Chapter 1683 Airdropped Supplies

Baoji suburban airport, the next day.

While He Xin and the other crew members were enjoying a short vacation, two East African transport planes were refueling on the airport tarmac.

These two transport planes were actually on the same flight as He Xin's fleet, arriving at Baoji Airport yesterday, but their flight missions were different from He Xin's.

This small squadron, consisting of two transport planes, was temporarily led by Team Leader Clayton.

The accompanying flight engineer reported to Clayton, "Team Leader Clayton, fuel is replenished and we are ready for takeoff at any time."

Clayton said, "Very well, before we prepare for takeoff, I want to emphasize this again."

"This flight mission is a challenge for our team. Our next mission is to airdrop supplies."

"Moreover, the airdrop location is a rather sensitive place, and there is even a possibility of being drawn into a war, although this possibility is extremely small."

"However, I hope everyone will not let their guard down. Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance, we cannot afford to gamble. Therefore, this mission must be completed cleanly and efficiently."

"Upon reaching the center of the Northwest armed forces, over Yan'an, we dropped the supplies as quickly as possible and then immediately returned according to plan."

Clearly, Clayton's so-called return flight here does not mean flying back to the suburban airport of Baoji, but rather returning directly to Shule Airport.

After all, once the supplies were airdropped, there was no need for them to return to Baoji; that would not only be a waste of time but also pointless.

Half an hour later.

Clayton's squadron had already moved the planes onto the runway, ignited their engines, and taken off, climbing over Baoji City before heading northwest.

During this period, it was obvious that some people noticed the whereabouts of the two transport planes, but they didn't care, or rather, they didn't dare to interfere.

The Baoji suburban airport, nominally a cooperative project between East Africa and the Far Eastern Empire, was actually a tool that allowed East Africa to carry out covert operations, which the Far Eastern Empire government could neither interfere with nor dare to interfere with.

This was not uncommon for Far Eastern imperial governments in the 20th century. After all, even their own customs were not entirely independent and were controlled by other countries. East Africa, as a "foreign power," was obviously an entity they could not "offend."

The Far Eastern Empire government was actually aware of some of the underhanded tactics being used in East Africa, but they chose to "play dead."

Two Far Eastern Empire staff members at the airport witnessed this scene firsthand.

"Old Wang, guess where these two transport planes are going? I think it might be to the Northwest."

Old Wang said, "Who cares where they go! What the East Africans do is none of our business. Even if the big shots from Jiangcheng came, they would only be able to bow and scrape to the East Africans."

Old Wang's colleague said, "That's true. Just pretend you didn't see it, as usual. Anyway, those two planes were going to that place to fight against Japan. Now that they're cooperating, they're practically allies."

...

Time flew by and it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. At this moment, a small town appeared in front of Clayton's fleet. The size of this town was far smaller than Baoji, and it was even a stretch to call it a city.

However, this city was the center of the Far Eastern Imperial Labour Party's armed forces.

In 1938, Yan'an was essentially a rural market town primarily consisting of cave dwellings. Before 1937, the county seat and surrounding areas had a population of only a few thousand, and the so-called "urban area" was practically negligible.

After the Northwest Armed Forces moved in, the town's population only increased to around 20,000 to 30,000.

At that moment, a farmer in the suburbs suddenly heard the sound of airplanes in the sky, and he reflexively thought it might be the enemy.

"Japanese planes! Everyone, get out of here!"

He was not alone in thinking this way. Of course, after a year of repeated attacks by Japanese bombers, the local military and civilians had developed sophisticated countermeasures.

Soon, the people in the city also noticed the planes overhead, and they began to take refuge in an orderly manner under the organization of the local government.

While everyone was frantically searching for cover, Clayton had already begun ordering supplies to be airdropped from the sky.

"Open the cabin and drop the supplies onto the open ground below!"

In East Africa, the crew followed procedures to unload several airdropped supplies from the transport plane. These supplies, equipped with parachutes, became several black dots in the air before landing on the ground below.

After the parachute opened, it slowly landed with the supplies below, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust, which was observed by the local soldiers and civilians.

By this time, they were certain that the planes that had arrived were not Japanese bombers.

"It should be an airdrop from the Rhineland, just like the previous ones!" someone said after seeing the parachute carrying the airdropped supplies.

Unlike the Far Eastern Empire government and many other countries, the local armed forces refer to East Africa as the "Rhineland," though its full name should be the "Rhine Empire."

This situation arose because East Africa was an unfamiliar country to the northwestern armed forces of the Far Eastern Empire.

Their leaders certainly knew the internationally recognized colloquial name "East Africa," but when explaining it, they preferred to call it the Rhineland.

This change is mainly because previously, the airdropped supplies to East Africa were marked with the words "Rhine Empire".

Of course, the writing is definitely in German, but as the center of the Northwest Armed Forces, there are also German-speaking personnel, and some may have even studied in East Africa when they were young.

Soon, the transport plane from East Africa left, and the airdropped items were found by local military and civilians after landing, and they surrounded the area.

At this moment, an officer said, "Everyone, don't get too close. Before we know the source of this airdrop, it's still dangerous here. After all, no one knows if it's a Japanese conspiracy."

Although only East Africa has airdropped supplies to the region since last year, the Northwest Armed Forces are clearly unsure whether the Japanese have this intelligence and may exploit it.

In the unlikely event that the Japanese knew East Africa would airdrop supplies to Yan'an, they might have disguised bombs and other dangerous goods as part of the East African airdrop.

Of course, it's normal for them to have such concerns. East Africa doesn't give prior notice when it sends aid to the Northwest armed groups, since the two sides are indeed not suitable for in-depth exchanges on an ideological level.

There was no communication between the two sides. The Northwest Armed Forces needed to verify the supplies left behind by East Africa. Although there had been precedents before, and it was vaguely possible to determine that these supplies were also from East Africa, they still needed to be cautious.

After a while, a young man arrived at the scene. After looking at the airdropped items, he said, "Director Zhang, these should be supplies from the Rhine Empire. They have clear serial numbers and a few German words on them, but we still need to open them up to take a closer look."

"And these packages next to it, they seem to have information about a factory, probably called Tefu, and they're probably textiles."

This airdrop in East Africa comes in two types: regular airdrop crates and large parcels.

At this moment, the cadre named Director Zhang said to the soldiers around him, "First, cut the package open with a knife, then use a crowbar to open the box! Be careful, if any medicine inside is damaged, we will suffer a great loss."

Then, several soldiers began to take tools from the airdrop crate and dismantle it. East Africa thoughtfully provided two crowbars on the outside of the airdrop crate and tied them to the top of the crate with rope.

Within minutes, the packages were opened, and sure enough, they contained cotton-padded coats produced by the Tefu Textile Factory. Upon seeing these coats, a smile appeared on Zhang's face.

He said to the young man, "Little Li, these people from the Rhine are really good people! It seems they've sent supplies again."

"Winter is just around the corner, and these cotton-padded clothes they sent are extremely important to us."

Xiao Li said, "Director Zhang, East Africa is a rather special country in the international community. As I have said before, many people in this country are actually immigrants from our country."

"That is why, when our country was invaded, it may have aroused the sympathy of our compatriots overseas, so they did not mind giving us help."

Xiao Li was well aware that the Far Eastern Empire immigrants in East Africa could not be equated with East Africa itself, since the country was essentially still a predominantly "German" nation. However, this was the only explanation for the aid provided to them by East Africa.

After all, even if they wanted to provide aid to the Far Eastern Empire, foreigners could have cooperated with the Far Eastern Empire's government. They were just relatively active "local" forces in the Northwest region, not the official government.

Director Zhang said, "I've never been abroad, but I know a little about the Rhineland. This country is indeed quite strange, after all, it's the only country in the world that combines Chinese and Western cultures."

Many of the Labour Party's armed forces cadres are well-educated; for example, this Director Zhang attended a modern school.

As one of the most powerful countries in the world, East Africa is a country that Director Zhang has heard of, even if he is unfamiliar with it. Moreover, East Africa itself is a very controversial country in the Far East Empire.

As a mixed nation primarily composed of immigrants from Germany and the Far Eastern Empire, East Africa, to some extent, even became a source of spiritual sustenance for some people amidst the poverty and weakness of the Far Eastern Empire during that era.

East Africa's achievements, such as becoming the world's leading industrial power and a recognized military superpower, demonstrate to some extent that East Africa, with its blend of Far Eastern imperial genes, is exceptionally outstanding.

Xiao Li said, "The Rhine Empire is practically a half-Chinese country, and it is also the only major power in the world that has absorbed a large number of Chinese immigrants and integrated them very well."

"It was precisely because the social environment of the Rhine Empire was relatively friendly to us that I went to East Africa to study when I was young."

Director Zhang nodded and said, "It seems that many people from your hometown go to East Africa to study."

Xiao Li said, "That's right. After all, the Rhine Empire had already started operating in my hometown area during the Qing Dynasty, so many capable people would choose the Rhine Empire as their first choice for studying abroad."

"In fact, quite a few people immigrated directly to the Rhine Empire. My cousin's family did just that; they left after the Japanese launched a full-scale war."

"However, their destination was not the Rhine Empire itself, but its colonies in Southeast Asia..."

Xiao Li's hometown is in the Huaihai region, which was once the economic sphere of influence of East Africa. He was born into a relatively well-off family, so at the age of fifteen, with the support of his family, he went to East Africa to study.

After graduation, he returned to the Far Eastern Empire, just as the War of Resistance against Japan broke out. However, instead of seeking refuge elsewhere like his family, he went to Xi'an with a company with East African background. There, he came into contact with personnel of the Northwest Armed Forces in Xi'an, and eventually became attracted to the area and came to work for the Northwest Armed Forces.

While the two were talking, the airdrop crate had already been opened. Director Zhang, without having time to talk to Xiao Li, went to the airdrop crate to give instructions.

"Be careful, there must be something good inside. Don't damage the valuables inside."

Inside the airdrop crate, the first thing to be revealed was a burlap sack, which was bulging with contents. Several people worked together to pull the sack out.

"Director Zhang, this package looks like it's still cotton-padded clothing, but there's something else underneath, it looks like a telegraph machine! There's also something else we don't recognize, it should also be some kind of machine."

Hearing this, Director Zhang's expression improved even more: "Alright! First, take all the burlap sacks containing the cotton-padded clothes off the top, and then carefully take out the telegrams and other items."

Soon, the supplies were taken out one by one. In addition to the cotton-padded clothes that were packed in sacks as cushioning, there were three telegraph machines. The machine that the soldiers did not recognize was identified by Xiao Li and Director Zhang as a hand-cranked generator.

This is just one airdrop crate; a total of four airdrop crates and six airdrop packages were airdropped in East Africa this time.

Inside the packages, there was a new discovery: when they were unloading the cotton-padded clothes from the airdrop packages into their vehicle, each airdrop package contained a wooden crate, which was placed in the very center.

Director Zhang and Xiao Li also confirmed the contents of the wooden box.

As Xiao Li translated the text, he said, "This is an antibiotic produced by the Rhine Empire National Pharmaceutical Company, and it's the latest product. We must handle it with extreme care!"

Director Zhang said with a serious expression, "The supplies sent by the Rhine Country this time are very important. You should take them to headquarters now. I need to report to the leaders in person!"

Finally, the soldiers and civilians of the Northwest Armed Forces loaded more than a dozen truckloads of supplies and headed towards the headquarters of the Northwest Armed Forces.

The leaders quickly received the news and personally came out of the command post to receive the supplies sent from East Africa.

"Our friends are really so considerate. They deliver gifts to us without even asking. It's almost embarrassing!" one leader joked.

Another person said, "We must remember this help from East Africa. For the entire nation of the Far Eastern Empire, it is a timely help. Moreover, the East Africans not only helped once but also asked for nothing in return. They are genuinely helping our nation fight against the invaders. They are our friends!"

The praise from the top brass of the Northwest Armed Forces was clearly too much for East Africa to bear. There might be some personal feelings involved, but it would be inaccurate to say that East Africa had no ulterior motives.

After all, East Africa itself was used to support the Far Eastern Empire in order to tie down and weaken Japan, and then guide Japan to move south and attack the Southeast Asian region as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)