Chapter 2120 - Intelligence from the City
Deploying merely four companies to establish cordons and process over ten thousand refugees constituted quite an operational stretch. Fortunately, refugees moved lethargically at night, and with zero illumination and nowhere viable to flee, they typically halted and awaited collection the moment a dozen soldiers materialized bearing torches and issued commands.
Each company possessed substantial numbers of veterans who had participated in Operation Engine; they had developed genuine expertise managing refugee consolidation operations. Employing only bayonets for coercion, they methodically consolidated refugees into manageable groups; for extended periods, wails rose from all directions, with desperate cries of "Mercy, Australian master!" filling the nocturnal air. The complete operation—escorting the more than ten thousand refugees to Beishan's eastern foothills, where three companies established guard positions—consumed a full four hours. By then, dawn had already broken.
Zhu Quanxing found himself utterly overwhelmed—he was obligated to arrange the impending assault while simultaneously managing the refugee crisis. Reserve forces and civil affairs cadres were mobilizing, preparing to assume control of this chaotic situation.
Precisely as he was thoroughly inundated, a runner reported that an elderly man among refugees who had departed the city adamantly insisted upon personally delivering correspondence to him.
"He states it absolutely must be handed over in person."
"Conduct a thorough search and confiscate the letter." Zhu Quanxing possessed zero interest in listening to elderly rambling. If this concerned "pacifying the populace" or similar matters, he had no time to squander.
"He claims he was dispatched by Lone Wolf!"
Zhu Quanxing froze mid-motion. He knew of Lone Wolf—an intelligence operative embedded in Wuzhou by the External Intelligence Bureau. Not long previously, he had even transmitted signals from the city walls.
That altered circumstances substantially.
"Very well, bring him forward." Zhu Quanxing ordered decisively. "And dispatch immediate report to Chief Xu—have him come at once!"
Sun Sancai hailed from Shandong, a refugee collected during Operation Engine. Because he possessed considerable height and strength, he had been recruited into the Army. Now Sun Sancai served as sergeant and squad leader. But his combat record remained disappointingly slim—apart from scattered bandit suppression operations, Sun Sancai had never genuinely engaged in battle. It wasn't until the Mainland Offensive commenced that he finally witnessed authentic combat action. He had harbored hopes of slaying enemies and earning magnificent battlefield merit, facilitating advancement, acquiring wealth, and bringing honor to his wife and children.
But to his profound consternation, from initial landing all the way to Wuzhou, Sun Sancai hadn't discharged a single shot—he had merely shouldered his rifle and traveled by watercraft the entire journey. That reality had extinguished half his ambition to establish his reputation.
At Zhaoqing, he had learned that over ten thousand Ming troops massed at Wuzhou; surely there would materialize a magnificent battle. Sun Sancai had been excited, convinced his opportunity had finally arrived. But to his dismay, upon reaching the battlefield theater, his company's inaugural combat mission proved to be... intercepting refugees departing the city.
Now the refugees were confined at Beishan's eastern foothills, surrounded by barricades constructed from wire and wooden stakes. They sat upon the ground while medical personnel made rounds, providing rudimentary bandaging for those who had sustained injuries. Sun Sancai's company had received fresh orders: guard duty surrounding the perimeter of this improvised refugee encampment.
Sun Sancai languished in foul temperament. If he devoted the entire campaign monitoring these refugees, he wouldn't participate in combat whatsoever. At this dismal rate, when would he ever achieve promotion?
Internal grumbling constituted one matter; orders still demanded compliance. That was "iron discipline." Sun Sancai dared not demonstrate slackness; he led his men on patrol along the cordon. Particularly, they were obligated to monitor for anyone "creating disturbance" within the refugee population—such incidents had materialized previously. Even among "fellow sufferers," and even perched on survival's precipice, the law of the jungle prevailed in refugee encampments: robbery, violent confrontations, sexual assault... every conceivable crime.
Suddenly, an elderly man pushed aggressively through to the cordon, gesticulating wildly and jabbering in a dialect Sun Sancai couldn't comprehend. It only deteriorated his mood further. He barked: "Maintain position in line!"
The elderly man was precisely Li Wensheng, the senior manager serving under Luo Yangming. Though Li Wensheng operated as a shopkeeper, he spoke exclusively Cantonese Mandarin. Sun Sancai, originating from Shandong, naturally couldn't understand—apart from the new standard language employed within military structures, he possessed command only of his hometown dialect. He couldn't even communicate in the western three prefectures, let alone here in Wuzhou.
Because "New Speech" constituted the common military tongue and he rarely interacted with external civilians, Sun Sancai knew virtually nothing of Cantonese Mandarin dialects.
Li Wensheng grew progressively more agitated, even attempting to scale the barrier. Sun Sancai reflexively elevated his rifle and pushed Li Wensheng backward employing the bayonet.
Li Wensheng recalled his master's critical instructions. Steeling his resolve, disregarding warnings from surrounding refugees, he pushed forward again, gesticulating frantically and bellowing that he required audience with the chief commander.
Sun Sancai still couldn't comprehend a solitary word. Observing the elderly man being obstinate and creating disorder, regulations mandated "enforcement measures"—employing the bayonet directly wasn't authorized, but the rifle butt remained readily available. He inverted his rifle and delivered a substantial butt-stroke to the old man.
Li Wensheng absorbed the impact squarely, toppling to earth with a resounding thud. The refugees surrounding him stirred nervously, rapidly withdrawing.
But Li Wensheng proved nothing if not stubbornly persistent—"entrusted by another, faithful to the conclusion." After absorbing the blow, he immediately scrambled upright again and resumed vociferous shouting.
Now Sun Sancai felt genuinely aggravated. He commanded: "Restrain him! Stuff vegetation in his mouth!"
"What transpires here?"
Sun Sancai pivoted to observe Platoon Leader Lin Gongyong. He snapped to attention and saluted crisply: "Reporting, Platoon Leader! An elderly man refusing to obey directives and creating disturbance!"
Lin Gongyong originated from the Lin clan of Baitu Village—by genealogical records, a nephew of Lin Xianming and younger cousin of Lin Gonglao. Following the Baitu Village expulsion operation, the Lin clan had been systematically scattered; some had been relocated to Sanya, others remained in Lingao. As territories under Council of Elders governance expanded, both branches were further dispersed. Lin Gongyong's father, being a skilled shipwright, had been transferred to Kaohsiung, and the entire family now labored at the local naval shipyard facilities.
Because Baitu Village had historically serviced vessels from every quarter, its villagers possessed command of multiple dialects. After relocating to Kaohsiung, Lin Gongyong interacted with individuals from all corners and could speak not merely his native Hokkien but also Lingao dialect, Qiongshan dialect, and Cantonese—all without detectable accent that others could identify. It was precisely this linguistic proficiency that had secured him admission into the NCO training program before the Mainland Offensive commenced.
He comprehended Li Wensheng's words. Hearing him repeatedly bellow that he required seeing the chief, Lin Gongyong found it peculiar—"Chief" constituted a respectful term for Council of Elders members, not widely recognized in this border city straddling Guangdong and Guangxi. How did this elderly man possess such knowledge? He pacified Li Wensheng in Cantonese, inquiring what the urgent matter entailed.
Li Wensheng, finally encountering someone who comprehended Cantonese and could articulate it fluently, was beside himself with excitement. Disregarding the gleaming bayonets surrounding him, he lunged forward, seized Lin Gongyong's hands, and wouldn't relinquish his grip, repeating insistently: "I possess critical intelligence for the Australian chiefs."
"What precisely?"
"Please inform the chief—I carry intelligence from Lone Wolf!"
At the utterance "intelligence," Lin Gongyong dared not demonstrate delay. He immediately extracted Li Wensheng aside for interrogation, but the elderly man adamantly refused articulating anything beyond "I possess critical intelligence for the Australian chiefs" and "I was dispatched by Lone Wolf."
Lin Gongyong worried this might constitute a Ming spy who desired proximity to the chiefs for assassination purposes. He had soldiers conduct thorough search of the elderly man—even undoing his hair topknot—but discovered no weaponry. Apart from assorted miscellaneous items, there existed only an apparently ordinary family correspondence.
He examined the items repeatedly but couldn't detect anything irregular. Finally, he ordered the man detained in isolation and dispatched a runner to report to battalion headquarters.
Li Wensheng was positioned within a tent, seated nervously upon a camp chair. Perspiration beads the size of soybeans had materialized on his forehead. He felt that throughout all his accumulated years, he had never experienced thisintensity of anxiety.
A soldier wielding a bayoneted rifle stood positioned directly outside the tent—should he attempt escape, he would certainly be shot without hesitation. His master had long conducted commercial ventures with the Dachang Rice Company, and it constituted an open secret that Dachang possessed Australian backing. Anyone operating within Wuzhou's rice trade was obligated to conduct business with Dachang, and naturally absorbed some of the circulating narratives.
If his master dealt with Dachang, perhaps he maintained some connection to the Australians that couldn't be openly discussed. His master never articulated it, and Li Wensheng never inquired—that constituted his master's private affairs. But Li Wensheng didn't comprehend the Australians' complete background; to safeguard his master, revealing minimal information seemed prudent. So he simply ceased talking—apart from what his master had specifically instructed, "I possess critical intelligence for the Australian chiefs" and "I was dispatched by Lone Wolf," he articulated nothing additional.
After prolonged waiting, a sedan chair materialized. Xu Ke, upon learning that someone had delivered news from Lone Wolf, immediately demanded that Zhu Quanxing have the man transported to the command post south of the city.
"Position him in a sedan chair and transport him immediately!"
For optimal command efficiency, Zhu Mingxia had established a forward command post south of Wuzhou city; Changzhou Island functioned as the rear supply depot and troop rest area—Yang Zeng's 8th Battalion was currently resting on Changzhou Island. Preliminary census counts of collected refugees totaled over eighteen thousand souls, predominantly elderly, children, and women; certain able-bodied men had slipped away during the chaos. These were detained under separate guard to prevent Ming intelligence operatives from concealing themselves among civilian populations.
Zhu Mingxia now found himself profoundly troubled: Xiong Wencan had genuinely executed a masterstroke of transferring burdensome responsibility!
Wuzhou's flourishing commercial activity meant most residents derived their livelihood from commerce and specialized crafts, relying upon the city's pivotal role as a distribution hub for rice from northern and western Guangxi regions. The prosperous rice merchants constituted one category, but most ordinary populace possessed neither farmland nor estates beyond the city walls—and presently they had absolutely nowhere viable to seek refuge. Whatever modest valuables they had carried were long since systematically stripped by the soldiers who had expelled them. Additionally, Xiong Wencan had methodically requisitioned grain from surrounding rural villages before hostilities commenced, half-purchasing, half-seizing provisions. Most villages' storage reserves could now barely sustain themselves; for these elderly, infirm women and children to locate sustenance proved nearly impossible.
(End of Chapter)