Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 89, 88: Not a White Lotus Reborn, Self-Created Morse Code, Yoshiko Kawashima and the Train Station Shooting

Taihu Lake, as an important inland lake, is surrounded by the cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Huzhou, all of which are fertile lands with abundant fish and rice and prosperous commerce.

Among the transportation methods frequently used by locals, boating on Taihu Lake is one of them.

The boats on the lake are not the kind of covered boats found in canals, but rather traditional Chinese sailing ships with fore and hind sails.

This type of boat, which appeared as early as the Three Kingdoms period, remained an important means of transportation for locals until the Republic of China era.

On this day, a child's remark on a boat caused a large number of sailboats to come to a standstill.

"Dad, look at the sky, are there white flowers blooming?"

"What? White flowers?" The father looked up at the sky and was immediately stunned.

The first organized group skydiving event in China felt like a miracle to him.

More and more people are discovering skydiving teams.

Later on, the boatmen even stopped sailing and refused to sail.

They are spreading the word that a white lotus has descended to earth!
For hundreds of years, the legends of the White Lotus Sect have resurfaced during the Republic of China era.

That's right, the white flowers in the sky look just like white lotuses.

Then, wait for the white flowers to drift closer.

People exclaimed in surprise that there were people inside the flowers.

Isn't that like heavenly soldiers and generals descending to earth?!

The more the story is told, the more mysterious it becomes.

Some people got scared and asked the boatman to sail away.

Some people wanted to see the immortals, so they urged the boatman to move the boat closer.

As a result, the sailboats on the lake diverged, one approaching and the other moving away.

Approaching ships docked at Xishan Island, and people disembarked to chase after the parachutes.

The first person to land was covered by the parachute. When he opened the parachute to put it away, he found people kneeling all around him.

What is this for?

Confused, he quickly packed up his parachute and prepared to find his teammates.

He didn't speak, and neither did the people on the ground.

As soon as he left, those people followed behind him.

This situation made him uneasy.

I simply slung my parachute over my shoulder and started running.

His physical condition was much better than those people's. Even with his parachute on his back, he kept his distance and could vaguely hear people behind him saying things like "gods" and "heavenly soldiers".

There were several others in similar situations, and some of them learned from the other party why they were being forced to kneel before them.

They were mistaken for celestial soldiers and generals descending to earth.

I had no choice but to explain.

Some people believe it, while others think it's because the gods dislike their lack of sincerity and continue to follow them.

The skydiving team was a day late in returning.

But all 19 people were present.

Fang Wen found it quite amusing when he heard that they were treated like gods.

To avoid this kind of trouble in the future, training sessions were moved to more remote locations.

Furthermore, the intensity is increasing.

As they accumulated more experience, this group of people gained considerable skydiving expertise, learning to control their parachutes to adjust their landing direction.

Next up is nighttime airborne training.

In the pitch-black night, a Boeing 247 took off and circled over the designated area.

Fang Wen said seriously, "There is no visibility for this landing. I can only tell you that it is a plain with forests, similar to the landing point in Shenyang. What you need to do is to communicate with each other using bionic codes after landing."

Suddenly, a series of calls, imitating magpie calls, filled the cabin.

Once you get to know them, these people are actually quite lively, but they're not very disciplined.

Fang Wen said nothing more and gave orders after the plane arrived at the drop zone.

"Start the airdrop now."

Immediately, everyone fell silent, lined up in order, and jumped out of the boarding gate one after another.

They are the bravest skydivers, even braver than their international counterparts at the same time.

Night skydiving, a dangerous activity, is nothing new to them.

One by one, they descended from the dark night sky, landing in different areas.

The first to land did nothing but stow their parachutes, and then began to call out like magpies in the surrounding area.

Those that receive the same magpie call in response will follow the sound to join the others.

There are also cases where problems arise, such as falling into the water or getting stuck in a tree, but they will be rescued with the help of their companions.

And so, their first nighttime airdrop was successfully completed.

Once you start, you'll start again. After several nighttime parachute drops, the treasure-hunting team's parachuting experience was enough to allow them to parachute into Shenyang.

The plan is about to begin.

There is one more thing that needs to be done.

That is, transmitting information over long distances.

1932 10 Month 9 Day.

Fang Wen met with Manager Liu alone.

"Manager Liu, you have a great responsibility this time. You need to contact the local people and learn this as well."

As he spoke, Fang Wen took out a hand-cranked telegraph machine.

"General Manager, what is this?" Manager Liu leaned closer to take a look. It was just a box with a crank handle.

"Telegraph machine, this is what we usually use to send telegrams to other places. It can be used to communicate across thousands of miles. After you learn how to use it, you can send telegrams to me regularly to report the situation."

Fang Wen explained. Telegraphs in this era could indeed travel thousands of miles because there wasn't as much electromagnetic radiation interference as in the future, making the transmission efficiency much higher.

Manager Liu looked at the thing in surprise. His first thought was about its commercial value, but then he realized that it was a powerful tool for timely military intelligence reporting in wartime.

"So this is how military intelligence is transmitted during wartime."

Fang Wen continued to explain: "Yes, it's not difficult to use. I've written a code for you that only the two of us know. After you learn it, burn the codebook, and then only the two of us will know the contents of the telegram."

Manager Liu felt a warmth in his heart. Although he didn't understand, this was exactly the kind of trust he wanted. The hurdle in his heart caused by the Thief King's betrayal remarks that day instantly dissipated.

Fang Wen then began to teach how to use a hand-cranked telegraph machine and Morse code.

Only after he had learned these basics did he hand the codebook over to Manager Liu.

This codebook contains some characters and their corresponding strange symbols.

"General Manager, is this in English?" Manager Liu asked.

Fang Wen began explaining the core part.

"No, it's called Pinyin, which consists of two parts: initials and finals, and corresponds to specific Morse codes."

"The pronunciation of words composed of specific Chinese pinyin is our secret code for communication."

"The codebook contains 130 pronunciation combinations and corresponding phrases, each representing a different meaning. You can try it out."

After some instruction...

With difficulty, Manager Liu uttered the first sound he had mastered: "Success."

At the same time, he pressed the send key with his right hand, outputting a Morse code that only he and Fang Wen knew.

This success made Fang Wen feel that action was not far off.

Manager Liu, however, remarkably memorized the initials and finals of those words, as well as the sounds they produced when spelled out. "General Manager," he said, "this can be used for children's early education. If we drive out the Japanese, you can publish it so that millions of Chinese children can use it."

"Oh." Fang Wen scratched his brow. This was a last-minute decision, and he was too embarrassed to take advantage of the predecessors who invented the Chinese Pinyin system.

But there's no need to explain this; let's get rid of the Japanese first.

Everything is ready; the operation begins.

Nineteen members of the operation purchased plane tickets to Jinan.

They will arrive in Jinan in two batches on Taishan Airlines planes, and then fly to Shenyang by air late at night.

Accompanying them were some supplies and airdropped backpacks.

The two groups of people went very smoothly and settled in a rented courtyard in Jinan.

Fang Wen then flew back to Shanghai Airport as usual, waiting to fly to Jinan the next day before taking action at night.

But the next day, an uninvited guest appeared.

Aisin-Gioro Dongzhen, disguised as a man, appeared on the boarding list.

Fang Wen frowned as he looked at the boarding list sent by the ticketing company.

Pan Jiafeng whispered, "Master, how about we take action on the plane and kill this Japanese spy?"

Fang Wen shook his head; compared to a spy, his own plan was clearly more important.

If action is taken, thus diverting the Japanese attention to Taishan Airlines, then the subsequent plans will be impossible to implement.

But what was the reason that Yoshiko Kawashima took this flight?

Did she discover something?
Thinking about this, Fang Wen decided it was better to wait and see what this notorious Japanese spy was up to.

He took the Browning pistol from a secret compartment in the driver's seat and put it in his pocket.

Then he said, "You drive."

Afterwards, the passengers boarded the plane as usual, and Fang Wen walked through the passenger aisle to close the boarding door in place of the flight attendants.

On the way back, he exclaimed in surprise, "Dongzhen, um, sir."

The other party smiled and said, "I said I would take your company's plane back to the north. This plane is indeed very comfortable and convenient."

Fang Wen stood there and started chatting with him.

"Flying on our company's plane is for speed. If you take a ship, it takes a day, and if you take a train, it takes two days."

"Yes, that's why I chose to fly."

Fang Wen stepped back, put his hand in his pocket, and gripped the trigger of his Browning pistol: "By the way, Mr. Dongzhen, I sent you an invitation to the company celebration last time, why didn't you come?"

"It was because of some minor issues, but it's been resolved now. It's a pity that after this trip to the north, I probably won't be back for a long time. I won't have the chance to attend your company's banquets again."

The two exchanged words that implied different meanings; their conversation, though seemingly ordinary, was filled with a strong sense of tension.

Fang Wen leaned down and whispered, "This flight has been encountering bad weather conditions frequently lately. Hopefully, we'll be lucky and avoid it."

"Really? I've always been lucky. The heroes of the skies must be just as lucky, right?" Yoshiko Kawashima replied coldly.

Fang Wen's hand, which was gripping the trigger of the pistol, loosened.

At that moment, he was certain that the other party was unaware of the treasure-stealing plan from beyond the Great Wall.

Since that's the case, let's let her go for now.

The plane landed in Jinan after a two-hour flight.

Subsequently, the flights were temporarily suspended under the pretext of temporary maintenance.

With six hours to go before their night flight, Fang Wen was still curious about why Yoshiko Kawashima had come to Jinan.

He decided to follow behind and see what happened.

"Pan Jiafeng, go and contact them to come over. I'm going out for a bit," Fang Wen said.

"Master, be careful," Pan Jiafeng reminded him with concern.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything. I'll just stay in the car and keep watch. I'll come back if everything's alright," Fang Wen explained with a smile.

He then got into a Ford sedan that his company had bought in Jinan and drove out of the airport.

With the aid of mechanical perception, the field of vision is wide, and the silhouette of Yoshiko Kawashima appears in the distance.

Fang Wen slowed down and followed at a distance, unnoticed by the other party.

A few minutes later, a car drove up and stopped beside her.

Yoshiko Kawashima ducked into the car, and then the car started moving.

Fang Wencai followed after the other vehicle had driven some distance away.

The car did not enter Jinan city, but instead headed towards Jinan Station on the Jinpu Railway on the other side.

What was she going there for? Was she going directly to Tianjin by train, or did she have some other motive?

After the other car stopped at the station, Fang Wen also stopped his car and observed from a distance.

Yoshiko Kawashima, disguised as a man, did not get off the train. Instead, a man in black jogged into the train station.

After a while, the man ran out and leaned over to report into the car window.

Yoshiko Kawashima then got out of the car.

She was looking at the station exit, clearly waiting for someone.

A dozen minutes later, the train whistle sounded, and the special train on the Jinpu Railway that day pulled into the train station.

Subsequently, passengers who disembarked at Jinan Station exited the station.

Fang Wen focused his mind; he had a premonition that the person Kawashima Yoshiko wanted to see was about to appear.

Then, a man in brocade robes, surrounded by people, appeared at the exit.

He seemed very familiar with the place, and a happy smile appeared on his face.

But at that moment, a man in a long robe suddenly appeared, pulled out a pistol, and fired several shots at the man in brocade.

Fang Wen, in a state of mechanical perception, clearly heard the other party shouting fiercely: "Today I, Zheng Jicheng, am avenging my father. Anyone who dares to help Zhang San will be killed along with me."

The bodyguards didn't attack; instead, they scattered and fled.

Only the man in brocade robes remained lying in a pool of blood.

Having witnessed all of this, Fang Wen turned his attention to Yoshiko Kawashima.

The other party got into the car and drove away without hesitation.

Clearly, Yoshiko Kawashima was unable to meet the person she wanted to see, and her mission here had failed.

Fang Wen did not continue to follow, but instead drove back.

After he returned, the 19 members of the heist team had already arrived at the airport.

With more than four hours to go before the night flight, everyone gathered in the hangar, eating food and waiting.

Fang Wen recalled the scene he had just witnessed and couldn't help but ask, "Does anyone know who Zheng Jicheng is? Today I saw him shoot and kill a man named Zhang Sanduo outside the train station."

"Is Zhang Sanduo dead?" a member of the treasure-hunting team asked in surprise.

Seeing that no one understood, he began to explain.

"Zhang Sanduo is Zhang Zhongchang. He was the warlord leader here. He was originally from the Zhang family outside the Great Wall, but I heard he went to Japan after his defeat. I didn't expect him to come back now. Jinan used to be his territory. Zheng Jicheng's father, Zheng Jinsheng, was also a famous figure here. A few years ago, his father was killed by Zhang Sanduo, and he was also wanted and forced to leave this place."

These kinds of feuds and grudges are what people in the martial arts world love most.

Chief Wang nodded in approval: "He avenged his father; he's a real man. I'll have a good drink with him next time I see him."

Afterwards, everyone's discussion began to revolve around this person who had avenged his great grudge, which also helped pass the remaining time.

And so, the tedious waiting came to an end.

At midnight, the secret operation of the Boeing 247 flying from Jinan to Shenyang began.

The train station shooting is based on a true story, and the timing is perfect. However, the name has been changed to reflect modern society, to avoid any offense.

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(End of this chapter)