Chapter 494 - The Prefectural City
The boat boss was eager to depart these waters and hurriedly ordered his men to turn the rudder and raise the sails, steering for the open sea. At that moment, white waves churned across the surface as two Type 8154 fishing trawlers entered the harbor. These trawlers had recently undergone extensive refits and were conducting sea trials. The modifications had removed fishery production equipment and certain navigation and electronic systems deemed too advanced for this era. Weapons had been added, a dedicated ammunition magazine installed, fuel tanks and crew quarters expanded, and armor fitted in critical areas—rendering them worthy of their "cruiser" designation.
Watching these steel warships pass five hundred meters off the beam with awe-inspiring presence and thundering engines—disregarding wind direction and current, sailing swift as the wind without sails or oars, traversing the ocean surface as easily as a level road—Tang Yunwen's face went pale. He sank onto the fishing nets as if all strength had drained from his body.
"My Lord!" Zhang Wen rushed to help him up.
"It's nothing." Tang Yunwen waved him off. "Return quickly!"
Tang Yunwen sat for a time, steadying his thoughts, then rose and descended to the cabin, cold sweat beading his forehead. The Type 8154 trawlers had shaken him more profoundly than the great iron ship. The iron ship was merely "enormous," and he still doubted that behemoth could propel itself. But he had witnessed these trawlers moving with his own eyes. As a naval commander, he understood precisely what kind of power an opponent possessing such vessels would wield in maritime warfare.
"Those ships are terrifying," Zhang Wen said, clicking his tongue.
"Those are Iron Fast Ships," the boat boss explained. "Also brought by the Australians."
"You mean they have more than one great iron ship?" Zhang Wen asked nervously.
"Of course—more than one." The boat boss spoke with evident pride. "Besides the Iron Fast Ships, I have seen a kind of large vessel with very low gunwales and an extremely flat deck. Originally, it was loaded with great iron boxes, but now there is only a big well sweep upon it..." The boat boss gestured expansively. "Some people have seen a square-prowed Australian ship that needs no harbor—it goes up and down the beach by itself. The bow can open, and once opened, it forms a ramp..."
"Absurd!" Zhang Wen could not restrain himself. "If the bow opens, would it not sink at sea?"
The boat boss laughed: "Vice Commander! That is merely folk legend. I have not witnessed it personally, so I cannot say whether it is true."
Tang Yunwen had no interest in ships with opening bows. What concerned him most were these "Iron Fast Ships." He asked: "How many Iron Fast Ships do these Australians possess?"
"That I do not know." The boat boss shrugged. "The Australian ships are all docked at a special wharf on the far side of Bopu Harbor. Ordinary vessels are forbidden to approach. Small boats patrol the water constantly, prohibiting anyone from crossing the line."
"Those who love excitement and insist on getting close to look are caught—and none of those caught have been released." The smile faded from the boat boss's face. "I have heard they are conscripted as coolies for the Australians."
Perhaps contemplating that his own act of ferrying officers to investigate Bopu would meet the same fate if discovered, the boat boss rose, slapped his trousers, and began berating the boat hands, ordering them to scull faster and leave.
"My Lord, these Iron Fast Ships are indeed formidable..." Zhang Wen said.
Tang Yunwen nodded. He concluded that forcing the Australians to evacuate Lingao through military conquest would undoubtedly result in defeat. The only viable approach was to replicate the method employed against the Red-haired barbarians in Penghu: approaching with overwhelming force to compel peace through demonstrated strength. The Australians had traveled from distant lands; ultimately, they commanded few ships and limited personnel. Though they were vigorously recruiting local vagrants to replenish their ranks, the scale remained constrained. If his side displayed its might with a tenfold or twentyfold advantage, he did not believe the opponent would fail to retreat before such difficulties.
At the close of the Wanli reign, the Red-haired barbarians had arrived at Penghu with three large ships; government troops had dispatched fifty war junks to force them away. When they occupied Penghu again in the fourth year of Tianqi, the Red-haired barbarians had possessed no more than a dozen large and small warships with a landing force of merely eight hundred men. Yu Zigao had led over ten thousand men in an eight-month standoff before forcing their withdrawal. The Australians' current strength and scale far exceeded the Red-haired barbarians of that era.
By his estimation, expelling the Australians who occupied Bopu would require mobilizing a force no smaller than that deployed to expel the Red-haired barbarians from Penghu during the Wanli and Tianqi reigns. At minimum, ten thousand troops and fifty warships would be needed to besiege the Australians around Bopu and compel their retreat. Beyond this, he saw no other path.
Lin Baiguang walked along the main street before the county office in Qiongshan County, dressed as a small merchant. He was en route to visit a certain individual—someone with great bearing on his plans for coming here.
The transmigrator group's rule in Lingao was deepening, and the plan to establish branch bases at critical resource points across the island was advancing steadily. The next phase was to penetrate and control the prefectures and counties of the entire island.
Other prefectures and counties held no significant political or military importance. The Executive Committee had determined that the key was Qiongshan County. This was the premier county of Qiongzhou Prefecture, the gateway for all traffic entering and leaving Hainan Island, the island's political and economic center, the core of Great Ming's governance, and the station for the island's only mobile force with genuine combat capability.
Should the Ming military launch an encirclement and suppression campaign against Lingao, this was the inevitable point for a major army to cross the sea and assemble. Should the transmigrator group launch a war to unify the island, they must first defeat the garrison at White Sand Water Fortress, capture Haikou Battalion City, and occupy the Qiongshan county seat. Other prefectures and counties across the island would essentially fall upon receiving a circular. For these reasons, the Intelligence Committee had focused current intelligence and infiltration efforts here. Lin Baiguang's mission was to leverage existing relationships to establish an intelligence network in Qiongzhou Prefecture, concentrating on infiltrating local government and garrison to monitor troop status and movements.
Because Qiongshan County City served as the prefectural seat, it was considerably larger than Lingao. The county seat was situated at the foot of Daying Mountain and Bao'er Mountain, constructed along mountain and waterway. The terrain rose above the surrounding land. The Meishe River flowed past its south and east gates, forming a natural moat—certain similarities to Lingao's own city construction.
As the prefectural seat, with personnel and materials from the mainland largely gathering and distributing here, commerce flourished considerably. Many shops and households lined both sides of the main streets outside the East, West, and South gates—quite lively indeed. Handicraft workshops rarely found elsewhere on Hainan also operated here. Many simple primary industrial products could only be manufactured in this location on the entire island. Consequently, population and household density were far greater, and the bustling streets somewhat resembled the ancient county towns of novels and films.
However, once inside the county seat itself, similar to Lingao, few commercial or residential figures could be seen. Both sides of the main street were lined with various government offices: Qiongzhou Prefecture Yamen, Hainan Branch Surveillance Commissioner's Office, Branch Administration Commissioner's Office, Armament Bureau, Qiongzhou Prefecture School, Qiongshan County School... hardly any civilian residences were visible, let alone commercial establishments. Only a market in the unwalled area outside the East Gate seemed reasonably lively. Lin Baiguang inquired and learned this was called "East Gate Market."
Lin Baiguang found this odd configuration puzzling. Why was this dignified prefectural city so small in scale, leaving scant space after being stuffed with various government offices? Cold and cheerless, with almost no room for residential or commercial districts. Instead, the area outside the walls bustled with activity, forming the actual population settlements. He did not realize that ancient cities in Hainan differed fundamentally from those on the mainland. In typical mainland cities, people came first—the city emerged after population concentrated to sufficient density. In Hainan, the city preceded the people. City construction served garrison and administrative needs. In other words, whether the Qiongzhou prefectural seat or the Lingao county seat, their essence was that of military castles. The purpose of constructing these cities was primarily defense against attacks by indigenous peoples and bandits—a demonstration of the Imperial Court's ruling authority.
Gradually, such cities became guarantors of safety, and people gathered around them, forming settlements. Because the cities themselves had never been designed to accommodate residents, their areas were generally quite small, making it difficult to house continuously increasing civilian populations. Thus, even the ancestral homes of Qiongshan County's famous sons Qiu Jun and Hai Rui lay outside the West Gate.
The transmigrator group already maintained a foothold at Shenying Port outside Qiongshan County City: an inn operated by Qiewei. Beyond guest rooms, it featured an attached large-scale warehouse and a ticket agency for Gaoguang Shipping. The target clientele were merchants purchasing local products on the island. Various goods they acquired across Hainan could be temporarily stored here, then shipped via Gaoguang Shipping. Because procedures were convenient and transport secure, one-third of goods currently exported from Qiongshan traveled on Gaoguang Shipping vessels.
Lin Baiguang considered that staying at the inn was too distant from the city and inconvenient for his purposes. He took his subordinates and lodged at a small temple outside the city in the guise of a merchant. Such temples were modest in scale but maintained fastidiously clean accommodations and meals. Not only was lodging comfortable, but the quiet atmosphere perfectly served as the era's equivalent of a "luxury hotel."
He was generous with money, presenting ten taels of silver upon arrival to book a small courtyard. After settling in, he set up the portable 20W radio and established contact with the base station in Lingao. Each day he went out for strolls to "visit" clients according to a list.
Calling it "visiting" was not entirely accurate. Some were genuine visits—presenting a card at the door to request an audience. Others were merely peripheral inquiries about intelligence, with no actual meeting sought.
These individuals came from all trades and professions. The list Lin Baiguang carried had actually been deciphered and compiled from Gou Da and Gou Er's documents—the relationship network in Qiongshan County. He intended to take over this system.
Lin Baiguang circled approximately twenty names on the list of those who had conducted cooperative dealings with the Gou family. There was no need to absorb the entire network. According to the transmigrator group's plan, they would occupy all of Hainan Island by the end of the first five-year plan. By then, they would be the rulers of Qiongshan County.
Those he selected included petty clerks in government offices, junior officers in the local garrison, seated merchants operating shops, and traveling merchants moving between the mainland and Qiongshan. All were people who could provide the transmigrator group significant assistance in intelligence and commerce in the years ahead.
(End of Chapter)