Chapter 181: The Commendation and Recognition Ceremony

Someone said, “Landlord Zhang, your family has nothing but daughters. Why not marry a few to the short-hairs? It wouldn’t be a bad deal to be their father-in-law!”

Landlord Zhang was Zhang Youfu, a representative from the county capital. He had had a few too many drinks. The wine, “Unrivaled Scholar,” sent from Guangzhou, was very mellow and didn’t go to his head as easily as the local moonshine. Zhang Youfu had already drunk too much and was feeling dizzy. He laughed and said, “What are you talking about? No matter how many daughters I have, I can’t marry them to a family with no foundation—”

“How can you say they have no foundation? Their assets will probably be the first in Lingao in the future,” a landlord shook his head and sighed. “Just look at this ice lion. I’ve never seen anything like it in Lingao! I really don’t know where they got the ice from. Even in Guangzhou, only the top families can get it!”

“I heard it was transported from Bopu. I’m just wondering, can you get ice from the sea?”

“Maybe it’s their sorcery again,” someone whispered. “This group of short-hairs is very evil. Those self-propelled carts, the iron oxen, not to mention the iron ship that has no sails or oars… how can it move without the power of ghosts and gods?”

“But we haven’t seen them perform any rituals!”

“Do you think they would let you know about such things? Maybe there are even virgin boys and girls inside—”

“Virgin boys and girls? I haven’t heard of any missing children in the county.”

“Then why are they transporting children from the mainland by the boatload? To raise them as maids and servants? Do they need so many?”

“If each Kun bandit has a maid and a servant, that would be over a thousand. What virgin boys and girls? I think you’ve gone mad from trying to become an immortal by practicing alchemy.”

“Immortal? I think the life of these short-hairs is like that of an immortal!”

“That’s true. But coming here this time has really been worthwhile!” a landlord looked up at the chandelier on the ceiling and stared at it for a long time before sighing. “I’ve seen so many things I’ve never seen before, and eaten so many things I’ve never eaten before. I’ll have to bring my wife and children to see it in the future.”

Although the atmosphere in the banquet hall was lively and it seemed that the two sides were very close, in reality, it was outwardly relaxed but inwardly tense both inside and outside the merchant’s guild. The army, the political security department, and the police were all on alert, ready to deal with any possible situation.

Compared to the pampered conference representatives, the security department was more worried about their entourages—most of these four hundred people were young and strong. If they caused trouble, it would be a big problem. To prevent them from causing trouble in East Gate Market, they were all gathered together in the evening under the pretext of a reception. Each person was given a box lunch, but no wine. Inside, there was a plainclothes team led by Zhou Shizhai, mixed in with the crowd, paying close attention to their movements.

“Everyone, stay sharp!” Dugu Qiuhun said in a low voice, wearing a black stab-proof vest. Around him was an emergency team composed of the East Gate Market police station as the main force, with the Bairen Commune militia team mobilized. They were all wearing rattan safety helmets and rattan vests, holding clubs and shields, ready to suppress any trouble at any time.

“I say, is it necessary to be so on guard?” Dongmen Chuiyu felt it was a bit much. In the camp outside East Gate Market, an army infantry company and 6 12-pound mountain howitzers were on standby, all fully loaded with ammunition.

Fang Jinghan sneered, “Hmph, if these several hundred natives cause trouble, can we suppress them? This is the heartland.” He had been seconded from the long-range exploration team to join the emergency team—because he knew many dialects, it would be convenient for him to shout orders if anything happened.

The dinner for the two groups of people, inside and outside, finally ended harmoniously. The entourages squatting in the open space outside eating their box lunches naturally did not know that several hundred people were watching them with hostility, ready to deal with them at any time. They all felt that the short-hairs’ reception was very good.

The next afternoon, in the newly completed Bairen Grand Stadium, a conference was held to celebrate the defeat of the Liu Xiang pirates. The Executive Committee had wanted to hold it long ago. The initial plan was just a small-scale ceremony to award prizes and medals to the participants. But the holding of the political consultative conference made them change their minds. The purpose of the exchange meeting with the leading figures of the various villages was to expand their influence to the surrounding areas. Taking the opportunity of this great victory over the pirates, they should show these local leading figures the powerful strength and unique spiritual outlook of the transmigrator side. So they decided to have a two-in-one event. They would not only hold a consultative conference, but also a celebration meeting and a military parade.

The grand stadium was rushed to completion for this purpose. In fact, only half of the construction of the stadium had been completed so far. Although a considerable part was not yet finished, the main facilities had been built, and it looked grand enough by the standards of Lingao at this time.

A temporary wooden tiered stand was set up in the stadium, filled with the conference representatives. Even their entourages were allowed to enter and sit on the stands a little further from the rostrum. Wu De also gave the Bairen Commune and the labor team a day off and organized everyone to come and watch the ceremony. The stands could not accommodate everyone, so many people stood behind the lime line. Adults, children, and women made for a lively scene. The representatives of the various villages looked curiously at the tall stone building (actually faced with stone) that they had never seen before and the large, barren, and firmly compacted open space at their feet—it was marked with vertical and horizontal dividing lines made of lime powder. On the open space by the river, several mounds and wooden stakes were erected. Everyone was guessing what the short-hairs were planning to do.

On the entire grandstand, colorful flags fluttered in the breeze. They were the same kind of colored nylon flags that would be seen everywhere during festivals in another time and space. Around the stands, army sentries in the first-year military uniform, fully armed and with bayonets fixed, stood ramrod straight.

The transmigrators on the stands were in a different mood. The army officers and soldiers in gray octagonal caps, gray uniforms, and leggings could not help but remind people of the undefeated myth of that army that went from weak to strong in another time and space. Although they understood that it was impossible to replicate the same army, in their hearts, they still used it as a benchmark to measure this army that was created, armed, and completely belonged to them by the transmigrators.

The grand drill, which was nominally a celebration conference but was actually a demonstration of force to the county town and the surrounding gentry, began under the warm winter sun of Hainan.

The sound of the high-powered speakers gave the villagers and masters their first surprise. When Wen Desi loudly announced in his already out-of-tune Lingao-accented Mandarin that the Bopu Battle Commendation Conference and the Bairen Security Regiment Establishment Celebration Conference would now begin, the villagers and village elders looked up in surprise. The speaker was clearly standing on the stage, but why was the sound coming from the high poles on all sides, and why was it so loud that it made their eardrums ache and buzz? This rough effect was completely different from the experience of having the speakers placed on both sides of the rostrum in the cinema.

First, the transmigrators who had made meritorious contributions in the Bopu battle were commended. It was announced that Lin Shenhe, Bai Yu, Meng De, Wang Ruixiang, and seventy-five other navy, army, and military-industrial personnel were awarded the “Bopu Defense” armband, which they were entitled to sew on their uniforms to show their combat honor.

Dugu Qiuhun, Tan Ming, Qian Shuixie, and one hundred and ten other non-military personnel were awarded the “Bopu Defense” shield badge, which could be sewn on any official uniform.

Subsequently, it was announced that all army and navy soldiers and laborers who participated in the Bopu defense battle would be collectively awarded the “Bopu Defense” commemorative medal, with an additional month’s salary. At the same time, thirty-five soldiers and laborers who had performed exceptionally well in the battle were awarded second- and third-class military merit medals, with an additional two months’ and one month’s salary respectively.

For all the army and navy soldiers and laborers who died in battle, in addition to being buried in the “Cuigang Martyrs’ Cemetery” with military honors, the Executive Committee also issued pensions to their families. Each immediate family member of the deceased would receive 500 yuan in coupons per year. All their children would be admitted to the “Zhongsi School,” and all their food, clothing, and living expenses would be borne by the Executive Committee. The parents of the deceased would be taken care of by the Civil Affairs Committee until their death.

This level of pension was unprecedented. Not only were the conference representatives dumbfounded, but even the soldiers, commune members, and laborers could not believe it. Generally, whether it was the government army, village braves, or even pirates and bandits, after a person died in battle, it was customary to provide for the family of the deceased brother, which was nothing more than giving some money for burial, at most with a difference in the amount. But this was the first time they had heard of such meticulous care for the bereaved families.

“A single life is worth so much money!” Hearing Wen Desi say it out loud, and then having it translated into various dialects, the people of Lingao County all gasped in unison. It was truly unheard of. Even those who had read some books only knew stories of forcing soldiers to fight bravely by threatening them with death in a desperate battle, and they also understood the principle that there will always be brave men under a heavy reward—but this was all for the living. A dead soldier was of no use to them. Giving some pension to the family was already a great grace. No one had ever been willing to pay so much money for the life of a common soldier.

From this point on, the people of Lingao County began to realize that the army of the short-hairs must be very different from the army of the Ming Dynasty and the bandits—the lives of their soldiers were very valuable!

“This is probably nonsense. To deceive those ignorant common people into selling their lives for them,” Huang Bingkun continued his inflammatory propaganda. To be honest, he himself did not quite believe it—if the Australians fought like this, their government would have gone bankrupt long ago, unless Australia was covered in gold and silver.

“To say it out loud in front of such a large crowd, how can it be said casually?” The person who said this, Huang Bingkun did not recognize. He looked like a down-and-out scholar, but he definitely had not entered school. He, on the other hand, was a xiucai who had entered school, so he naturally looked down on this kind of scholar without a title. He was about to open his mouth to mock him. A representative who looked like a small landlord interjected:

“I also don’t think it was said casually. The short-hairs are mostly honest people.” He said that he had come to the mill here in Lingao to grind his grain. Every time it was ground, the short-hairs would pack the brown rice, bran, and husks separately in bags, weigh them one by one for him to inspect, and then charge him according to the price. “There has never been any fraud in it,” he praised. “Just based on this point, I think what they say is credible!”