Chapter 1703 - The Fourth Battalion
Ever since construction had begun on Guangzhou World, one or two paddle-wheel tugboats set out from Hong Kong each day, towing long trains of barges. They would enter the Pearl River estuary, steam upriver, and arrive right beneath the walls of Guangzhou.
The vessels with their turning paddle wheels, puffing black smoke and steam, were already conspicuous enough on the Pearl River. But the fact that they could also tow a train of boats upstream against the current was an unprecedented marvel to the people lining the riverbanks.
Every day, crowds would squat at whatever point was closest to the shipping lane, waiting to watch the tow pass. Others, finding the view from shore unsatisfying, would take small boats out onto the river for a better look. Some came too close and were swamped by the waves churned up by the passing tow, drowning the curious onlookers.
The barges heading upstream carried mostly construction materials. These vessels, covered with oilcloth and riding low in the water, transported not only steel bars, cement, and glass produced in Lingao but also sand, bricks, tiles, and lime procured from various sources.
Besides these bulk goods, there were carefully packaged items wrapped in grass rope and wooden crates—"Australian goods" that made everyone's eyes turn green with envy. These cargoes were unloaded at the Guangzhou World docks, while the ships were loaded with goods already stored at the dock warehouses—commodities the Australians had purchased from across Guangzhou Prefecture and all of Guangdong—to be carried downstream to Hong Kong for transshipment onto large vessels bound for various destinations.
By now most people's curiosity had faded. Though shipping had grown more frequent and cargoes more varied, Guangzhou's natives had become accustomed to the Australians' "fire-wheel ships"—belching billows of black smoke, producing a tremendous roar audible even outside Guangzhou's north gate, capable of traveling against both wind and current. Anyone who rushed to gawk at them was surely a newcomer from elsewhere.
It was now the year-end season. The markets were quiet. People struggling through the waning year had no mood for idle sightseeing. On this dusk, with New Year's firecrackers popping all around and sulfurous smoke drifting through the air, no one—save for the fishermen who lived hand-to-mouth and the children who chased every steamship with curiosity—paid any attention to yet another fleet arriving on the Pearl River.
In the months before the new year, a dozen or more tow-trains had been arriving daily from Hong Kong, loaded with equipment and supplies for Guangzhou World's imminent grand opening. So this particular fleet attracted little notice.
The fleet consisted of three tugboats. Each tug towed six or seven barges covered tightly with oilcloth. Yet their brisk speed and shallow draft indicated these boats were not carrying particularly heavy cargo.
Guangzhou World, which had completed its merchant recruitment before the holiday, had announced a three-day work stoppage for New Year's, supposedly in preparation for the grand opening after the festival. All local hires, including dockworkers, had three days off. After collecting their pre-holiday wages and year-end gifts, the workers had happily gone home to celebrate.
At this moment, not a single dockworker remained at the Guangzhou World pier. And no one seemed concerned about how the cargo would be unloaded without them. The barges docked one after another at an unhurried pace. With low, suppressed shouts, the cargo hatches opened one by one—revealing cargo that was anything but ordinary. The holds were packed with column after column of fully armed soldiers. Commands passed down in hushed tones, and the soldiers filed out, crossed the gangplanks between boats, walked up the jetty, formed up, and marched toward the docks in orderly fashion.
A reception party was already waiting at the pier. Though only a handful of people, those in the know understood this was already the highest level of local welcome: everyone present was a transmigrator or senior naturalized cadre from the Guangdong operation—not a single local native.
"Damn, it's cold here too." Wang Ruixiang tugged his wool overcoat tighter and adjusted his dog-fur cap. After confirming his appearance, he stepped off the ship with head high and chest out, in no particular hurry.
Wang Ruixiang held no military rank. Though he had long been close to the military and worked on various weapons development projects, his actual position was in the machinery department. His naturally restless personality meant he was frequently seconded for outside assignments. For this trip accompanying the Southern China Army to Guangzhou, his official title was "Chief Mechanical Supervisor"—in other words, the Yuan Council's chief engineer in Guangdong. From ship boilers down to bayonet catches on Minié rifles, any problem the naturalized technicians couldn't solve was his responsibility. He was also in charge of supervising the installation and maintenance of all the machinery about to be shipped to Guangdong. A demanding and fiddly job.
But Wang Ruixiang was quite pleased with the appointment. He was not someone who enjoyed a quiet life.
The columns of soldiers, guided by naturalized work personnel, had already begun entering the warehouse district behind the docks. The district was a large courtyard enclosed by brick buildings several hundred meters in circumference—ideally suited for billeting troops. Guangzhou World's dual-use military-civilian storage facilities were designed to accommodate at least two full-strength infantry battalions plus several companies of artillery, engineers, and logistics troops.
Standing at the gate of the warehouse district, watching the troops file in, was Guo Yi. The first to arrive was the Army's 4th Battalion. This unit had been stationed in Hong Kong for years and was intimately familiar with local customs and conditions. Most of its soldiers, even if they couldn't speak Cantonese, could at least understand it. Over the past few years, the 4th Battalion's officers had conducted extensive staff tours throughout the Pearl River Delta under guidance from the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, collecting vast amounts of information and running battalion and company-level combat exercises at numerous coastal locations. Of all battalions, it was the best prepared for operations in Guangdong—hardly surprising that it should lead the vanguard.
As one of the Yuan Council's earliest battalion-level formations, the 4th was thoroughly well-equipped and trained. Even this simple march in full kit projected an intimidating presence.
Guo Yi struck a match. The cold weather and his nerves made him fumble—the match only caught after several tries. He lit his cigar and took a deep drag.
As senior official in charge of Guangdong affairs, Guo Yi had spent months preparing for the troops' arrival. Besides assisting the Joint Logistics Department with logistical support, he was also responsible for collecting and organizing intelligence on social conditions, local customs, and geography in Guangzhou and the surrounding areas.
Militarily, there would be little suspense in Guangdong. The key question was how to govern it. That was the real challenge.
Guo Yi gazed at the glowing tip of his cigar. The river wind blew cold against him.
At least he wouldn't have to bear this burden much longer. He had heard from friends in the Guanglei faction back in Lingao that his next appointment would likely be as county magistrate of some Hainan county—preparation for moving up to a senior regional post. Rumor had it the Yuan Council's next target would be Jiangnan.
Jiangnan was the Ming's richest region, densely populated and commercially developed. Once they swallowed that up, they would certainly need transmigrators familiar with Ming urban and economic life to take charge.
Wang Ruixiang had caught up with the marching column and now spotted Guo Yi standing alone by the gate, lost in thought as troops passed by. He approached to greet him.
"Have the others all gone in?"
"Mm, they've all gone in. You're the last." Guo Yi glanced back. "Quite a crowd arriving this time."
"I'll say. Today and tomorrow, a complete full-strength battalion is arriving—over a thousand men." Wang Ruixiang stepped through the gate. "How do you like their kit? Pretty sharp in the new uniforms, eh? They all looked like this up north. I once led over a thousand people myself up north—but those were pathetically weak refugees. Thirty men on horseback with swords could have slaughtered several thousand of them. But now..." He turned, straightened his front buttons, and struck a pose. "Now they're all warriors under the Yuan Council's rule." Wang Ruixiang swept his arm dramatically toward the darkening sky: "Within a few years, we'll swallow this entire Guangdong—poor or rich, great or small, good or evil—in one gulp! This place is about to become our turf!"
The "inner sanctum" of Guangzhou World—the transmigrators' term for the rear courtyard closed to natives—had prepared everything for the troops. Naturally, arrangements had been made to welcome the transmigrators accompanying the army.
On the upper floor of the main tower in the rear compound, a sumptuous banquet had been laid out. Every transmigrator from the Guangzhou Station and all transmigrators currently in Guangzhou attended—many of them having not seen each other for years. When Wang Ruixiang spotted Lin Baiguang, he realized that aside from appearances at plenary meetings, this man was practically invisible in Lingao.
No one knew exactly what Lin Baiguang had been doing, but from his attire and the traditional topknot he wore, he was apparently active in Ming China—either in trade or some kind of covert work.
These past few years, Lin Baiguang's footsteps had covered every corner of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian. He had even traveled to Jiangnan and Shandong. His work was supposedly intelligence-gathering, but his focus was unusual: roads, livelihood, local products, and customs—the social and economic aspects—to provide reference for the Yuan Council's future governance.
In his spare time, he read and reread Huang Zongxi's Tianxia Junguolibing Shu and various "Magistrate Handbooks" from the Ming-Qing period that the Great Library had brought from the future timeline, chief among them Fuhui Quanshu. Combining these with his experience as a county office director, he had written Guidelines for County Government Administration, which had been selected by the Yuan Council as one of the textbooks for the cadre training program.
Lin Baiguang had just received his appointment: Deputy Director of the Military Control Commission, managing the day-to-day work of the Guangdong Military Control Commission. In his mind he had already made his plans. The priority would be the fifteen counties and one department of Guangzhou Prefecture. The first step in annexing Guangdong was the Pearl River Delta, and Guangzhou Prefecture covered virtually all of it. Only by digesting this region could it become the base for annexing the whole province. The weight of responsibility and the scale of the challenge made Lin Baiguang eager for action.
(End of Chapter)