Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Jean Decourt, the Governor-General of French Indochina, was frowning in his office.

In these days, he has come to understand the strength of the Japanese.

The usually mild-mannered Japanese minister actually threatened him directly during the negotiations.

It seems the Japanese are definitely going to send troops.

And the fact that the Kingdom of Thailand to the west is also conducting military exercises on the border at this critical juncture is giving him an even bigger headache.

Just then, the secretary came in: "Governor, Edmonton has arrived."

Edmonton, of noble birth and a close friend of the governor, was now looking for someone to confide in, as the president was currently having a headache over the Japanese.

Then Edmonton was brought in.

Edmonton entered, saluted, and handed over the telegram. "This is from my father in Rangoon. Someone is willing to send troops to help us resist the Japanese."

Degu, surprised, put down his pipe. Instead of looking at the telegram, he questioned:

"I've heard of Fang Wen; his Taishan Airlines rescued many French people from the war, including your parents. But is he capable of helping us?"

"Fang Wen fought against the Japanese army within China. The Taishan Independent Regiment he formed possessed a lot of advanced military equipment and developed a complete set of special operations methods, defeating the Japanese army on several occasions in local battlefields."

"Oh?!" The governor, who was not interested in military matters, asked Edmonton in surprise to elaborate.

Edmonton explained what he knew.

After hearing this, the governor was intrigued.

Edmonton then stated bluntly, "He requested a huge sum of money as hiring fees. My father did not specify the amount, but it was likely not a small sum."

“A huge amount of funding?” Degu sighed heavily. “You and I both know that the Vichy government’s funding has long been cut off, and the colony’s finances are only enough to barely maintain the supply of the existing troops. Where would we get such a huge amount of funding?” He paused, his tone full of helplessness. “The Japanese army is pressing forward step by step, and the Thais are also eyeing the border with covetous eyes. Our combat-ready force is less than 10,000, and our equipment is outdated. Even the fighter planes in our air force are relics from World War I. It’s lucky that we’ve been able to hold out until now.”

According to the governor, the situation was even worse than Fang Wen had anticipated.

Edmonton quickly added, “Sir, I know funding is a problem, but please make sure you value this unit. In the battles of southern Guangxi and southern Guangdong, they routed the Japanese forces. The Japanese hate this unit to the core, yet they are helpless against it. If we can get them to join the defense, it will at least buy us more time, and we might even be able to defeat the Japanese offensive.”

“Taishan Independent Regiment…” Degu murmured, repeating the name, his eyes gradually becoming serious.

After a moment of silence, he raised his hand and rubbed his temples: "Even if this unit is powerful, we cannot hire them without funding."

“My father implied in the telegram that the other side seemed more interested in the colony’s resources. We could use resources instead of funds to pay for the hiring.”

Degu suddenly looked up, his eyes gleaming: "Resources?"

Given the current situation, once the Japanese army occupies French Indochina, those resources will inevitably become Japanese property.

It would be better to use resources to exchange for reinforcements to help in the battle.

At this point, he felt no pity whatsoever.

The governor immediately made the decision, putting Edmonton in full charge of the matter.

Once authorized, Edmonton immediately sent a telegram to his father.

Yangon, Taishan Airlines headquarters.

Fang Wengang ended his telegram communications with China.

Even after going abroad, he continued to follow the Hundred Regiments Offensive that was underway in the north.

According to the reply from liaison Qiu Shanhe, the first phase of the comprehensive destruction of the Japanese army's transportation lines has been completed.

The Eighth Route Army units and the military regions in the base areas are resting and preparing for the second phase of the offensive.

In response, Fang Wen couldn't help but marvel at the strategic planning and command of the Hundred Regiments Offensive. After the collapse of the transportation lines, the Japanese army in North China was reduced to a series of scattered garrison grids.

Now the Eighth Route Army has successfully seized the initiative and can selectively attack these scattered Japanese strongholds.

At this moment, Zhao Junping pushed open the door and entered: "General Manager, Anrode is here to see you."

Anrod is the one whose son is an officer in French Indochina; it seems there's been news from the French.

“Bring him in,” Fang Wen replied.

Zhao Junping went out and led Anrod into the office.

Fang Wen stood up, his face beaming.

"Anrod, what brings you here?"

“My son sent a telegram saying that resources could be used as a substitute, and the situation is urgent, so he wants to determine it as soon as possible.”

Fang Wen had already planned this out.

"How about this, we'll go to the telegraph office and communicate directly with your son there by telegram."

Immediately, the two men got up and went to the company's telegraph department to send a telegram to the Hanoi telegraph office.

The telegram contained Fang Wen's requirements.

1. Reactivate the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, which was suspended in July. 2. Transport rice and other metal mineral resources by rail.

The telegram was sent and a reply was received immediately.

The other party asked for the specific quantity.

How much do you need?

In the current situation, it's perfectly acceptable to ask for an exorbitant amount.

The other party did not reply immediately; they must have gone to consult their superiors.

After a while, a reply came.

Mr. Fang, your request is truly beyond our capabilities. However, we can offer an alternative: we can provide three trains, each with eight freight cars, to transport the supplies to China via the Yunnan-Guizhou Highway. All the train cars will be fully loaded with the necessary supplies.

The supplies that filled three trains, whether rice or minerals, were a good haul.

Fang Wen could sense the other party's sincerity and called back to agree.

The French then sent another telegram.

This indicates that the first train will be dispatched when the troops arrive at Mount Tai.

Subsequently, a train was dispatched every 10 days.

This ensures the continuation of cooperation between the two parties.

Fang Wen also agreed.

After ending the telegram agreement with the French side, Fang Wen immediately convened a company meeting.

During the meeting, Fang Wen explained the situation.

“Just now, a verbal cooperation agreement was reached with the French. I will be sending 3 men from the new army to Hanoi to assist in the fighting. They will be paid with three trainloads of supplies. This needs someone to manage it, to ensure the supplies are not fraudulent and are shipped on time. Also, after the supplies arrive in China, they need to be transferred to the base in northern Myanmar, which also requires someone to oversee.” He paused, then looked at the attendees: “Who should be sent for these tasks?”

Fang Shouxin said, "I'll go to Hanoi with you."

Fang Wen shook his head: "You're too old, let the younger generation do it."

In recent years, Fang Shouxin has aged considerably, and he did not insist on continuing the project. Instead, he recommended several of his subordinates from the administrative department to participate.

Other departments also actively applied to participate, and after some discussion, the final decision was made.

The meeting was chaired by Li Youning, director of the Civil Aviation Operations Department. The participants were divided into two teams: one team went to Yunnan, and the other team followed Fang Wen to Hanoi.

After the decision was made, Fang Wen ended the meeting.

He also needs to go to the base in northern Myanmar and Yangjiang to deploy troops.

On September 3, 1000 new soldiers and 100 special operations team members from the northern Myanmar base assembled at the sea airport.

Ten material transportation supervisors also accompanied them.

Zhang Yunfei, the commander of the First Regiment of the New Army, reported to Fang Wen: "The First Regiment has completed its assembly. It should have 1000 men, and it has 1000 men present."

Immediately, Fang Wen stood on high ground and shouted to the soldiers' formation: "This operation is your first real combat test after training. I hope you can make good use of the military skills you have learned in actual combat and give the Japanese devils a head-on blow."

Upon hearing that they were going to fight the Japanese, the soldiers were in high spirits.

Fang Wen then loudly arranged the boarding process, with soldiers boarding in groups of 50, and their rifles and personal supplies backpacks placed in the cargo hold at the rear of the plane.

1000 people require 20 seaplanes for transportation.

100 special forces soldiers also need 2 aircraft.

The other 10 material transportation supervisors traveled together in the plane piloted by Fang Wen.

In addition, military supplies also being transported to Hanoi included ammunition, infantry guns, rocket launchers, mortars, fuel, and individual flying vehicles, requiring five aircraft for transport.

In other words, this military airlift requires 33 aircraft.

This is roughly the current maximum capacity of the Taishan transport team.

Once all the planes were ready, Fang Wen piloted one of them to take off first, and the other transport planes followed suit, flying eastward under Fang Wen's guidance.

The aircraft flew along the border between Myanmar and China, avoiding entering Thai territory.

Two and a half hours later.

Thirty-three seaplanes arrived over Hanoi, their engines roaring so loudly that Hanoi residents came out to look up.

Fang Wen was also looking down at the scene in Hanoi.

The Red River meanders like a ribbon, with stilted houses scattered along its banks, rice paddies gleaming with a greenish-yellow hue, and the spires of French colonial buildings faintly visible in the distance.

On the riverbank, French soldiers stopped and looked up, many instinctively raising their hands to shield their eyes from the sun, their eyes filled with amazement.

Although the military had already notified them, the soldiers and officers were still surprised. Such a large-scale airlift force had far exceeded the imagination of the French Indochina colonial army. The "Taishan Airlines" logo painted on the sides of the aircraft was particularly eye-catching in the sunlight.

Fang Wen scanned the river for a while and found the landing site.

(Paul Dumo Bridge in Hanoi, Vietnam, built by the French during the colonial period)
Near a metal bridge.

Fang Wen piloted the plane and landed steadily on the surface of the Red River. Then the plane turned and approached the shore. The propeller slowly stopped spinning, and the ripples stirred up by the plane's float wheel spread outward, lapping against the stone steps on the shore.

Subsequent planes followed in succession, and the once calm river surface instantly became lively. In the landing area indicated by the red cloth, seaplanes landed one after another and orderly approached the temporary dock on the shore.

After disembarking, the soldiers went to the cargo hold to retrieve their backpacks and guns. With their backpacks on their backs and rifles in hand, the soldiers quickly assembled on the open ground on the shore, soon forming several platoons.

They stood tall and straight, with sharp eyes. Even after two and a half hours of turbulent flight, they showed no signs of fatigue. Their standard gun-holding posture and solemn military bearing left the French soldiers watching on the sidelines speechless with admiration.

Several young French soldiers couldn't help but whisper among themselves, their voices filled with disbelief: "Is this the Taishan troops? They look very strong."

Edmonton also looked at the team with a serious expression. He had originally only sought reinforcements with the mentality of "trying anything as a last resort", but seeing the appearance of the Taishan Independent Regiment, his anxiety was quietly relieved.

He turned to Fang Wen beside him and said, "Mr. Fang, your troops are truly impressive. With them here, we have a greater chance of fighting the Japanese army."

Fang Wen nodded indifferently, his gaze sweeping over the French troops lined up on the shore.

Compared to the disciplined Taishan troops, these colonial French soldiers appeared somewhat lax. Many soldiers' uniforms were covered in dust, their hat brims were askew, their ammunition belts were hanging loosely, and some even took the opportunity to squat on the ground and smoke.

The organization, discipline, and combat effectiveness of this type of unit are questionable.

Could this be the main force of the French colonial army?
If that's the case, coordinating operations will be quite difficult.

Fang Wen made a decision in his heart.

If the French army were to collapse.

He would absolutely not stay behind to fight the Japanese army alone.

Shaking off his thoughts, Fang Wen spoke with Edmonton: "Military discipline is the foundation of combat power. The upcoming battles will require close cooperation between both sides. In addition to the army, I've also brought a payment and management team—these ten people—who will oversee the transport of supplies by train. What are your plans?"

Edmonton replied, “Supplies are being transported from various places to Hanoi, then loaded onto trains and transported via the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. The Governor-General’s Office is in charge of this. Why don’t your troops settle into their barracks first, and then go to the Governor-General’s Office to coordinate this matter?”

“Okay,” Fang Wen nodded.

The supplies were then loaded onto military vehicles brought by the French army, and the troops set off, entering the city under the guidance of the French.

The disciplined soldiers of the Taishan New First Regiment marched in formation through the streets, once again attracting the attention of Hanoi residents.

Clearly, having the roads pass through the city was a measure specifically arranged by the French to calm the public.

At the back of the procession, Fang Wen and Edmonton sat in an open-top military vehicle talking.

"The Japanese army has been very active recently and has begun to amass troops on the northern border of Vietnam. Our troops are scattered in various strongholds and along the railway line, and our strength is severely insufficient. Those warplanes from World War I are simply unable to form an effective air defense, and we can only rely on ground fortifications to hold our ground."

Fang Wen's gaze swept across the railway tracks along the way. It was the Hanoi section of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway. There were some rust spots on the rails, caused by more than a month of suspension of service.

He replied, "The passive approach of relying on ground fortifications for defense has already proven unworkable in France. The Germans could easily bypass the Maginot Line with armored forces, and the Japanese might very well follow suit."

Edmonton was speechless. The French colonial army, including his, was still using the military thinking of World War I, which was far behind the current military thinking.

Isn't France itself a living example?

So he asked, "Then what should we do?"

Fang Wen replied, "There's an old Chinese saying: 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' Now we need to figure out the Japanese army's direction of advance, the troops they've deployed, and the situation of their air force and fleet. If we don't understand these things and just passively respond, we'll only be led by the nose by the Japanese army."

“Yes, yes, that’s the right thing to do,” Edmonton said.

By this time, the troops had arrived at the military camp in the northern suburbs.

The military camp was a French-style architectural complex surrounded by low walls. Inside were several barracks and an armory. Although somewhat old, the grounds were spacious enough to accommodate a 1000-strong force. Upon entering the camp, the soldiers immediately followed the battalion commander's instructions to organize the barracks and inspect the equipment. The entire process was orderly and without any chaos.

After instructing Zhang Yunfei, the commander of the new First Regiment, to keep an eye on the troops, Fang Wen, along with Edmonton and a 10-man management team, went to the Governor's Mansion. (End of Chapter)