Chapter 287: 286 Haihe River Flight Path Shocker, Japanese Army Fighter Jet Harassment Causes Losses, Taishan Escort Team Forms
The Fang Family is preparing to move.
After making the decision overnight, the Fang Family proactively announced it externally.
Having lived in Jiaxing City for a lifetime, the Fang Family members all have their own sentiments and connections, and inevitably had to bid farewell to relatives and friends.
Through their conversations, everyone knew this was Third Young Master Fang’s decision, due to concerns about the deteriorating situation.
Regarding this, no one else was willing to follow, after all, the south was peaceful and sunny now, everyone believed the situation wouldn’t suddenly worsen.
And another matter concerned them even more.
That was the Fang Family Rice Business being sold.
Third Young Master sold the family’s rice business, resolved the family property disputes, and disposed of it in the blink of an eye.
The big and small bosses of the rice businesses in Jiaxing all geared up to take over the Fang Family Rice Business; for them, acquiring it would be like taking it to the next level.
After intense competition, the Fang Family Rice Business finally fell into the hands of a coalition of several rice merchants, and at the same time, the Fang Family’s luggage was packed.
Fortunately, they had a capable Third Young Master, who directly used seaplanes to pick up the Fang Family members and luggage.
Four seaplanes docked at the seaplane airport outside Jiaxing City, two loaded with luggage, two picking up people.
The entire Third Branch of the Fang Family left, and the close maids, employees, and managers who wished to follow also went along.
Before departure, relatives and friends came to see them off one after another, making the send-off lively.
Once the people and luggage were all on the planes, the four seaplanes took off one after another, heading west all the way, directly flying to Wuhan 700 kilometers away.
They landed at the Yangtze River seaplane Wuhan docking station near the Taishan Airlines land-based airport in Wuhan.
Fang Wen and Kuang Mingzhu greeted his parents and brothers on the shore.
He and his wife specially stepped forward, one supporting his father, one supporting his mother.
Fang Wen said: “Dad, I’ve arranged the place to live. You can start your new life here.”
“Where to live?” Father Fang asked.
“In Hankou, a standalone house, you can move in right away when you get there. We’ll go take a look first.”
Then, Fang Wen instructed Fang Shouxin to take the Fang Family’s maids, employees, and managers to move the luggage onto the ship, while he and his parents and brothers took the ferry to Hankou first.
The ship sailed across the wide Yangtze River surface and docked at the Hankou dock.
After disembarking, arranged cars were naturally waiting, Fang Wen and the group got in the cars and arrived in the Hankou urban area.
Just as he said, it was a standalone small Western-style building, four stories high, each floor over 200 square meters, with several rooms, perfect for the whole big family to live in.
After leading them to tour the new residence, the Fang Family employees moving the luggage also arrived by ship.
The luggage from two small trucks was all brought into the house, and everyone was amazed by this very fashionable and comfortable new environment.
Here, Fang Wen had a heart-to-heart with his parents and older brothers.
“If there’s no problem with the place to live, then settle here. For food, lodging, and travel, just say whatever you need.”
This was deliberately said by Fang Wen; he could arrange better and prepare everything in advance, but that way, his two older brothers wouldn’t accept the kindness and would think everything the younger brother provided was expected.
But if they took the initiative to make requests, it would have a sense of asking for things, which could also give his two older brothers a sense of proportion.
Just as he judged, his two older brothers eagerly spoke up.
The Eldest Young Master came over with a full smile: “Fifth Brother, with so many people in our family, travel is inconvenient. How about assigning us a car?”
The Second Young Master no longer competed with the Eldest Young Master and chimed in: “Having a car is good, but no one in our family can drive, and we didn’t need it in Jiaxing usually. If assigning a car now, it’s best to have a driver too.”
“No problem, we do need a family car, don’t worry about the driver. I’ll let Mingzhu arrange it.”
Hearing Fang Wen agree, the two wanted to make more requests.
“Fifth Brother, with no business here, food, clothing, and daily needs all cost money, and the little money from dividing the family won’t last long. How about you find us something to do?”
“Yeah, we’re in our prime youth, the time to build a career. Help your older brothers out a bit.”
The two brothers’ words made Old Master Fang somewhat moved too; just living off the old capital wouldn’t do.
He also spoke up: “Fifth Brother, they have no great talents, but they’re good at managing an existing business. Arrange something simple like a rice business for them, so they have something to do and don’t idle around all day, getting tricked by others.”
What his father said made sense. Fang Wen, with deep ties to Tou Men and Gang Leader Wang, had seen and heard many schemes. In this Republic of China era, anyone showing a bit of wealth would attract all sorts of people scheming to take it.
Thus, Fang Wen and his wife Kuang Mingzhu discussed it.
“What business to set them up with?” Fang Wen asked. His wife knew more about business; he was just focused on the aviation field.
“It has to be easy, but keep them busy all day to avoid trouble. I know what kind of business. Open a shop. As Sun Debiao said, don’t make the shop big, just open one in Hankou, enough for the two older brothers to manage.” Kuang Mingzhu replied.
Indeed, running a shop involves many things but isn’t too hectic, mainly requiring constant oversight.
After all, in this era’s business environment, there are no computer monitors or such; it emphasizes handling everything personally.
With an idea, Fang Wen explained it to his father and two older brothers. Hearing it was a retail business supplied by Taishan Airlines, similar to a rice business, they immediately agreed.
For opening a supermarket for his two older brothers, Fang Wen wouldn’t do it personally, nor would Kuang Mingzhu need to get involved; everything was handed to Sun Debiao.
Sun Debiao took it very seriously, treating it as a pilot project; if it succeeded, it could expand nationwide later.
Fang Wen didn’t interrupt Sun Debiao’s chain store dream; when things developed to a certain stage, he would naturally accept reality.
Time passed bit by bit, and before they knew it, the end of the year arrived.
On February 11, 1937, the Fang Family spent their first Spring Festival away from home in Wuhan.
Fang Wen and his wife came to the small Western-style building, and the family spent the Spring Festival together in harmony.
But during this period, North China was far from peaceful.
The northward Central Army clashed multiple times with the Northeast Army, with some Northeast Army units splitting, and the situation becoming chaotic for a time.
Wang Yizhe, bedridden with illness, was assassinated at home by officers from a faction leaning toward the Central Army.
For this, General Yang led part of the Northeast Army to withdraw from Weinan and head north, while the Central Army advanced step by step in pursuit.
The matter was finally brought under control through mediation from Yan’an.
By the fifth day of the first lunar month, the proposal for Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation finally came to the table. Although there were changes, everything was still developing in a positive direction.
After the New Year, Taishan Airlines employees who returned home for the holiday all went back to their job positions.
Under the standardized management and operational norms that Fang Wen had always demanded, Taishan Airlines was like a clockwork machine, starting its precise operations again.
Everything seemed fine, but there were always things not going as wished.
A problem arose in the north.
On the third working day after the New Year, the commercial telegraph office received an urgent telegram. The telegraph operator hurriedly ran out and knocked on the door of the general manager’s office.
Hearing the sound outside, Fang Wen looked up and stopped his work. “Come in.”
The telegraph operator pushed the door open and said urgently: “General Manager, something happened with the North China business.”
“Let me see.” Fang Wen took the telegram, and his expression changed slightly as he read the telegram message.
【The Hai River flight path was harassed by Japanese Army aircraft. One seaplane, while performing aerial evasion of Japanese fighter jets, suffered an operational error and eventually made a forced landing on the water surface. Loss assessment is in progress.】
The Hai River flight path was the first seaplane route opened by Fang Wen, and also a relatively dangerous one.
Those involved in flight and management operations were now all locals from Hebei, and they had persisted in doing it.
Plus, with Taishan Airlines Domestic Branch’s major shareholder status behind them, there had been no problems until now.
But now, the Japanese had made their move.
Anger rose in Fang Wen’s heart, but he suppressed it: “Send a telegram to the Hai River flight path management station, have them report the loss investigation immediately.”
It wasn’t until the afternoon that the telegram from the north arrived.
The situation report in the telegram message stated that the seaplane, due to non-standard evasion maneuvers, stalled, but since it was a low-speed aircraft flying along the river channel, the pilot forcibly landed on the water surface in the emergency.
Due to deviation in the landing maneuver, one side of the fuselage flipped on the water surface, the right wing broke, the aircraft landing gear floats were damaged, but fortunately the cabin’s watertight compartments were undamaged, allowing the fuselage to remain afloat.
The people in the aircraft, aside from bumps during landing, had no casualties.
Currently, personnel from the Hai River flight path management have sent a boat to pick up the passengers, and are now applying for headquarters to send mechanics for repairs.
After reading the telegram, Fang Wen arranged for mechanics from the seaplane engineering repair department to go, inspect the damaged aircraft, repair if possible, scrap if not.
After handling the accident, Fang Wen realized that the crisis awareness mobilization for Taishan Airlines should be carried out.
Just like the series of Spanish war reporting speeches in Yangon, which let the mercenary group and workers there feel the war in advance.
But the crisis awareness regarding the Japanese invading army was still insufficient in Taishan Airlines and the Taishan Volunteer Army.
Immediately, he sent notifications to all departments of Taishan Airlines, as well as to Yangon, requiring direct leaders from each department to come to Wuhan for a pre-war mobilization meeting.
February 20.
Direct managers from various departments across the country, even from abroad, gathered at Taishan Airlines Wuhan Headquarters.
These people included.
Managers of domestic airports, land-based and seaplane flight path department leaders, distribution department heads.
Two mercenary group team leaders who came from Yangon.
Supervisors of Taishan International aviation offices everywhere.
These people gathered at Taishan Airport in Wuhan, sitting in front of a temporarily set-up podium.
Fang Wen took the stage to host the opening of the meeting.
“Hello everyone, today’s meeting is about only one thing: whether we preserve ourselves wisely or step forward. My view is that with China’s internal troubles and external threats today, Taishan Airlines, as a Chinese enterprise, must have its own sense of responsibility and cannot stay aloof. We must balance doing business with patriotic awareness.”
Pausing, Fang Wen scanned below; with his current vision, he clearly saw the expressions and movements of the participants.
Most were listening attentively, but the effect wasn’t great.
Just saying this wouldn’t achieve the effect.
Fang Wen wanted these people, who had lived two years of stable days, to understand that danger was right in front of them.
He continued: “The country—without country there is no home; this is no alarmism. When foreign invaders come, they will plunder wealth and resources, taking everyone’s good things for themselves. All the beauty we have now, without national protection, is just an illusion. If you haven’t felt it much, let colleagues from the Hebei seaplane management tell you what it’s like without national protection.”
He stepped aside from the podium, and another speaker began.
This was today’s real protagonist.
The man took out his speech draft and spoke somewhat excitedly.
“Dear colleagues, hello. I’m Li Younin, a local from Hebei. First I managed a seaplane station, later promoted to do flight path management at the Haihe Seaplane Route management office. Not long ago, one of our Haihe flight path aircraft was harassed by Japanese fighter jets, nearly causing a tragedy of aircraft and crew loss. What I want to tell everyone now is how everyone in Hebei has been living these two years.”
Gradually, Li Younin got into the groove.
He recounted the situation in Hebei to the audience.
These years.
With the failure of the Great Wall Campaign and the signing of the Tanggu Agreement, Hebei became a demilitarized zone.
But this demilitarization was for the National Government army; Japanese Army aircraft came and went as they pleased, Japanese military attachés stationed in major Hebei cities, surveilling local situations while recruiting traitorous running dogs.
Under their series of actions, traitorous running dogs who surrendered to the Japanese became powerful figures, even gathering people with Japanese-side funded weapons and equipment to form puppet armies and act tyrannically.
It could be said that the Japanese plan for North China was still proceeding under the National Government’s inaction.
But not everyone was willing to be Japanese running dog traitors; more people were resisting.
Across the North China land, people trying to turn things around made all sorts of efforts.
Even their resistance was no less than that of the volunteer armies in the Northeast.
Li Younin spoke more and more excitedly, revealing the unknown North China to everyone.
The North China abandoned by the National Government never lacked hot-blooded people.
But in these two years, multiple anti-Japanese uprisings all failed.
Some were suppressed by traitors and Japanese-nurtured forces.
Others grew large, the Japanese couldn’t suppress them, but ultimately were stifled by the National Government in the name of maintaining order, in league with the Japanese side.
His speech showed the audience a cruel reality: there was no peace at all; the Japanese Army occupying the Northeast had always been eyeing more Chinese territory, and Hebei was an example.
And with Hebei like this, once the Japanese Army advanced south, could other places stay aloof?
The speech profoundly impacted everyone, leaving participants deep in thought.
Then Fang Wen took the microphone.
He said meaningfully:
“A territory without national protection is being nibbled away bit by bit, and the struggling North China people are powerless against the traitors and puppet armies backed by Japan. This is everything I want you to see and know. With country there is home, but if those in power do nothing, as members of China, we ourselves cannot give up. Take the Haihe flight path incident: if the National Government can’t dispatch air force to protect our Taishan Airlines aircraft, then I decide to establish the Taishan Airlines Escort Team to patrol the North China skies and protect our own planes.”
The audience immediately erupted in warm applause; Taishan Airlines’ own aerial escort team was too exciting.
But could such a commercialized military escort team really fly in North China skies?
Everyone didn’t know how the general manager would operate it, all waiting in anticipation.
Fang Wen, however, piloted a plane alone to Nanjing Airport to find Quan Yuncai.
The major shareholder of Taishan Airlines Domestic Branch was nominally Quan Yuncai, but he was just White Gloves; the person behind was surnamed Chen, and this matter needed the Chen family to give an explanation.
