Chapter 770 – Scholar Liu's Illness

The negotiations between the House of Elders and Li Luoyou reached a fairly satisfactory conclusion. Pressed by the twin moral imperatives of "national righteousness" and "saving the people from peril," Li Luoyou had no choice but to accept the condition of opening the Liaodong trade channel. Likewise, he agreed to a full package of "in-depth cooperation" with the Australians on the mainland.

The General Bureau of Political Security had learned much by eavesdropping on conversations between Li Luoyou and Gu Baocheng—and by managing to plant an operative inside Qionghai House. Wu Mu had struggled mightily to achieve this. Every employee at Qionghai House, from manager to cook to watchman to sweeper, had been brought in from Li Luoyou's mainland establishments, all connected by blood or marriage—the organization was practically watertight. Wu Mu had originally planned to bribe or coerce one of the clerks into becoming an informer, but Zhao Manxiong had stopped him. In the end, they succeeded only because Qionghai House needed a purchasing clerk who spoke both the Lingao dialect and New Speech. That was how they finally got someone inside.

From the intelligence gathered, Political Security knew of Li Luoyou's ardent desire to support Gu Baocheng. So during negotiations, Xu Tianqi dangled hints of vigorously backing Gu Baocheng's business as an enticement. This hook proved more effective than appeals to "national righteousness." If Gu Baocheng could lean on the Australians, it would mean tremendous advantages for his future. Especially when Xu Tianqi hinted that they would directly enter the South Seas trade, Li Luoyou's eyelids twitched: private capital could participate too.

Jiang Shan's Foreign Intelligence Bureau and Si Kaide's Trade and Colonization Division both rubbed their hands, preparing to use this opportunity to extend their operations to the mainland. After joint consultations, they submitted a report to the Planning Commission outlining the first wave of trade-intelligence network deployment.

Deployment planning had begun when the Foreign Intelligence Bureau was first established, and the "land and sea routes" layout had already been approved by the Executive Committee and the House of Elders. Due to the Ming punitive campaign, implementation had been paused for several months, but preparatory work—such as personnel training—had continued almost uninterrupted except for the weeks of mobilization and combat. By the end of 1630, Jiang Shan's Foreign Intelligence Bureau had completed preparations in personnel, funding, and organizational structure. They were only waiting for the starting gun.

The Executive Committee tasked the Foreign Intelligence Bureau and the Trade and Colonization Division with importing large quantities of population. This was the top priority for the next two to three years. Though their control would extend to all of Hainan, population scarcity remained a severe bottleneck.

With this in mind, the two agencies revised their deployment plans. The specific locations remained unchanged, but priorities were adjusted to support the impending Liaodong trade and the northern migration program.

According to the Grand Library's projections, 1631 would bring a rare major drought to Zhejiang—displacing millions. This represented an excellent opportunity to absorb large numbers of people. At an expanded Executive Committee meeting, various parties estimated they could acquire over 200,000 people from this famine.

Thus the first deployment would be in Shanghai. Shanghai controlled the mouth of the Yangtze, was an excellent trading port, and connected Jiangsu and Zhejiang—a clear geographic advantage. Refugees could be loaded onto ships nearby. A large-scale transit base would have to be established in Shanghai first, with transfer camps, stockpiles of grain and medicine, and other relief supplies, plus adequate personnel.

Second was Hangzhou. Hangzhou had not originally been a first-wave deployment city, but to recruit hungry refugees on a large scale in Zhejiang, someone would have to be active in the provincial capital, smoothing various official channels. Chinese bureaucracies were often more hindrance than help and were inherently suspicious of grassroots initiatives.

Last was the Dengzhou-Laizhou area of Shandong. This was a key port for the Liaodong trade; Li Luoyou conducted his trade with Liaodong mainly through this port. However, the region was about to experience the Dengzhou Mutiny of 1631–1632. In such a large-scale upheaval, a small trading post would obviously struggle to survive. The Trade and Colonization Division therefore proposed occupying a small offshore island as a base. On the Deng-Lai mainland itself, they would mainly leverage Li Luoyou's existing local resources.

The first wave of deployments was scheduled for completion by March–April 1631. Afterward, the "land and sea routes" would establish posts in Nanjing, Beijing, and Tianjin.

As for local partners: for Liaodong and Shandong, they would rely on Li Luoyou. For the two capitals, the Intelligence Bureau planned to court Gao Ju into the business to tap the power of the eunuch faction behind him. Beyond leveraging their influence, Si Kaide and Cheng Dong were also eyeing the fat stacks in the Grand Eunuchs' private coffers.

Li Luoyou had no idea of the scheming in the transmigrators' bellies. He only knew that partnering with the Australians would not be a losing proposition, and so he remained cheerful about the prospects. Xu Tianqi then invited Li Luoyou to attend the year-end celebration hosted by the House of Elders. According to a suggestion by Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Liu Muzhou, besides Elders, outstanding figures from various strata of the naturalized population would also be invited—people like Fu Bu'er and Lin Quan'an. Model workers, farmers, and soldiers would be selected as "model figures" to attend, demonstrating that in the new society "no work is beneath dignity" and "all naturalized citizens are equal."

Although Li Luoyou was not a "naturalized citizen," his cooperation with the transmigrators had surpassed even Gao Ju's. He was a major partner. Inviting him to the celebration was a way of showing both strength and sincerity.

"Is this a New Year celebration? I will certainly attend..." Li Luoyou nodded repeatedly.

Just then, a pleasant musical chime sounded from Liu San's person. Li Luoyou stared with curiosity—why was this Dr. Liu carrying a music box?

Liu San quickly offered his apologies and stepped out into the courtyard. Through the open door, Li Luoyou could hear Liu San speaking, but no second voice answered. He was utterly baffled. The study courtyard should have been empty. What trick was this Elder Liu playing?

Moments later, Liu San rushed back in and whispered a few words to Xu Tianqi. Xu Tianqi's expression grew serious; he asked several more questions in a low voice. Only then did Liu San turn and announce he had urgent business and had to leave.

Under Li Luoyou's puzzled gaze, Liu San hurried out of Qionghai House, hopped on his bicycle, and pedaled furiously toward Lingao General Hospital in Bairen City. The call had been from Xiong Buyou on the telephone with an emergency: Liu Dalin is dying!

Liu Dalin's health had deteriorated steadily since the end of the Second Anti-Encirclement Campaign. Medication prescribed by doctors had brought no improvement. Even Yang Shixiang, recently returned from Anguo with medicines, had made several house calls without positive results. Yang Shixiang had suggested calling in an Australian doctor, but the family had consistently refused. The Australian way of treating illness made them uneasy: cutting open bellies, driving needles into flesh, and other such therapies had become notorious in Lingao.

After winter set in, Liu Dalin's condition worsened. He could no longer rise from bed. When Xiong Buyou received the news, he panicked—the House of Elders had invested considerable effort in cultivating Liu Dalin. If he died, the whole "Moli Xuan Project" would come to nothing. Through Yang Shixiang, he urged the family to accept treatment by an Australian doctor.

At the critical moment, the Liu family finally relented. Yang Shixiang recommended Liu San; after all, Liu San had a traditional-medicine background. His theories, methods, and prescriptions would be easier for the family to accept.

Liu San rushed into the General Hospital and returned to his office. Zhang Ziyi was already there waiting. The matter had been escalated to the Executive Committee, which had ordered the hospital to save Liu Dalin no matter what.

"How can I guarantee that?" Liu San complained. "I don't even know what disease he has."

"I haven't visited his home," Zhang Ziyi replied, "but based on casual observation, Liu Dalin's hemiplegia should be a sequela of ischemic stroke. His mobility isn't severely impaired, his speech is clear, and I've heard he still reads and writes regularly. So his motor and speech faculties aren't badly affected. If he had undergone rehabilitation at the time, he probably wouldn't have developed mobility issues."

"Your assessment is spot-on." Liu San thought: As expected of a veteran head nurse—solid professional skills. "But we won't know the specifics until we see him. Will you come with me?"

"Is it appropriate? I don't mind tending to the old man, but will he have some hang-up about propriety between men and women?"

"He's not even forty yet. How is he an old man?" Liu San said—he had looked it up in the old records. "He just looks ancient because that's his style. Literati all cultivate an air of aged sagacity. Besides, with his life hanging by a thread, he's hardly in a position to fuss about gender propriety. I'd guess nine times out of ten he's suffering from various complications. Post-care is critical. Once you're there, you can give his household servants some guidance on the spot."

"All right, let me get ready." Zhang Ziyi had already prepared his portable medical kit, containing the Elder doctor's three treasures: stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, and thermometer.

"Bring syringes too—and the IV equipment if possible. We may need intravenous infusion." Liu San didn't know how critical the illness was, but it was better to be prepared than to run back for instruments and waste time.

"I've packed surgical instruments, anesthesia drugs, and disinfectants as well," Zhang Ziyi said, producing another large medical case. "If there's a minor procedure to be done, we can start immediately."

(End of Chapter)