Chapter 308: Pressurized Cabin Shows Promise, Critical Intelligence From Tokyo, Fang Wen’s Military Action Plan
A telegram came from the United States.
The pressurized cabin matter has been settled.
According to what Neil Toledo said, Boeing Company invested a large amount of funds in researching better airplanes due to the hot sales of the Boeing 247 model.
They designated this model as Boeing 307, expected to conduct a test flight next year.
The Boeing 307 is different from existing airplanes. To make flights faster without affecting the pilot and passengers, Boeing’s researchers adopted a new technology.
This technology is exactly the pressurized cabin technology that Fang Wen wants.
Subsequently, the telegram also transmitted an introduction to this technology.
Fang Wen read the technical description.
Following the research approach of Boeing Laboratory, they added a supercharging system to the aircraft engine. The air intake from the aircraft engine compressor is used to pressurize the cabin. The engine draws in thin air from high altitudes outside, compresses it, processes it through air conditioning, and discharges it into the cabin.
The supercharging system continuously pumps fresh external air into the fuselage, controls the outflow valve to regulate internal cabin pressure and achieve air circulation.
At the same time, the supercharging system has a pressure control device that automatically sets the cabin air pressure based on the airplane’s altitude, keeping the pressure difference between inside and outside within a certain range.
This design has similar equipment in the Shui Yun No. 1 manufactured by Fang Wen.
But in comparison, Fang Wen’s design is much cruder, merely combining the engine air-cooled intake and exhaust pipe network with a water cooling device to create airflow heat exchange that ensures temperature inside the field.
Whereas Boeing’s design has a complete pressurization modification, even capable of changing the air pressure inside the airplane cabin.
This is exactly what Fang Wen wants.
If the pressurized cabin is used in fighter jets, during high-difficulty flights, the pilot will no longer be affected by that pressure environment.
Therefore, Fang Wen must obtain this technology. His Taishan Aviation Team values quality over quantity and can only reduce risks with better technology.
Immediately, Fang Wen sent a telegram back instructing Zhao Jiu to take full responsibility for this matter.
Zhao Jiu will urge Neil Toledo to obtain the pressurized cabin technology from Boeing Company’s laboratory.
It is expected to take one or two months, after all, the laboratory has not yet produced perfected results.
Moreover, even if the technology is obtained, the corresponding modifications will require additional special equipment, which cannot be done in a short time.
Fang Wen temporarily set this matter aside and continued his defense work at Jianqiao Airport.
As an outsider, during this period, through his impressive battle record, he gained the admiration of the airport staff and officers and soldiers, so the various matters he instructed were carried out without anyone causing trouble, and everything went smoothly.
There are also civilians from Hangzhou City who come to the airport gate from time to time, bringing various gifts to comfort this air force unit guarding Hangzhou.
This is what Fang Wen and the others exchanged for their heroic air combat against Japanese Army airplanes.
In such an atmosphere, over the next few days, Hangzhou surprisingly did not suffer any more air raids, which was a situation where everyone was happy.
But Fang Wen knows that all this is just a short calm before the storm, and a more violent storm will come.
Specifically how the Japanese Navy will attack Shanghai next, and whether they will land from Hangzhou Bay as in Fang Wen’s cognition, Fang Wen does not dare to confirm solely based on future memory.
He needs corroboration, so Yoshida, the chess piece in Japan, will play a greater role.
August, Kure City Naval District in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.
The inspection and modification of the Kirishima Battleship is still ongoing, but as the accompanying staff officer of the Kirishima Battleship, Yoshida has recently been promoted.
Just as Nagano Shuu told him before, everything has been arranged, this is just a process.
Now, he has received a transfer order from Naval Headquarters and will go to the Naval Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of the Navy.
The Ministry of the Navy is the administrative management department of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the Naval Affairs Bureau within it is responsible for military equipment, general military administration, organization of ships and troops, duties, exercises, inspections, general military supplies, and other affairs, belonging to the real power in the administrative department.
This is the reward for Yoshida rescuing the prime minister, and also the result of being valued by Nagano Shuu.
For this reason, before departure, Yoshida specifically visited Nagano Shuu.
In Nagano Shuu’s study room, Yoshida knelt and sat, sincerely saying: “Admiral, you are my benefactor and mentor, please take care of me in the future. This time I am leaving for Tokyo, do you have any instructions?”
This is Yoshida actively stating his position, that he will belong to Nagano Shuu’s faction in the future.
Nagano Shuu is very satisfied with this. He already regards Yoshida, who has gone through life and death with him and has the grace of saving the former prime minister, as one of his own.
After a patient explanation, Nagano Shuu explained the situation at the Ministry of the Navy, the friends to visit, and various precautions to Yoshida.
These things may seem casually mentioned, but they are heartfelt words from someone of Nagano Shuu’s level, extremely important for Yoshida who is new to the Ministry of the Navy.
After listening carefully, Yoshida bowed and left Nagano Shuu’s home.
Then, he returned to his residence to pack his luggage.
The three hundred thousand US dollars brought from home, some clothing and daily necessities, and that small telegraph machine.
He placed the telegraph machine in the interlayer of the box, put three hundred thousand US dollar banknotes outside the interlayer, then covered with clothing. After packing his luggage, Yoshida set off for the naval port.
There is a warship going to Tokyo. Yoshida showed the transfer order to the familiar captain and boarded the ship amid congratulations.
The warship took 2 days to arrive at Tokyo Port. Upon disembarking from the warship, Yoshida went straight to the Ministry of the Navy to report.
Everything has been arranged. After visiting the predecessors and colleagues introduced by Nagano Shuu, he took over the connections cultivated by Nagano Shuu and officially settled in the Naval Affairs Bureau.
The work at the Naval Affairs Bureau is tedious. The job Yoshida received is to handle general military supplies.
The so-called general military supplies involve procuring daily necessities for various fleets, such as military uniforms, clothing, and bulk common procurement items. These supplies are all managed by the Ministry of the Navy for approval and distribution.
It is also the job with the most oil and water in the Naval Affairs Bureau, dealing with various suppliers every day.
Of course, Yoshida cannot take too many benefits from it. His position here is only to protect the interests of Nagano Shuu’s faction from infringement.
This comfortable work environment almost made Yoshida lose his ambition.
Until his father arrived.
Yoshida’s father, who also entered the House of Peers and obtained a position, sternly lectured his son, urging him to have grand ambitions and bring glory to the family.
After seeing off his father, Yoshida couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
Everything he has now, and his father’s changes, are all due to the planning by that mysterious Chinese mastermind behind the scenes.
To get him into this position, he even arranged for bombers to bomb Tokyo.
He also kidnapped Nagano Shuu, allowing him to rescue the former prime minister under the guise of bombing, paving the way for his promotion.
All this is to make him continuously provide powerful intelligence on the navy.
Yoshida sighed. He is already tightly bound to the other party, those secrets are destined to never be spoken, and he can only comply with any demands.
At 8:30 in the evening, he habitually got up to close the doors and windows, secretly observed the outside situation, and after confirming no issues, took out the hidden telegraph machine, put on headphones, and listened to the telegram on the special frequency.
Today, a telegram was sent.
He recorded and translated it; it requested information on the navy’s recent strategic deployment.
This made Yoshida worry. This kind of intelligence has little to do with him; only navy executives can access it.
He can only look for opportunities in daily work to see if he can access it.
The next day, he went to work as usual, chatted with a supplier for a morning, and received some gifts from the other party.
In the afternoon, the head of Naval Affairs Bureau suddenly announced.
“The Chief of Staff will come to inspect the Ministry of the Navy. Everyone prepare.”
The officers of the Naval Affairs Bureau responded in agreement.
But Yoshida had different thoughts. The Chief of Staff is imperial family nobility and rarely comes here.
He probably is not here specifically for inspection, but to attend a very important meeting.
For this, Yoshida paid attention and inquired about this information, and got the desired news from an acquainted officer.
The Chief of Staff came here to hold a military-political conference.
And to handle the military-political conference, a stenographer needs to be drawn from the officers of the Ministry of the Navy.
No one wants this temporary job, because if it’s an important meeting and there is an error in recording the content, it would be dereliction of duty.
But Yoshida had no such worries. Posing as a newly joined, ambitious navy officer, he actively accepted the stenographer job.
Subsequently, the navy military-political conference was held, and he meticulously recorded the meeting content.
After the meeting ended, the head of Naval Affairs Bureau specifically required him to organize the shorthand notes before submitting.
Yoshida, who worked until seven o’clock before getting off work, returned home and immediately took out the telegraph machine, compiled the content memorized in his mind into a telegram message, and sent it out.
Jianqiao Airport in Hangzhou, at night.
At this time every day, Fang Wen would use the telegraph to contact Taishan Airlines Headquarters, Jinan Airport, and other places to understand the situation.
It usually takes about an hour, which is also his simulation of future online office mode in this era.
And at a fixed time, he would also tune to a specific frequency to see if there is a telegram from Yoshida.
The radio waves made Fang Wen perk up; he was very much looking forward to the intelligence from Yoshida.
After translating the long telegram, he looked at the translated telegram message.
【The Chief of Staff came to the Ministry of the Navy to hold a military-political conference. The meeting mentioned the Shanghai and Nanjing strategy, with an attached overview of military geography near Shanghai and Nanjing.】
【According to the Shanghai Expeditionary Force operation key points mentioned by the Chief of Staff《, the main force of the 11th Division will land near Liuhe Town, the 3rd Division and Expeditionary Force direct troops will land near Wusong, followed by the 16th Division, 13th Division, 9th Division, and 101st Division transported by warships and other ships to Shanghai.】
【Additionally, it mentioned the northern warfare situation, where the Chinese Army is stubbornly resisting at Nankou south of Beiping, multiple attacks have failed, and the army side requests to send 3 more divisions to North China for combat.】
After reading the telegram message, Fang Wen immediately unfolded the map and drew the strategic deployment described in the telegram message on it.
Looking at the map, Fang Wen understood the Japanese Army’s strategic intentions; they are going all out to attack Shanghai.
But there is a major problem here: they are coming on troop transport ships and warships. If subjected to bombing by the Chinese Air Force, could it stop this action and even cause major losses to the Japanese Army?
The massive air raid action he conceived in his mind, if successful, might even change history.
For this, Fang Wen became emotionally agitated, got up and paced back and forth in the room, then drafted a military action plan.
After completing this plan, Fang Wen took a deep breath and forcibly calmed his emotions.
Whether it can succeed still depends on how Nanjing decides.
First, this military action plan needs to be sent to the Military Commission in Nanjing for review.
Currently, Captain Gao is in charge of Nanjing’s air defense command; he has a say, hoping for a good result.
Sleepless all night, early the next morning, Fang Wen instructed his subordinates to handle Hangzhou’s air patrol and defense, then flew the Shrike Hao to Nanjing.
In just over an hour, he arrived in Nanjing. After the airplane landed, Fang Wen immediately talked to the airport personnel and inquired about Captain Gao’s location.
After finding out the location, Fang Wen went to Captain Gao’s command post at the airport.
There, it was a scene of clamor, with several officers arguing loudly.
Captain Gao remained silent on the side, neither stopping nor participating.
He saw Fang Wen arrive, was a bit surprised, and got up to greet him.
“Regimental Commander Fang, why are you here?”
“I have something to discuss with you.” Fang Wen replied.
Captain Gao interrupted: “Gentlemen, this is Taishan Independent Regiment Commander Fang Wen, also the boss of Taishan Airlines. The day before yesterday, he fought 20 enemy aircraft with 4 airplanes, shot down two enemy fighter jets and 2 bombers, and also prevented the bombing, successfully guarding Hangzhou.”
The arguing stopped, and those few also came over, chatting with Fang Wen with full smiles.
After exchanging pleasantries with these people, Fang Wen found an excuse and went out of the command headquarters with Captain Gao to talk alone.
Fang Wen looked at Captain Gao somewhat annoyed.
“You’re using me as a shield, right.”
Captain Gao sighed: “Yes, these people are harder to manage than my soldiers. They fight over things during battles, fight over merits, and even argue half a day over distributing supplies. I have no way to deal with them. To achieve sincere unity against the Japanese, I can only let them make noise.”
It seems his role as air combat commander is not easy.
Fang Wen did not comfort him, but took out a map and his action plan.
“Don’t think about those. I have something more important to discuss with you. Look at this.”
“What is this?”
“Japanese Army Shanghai strategy map.”
“What? You actually got this thing? Real or fake?”
Captain Gao carefully looked at the map, then picked up the action plan to read. Inside, to avoid exposing Yoshida, Fang Wen did not specify which divisions were on the exact troop transport lines.
But even so, it was very impressive.
Captain Gao couldn’t help reading aloud:
“The Japanese Army relies on the navy’s strength, and we Chinese have no power to contend with them on the sea surface. Thus, the plan is to send a large number of troops to Shanghai at once, all on temporarily modified troop transport ships, escorted by the navy fleet. In recent days, our air force has fought bravely, demonstrating combat capability not inferior to the Japanese Army. If we can concentrate our advantages, unite the various teams into one, and conduct cluster bombing on the Japanese Army’s maritime troop transport lines, there will surely be major battle results. At least it can hinder the Japanese Army’s pace of attacking Shanghai; at most, it can cause major losses to the Japanese Army and perhaps become a turning point in the war.”
After reading the action plan, Captain Gao looked at Fang Wen with a complicated expression.
“Regimental Commander Fang, if this plan succeeds, it will be a great fortune for China, avoiding countless civilians from the flames of war.”
At this point, Captain Gao sighed again: “Unfortunately, this matter is destined not to succeed. Did you see that scene just now? That was just a daily trivial matter among the various aviation teams. To put it grandly, your plan wants to use all the elite air force power of the Republic of China Government to fight to the death with the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force in the East China Sea. The higher-ups definitely won’t agree.”
Hearing Captain Gao say this, the excitement in Fang Wen’s heart also faded.
Although the plan is very inspiring, reality is complex. What Captain Gao said is possible, but if he doesn’t try, there is no hope at all.
He solemnly stared at Captain Gao: “I plan to go to the Military Commission. Are you willing to go with me?”
After hesitating, Captain Gao nodded: “I have the most persuasive power on this matter. The officers at the Military Commission will definitely want to know my opinion. Even if the hope is slim, I am willing to help you.”
At this moment, Captain Gao became the strongest supporter of Fang Wen’s action plan. Regardless of success or failure, both are willing to give it a try.
The two got into a military vehicle, left the airport, and headed to the city of Nanjing.
