Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 72, Siamese Civil War, Short-Term Secret Route
It was 8 p.m. in a small bar on the street outside the airport.

Fang Wen, Manager Liu, and Sun Debiao sat together drinking wine and eating.

This time, Fang Wen took the initiative to bring up the topic of conversation for tonight.

“I received a telegram from the US saying that the goods can be shipped in a month. My fourth brother-in-law has already started stockpiling this year’s tung oil. The problem is that I’m short of money.”

Fang Wen was able to say such a thing because of the tacit understanding and trust between the three of them.

As the saying goes, "A fence needs three posts, and a hero needs three helpers." Sometimes, one person alone cannot accomplish anything.

Sun Debiao thought for a moment.

"After the last bandit suppression, people in Fuyang kept talking about you. The planes were dropping a bunch of bombs from the sky, and the bandits were thrown into chaos. I see that there are many mountain strongholds in the Central Plains, and bandits are rampant. Why don't you help suppress the bandits? You might be able to make some money."

Before Fang Wen could think much about it, he heard it.

"No."

Manager Liu spoke up to stop them.

“These days, no good men want to join the army. Why? Because the officers take all the money, and all that’s left is enough to keep you from starving. Your terrible idea is a trap. I bet you, even if you fly there, you won’t get a single penny.”

Yes, Fang Wen couldn't help but recall what Ning Hangsheng had said before. The blankets and quilts in their regiment were replaced with inferior ones by the division commander's brother-in-law. This was a common occurrence in the Nationalist army. The system would siphon off the supplies from the top down, leaving the soldiers with very little.

If people within their own system are this greedy, then don't expect outsiders to benefit from it.

With such credibility, Fang Wen really wouldn't dare to try.

He nodded: "The water is too deep, we can't do it. Are there any other reliable options?"

Sun Debiao scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "My idea doesn't count. Let Manager Liu talk to him. He's got a lot of experience and might have some good connections."

After thinking for a moment, Manager Liu said, "The other day when I went to the city to settle accounts, I ran into a colleague who mentioned something that happened abroad. In a country called Siam, south of China, there was an internal conflict a few days ago. The military took power, the king stepped down, and they claimed it was a constitutional monarchy. They even changed the country's name to the Kingdom of Thailand. My colleague's boss has a lot of business there and is on good terms with the royal family. He's worried that this incident will affect him, so he wants to transfer his assets back to China."

Fang Wen's eyes lit up immediately.

A coup has occurred in Thailand. If this is true, many wealthy businessmen will likely consider avoiding trouble.

Meanwhile, many Chinese businessmen there often consider transferring their assets back to China.

If I were to provide a short-term, clandestine shipping route, I could probably earn a considerable amount in freight fees.

He said, "Old Liu, could you please contact that person? I'd like to talk to him."

Manager Liu nodded: "No problem, I'll go there tomorrow morning."

The next day, the flight proceeded as usual. Fang Wen flew from Shanghai to Fuyang in the morning and back to Shanghai from Fuyang in the afternoon. Both flights were fully booked, with an additional two to three hundred kilograms of air cargo and mail.

After finishing his flight, Fang Wen ran into Manager Liu at the airport.

"They've arrived; they're in the tavern," Manager Liu whispered.

“Okay, I’ll change my clothes and head over. You can help entertain them for now,” Fang Wen replied.

The two then parted ways. Fang Wen quickly left the airport, returned to his residence to change into casual clothes, and then went to a bar.

Two strangers appeared in the usual spot at the tavern, along with Manager Liu.

Fang Wen walked over, and Manager Liu stood up to introduce him: "This is Mr. Kuang from Nanyang Trading Company, and Accountant Sun."

Fang Wen shook hands with the two men and sat down to talk.

"I heard about what happened in the south from Manager Liu yesterday, and I think I can offer some help. Of course, this help will be charged."

Mr. Kuang quickly replied, "The cost is no problem, as long as the goods can be transported to Guangzhou."

Fang Wen slowly took out paper and pen.

"I need to know a few things: First, where the plane landed."

"Chiang Mai has a Suthep Airport, which is a military airport, but we have a good relationship with the local military and can use it." "Can you guarantee safe landings and takeoffs?"

"can."

Although the other party promised a reply, Fang Wen did not believe it. If any problems arose, he would immediately take off in his plane and would never be stranded in the area.

He then continued to ask questions.

"Secondly, the plane can only carry one person and 500 kilograms of cargo at most. Is that enough?"

"Only 500 kilograms?" Mr. Kuang asked, somewhat disappointed. "Can it be flown more times?"

Fang Wen explained, "The more you fly, the more dangerous it becomes. Think about it yourself, once the news leaks out, even the local garrison won't be able to protect you."

"I see." Mr. Kuang did not give a direct answer, but said he would think about it when he got back.

The two then left the tavern.

Two days later, they returned to the airport.

This time, state your requirements definitively.

It only requires two flights, taking off from Guangzhou Dashatou Airport and landing at Suthep Airport. They have already taken care of the arrangements at both airports.

The two flights brought back a total of one ton of cargo.

In addition, there are three other people.

The first time, it was for a mother and child, and the second time it was for an elderly person.

Mr. Kwong did not disclose the other party's identity or the contents of the goods.

However, they offered a generous reward of 3000 silver dollars for each trip.

Fang Wen agreed to this, but requested that they depart a week later.

The reason for departing a week later is that this flight is somewhat dangerous, and Fang Wen plans to make some modifications to the Qingyun.

Immediately after his daily flight work, Fang Wen, Howard, and Paul began modifying the Qingyun.

As per Fang Wen's request, the two rotary machine guns on the plane that lacked suitable ammunition were removed.

Instead, a single-barreled Vickers machine gun was installed in the nose.

This is an old-fashioned aircraft machine gun from World War I, which has been superseded by later twin-synchronous machine guns.

This is why you can find these specialized aircraft machine guns and their ammunition for very low prices on the black market in Shanghai.

Fang Wen chose this single-barrel fixed-head machine gun because it had a significant advantage for him.

It employs a gas-operated automatic principle, which minimizes recoil during machine gun firing, thereby improving sustained and accurate shooting.

This level of precision is of little use to other pilots in air combat. After all, most modern fighter jets have separate pilots and gunners. When the gunner in the rear is firing the machine gun, he cannot actually aim precisely and most of the time he is just shooting based on prediction.

However, for Fang Wen, in the human-machine integrated state of mechanical perception, any improvement in accuracy is effective for him.

In the event of an air battle, the higher the accuracy of the machine gun fired by the user, the better the effect.

In addition to the modification of the aircraft machine guns, new changes were also made to the auxiliary fuel tanks.

As a disposable auxiliary fuel tank, this one is designed to be more spacious, with the actual auxiliary fuel tank on top and a storage compartment on the bottom, allowing more cargo to be carried away.

After these modifications were completed, it was time for the monthly routine maintenance week again.

Mr. Kuang arrived at the airport again. This time, he would board Fang Wen's Qingyun and head to Dashatou in Guangzhou to arrange the next steps.

(End of this chapter)