Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 91, Section 90: Fake Gold Arrives, New Plan: Bombing the Japanese Army in Shenyang

Shunzi kept his word and brought Master Liu back an hour later.

The disheveled former Qing dynasty bandit king, clearly dragged from his bed by Shunzi, didn't seem to mind. Instead, he anxiously asked, "What happened? Are my disciples alright?"

Fang Wen glanced at the street outside: "Let's go inside and talk."

The two then went inside, while Shunzi stood guard outside.

As soon as he entered, Fang Wen said directly, "We received a telegram from over there saying that they're trying to switch real gold with fake gold. Old Liu, you should be good at this, right?"

Old Liu stroked his beard and nodded proudly: "Thieves naturally know these tricks, but I never thought they could be used against the Japanese. Just thinking about how the Japanese would see that the whole house was full of fake gold made by me makes me happy."

He laughed out loud, accompanied by a cough, and Fang Wen quickly patted his back to prevent him from choking.

After catching his breath, Old Liu asked seriously, "How long and thick is the gold? What is its net weight?"

Fang Wen did have a record of this issue.

His secret telegrams with Manager Liu contained not only intelligence but also information about those valuable items.

Fang Wen took out his notebook and read aloud:

"Produced by the Central Mint, with a serial number, fineness, and weight."

Old Liu shook his head: "The Central Mint produces many kinds of gold bars, and the designs are different. You have to tell me the serial number on them so I can know which mold to use."

It seems that Mr. Liu has a complete set of templates for forgery.

Fang Wen sighed inwardly and read out the number.

Old Liu nodded and said, "I have a ready-made mold for this batch of gold bars, and I can make them exactly the same. You won't be able to tell the difference when you hold them in your hand. The problem is that the fake gold I make is harder than real gold. If you drop it from the air, it might break."

"I can solve this problem," Fang Wen replied confidently. During the January 28 Incident, when he was airdropping planes at night, he was considering how to solve this problem. Later, with the advent of parachutes, the problem was easily solved.

"Alright, I'll go back and prepare now. How much do you need?" Old Liu asked.

"64000."

Boss Liu was taken aback, but then smiled. This time, he was really going to make a fortune.

He got into the car with a radiant face and asked Shunzi to take him home.

The fake gold project is in the works.

Fang Wen also began arranging for the airdropped parachutes.

The parachute for airdrops is relatively simpler. It only needs to be fixed to the wooden box containing the fake gold bars. During free fall, air resistance will naturally inflate the parachute.

The landing location is also important. To prevent the fake gold bars from scattering over too large an area and becoming difficult to collect, the flight altitude must be reduced to a distance of more than 1000 meters.

In addition, this time we must bring people with us. Fang Wen can't do it alone, flying a plane and airdropping supplies.

He discussed it with his small team.

Ultimately, it was decided that Pan Jiafeng and Shunzi, who were both physically fit, would be chosen to perform the task.

This greatly excited the two of them, as they could finally participate in the operation.

Then, Mr. Liu sent someone over with a fake gold bar for verification.

Although he had never seen gold bars from Northeast China, Shanghai also had gold from the same batch produced by the Central Mint, so Fang Wen had someone buy one.

Comparing the real and fake gold pieces, they are basically the same in terms of color, shape, and weight.

It's fair to say that even if you picked up two gold bars at the same time, without a keen sense of smell, you might easily mistake them for real ones based on a rough assessment.

With this assessment in mind, Fang Wen decided to proceed accordingly.

Five days later, 64500 fake gold bars were completed, costing 2000 silver dollars in cost alone.

The extra 500 are for airdrop testing. If we don't test them now to see what problems arise, we won't be able to correct them if they occur during the airdrop.

The gold bars used for testing were wrapped in paper and placed in wooden boxes, which were also filled with straw for cushioning. Each box contained 240 straws, equivalent to 15 kilograms.

After the gold bars were packed into the two boxes, they were sealed with nails and then a parachute was attached.

We can then begin airdrop testing.

The designated airdrop point was in Jiaxing, and Fang Shouxin went there in advance to make the arrangements.

At 9 p.m., when all was quiet, the roar of engines could be heard from Shanghai Airport as a Boeing 247 took off.

Shortly after takeoff, the plane arrived over Jiaxing.

Fang Wen entered a state of mechanical perception, searching for an airdrop location in the dead of night.

The firelight on the ground caught his attention; that was it.

The plane descended and hovered at an altitude of about 1,500 meters.

Shunzi and Pan Jiafeng waited at the boarding gate.

"Get ready," Fang Wen said.

Following Fang Wen's instructions, Pan Jiafeng opened the boarding gate immediately.

A howling wind blew in, and the two instinctively leaned back. They didn't have parachutes, and if they fell, no one could save them.

The moment they reached the bombing zone, Fang Wen issued the command: "Deploy!"

Shunzi then threw the box with the parachute out.

The other box, however, remained unmoved.

The plane then waited in the air.

Until the pattern formed by another ball of fire on the ground, Fang Shouxin indicated the message.

Looking at the ball of flame, Fang Wen understood that the airdrop had failed.

The airdropped supplies were undamaged, but drifted a great distance away.

This result would lead to the actual airdrop failing, as the looting team doesn't have enough manpower to search the mountains and fields for scattered airdrop supplies.

Therefore, there must be a way to drop airdrops over the smallest possible area.

This was originally a difficult problem to solve when airdropping supplies, and even in the future, it will not be possible to completely guarantee the accurate landing point.

But Fang Wen had a solution.

This method originated from the operation of airlifting resources from Shanghai to the 19th Army at night.

To prevent the airdropped supplies from being damaged, a long rope was used, and the supplies were lowered and hung on the rope before landing.

This utilizes the friction of the rope to slow down a fall from a great height, reducing potential damage.

There are better ways to change this.

The plane descended to an altitude of 800 meters.

Fang Wen announced, "Conduct the second airdrop test."

Pan Jiafeng opened the boarding gate again, and Shunzi threw a rope out.

This rope is only 500 meters long, and its function is not only to slow down the enemy, but also to fix the airdrop range.

Then, the wooden crate with the parachute was hung on a rope and thrown out.

The wooden crate slid 500 meters down the rope, using friction to significantly reduce its descent speed. After detaching from the 500-meter rope, the parachute buckle on the crate was torn off, and the parachute opened due to wind resistance.

In this way, the wooden crate will descend with a parachute at the last 300 meters, a distance that will ensure the supplies do not drift too far after landing and will not damage the items inside the crate.

Another pile of flames appeared below, indicating that the landing area was accurate and the airdrop was successful.

The plane then returned to its origin.

The low-altitude rope deceleration airdrop mode was determined, and all the fake gold was packed into crates.

64000 fake gold bars, in 267 boxes, were all shipped to Jinan.

Fang Wen then contacted the north to confirm the airdrop location and the arrangements needed for the airdrop.

October 25, 1932, 8 p.m.

Shenyang was quiet.

At this time, it was the Japanese army's curfew, and any Chinese people who appeared on the streets would be shot.

Inside Anping Pawnshop, which is just across the street from the Marshal's Mansion, more than a dozen people are busy at their respective posts.

Some people hid behind doors and windows to observe the outside world, some made tools, and some studied the floor plan of the Young Marshal's Mansion.

Meanwhile, in the inner room, under a vertical pit covered by wooden planks, three brothers who looked alike were digging a tunnel.

The tunnel was oriented towards the Marshal's Mansion, and according to the progress of the excavation, it had reached the road separating the two sections. The excavated soil was collected in small buckets as it accumulated, and then ropes were pulled along the tunnel walls.

The people above would then lift the wooden buckets filled with mud out of the pit.

This soil would be temporarily dumped under the bed or in the corner, and covered with objects.

After the soil had dried in the shade, the members of the treasure-hunting gang would pack it into small cloth bags and take it out, secretly scattering it in various places throughout the city.

This kind of behavior must be done with extreme caution, and one must never let anyone discover it.

In another corner of the inner room, Manager Liu would take out the telegraph machine precisely at this time to report to the south.

After he finished his report, he would listen with his headphones for half an hour to determine if any secret telegrams would be sent back from the south.

This time, upon hearing this, he quickly picked up his brush and began writing rapidly.

After writing it, I pondered how to translate it into plain text.

Then, he picked up the document, walked out of the room, and handed it to Chief Wang, who was looking at the floor plan.

Chief Wang looked at the written message and read softly, "Airdrop tomorrow night, same place. We need to light a fire to lead the way."

He was overjoyed; the key props needed for this elaborate scheme were finally about to arrive.

“Sun Debiao, go pick up the things tomorrow. I have to meet someone with Manager Liu tomorrow night, so I can’t be there.”

Sun Debiao nodded. As for who Wang Bang wanted to meet, he knew perfectly well, but he didn't mention it here. After all, the three of them were the only ones who knew the whole story, and they couldn't just leak it.

The night passed just like that.

Anping Pawnshop opened for business early, with energetic employees cleaning the shop and chatting with passersby, creating a lively business scene.

Manager Liu went out carrying a small bag. Some passersby who knew what he did for a living looked at him with disdain.

Manager Liu didn't care about the disapproving looks. He knew what he was doing, and perhaps after this year, his fellow citizens in Shenyang would give him a thumbs up when they talked about him.

And just like that, another day passed.

Manager Liu returned, but then took his master out again.

They went to the east of the city, where they met a young man wearing glasses.

He was a translator for the Japanese army and also a native of Northeast China. Manager Liu and his father's generation had a good relationship.

Upon entering, Manager Liu greeted everyone with a broad smile, saying, "This is my new boss, Mr. Wang of Anping Pawnshop and Consignment Store. Master, this is Translator Zhao, highly regarded by the Japanese. It's said that next year, Translator Zhao will be the new mayor of Shenyang."

Chief Wang clasped his hands in a fist salute and bowed.

Interpreter Zhao, however, had an arrogant expression, as if he hadn't looked at his compatriots properly for a long time since becoming an interpreter.

This was a stark contrast to his subservient demeanor towards the Japanese.

The two men present, though eager to kill the kid, had to rely on him for their mission and could only pretend to be pleased with him.

The translator, Zhao, was quite pleased with the behavior of the two people in front of him, and finally spoke up: "Manager Liu said that your Anping Pawnshop and Consignment Shop plans to officially open in seven days, and that you will set off firecrackers at that time, is that right?"

"Yes, these days, everyone wants a good omen," Chief Wang said with a fawning smile, taking out a silver dollar.

This letter contains thirty silver dollars.

The translator, Zhao, beamed with delight: "It's no big deal. I've already spoken to the Japanese commander, and they'll be coming to watch you set off fireworks. You'd better make it look good."

When the Japanese came to come and see, Chief Wang was startled but also relieved. Wasn't this the best cover?
He readily agreed.

At the same time, Sun Debiao also began his operation.

He led his team of seven to the old city wall, hooked their hooks onto the brick seams of the wall, and then nimbly climbed up the wall.

The group climbed the city wall one by one, swung their hooks to change direction, and nimbly slid down the rope to the ground.

They easily left the city without attracting the attention of any Japanese sentries, but they still had to be careful on the road ahead.

The searchlights on the city wall would sweep across the area at regular intervals, and you had to rush through the gaps between the sweeps of two searchlights.

Sun Debiao silently counted in his mind, then took the lead and started running, and the people behind him followed without hesitation.

They sprinted 300 meters in one go before the searchlights finally arrived.

Next, the group headed southwest, and along the way they even managed to get a mule cart.

There's a reason why mule carts were used instead of horse-drawn carts.

Mules are naturally mute, and because they move at night without making a sound, they are best suited for action.

But in order to enable the mules to travel at night, they blindfolded them and led them along the way.

After walking for more than an hour, we arrived at Pearl Lake, where we had been parachuted in.

They stuck the torches from the mule cart into the ground and then waited silently.

I waited until midnight.

Sun Debiao quickly took out a kerosene lighter and lit the torch.

About half an hour later, a roaring sound suddenly came from the quiet night sky.

Under the moonlight, everyone saw the fuselage of a Boeing 247 streak across the sky.

This distance indicates that the aircraft is already very close to the ground.

Then, one by one, the boxes blossomed into flowers 300 meters in the air and landed steadily in the area indicated by the torch.

The airdrop was successfully completed, and the plane departed. Sun Debiao and his team immediately began collecting all the boxes scattered in the nearby area.

There were 267 wooden crates in total, and not a single one was damaged.

It's impossible to transport nearly two tons of fake gold back in one night.

They used mule carts to transport all the boxes to the nearby hiding place in five trips.

Afterwards, three members of the action team stayed behind to guard the hideout, while the other five people each carried two boxes back the way they came.

They needed to transport all the fake gold back under the noses of the Japanese in order to prepare for their next move.

Within the Anping pawn and consignment industry.

A dozen or so people were gathered around a wooden box that had been opened, and fake gold bars were glittering under the lights.

Even knowing it was fake, everyone still breathed heavily.

But Chief Wang frowned.

"267 boxes! We've only brought back 10, and it starts in 7 days. What are we going to do?"

Sun Debiao sighed, "The Japanese are heavily guarding the area, so we have to be very careful to bring the items back. After returning to the city, we also have to avoid Japanese patrols and police dogs. It's too difficult to bring everything back without being discovered."

The heist group made a huge mistake.

They didn't realize how enormous 2 tons of fake gold was.

Bringing them back in batches without making a single mistake and getting caught by the Japanese is too difficult.

But without fake gold, all the subsequent preparations were in vain.

Chief Wang looked at the others, and none of them knew what to do.

He said, "Manager Liu, ask the general manager tomorrow night and see what he has to say."

After the overnight airdrop, Fang Wen felt refreshed and invigorated. With the fake gold props, he felt as if the treasure heist was about to succeed.

Once the gold is stolen, find a landing spot, fly the plane there yourself, and bring the gold back. That will complete the plan.

It doesn't seem too difficult.

This idea was shattered when he received a coded message that night.

Fang Wen pondered as he looked at the coded telegram.

Ultimately, I encountered a problem and got stuck.

If the fake gold cannot be smuggled into the city undetected, all the effort will be in vain.

How can this be resolved?
We must create a loophole in the Japanese army's vigilance; only by causing massive chaos can we give the treasure-stealing team the opportunity to smuggle fake gold into the city.

An idea began to form in Fang Wen's mind.

Then bomb the Japanese troops in Shenyang. In that case, the Japanese troops would definitely be thrown into chaos.

And if we're going to bomb them, let's make it a huge, spectacular event, to teach them a lesson they won't forget.

(End of this chapter)