Chapter 678 - Gelsemium

When the Zhaopu Village Incident Report reached the Yuan Laoyuan, it triggered a barrage of inquiries directed at the Civil Affairs People's Committee. Liu Muzhou faced question after question until his face flushed and paled by turns; he could barely get words out.

He fought to maintain composure as he fielded Shan Liang's interrogation:

"According to the report, one critical factor in the work team's annihilation was the failure to raise a timely alarm. Had they sent warning in time, they might have been saved. Is that correct?"

"In theory... yes."

"According to the map, Zhaopu Village lies just over ten li from Danzhou city. So in practical terms, this is equally true. In other words, had the work team been equipped with proper communications gear, they could have raised the alarm in time."

"Correct."

"Then why weren't they issued such equipment?"

"Radio equipment is classified as Level One controlled materiel. Small detached parties don't qualify for allocation." Liu Muzhou recited the models and quantities of transceivers and walkie-talkies that had been issued to the Danzhou work team. "We did issue considerable equipment to the work team itself."

"Do you consider that sufficient?"

"That amount is inadequate to simultaneously supply over a dozen work teams plus camps scattered across various locations."

"...So you're telling me that despite knowing the communications equipment issued to the Danzhou work team was insufficient, you still sent them out?"

"I object to such leading questions!" Liu Muzhou shot back. "How much equipment we can deploy is not something the Civil Affairs People's Committee can decide unilaterally!"

"Very well. I withdraw the question." Shan Liang paused. "Then is it possible for your department to employ alternative means? Distress rockets, carrier pigeons, or other primitive but reliable methods?"

"All of those involve local factors and technical conditions. Carrier pigeons, for example, require establishing dovecotes locally and training the birds to develop a homing instinct for Danzhou. Otherwise, giving pigeons to work teams would be pointless—they would only fly back to Lingao. Training pigeons to adapt to a new home cannot be accomplished in a day or two. Nick can verify this."

...

Liu Muzhou barely escaped the hearing's fierce bombardment. He silently cursed Liu Yixiao for bungling the job and dragging him into this mess.

You're hiding in Danzhou taking it easy while I take the heat for you, he fumed inwardly.

At this point, Mei Lin requested the floor.

"Permission granted."

Mei Lin stepped to the podium.

"Fellow transmigrators! This Zhaopu Village incident may appear accidental, but in truth it was inevitable. This is a profound lesson—"

"Please get to the point!" Ma Jia interjected. He had grown drowsy presiding over the long meeting.

"I believe the primary cause of this disaster was complacency in the Danzhou work team's leadership. Between capturing the county seat and dispatching the work teams, they never conducted a thorough investigation of conditions throughout the county's jurisdictions, nor did they establish local intelligence networks in a timely manner. Had they first understood the bandits' operating range, numbers, and combat capability, they could have configured the work teams accordingly. At minimum, those thirty-odd people would have possessed sufficient wariness and flexibility for crisis management. Equipment could have been prepared in advance.

"Second: inadequate communications equipment. The work team, lacking sufficient radios, never considered equipping any simple emergency communication means. They actually relied on human messengers. This is an inexcusable failure—absolutely intolerable! Currently our work teams aren't numerous. Even if we cannot issue the radio equipment we brought through the transition, we should still be able to outfit them with lower-tech alternatives: carrier pigeons, smoke canisters, signal flares. In principle, we should have gone directly to crystal transceivers. The last time radio equipment came up for discussion, people kept saying 'this won't work, that won't work.' I say, just start using it! We can develop and upgrade later—"

"Please don't stray from the topic."

"So on the surface, the work team's annihilation was caused by bandit cunning and cruelty—but in truth, the fault is our own. Several leaders in particular must bear primary responsibility. They should submit profound self-criticisms! And the Yuan Laoyuan should vote on appropriate punishments as a warning to others! Additionally: in a sense, this small team's destruction isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is a loss we must inevitably bear in conquering the world. The cost of just over thirty lives exposed the problems at our command level and clarified our understanding. That is very worthwhile—provided we learn from this lesson. I have finished speaking."

Following this, Cheka chief Yi Fan delivered a lengthy discourse on "vigilance against adventurism in local work," arguing that Liu Yixiao's approach of multi-point deployment and all-fronts expansion constituted "adventurism."

"Everyone, in the past in Lingao we did things step by step. First we controlled the area around the county seat, then we suppressed bandits, then we courted the gentry, and only then did we begin work-team deployment. But the Danzhou work team cast their net too wide. They tried to do everything at once without being fully prepared. Small wonder this disaster occurred."

Yi Fan continued:

"There are many lessons to draw from this incident—we have not attended well enough to the details. I propose revising the work team's Work Manual. The standard procedures must be reformulated based on this experience. Food safety especially requires attention: we need to specify which vegetables and fruits are safe to consume. Distribute plant-and-animal handbooks so native personnel can also distinguish between toxic and edible species. At the same time, villages slated for stationing should be scored by security level. The more dangerous ones should receive priority for higher-level communication equipment—carrier pigeons, signal flares, or even walkie-talkies. And overall, we must consider breaking up existing village structures, consolidating settlements, and gradually mobilizing local populations."

"This incident shows that relying solely on work teams while neglecting armed struggle is untenable," Wei Aiwen added. "We underestimated counter-insurgency warfare. Given that our administered territory will continue to expand, establishing specialized research institutions to study this problem is imperative."

...

The Yuan Laoyuan finally reached its conclusion: thirty-five people dead in a single incident, fallen to bandits. An unprecedented disaster. All agreed the matter demanded serious handling and thorough investigation.

Subsequently, Qian Shuiting and others proposed establishing a Zhaopu Village Incident Investigation Committee to dispatch specialists to Danzhou for a comprehensive inquiry. While gathering experience and summarizing lessons, they would examine whether the Danzhou Work Force and garrison had been derelict or in violation—whether they bore direct responsibility for this incident.

The Yuan Laoyuan Standing Committee passed the resolution and elected the committee.

Chairman Qian Shuiting noted that since the report mentioned signs of poisoning in the work team, professional personnel should be dispatched. Ultimately, Fa Shilu, a botany expert from the Agricultural Committee, was appointed Investigation Commissioner, with Ji Xin from the Arbitration Court serving as Deputy Commissioner. Lan Yangyang was designated forensic examiner—though he repeatedly insisted he was only a gastroenterologist.

The investigation team received an Independent Investigation Credential from the Arbitration Court. With this document in hand, Danzhou authorities were required to cooperate fully, without obstruction or evasion. The team held authority to inspect and seize any physical evidence and speak privately with anyone. Their compiled reports and materials would remain confidential, submitted only to the committee for review and discussion.

The investigation team traveled first to Danzhou aboard a navy supply ship. After a brief welcome from Liu Yixiao at the dock, they transferred to an ox cart bound for Danzhou city.

"All physical evidence and the bodies preserved for autopsy are in the city," Liu Yixiao explained. "There's no cold storage here. The bodies can only be kept in the basement, and they're decomposing rapidly. Had you not arrived soon, we would have had to cremate them."

"No matter, so long as we can examine the stomach contents," Lan Yangyang replied, consulting his notebook—notes he had taken after crash-studying Forensic Medicine for several days.

Upon arriving in Danzhou, the investigation team set to work immediately. Lan Yangyang performed the autopsies without delay, extracting stomach contents from each body.

He handed a glass jar filled with gray viscous matter to Fa Shilu and removed his mask with visible relief.

"Done. My part's finished. Over to you now."

Fa Shilu frowned—a nauseating stench of decay reached his nostrils. He produced a portable microscope, donned a mask, and began his examination.

The autopsy and analysis of residual food in the stomachs confirmed that the work team had indeed been poisoned by a plant. After studying the residue, Fa Shilu delivered his verdict:

"It's gelsemium." He spoke briefly, clinically. "Commonly called 'heartbreak grass.' Extremely toxic—three or four leaves are enough to kill. More lethal than arsenic, and boiling it in water only accelerates onset. Without treatment, death within eight hours is certain." He extracted some gray matter with tweezers. "They also added bitter gourd to mask the unusual taste, along with plenty of other leafy greens to hide the leaves. These bandits were clever."

"I will tear that gang limb from limb," Liu Yixiao said through gritted teeth.

"Vegetables must be obtained locally. If the enemy does this, it's virtually impossible to guard against." Yu Zhiqian's voice was grim. "I need to immediately notify all deployed teams: temporarily halt having locals purchase vegetables. All produce must be personally picked from the fields. Also prohibit foraging wild vegetables and fruits."

"Is there any simple emergency treatment?" Liu Yixiao asked. "Something to train the medics in, so they can save themselves if they consume something toxic in the future."

"Traditional Chinese medicine prescribes a decoction of licorice, mung beans, and honeysuckle to detoxify. But I believe stomach pumping is needed first for such remedies to be effective." Lan Yangyang considered. "At minimum, induce vomiting. With this particular toxin, if you can induce vomiting immediately, you gain considerably more time for rescue."

"Those three ingredients aren't hard to obtain. We'll prepare a supply for every work team from now on." Liu Yixiao's enthusiasm kindled. "We just lack emetics—hopefully the Health Department can solve that."