Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 686 Special Forces Team Established, Heading to Europe Before the Franco-German War

The worst thing for a response assessment is to rely solely on theoretical discussions; only with the participation of real troops can the true capabilities of soldiers in complex battlefield environments be measured.

But there's no need to make it too complicated; after all, it's just an assessment.

When Qiu Shanhe arrived with the captain of the county brigade, Fang Wen shared his thoughts.

"I have an idea to test these soldiers' instantaneous reaction speed to sudden dangers, their environmental observation ability, and their accuracy in identifying friend or foe. I would like to ask the county brigade to send someone to assist me."

"What method?" The county brigade leader was very interested, after all, he was also a commander.

“This is how I designed it. A mountain path, your men are lying in ambush by the roadside, I will let them pass by one by one, and then you will make the attack move. This way, I can see their real reactions on the battlefield.”

The county brigade commander was very willing to cooperate: "Great. These soldiers are all top-notch in the military. Our county brigade can learn a lot of useful combat skills from them."

He used water as ink to draw a simple topographical map on the table.

"This is Nanyuan Village, not far from the county town. There is only one road leading to the outside world, and that road is perfect for an ambush."

Fang Wen nodded: "Then let's agree on that."

The county brigade leader, who was hearing the term "exercise" for the first time, was quite excited. "Then I'll go back and prepare now."

The next morning, fifty soldiers were taken to a secluded open space in the east of the city.

Fang Wen addressed the soldiers: "This is the last test today. Now, those whose names are called, step forward."

The first soldier stepped forward and followed Fang Wen to the side.

"Can you read?" Fang Wen asked.

“I didn’t go to school when I was a child, but later I joined a literacy class in the army and now I know 400 characters,” the soldier replied.

Fang Wen nodded and handed a piece of paper to the other person: "There are 10 questions on this, all multiple choice. If you think a question is correct, just tick it on it."

The soldier looked at the question in his hand, checked the answers with a pen, and handed it to Fang Wen.

Fang Wen didn't look, but pointed to a side path and said, "You will be traveling alone along that path. Anything can happen along the way, so stay alert and react accordingly."

"Yes, sir." The soldier stood at attention and jogged away.

Fang Wen followed along, observing the surroundings.

Gong Xiuneng continued to call on students to do the questions.

I spent the whole day doing the same thing.

The soldiers, who were on their way to the assessment, were walking along a secluded and deserted path when they were suddenly attacked by the roadside.

Each soldier reacts differently to such an attack.

But these reactions are almost all instinctive, coping strategies they have learned on the battlefield.

Fang Wenquan observed all of this and used it to further understand the soldiers' performance in the assessment.

After the assessment, the team regrouped and awaited the results.

Fang Wen combined the three assessments and selected 30 special operations team members he approved of.

It was then announced on the spot.

The selected soldiers cheered, while those who were not selected were somewhat disappointed.

Surprisingly, the soldier wearing glasses was also selected.

Yanchuan Water Airport Wharf.

Thirty soldiers selected for the special operations team lined up in front of the seaplane.

The other 20 soldiers saw them off.

Fang Wen shakes hands with Qiu Shanhe.

"Thanks to the organization's support, the Independent Regiment has gained a group of elite soldiers. There are many things to deal with in the south, so I must go back as soon as possible and won't stay any longer."

"Take care on your journey. If anything comes up, please contact me by telegram."

Fang Wen faced the selected soldiers and said, "Everyone turn around and board the plane."

The soldiers, carrying their packs, turned around and stepped onto the boarding board to board the plane.

Qiu Shanhe and the soldiers saw them off at the dock.

After all the soldiers had boarded the plane, Fang Wen also boarded and waved goodbye at the cabin door.

The hatch closed, and Fang Wen said solemnly, "From now on, you are members of the Taishan Independent Regiment's Special Operations Team. In the coming days, you will undergo various military training, including parachuting, diving, and driving. I hope you will become a formidable force that strikes fear into the hearts of the Japanese devils. Do you all have confidence?"

"We are confident," the soldiers said in unison.

Fang Wen smiled. "Okay, sit down now, I'm about to take off the plane."

The atmosphere immediately eased, and the soldiers put their bags on the ground and sat down.

Fang Wenze walked to the cockpit, sat down, and started the engine.

The seaplane turned around on the river, taxied, accelerated, and took off.

During the flight from Yan'an to Myanmar, Fang Wen used his supernatural abilities to observe the situation of the soldiers inside the cabin from time to time.

These elite soldiers discussed Fang Wen's words with great interest and were filled with anticipation for future military training.

Fang Wen couldn't help but ponder.

Where should they be trained?
It won't work in Yangjiang. The individual flying device cannot be leaked before it is mastered by the special forces.

Yangon is not a suitable destination either.

It seems the only option is to place it at the base in northern Myanmar.

There is a lot of training content, and the course schedule should be allocated reasonably.

Another question is, who will lead this special operations team?
Besides Gong Xiuneng, who else is suitable?
He thought of someone: Zhou Pomen, the deputy battalion commander of the 2nd Aviation Battalion of the Independent Regiment.

This person was also a member of the special operations team and was someone Fang Wen trusted.

He served as the deputy battalion commander of the 2nd Aviation Battalion, responsible for the ground logistics of the 2nd Aviation Battalion.

His skills are not bad, and he has been fighting alongside Fang Wen for a long time, right up to the present.

It wouldn't be bad to make him the special forces captain.

After several hours of flight, the plane transited through Guiyang before finally arriving at its base in northern Myanmar.

The plane landed and stopped at the pier, and a group of people disembarked.

Fang Wen spoke with Shen Weitao, the head of the Myanmar northern base who picked him up at the airport.

"These people will stay in the security team's dormitory for the time being. Tomorrow, take some people to renovate the semiconductor assembly plant and turn the factory buildings into dormitories and classrooms."

"Yes, General Manager, I'll take them to rest first."

"Yes, these people are not familiar with the base, so let Gong Xiu accompany you."

Immediately afterwards, Gong Xiuneng and Shen Weitao left with their soldiers.

Fang Wenze went to the base's telegraph room and sent a telegram to Yangjiang, informing Zhou Pomen of the transfer order.

Simply issuing a transfer order isn't enough; a Taishan transport plane won't arrive from Nanning to Yangjiang for another three days. By then, it will be too late for Zhou Pomen to come.

Immediately, Fang Wen decided to fly to Zhaoqing overnight.

In the blink of an eye, he flew back to northern Myanmar. It was already dawn.

The hatch opened, and Fang Wen and Zhou Pomen, dressed in the uniform of the Independent Regiment, stepped ashore.

"Are you tired?" Fang Wen asked.

"Not tired," Zhou Pomen replied energetically.

"Alright, I'll take you to meet your special forces team members."

After saying that, Fang Wen led Zhou Pomen to the dormitory of the base's security forces.

When the two arrived, the soldiers in the dormitory had already gotten up; some were practicing boxing, others were exercising, and it looked quite lively.

"Everyone assemble!" Fang Wen shouted.

Immediately, these Eighth Route Army scouts stopped and stood in the open space.

"Let me introduce you. This is Zhou Pomen, the captain of your special forces team. He will be in charge of all aspects of your training, daily life, and operations from now on."

The soldiers all looked at Zhou Pomen.

Facing the gazes of 30 pairs of eyes, Zhou Pomen spoke up: "I also received the order from the regimental commander at the last minute. To be honest, I am not as good as you in terms of skills and combat, but I am better than you in terms of military management. I hope that in the days to come, we can learn from each other's strengths, cooperate in unity, and turn the special forces into a strong army."

That's well said; it made the soldiers look at Zhou Pomen in a new light.

At this moment, Shen Weitao came over.

He held a stack of meal tickets in his hand: "General Manager, these are their meal tickets. We forgot to distribute them last night."

Fang Wen took the meal tickets and handed them to Zhou Pomen: "Take them to the base's communal canteen for a meal, and let them familiarize themselves with the situation. Distribute the meal tickets as well."

After receiving the meal tickets, Zhou Pomen led the soldiers away.

Fang Wenze and Shen Weitao were talking.

"Special operations training requires a lot of facilities. You can prepare them, including parachute towers, parachutes, diving equipment, cars, and instructors who teach parachuting, diving, and driving."

“General Manager, we can go to the aviation school for parachuting and train with the flight cadets. There’s no need to set up another one. I can apply to headquarters for diving equipment and buy it from the British. Besides, the British have a diving club in Yangon, so we can find people there to be instructors. Driving is simple. Our base can build cars ourselves, and we have plenty of people who can drive. We can easily find a few to teach.”

Shen Weitao's considerations were thorough, and Fang Wen felt reassured to entrust the matter to him.

Time passed little by little.

By late April.

The special operations team was formed by 30 elite soldiers supported by the Eighth Route Army and 30 soldiers selected by the Independent Regiment itself.

The training barracks were converted from a former vacant semiconductor assembly plant at the base in northern Myanmar.

As special forces soldiers of a new era, they need to master quite a lot of technologies!
Once a week, he would fly to Yangon on one of Taishan's own transport planes to participate in parachute training at the aviation school.

On weekdays, they train in various firearms shooting and car driving at the test range outside the base.

Later, the diving equipment purchased from the British arrived, and diving training began.

Despite the arduous training, the soldiers had no complaints and even felt a sense of pride.

After all, how could an ordinary soldier possibly have the opportunity to access so many special skills?

But there's one more thing they've always wanted to know, but haven't started yet.

That is a single-soldier flying machine.

Fang Wen was also helpless about this.

Sixty special operations soldiers require sixty individual flying vehicles. This type of V4 engine requires more sophisticated parts, and its production efficiency is even similar to that of a V12 engine.

Nowadays, with the comprehensive upgrade of turbocharging technology, a large amount of manpower is being used for the modification and upgrading of V12 engines, making it impossible to allocate excess manpower to expand the production line of individual soldier aircraft.

There is still a huge talent shortage!
Today, the literacy rate in China is only 20%, and even fewer people are good at science.

In recent years, Mount Tai has been trying to recruit high-caliber talent from across China, but with little success in the last six months.
Clearly, the domestic talent pool has reached a bottleneck.

Fang Wen's gaze involuntarily fell on Europe.

It's time to head to Europe and look for some bargains.

Yangon Airport, April 30.

Fang Wen changed into the uniform of a civil aviation pilot from Taishan Airlines and boarded the Class A3 civil aircraft.

Gong Xiuneng boarded the plane as a flight attendant.

The cabin door closed, Fang Wen started the engine, and with the roar of the propellers, the plane turned around on the spot, then taxied on the runway to accelerate and take off.

The flight attendant picked up the microphone and broadcast the report:

"Passengers, this is Taishan Airlines Flight A3 to Europe, departing from Chengdu and bound for Paris. The route is via Kunming, Yangon, Kolkata, Delhi, Kabul, Tehran, Ankara, and Rome. The journey takes 31 hours."

These are the words the flight attendants say after every takeoff, and the passengers don't pay them any mind.

However, the flight attendant then announced: "The situation in Europe is currently tense. Considering the impact of the situation on civil aviation operations, our company will suspend Eurasian air transport services after this flight. Our Paris branch will also be relocated to Geneva, Switzerland, a neutral country. New routes launched in the future may depart from Geneva for their European leg. Please be aware of this."

The passengers were surprised and began to discuss the matter.

"Even Taishan Airlines has suspended flights. It seems this war is not going to stop."

"I'm starting to regret going to Europe. What if I don't make it back?"

"Wasn't the situation in Europe supposed to be improving? How did it turn out like this?!"

Using his superpower, Fang Wen listened to the passengers' complaints.

My thoughts drifted to Europe.

In Europe today, the French and British expeditionary forces have deployed a large number of troops along the border, and with the support of the Netherlands and Belgium, they seem to be doing quite well.

But their strategy was wrong from the start.

The majority of British and French forces were on the Belgian side, neglecting the Maginot Line.

This allowed the German mechanized forces to find a gap in the defenses, tearing the entire line apart and plunging the morale of the French army into a deep slump.

But how exactly things unfolded? Fang Wen didn't know from his future memories; only by experiencing it firsthand could he understand.

The 30-hour flight time has passed.

Taishan Airlines Flight 3A landed at Paris Airport.

After the plane came to a complete stop, Gong Xiuneng, dressed as a flight attendant, opened the cabin door.

The female flight attendant picked up the microphone and said, "Passengers, this flight has arrived at its final destination, Paris. Please collect your luggage and line up to disembark in an orderly manner. Each passenger will receive a farewell gift from Taishan Airlines upon disembarkation. We wish you a safe and happy journey."

Passengers lined up and disembarked one by one. As they passed through the cabin door, they received a gift bag from Taishan Airlines.

After all the passengers disembarked, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng carried their luggage off the plane and waited outside for Paul Lin, the manager of the European branch.

"General Manager, the branch office has begun preparations for evacuation. We have purchased two properties near Geneva Airport. Due to the impact of the war, the homeowners are only accepting one-third of the original price and are demanding that the transaction be conducted in gold."

"What about the aircraft and the company's other assets?" Fang Wen asked.

"Besides the plane requested by the general manager, there's also the A3. The other planes have already flown to Geneva Airport. As for company assets, everything that can be moved has been moved. The only things that can't be moved are the real estate, cars, and some bulky equipment."

Listening to Lin Baoluo's report, Fang Wen nodded, "Let's go out of the airport first, I have something I need you to do."

(End of this chapter)