning German over the years and can understand the content.

The letter begins with a family crest stamp.

This is followed by the sender's full title, name, address, and date.

The sender was Baron Otto von Brandenburg, a Prussian nobleman.

Fang Wen was surprised. He shouldn't know this person. How could he have received his letter? Was it related to the plane encounter during the day?

He continued to read.

It turns out that this person knew William.

Wilhelm of the Independent Regiment was an officer in the Berlin Guard of the Weimar Republic a few years earlier.

At that time, Fang Wen, Wilhelm, and several other German officers went to Lake Van in Turkey to search for treasure, and they divided the ancient treasure wealth equally.

Later, those officers returned home with their wealth and squandered it all. One night, while drunk, they pooled their money to hire members of the SA to assassinate Hitler.

The attempt, of course, failed. The assassin from the assault team was caught by patrolling soldiers and immediately implicated several officers.

Those men were sentenced. William was not in Germany at the time, but because of his close relationship with them, he was suspected of being an accomplice. That's why he fled to Shanghai and asked Fang Wen to take him in.

The letter stated that Baron Otto von Brandenburg, who wrote the letter, had a sister who was William's fiancée. After learning of William's whereabouts in the East, he wrote to Fang Wen, hoping to make contact with William.

Is that right?

Fang Wen put the letter into an envelope, intending to give it to William upon his return and inquire about its veracity. Given the current situation, it was imperative to be wary of the Germans.

He put away the envelope and continued his conversation with Paul Lin.

"Paul, I'm planning to make a few more flights to bring the wealthy people out of Paris. Do you have any issues with that?"

"The airport is fine, I've taken care of everything. But it seems the Germans are planning to attack Switzerland. Do you really think Switzerland can hold out?"

Fang Wen's heart tightened: "The Germans have made a move against Switzerland?"

Has history changed?

Paul Lin replied, "Germany has amassed a large number of troops on the northern border of Switzerland, triggering a panic flight among residents of Basel. In response, Switzerland has mobilized all its forces, deploying more than 60 soldiers along the border and at the 'National Fortress' defenses in the Alps."

Tiny Switzerland has assembled 60 soldiers, equivalent to 15% of the country's population.

Fang Wen felt relieved: "Germany is currently focused on attacking France and won't divert troops to Switzerland to disrupt its own rhythm. After occupying France, I don't think Germany will expend energy attacking Switzerland, a neutral country. They have more important objectives."

"What's the goal?" Paul Lin asked curiously.

"Britain and the Soviet Union. As long as Switzerland remains neutral, it poses no real threat to Germany."

"I see. General Manager, I believe you. What you said last time was right, but unfortunately the French didn't believe it. So tell me, with the world in such chaos, who will ultimately win?"

"What do you think?" Fang Wen smiled at Lin Baoluo.

Paul Lin didn't know how to answer.

Perhaps he has an answer in his heart, but he is unwilling to say it.

Fang Wen couldn't help but sigh.

Judging from the current situation, the Axis powers are completely suppressing the Central Powers, and even France is on the verge of collapse.

Meanwhile, in the East, Japan was also acting arrogantly.

Who would have thought that they wouldn't be the ultimate victors?

Clearing his mind, he explained the details of picking up Paul Lin at the airport that night, and then piloted the plane into flight.

June 3rd.

German Army Group B continued its offensive.

Rommel's 7th Panzer Division advanced toward the Abbeville-Ammen line, breaking through the French 10th Army's defenses.

This breakthrough tore a hole in the French defense line, gradually throwing the other French defensive forces into disarray.

The German 5th Panzer Division launched a fierce artillery bombardment in the direction of Amiens, and the GD Infantry Regiment broke through Furszn and Sainz.

On the other side, Army Group A.

Guderian commanded the 19th Panzer Corps to force a crossing of the Aisne River in the Soissons region.

Just like the last blitzkrieg.

This time, it was the German armored forces that disrupted the French operational layout through highly mobile assault tactics.

The situation at the front was no longer being broadcast to the citizens of Paris.

But the wealthy in Paris have their own channels of information.

And these reports from the front lines circulated among the wealthy.

They now understand the high mobility of the German mechanized forces; if the front lines collapse and the German tank units are allowed to advance unimpeded, they could reach Paris in as little as a day.

As a result, more and more wealthy people are choosing to flee.

Cars loaded with luggage drove out of Paris, heading west and south.

Others chose to take faster transportation to leave this war-torn country as soon as possible.

Immediately afterwards, cars drove into the Paris branch of Taishan Airlines.

After getting off the bus, these people, holding the prepared US dollars, shouted to the Taishan staff.

"I want to buy a plane ticket."

"Sell me 3 of them."

"I am a VIP customer of Taishan Airlines, sell to me first."

The staff could not give an answer and could only maintain order.

After a while, Fang Wen stepped forward.

"Please don't panic. You can take our plane to places thousands of kilometers away where there is no war. But you need to line up in an orderly manner so that our staff can register you and help you with your ticket purchase."

The wealthy quieted down, lined up like ordinary people, registered their information one by one, and paid the fees according to their destination.

Some people were still uneasy and specifically asked, "According to you, as long as you pay enough money, you can go anywhere, right?"

"That's right. Our Taishan Airlines not only has Asia-Europe routes, but also guarantees transportation services to East Africa, South Asia, and Australia. It costs $5000 to Myanmar, $6000 to Australia, and $5000 to East Africa."

"Can I go to America?"

"Currently, due to the war in Europe, transatlantic flights to the United States have been suspended. However, we can provide another route: from Myanmar, take our company's regional plane to the Philippines, and from Manila, take Pan Am's transatlantic flight to San Francisco."

The staff's response satisfied the wealthy, suggesting that flying on Taishan Airlines' secret routes could provide opportunities to travel to destinations all over the world.

They paid cash for their plane tickets according to their destination requirements.

After receiving the money, the staff member produced a Taishan Airlines ticket with a stamp.

"It's an emergency. This is your ticket proof. It has a secret mark on it. We only recognize the ticket, not the person. If you lose your ticket, you won't be able to board the plane."

Upon hearing the staff's reminder, those who had purchased tickets carefully put them away.

Some single people with no ties simply stay at the branch office and wait.

Many more people drove back to the city to pick up their parents, wives, and children.

During this process, German bombers frequently flew over Paris and dropped bombs, causing increasing chaos in the city.

5 p.m.

Ticket sales statistics for the day have been completed.

The staff reported the situation to Fang Wen.

"General Manager, 60 tickets have been sold, and $32 has been collected."

Fang Wen calculated in his mind.

Based on the current situation, the German army estimates it will take another 3-5 days to reach Paris.

If this many people buy plane tickets every day, it could earn over a million dollars.

Expanding the military industry now requires a lot of capital investment, so every penny earned is a penny earned.

(End of this chapter)