Chapter 89: The Sweet Harbor Tempest - Internal Rebellion

“Richang Ji, seven thousand shi,” Feng Guangfeng followed suit. “I will deliver the silver shortly.”

With two firms leading the way, the others who had been watching also committed to numbers, some three thousand shi, some five thousand, and some ten thousand. In total, it added up to over one hundred and fifty thousand shi. Chen Tianxiong knew that most of them were still holding back; these numbers were just to test the waters.

However, if they had been too enthusiastic, Huanan would have had to release some of the sugar they had already collected to allocate to them, which would have been a significant loss. This way, it was a satisfactory outcome for both sides.

“With this sugar guild, what will happen to the Haiyi Guild?” someone asked a sharp question. If Third Master Zhu forbade them from joining the sugar guild and insisted on maintaining the Haiyi Guild, how would they deal with him?

The representatives at the table shifted uncomfortably in their seats and began to whisper among themselves.

Everyone knew that Third Master Zhu would not give up easily. At the very least, a fierce struggle was inevitable. He had money and the ability to command various evil forces, which could not be underestimated.

To this question, Chang Shide replied that Huanan would handle the matter properly, and the specific negotiations would be led by Huanan. If Third Master Zhu caused trouble for anyone, Huanan would stand up for them and would not go back on its word.

“I think everyone here knows: Huanan has the ability to keep its promises.”

Chang Shide’s words were resolute. Although the attendees were somewhat uneasy, they all accepted it.

“The meeting was a great success,” Wen Tong said to Chang Shide. “But why not just create a joint-stock company directly? Why start with this proxy purchasing and selling?”

“Let them have a taste of the benefits first,” Chang Shide said. “At the beginning, they don’t trust us enough. After this year’s business is done and they see that following us is more beneficial than that worthless Haiyi Guild, we’ll have a chance to talk about a joint-stock company.”

“The next step is to consolidate our gains, especially to guard against Zhu An’s counterattack,” Chen Tianxiong reminded them. “Third Master Zhu is still in Haian Street. A centipede dies but never falls down. He’s lying low, but he might be waiting for an opportunity to strike. We need to come up with a response plan as soon as possible.”

“It’s best to eliminate him as soon as possible, otherwise there will be trouble if we delay,” Chang Shide warned them. Whether the Leizhou Sugar Guild could ultimately be established depended on whether Huanan had the ability to quickly eliminate Third Master Zhu’s influence.

“We could just get rid of him directly, but that might make these sugar merchants feel like they’re next,” Chang Shide said, stroking his chin. “We have to be careful not to break the vase when trying to catch the rat.”

“Let’s not worry about that for now. Let Feng Guangfeng be the contact person. Tell them they must pay the full amount within three days, or the contract will be void,” Chen Tianxiong said. “This money is also their pledge of allegiance, to prevent anyone from wavering.”

“Alright, I’ll have Liao Daxing handle this. I’ll also have Liao Dahua prepare men and carts to go to Haian Street to collect the silver.”

This was not a small sum. After the meeting, Chen Tianxiong calculated it and was shocked. These sugar merchants would be delivering three hundred and seventy-five thousand taels of silver to them! That’s nearly fifteen metric tons!

“That’s a lot!” Chen Tianxiong increasingly felt the importance of a bank. Not to mention paper money, but with a remittance service, such a large sum could be handled with a single bill of exchange. Now, just moving and storing these fifteen tons of silver was a major headache.

Since Huanan started buying sugar, a great deal of time and energy had been spent just on storing, guarding, and handling the silver. All the silver that arrived was “official silver” remelted in Guangzhou’s furnaces, with a consistent purity, in fifty-tael ingots. This simplified the process of packing, transporting, and counting the silver.

But in practice, things were more complicated. Sugar payments were always in odd amounts, and they couldn’t always be paid with fifty-tael ingots. Huanan had to hire people to buy silver shears and scales for measurement, and the standard ingots were broken up for payment. The process was not only cumbersome but also resulted in significant losses.

As for the silver that the various sugar companies were about to deliver, it would undoubtedly be in broken pieces, and the purity would likely be inconsistent. Liao Daxing had already reminded them to find some clerks from a furnace to assess the purity as soon as possible, otherwise, they would suffer a great loss if they mistook low-purity silver for high-purity silver.

“The Executive Committee has already opened a bank in Guangzhou,” Wen Tong said, passing around the latest internal bulletin that had arrived by ship. “I think we can also request to set up a bank here.”

“Let’s call it the Huanan Sugar Industry Bank!” Chang Shide had a sudden idea. “We’re about to receive nearly four hundred thousand in cash. Won’t that serve as a reserve fund?”

“That name is not appropriate,” Chen Tianxiong said. “The financial system must follow the unified arrangement of the Executive Committee. We shouldn’t create our own system. Besides, we are not financial experts. It’s better to let the professionals handle it.”

Chang Shide, being a sharp man, immediately understood his meaning. “Yes, yes, we should send a telegram to the Executive Committee and request them to set up a branch here.” He added, “The sugar industry in Leizhou really needs a bank.”

“Yes,” Wen Tong said. “After we control the sugar sales, the next step is to help the sugarcane farmers increase their production.”

To increase production, they needed to promote new planting techniques and the sugar industry cooperative. Gaining the trust of the farmers would not be easy, but fortunately, they had already built a good reputation during this sugar purchasing war, which laid a foundation. With a bank, they could use financial tools to provide low-interest loans to support the farmers’ production.

As they were discussing, Zhou Shidi requested a meeting.

“Someone is planning to harm Huanan,” he said, getting straight to the point.

They all exchanged glances. What was bound to happen had finally arrived. Third Master Zhu was indeed not giving up on destroying them. Now that he was cornered, he might resort to some despicable means.

“What’s the situation?”

“Liao Dahua’s men have gathered some information. Zhao Jijiao’s men are buying oil and firewood. They’re a bunch of ruffians who don’t cook, so what do they need these for? They’re probably preparing for arson. They’ve been spending lavishly recently, gambling and whoring, which clearly means they’ve received a huge benefit.”

Zhou Shidi wiped his brow. “Also, someone is spreading rumors in the Leizhou underworld that the Huanan Sugar Company has hundreds of thousands in silver but is poorly defended. If they can capture a few of our managers, they can extort a large sum of money.”

“Quite ruthless, using invisible silver to lure people to die for them,” Chen Tianxiong commented.

“Don’t joke about it. It would be a real mess if we were actually kidnapped,” Wen Tong’s face turned pale.

“If you were kidnapped by Li Siya, you probably wouldn’t mind. By the way, you’re a distant relative of Wen Zong.”

“Stop joking,” Wen Tong said anxiously. “Who cares about Li Siya or Li Sisu? What if we really get kidnapped?”

“You don’t need to worry too much about kidnapping,” Zhou Shidi said. “A few scattered bandits can’t do much, especially since the managers are armed. The main concern is a large group of bandits attacking us. That’s something we must guard against.”

“A large group?” Chang Shide asked. “How large?”

Zhou Shidi explained that there were no large bandit gangs in Leizhou, but there were many small groups. Some were just four or five people who would rob lone travelers on the road. The larger ones were no more than a hundred men who would raid sugarcane farmers when they had the chance. To rob a large firm like Huanan, they would need to gather at least four or five hundred men. Bandits valued numbers. Even if they didn’t have many men, they would recruit temporary farmers to put on a show and intimidate law-abiding citizens.

“Haian Street is much wealthier than us. Why don’t they rob there?” Wen Tong was puzzled. In terms of silver, the sugar merchants of Haian Street were much richer than them.

“They’re afraid of dying,” Zhou Shidi answered simply. Haian Street had several hundred local militiamen, whose salaries were paid by the various shops on the street. As long as these militiamen were well-fed and paid, their combat effectiveness was good. Bandits would need strong teeth to take a bite out of them.

“Huanan is new here. The bandit gangs don’t know our strength yet. If they are incited and think they can make a fortune here, they might gather a large force. So we must be on guard,” Zhou Shidi said, now fully identifying himself as a member of the transmigrator group.

“What about the militia? Can they hold them off?”

“Yes,” Zhou Shidi said. “With Comrade Bei in charge of training, they should be able to hold on for a while.”

The transmigrators were not as confident as he was. They knew the problems with the militia. The workers had been busy with various tasks at the sugar factory, and even the core militia team had very little training. After Bei Wei took over the training and defense, the situation had only slightly improved.

“Don’t worry too much. This is, after all, right outside the county seat. The bandits won’t dare to stay for long. They’ll come and go quickly. As long as we don’t let them succeed in one strike, we’ll be fine.”

“Even so, we must be on guard,” Chen Tianxiong said. “Before this is over, we shouldn’t go out unnecessarily. The gate guards must be strengthened, and some militia should be on standby at all times. Even when people like Liao Da, Liao Er, and the Wen brothers go out, they should be accompanied by escorts.”

“We also need to guard against arson,” Chang Shide added. “The factory area is not a big concern. After the construction is complete, arson will be very difficult, and even if a fire starts, it won’t spread. The main concern is the workers’ village where the unemployed workers are housed. It’s all thatched huts, which will catch fire easily. If people die, it will be a disaster.”

“Old Wen, have Liao Daxing and the others go and check on them. A reminder would be good!”

“Also—” Chen Tianxiong remembered something. “We need to telegraph Guangzhou and Lingao. The situation at sea may not be calm for long. We’ve taken down one Gu Dachun, but there might be a Wang Dachun or Li Dachun eyeing this prize.”

“Yes, and the Gu family pirates have not been completely wiped out. Their main force is gone, but they still have money and men. They could come back for revenge at any time.”

The intelligence from the captured pirates in the Battle of Juhua Islet had been compiled into an enemy situation summary and sent to Huanan for reference. According to the confessions, the Gu family pirate gang still had about twenty to thirty men and a single-masted boat for communication.

“Since they’ve captured prisoners, why doesn’t the navy just go and wipe them out?” Wen Tong was puzzled.

“It’s difficult,” Chen Tianxiong explained. The Gu family’s pirate lair was not an island fortress as one might imagine. On land, they were ordinary fishermen, living in ordinary fishing villages, mixed in with the other fishermen. It would be hard to distinguish them in an attack.

“Well, I think they will definitely come,” Chen Tianxiong said, leaning back. “Xiao Zhanfeng said that one of Third Master Zhu’s concubines is Gu Dachun’s sister.”

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. In the following days, the patrolling militia extinguished several incendiary devices that had been thrown in. Because of the various fire prevention measures, the arson attempts caused no damage other than blackening a few walls. According to intelligence gathered by Liao Dahua, the arsonists were all from Zhao Jijiao’s gang. These ruffians had no personal grudge against Huanan; their frequent attacks were clearly at the behest of Third Master Zhu.

The arson attempts were so frequent that they occurred once or twice almost every night. After realizing that setting fire to the factory and the firm itself was ineffective, the arsonists’ target shifted to the sugar workers’ residential area.

The most dangerous incident was an arson attempt in the workers’ village. A thatched hut was set on fire at night, but the watchtower at the Huanan factory immediately spotted the flames. The on-duty fire brigade was dispatched immediately and extinguished the fire within ten minutes.

The arsonist was caught on the spot by the sugar workers. In the light of the fire, someone quickly recognized him as one of Zhao Jijiao’s ruffians. Seeing he couldn’t escape, he took advantage of a moment of inattention and smashed his head against a rock. He collapsed to the ground, his face covered in blood, howling. The enraged sugar workers fell silent.

“What’s he howling about?” Chang Shide asked.

“He’s basically saying that Huanan is bullying him, that they injured him for no reason. If they don’t compensate him for his injuries, he’ll die at Huanan’s gate,” Liao Daxing said with a wry smile. “These ruffians fear nothing. If you provoke them, they might actually hang themselves at your door, causing a lawsuit that could ruin your family.”

“Oh?” Chang Shide knew this kind of person was a “rolling blade meat” who was not afraid of being beaten or killed. If he were sent to the yamen, he would likely be released soon after. Even if they paid a fine, the most he would get was a beating with a plank and a few months in the cangue, which they were not afraid of. Ruffians often had connections with various “public servants” in the county. Sometimes, even if the official wanted to intervene, they would be constrained by their underlings, and a major issue would be turned into a minor one, making it extremely difficult to punish them.

As he was thinking about what to do, Ma Sanqiang squeezed through the crowd and asked loudly, “Master, this man burned our house and injured a child inside! I ask you, Master, will you do something about it?!”

Chang Shide’s mind raced, and he fully understood the situation. The life of a ruffian versus the hearts of a group of sugar workers—the choice was obvious.

“Of course, I will!” Chang Shide said decisively. He waved his hand. “Take good care of this gentleman. Be quick about it!”

A few of Bei Wei’s special operations soldiers, who were already in the crowd, immediately came over. One of them pinned the man down with his foot, while another grabbed a handful of muddy grass from the ground and stuffed it into his mouth. The howling ruffian was instantly silenced, nearly suffocating. His body went limp. The two special operations soldiers immediately wrapped him in a straw mat and carried him away without a sound.