Chapter 13: Northeast Flight Plan
An hour later, the relationship between the two underwent some changes.
Feeling the warmth of each other’s bodies, Fang Wen asked:
“Did the Revival Society send you here today?”
“No.” Yue Jinping rested her head on Fang Wen’s shoulder. “They approached my father and wanted to bring things back from the Northeast.”
After a period of explanation, Fang Wen understood the ins and outs of the matter.
After the September 18th Incident, due to the non-resistance policy, the main force of the Northeast Army withdrew inside the passes, the remaining defending troops completely collapsed or surrendered, and the vast Three Eastern Provinces were unexpectedly lost in a short time for the most part, with the rest also in jeopardy.
In this situation, a large amount of wealth was left in the Northeast and could not be retrieved.
Among them were a group of wealthy merchants who had followed from the Northeast when Zhang Zuolin took charge of the Beiyang Government.
Although these people were enjoying life inside the passes, their family fortunes were all in the Three Eastern Provinces.
Now with the situation chaotic there, they naturally dared not return and even wanted to retrieve the gold, silver, and valuables hidden in the Three Eastern Provinces.
Therefore, this group found Yue Jinping’s father, originally intending to do it through military means.
Under this situation, going by land route was simply impossible, and no one dared to send troops there.
Yue Jinping’s father thought of his daughter and came up with the idea of an air route, which led to the current matter.
“What does your father do?” Fang Wen asked.
“He works in the military, now stationed in the Northern region. With his guarantee, those people have already come to Shanghai.” Yue Jinping replied.
So that’s how it was; Fang Wen actually felt somewhat relieved.
He was more afraid that Yue Jinping had been assigned by her Revival Society superior to handle the matter, in which case, even if the mission was completed, given the intelligence organization’s style, they might very well kill the donkey after unloading the millstone.
Immediately, he asked the question he cared about most.
“What model is the airplane, and where is it?”
Yue Jinping sat up, took a document from her clothes and handed it to Fang Wen, and explained aloud herself.
“Rhein NYP-2, currently the best civilian long-range transport airplane, five seats, tare weight 1 ton, payload 1.3 tons, maximum flight altitude 5000 meters, maximum speed 220 kilometers per hour, maximum range 1600 kilometers, length 8.5 meters, wingspan 14 meters.”
“Maximum range 1600 kilometers?” Fang Wen was surprised; this was the farthest-flying airplane he had ever seen, and all the specs were very good.
“Yeah. It’s produced by the American Rhein company. Two years ago, they even did a trans-Atlantic flight performance. Guangzhou funded the purchase of two for transport. They rented it over at a high price, but because no pilots were willing to fly to the Northeast under the current situation, they approached my father for a solution. I told my father about your situation, and he had me come ask if you’re willing.”
It seemed that those Northeast tycoons had considerable strength; they could even obtain this kind of airplane.
Combining with the other things Yue Jinping said, Fang Wen was moved.
“I can fly it, but I need to meet them first.”
“They’re waiting in the urban area; tomorrow you come with me.”
As Yue Jinping spoke, her face suddenly reddened. She lifted the quilt and looked. “You get out of bed first; I need to do something.”
Fang Wen got out of bed as instructed, and saw Yue Jinping take out a small knife, flip open the quilt, cut the bed sheet stained with spots of crimson red, and carefully put it away.
After doing this, Yue Jinping actually took the initiative to explain.
“Commissioner, don’t take today’s matter to heart. Before joining the Revival Society, my future was uncertain, and I just wanted to give my pure body to the person I like. This thing, according to my maiden home customs, should be made into an embroidered piece for collection, also as a memento of me changing from a girl to a woman.”
Fang Wen didn’t know what to say; he felt that the current Yue Jinping had changed greatly from the previous Yue Jinping.
Or perhaps, it really was as she said: tonight was just a commemoration of bidding farewell to the past.
The night passed, and Fang Wen early applied for leave and returned to the urban area with Yue Jinping.
The place they went to was a standalone villa.
Yue Jinping knocked on the door, and a servant wearing a skullcap opened it and led them to the second floor.
A group of people on the second floor were chatting freely and did not stop because of Fang Wen and Yue Jinping’s arrival.
Under the servant’s low voice guidance, Fang Wen and Yue Jinping sat to the side waiting.
This also gave him the opportunity to hear what they were saying.
They spoke in thick Shandong accents.
“Non-resistance, pfft, what kind of soldier doesn’t fight.”
“I think there’s definitely something fishy about it.”
“Of course there is. During the Central Plains War, four factions vied for supremacy; how could the Zhang family be absent? I think he’s using this chance to take charge of the Central Plains. Haven’t you seen the Young Marshal staying in Beiping all along!”
“I have a piece of news, not sure if it’s true or false. Someone went to Japan, offering Northeast interests in exchange for Japanese munitions. I only learned about this in the seventh month and didn’t take it seriously at the time, but unexpectedly it came true in September. If I’d known, I would’ve prepared to transfer my family wealth back then.”
“Anyone can fire hindsight cannon; let’s not talk about it. Since Miss Yue is here, let’s hear what she has to say.”
The Northeast tycoons’ conversation ended there.
They all looked toward Yue Jinping.
Yue Jinping stood up. “This is the China Airlines flight commissioner Fang Wen I mentioned. His piloting skills are excellent. With his joining, the success rate of this action will be very high.”
“What we want is certain success; otherwise, why spend such a big price.” One tycoon spoke up.
“If we don’t succeed, it means the airplane had an accident. This money, I’m exchanging it with my life. In this world, there are many who aren’t afraid to die, but few who aren’t afraid to die and can also pilot the Rhein NYP-2 well.” Fang Wen responded calmly.
This one sentence greatly changed their view of him.
Just as he said, there weren’t many now who dared to risk piloting an airplane to the Northeast and had the technical skills to pass muster.
But those who could also be trusted were even fewer.
Instantly, those rehearsed airs of superiority and attempts to put him in his place had no place to be used.
Next, Fang Wen confidently discussed this action, which was still just a framework without specific details.
“If piloting this airplane to the Northeast, I need three days to familiarize myself. Yue Jinping will go with me; you send two more people familiar with the Northeast situation who can contact all sides and act smoothly.”
From this sentence, the tycoons heard that this was a man who got things done.
Fang Wen continued:
“The airplane payload is 1.3 tons; excluding our four people, there’s about one ton of payload left. With so many of you families, how much each brings back, what share each gets, all need to be discussed well to avoid chaos later.”
This was also very important; the tycoons nodded one after another and began calculating their own little plans.
Fang Wen wasn’t finished.
“I also need maps of the Northeast region, landing point planning, and reception methods. The Rhein NYP-2 needs at least a 200-meter-long, 50-meter-wide runway, or a flat plain area can be chosen for landing. But considering the high risk during the day, we must land at night, so your people in the Northeast need to place two rows of torches on the ground in advance as ground markers for guidance.”
