Chapter 200: “air Corridor” Plan
After a hearty and exhilarating “ball game,” Su Yaoyang felt completely relaxed, as if the fatigue from the past few days had been swept away, and his spirits became exceptionally high.
He simply tidied up his disheveled military uniform, then left the study filled with an amorous atmosphere in high spirits, went out the door, got into the jeep waiting at the entrance, and arrived at the headquarters of the Shanxi Militia in the northern part of the city under the escort of Xu Dapeng and dozens of guards.
The headquarters was set in a large courtyard that, after several months of modifications, already had basic military command functions.
In the courtyard, communications staff hurried back and forth with files in their arms, while operations staff busily worked in various rooms, creating a tense yet orderly atmosphere.
As soon as Su Yaoyang stepped into the operations room of the headquarters, he was about to greet Pi Ruoyu, who was buried in work at his desk, when he saw a figure anxiously pacing at the door, occasionally peering outside—it was his tank battalion commander, John.
Upon seeing Su Yaoyang, a complex expression of surprise and anxiety immediately appeared on John’s typical Western face, and he almost trotted over, blurting out in slightly stiff but very fluent Chinese:
“Boss… Boss! Good news… tremendous good news! Also a tremendous problem!”
John’s voice was somewhat loud due to excitement, and his grammatically flawed sentence also drew curious glances from the surrounding staff.
Seeing John’s impatient demeanor, Su Yaoyang’s heart stirred, knowing that something important must have happened.
He patted John’s shoulder, signaling him to calm down, then led him to a relatively secluded small reception room inside the operations room.
“John… you’re a major now, stay calm when something comes up, don’t rush, take your time—what happened?” Su Yaoyang gestured for John to sit, then pulled over a chair and sat down himself.
John took a deep breath, trying to calm his excitement, but the thrilled look on his face was still hard to conceal: “Boss… do you remember a while ago when I mentioned to you that I asked my friends in America to help recruit some experienced pilots and ground crew?”
Su Yaoyang nodded: “Of course I remember, what’s up… any news?”
He felt a faint anticipation in his heart. In this era, having one’s own air force, even if just a few reconnaissance or transport planes, had self-evident strategic significance.
“More than just news! They’ve already arrived!”
Perhaps due to excitement, John’s voice rose a few notches: “My friend just sent me a telegram through secret channels—they’ve successfully arrived in Hong Kong!”
“Oh? That’s great!” Su Yaoyang perked up upon hearing this; it truly was tremendous good news.
But John’s expression immediately fell, his brows furrowed in distress: “But Boss, the biggest problem now is how to safely bring them from Hong Kong to us.
You know, today’s China… is full of war and chaos everywhere. If they go by land from south to north, over thousands of miles, how many checkpoints, bandits, and stray soldiers would they pass?
That’s too dangerous! If something happens on the road and they’re all captured, we’d have nowhere to cry!”
Su Yaoyang’s brows furrowed as well.
John was right; the risks of land transport were indeed too great, especially for such a large group of foreigners, who would be too conspicuous and easily attract attention from all sides.
“How many people came? What’s the specific personnel makeup?” Su Yaoyang asked gravely, beginning to think of solutions.
John immediately replied: “According to the telegram, a total of 127 people.
Among them, forty experienced pilots, most of whom participated in the Spanish Civil War or have flight experience elsewhere.
Plus over fifty ground crew, including aircraft mechanics, radio operators, navigators, etc., all skilled technicians.
Additionally, over thirty… are my old comrades from the tank unit back then. They heard I’m fighting the Japanese here and are willing to come help—experienced veterans who can bolster our tank battalion or serve as instructors.”
Listening to the numbers and personnel makeup John reported, Su Yaoyang’s eyes grew brighter.
Forty pilots! Over fifty ground crew! This could almost directly form the core backbone of a small air force! Plus over thirty experienced tank veterans—a valuable asset for the newly formed tank battalion.
He stood up and paced a few steps in the small reception room, his mind racing. Land route won’t work, so only air or sea then inland. But sea route also faces blockades and inspections, and still needs to go deep inland.
“Since they’re pilots, why don’t we have them fly here themselves?” Su Yaoyang suddenly stopped, a bold gleam in his eyes.
John was stunned: “Fly here themselves? Boss, you mean…”
Su Yaoyang’s lips curved into a smile: “I mean, since land route is unsafe, let’s go big!
John, immediately find a way to contact your friend in Hong Kong, have them help rent or buy two or three large transport planes or airliners in Hong Kong.
Then, have our pilots and ground crew, along with those tank veterans, take off directly from Hong Kong, destination… Wuta County!”
“Direct flight from Hong Kong to Wuta County?” John was dumbfounded by Su Yaoyang’s bold idea. “But Boss, we don’t have an airport in Wuta County! How will the planes land?”
“No airport? Then we’ll build one!”
Su Yaoyang stated firmly, his tone brooking no doubt: “Immediately call in Chief of Staff Pi Ruoyu and the heads of relevant departments! We’re holding a meeting right now to study the feasibility of building a simple airport near Wuta County!
Time must be fast, the runway must meet transport plane takeoff and landing requirements! We must build the airport before they arrive!”
This plan was undoubtedly crazy and risky. Building an airport in an enemy rear base area, and guiding planes on a thousands-of-kilometers cross-region flight and landing—any glitch in any link could lead to catastrophic consequences.
But Su Yaoyang knew that these professional technicians were invaluable to his troops. Taking some risks to get them was completely worth it.
Soon, Militia Chief of Staff Pi Ruoyu, along with the heads of engineering, logistics, communications, and other departments, were summoned to the operations room. When Su Yaoyang laid out his plan, gasps filled the room.
Pi Ruoyu, Su Yaoyang’s right-hand man and most trusted chief of staff, adjusted his glasses and said thoughtfully: “Commander, this plan… is feasible, but extremely difficult.
First, building a runway for transport planes requires huge engineering volume and technical demands; we lack professional airport construction experience and equipment.
Second, the route from Hong Kong to Wuta is long, potentially passing through Japanese-occupied or other controlled airspace, making navigation and communications major issues. Finally, ensuring the planes accurately find this small place Wuta County and land safely requires meticulous planning.”
John added: “Yes, Commander, Chief of Staff Pi is right. Plus, we need to consider fuel resupply, ground guidance, secrecy, and a series of other issues.”
Su Yaoyang nodded, knowing the plan’s difficulties. But looking at everyone, he said firmly: “There are difficulties, but solutions outnumber them!
For engineering, we can mobilize the engineer battalion and locals—many hands make light work!
Technical issues, we can learn on the job, simplify standards, as long as basic takeoff and landing safety is ensured.
For route and navigation, have those experienced pilots plan ahead, fly at night or in bad weather to avoid detection.
For ground guidance, set up temporary radio beacons, or obvious ground markers in the landing area. As for secrecy, that’s paramount—all involved personnel must strictly keep it confidential!”
Next, Su Yaoyang, Pi Ruoyu, John, and other department heads engaged in heated discussion and detailed deliberation around this bold “air corridor” plan.
They spread out maps, carefully studied terrain, selected preliminary airport sites; calculated workloads, assigned tasks; discussed communication methods, formulated contingency plans…
After hours of repeated deliberation and refinement, a preliminary plan framework was finally set.
They decided to urgently build a temporary dirt runway about 1,500 meters long and 50 meters wide in a relatively flat and open river valley about ten kilometers east of Wuta County town.
Meanwhile, John was responsible for contacting the Hong Kong side to finalize plane and personnel preparations. Pi Ruoyu was in charge of coordinating airport construction and ground reception.
The benefits of absolute authority were evident now; as the creator and controller of the Shanxi Militia, at least within Wuta and the newly occupied Dingxiang counties, Su Yaoyang’s word was law.
With a single order, the Shanxi Militia issued announcements, conscripting 10,000 able-bodied laborers under the pretext of building a training base, for half a month, with food and lodging provided, plus three silver dollars in pay.
The news spread, electrifying the townships around Wuta County.
Food and lodging plus three silver dollars’ wages—such a good deal was rare once in a century, and crowds flocked immediately.
In just two days, countless able-bodied men poured in from all directions; the final count was over 16,000.
When Pi Ruoyu consulted Su Yaoyang, he waved his hand and took them all—after all, many hands make light work, and finishing the airport early meant they could arrive sooner.
