Chapter 2201 - Letting the New Hands Perform

After seeing off Yang Zeng's main force, Huang Chao felt a certain emptiness. With so few troops controlling the Lianyang region, he felt exposed. His situation was, in some ways, worse than Reporter Xie's in Wuzhou—at least Xie had more cadres. Huang Chao's cadre corps was thin to begin with and had to be spread across three locations.

He established his headquarters in Lianzhou, making it the base for the Lianyang region.

Under his direction, a five-member governing committee was formed to administer Lianzhou city. The committee comprised three local gentry—Mo Jin, Zeng Rushao, and Ma Tiyi—and two naturalized cadres: Fu Debang, the Lianzhou Governor, and Zhang Dayong, commander of the Lianzhou National Army Squadron.

The committee's authority was limited to Lianzhou city itself, responsible for maintaining law and order and overseeing the retained Ming clerks.

As for the surrounding countryside, they could only maintain the status quo and allow village self-governance for the time being. The most urgent priority was "pacification and public security." Without stability, nothing else could be accomplished.

Cui Shizhao was still recuperating. Upon entering Lianzhou, Huang Chao had heard that his suicide attempt had failed, and he counted himself fortunate. According to the army medic, the cause was unclear, but Cui's symptoms indicated "acute food poisoning"—likely the result of some protein in his "supreme-grade Crane's Crest" having spoiled.

"...My instructor says this kind of food poisoning is often extremely dangerous—sudden onset, high mortality, and few treatment options. But he's past the acute phase now. With proper rest and electrolyte correction, he should recover."

In reality, the medic's only remedies were oral glucose rehydration solution and saline—Cui Shizhao had pulled through on the strength of his constitution.

Huang Chao visited several times but received no warm welcome. Putting a warm face to a cold reception, he cursed inwardly—but considering Cui Shizhao's influence in the region, the man had value worth exploiting. So he continued to drop in every few days to "pay his respects."

Cui Shizhao had been moved to Ma Tiyi's residence. Leaving him at the yamen was inconvenient; worse, if he recovered only to be seized by melancholy and attempt suicide again, it was better to place him in a friend's home where Ma Tiyi could look after him. Huang Chao had too many matters to manage personally.

Huang Chao did not meddle in Lianzhou's day-to-day administration—petty affairs were not his concern. Having trained these naturalized cadres, he let them work. He merely set the overall direction. He attended each meeting as an observer and rarely issued "instructions." Unless Fu Debang's "requests for guidance" raised serious issues, he generally refrained from singling them out.

With the siege lifted, Fu Debang's first task was to dispatch messengers bearing proclamations to Lianzhou's four quarters and every Yao pai and Zhuang stockade: "All of Lianzhou is now under Great Song. Let the people remain tranquil and refrain from causing disturbances." He then sent out armed patrols to conduct several sweeps against scattered bandits in the vicinity.

Once the roads were secure, grain and vegetables from the surrounding villages began flowing into the city, and the looming food-supply crisis was instantly relieved. Fu Debang, who had been fretting over relief provisions, breathed easier. In truth, the army grain they had brought was not plentiful—the supply line depended on ships shuttling from the logistics stations. Offering fifty shi at the city walls had been bravado; in reality, they were stretched thin.

Fu Debang sent word for each village and stockade to send representatives to Lianzhou for a conference, to arrange "reasonable burdens" and organize village militias for self-defense. Meanwhile, he organized famine relief—gruel stations, restoration of commerce—and kept busy from dawn to dusk.

Huang Chao, by comparison, was relatively at leisure. At the yamen, he screened the prisoners held in the jail and lockup. Those with minor offenses or what were essentially civil disputes were released on bond and sent home. Those involved in serious crimes—murder, robbery, rape—were held pending reinspection by judicial personnel to be dispatched later.

News of the clerk purge in Guangzhou had already reached the city; many of the "Three Squads" runners had fled. Those with the worst records were almost all gone—though it deprived him of the satisfaction of "ridding the people of scourges," it also spared him the bother of "cleaning house." Some who remained voluntarily requested "retirement," and Huang Chao did not press them to stay. Those willing to serve the Council of Elders had their names posted on the spirit wall outside the yamen.

The Lianzhou yamen was reorganized according to the "1635 Edition Provisional County Institutional Framework." A General Affairs Section was established within the county government, handling administrative matters as well as personnel appointments. The Revenue Division was transformed into the Finance and Taxation Section—a vertically managed unit. Finally, there was the Public Security Section, responsible for order within and without the prefectural seat.

Because conditions in the newly liberated counties remained unsettled, full-fledged county police departments could not yet be established. A provisional Public Security Section was created instead, integrating all security forces—village militia organized by local stockades, retained constables, National Army squadrons, and police—under unified command. Household registration, formerly managed by the old yamen, was temporarily assigned to this section.

Huang Chao also set up a section for culture and propaganda—propaganda work, after all, was important. Education would have to wait.

These provisional county structures followed the principle of maximum simplification, dividing responsibilities into broad blocks without fine-grained subdivision. First, there were too few naturalized cadres to fill the positions; second, their skill levels made it difficult to manage too many units.

Yet when Fu De'an busied himself furiously while ignoring the war-damaged city walls, Huang Chao felt compelled to drop a hint. The next day, Fu De'an set aside all other work and personally presided over a meeting on wall repairs, mobilizing the entire population.

Wall repairs naturally followed their customary work-for-relief model. Fortunately, grain supplies were stabilizing, so expending some on wages was affordable. But when Fu De'an insisted on overseeing the construction site in person, he was making a mountain out of a molehill. "You're the prefect," Huang Chao said. "Spending all day on the walls—how will you get anything else done? Assign someone else to supervise on-site."

"But everyone is so busy..." Fu De'an looked troubled. Every naturalized cadre was already juggling countless tasks.

"There's one on-site already. Let Zhou Liangchen handle it."

"Zhou Liangchen?" Fu De'an was startled. "The surrendered magistrate? A bookworm like him knows how to repair walls?"

"You don't know how to repair walls either," Huang Chao laughed. "The actual construction is in the hands of the Works Division clerks—no need to worry. It just needs someone in charge to coordinate. Since Zhou Liangchen is so eager to serve the Council of Elders, we might as well test his administrative ability and his attitude toward practical work..."

And so the job was delegated to Zhou Liangchen. Zhou had been feeling anxious with nothing to do. Now, entrusted with something as significant as wall repairs, he threw himself into the work with gusto, camping at the site day and night. In less than a week, the walls were restored—much to Huang Chao's surprise.

He had assumed that a bookish scholar like Zhou would be hopeless at practical affairs and unwilling to do manual labor. But Zhou's performance on the construction site exceeded all expectations. Although he did not personally haul earth or carry bricks, coordinating over a hundred workers was no small feat—some Elders still couldn't handle management positions.

Though Zhou's defection had an opportunistic flavor, his administrative ability was solid. He was a man worth using.

"Well done," Huang Chao commended him. "Is your wife and child with you?"

"Yes, yes," Zhou replied hastily. "They're still in Yangshan."

"The security situation in the Lianyang region is unsettled, and the social environment is complicated. It's not safe for your family to stay here," Huang Chao said. "A logistics ship will arrive in a few days; when it returns, it will take some dependents along. I think your family should go too—I've already spoken with Commissioner Wen. They'll be settled in Guangzhou. Once they're there, you needn't worry; our institutions will take care of everything. What do you say?"

Though phrased as a consultation, Zhou Liangchen understood that once his wife and child departed, they would become hostages in Australian hands. But having cast his lot with the Hair-Clippers, he could not waver at this juncture. He replied at once: "Thank you for your kind consideration, Commander. I have no objections! Please arrange as you see fit!"

"Good." Huang Chao nodded. "A stable environment for the child is more important than anything."

A few days later, Peng Shou'an and a National Army platoon arrived in Lianzhou, escorting the families of the Yangshan officials who had surrendered.

Though nominally an advisor in Yangshan, Peng Shou'an had in fact been given no concrete work. Content to take it easy, he had spent his days reading and writing, his complexion growing fair. The order puzzled him—why suddenly transport all the families to Lianzhou? Perhaps Elder Huang intended to hold them hostage under centralized guard, to prevent defections?

With no say in the matter, Peng Shou'an could only lead the group of dependents to Lianzhou.

Upon arrival and roll call, someone came to summon him to see Huang Chao.

Peng Shou'an went with trepidation.

Huang Chao received him with a smile.

"I hear your son is nine years old?" This was the first thing Huang Chao said. He had long since memorized Peng Shou'an's file: a late-in-life father, doting on his only son, keeping the boy at his side for personal tutoring.

Peng Shou'an's face went pale. His son was dearer to him than anything. If Huang Chao was asking, it meant the man had designs on the boy. He stammered: "My... my son is indeed with me."

"Can he manage on his own if he's away from you?"

Peng Shou'an was aghast. He quavered: "Please spare my son, Commander—he... he is only nine..."

"I haven't said I'll do anything to your son." Huang Chao laughed in spite of himself and explained: "Your son is at just the right age for schooling. What do you say to sending him to Guangzhou to study?"

(End of Chapter)