Republic of China: Ace Pilot

An amphibious aircraft flies over the Alps.

Fly another 200 kilometers and you'll reach the borders of France, Switzerland, and Italy.

The radar detection system received feedback from more than a dozen aircraft.

Fang Wen immediately became alert.

Judging from the aircraft's speed, it is not a BF-109.

Moreover, it was flying from east to west and had already entered French territory.

Swiss planes wouldn't do that.

The only possibility is Italian fighter jets.

It seems the German radio broadcast was true; Italy has already sent troops to France.

These aircraft should be Fiat CR.42 "Falcon" biplane fighters. This old-fashioned biplane is still the mainstay of the Italian Air Force.

Fang Wen chuckled inwardly. The gap in military strength between Germany's ally Italy and Germany was still quite large, and there was no way to compare them with Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and Germany.

Forty minutes later, the plane reached the border, and radar feedback indicated that Italian warplanes on the other side of the border had ended their airstrikes and returned to base.

Fang Wen decided to veer off course and observe the situation at the Italian-French border from high altitude.

Through his supernatural perspective, he saw...

The small towns in the French border region have been occupied by Italian troops, and large numbers of troops have crossed the border into France.

Fang Wen shifted his perspective using his special ability, looking in the direction the Italian army was marching.

Their vanguard had already reached the French defenses deployed in the Alps.

At the forefront, a small military outpost was emitting wisps of black smoke, and several brick and wood barracks had collapsed on the ground, with rubble and charred planks scattered among them.

The French troops inside the stronghold had already withdrawn, and a large contingent of Italian troops was cautiously passing through the area to advance on their next target.

Fang Wen's perspective shifts to the French army.

The bunkers and trenches built against the mountainside were hidden behind vegetation and rocks, with their gun barrels pointing towards the border, and soldiers were firing downwards from inside the bunkers.

Dozens of corpses lay on the slope; the Italian army had been driven back.

Through this observation, Fang Wen had discerned the situation of the two armies.

Although the Italian army deployed nearly 30 troops, their equipment consisted mainly of outdated artillery and light weapons, and they lacked armored forces and air superiority.

The French army numbered less than 10 and was poorly equipped, but by relying on the strong fortifications of the Alps, they were able to hold off the Italian offensive.

Fang Wen felt that the Italian army's fighting style was a complete waste. 30 troops were simply unable to deploy in the complex mountainous environment and were suppressed by the French fortifications.

Compared to the fighting in northern France, this was practically a battle between two weaklings.

However, the two armies below were engaged in fierce fighting, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

At this point, he lost all interest in watching and the plane turned at high altitude, heading towards Switzerland.

Half an hour later, the plane landed at Geneva Airport.

Fang Wen got off the plane and talked with Lin Baolu, who was there to pick him up.

How have things been these past two days?

"After the French guests left, civil aviation operations have returned to previous passenger volumes. But yesterday, the military attaché from the German consulate came and proposed sending someone to Yangon to discuss military procurement."

Are the Germans looking to buy military equipment from Taishan Aviation?

Fang Wen immediately felt that the situation was tricky.

But since they wanted to talk, he couldn't refuse; he could only wait until they arrived before making any decisions.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen, along with Gong Xiuneng and the last batch of employees returning to Asia, boarded the company's commercial airliner and departed.

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

Fang Wen and his group disembarked and took out 10 wooden crates from the cargo hold.

The wooden crate was placed in the company shuttle bus, and everyone got on and drove into Yangon.

The shuttle bus stopped in front of the Taishan Airlines headquarters building, and the group got off and carried out their boxes.

At the entrance of the headquarters building, Fang Shouxin and Manager Liu led a group of people to greet them.

Fang Wen said to the three employees who returned with him, "Go to the administration department and rest for two days. Your work will be arranged by someone."

He then told the company executives who came to greet him, "Go to my office."

Where are these boxes?

"Have someone carry it upstairs."

Fang Shouxin asked the administrative staff to move the boxes, while he and Fang Wen took the elevator to the top floor.

When Zhao Junping, who was sitting in the outer office, saw Fang Wen arrive, he quickly got up and opened the door.

The three entered the office and sat down on the sofa. Zhao Junping went to make tea, while Gong Xiu was outside.

Fang Wen asked, "How are those Frenchmen?"

Fang Shouxin replied, "The guests who were going to the United States have already taken our Southeast Asian regional flight to Manila Airport in the Philippines and boarded a Pan Am flight to the United States. Those who were going to French Vietnam have also been sent off. The remaining people do not have a specific destination yet, and they have chosen to stay at the company hotel."

"What about the shipment that went to Morocco?" Fang Wen continued to ask.

Manager Liu answered this question: "The shipment to Morocco in Africa was transported there via Taishan International's cargo ship, through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. The cargo ship was flying the American flag and encountered no interception or inspection along the way."

The French have settled their affairs; their money was well spent, and Taishan Airlines has gained international credibility.

Fang Wen then inquired about the progress of the acquisition of shares in BP Myanmar.

Manager Liu replied, "The oil field facilities and refinery in Yenangyaung are priced at $400 million. We are currently negotiating and should be able to reduce the price to $300 million."

The $300 million purchase of Myanmar's largest oil field was well worth it, Fang Wen said nothing.

At this moment, Gong Xiuneng, who was outside the door, said, "The things have been brought up."

Fang Wen got up and carried the boxes into the office himself. The others joined in, and they finished moving them in no time.

Looking at the ten boxes in the office, Fang Wen asked, "Where are the things I had shipped back before?"

His assistant, Zhao Junping, said, "Here."

Three more boxes were brought in.

There were thirteen boxes in total, all of which were Fang Wen's acquisitions in Europe. He did not open the boxes on the spot, but instead instructed, "I want to invite the most influential person in the antique world to appraise these items. Uncle Fang, send a telegram to Sun Debiao and have him make the arrangements."

"Mm." Fang Shouxin nodded.

Finally, one more thing.

Fang Wen instructed, "A trade delegation from Germany will be arriving in Yangon tomorrow; we need to be prepared to receive them."

“No problem, the administration department will arrange it,” Fang Shouxin replied.

Ten o'clock the next morning.

A Taishan Airlines passenger plane lands on the runway at Yangon Airport.

This is the chartered plane for the German business delegation.

Eight people disembarked from the plane, each dressed in a sharp dark suit, their steps steady and crisp, their brows revealing the meticulousness and sharpness unique to soldiers.

Clearly, the so-called "business inspection" was just a pretext, and the core members all had military backgrounds.

Fang Wen, with Fang Shouxin and Manager Liu, waited in the airport VIP area, a smile on his face.

As the German delegation approached, the leader extended his hand and introduced himself in fluent English: "Major Hans Krupp of the German Foreign Armaments Procurement Office."

Fang Wen shook hands with him and introduced himself as "Fang Wen, General Manager of Taishan Airlines".

The two sides shook hands amicably, and then Fang Wen led them to the headquarters building.

In the reception room of the headquarters building, Fang Wen asked with a smile, "What brings you to Taishan Airlines?"

Major Hans Krupp replied, "We want to purchase a batch of walkie-talkies produced by Taishan Military Industry, as well as gunboats produced by you."

Fang Wen remained silent, waiting for what was to come.

Upon hearing this, the major continued, "Not long ago, our air force engaged in combat with the British air force. During the engagement, we discovered that the British air force could communicate with each other in the air. This made their squadron operations more coordinated, causing considerable confusion for our pilots. Later, through intelligence investigations, we learned that they were using the Taishan walkie-talkies they purchased from you for fighter jet wireless communication."

Fang Wen smiled and said, "I see. I didn't expect the British to do this. Those walkie-talkies can communicate within a range of 3-5 kilometers and were originally designed for short-range ground communication. They can also be used for communication between flight formations and flight groups. What about the gunship aircraft?"

Major Hans Krupp took out a photograph and handed it to Fang Wen.

Fang Wen picked up the photo and looked at it.

The photo shows a pile of airplane wreckage.

Based on its structure and partial outline, Fang Wen could tell that it was a gunboat produced by Taishan Military Industry.

He feigned confusion and asked, "What is this?"

Major Hans Krupp replied, "A few days ago, our 7th Panzer Division was attacked by French air force gunboats during our offensive. According to the 7th Panzer Division commander, these aircraft are very valuable in certain battlefields, especially against mechanized forces. The Army is very concerned about this, and has included the purchase of gunboats in this procurement list."

At this point, Hans took out a document and pushed it in front of Fang Wen: "This is our list of requirements. We need twenty gunship aircraft and 1000 walkie-talkies. The first batch must be delivered within three months."

Fang Wen's smile faded slightly as he gently pushed the document back to Hans: "Major Krupp, to be honest, Taishan Military Industry's arms sales partners have always been countries like Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Now that Germany is at war with Britain and France, if we were to suddenly sell gunboats and walkie-talkies to you, it would likely draw strong criticism from our allies. They might terminate all cooperation with us, or even freeze our overseas assets."

Fang Shouxin nodded slightly and added, "Moreover, Burma is a British colony. Our production lines and warehouses are located here. If we offend the British, our subsequent operations will inevitably be restricted in many ways."

Upon hearing this, Hans not only did not get angry, but chuckled lightly, "We have long considered Mr. Fang's concerns about 'neutrality.' You might as well listen to some data—last year alone, the United States exported more than 150 million tons of oil, 200 million tons of steel, and countless machine tools and precision instruments to Germany through neutral countries such as Sweden and Switzerland. These materials were also used in Germany's war machine, yet the United States still claims to be a 'neutral country.'"

He paused, then continued: "The essence of business is profit, and the bottom line of neutrality is not to directly participate in war. Your company sells walkie-talkies to Britain and gunboats to France. Now Germany has proposed to purchase them on the same terms. As long as the transaction is conducted under the name of 'civilian trade,' even if the Allies are dissatisfied, they will not be able to find a legitimate reason to impose sanctions."

Another member of the German trade delegation, Schulz, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and continued, “Mr. Fang is a shrewd businessman and should understand that ‘you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.’ The situation in Europe is changing rapidly, and no one can predict the final outcome. Maintaining commercial neutrality and cooperating with both sides is the best way to protect your company’s long-term interests. To show our sincerity, we can increase the prepayment to half of the total amount, with the remaining balance paid in gold or precision machine tools.”

These Germans are really good at talking; Fang Wen was somewhat tempted.

The raw materials and components for walkie-talkies are controlled by Taishan Military Industry, making it the only company in the world capable of copying this semiconductor equipment before the end of World War II.

Moreover, this is just a communication device; it can be used for military or civilian purposes.

As for gunship aircraft, those without weapons are essentially just slow-moving, heavily armored seaplanes.

It's not impossible if the Germans are willing to exchange their precision machine tools or other equipment.

Germany has many military equipment that many countries have long coveted.

He didn't immediately give in, looking up at Hans with a hint of probing in his voice: "We can only provide the basic model of the gunship aircraft, with the weapon mounting system removed, retaining only its transport and reconnaissance functions; the walkie-talkies can be supplied as original models, but we will not provide any technical support for modification for military scenarios. Moreover, this matter must be reported to the British, and only with British approval can I feel comfortable trading with you."

“That’s perfectly acceptable,” Hans agreed without hesitation.

The response was more than Fang Wen had expected.

Fang Wen thought to himself that Germany most likely wanted to take Taishan's military equipment back to try to modify and imitate it themselves, but how could they get the British to agree?
Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen instructed the administration department to take the German trade delegation to the Taishan Airlines hotel to rest.

He then drove to the Governor-General's Office in Burma.

Inside the Burmese Governor's Palace, Fang Wen explained the situation to the Governor.

The British governor had no clue what to do.

"Fang, you've given me a lot of trouble. Given the current situation, we're enemies with Germany, and I can arrest them."

Fang Wen leaned back, completely relaxed: "Then you go ahead and catch it. I won't have to worry about it anymore."

I, the governor, stood up and then sat down again.

After a while, he made a decision, stood up and said:
"Wait here for me, and don't go out. I need to report to London."

Fang Wen nodded, watched the governor leave, and then picked up his coffee to enjoy it.

After a while, the governor returned.

“I have already explained the situation to London. I will do whatever London decides. Until then, you have to keep those Germans at bay and not let them leave.”

"You mean I can leave now?"

"Yes, don't agree to any of their demands, but keep them occupied."

"it is good."

Fang Wen got up and left.

At that moment, a strange thought came to his mind.

Why are the Germans so calm and not worried at all about something happening in Myanmar?

It seems they came prepared.

Then I'll just wait for the results to come out.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen drove back to the company headquarters.

He instructed the administration to prepare a lavish banquet to entertain the Germans; as long as they ate and drank well, that was all that mattered. He refused to discuss business whatsoever. (End of Chapter)