Chapter 2295: High-Sounding Reasons
Yet another thought occurred to him. He had no education, but in his wandering childhood, he had listened to old villagers tell ancient tales. One story spoke of how favored ministers, to test whether the Emperor still trusted them, would deliberately submit memorials requesting inappropriate favors.
If the Emperor agreed at once, it meant his favor and trust remained strong. If the Emperor agreed only after hesitation, then favor and trust had already declined. If the Emperor refused immediately, then it was time to retire and return home.
Now he could use the opera chest matter to gauge Chief Xie's view of him. If the Chief trusted him, then afterward he could slowly devise a way to dispose of Jiang Yougong.
As for the things he had done in the camp—Sanhezu was essentially a closed camp. Aside from himself, there wasn't a second naturalized citizen cadre inside. Jiang Yougong, responsible for outer perimeter security, was breathing the same air as him. The retained personnel didn't dare touch a whisker on his tiger's hide either—after all, he held the power of life and death in the camp. Though he had done many things that stirred up resentment, the captives and refugees at least had food to eat and wouldn't make trouble.
Thinking this through, he felt reassured. Today he had come specifically to see Xie Erren.
"What work do you have to report?"
"It's like this." Liu Youwang carefully perched on the edge of his stool. "I've set up an opera troupe at the Sanhezu Camp."
"Oh? An opera troupe?" This was genuinely novel! Xie Erren thought.
"Yes." Liu Youwang silently hoped the routine Chang Qingyun had taught him would work. "The camp has captives who were formerly members of family opera troupes kept by wealthy households—we have both actors and musicians. Among the arriving refugees, there are such people as well. I figured, the camp holds several thousand captives and refugees. Though the Senate provides them with food and puts them to work, this is still a gathering of several thousand people. If we don't give them some recreation—kept suppressed too long, I'm afraid they might cause trouble."
He paused to read Xie Erren's expression. Seeing no change, he boldly continued: "So I thought of organizing these people into a troupe to perform opera. First, it provides some entertainment for everyone. Second, it can serve as a vehicle for art and literature propaganda..."
This struck exactly where Xie Erren itched. He himself came from an art propaganda background and had been quite involved in mass propaganda activities back in Lingao—he had both theory and practical insight in this area. After arriving in Wuzhou, he had made some modest efforts at propaganda as well—though limited by conditions to painting slogans on walls and setting up newspaper reading boards and the like.
He studied the sturdy man before him more carefully. He could never have imagined such a rough fellow would think of "art and literature as a weapon"—truly, one cannot judge a person by their appearance. The Senate's influence on people was powerful indeed. Thinking this, Xie Erren silently praised the Senate.
Liu Youwang, seeing Chief Xie staring at him, felt his calves go soft and his heart hollow. The idea Chang Qingyun had devised was to elevate the opera troupe to the level of "art and literature propaganda" and spin it grandly—this would certainly move Chief Xie, because the Australians loved this sort of thing.
Chang Qingyun had spent several years squatting in the POW camp in Lingao. Though it had been physical torture, he later came to see it as a rare cultivation. In Lingao, he had witnessed many things he had never dreamed of. Through the Australians' words, actions, and policies, he had more or less figured out their thinking. Recalling his understanding of the Australians before the Battle of Chengmai, he saw now how childishly naive he had been—and how arrogantly so.
The idea he now offered Liu Youwang not only catered to the Australians' tastes but was also crafted from his reading of Chief Xie personally. He had considerable skill in this art. Over these days in the captive camp, whether going out on errands or listening to people talk, he had essentially mapped out Xie the Australian's temperament and preferences. The strategy was thus targeted with precision. He couldn't guarantee it would be a bullseye, but he was confident it would hit the mark.
His judgment proved correct. A smile floated across Xie Erren's face. "Your idea is quite good!"
Seeing Chief Xie affirm him, Liu Youwang's confidence surged. He eagerly smiled and said, "It's all because the Senate teaches so well! I read in the newspaper before—the Chief said: 'Art and literature are weapons, are positions. We must seize these positions'..."
"I hadn't expected your theoretical level to be quite respectable." Xie Erren was impressed. "Since that's the case, continue developing this opera troupe. In a few days, once the situation stabilizes, I may have you bring it to Wuzhou city for a performance."
"Yes. I've already had them rehearsing—but right now they only know the old plays. We want to rehearse some new ones, but we don't have the scripts."
"That's easy." Xie Erren was in a good mood. "I'll have Joint Logistics send some scripts over in a few days."
"Many thanks for the Chief's care." Liu Youwang put on a grateful expression. "There's one more thing."
"Go ahead."
"The troupe has been rehearsing recently, but without opera chests, they can only sing a cappella—there's no way to stage a proper performance." Liu Youwang explained, "Someone in the camp mentioned that decades ago, the Eunuch who guarded Wuzhou left behind opera chests inside the General Town Office. I wanted to ask if these chests could be temporarily loaned to the troupe."
"There are such things in the Three Headquarters?" This was somewhat beyond Xie Erren's expectation. By regulation, all such items had to be verified and registered by the Planning Commission—some allocated for local use, the rest shipped back. Opera chests were low priority, so approving them for local use was no issue; a temporary loan simply required a registration.
"That's easy enough. I'll coordinate it." Xie Erren nodded. "Come with a few people tomorrow and find Zhao Fengtian. You can move the chests out—consider them loaned for now; we'll formalize the paperwork later. But you must take good care of them. Don't let anything get damaged or lost."
"Yes!" Liu Youwang snapped to attention. "I'll have them handle everything with the utmost care. The Chief can rest assured."
"I trust you." Xie Erren assumed an expression of appreciation and esteem. "The grain fleet is due to arrive soon. You must keep the camp under control—there can be no riots."
"Yes!"
This Advisor Chang really is damn brilliant! Coming out of Xie Erren's office, Liu Youwang couldn't help slapping his thigh. Now it was clear—not only was Advisor Chang capable, but Chief Xie trusted him too! Getting rid of Jiang Yougong was just a matter of time now!
Early morning on August 4th, the First Squadron boarded the inland river fleet's patrol boats and departed from Wuzhou. They were beginning their patrol work. This time was different from usual—normally, patrols returned the same day. But today, they would patrol all the way to Fengchuan County seat, wait there for the grain transport fleet's arrival, and then escort it back.
Qian Duo stood on the tower of Nanxun Gate, watching the boat fleet spew black smoke as it slowly pulled away. His heart was uneasy. With the First Squadron's departure, Wuzhou's defense strength was severely weakened. Only his one company remained to guard this vast city.
Gazing into the distance at Sanhezu—the pontoon bridge locking the river, cooking smoke curling above the camp—he could hear bugle calls from the various barracks. The sound of the bugles settled his heart somewhat. The National Army Third Squadron at Sanhezu was now the only external support he could rely on.
But he had little confidence in the Third Squadron and Jiang Yougong. Jiang Yougong's old army habits ran deep; his subordinates were mostly reorganized Ming Army soldiers. They had some combat effectiveness on a battlefield, but their discipline was slack and their tenacity insufficient. At a critical moment, they couldn't be counted on.
"Pass my order: today Dezheng Gate stays closed. Open only the four gates. Reduce sentries and patrol teams by half."
By reducing the city gate sentries and patrol teams, he could free up a platoon to rest during the day and take on night duty.
The gap in sentry and patrol work would be filled by the "Security Team" under Zheng Ergen's command. These men were mostly retained yamen runners and locally recruited poor folk—they were purely door guards, maintaining basic security.
"Battalion Commander Zhu, in your view, where else do we need to strengthen?" Qian Duo asked.
Zhu Si now held the title of National Army Battalion Commander in name only—in reality, he had become a commander without troops. In the city, he had only two guards and a messenger at his direct disposal. All day he trailed along behind Qian Duo, roaming everywhere, shouting orders without authority.
Victory reports from the Wuzhou Integrated Squadron arrived frequently. Li Dong and his subordinates' names appeared repeatedly on internal commendation notices—a sight that made Zhu Si deeply uncomfortable.
"That bastard Li Dong really stepped in dog shit luck!" Zhu Si now felt a profound sense of crisis. Li Dong's squadron was performing so brilliantly that meritorious promotion would come swiftly. Perhaps before long he would be integrated into the Fubo Army and become a proper Fubo Army captain. Then, remembering how Zhu Si had made things difficult for him in the past, what if he sought revenge?
But then he secretly consoled himself: military life was dangerous. This North Guangdong campaign wouldn't end in ten days or half a month. Perhaps at some point, Li Dong might simply lose his life—the National Army's casualties weren't small, and news of squadrons being annihilated or severely damaged came from time to time.
By comparison, staying in Wuzhou was actually peaceful and uneventful. As long as the war went well, when it came time to award merits and promotions, they wouldn't forget him. Thinking this, his spirits lifted again.
Hearing Qian Duo's question, he immediately replied: "Company Commander Qian has arranged everything very thoroughly. I have nothing to add. Although our nighttime forces are few, we have the city walls and gates. Once the gates are closed—never mind a small enemy force—even several thousand Ming troops couldn't break through."
This wasn't an exaggeration. After repairs, Wuzhou's city walls were such that any enemy attempting an assault would need cannons and siege equipment to face the Fubo Army's firepower.
"What about the surrounding situation?"
"The Detective Team returned last night and reported: within fifteen kilometers of the city, no large enemy forces were detected."
Qian Duo said nothing. Truth be told, if the Fubo Army had been responsible for scouting, he would have felt reassured. But the Detective Team was a motley crew of retained personnel—hard to trust.
Next Update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Part 499 (End of Chapter)