Chapter 611 - The Etiquette of Gift-Giving
That single sentence blocked everything that might follow. The claim that they were so-called Australians was completely unsubstantiated. Besides, they weren't red-haired, green-eyed Westerners who were obviously foreign at a glance. Master Jiang's entire prepared speech of elaborations and insinuations couldn't be delivered. He squeezed his fan hard.
Since this approach proved ineffective, he had to fall back on his backup plan. Time to invoke the big name and intimidate. He cleared his throat lightly:
"Second—well, it's a long story. Let me speak frankly. Open the skylight and let in the light, as they say." He glanced at Pei Lixiu. "The Governor's venerable mother will soon celebrate her eightieth birthday."
Pei Lixiu nodded. "This is already recorded in our formal gift registry. When the time comes, there will be no delay. We will certainly send a generous gift to seek her favor."
Master Jiang smiled. "That's just following the customary formalities for offering congratulations along with everyone else. How could that possibly please the master? Given the current situation, wouldn't your Mr. Guo want to bring extra joy upon joy to Governor Li's venerable mother?"
The extortionate demand in these words was now quite plain. Pei Lixiu secretly frowned but could only say: "I'll need Master Jiang to enlighten me."
Only then did Master Jiang say: "The Governor's honored mother has long heard that you have in your establishment a self-walking, self-chiming Australian clock. She very much wishes to borrow it for her birthday celebration, to cut a fine figure and let all the guests marvel at it."
Pei Lixiu suddenly understood: so that was what they wanted—the large rosewood clock in her room.
This thing wasn't actually that precious. If it weren't for Dr. Zhong Lishi insisting on waiting until all self-produced clock technology was fully developed before marketing, just the stock of modern mechanical clock components in Lingao numbered in the hundreds of sets. Have the skilled craftsmen at Purple Treasure Studio fit them with attractive cases, and they'd be ready immediately. If giving one to Li Fengjie could ease this crisis, it wasn't too high a price to pay.
But Su Ai's words floated back into her mind—"With rumors flying lately, you must keep your composure. Don't get any wild ideas about finding channels. There are too many heartless beasts out there who eat people without spitting out bones!" Moreover, she clearly remembered that Governor Li's mother's birthday wasn't "in a few days," and the amount to send was already established by precedent. Someone wouldn't be specially dispatched to prompt them. Generally, they also wouldn't come specifically to request a particular item.
She studied this sanctimonious "official face," watching his smug smile and his fan constantly opening and closing. She decided to test him.
"Since the honored lady has shown such favor, I'll have someone deliver the clock to the Governor's residence as soon as I return. May we partake of the old lady's blessings and win her appreciation."
"No need, no need. I've already brought people. They'll take it away themselves. No need to deliver it."
"That wouldn't be proper. This congratulatory gift should be delivered on the actual day, draped in red and accompanied by musicians. I'll naturally also go in person to kowtow to the old lady."
"No need, no need."
Pei Lixiu suddenly frowned and said softly: "Oh dear, this isn't right. Not right at all."
Master Jiang had been preparing to press his case about how there was truly no need to trouble herself, when he suddenly heard her say "not right." He stared at her in stupefaction.
"The item in my room is called an Australian Rosewood Grand Clock. You surely know this, sir."
"Indeed, indeed."
"Since this is a birthday gift for the Governor's venerable mother, sending a clock would be... this, this, this..." She shifted tone. "I'm afraid it's most improper."
Sending a "clock" (zhong) as a birthday gift—wasn't that the same as "sending to one's end" (song zhong)? It was practically cursing the host. This Master Jiang had merely been crafting clever words, using the Governor's mother's birthday as a pretext to seize this precious clock. It had never actually been intended as a birthday gift. How could he have thought of this connection? Pointed out by Pei Lixiu, he was struck dumb and completely speechless.
Master Jiang departed in humiliated fury, unable to resist leaving a few veiled threats. Pei Lixiu couldn't be bothered to respond. She was now certain—Master Jiang hadn't come on Governor Li's orders at all. He was simply exploiting the recent news about attacking Lingao to extort them.
When Zheng Shangjie learned of this, she was somewhat worried—after all, the man was someone close to the Governor. What if he poisoned the well at a critical moment?
"Hmph, he doesn't have the standing," Pei Lixiu said lazily. "On matters of such importance, the Governor's yamen doesn't consult the likes of him. Besides, regarding the expedition against Lingao—even the Governor-General's yamen hasn't settled the matter yet. What influence could a house guest in the Governor's yamen possibly have? He probably doesn't even have clearance to know the secrets. No need to fear him. This rosewood clock—I'd rather send it to Governor Li's residence; it might actually prove useful."
"Mm, that's true. But shouldn't we discuss the gift-giving with Mr. Guo..."
"I'm just saying. Right now our every move is significant. Of course he has to make the decisions." Pei Lixiu bit her lip—realizing she had forgotten to put on lipstick.
On Guo Yi's end, Sun Chang had already returned. He reported that most households had still accepted the tea, though only a handful had received him and offered reward money. Most just returned a calling card. Some households said the master wasn't home and it wasn't convenient to accept gifts.
Guo Yi examined the gift list Sun Chang had made, looking for patterns.
It appeared that the officials and gentry the Guangzhou Station associated with had begun consciously distancing themselves, but not yet to the point of a complete break. This meant things hadn't reached the final stage. There was still room for maneuver on all sides.
In summary: the Guangdong government clearly intended to use military force against Lingao. But nothing had been finalized yet.
Guo Yi specifically went to visit Gao Ju. The great Master Gao had also received similar news. He remained quite calm, telling him directly: this matter was very suspicious.
"You needn't panic too much. This matter has all the signs of a drawn bow that won't release its arrow."
This aligned somewhat with his own speculation, Guo Yi thought. He wanted to draw out details, so he feigned confusion and asked Gao Ju.
"To attack Lingao, where would the troops come from? Where would the military pay come from?" Gao Ju laughed. "Without troops or pay, would the fine lords and officials of Guangzhou city personally take up arms?"
He told Guo Yi that the Guangdong provincial treasury simply couldn't produce such a large sum.
"General He's soldiers haven't been paid for nearly a year. Unless Governor-General Wang can conjure up several hundred thousand taels of military pay, attacking Lingao is nothing but empty talk."
"I see. So this is a false alarm?"
"Not necessarily. At minimum, Governor-General Wang does have this intention," Gao Ju said. "Think about it—Governor Xiong in Fujian is riding high on success. If Wang Zunde has nothing to show for himself, how can he continue? And he's offended many people in Guangdong. When the time comes, he won't be able to account for himself to the court!"
"You shouldn't let your guard down either," Gao Ju said. "As things stand, your best strategy is to quickly find a solid backer and make a dedication."
Gao Ju's meaning was the same as Su Ai's—they should dedicate to Eunuch Yang, which would silence all the greedy hands reaching toward them.
"This subordinate cannot make such a decision—"
"Yes, you need to ask Steward Wen's opinion." Gao Ju was in good spirits. "Old Wen hasn't come to Guangzhou in ages. Could that godforsaken Lingao actually be better than Guangzhou? How dismissive of us!"
"No, no." Guo Yi was about to make excuses for Wen Desi when Gao Ju waved his hand: "Go discuss with Steward Wen. His entrenching himself at Lingao isn't a long-term solution! Better to plan early!"
Comparing notes from multiple sources, Guo Yi had a rough understanding now. In his report to Lingao, he stated: the likelihood of the Guangdong Ming forces mobilizing in the short term was actually quite small.
However, the spreading of this news made the Guangzhou Station's situation increasingly difficult. Not only did Zhiming Tower's business volume plummet, but as Su Ai had predicted, over the following seven or eight days the political climate in Guangzhou seemed to shift. Visitors to Zhiming Tower noticeably decreased, and reservations nearly dried up. A steady stream of various visitors began seeking audiences with Guo Yi and Pei Lixiu.
Each of these visitors claimed impressive connections: if not a house guest of the Governor-General, then a relative of the Governor, or else a personal attendant of the Supervising Eunuch... One by one they came calling, opening with demands to borrow silver. Some didn't want silver but claimed their master was interested in "Australian curiosities" and hoped to "borrow them for viewing." One pretext after another for extortion and seizure. The slightest show of reluctance brought threatening language.
Fortunately, Pei Lixiu had gotten the inside story from Su Ai, and Gao Ju had secretly warned them: don't fear these people—they're merely using their masters' names to extort benefits. Even giving in to them would be useless; it would only invite wave after wave of such people. Eventually, Guo Yi simply had Sun Chang receive visitors, claiming he himself was unwell, and shut his doors to guests.
But privately, he was constantly making various preparations for possible contingencies. He instructed Sun Kecheng to station more personnel near the various establishments to guard against anyone inciting disturbances. Through various channels, he secretly gathered cash to Delong's main vault, ready at any moment to handle runs on the various establishments. Externally, all establishments continued normal business. Especially for those requesting early withdrawal of deposits—all were to be paid principal and interest as calculated, without showing the slightest difficulty.
What somewhat consoled him was that Sun Kecheng, Shen Fan, and other indigenous managers, though they hadn't been vetted in Lingao, remained utterly loyal to the Guangzhou Station. Not only did they show no sign of shirking or evading, they actually came forward to offer advice and strategies. Shen Fan suggested talking to Liang Cunhou.
"Not only are Young Master Liang and his father benevolent, but they're also upright in their conduct. If the master wishes to make a dedication, why not dedicate Purple Treasure Studio to their family?" Shen Fan was quite enthusiastic about dedication, considering it the best solution to the current problem.
"The Liang family is a major local gentry family. Their grandfather was a high-ranking court official. Their roots run extremely deep. With them backing you, no one in Guangzhou city would dare eye the master's properties!"
Moreover, Liang Cunhou and Guo Yi were already cooperating on the Charity Hall, so they had a personal friendship. This relationship made them different from ordinary shops.
"If it were an ordinary shop seeking to make a dedication, they might not even be willing to accept!" Shen Fan seemed to be saying that their willingness to take your property for free was already an enormous favor. This made Guo Yi quite unhappy.
That night, Guo Yi lay awake almost the entire night in his room. The environment of this time-space was indeed a hundred times more complex than the old one. The official-merchant collusion routine—he had thought he'd been overdoing it, giving these officials too many benefits. He had never imagined they would take the benefits and still want to swallow everything whole!
What troubled him now was: how exactly could this crisis facing the Guangzhou Station be resolved?
Guo Yi wasn't the least bit afraid of the so-called expedition against Lingao—that would only bring about their own destruction. Lingao would certainly be fine. But the Guangzhou Station faced an enormous crisis in all this.
Dedicating one establishment to Eunuch Yang or the Liang family wasn't inconceivable as a compromise. However, neither the Transmigrator Parliament nor the Executive Committee would approve it.
He now fully understood: LĂĽ Yizhong's scheme, while ostensibly catering to Wang Zunde's eagerness to achieve maritime glory, was mainly aimed at the Guangzhou Station's various establishments.
The man didn't care at all whether the Australians could maintain themselves at Lingao. He just wanted to use this pretext to devour the Guangzhou Station!
But for a retired prefect, wasn't his appetite a bit too large?
Could there be someone else behind him? Guo Yi grew alert. Lü Yizhong was just a retired prefect who could throw his weight around in the two Guangs only because of Wang Zunde's trust. He held no real power himself. Even if the Guangzhou Station obediently dedicated everything to him, he couldn't hold onto it! Thinking of this, he realized that whoever was plotting to seize the Guangzhou Station must be of much higher status—at minimum a palace eunuch on the level of Eunuch Yang, or a high court official.
But this person still hadn't revealed their true face.
He took a sip of tea that had gone nearly cold and stood at the window, gazing out. The moon appeared and disappeared in the night sky. To the north, there remained an impenetrable mass of dark clouds.
The telegram from Guangzhou about the Ming's signs of military action against Lingao was sent with the most urgent designation. As soon as this Guangzhou telegram arrived, it was delivered to the classified communications room at Lingao Telecom. When Li Yunxing saw the full text, he was momentarily stunned.
"F*ck, hell yeah!" He excitedly grabbed the telegram folder and was about to leave.
"Director, Director, you haven't signed yet!" The indigenous female radio operator responsible for encoding and routing called out to stop him as he took the telegram and prepared to leave.
"Right, right." Li Yunxing pulled out a pen and scrawled his signature in the log with a flourish. Then he hurried out of the classified room and ran back to his own office. His newly assigned domestic secretary and office secretary, Bei Jinyi, was tidying the documents on his desk.
Li Yunxing strode into the office and swept everything on the desk aside in one motion, giving the half-finished Bei Jinyi a terrible fright. She thought he was dissatisfied with her about something and stood to the side, not daring to speak.
"Quick, make a copy immediately and send it to the Office of the Chief of Staff's classified room!"
Li Yunxing spoke excitedly. This was excellent! The Ming army was finally coming to their door! Once this war started, those who'd been advocating the "turtle strategy" day in and day out would have nothing more to say. Lingao Telecom would become Hainan Telecom. Who knew—he might directly become the head of Guangdong Telecom!
He rubbed his hands together excitedly, knowing that once this reached the Executive Committee, a full assembly would be called tomorrow at the latest—this was the transmigrator collective's first national war!
Li Yunxing decided that at the upcoming Transmigrator Parliament assembly, he would definitely jump up and speak passionately, firmly demanding an expansion of the war. They couldn't be satisfied with merely repelling the Ming attack—at minimum, they should pursue to Qiongshan County and completely destroy Ming rule on Hainan.
The telegram was quickly sent to the Office of the Chief of Staff's classified room, then printed into several dozen copies. By regulation, such dispatches went first to the Executive Committee, the Parliament Standing Committee, and the heads of relevant departments.
An hour later, this news was posted on the BBS as a pinned announcement on the front page.
The BBS, which had been lacking hot topics recently—except for the North American contingent still endlessly debating political system reform and the Colonial Trade Department people promoting Liaodong trade—had been basically deserted. The news of a Ming expedition immediately caused a sensation.
That evening, a flood of posts surged onto the BBS. For a time, all manner of ideas filled the forums, instantly creating a thread explosion.
Early the next morning, the Transmigrator Parliament announced a full assembly.
In the Parliament hall, more than three hundred eighty transmigrators currently in Lingao who didn't need to remain at their posts attended the meeting. Because this was the first time a decision involving war and peace would be made, every transmigrator who could leave their post was present.
The hall was filled with a heated atmosphere. Transmigrators stood or sat, each face showing excitement. From the crowd came occasional shouts: "Fck! Beat them till they sht themselves!", "Wipe out Wang Zunde's whole family!", "Guangzhou Massacre!", "Dongguan Triple Slaughter!" and similar cries.
"Dammit, the war hasn't even started and they're already dreaming of being Tatars!" Liu Zheng, representing most of the Long-Range Exploration Team, came to the Parliament and couldn't help cursing when he heard such talk. Behind him came Zhao Xue, Bai Guoshi's girlfriend—after Bai Guoshi's persistent pursuit and sworn promises to never take concubines, Zhao Xue had finally agreed to be his girlfriend. As a single woman, her range of choices originally hadn't been too limited, but when this bunch of single otaku were all dreaming of seventy-two female slaves of various ethnicities and skin colors, her choices had become pathetically few.
"They seem to be talking about women," Zhao Xue thought. These men were truly tiresome. "They want to, um, do that to all the women in Guangzhou and Dongguan."
"Hmph, small-minded!" Liu Zheng placed his personal wooden seat cushion on the brick seat engraved with his number. All around him was a large empty space—almost everyone from the Long-Range Exploration Team was out on expeditions.
Liu Zheng wasn't particularly excited about this news. Though he wasn't a Ming dynasty fan, he was a Han nationalist. So he would have preferred to fight the Tatars or some other foreigners rather than the Ming army—though this conflict was also unavoidable.
Still fuming, he suddenly spotted Ma Qianzhu sitting in his seat, signing autographs for a bespectacled young woman. He even offered a few words of praise, though the noise was so loud no one could hear what he said.
"Hmph hmph, you Ma Qian—"
A piercing rendition of "On the Moon Above" rang out over the assembly hall—Xiao Zishan, chairing the meeting, had banged his gavel dozens of times without anyone paying him any attention. Finally he had no choice but to crank up the amplifier and start playing "On the Moon Above."
(End of Chapter)