Chapter 1806 - Propaganda Work

Liu Xiang maintained surface composure as he accepted the document folder and began methodically flipping through pages, but his pointed silence already telegraphed clear displeasure. In the past, when administered territory had been limited and county offices possessed no independent operating budgets, everything had flowed directly from central authority. Specific executing ministries would deploy their own personnel and materials to work directly in local areas, with the county office merely providing local administrative cooperation—as during the typhoon disaster relief, when propaganda and recruitment operations were handled entirely by teams dispatched from Lingao, with Liu Xiang's police and administrative forces simply "maintaining venue security" and keeping order.

But Guangzhou Prefecture represented an exponentially larger administrative undertaking. Lingao had granted Guangzhou considerable operational autonomy, and consequently the direct control exercised by various central ministries over their subordinate agencies deployed in Guangzhou had declined precipitously. Simultaneously, since these Guangzhou-based agencies were almost entirely staffed and managed by naturalized citizens rather than transmigrator Senators, the Guangzhou Municipal Government possessed substantial influence over these so-called "vertical line departments" (Tiao-tiao) that theoretically reported to central ministries.

The Propaganda Section of the City Government existed theoretically as subordinate to the Culture and Propaganda Ministry's institutional system, but Liu Xiang felt strongly that the recent propaganda direction exhibited by the Yangcheng Express newspaper comprehensively failed to grasp or reflect the actual governance philosophy guiding the Guangzhou Municipal Government's work. Therefore, he had systematically refused to approve any of the section's proposed follow-up campaign plans. Simultaneously, to prevent this "vertical line department" from acting autonomously on presumed central authority, Liu Xiang had specifically instructed all related municipal departments regarding manpower and material resources needed for propaganda operations: absolutely no resources were to be allocated without Liu Xiang's explicit personal approval.

After carefully reviewing this latest revised version of the propaganda plan, Liu Xiang finally understood with crystalline clarity why certain people desperately wanted to exile Ding Ding from Lingao.

"He genuinely did excellent work in news distribution and media operations back at the Propaganda Department," Liu Xiang offered. This evaluation represented the most diplomatically euphemistic assessment he could conscientiously formulate.

Pulling the service bellpull, Liu Xiang instructed the orderly who promptly appeared to serve tea to all three of them. Sipping the warm tea deliberately, Liu Xiang reread the plan's key chapters with greater care and organized his thoughts on how best to frame this delicate conversation with Ding Ding.

Setting aside Ding Ding's technical work capabilities entirely, the deeper structural issue was almost certainly the classic provincial-ministerial administrative contradiction—what might be termed the perpetual "vertical lines versus horizontal blocks" (Tiao-kuai) institutional tension. Of course, this particular manifestation wasn't fundamentally problematic for Liu Xiang personally. As long as subordinates were naturalized cadres rather than fellow Senators, Liu Xiang could leverage his superior Senator status to compel them to execute work according to his strategic vision. But doing so inevitably established a dangerous precedent for cross-boundary command authority that future officials might exploit—something to be strictly avoided if possible.

"Old Ding!" Liu Xiang began, his tone carrying deliberate gravity. He took another measured sip of tea and settled deeply into the sofa cushions in a conspicuously relaxed, non-aggressive physical posture designed to continue the conversation without escalating confrontation.

"I am an absolute amateur regarding propaganda theory and professional communications doctrine; I genuinely don't understand the technical discipline." Just as he completed this modest disclaimer, Ding Ding appeared poised to interrupt defensively, so Liu Xiang hurriedly raised his hand in a restraining gesture, physically stopping Ding Ding from speaking prematurely.

"But evaluated from the perspective of practical administrative governance work, I believe this propaganda campaign plan is fundamentally inappropriate for our current situation." Liu Xiang carefully observed Ding Ding's facial expression, and predictably registered the classic "ignorant laymen shouldn't interfere in professional matters" look combined with "just sign the damn thing and stop wasting my time."

"Look, let's set aside all the other campaign elements temporarily and discuss specifically this prostitute liberation initiative that must be launched immediately." Liu Xiang turned to a middle section and indicated the relevant paragraph directly to Ding Ding. "Let me pose a preliminary analytical question: who do you assess benefits most substantially from us undertaking this liberation work in the first place?"

"Who else could it possibly be? Obviously it's this entire group of..." Ding Ding nearly blurted out the crude term "whores" reflexively, but caught a peripheral glimpse of Zhang Yunmi's back from the corner of his eye and instantly self-corrected mid-word, "...unfortunate lost women!"

"In the immediate short term, it is indeed primarily this specific demographic group. They will receive professional medical assistance and treatment, as well as our legal aid services to help them escape from fundamentally unreasonable and exploitative indenture contracts. They gain the freedom to leave the commercial sex trade entirely, and even those personally willing to continue working in this... 'customs industry' profession can secure fair remuneration they actually deserve. Viewed from this narrow perspective, mobilizing such substantial administrative force and resources to execute this social movement does directly rescue and benefit them. It's genuinely not an exaggeration to characterize our role as their 'great benefactors.'" Liu Xiang acknowledged Ding Ding's surface-level interpretation first to establish common ground.

"But in the substantive long term..." Liu Xiang deliberately skipped the adversarial "however" conjunction entirely. "In the long-term strategic impact, by employing these lost women as our institutional entry point, we successfully extend the investigative tentacles of the integrated public security, procuratorate, and court system deep into the previously opaque interest chains of the urban gray economy, thereby enabling far more accurate monitoring of local organized crime and corrupt protection networks. That's benefit number one. These systematically rescued lost women will undergo uniform vocational skills training and ultimately master practical trades enabling productive participation in social industrial economy. We thereby acquire a substantial cohort of young productive labor force. That's benefit number two. And regarding number three, our transmigrator community's gender ratio imbalance remains catastrophically skewed male. Whether these women are arranged for stable employment in Guangzhou or Hainan, or strategically dispersed for rural resettlement across the territory, we ultimately solve the lifelong marriage prospects for literally hundreds of able-bodied men who would otherwise remain dangerously unattached. The downstream contribution to our broader social stability is genuinely incalculable."

The more Ding Ding listened to this pragmatic recitation, the more visibly impatient he became with what seemed like obvious points. "These operational principles are all entirely correct and reasonable, but what precisely does this strategic analysis have to do with rejecting the propaganda campaign plan!"

"That's exactly the fundamental problem!" Liu Xiang pounced. "According to the cost-benefit calculation I just outlined, our municipal government ostensibly expends enormous administrative effort and suffers substantial immediate fiscal losses, investing heavily to rescue many lost women—but ultimate analysis reveals that the entity benefiting most substantially from this operation is actually our own government and social system! So shouldn't the propaganda messaging necessarily adopt a much more balanced framing? We shouldn't perpetually approach public communications from the condescending benefactor mentality of 'look how these...lost women are taking huge advantage of our generosity,' but rather explore and clearly articulate the genuine strategic starting point and profound social significance motivating this administrative action?"

Liu Xiang had also nearly employed the crude vulgar term "whores" before catching himself.

Ding Ding finally grasped what Liu Xiang was driving at conceptually. This revised plan had been produced with Ding Ding's direct participation and oversight, so he naturally understood intimately what general propaganda tone pervaded the content. It was relentlessly: "The Senate loves the common people like cherished children," "The Senate bestows incomparable grace upon the world," "The Senate is simply wonderful, just wonderful," "The evil hostile reactionary forces and corrupt old society are simply terrible, just terrible."

Essentially, the messaging maintained precisely this patronizing tone—or rather, the propaganda apparatus had fundamentally operated in this heavy-handed mode throughout its entire institutional existence.

"Look, for those of us engaged in practical administrative governance, simply treating symptoms when they manifest—addressing the aching head when the head hurts and the sore foot when the foot pains—represents the absolute lowest competence level. My own capability operates slightly above that threshold; I actively search for root structural causes of problems." Liu Xiang prepared to illustrate with an example but accidentally launched into self-aggrandizing reminiscence. "Like when I governed Qiongshan County and confronted the persistent problem of telegraph wire theft. Beyond merely intensifying police crackdowns and criminal punishment, we had to eliminate the underlying economic incentive structure. Since virtually all individuals in the county who possessed blacksmith forging skills were systematically recruited and transported to Lingao for training as industrial workers, the remaining population of wire thieves could no longer transform stolen copper into marketable everyday iron implements, thereby rendering theft economically pointless. Statistical analysis confirmed that telegraph wire theft incidents declined dramatically in linear fashion immediately after this workforce removal measure was fully implemented."

Catching a glimpse of Ding Ding's openly mocking expression at this transparent self-congratulation, Liu Xiang recognized he'd committed an embarrassing rhetorical slip.

Ever since Xun Suji's devastating satirical notes on "countryside inspection tours" had been circulated internally among the Senate, Liu Xiang had exercised extreme caution about publicly celebrating his supposed "political achievements" in Qiongshan County governance. But momentary lapses remained unavoidable when enthusiasm overcame discretion.

"Of course, the most structurally decisive factor was that cheap mass-produced iron tools from Lingao Iron and Steel Company flooded the market like an industrial tide, fundamentally eliminating the economic viability of traditional independent blacksmith enterprises. This comprehensively solved the root problem at its source. Those individuals who'd stolen wire from genuine economic necessity or to support productive labor were thereby addressed systematically. The remaining persistent thieves who continued stealing despite these changes were operating purely from ingrained criminal pathology. Apprehend these incorrigible offenders and dispatch them directly to penal labor digging sand."

Liu Xiang accelerated through finishing the anecdote. He genuinely couldn't help himself completing narratives once begun—a mild obsessive-compulsive tendency.

"I believe propaganda communications should function identically: identify and target the authentic root of problems with analytical precision. Whether the Senate governance model is objectively beneficial or not doesn't fundamentally depend on propaganda organs broadcasting self-praise. I must say frankly, the current genuinely impressive situation prevailing in Lingao was created through the concrete reality of us five hundred transmigrators eating, living, and laboring together shoulder-to-shoulder with the common people, leading local populations forward hoe by hoe through participatory example. Although regarding original motivation, we were essentially forced to engage in direct manual labor because if we hadn't personally undertaken this work, literally no one in this entire seventeenth-century world possessed the knowledge or capability to execute the technical tasks we needed accomplished. And if we're rigorously precise about terminology, our 'eating together' with peasants definitely didn't meet egalitarian standards in practice, but we genuinely did participate extensively in productive labor and demonstrated how to work far more efficiently..."

Observing Ding Ding's face morphing into a "don't you dare attempt political propaganda instruction in front of me" expression of professional offense, Liu Xiang wisely decided to abandon theoretical foundations and proceed directly to concrete recommendations.

"So I firmly believe our propaganda work should publicize considerably more emphasis on why we're implementing specific policies, and articulate the underlying reasoning with transparent clarity to the common population. Whether the approach employs rational logical persuasion or frank strategic intimidation—telling people that foreign merchants carry exotic venereal diseases and if we fail to sever transmission pathways from the prostitution industry, it will inevitably result in shattered families and mass deaths, whatever messaging proves effective—all approaches are acceptable. As long as the propaganda department demonstrates genuine willingness to reason with people and explain policy logic, the common populace will at minimum listen attentively, regardless of whether they ultimately believe every claim. But persisting with the current condescending attitude of 'observe how many magnificent benefits we've bestowed, now hurry and kowtow in appropriately grateful acknowledgment,' I'm convinced the propaganda effectiveness will prove disappointingly poor. We absolutely cannot risk the outcome of common people sarcastically remarking, 'After the Senators conquered Guangzhou, they immediately rushed to bestow special favors on the city's whores'—that would be a propaganda catastrophe of genuinely hellish proportions."

At this specific point in the conversational context, employment of the crude term "whores" emerged so organically naturally that Liu Xiang didn't even consciously register using it himself. Zhang Yunmi certainly heard it clearly, but she maintained her back tactfully turned to the two older men, eyes widening as she bit her lips desperately attempting to suppress laughter, though her visibly trembling shoulders had already thoroughly exposed her amusement.

Ding Ding didn't laugh at all. Liu Xiang's final penetrating observations had triggered genuine analytical reconsideration, and he sat contemplating their implications with evident seriousness.

"Comrade Ding Ding appears... potentially salvageable after all," Liu Xiang reflected internally while observing the genuinely contemplative Ding Ding, permitting himself a measure of cautious optimism.

Dong dong dong. A brisk knock sounded at the door. "Report! Mayor Liu, an urgent document has just arrived." A familiar female voice called from outside—Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng held the formal title "Director of the Guangzhou Women's Federation." She was emphatically not among the cadres Liu Xiang had personally selected for transfer from Qiongshan County: when Liu Xiang had been authorized to recruit administrative personnel from his former jurisdiction, he had quite deliberately not included Lu Cheng in his selections. First, because Lu Cheng technically belonged to a classified security department, rendering direct transfer through his administrative channels institutionally inappropriate. Second, because Lu Cheng's presence would significantly hinder Liu Xiang's personal freedom in "collecting people" for his informal network—her watchful oversight would prove inconvenient.

But entirely unexpectedly, Lu Cheng had nonetheless been parachuted directly into Guangzhou through central Cadre Department assignment, bypassing Liu Xiang's authority completely. Whether she'd arrived through Political Security Bureau channels or Women's Federation institutional pathways remained unclear. However, observing that she'd been promoted from mere "County Women's Federation Deputy Director" to full organizational leader, and noting her personnel file documented recent intensive training under Du Wen's personal supervision in Manyao, she had most likely been deployed through Women's Federation professional channels.

Yet regardless of which specific institutional pathway had facilitated her assignment, one fact remained absolutely certain: she was a covert "hidden cadre" strategically planted by the Political Security Bureau. This sensitive dual identity was known exclusively to Police Chief Mu Min and Liu Xiang himself—not even shared with other Senators.

Since she now served as the formal organizational head of the so-called "Women's Federation" apparatus, primary operational responsibility for the imminent campaign to liberate lost women would necessarily fall to Lu Cheng. And since she'd been identified as a high-potential training candidate receiving special developmental attention from the Cadre Department, Liu Xiang was genuinely curious to observe whether she could demonstrate the exceptional capabilities her sponsors apparently anticipated.

(End of Chapter)