Chapter 1624 - Insider Information

"Tell me about it," Qian Shuixie said, swirling the wine in his Czech crystal goblet. "Domestic class contradictions getting too prominent? Start a war abroad to divert the masses' attention—the oldest trick in the book."

This irked Liu Xiang. He still supported the mainland strategy. There might be a grain of truth to the diversion angle, but the dignified Senate had been struck at its very doorstep by Ming forces. If they didn't launch an offensive and kept biding their time, wouldn't the masses curse the Executive Committee all the same?

Those in power carried original sin—that was the lesson. Liu Xiang now understood the psychology of those self-proclaimed "Soy Sauce Senators" a little better. He still remembered the attitude of that Deputy Director who had just parachuted into Qiongshan and found fault with everything he did—You're guilty simply for being a leader! You serve up errors! We, the masses, are the most innocent and blameless!

Fortunately, that attitude changed after the man had done some actual work. Nothing taught humility like practical experience.

"The situation is pressing, too," Liu Xiang said, taking a deep swig of beer. "If we don't launch an offensive, the Executive Committee won't be able to justify itself."

"True enough." Qian Shuixie nodded. "But this should be handed over to our Special Reconnaissance Team. It's more their line of work."

Liu Xiang was puzzled. In his understanding, capturing a city like Guangzhou meant nothing more than a repeat of the Pearl River Campaign: coordinated naval and land operations backed by artillery. Even if the Special Reconnaissance Team proved useful, it would be for decapitation strikes and reconnaissance—not scaling ladders and storming walls, surely?

Perhaps reading Liu Xiang's confusion, Qian Shuixie laughed. "Old brother, do you still think taking Guangzhou is as complicated as when we burned the Five Rams Station?"

"What else would it be?"

Qian Shuixie rose and poured himself another glass of fruit brandy. "Current Guangzhou is practically defenseless. If we wanted, we could be throwing a party there tomorrow. The Great World alone has three companies of troops garrisoned inside—plus a dozen cannons."

"So preparations for war were made long ago?"

"Not exactly." Qian Shuixie shook his head. "Big Brother said there was originally debate within the Executive Committee about whether to attack Guangzhou at all. The sticking point was trade with the Ming—Si Kaide, that capitulationist, kept worrying that war would disrupt commerce. Of course, even he's on board now. As for sending those companies over, it was mainly for guard duty and construction work. The investment in the Great World isn't trivial."

You've got to be kidding me! Liu Xiang howled internally. He'd been designing the Guangzhou operations according to an underground government plan all along! Was he supposed to scrap everything and start over?

This is the problem with being far from the ruling center, he thought bitterly. No grapevine access at all.

Speaking of plans going awry, just as the two men were engaged in what felt like clandestine plotting, Qian Xuanhuang's footsteps punctured the conspiratorial atmosphere.

"Sir!" came Qian Xuanhuang's voice. "People from the General Office are here. They say they're the orderly and guard assigned to Senator Liu from Lingao. I have the official letter."

Qian Shuixie straightened. "Show them up."

Liu Xiang examined the letter. It did bear the General Office's seal. He nodded for Qian Xuanhuang to bring them in—the letter also contained a handwritten note indicating items to be delivered to Liu Xiang personally.

"Reporting to the Chief! Guard Lin Dengwan (Leader One), Guard Di Bage (Debug), Orderly Ye Siman (Yesman)!" The three announced themselves with distinctive self-introductions the moment they arrived.

"Reporting to the Chief! This package is designated by the Executive Committee for your personal signature!" Another young man, an Executive Committee liaison patch pinned to his chest, handed over a kraft-paper package stamped with a red seal: Top Secret. Liu Xiang opened it to find a thick document—Research on Historical Materials of the Liberation of Shanghai and the Suppression of Counter-revolutionaries Movement—with a receipt attached. He filled out the receipt and returned it, and the bustling young liaison took his leave.

Liu Xiang exchanged a few words with the three newcomers, teasing Di Bage about his unusual surname, before sending them outside to wait. By convention, the Feiyun received no one other than Senators and their personal attendants.

"So they really are preparing to open fire!" Once quiet returned, Liu Xiang patted the Research on Historical Materials and sighed to Qian Shuixie.

Seeing Liu Xiang's obvious unease, Qian Shuixie understood after a moment's thought: the man probably hadn't realized from the start that armed seizure was on the table. He must have assumed an underground government approach, like in Leizhou.

After a few more exchanges, Liu Xiang indeed admitted, with some dismay, that he'd been expecting an underground takeover all along—armed occupation of Guangzhou had never crossed his mind. But their conversation wound down quickly. Liu Xiang was eager to study the newly arrived Research on Historical Materials, and Qian Shuixie was anxious to reach the Xiaocang on the radio. The sun was already setting, and Duoduo had been out all day without word. It was worrying.

Just then, Qian Xuanhuang reappeared. "Sir, a call from the port. Miss's boat just passed the fort checkpoint..."

"I'm going right now!" Qian Shuixie shot to his feet. "Is that girl trying to start a mutiny? Does she have any sense of danger at all?" He smiled apologetically at Liu Xiang. "I have to go. Brother and sister-in-law are busy, and Duoduo..."

"Go, go," Liu Xiang said quickly.

"Xuanhuang, see to Mr. Liu. Get the grill started."

"No rush." Liu Xiang said this, but his stomach was already growling.

Nothing had actually happened to Qian Duoduo. It was simply that the girl had grown tired of hugging the coastline. Today, exercising her authority as captain, she'd ordered the Xiaocang to sail to Xuwen. Little Lin and Little Zhang—the most senior members of the Girls' Commando Team—pointed out that patrol boats had increased in the strait recently, and the route to Xuwen was straightforward enough to be nearly foolproof. After some negotiation and a few agreed conditions, they relented.

The boatswain aboard was a retired marine who had fought in the Xuwen naval battle. Qian Shuixie had hired him specifically for his familiarity with those waters. The whole crew made the voyage there and back without incident. The delay came on the return leg, when Qian Duoduo insisted on stopping at the site where the Gu family pirates had been annihilated to "pay her respects."

Having confirmed via PHS radio that the Xiaocang was approaching port, Qian Shuixie went personally to the park anchorage to collect her. After he left the dining room, Liu Xiang settled into studying the Research on Historical Materials, cross-referencing passages with the Compilation of Local Conditions. Qian Xuanhuang came and went, delivering plates of grilled seafood, meat skewers, and vegetables, refilling his beer. Before he knew it, more than an hour had passed and darkness had fallen. Guo Ling'er was putting the little one to sleep in the guest cabin and couldn't come to attend him.

During pregnancy, intercourse was forbidden; during breastfeeding, the absence of a menstrual signal made accidental pregnancy likely, so it was forbidden then too; after weaning, the baby began recognizing faces, which made intimacy deeply inconvenient. Yet many Senators who thought with their lower bodies—especially certain individuals who treated lifestyle secretaries as playthings—ignored all of this. In recent years, there had been several miscarriages caused by intercourse during pregnancy and unintended pregnancies during lactation, driving Ai Beibei, Shi Niaoren, and the rest of the medical staff to fury. Eventually, under Du Wen's coordination, a "Campaign to Establish Good Living Habits" was launched, and sex education pamphlets were distributed to every Senator.

No sooner had this dust settled than Shan Liang and his faction—who had been loudly condemning Du Wen and the health department for "trampling on Senators' rights and interfering with Senators' lives"—launched a counter-offensive. They demanded that the Executive Committee provide free second secretaries to all Senators and expand living quarters to address the problem of unlicensed "Five Misses" substituting for legitimate partners during spouses' confinements. Not every Senator had purchased a second maid, after all. Some had spent their money on private villas, others were under a certain someone's strict control... The issue remained unresolved after prolonged debate. Still, many Senators leading their own departments had already cultivated an "Nth Secretary" from within their immediate circles—all unlicensed. Whether these women counted as mistresses, lifestyle secretaries, or some other category was anyone's guess. The situation was growing increasingly tangled.

Liu Xiang had wanted to find a second secretary himself, but Lu Cheng of the Women's Federation—whom he had no desire to cultivate—kept getting close to him. This effectively blocked the "advancement by favor" route for any other candidate. He couldn't exactly tell her to her face that he wasn't interested. The entire "best excuse period" slipped by, and Liu Xiang failed to take in anyone new. He ended up spending his evenings building ship models with a few naturalized craftsmen from the timber factory, burning off his restless energy that way. Unexpectedly, this turned him into a poster child for virtue. When Du Wen penned an article criticizing Senators who thought only with their lower bodies, she held Liu Xiang up as a paragon—leaving him on the verge of tears. Naturally, when Guo Ling'er read this passage aloud during her newspaper-reading duties, her eyes brimmed with emotion, and her regard for him soared from worship straight to fanatic believer. She bolted the door on the spot, and events proceeded from there...

Liu Xiang had been sitting for over an hour without noticing. IT workers, after all, are legendary for their sitting endurance. He had just finished a paper titled Initial Attempts to Consolidate Urban Power in New China and was preparing to turn the page when he heard Qian Shuixie's scolding and Qian Duoduo's defiant rebuttals drifting in from outside.

The argument between uncle and niece swelled as they approached, voices carrying all the way to the deck. Qian Duoduo appeared, deeply tanned beneath her sun hat, her striped shirt spotted with water stains and crusts of dried salt.

(End of Chapter)