Thirty-nine

  At the banquet hosted by Chu Jiang Gang, Lao Ren was the most rewarding. Today, he took the opportunity to get to know and befriend Chu Jiang Gang through the National Army, which would have an immeasurable impact on his future underground work in Jingzhou City.

  After the banquet, except for Old Ren who had to return to work first, Chu Lian Tian insisted that everyone stay in his headquarters to wait for news. In the inner courtyard's side hall, Wu Han Hui carefully tasted a few of the finest teas from Hubei - "He Feng Tuo Zi Tea" and then put down his tea cup and said to Yang Ju: "I'm asking you if you really don't recognize Officer Yang?"

  Yan Wei was also captivated by the fragrance of the Luofeng moss tea, and while staring at the two pure and innocent tea sisters who were constantly serving them, he replied to Wu Han's words: "Didn't I tell you that I had the good fortune to meet him in person when I was with my master? Do you think Chu Lian Tian wouldn't know that we don't have a close relationship with Yang Changguan? Otherwise, why would he come in and directly bring up this matter? He's just afraid of Yang Changguan's immense power and doesn't want to get into trouble." After speaking, he didn't wait for the tea sister to serve him, and immediately picked up the freshly brewed hot tea and brought it to his lips to savor.

  "What's the point of not having a relationship? If we count it, then Commander Yang should now belong to our 18th Group Army. In that case, he and our Communist Party are one family!" Fu Da-jun obviously had no interest in this Hubei Gongfu tea, and just sat aside smoking.

  "Stop bragging, I've long heard that Yang is hot-tempered and kills people without batting an eye, his moves are as swift as lightning! If because of this matter, the other party really blames us in Taiyuan later on, let me tell you first, our Military Affairs Department can't afford to take responsibility!" This kind of thing about putting on a tiger's skin to make a big show Wu Huanhui obviously had no experience with, their Revival Society has always acted with the three-foot-long square treasure sword in hand, so there was no need for such tricks.

  Yan Wei took another sip of tea: "I think it's okay. I heard from the old comrades in the army who came out with him from the same battalion that Commander Yang, although he may not dare to say anything else, still has a lot of feelings for our old 25th Division. As long as General Si gives me the order, everything will be fine."

  Two men were taking turns enjoying the fragrant tea, when they saw Yu Si, the head of the Chujiang gang, personally enter the side hall and invite them to go to the main hall for discussion. Everyone knew that the Chujiang gang had already made arrangements and invited them to discuss specific matters in the main hall.

  After several people walked into the hall together, they all felt that something had changed from Chu Lian Tian's expression.

  After Yan Wei and others sat down with Chu Lian Tian, Chu Lian Tian indeed opened his mouth with a somewhat apologetic tone: "Commander Yan, Commander Wu, Captain Fu, I'm afraid we're going to disappoint your trust and kindness towards our Chu Jiang Gang this time. Our Chu Jiang Gang is probably unable to help your army for the time being."

  "I'd like to hear more about it." Yan Wei stared at Chu Lian Tian and said.

  "It's like this, before we sat down to eat at noon, I had already instructed the second brother to go out and arrange this matter for you all. It was my second brother who personally went out to take charge of it, which you all saw. However..." He then turned his head to look at Wei Zheng, the second master of the Chu Jiang gang, saying: "Second brother, it's better if you personally explain it to the officials." After speaking, he let out a sigh and lowered his head in silence.

  Wei Zhun stood up, clasped his fists and bowed to the several people, who returned the courtesy. After sitting down, he looked at them and said: "This is what happened. Upon receiving Big Brother's order, I immediately notified the secret crossing points inside and outside the city to prepare sturdy ships for your army's use. I personally rushed out of the city on a fast horse to inspect the crossing point. But the news that came back was also shocking! The Japanese army had deployed two ironclad warships into the Yangtze River in Jingzhou this morning! I wasn't at ease, so I personally rushed to the riverbank to take a look. Two Japanese ironclad warships were proudly patrolling north and south on the Yangtze River, dividing the entire river surface east and west. All passing ships had to be inspected by the small wooden boats requisitioned by the Japanese army, without exception."

  "How long and wide is this ironclad warship you're talking about? Can it be equipped with cannons?" Yan Wei also seemed to understand the severity of the question.

  Wei Zhun closed his eyes, tilted his head back and thought for a moment before saying: "The ship should be about 20-30 meters long and nearly 3 meters wide!" He then picked up a teacup from the table with his right hand and pointed to it, saying: "Both ironclad warships are equipped with large cannons. The muzzle, I'm standing on the shore looking far away, is probably bigger than this! In addition, there are several machine guns mounted on the ship, one of which is a heavy machine gun that looks particularly eye-catching, much larger than an ordinary heavy machine gun."

  Yan Wei listened and saw Wu Hanhuai and Fu Daojun looking at him, so he stood up and said to the crowd: "It should be the Japanese 'Riverine Gunboat', a small warship used by the Japanese for inland river warfare and water-to-land warfare. It is usually 50-60 meters long and less than 10 meters wide. Equipped with two to eight single-barreled guns of 80-120 mm caliber. Generally, they are equipped with a large number of light machine guns as a guarantee of close combat continuous firepower! The super-large heavy machine gun mentioned by Wei Er Dangjia just now is actually the Japanese autocannon! It is usually used for anti-aircraft strikes and is used to shoot down planes. This type of gunboat was put into practical use by the Japanese very early, as early as the Russo-Japanese War, it was favored by both the Japanese Navy and Army for its flexible mobility and relatively strong firepower! When I was in Northeast China, I could see a large number of these gunboats on the Songhua River every day!"

  After finishing, he looked at Wu Hanhuai with a hint of disappointment and said: "It seems that our opponent is not a pushover. Now that these two gunboats are patrolling the river, it's not easy to get past them even if we try to avoid them. Once we're discovered by the Japanese army, with their average speed of 15 knots per hour, we'll have no way to escape! Not to mention their powerful firepower on board, at that time, we'll be lambs to be slaughtered on the river!"

  Wei Zhun asked in confusion: "Commander Yan, you said a speed of 15 knots per hour, just how fast is that?"

  Yan Wei looked at Wei Zhun and said: "This 'jie' is the way foreigners say it, one jie is equal to what foreigners call a nautical mile, and one nautical mile is equal to 1.85 meters, so just convert it to meters. One meter is equal to one kilometer, which is equivalent to two Chinese miles. A speed of 15 knots per hour means that the Japanese military's fastest speed for this type of gunboat can travel more than 50 kilometers in half an hour!"

  Everyone in the Chujiang gang was shocked to hear this! To know that this speed is far beyond that of oars or sailing ships. The Chujiang gang has also purchased some diesel-powered cargo ships from foreigners in recent years, but they can barely run at a speed of around 10 kilometers per hour. If they encounter such a Japanese gunboat on the river, don't mention fighting back, they can't even escape!

  Chu Lian Tian looked at Yan Wei and said, "It's this Commander Yan, I've already asked my second brother about the location of the Japanese army's blockade on the river. If you're not afraid to take risks, we still have a secret password that can help us avoid the Japanese army's blockade points on the river. It's just that the speed and power of those Japanese warships are..." He also shook his head in worry after speaking.

  Yan Wei shook his head and waved his hand, saying: "When I first planned to take the water route, it was to catch them off guard by finding a weak point. Now that our opponent has seen through our plan, taking the water route again would not be a good strategy at all. The Japanese army has invested heavily in us this time! If the Japanese army cooperates with the air force to conduct reconnaissance on the river surface, one bomb could send us all back home! It seems that continuing to take the land route is safer, but I'm afraid the children won't be able to hold on!"

  Yú Sì looked at Yuán Wéi and said, "Listening to Captain Yuan's words reminds me of something. I don't know if it's useful or not, but can it help?"

  Yan Wei smiled and said: "Now, let's stop with the polite words. Just ask Yu Si about anything you want to know."

  Yu Si nodded on one side and said: "Just now I heard you mention something about the air force, what aircraft... twenty miles north of our city there is an airport, which was built by your National Army before Hubei fell. Because this is a matter in our Jingzhou City, we all know a little bit about it. It seems that it was built to coordinate with your military airport in Xiaogan, saying that if there is an emergency situation in Xiaogan, it will be used as a backup. But when the construction was almost completed, it was abandoned and left unused for many years. Now, just a few days ago, the Japanese entered the city and immediately took over, sending their professional engineers to repair and complete it! Now there are several Japanese aircraft parked there. Do you have any ideas?"

  Yu Si Dangjia mentioned that the airport, Yan Wei, was unheard of, but Wu Huanhuai, who was in charge of intelligence work, had known about it long ago. Now, after hearing Yu Si Dangjia's words, he immediately remembered that the National Army had indeed built an airport here years ago, specifically as a backup base to support the operation of the Xiaogan Airport. However, due to funding issues, construction was halted! As for the money, according to investigations, it was all withheld by Soong Mei-ling, the Secretary-General of the newly established National Aviation Committee and the First Lady of the nation, who put it in a bank to earn interest! The Revival Society had even conducted a joint investigation with the Party Organization Department's Investigation Bureau at the behest of the National Aviation Committee. However, just as they were about to dig deeper, the case was withdrawn by the two top leaders and strictly forbidden from further investigation! It's clear what happened - could it be that they didn't dare tell the Chairman that the funds for building airports and purchasing planes had been embezzled by his wife?! Alas, another case of "letting sleeping dogs lie"! Pitiful are those citizens who donated money to buy planes to resist Japan! Woe is the nation, alas!

  Yan Wei had already begun to consider whether he could use the radio station to contact his family in advance, set a time to bring troops to occupy the airport, and arrange for his family to send a plane to land here, then transport the children back to Chongqing by air!

  Wu Hanhuai immediately showed a very interested expression and asked Yu Si, the master of the house: "How big is that airport? What types of planes are parked there? How many Japanese troops are stationed?"

  Yu Si spread his hands and smiled: "I don't know anything about what you're saying! If the officials are really interested, it's simple, we can go take a look anytime!"

  Yan Wei said to Wu Hanhuai: "Brother Yongxi, what do you think?"

  "Wu Han said: 'Sneak into the airport and hijack a plane back to Chongqing!'"

  Yan Wei looked at Wu Han Hui with great confusion: "Hijack? Who will fly the plane after hijacking? You?"

  Wu Han Hua smiled and said: "I'm opening it myself!"

  He looked at Yan Wei with a puzzled expression and said: "In the 24th year of the Republic, I was entrusted to take over the case of the National Army Aviation Brigade selling military materials. At that time, I conducted an investigation in the Second Aviation Brigade in Nanchang. I stayed for almost a month and sorted out a basket of materials and evidence! But before waiting for the final order from my superiors to apprehend the person, I heard that the brigade commander who committed the crime had actually reached out to Zhou Zhiyong, the then director of the Party's National Aviation Committee, the principal of the Central Aviation School, and a general of the 'Earthwork System' faction, Major General of the Air Force!"

  "The case has not been settled, and I was so bored every day in the remote barracks that I asked the air force to take me with them when they went on training flights! After playing a few times, I didn't think it was complicated at all!"

  Yan Wei smiled and said, "Then have you flown a plane?"

  Wu Hanhui said: "I haven't started yet. I want to start, but the pilots all begged me not to be too sad! They all say that although our party and country have produced such a loser as their leader, it's unfortunate for our party and country! But they all advise me to still prioritize the great cause of our party and country! Don't do anything stupid like killing yourself!" As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd in the grand hall burst out laughing.

  Seeing Yan Weiqi's discomfort, Wu Huanhua asked seriously: "Do you remember that Zhou Zheng in our team?"

  Yan Wei thought for a moment and said: "It doesn't add up."

  "He's a genuine pilot from our original aviation troops flying brigade, a regular classmate! A direct disciple of an American instructor!"

  "Others were already air force pilots back then, although they may not have had as high a rank as you, Swim Creek brother, but at least they should have been a lieutenant, right? They had the limitless prospects of being a genuine air force officer, why would they want to follow you and do espionage?" Yan Wei was completely baffled this time.

  "How interesting! I also asked him about a case at the beginning, and then he would often follow me around, saying that being a spy was his childhood dream and pursuit! He even said that he envied us for doing this line of work, saying that flying in planes and not even seeing what the enemy looks like is not considered real soldiering! Real soldiering means facing the enemy head-on, that's what makes this uniform worth wearing!"

  Yan Wei has opened his eyes today, and there are still people pursuing this, holding on to this ideal!

  Later, I saw that he was not bad to me as an 'apprentice', and when teaching me how to fly a plane, he was particularly diligent! Also seeing him absolutely revering the Three Principles of the People, with quick hands and feet and a clear mind, just like reporting to the superior officer. Wu Hanhuai felt proud to have an American-trained pilot as his subordinate.

  "Would the other side's air force be willing to release people? I know that every pilot in our country is a treasure! If we were to exchange me, the regiment commander, for one of their soldiers, they would definitely not agree!" Yan Wei couldn't help but admire Wu Hanhuai, who had even managed to get his mother into the air force.

  "At that time, the second aviation brigade was being messed up by us and they were confused and flustered! I told them that our Revival Society wanted to take away this soldier for further investigation, and they thought it was related to some big shot or a serious case, so they immediately processed the paperwork and released him!"

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