Republic of China: Ace Pilot

At the same time that Baoding Railway Station was being bombed by Fang Wen's plane, the Japanese airfield at Zhangguizhuang in Tianjin, hundreds of kilometers away, received an emergency combat notification.

Beside the airport runway, Japanese ground crew were hurriedly carrying fuel drums. Several pilots had just rushed out of the barracks, their flight boots not even properly fastened, when their officers pushed them toward their Type 96 fighter planes.

The captain of the Tianjin detachment of the Japanese North China Area Army Air Corps immediately pressed the call alarm.

When his team arrived, he was still listening to military reports from Baoding.

The fighter jets at the airport in Baoding were all destroyed before they even took off! The train station was also being bombed!

He put down the phone and glanced at the 12 Type 96 fighter jets on the airport runway.

Those were the only combat-ready aircraft remaining at Tianjin Airport; the rest were either under maintenance or deployed to places like northern Shanxi, Niangziguan, and Yangquan.

The situation is in complete chaos, with requests for aircraft support coming from all directions. As a result, even a vital location like Baoding is now under air attack and there isn't enough fighter jet support available.

The phone rang again; it was a report of an attack on the railway from Baoding to Shimen, along with numerous air raids.

He had no idea how to allocate the resources, and more importantly, he knew nothing about the specific routes and numbers of the Eighth Route Army's aircraft groups.

At this moment, the Japanese command was already in an unprecedentedly passive position.

Inside the North China Area Army Headquarters, the Chief of Staff of the North China Area Army was furious as he stared at the map: "The Pinghan Railway has been sabotaged by the Eighth Route Army's Jizhong Military Region, the Dezhou-Shijiazhuang Railway has been bombed in many places, and strongholds along the railway from Baoding to Shimen have been lost one after another! The highways are full of landmines and ambushes by the Eighth Route Army, and reinforcements can't move at all! Now even the airport and railway station in Baoding have been attacked, where is our mobility?!"

The operations staff officer beside him lowered his head, his voice trembling: "Sir, the Eighth Route Army's sabotage campaign has been fully launched. More than 20 railways and more than 50 highways in North China have been cut off. Our troops are scattered in various strongholds and cannot concentrate their forces at all. Moreover... their air force moves erratically. They bombed the military train in Taiyuan before and are bombing Baoding now. Our radar and ground reconnaissance have never been able to detect their flight paths in advance. It's as if they appear out of thin air."

Tanabe Moritake slammed his fist on the map, causing a dent in the location of Baoding: "Right now, we're just like the Kuomintang army defending Shanghai! We're on the defensive! Our fighter jets are either destroyed at the airport or exhausted from rushing to provide support, yet we can't even catch a glimpse of the enemy! The railways are cut off, the highways are ruined, and the air force's interception is ineffective. If this continues, the 'cage policy' in North China will completely fail!"

He was right. The Japanese army at this moment had long lost its former arrogance. The Zhengtai Railway, Tongpu Railway, Pinghan Railway, and Deshi Railway were successively attacked. The rails were overturned, bridges were blown up, and strongholds were eliminated. The Japanese army's material transportation and troop movement were completely paralyzed.

The plan to transfer troops from Tianjin to Baoding was hampered by the Jizhong Military Region's sabotage of the railway and the harassment of the highway by the militia, which would take at least three days. The attack on the Baoshi Railway also deterred the Japanese troops in Shimen from launching a large-scale operation.

The passive situation in the air made the Japanese army even more desperate.

The Eighth Route Army's air force and flight regiments were always able to bypass Japanese ground reconnaissance and radar monitoring by using concealed flight routes, and arrive at their bombing targets silently.

When the Japanese army requested air support, Tianjin fighter planes hastily took off to provide assistance.

But their efforts were destined to be in vain.

Above Baoding Railway Station, Fang Wenzheng directed the Taishan No. 1 crew to drop the last batch of bombs on the armored military train.

"Boom—!"

The locomotive of the armored military train was completely blown to pieces, and the rails were twisted and deformed. Japanese soldiers inside the station were either buried under the rubble or screaming in agony in the sea of ​​fire.

After the bombing, Fang Wen used his special abilities combined with a radar detection device to sense that 16 points of light were rapidly approaching from 100 kilometers away.

These were support aircraft for the Japanese army in Tianjin.

Fang Wen picked up the microphone: "Attention all aircraft, Japanese warplanes have been spotted in Tianjin and are approaching. After bombing the railway station, immediately form up and withdraw, returning to base along the original route!" Fang Wen gave the order in a deep voice over the radio. Taishan-8 took the lead in climbing, followed closely by eight escort fighters, flying towards the Taihang Mountains.

At this time, the Japanese warplane formation in Tianjin was still blindly rushing towards Baoding.

When they arrived in Baoding, they found only a scene of devastation: the airport runway was riddled with gullies, and the wreckage of burned warplanes was emitting black smoke; the train station was engulfed in flames, and the wreckage of armored military trains was twisted and deformed; on the highway on the outskirts of the city, Japanese transport convoys were destroyed, and corpses and supplies were scattered all over the ground.

The Eighth Route Army's aircraft had long since disappeared, leaving only a sky full of smoke and the acrid smell of gunpowder.

Unwilling to accept defeat, the Japanese aircraft flew south along the railway, attempting to attack the Eighth Route Army fighting along the railway line, but they also missed their target.

All of the Yan'an Air Force's fighter jets returned to base.

Taishan-1 also landed on the airport runway.

Fang Wen got off the plane and talked with Qi Baoqian, the captain of the air force.

"The current shortage of fuel reserves is limiting air military operations. I plan to return to Burma and try to acquire a stake in the British Burma Oil Company. Only then can we secure a larger supply of fuel."

Currently, aviation fuel is supplied by Taishan Petroleum Refinery, and only Taishan Refinery can provide this type of fuel.

Aviation gasoline differs from regular gasoline in that it has a higher purity and requires the addition of tetraethyl lead to increase the octane rating and achieve anti-knock properties. Each 100 liters contains approximately 0.56 grams of lead.

The aviation gasoline processed by Taishan Refinery also contains antioxidants, metal passivators, and anti-icing agents to ensure stability at high altitudes.

This makes the process even more difficult.

Fang Wen planned to return and, taking advantage of the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia, seize all the oil industry in British Burma.

Qi Baoqian nodded: "Fuel consumption is indeed too high. The higher-ups have ordered that the remaining aviation fuel cannot be used indiscriminately and must be reserved for critical moments."

An hour later, after refueling Taishan No. 1, Fang Wen and the crew boarded the plane.

The airport's pilots, ground staff, and mechanics watched as Taishan-1 took off and departed.

The flight took 5 hours, traversing 2000 kilometers from north to south, to reach the base in northern Myanmar.

After the plane landed, the first thing Fang Wen did after getting off the plane was to go to the base office.

He needed to understand the current activities of the Japanese army in Southeast Asia as soon as possible in order to take countermeasures.

Inside the office, Zhao Junping placed a stack of intelligence documents on Fang Wen's desk.

"General Manager, these are the intelligence materials we've gathered recently, and I've already categorized them."

Fang Wen picked up the first one, which was from Europe.

In the 10 days since I left, a new war has broken out in Europe.

Germany launched a massive air raid on Britain.

Thousands of German warplanes crossed the English Channel in an attempt to bomb airports, ports, and military installations in the UK.

Although the British had fewer aircraft than the Germans, they were well-equipped with air defense weapons and managed to hold out.

And there's something quite interesting about it.

The German army initially launched air raids on London, the British capital.

The following day, Britain retaliated by sending warplanes to bomb Berlin.

Although the British bombing caused limited damage, it had a huge psychological impact on the Nazi leadership and the German people, prompting the German army to change its bombing strategy.

Therefore, subsequent air raids were not specifically targeted at London.

In addition to the air battles between Germany and Britain, Italy also deployed 30 troops in North Africa, attempting to invade Egypt from Libya, and confronting the British Western Desert Forces.

Upon seeing this, Fang Wen's mind raced with thoughts.

This was just as he had thought: the European continent was basically under the control of the Nazis and their allies, and now it was time to turn to the colonies.

Britain was a tough nut to crack, and the German attempts at amphibious landings were largely unsuccessful.

By then, Germany, with its boundless ambition, would only see the Soviet Union and the United States as the two superpowers worthy of its challenge.

The United States was too far away, so naturally only the Soviet Union remained.

He shook off his thoughts and picked up the intelligence report below.

This is the intelligence we have gathered about Southeast Asia over the past ten days.

The first is the situation of the British forces in various parts of Southeast Asia, which are currently the only ones still able to fight the Japanese.

The British military's deployment in Southeast Asia was mainly based at the Singapore naval base.

On August 25, the British naval base in Singapore conducted military exercises in Kedah, northern Malaya.

This group of ground troops belonging to the British Army numbered approximately 3, mostly of Indian and Malayan descent, with only a small number of old fighter planes.

In addition, the British forces in Burma numbered about 1.5, were outdated in equipment, lacked air cover, and focused their defenses on Yangon and the Burma Road.

British India stationed 10 troops, but these were mainly used to defend against Germany and the Soviet Union, making it difficult to spare a large number of troops to support Southeast Asia.

In other words, Britain could only deploy a maximum of 4.5 troops, while the Far East Naval Fleet would primarily operate in the Indian Ocean, with Singapore as a secondary force.

After reading this information, Fang Wen understood.

With France surrendering, the Netherlands surrendering, and Britain under attack, Japan had no rivals in Southeast Asia.

No wonder they were so eager to draw troops from China to fight in Southeast Asia.

Fang Wen continued to review the intelligence.

During his absence, the Japanese Consul General in French Indochina negotiated with the French Governor-General.

Japan's demands include: 1. Allowing Japanese troops to be stationed in northern Vietnam; 2. Closing the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway to cut off China's foreign aid route; 3. Providing military bases in Hanoi and Haiphong; and 4. Granting Japan economic privileges.

The Vichy government in France hesitated on this matter and reached no conclusion.

August 28: Japan issued an ultimatum to the Vichy French government, threatening to take "necessary measures" if its conditions were not accepted.

It was also August 28th.

The Kingdom of Thailand amassed troops and conducted military exercises on the Thai-French border to put pressure on the French troops stationed in French China, forcing the French colonial army to strengthen its border defenses.

Today, the Thai government issued a statement claiming "undeniable rights" to the "lost territory."

It seems that Japan and Thailand have a tacit understanding and both want a share of the pie in French China.

Having read all the intelligence, Fang Wen now had a better understanding of the current situation in Southeast Asia.

He judged that it wouldn't be long before the Japanese army would launch an attack on the Vietnamese region of French China.

The Nanyang War is about to begin.

With the Japanese army about to take action, Fang Wen was preoccupied with how to profit from the situation.

His first task, naturally, was to establish contact with the French.

Subsequently, on the morning of September 2, Fang Wen flew to Yangon by plane.

Upon arriving in Yangon, he went to the Thames Hotel and found the wealthy Frenchman whose son was an officer in French China.

Fang Wen stated his purpose directly: "I want to meet your son."

The elderly Frenchman said with difficulty, "But he probably can't get away right now. Japan and Thailand are putting pressure on him, and the army is on high alert every day."

"How many troops are there?" Fang Wen asked.

"1.2 French soldiers and 4 indigenous soldiers. But in reality, the maximum number of troops available for combat is 1.5, all of whom are deployed in the Tonkin area of ​​northern Vietnam and along the Thai border."

With only 1.5 combat-ready troops, 5000 of whom are deployed along the Thai border.

In other words, the total number of people resisting the Japanese army was only about 10,000.

Fang Wen continued to inquire about the equipment and the situation of the navy and air force.

The old man was very forthcoming with his knowledge.

The Navy has one light cruiser, HMS Lamot-Pict, four patrol ships, and several small river gunboats.

The Air Force, on the other hand, has 100 aircraft.

But in reality, only 45 of them were actually airworthy.

These aircraft were mostly old-fashioned biplane fighters.

The largest number of these is 30 Potez 25s.

Fang Wen was very familiar with this type of aircraft.

The first military aircraft he ever piloted was the Potez 25.

It was bought from the Northeast Army.

This combat reconnaissance aircraft, developed in the later stages of World War I, was surprisingly the mainstay fighter of the French colonial army.

Using it to fight the Japanese army was like throwing good money after bad.

Fang Wen's idea was to enhance the strength of the French army so that it could wear down the Japanese army.

But giving it away for free is not an option.

We have to exchange resources for it.

He set his sights on the rice resources of French China. The compressed military rations used by the Taishan Army were purchased from the Mekong River region, where rice is harvested three times a year and has an astonishing yield.

During wartime, food is a strategic resource, whether it is used to process military rations or to supply the country.

In addition, rubber, sugarcane, tin ore, tungsten ore, and manganese ore are all strategic resources. Rather than letting Japan profit from them, it's better to sell them to ourselves.

Therefore, Fang Wen asked the old man to send a telegram to his son explaining the situation.

In northern Vietnam, the Hanoi telegraph office received a telegram.

Major Edmonton had just returned from an inspection when he was stopped by a telegraph office clerk as he passed by the office: "Major, this is a telegram from your father."

He took the telegram and began reading it immediately.

"There is a Chinese friend named Fang Wen who is willing to help the French army resist the Japanese army, and he needs to use resources to pay for the labor costs. His identity is related to the Taishan Independent Regiment, which has twice dealt heavy losses to the Japanese army in southern Guangxi and southern Guangdong. Find a way to tell the governor that this matter is very important."

Edmonton's pupils contracted sharply, and his fingers unconsciously clenched the telegram.

He had long heard of the Taishan Independent Regiment. During the Battle of Guinan, this unit used its unique air-ground coordination and special weapons and equipment to achieve excellent results in cooperation with friendly forces, which prevented the Japanese landing force from advancing any further along the coast.

In the recent battle in Yangjiang, southern Guangdong, the French army defeated the Japanese landing force with fewer troops and severely damaged two warships. This kind of combat capability is exactly what the French army needs most at this moment.

He dared not delay and immediately went straight to the Governor's Mansion. (End of Chapter)