Chapter 303: Tank Company Heads North After 302, Capturing Japanese Agents, Air Support In The Battle Of Songhu
The northward journey of the Mount Tai Pine Tank started from Changde, with muddy roads along the way. The 20-ton behemoth was not fast, but its off-road capability was very strong.
However, northern Hunan had many rivers, and there were not many bridges that could be crossed.
In the end, they chose to take the water route from Yuanjiang to the Yangtze River.
This kind of thing was handled by people from Taishan Airlines.
There were not many cargo ships on the Yangtze River that could carry two tanks; only those with such capacity were Swire, China Merchants Bureau, and the Japanese Trading Company.
At this time, the Japanese Trading Company was resisted by many parties, so naturally their ships would not be used.
Shopkeeper Liu and Sun Debiao contacted Swire Cargo Ship Company and China Merchants Bureau.
In the end, it was decided to use Swire’s Wan County ship, with a cargo capacity of 540 tons, which could navigate the Yuanjiang waterway system.
The only trouble was loading the tanks onto the ship; the hull had no dedicated parking space for large vehicles, nor a method to board the ship.
In the past, when they loaded cargo onto ships, they either carried it by manpower or hoisted it with pulleys; they had never handled a 20-ton whole cargo.
Fortunately, the tank company had countermeasures; they took the steel plates used for crossing trenches and small rivers off the trucks and built a temporary boarding passage.
After the two tanks drove onto the Wan County, the captain said the rear was heavily loaded, so many sandbags were added to the front of the ship hull.
This solved the transportation of the tanks by water route.
（Wan County）
The cargo ship went from Yuanjiang to Dongting Lake, then entered the Yangtze River and arrived in Wuhan.
After arriving in Wuhan, they switched to land route; the tanks traveled on the Hubei Great Plain, heading north all the way.
This route was through the densely populated land of fish and rice, with villagers watching along the way, and local government officials sending people to inspect.
The transfer order in the tank company’s hands became the best proof of passage; government officials along the way knew this was a unit heading north to resist Japan and actively saw them off.
Thus, the tank company passed through Xiaogan, Suizhou, and Xinyang.
At Xinyang, they crossed the Huai River; the tank company went east to Fuyang County Town, where there was Taishan Airport, and they could rest and refit.
Afterward, the tank company continued to set off, continuing north.
By now, they had reached the Central Plains region, passing through Fuyang, Haozhou, Shangqiu, Jining, Tai’an, and finally arriving in Jinan City.
This journey took about 10 days.
（Sherman medium tank, a tank built by the United States during World War II using an aircraft engine, massively delivered to the battlefield. Because it used an aircraft engine, it was very large, as tall as a building.）
（Prototype of the Taishan Pine medium tank）
At Jinan Airport, besides the tank company, the entire Taishan Independent Regiment had assembled.
They were intensively drilling and integrating.
Fang Wen also formally determined the officer system and company structure of the Independent Regiment.
According to the new structure, he specially convened an officers’ meeting.
The Independent Regiment was divided into three battalions: Aviation Battalion One, Aviation Battalion Two, and Ground Combat Battalion.
Fang Wen was the Regiment Commander of the Independent Regiment, also managing Aviation Battalion One, which was the former Taishan Elite Aviation Team.
Aviation Battalion Two was mainly gunships.
For the Battalion Commander position, Fang Wen decided to appoint Pan Jiafeng.
This arrangement was also specially considered by Fang Wen.
Pan Jiafeng originally managed the entire seaplane route and was not unfamiliar with gunships, with solid technology.
But as a newcomer, he was not familiar with the situation of Aviation Battalion Two, so Zhou Pomen was appointed Deputy Battalion Commander to manage together.
The Battalion Commander of the Ground Combat Battalion was given to Wu Yingzong.
Among them, Reinforced 1st Company, 200 foreign mercenary group soldiers, Company Commander Liu Yu Bao.
Reinforced 2nd Company, 200 domestic mercenaries, Company Commander Qian Yinxing.
Western Hunan Company, 100 people, Company Commander William.
Tank Company, 50 people, Company Commander was an engineer promoted from the aircraft manufacturing plant who was determined to join the war, Qi Zhihao.
There was also the sanitation team; because there were female nurses, it was given to Zhao Wanping to be Captain.
With this arrangement, the officer system of the Taishan Independent Regiment was established, and future combat would operate under this system.
Now, every day, each battalion and company were training to maintain condition and await the time to fight.
The matter of the Taishan Independent Regiment stationed at the airport could not escape the eyes of Japanese spies; to prevent the Japanese side from learning more through these eyes, it was time to close the net.
For this, he discussed with Wu Yingzong.
The two came to the Airport Command Center.
Wu Yingzong explained the situation.
“Currently, we have identified 11 targets, 8 of whom are lower-level, distributed outside the airport disguised as various identities. There are 3 upper-level ones.”
“Those 3 are the action leaders?” Fang Wen asked.
“No, we surveilled around their residences and found no anomalies. I suspect they have a higher-level leader, who manages the radio station and sends telegrams to the Tianjin direction to report the situation.”
“That means, as long as we find the radio station’s location, we can catch the entire spy organization lurking outside the airport in one net.”
“Exactly, I communicated with the intelligence station in Shanghai; telegrams are very important to these intelligence personnel, and they keep them with the most important person to avoid discovery.”
At this point in the conversation, Fang Wen understood that the most important thing was to find the radio station.
Currently, equipment for monitoring telegrams was not yet perfected in various countries.
Fang Wen knew a bit about it, from when he trained the Special Action Team; that retired intelligence officer from MI6 had explained it.
In the British intelligence institution, there was a secret department called Naval Intelligence Department Room 40（Room40）.
It was already responsible for radio interception and code deciphering work.
That was a department established during World War I; at that time, the technology was not perfected and could not monitor and decipher encrypted telegrams.
But through exchanges with him, Fang Wen understood that it was not impossible to achieve.
For this, when manufacturing airplanes in Yangon, he had discussed and researched this issue with vacuum tube expert Bai Zeshan.
The two tinkered with a device that could monitor radio wave signals and determine the exact location by the strength of the radio waves.
He went to the warehouse, retrieved the equipment, and explained to Wu Yingzong how to operate it.
“This equipment is not precise and requires multi-directional monitoring to confirm. After our experiments, we found that the three-point positioning method is the best way.”
“What is the three-point positioning method?” Wu Yingzong asked curiously; the General Manager was too amazing, having prepared such a powerful anti-spy method in advance.
Fang Wen explained.
The so-called three-point positioning method first requires determining a general suspected area.
For example, a large area outside the airport.
Then set up at least three monitoring points around this area, each equipped with a receiving antenna.
When the receiving antenna is in a straight line with the opponent’s transmitting antenna, the signal strength is maximum, and the alarm sound fed back by the monitoring equipment is the highest.
The monitoring personnel draw a straight line from the listening point toward the estimated radio station direction.
The intersection of the three lines is the radio station’s location.
Hearing Fang Wen’s explanation, though not fully understanding, Wu Yingzong already felt victory was in hand.
He immediately found the personnel responsible for the Japanese spy actions and learned to use the monitoring equipment with Fang Wen.
Fortunately, this equipment was designed for practicality and was not complex; only determining direction and drawing lines on the map needed special explanation and learning.
After being taught by Fang Wen, they immediately launched the action.
According to Wu Yingzong’s judgment, the suspected target was in the northern area outside the airport.
That was the most prosperous place, with many residents, easy to hide.
More importantly, all three upper-level ones had appeared there before.
Originally, without means and unable to search casually, now with a new method, they immediately proceeded.
Three teams set up in three different directions outside this area, then turned on the radio monitoring equipment for 24-hour uninterrupted monitoring.
Time passed bit by bit, and the equipment showed no feedback.
Waiting like this seemed too passive.
At this time, news came from outside the city that the tank company had finally arrived in Jinan.
The nearly 3-meter-tall Mount Tai Pine Tank had an excellent appearance, attracting citizens of Jinan City to line the streets to watch; even the National Army stationed in Jinan sent people to see.
The only drawback was that the gun barrel was too short.
Although the muzzle was relatively thick, the short gun barrel gave the impression of not much power.
It was precisely the appearance of the tank company that alerted the Japanese agents; they immediately reported the situation to their upper-level, who then came again to that suspected area.
Then, the long-awaited radio waves finally appeared.
The three monitoring teams immediately determined the approximate location and distance based on signal strength.
They each drew a vertical line of their judgment and handed them to Fang Wen.
The intersection of the three vertical lines was in the southwest corner.
It seemed the Japanese agents’ radio station was hidden there.
Immediately, the Taishan Independent Regiment arranged a net-closing arrest operation.
All parties were on standby, waiting to find the radio station and catch the person in charge before closing the net entirely.
Wu Yingzong personally led more than a dozen action personnel proficient in close combat killing to the southwest corner.
Fang Wen also went along.
With him there, he could more accurately pinpoint the radio station’s precise location.
In this area, Fang Wen turned on the monitoring equipment.
The opponent was still sending telegrams.
In mechanical perception state, Fang Wen sensed the radio waves more clearly.
Straight ahead, it was a two-story small building; the first floor sold fried dough sticks and pancakes, probably lurking in a room on the second floor.
He told the situation to Wu Yingzong.
Immediately, Wu Yingzong and the action group members discussed how to arrest.
One of them changed into a ragged cotton-padded jacket.
Holding a rattle, he walked on the street shouting:
“Hey—come on, come on, collecting rags! Got scrap copper, rotten iron, old books, waste paper, old furniture, bring ’em out for cash! Whether it’s old stuff at home or junk piled in the yard, I’ll take it! Takes up space at home, better swap for some money to spend, so handy! Quick, if you’ve got stuff to sell, bring it out, I’m waiting!”
Shouting, he arrived under the target building.
The others quietly occupied surrounding buildings and alleyways, ambushing in blind spots out of the opponent’s sight.
The shouting started again; that action personnel was providing cover for the operation.
Along the wall, a group quietly went upstairs, then suddenly broke through the door.
In the room, a man was wearing headphones using a hand-cranked telegraph machine to send telegrams, completely unprepared to be discovered.
While he was still in shock, he was already subdued on the ground.
But there was another in the inner room.
That person suddenly lunged outward and jumped out the window downstairs.
But where he landed, action group members were already waiting and caught him directly.
With the two captured, arrests in other places also began immediately.
All known Japanese agents lurking outside the airport were caught in one net.
These people were brought into the airport.
For them, the Independent Regiment showed no mercy and directly interrogated them.
Under a round of physical torture, this group of Japanese agents did not show much toughness.
Soon this group confessed.
They were sent by the Japan North China Garrison Army Headquarters.
Two commanders, one affiliated with the Army, the other an officer of the Second Air Group.
These two were very cunning, never exposing their identities, and additionally arranged 3 intermediaries and eyes for contact; even meetings with intermediaries were held elsewhere.
Even so, they were still caught, which the two could not figure out.
Of course, this secret they would never know until death.
With the Japanese agents captured, security at Jinan Airport was enhanced.
The arrival of ground troops meant better blocking of the Japanese Army in the Central Plains region in the future.
Of course, the Taishan Independent Regiment needed to contact various armies in the Central Plains region for better cooperation in combat.
But currently, the stalemated situation in Shanghai suddenly deteriorated.
Telegram from Zhoujiakou Airport.
The Tianjin Detachment, originally prepared to continue supporting the North China region, suddenly received orders to support Shanghai.
The cause was that the Imperial Japanese Navy suddenly launched bombing of Pudong, South City, airport, and other places.
After Captain Gao and others joined the battle, Taishan Aviation Team also received orders to assist Shanghai.
【Shanghai military situation urgent, Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force repeatedly harassing and bombing, intimidating civilians. Hope Taishan Aviation Team joins Fourth Air Group to intercept Japanese Army bombing formation.】
【Please arrive at Jianqiao Airport quickly to station and cooperate in action.】
Looking at the order.
Fang Wen realized that the Battle of Songhu was about to begin.
Compared to the North China warfare, for the National Government, the Battle of Songhu was more important to them.
After all, if Shanghai fell, Nanjing would be in peril.
Fang Wen did not want to see Nanjing’s tragedy repeated; unable to attend to both sides, he left Qi Baoqian, Deng Zhongyu, Rao Minghe, and Fan Bosheng to guard Jinan Airport, to assist requests within capacity, not to advance rashly, not to seek merit.
He himself took Du Jiahua, Shao Deqing, and Zhai Xiaojun to fly south to aid the battle.
4 airplanes immediately took off from Jinan toward Hangzhou.
En route, Fang Wen observed the Shanghai situation; the outer sea was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Navy fleet, but on the Huangpu River surface, many ships were deliberately sunk to block Japanese warships from entering.
As for large-scale ground warfare, it had not yet started.
Subsequently, the 4 airplanes arrived at Hangzhou Jianqiao Airport, the site of the National Government’s Central Flight School.
After parking the airplanes, Fang Wen and his group got off and handed over with the officers at Jianqiao Airport.
The one who came actively extended his hand to shake Fang Wen’s, speaking cordially.
“General Manager Fang, long time no see, do you remember me?”
He was the air force officer who organized the bombing of Izumo back then; several years later, he had entered middle age.
Fang Wen smiled: “Of course I remember; five years have passed, and we are cooperating again against the Japanese.”
“Yes, time flies; come, I’ll take you to meet the others. Action may start tomorrow, need everyone to integrate and familiarize quickly.”
Immediately, Fang Wen and the 3 Taishan Airlines pilots followed him to the office building.
There, they met all the pilots of the Fourth Air Group.
Captain Gao was very happy that Fang Wen could join this joint operation and greatly praised Fang Wen’s technical abilities.
Afterward, everyone discussed how to conduct air interception in Shanghai.
This was not an easy task.
The Imperial Japanese Navy’s aviators were superior to the Army’s, and it would likely be a tough battle.
The meeting was ongoing when suddenly the alarm sounded.
The door was suddenly pushed open.
An officer shouted: “Telegram early warning from the coastal observation station, saying a formation of Japanese Army airplanes is flying toward the airport.”
“Perfect timing, let’s go.”
Captain Gao said, looking at Fang Wen with high fighting spirit in his eyes.
Fang Wen smiled and stepped out together.
They were about to start the first battle of the Songhu air combat.
