Chapter 96: Dongmen Market Police Station (Part 3)

Before Zhou Shizhai came here, he thought that these people, like the foreign merchants in Guangzhou, had only hired him to protect their own mansions, manors, gold, and silver.

But as soon as he landed, he knew that was not the case at all. The giant ships in Bopu, the flat roads, the four-wheeled carts that didn’t need animals… one unexpected thing after another. When he saw the huge scale of Bairen City under construction, he felt a little flustered for the first time.

Are they really just sea merchants? Zhou Shizhai was already very clear. They didn’t need any escorts here to protect their property. Just the ships moored in Bopu Harbor, which force in this sea area could have them?

Then what did these people want him for?

He and his two apprentices were temporarily housed in a small building at the Dongmen Market Industrial and Commercial Office. The rooms were not large, even a bit small, but they were comfortably furnished, although the furniture was obviously pieced together. He lived in one room, and his two apprentices in another. In the evening, the leaders of the sea merchants here, one surnamed Dongmen, one surnamed Dugu, and a woman, hosted a banquet for them. The food was simple but substantial, with fish, meat, and vegetables. The several leaders were very polite. In conversation, he learned that this was a newly opened market, and it had become a bit chaotic after many people came.

“—Although we have recruited some police, we don’t understand the jianghu environment of the Great Ming at all,” Dongmen Chuiyu said, politely raising his cup. “We ask for Master Zhou’s guidance in the future!”

“I will do my best!” Zhou Shizhai drained his cup and put it down. “I just want to ask you gentlemen, oh, and madam?”

Mu Min waved her hand casually. “What’s this about masters and madams? Just call us comrades.”

“We are not comrades, you have to be clear about that,” Dugu jumped up.

“I’m talking about the original meaning of comrade. Don’t pollute it with garbage colonial culture!” Mu Min said righteously.

Zhou Shizhai could see that this woman was clearly the boss here. As expected, having been overseas for a long time, she had also picked up the ways of the barbarians. He felt a slight sense of contempt.

“I would like to ask you, um, comrades,” Zhou Shizhai said, “what exactly do you want to make of this market?”

What kind of market? The few of them looked at each other. Naturally, the more prosperous and lively, the better.

Zhou Shizhai shook his head. “The masters of this market are you sea merchants, right? If you want the market to be prosperous, I don’t know how to do that. But once the market is prosperous, people from all walks of life will naturally come for a piece of the pie. How do you plan to get along with them?”

“How can one allow others to snore beside one’s bed!” Dugu Qiuhun said decisively.

Zhou Shizhai was silent for a moment and then said, “Comrades, the current Dongmen Market is a wild market, with not many shops and merchants. Even if some petty thieves come, it’s not a big concern. In the future, when this place prospers, the people who come will all have powerful backers. Not to mention anything else, even the beggars on the street will have connections that reach the heavens. One wrong move and they can turn this place upside down…”

Mu Min smiled faintly. “Master Zhou, we understand what you’re saying. But the first advantage here is that we have no ties. No one is anything to us. Truth comes from the hilt of a knife. Who cares whose backing they have? If they want to cause trouble—” she made a menacing chopping motion.

Zhou Shizhai nodded. “I understand. I will do my best to serve you!”

The merchants and people of Dongmen Market suddenly discovered that a screen wall was being built at the crossroads of Dongmen Street. Craftsmen were clanging away, carving something on one of the walls—this was the newly promulgated “Public Security Law.” This law was basically a mixture of the “Public Security Administration Punishment Regulations” and the “Great Ming Code.” The biggest difference was that punishments such as detention, caning, and exile were all changed to labor re-education, starting at one year. Labor re-education did not require a judicial process; a single document from the police station chief was sufficient, which had an excellent effect on cracking down on public security crimes. All departments welcomed this policy of providing free labor. Of course, it was also questioned by some democrats: direct punishment without trial was detrimental to judicial justice, but the justice enjoyed by the natives was clearly not a concern for most of the transmigrators.

In front of the screen wall was a three-tiered semi-circular high platform. This was the rostrum for holding public sentencing rallies. Public trial and sentencing had always been the most effective form of deterrence in the judicial system of the proletarian dictatorship, and this tradition could be preserved. Dugu Qiuhun eagerly hoped to erect a guillotine in the crossroads square, but the death penalty belonged to the state’s judicial power. It seemed too early for the transmigrators to openly infringe on the court’s power, and after all, this was just a market.

At the same time as the screen wall, a group of strange people appeared: wearing rattan hats, kūnzéi style black stand-up collar short jackets with a front opening, wooden buttons, wide leather belts, white leggings, and straw sandals. A short wooden stick with a short cross-handle hung from their buttocks. On each person’s sleeve was a shield-shaped embroidered cloth with some incomprehensible patterns. Only a few characters could be roughly recognized: “Public Security” on top, and “Dongmen Market” below.

“Damn, this is a spitting image of an Annam patrolman!” Dugu Qiuhun let out a desperate cry when he saw the clothing and equipment sent by the logistics department. The uniform he had originally designed for the police force was very beautiful: a peaked cap, a black lapel uniform, a leather Sam Browne belt, breeches, long boots, a badge on the chest, and a red armband on the sleeve—a spitting image of the SS.

“Committee Member Xiao, the uniform design I submitted didn’t look like this! How can such a rustic appearance deter bad elements?” Dugu called Xiao Zishan.

“Didn’t you just want to make the police force look like the SS? No way!”

“It’s okay if I plagiarize Hitler’s idea in advance, right?! It’s 1628 now, Hitler hasn’t done anything outrageous yet—”

“Riding boots, Sam Browne belts? Wearing that stuff in Hainan? Too wasteful. We’re short on supplies now, so it’s better to be frugal. Back then, the Red Guards started a revolution with just a red armband. I’ve never heard of needing a full uniform to fight a war.”

The “Ha-De” (Germanophile) faction suffered its first heavy blow, but the other “Ha” factions also raised serious questions about Xiao Zishan’s aesthetic sense, which later led to a bizarre uniform controversy.

The police team’s first appearance in Dongmen Market attracted a large number of onlookers. Although no one knew what “police” meant, the common people quickly figured it out: this was the “short hairs’” “fast squad”! But this “short hairs’” fast squad was different from the yamen runners in the county yamen. Firstly, their actions were uniform. They patrolled the streets at regular times every day. Dongmen Market was not large, so you could see them every so often. Secondly, they had a wide jurisdiction—”dogs on the street,” they managed everything, even interfering immediately if someone littered or if a dispute broke out during a business transaction and the voices got a little loud.

These ten policemen belonged to the “uniformed team.” In addition to the uniformed team, there was a “plainclothes team” led by Zhou Shizhai, with his two apprentices and two or three people recruited from the laborers. They were scattered in various places every day, secretly keeping an eye on things.

Dongmen Chuiyu had also suggested organizing a joint defense among the merchants of Dongmen Market, organizing shop assistants for night patrols and the like. But there were many traveling merchants here and few resident merchants. There were not many shops in total, so of course, they couldn’t organize many people. However, some traditional public security measures were still applied.

The inn implemented a guest registration and inspection system. Every day, the innkeeper had to go to the Dongmen Market Police Station to report on the day’s guests and whether there was anything suspicious.

Ma Peng’s mother actually also contributed to the public security of Dongmen Market. As a simple version of the joint defense plan, she and a few elderly women from the laborers’ families were sent to set up stalls in various parts of the market as secret sentinels. Several sales assistants under Li Mei of the welfare cooperative also participated in this “joint defense.” As a reward, they could receive some extra grain. As Mu Min’s mother-in-law, Li Mei was very enthusiastic about this plan, and all the expenses for this “joint defense” were paid from the welfare cooperative.

After everything was in place, the 1628 Public Security Crackdown, jointly carried out by the Dongmen Market Industrial and Commercial Office and the Dongmen Market Police Station, officially began. Not only did the entire police team and comprehensive law enforcement team participate, but the military group, security group, and Bairen Commune militia team also sent people to participate in this unified action. They first set up a cordon, and then each team, based on the investigation results of the plainclothes team in the previous stage, began a large-scale dragnet arrest within the market. Mu Min demanded that the entire operation be both fast and quiet, and to avoid disturbing uninvolved personnel as much as possible.

On the roof of the Industrial and Commercial Office, a huge voice continuously broadcast a notice in various dialects: “Listen, people, this market is currently arresting bad people. We will never let a single bad person go, nor will we wrongly arrest a single good person… Everyone please stay where you are and do not move… No one is allowed to resist, otherwise you will be killed without question…”

Team after team of people wearing Year One style rattan helmets and holding Year One style batons or rifles with bayonets patrolled the market under the loud sound of the megaphone, arresting people according to lists and photos. Those who resisted or tried to escape were all beaten until their heads were bloody. A few who thought they were agile and knocked down a few policemen were finally stabbed to death with bayonets. All those who were caught were tied up with ropes and made to squat in front of the police station, not allowed to raise their heads or speak. The young men who had just become policemen were very happy to show off their authority on them.

The ones who were caught were mainly various petty criminals, including thieves, pickpockets, swindlers, and fences. After a simple public sentencing rally, these people were all sentenced to one year of labor re-education and were escorted away by Wu De and a few fully armed soldiers—the Bairen Beach quarry was in need of hard labor.

Gambling has a great impact on public security, so the police station first banned gambling. All the fan-tan stalls in Dongmen Market were banned in the operation, their money confiscated, and the stall owners expelled. Before the expulsion, they recorded their confessions, took their fingerprints, had them sign a pledge, and took a photo of them holding a sign—as a criminal record.

“Next time you come to gamble, it won’t be this cheap. Get lost!” Dugu Qiuhun roared fiercely with one foot on a stool. The several stall owners were already scared out of their wits—the flash of the camera when their picture was taken made them think some kind of sorcery had been used on them.

Throughout the process, the megaphone continuously broadcast the “Notice on Cleaning Up and Rectifying the Public Security Environment of Dongmen Market”: In addition to the banning of the gambling industry, the small pawnshops and loan sharks closely related to gambling were also ordered to leave the market within a limited time. Those who continued to operate would be severely punished. Prostitutes must register at the police station within a limited time. Those who failed to register by the deadline would be expelled from the market…

The brothel industry survived. Those who plied this trade in the market were all mobile households or nearby “half-open doors.” Thefts of clients’ money occurred from time to time, but considering the disparate sex ratio in the local area, this industry was within the tolerable range. After discussions with the civil affairs and health departments, it was decided to issue prostitute licenses in Dongmen Market. All prostitutes must register with the police station to be issued a license. Those operating without a license would be expelled upon the first discovery, and sent to labor re-education upon the second. The civil affairs department had originally hoped that the health department would conduct monthly physical examinations, but the health department was severely short of manpower, equipment, and medicine, so this was temporarily not implemented.

The entire operation was carried out in an orderly manner, which made Zhou Shizhai look at them in a new light. Don’t look down on this group of “Australian comrades” for not knowing much about the jianghu. This move was much more impressive than what the government yamen could do. Not only was the action clean and decisive, but everything was prepared. The handling was a combination of leniency and severity, which was a world of difference compared to the corrupt, greedy, and cruel yamen.

If they could do so well with such a small Dongmen Market, what if they were in charge of all of Lingao, or all of Guangzhou? Zhou Shizhai shook his head. That was too absurd.