Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 794 Return and a New Chapter in Scientific Research: Laying Out Nuclear Weapons

The king's words successfully piqued Fang Wen's curiosity, and the conversation then turned to that topic.

In order to ensure Fang Wenfei could catch his flight that evening, the king revealed everything he knew without reservation.

The matter is still related to the Ancestral Heritage Association established by the Nazis.

Fang Wen had dealt with this organization before in Ethiopia, and while in the United States, he heard that the organization was preparing to make a second trip to XZ.

Unexpectedly, their trail also appeared in Yugoslavia.

Their goal was to explore civilization.

In the village of Vencha, 10 kilometers east of Belgrade, Serbia, the remains of a multi-layered stone temple have been discovered underground, and it is known as "the earliest Stone Age human settlement in Europe".

The Ancestral Heritage Association aims to link this civilization with Aryan lineage, thereby proving that Aryan culture had already spread throughout Southern Europe long ago.

Upon hearing this, Fang Wen couldn't help but ask, "What kind of treasure is inside?"

The king spoke with an air of mystery, enunciating each word clearly: "Within the ruins, there is a massive basalt slab, inscribed with complete Vincha symbols. The Nazis believed it to be a record of the 'Aryan Creation Epic' and a collection of spells for manipulating energy. The Ancestral Heritage Society once asked me for it, but I refused. However, because it was so large, I hid it in a secret location in Belgrade."

There's such a thing?

Fang Wen was surprised. He had never flown over Belgrade, so he had no way of knowing if there were any secret treasures there that could cause fluctuations in supernatural abilities.

The German army is currently attacking Belgrade, so it's not a suitable time to go treasure hunting. He plans to wait until the situation in Yugoslavia stabilizes before flying over to take a look.

Then he smiled and said, "It's an interesting story. I thought the Germans couldn't possibly find that stone slab, right?"

The king nodded: "They will never find it."

Fang Wen took off his napkin. "Alright, we can go back and prepare to board the plane now."

The king was immediately delighted and stood up first: "Then let's go over there."

Outside the restaurant, more than twenty black cars were already waiting.

Fang Wen followed King Peter II, members of the royal family, and ministers into the car, and the motorcade drove away from the quiet streets and headed towards the port of Athens.

When the convoy arrived at the port of Athens, night had already fallen. Greek troops were deployed to protect the port, and heavily armed soldiers were patrolling, vigilantly observing the surrounding movements.

The convoy then drove into the dock, and the group got out of the cars and took the luggage off the roofs of the vehicles.

Soon, the ground was piled high with suitcases, large and small, forming a small mountain.

Fang Wen's gaze swept over the mountain of luggage, and his brows furrowed tightly.

The payload capacity of the long-haul seaplane is limited.

This aircraft can carry 60 passengers and has a rated baggage capacity of 1 ton.

He estimated that the luggage in front of him weighed well over a ton.

Fang Wen approached Peter II and said, “Your Majesty, there is something I must make clear to you. My Dark Seaplane has a baggage capacity of only one ton, and this baggage far exceeds its capacity. Either you streamline your packing and leave the excess baggage behind, or you will have to leave a group of people behind and let them find their own way to England. I can only guarantee the safe evacuation of the people on board. Overloading will not only affect flight safety, but may even lead to a crash.”

Upon hearing this, Peter II looked troubled.

Those who were able to evacuate with him from Belgrade were all members of the royal family and key ministers; he could not possibly abandon any of them.

After weighing the options, he made a decision and immediately ordered members of the royal family and ministers to open their suitcases and begin to streamline their luggage.

Everyone sprang into action, opening their suitcases and sorting out the items inside.

Those low-value furs, decorative items, souvenirs, as well as surplus clothing and daily necessities, were all taken out and piled up by the dock, quickly forming another small mountain.

These items were once cherished possessions, but now, in order to save their lives, they have no choice but to painfully discard them.

After the sorting was completed, Peter II looked at the items that had been left behind and said, "Mr. Fang, these items will be donated to Taishan Airlines as a token of our gratitude for your help despite the danger."

Fang Wen glanced at the pile of items, which included some exquisite furs and handicrafts. Although they were not as valuable as jewelry or antiques, they were not entirely useless. He did not refuse them and instructed the staff at the Athens office beside him, "Put these things away properly and make arrangements when I return to Athens."

"Yes, General Manager." The staff member quickly responded and immediately arranged for people to move the items to the office warehouse for safekeeping.

After the luggage was streamlined, the weight was kept under 1 ton.

Fang Wen then arranged for boarding.

Peter II, members of the royal family, ministers and their families boarded the Phantom Seaplane in turn.

The crew quickly checked the boarding status of each passenger, and after confirming that everything was in order, they reported to Fang Wen: "General Manager, all personnel have boarded and the luggage has been loaded."

Fang Wen, who was in the pilot's seat, instructed the crew to close the cabin door and then start the engine.

The Phantom-type seaplane took off after taxiing for a distance in the harbor waters, and under the cover of night, flew towards London.

Inside the cabin, passengers leaned back in their seats, their eyes peering through the porthole at the gradually shrinking port of Athens below, their hearts filled with complex emotions: relief at escaping danger, grief over the fall of their homeland, and uncertainty about the future.

Inside the cockpit, Fang Wen was focused and flew strictly according to the pre-set flight plan.

The plane first flew towards the Adriatic Sea, and after crossing the sea, it adjusted its course and flew northwest towards the Alps.

After crossing the Alps, the plane entered French airspace.

Just as Fang Wen had predicted, the Vichy government, suppressed by Germany, lacked a large army and, naturally, a robust air defense system, let alone the ability to detect aircraft in the night sky. The plane flew smoothly over France without encountering any danger, steadily progressing towards London's Royal Air Force Airfield.

After several hours of flight, the Phantom-class seaplane crossed the English Channel and finally arrived over London.

Fang Wen made contact with the ground to confirm the landing location.

Then, two rows of lights lit up on the Thames.

Fang Wen controlled the plane to land smoothly on the river.

The plane came to a stop near the river dock, the cabin door opened, and Peter II, along with members of the royal family and ministers, hurriedly disembarked. They then unloaded their luggage, and British officials had already arranged for them to be picked up.

Without stopping, Fang Wen immediately restarted the aircraft, closed the cabin door, and piloted the Ghost-type seaplane into the air, returning to Athens along the same route he had come from.

After the plane landed, staff from the Athens office immediately came to report on the transportation of Yugoslavian scientific research personnel.

"General Manager, all the Yugoslavian research personnel and their families have successfully boarded a plane in Ankara on a Taishan Airlines passenger plane and are heading towards Yangon. They are expected to arrive at Yangon Maritime Airport tomorrow." The staff member reported the detailed transportation situation respectfully.

A huge weight was lifted off Fang Wen's shoulders.

With the successful transfer of research personnel, the core objective of this trip to Yugoslavia has been achieved. What remains is dealing with the "gifts" left by the royal family and, upon returning to Yangon, properly settling these researchers and getting them involved in the Taishan Group's research work as soon as possible. However, even with Fang Wen's special abilities, the continuous long-haul flights have left him feeling fatigued, so he decided to rest for a day in Athens.

The next morning, Fang Wen woke up, washed up, ate a local Greek breakfast, and then arranged for people to load all the items left by the royal family onto the plane.

The staff immediately sprang into action, moving the previously properly stored furs, handicrafts, and other items one by one onto the ghost-shaped seaplane and securing them carefully to prevent damage during the flight.

After everything was ready, Fang Wen boarded the plane, took off, and flew towards Yangon.

After more than 20 hours of flight, the plane finally landed smoothly at Yangon Maritime Airport.

As Fang Wen disembarked from the plane, the Taishan Airlines staff who greeted him instructed him: "Transport all the items on the plane back to the group's headquarters building."

"Yes, General Manager." The staff member quickly responded and arranged vehicles and personnel to unload the items from the plane and transport them to the Taishan Group headquarters.

Fang Wen drove back to the Taishan Group headquarters building. As soon as he entered his office, he summoned the headquarters' administrative staff and gave an unexpected instruction: "Sorting out some of the items left by the royal family, we will hold a small auction at headquarters this afternoon to sell them to the headquarters employees. Set the prices low as a benefit for everyone."

The administrative staff were somewhat surprised upon hearing this, but they immediately agreed and quickly began to organize the items.

Fang Wen did not do this to make money—although those items had some value, they were far less important to him than scientific research talent.

Instead of leaving these items idle in the warehouse, it would be better to sell them to employees at a low price. This would not only serve as an employee benefit but also bring the company closer to its employees and enhance the group's cohesion—a win-win situation.

In the afternoon, a special internal auction officially began in the large conference room at the headquarters of Taishan Group.

The items that had been sorted out were neatly arranged on the table, including exquisite fur coats, hand-carved handicrafts, small oil paintings, and some jewelry.

At the auction, the employees were enthusiastic and eagerly raised their paddles to bid. Although the prices were not high, every item was sold.

Fang Wen sat to the side, watching the lively auction, a smile on his face.

After the auction, the remaining items were sorted out and stored in the group's warehouse for future use.

Without pausing, Fang Wen immediately drove to Yangon's seaplane airport, piloted a small transport plane, and flew to the research base in northern Myanmar.

The Yugoslavian research personnel had already arrived in Yangon before him and were taken to the base in northern Myanmar by staff, where their accommodations and living needs were properly arranged. He had to go there in person to meet with them and arrange their subsequent research work.

After the plane arrived at the research base in northern Myanmar, Fang Wen went directly to the accommodation area for the researchers.

At this moment, Pavle Savic, Vladimir Prelog, Lavoslav Ružčka, and other research talents were exchanging their research ideas in the courtyard. Their faces no longer showed the fatigue and anxiety they had before, but instead showed curiosity about the new environment and anticipation for future research work.

Upon seeing Fang Wen arrive, everyone stood up.

"Mr. Fang."

Their tone was respectful and sincere. After the meeting in Athens and the long journey, they had already gained trust in this young general manager of Taishan Group.

Fang Wen smiled and said, "Everyone, you must be tired from your journey. If you need anything regarding accommodation or daily life, please feel free to tell the staff, and we will do our best to accommodate you."

“We are very comfortable here, thank you, Mr. Fang,” Lavoslav Ružčka said first. “The environment here is very good, the accommodation is very comfortable, and the staff are very welcoming. We have no worries and can start our research work at any time.”

"That's good." Fang Wen nodded. "Then I can make the arrangements for you now."

He divided this group of scientific research and technical personnel into two parts.

The aircraft engineering technicians were taken away by Lin Yifei from the No. 2 Aircraft Manufacturing Plant.

Fang Wen said to the remaining three scientists, "Now, I will take you to the Taishan Research Institute. Based on your respective research directions, I have arranged corresponding research project groups for you. There is also a group of undergraduate interns from the institute, all of whom are majoring in the same field. They will learn from you and assist you in carrying out scientific research."

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen led three core scientists to the Taishan Research Institute.

Upon arriving at the research institute, Fang Wen assigned each of the three individuals to a research project group based on their respective research areas:

Lavoslav Ružčka is skilled in biochemistry, especially the synthesis of terpenes and steroids. Fang Wen assigned him to the chemical and pharmaceutical research group, where he was responsible for the research and development of new biochemical materials.

Vladimir Prelog focused on antibiotic research, and Fang Wen set up a penicillin research group for him to promote the optimization of penicillin and the development of new antibiotics;

After making arrangements for Vladimir Prelog and Lavoslav Ružčka, Fang Wen kept Pavle Savic behind and then sent someone to inform Jiang Wenjin to come over.

As a senior scientist at the Taishan Institute, Jiang Wenjin has expertise in both quantum physics and nuclear physics, but his in-depth research on nuclear fission is still insufficient.

Pavle Savage, who worked at the Curie Institute and studied nuclear fission under Marie Curie, is someone Jiang Wenjin needs to learn from and collaborate with.

A moment later, Jiang Wenjin rushed over. When he saw Pavley Savage, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Mr. Savage, I have long admired your name. I am Jiang Wenjin, and I am in charge of physics research at the Taishan Research Institute."

Pavle Savage responded politely, "Mr. Jiang, it's an honor to work with you."

After the two introduced themselves, Fang Wen gestured for them to sit down, his expression becoming serious:

"Savage, Jiang Wenjin, I've kept you two behind today because there's an important research direction I'd like to discuss with you, and it's also a project I hope you'll focus on advancing going forward."

Upon hearing this, the two stopped smiling and looked at Fang Wen, waiting for him to continue.

They knew that since Fang Wen had kept them behind alone, the project he proposed must be extraordinary.

Fang Wen said, word by word, "What I want to propose is a completely new concept—nuclear weapons. Simply put, it is to use the enormous energy generated by nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to create weapons with extremely strong destructive power. The power of such weapons far exceeds that of any other weapon in the world at present. Once successfully developed, it will completely change the landscape of warfare and provide a decisive force for our victory in the anti-fascist war."

“Nuclear weapons?” Pavle Savage’s eyes flashed with shock upon hearing this, and his body trembled slightly. “Mr. Fang, are you talking about weapons that use nuclear fission to generate energy? That’s incredible! While the energy generated by nuclear fission is enormous, converting it into weapons is extremely difficult. Currently, no country in the world has been able to achieve this.”

Jiang Wenjin was also full of surprise. Although he had been studying nuclear physics, he had never thought of using the energy of nuclear fission to make weapons. "General Manager, the controllability of nuclear fission is very difficult to achieve. To turn it into a weapon, we not only need to overcome technical difficulties, but also need a lot of experimental data and advanced equipment support. This is almost an impossible task."

Fang Wen had anticipated their reaction and said calmly, "I know this task is extremely difficult, but not impossible. Mr. Savage, you studied nuclear fission with Marie Curie and have profound expertise in this field; Mr. Jiang, you have a research foundation in quantum physics and are familiar with the equipment and research team of the Taishan Research Institute. With the two of you working together, we will definitely be able to overcome the difficulties."

After a pause, Fang Wen continued, "I can assure you that Taishan Group will fully support your research, providing the most advanced scientific research equipment, the most abundant funding, and the best support team. No matter what technical difficulties you encounter, I will do my best to coordinate and resolve them. I believe that as long as you go all out, you will definitely be able to develop nuclear weapons and make a decisive contribution to defeating the Axis powers and ending this war."

As Pavle Savage saw Fang Wen's statement, his initial shock gradually dissipated, replaced by a strong passion for scientific research.

to be frank.

Nuclear fission weapons were a research direction he had always dreamed of, but he had been hampered by a lack of sufficient resources and support. Now that Fang Wen had provided everything, he had no reason to refuse.

"Mr. Fang, I am willing to go all out to advance the research and development of nuclear weapons."

Jiang Wenjin was also greatly encouraged: "General Manager, I am also willing to join Mr. Savage and do my best to complete this task."

Seeing that the two agreed, Fang Wen smiled with relief.

He knew that the development of nuclear weapons was destined to be a long and arduous road, which might take a long time and require overcoming countless technical hurdles.

But the outcome of the research was inevitable; it was bound to succeed.

Perhaps Mount Tai could achieve the first atomic bomb before the United States. (End of Chapter)