Chapter 310: The Sanya Special Zone Leadership

The next day, Ruan Xiaowu received the newly modified special service boat, Yute-04, at the shipyard. It was then that he officially received his orders: the Yute-04 would be permanently stationed at Yulin Port as a member of the navy’s Yulin Port dispatch detachment.

Chen Haiyang considered that the navy, having absorbed the remnants of Zhu Cailao’s forces and other small pirate groups, had expanded dramatically in size, but its combat effectiveness had increased only to a limited extent. The small number of “modernized” main warships still had to be primarily used for defending Lin’gao and escorting the transport lines. Yulin Port’s current role was to serve as an export port for iron ore and other local resources, not as a naval base for launching attacks.

Since the objectives were limited, the mission of the Yulin Port dispatch detachment was primarily one of vigilance: patrolling, inspecting, dealing with small-scale hostile actions, and, when necessary, transporting army troops for maneuvering within the bay. In the event of a large-scale attack, they would rely on the navy’s heavy artillery at the Luhuitou fortress for resistance and would not be responsible for fleet combat.

Therefore, the ships selected for the naval dispatch detachment were small vessels under 100 tons. After simple modifications and reinforcements, a small number of cannons were installed on board. The Yute-04, like the other special service boats dispatched to Sanya, was armed with only one 12-pounder naval smoothbore cannon at the bow and stern, plus a typewriter on the sterncastle.

Because the gunwales of the special service boats were low, to prevent enemy boarding actions, retractable anti-climbing nets were also installed as a defensive measure.

The special service boat was really small. Including him, the full complement was only eighteen people. Besides him, an officer, there was only one naval cadet serving as the navigation officer.

The sailors were surprised to have such a young captain. Although several months of strict training and disciplinary education had made them afraid to openly question the authority of an officer, there were still some exchanged glances.

Ruan Xiaowu was a little nervous. He surveyed his crew, who were of different heights and builds but all wore the standard Year One naval uniform.

These unruly sailors of the South China Sea, who had been eating salt water and drinking sea wind for many years, some had traveled far and wide with their ships, to Batavia, Pattani, Manila, Ryukyu, and Japan, while others had only ever sailed around the bays near their hometowns; some were poor fishermen who toiled all day without a full meal, while others were old pirates who had roamed the seas for years, for whom killing and robbing were commonplace…

Fate had brought them together, to wear the same uniform, to be forged into identical soldiers, and finally to stand on the deck of this special service boat, facing a captain who would only turn sixteen in a little over ten days.

The sea breeze swept across the deck, and the sails and rigging creaked. The deck rose and fell with the waves. Ruan Xiaowu looked at this newly painted ship. From now on, it was his ship—a sense of pride he had never felt before swept through his heart. Ruan Xiaowu, a fisherman’s son who had once nearly starved to death on the streets, had become a captain. From now on, he was not only responsible for himself, but also for this ship and all the people on it.

“Captain, sir, all hands are mustered. Awaiting your orders!” the highest-ranking naval cadet on board saluted him and reported.

He was a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six. His eyes were full of confusion—probably wondering why the chiefs had chosen such a young person to be the captain.

“At ease,” he said, his voice calm.

The permanent naval forces dispatched to the Sanya Special Zone consisted of the Sanya Naval Detachment and the Yulin Port Base Team. The former was composed of six special service boats and a small number of sampans, while the latter consisted of one fortress artillery company and one marine platoon. The force was not large. The most powerful weapons were the two 120mm rifled muzzle-loaders. Although they were only equipped with solid iron-tipped shells, they were enough to sink any kind of sea vessel in this era. The base team also carried two “typewriters” mounted on two-wheeled light gun carriages for close-range cover, and could also support the army in combat if necessary.

The naval commander dispatched to Sanya was Li Haiping. He had been recalled from Changhua Fort a month ago. The days in Changhua were both fulfilling and boring. Fulfilling because there was an endless amount of work to do during the day—Changhua Fort had now become an important trading post for trade with the Li districts. Due to the increasing demand for cattle in Lin’gao, the cattle pens and warehouses in Changhua Fort were being expanded. Boring because at night, with no electricity, everyone had to go to bed early. After a few months, Li Haiping had become tanned, physically fit, and bursting with energy.

The navy didn’t have many people to choose from. Chen Haiyang didn’t have many people in his pocket. He Ming was an elder, after all, and his military experience was even richer than his own. It was better to keep him by his side as an advisor. Meng De was a merchant marine sailor, and Le Lin and Li Di were naval enthusiasts. After more than a year of training, they were still only entry-level naval personnel—in a sense, their actual sailing and combat skills were still inferior to those of the native officers from pirate backgrounds like Wang the Beard. Being stationed in Yulin Port was not like being in Lin’gao, with the powerful Transmigration Group at their back. They had to rely on a few small boats to defend the port, which was not something an amateur could handle.

After much thought, only Li Haiping was relatively suitable. He was a former PLA navy man. Although his rank was not high, he was at least a professional naval officer who had served on ships and at shore bases. Such a versatile person was more in line with the needs of the Yulin base.

Li Haiping thus became the commander of the detachment and the captain of the base team. He requested Chen Haiyang to grant him a military rank.

“Many of the native officers have been given ranks now, with epaulets on their shoulders. We’re still empty. This looks too bad when giving orders, doesn’t it? It’s not right,” Li Haiping proposed. Given the position he was about to assume, he felt a rank of commodore would be appropriate.

“Commodore?” Chen Haiyang shook his head repeatedly. “It’s easy to grant ranks to the natives. The Executive Committee hasn’t even officially started discussing our own administrative levels and military ranks. The ranks will come in time.”

“Well, won’t I be a bare-bones commander then?” Li Haiping was very concerned about this issue and muttered.

“We’ll talk about this later. The garrison commander of Sanya is Xi Yazhou from the army. The army will also send a company to assist in the defense of the Luhuitou base. You must unite well with them and not cause any conflicts.”

“It’s old Xi, no problem!” Li Haiping’s face lit up. “We used to play wargames together.”

That day, Wen Desi’s office received a visit from Wang Luobin.

“Chief Engineer Wang, you’re looking well recently,” President Wen’s relationship with Chief Engineer Wang was closer than usual. They had one of the “three great bonds” of men, so when they were alone, his attitude was not so serious.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just the matter of the personal assistant. When can we solve that?” Wang Luobin had been busy supervising the plan to convert the Fengcheng’s auxiliary engines to use gas bags recently.

“Soon,” Wen Desi said in a low voice. “How about you become the governor of the Sanya Special Zone?”

”?!” Wang Luobin’s mouth fell open. The Executive Committee had not yet decided who would be the head of the Sanya Special Zone. No one even talked about it much. The positioning and planning of the Sanya Special Zone were there for all to see. Its status was far from comparable to that of the branch mines in Leizhou or Qiongshan. It was at least a backup main base.

Who would be the governor of the Sanya Special Zone was a rather sensitive issue—this was the Transmigration Group’s first major regional official. Therefore, no one from any side proposed a candidate, instead asking President Wen for a “holy decree”—of course, when they said it, it was “please President Wen to propose a candidate for reference.”

“Well, won’t this cause some controversy?” Wang Luobin, of course, knew the importance of this position.

“No, it won’t. You’re a technical expert, you know all kinds of technology, you’re a jack-of-all-trades in construction, you can also handle civil and military affairs, and your prestige is high enough,” Wen Desi said. “Besides, after D-Day, although you’re also a member of the Executive Committee, you don’t have a formal department to manage. Your treatment has been on the low side. For this reason alone, no one will have anything to say if you become the governor of the Sanya Special Zone.”

“Well—” Although Wang Luobin was very keen on becoming such a major regional official, going to Sanya meant saying goodbye to his current leisurely work as a technical advisor and consultant.

He felt a little reluctant to leave Lin’gao, which had become something of a comfortable nest, to go to the barren Yulin Port in Sanya to open a new base.

“Chief Engineer Wang, you’re not particularly attached to this little comfortable nest here in Lin’gao, are you?”

“You’ve hit the nail on the head,” Wang Luobin said. “I think life in Lin’gao is pretty good. Won’t I become a general contractor in Sanya?”

“There are specific professional personnel to do the work below. you just need to be in charge,” President Wen said. “You’re the governor now. You can expand your administrative staff.”

“Alright, but the word ‘governor’ is not very good. It’s easy to cause others to have associations and it’s also easy to cause resentment. It’s better to be called the mayor of a special municipality or a district chief.”

“A special municipality doesn’t sound grand enough. Let’s go with the chief of a major region then.”

And so, at the 23rd work meeting of the Executive Committee on the Sanya development plan, with the nomination of Wen Desi and the unanimous approval of all, it was decided that Wang Luobin would be the chief of the Sanya Special Region.

The organizational structure of the Sanya Special Zone was also discussed and finalized at the same meeting. The supreme head of the Sanya Special Zone was the chief of the major region, who had jurisdiction over all civil affairs in the entire Sanya area, including civil administration, justice, economy, public security, and so on.

The militia to be formed in the Sanya area would be mobilized and commanded by the chief of the major region. Only the army and navy were under the vertical leadership of the Executive Committee in Lin’gao. The Sanya Special Zone government had no command authority over the garrison. To facilitate coordination between the local government and the military, the Executive Committee also established a Sanya Regional Military Committee, composed of the heads of the army and navy garrisons, the chief of the major region, the director of the Tiandu Mining Bureau, and the general commander of the Sanya Engineering and Construction Command. All major military issues would be coordinated and decided by this military committee.