Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 672 Fang Wen's Secret Operation: Infiltrating Guangzhou City

The Yangjiang Independent Regiment's garrison.

Three journalists are filming the situation at a prisoner-of-war camp.

They were holding cameras and taking pictures of the area inside the barbed wire fence.

A British journalist squatted by the barbed wire fence, oblivious to the mud on his trousers. In the footage, 2000 puppet army prisoners were lining up to receive porridge. Their once arrogant and domineering demeanor was gone, replaced by slumped shoulders and sallow faces.

"Is this all they eat? Can't they be given more food?" the British journalist asked.

Fang Wen looked troubled: "The invaders looted and burned along the way, causing a shortage of supplies in southern Guangdong. We are also acting out of humanitarian spirit, preferring to go hungry ourselves to save food for them."

"What did we eat last night?" the American reporter asked.

Wu Yingzong replied, "That's our best food. After all, you are our guests. We hope the three of you can report the true situation here."

Wong, a reporter from Hong Kong Island Weekly, suppressed a laugh: "Yes, yes, we will definitely report the facts."

They then turned to the right and began photographing the Japanese prisoners of war.

Hundreds of Japanese prisoners of war came out of the house, stood in line, and waited to be filmed. After being educated by the interrogation team, they became completely obedient.

After the photo was taken, Fang Wen said, "The Japanese army may attack our Independent Regiment soon, and it will be dangerous for you to stay any longer. We will send you back to Hong Kong this afternoon, and I will escort you to ensure your safety."

The reporters were naturally eager to have Fang Wen personally escort them, but why did they have to depart in the afternoon?
This was a military secret, and Fang Wen did not tell them.

Time passed slowly, and the Independent Regiment's ground radar continuously scanned a 300-kilometer radius.

At 1 p.m., the radar platoon leader reported to Fang Wen: "Regimental commander, the Japanese patrol planes have returned to base, and the next wave of patrol planes is expected to take off in one hour."

Fang Wen nodded and instructed someone to inform the guests from Hong Kong to prepare for departure.

He went to the airport first and piloted the Qinyuan into the air.

In the air, using his mechanical sensing abilities and radar detection devices, Fang Wen surveyed the area towards Guangzhou and the sea to the south.

It's strange that the Japanese army hasn't taken any action against southern Guangdong in the past two days, only conducting routine patrols.

But with his superpowers and radar, he wasn't afraid of the Japanese tricks.

Then he picked up the microphone: "Let them take off."

On the ground, the Lockheed A-29 accelerated and took off from the runway.

The two planes flew one after the other to Hong Kong.

It took only 23 minutes to reach Hong Kong airspace, without encountering any Japanese aircraft along the way.

After completing the escort mission, Fang Wen piloted the plane directly back to its origin.

At 3 p.m., the Qinyuan landed at the airport where the Yangjiang Independent Regiment was stationed.

The cockpit canopy opened, and Fang Wengang slid off the plane. Gong Xiuneng, who was standing by the runway, rushed over with a telegram in hand: "Commander! A telegram from the Second Bureau of Yan'an!"

Fang Wen took the telegram, looked at the coded message, and translated it in his mind.

[The Hong Kong underground Communist Party has confirmed that He Zhiying, the leader of the Lan Agency, is hiding in Villa No. 3 in Repulse Bay, surrounded by plainclothes agents and police patrols. He will travel to Guangzhou tomorrow on the passenger ship "Seagull Maru," accompanied by five people.]

Fang Wen pondered this in his mind.

Should we just kill Kazuo Takaji?

If we're going to take action, how should we proceed?

Hong Kong, this is bad. The Japanese army is just looking for an opportunity to send troops to Hong Kong.

Sinking the cargo ship directly after it enters the Pearl River seems like a good solution.

A moment later, Fang Wen rejected the proposal.

Killing Hezhi Yingji is a last resort. Killing him will only cause short-term chaos in the Lan Agency. Wouldn't the Japanese high command send a new leader to manage the Lan Agency?

Or, we can wait until they return to Guangzhou before taking action, and then I can pilot my plane and wipe out the entire Lanzhou Military Region in one fell swoop.

With this in mind, Fang Wen made a decision.

One day passed.

Three black cars drove out of the Repulse Bay villa.

They drove straight to the dock.

After entering the dock, the people who got off the car boarded the passenger ship and sailed out of the dock heading north.

Once outside Hong Kong waters, a Japanese river gunboat led the way into the Pearl River estuary.

At 1 p.m., the passenger ship arrived in Guangzhou.

There was no grand welcoming ceremony, just increased vigilance and precautions at the dock and along the road.

Tang Yuandong, one of the captains of the self-defense group's action team, was also leading his team to keep watch on the streets.

He watched the car drive by, entering the core area heavily controlled by the Japanese army.

Chinese citizens are prohibited from entering or leaving that place, so even Tang Yuandong couldn't get in.

Therefore, Tang Yuandong could only transmit general information through the Independent Regiment's liaison points.

He deliberately yawned: "Oh dear, I didn't sleep well last night playing cards. You guys patrol the streets yourselves, I'm going for a stroll."

He then strolled over to his usual dim sum restaurant.

Business was even worse than before. The shop assistant was sitting there in a daze, and the shopkeeper was idly fiddling with an abacus.

Upon seeing Tang Yuandong enter, the two immediately beamed with joy.

The shopkeeper stepped out from behind the counter to greet him: "Captain Tang, you've arrived. You're our first customer today."

"I'm the first one? It's almost 10 o'clock!"

"Yes, everything has gone up in price lately, and fewer and fewer people are coming for dim sum."

Their seemingly casual conversation was completely flawless.

Tang Yuandong sat down and placed a military note on the table: "Give me a cup of tea and snacks as usual."

This thing was a piece of paper money issued by the Japanese military. It had no collateral and was essentially worthless. However, under the threat of bayonets, the merchants and people in Guangzhou had no choice but to accept it.

The shopkeeper, feigning helplessness, picked up the military notes and lamented, "This money is even less valuable than legal tender. All our silver dollars and legal tender have been exchanged for this. A while ago, one dollar could buy two catties of rice, but now it can only buy one catty and two ounces."

As he spoke, he quietly took out the slip of paper from the military bill and hid it in the seam of his clothes.

The Yangjiang Independent Regiment's garrison.

Fang Wen frowned as he looked at the coded telegram from Guangzhou.

The telegram stated that Wachi Takaji was hiding in an area between Huiai Road and Changdi, which was also the most heavily guarded area by the Japanese army.

It seems that Lan's agency is not easy to find.

Such intelligence agencies probably don't have a signboard, and may even be hidden in other departments, or use a business name as a front.

In order to accurately bomb the Lan Agency, Fang Wen decided to personally go to Guangzhou.

He summoned Wu Yingzong.

"I have to go out for a while. You continue to manage the regiment. Be careful of Japanese retaliation; they used up all the landmines in the warehouse."

"Buried on the beach?" Wu Yingzong asked.

Fang Wen shook his head: "The coastline is very long, and we can't defend it all. If the Japanese army doesn't land on the coast where we laid mines, the mines will be useless. What I mean is to lay mines on the route that the Japanese army will inevitably take after landing and attacking us."

"Understood, Commander," Wu Yingzong replied.

He was confident. His troops were well-equipped, possessing tanks, aircraft, and air defense weapons. Although their numbers were small and they couldn't engage in large-scale operations, holding a position shouldn't be a problem. After Wu Yingzong left, Fang Wen looked at Gong Xiuneng, considering whether to tell him.

Unexpectedly, Gong Xiuneng spoke first. "Commander, don't even think about leaving me alone. I know what you're going to do."

This guy had been following me around the whole time, and I actually noticed him.

Fang Wen simply stated his plan.

“I plan to infiltrate Guangzhou City alone. You know my abilities; I have a disguise technique, plus my fighting skills, so coming and going in Guangzhou City will be no problem at all.”

Gong Xiuneng said very seriously, "Commander, your skills are not limited to those. You can also summon rats and ants, and you can heal the sick and save lives. But this is war. A single bullet could knock you down and never get up again. Unless you have a way to be immune to bullets, I will definitely go with you. At least I can help you block some bullets."

Fang Wen knew Gong Xiuneng's stubbornness, "Alright, let's sneak into Guangzhou together."

Gong Xiuneng was overjoyed and quickly asked, "How do we get there?"

"Let my apprentice take us there," Fang Wen said with a smile.

He then sent a telegram to Pan Jiafeng in Zhaoqing.

An hour later, Pan Jiafeng piloted the gunboat to land at the Independent Regiment's seaplane airport.

The plane landed, and Fang Wen boarded directly, discussing the plan with his apprentice in the cabin.

"Tonight, I'll fly the way there. Once we're over Guangzhou, you'll take over. After Gong Xiuneng and I parachute out, you'll have to return the way we came. The most difficult part is the return flight. Are you confident?"

“Master, have you forgotten that I used to be the navigator captain of the night transport team? I haven’t forgotten any of the night flight skills you taught me. Yangjiang to Guangzhou is less than 200 kilometers. I can definitely fly back.”

"Alright, let's do a flight simulator together."

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen, inside the cabin, incorporated some essential elements he needed to understand during his nighttime return flight from Guangzhou into the flight simulator and taught them to Pan Jiafeng.

The two stayed in the cabin the whole time and did not come out. During that time, Gong Xiuneng brought them dinner.

The impromptu teaching session didn't end until 8 p.m.

Fang Wen sat in the cockpit and used the onboard radio to send a confirmation telegram to the Guangzhou liaison point.

After a while, a short code was sent back.

This is a coded signal to confirm that there are no problems with the liaison station.

Immediately, Fang Wen started the engine, controlled the gunboat to turn around at the dock, then accelerated by gliding on the water and took off into the sky.

As the plane climbed to an altitude of 5000 meters in the night sky, it became completely invisible from the ground.

The plane was flying at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour.

Thirty minutes later, the plane entered the airspace over Foshan.

Fang Wen reduced the engine power, putting the aircraft into a low-speed, low-power flight state.

He brought the plane over the target area.

The area of ​​Guangzhou below that needs to be explored includes Huiai Road (which will eventually connect Zhongshan Fourth Road to Zhongshan Sixth Road) above and Changdi Road along the Pearl River below.

This large area was forcibly occupied by the Japanese army, who drove out the local residents and turned it into a military restricted zone.

Of course, simply airdropping there wouldn't work; Fang Wen's drop point was set at Hualin Temple to the west.

There's no one there at night, making it perfect for a parachute landing.

Fang Wen stood up: "Pan Jiafeng, you fly. Keep hovering at high altitude, and when I give the order, switch to gliding flight and descend to an altitude of 2000 meters."

"Yes, Master." Pan Jiafeng and Fang Wen passed each other and got into the driver's seat.

Fang Wen then skillfully slung two bags over his shoulder: a parachute backpack and a pack of supplies hanging in front of him.

After confirming that everything was correct, he looked at Gong Xiuneng, who gestured that he was ready.

Fang Wen then gave the order: "Let's begin."

Upon receiving the order, Pan Jiafeng briefly shut down the engine.

The aircraft is descending and gliding.

The crew members inside the cabin opened the cabin door.

Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng jumped out one after the other.

After the two men completed their parachute jump, Pan Jiafeng immediately steered the aircraft southward. After crossing the Pearl River, he started the engine and began climbing.

In the night sky, because of the dark clouds, no one could see the two umbrellas floating in the air.

The temple below was originally named Xilai Nunnery. Legend has it that it was established when Bodhidharma arrived in Guangzhou by boat on his journey to the west. Later, it went through several dynasties and was transformed from a nunnery into a temple, and its area also became much larger.

A light appeared on the west side of the temple, flashing intermittently, guiding Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng.

The two controlled the parachute ropes, spiraling down towards the lights.

Fang Wen was the first to land. After landing, he ran a few steps to stop his momentum, then quickly drew his knife and cut the parachute ropes, before taking out his pistol to prepare for the fall.

The flashing light ahead was approaching; it was a lantern carried by a monk, covered with paper, which created the flashing light as he lifted and lowered it.

Beside the monk were two other people, whom Fang Wen, with his exceptional mental strength, immediately recognized as two soldiers from the Independent Regiment sent to Guangzhou.

He walked over.

Upon seeing Fang Wen, the two liaison officers were immediately surprised: "Commander, sir, what brings you here?"

“I’m more confident in handling this,” Fang Wen replied, then clasped his hands together in thanks to the monk, saying, “Thank you for your help, Master.”

The monk responded with a Buddhist salute, but did not speak.

Just then, a gust of wind blew through the air.

Gong Xiuneng landed to the side, and he quickly removed his parachute and took out his weapon to prepare for battle.

Upon seeing Fang Wen and the others, they immediately ran over.

Now that the landing is complete, it's time to deal with the parachutes; we can't let the Japanese find them and cause unnecessary trouble.

They simply dug a hole in a nearby grove of trees and buried the parachute inside.

Then, the group left the temple under the cover of night.

After walking through an alleyway several hundred meters long, we arrived at a doorway.

The liaison officer used a key to open the door and led Fang Wen inside.

After entering the house, he explained the situation in a low voice.

"Commander, this place is located between Hualin Temple and Shibapu. It was originally a merchant's house. His family was broken into by Japanese soldiers and their whereabouts are unknown. Later, it was taken over by the puppet regime and sold. We bought it through Tang Yuandong as a safe house. You can stay here without worry."

Fang Wen nodded: "You all go back first, and continue opening the shop tomorrow. Don't worry about us. I'll let you know when we need your participation in the operation."

"Yes, Commander." The two liaison officers saluted Fang Wen and turned to leave.

It was already past 1 a.m.

Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng did nothing more, simply sleeping fully clothed on the bed to conserve their energy.

Five hours later, it was dawn.

Fang Wen got up, took out his disguise tools, changed his and Gong Xiuneng's faces, and then took out old clothes from the room to put on.

Then, the two left the room.

They stepped out of the alley and found themselves on a once bustling street: Shibapu.

But now, after more than a year of Japanese occupation of Guangzhou, this commercial street, which relied on trade for its residents, has fallen into disrepair, with all the shops on both sides of the street closed off.
(Photo of Shibapu before the Battle)
(End of this chapter)