Chapter 43: Peace Talks (Part 2)

The Executive Committee discussed the two remaining issues. Most felt that agreeing not to harass the common people was a moot point, as it was already their policy. The main point of contention was the release of the captives. Wu De and the construction team were firmly against it. Wu De had just finished training them, and the construction team, facing a heavy workload, could not afford to lose the labor.

Others were also reluctant to let them go. In the end, they decided to release only the small landlords and rich peasants, whose allegiance they could not yet hope to win. The rest would be held to facilitate the establishment of a native auxiliary force.

With the decision made, Wu De compiled a list of a dozen captives to be released. The next day, Zhang Youfu returned, bearing a simple gift of eight items, ostensibly to thank them for the return of the bodies, but in reality, to sound them out.

Xi Yazhou then presented their three demands:

1. The transmigrators may trade freely with the local people at any location in the county. The government and others may not obstruct them.
2. The transmigrators may freely hire labor within the county.
3. The transmigrators shall have freedom of movement within the county.

He also announced that, as a gesture of goodwill, they would release some of the captives, and presented the list. He asked if there were any additions and said the men could be released immediately.

Zhang Youfu, not daring to make a decision, copied the list and the conditions and returned to the city.

Wu Mingjin, upon receiving the conditions, was undecided. He consulted with Secretary Wang.

“Your Excellency,” Secretary Wang whispered, “just agree to it.”

“I have two concerns,” Wu Mingjin said. “First, if they follow the old tricks of the Portuguese and refuse to leave, this place will become a second Macau. The court will never allow it. Second, if they sail away in the future with our hired laborers, will we not be guilty of separating families?”

“Your Excellency is overthinking it,” Secretary Wang said with a smile. “The most important thing now is to appease the gentry and collect the autumn grain. After a year, you can lobby for a transfer. Whether this place becomes another Macau will have nothing to do with you. As for separating families—hiring labor is a matter of mutual consent. If people choose to work for these uncivilized folk and are taken overseas, it is their own fault.”

Wu Mingjin, seeing no other option, agreed. He summoned Zhang Youfu and instructed him to accept the ‘Kun’ bandits’ terms, but to leave no written evidence. Zhang Youfu then went to gather the families of the captives and told them to prepare a thank-you gift.

The families, who had been willing to bankrupt themselves to ransom their loved ones, were now asked to contribute to a “thank-you gift.” Being asked to contribute even one extra tael of silver felt like having a layer of skin peeled off. They all pleaded poverty. After a long and heated debate, with Zhang Youfu threatening to abandon the negotiations and the magistrate’s assistant, Wu Ya, playing the role of mediator, they finally agreed on a sum of six hundred taels of silver, one hundred bolts of local cotton cloth, four pigs, and one ox. Another thirty taels were set aside for Zhang Youfu. The families were satisfied; a ransom would have cost them three or four times as much.

The next day, Zhang Youfu went to see Xi Yazhou. He pleaded the case of the wealthy families, describing their hardships, and then stated the amount of the gift. Xi Yazhou, to his surprise, not only accepted the amount without complaint but also expressed his gratitude. He immediately released the small landlords and rich peasants.

This gesture further increased the gentry’s goodwill. The common people, hearing of their benevolence, also began to relax. The bolder ones began to return to their homes and fields. Within a few days, the refugees in the county town had all dispersed, and the city gates were once again open. The tense atmosphere that had gripped Lingao for over a month slowly dissipated.

“Peace is truly wonderful,” Xiao Zishan said, standing on the watchtower.

“Peace is temporary,” Bei Wei said grimly. His hunting plan had been put on hold because of the peace talks. He had been spending his days training Ye Mengyan and the other young men who aspired to be special forces soldiers, putting them through a grueling regimen. The screams from the training ground were a daily occurrence.

Xue Ziliang of the ATF, after two weeks of driving a bulldozer, had had a painful awakening about how to change his fate. He had noticed Bei Wei’s training course and began to observe it after work each day. At first, Bei Wei had ignored him, but after Xue Ziliang offered a few professional opinions, the two began to exchange ideas. Xue Ziliang showed off his skills, and Bei Wei, a former reconnaissance company commander, was impressed. It was then that Xue Ziliang revealed his trump card: he had served in the US Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance and had fought in the Iraq War.

“You see, I’m a veteran too,” he said to Bei Wei, his eyes full of a lonely camaraderie. And so, the souls of the two former reconnaissance soldiers, one Chinese and one American, resonated, and a legend of Brokeback Mountain began to circulate among the special forces trainees.

Their discussions on the training ground became more frequent. They had much in common, and their conversations ranged from special forces tactics to broader military issues. Of course, the rumors about them also spread like wildfire.

Bei Wei was completely unaware. When He Ming tactfully suggested that, as a leading cadre, he should pay attention to the influence of his private life, he was baffled. He couldn’t stand how friendly Xi Yazhou was with the women, but he himself had no interest in them. How could there be rumors about his lifestyle?

It was only when the rumor finally reached his ears that he understood that “private life problems” were not limited to relationships between men and women. His face turned from red to green to white, and he stormed out. Xi Yazhou, fearing he would do something foolish, followed him. After an investigation, Bei Wei announced to the special forces training team that each member would have to do an extra 200 push-ups a day until the rumors about him and Xue Ziliang disappeared.

This did not, however, affect his friendship with Xue Ziliang. Xue Weini, with the keen insight into human relationships that was his birthright as a Chinese person, had found his way to survive in this strange new world.

For most of the transmigrators, the biggest change brought about by the détente was at the dinner table. When Wu Nanhai swaggeringly wrote the three characters for “braised pork in soy sauce” on the “Today’s Specials” blackboard in the cafeteria, the newly built counter was nearly crushed by the crowd.