Chapter 14: First Signs of Success

“Who would come to this barren wilderness to steal railway tracks? Are they tired of living?” Zhuo Tianmin said dismissively.

“People even rush to pick up shell casings right after an explosion at the artillery range. This is nothing,” Xi Yazhou said. “Besides An You Le Market, according to the special reconnaissance team’s report, there are still some scattered settlements in the Sanya Special Zone. Can you guarantee they won’t come to steal the tracks?”

The problem was that there were very few settlements within a radius of dozens of li, and Zhuo Tianmin couldn’t imagine how many thieves could come from these few pathetic settlements with a total population of less than two or three hundred. And what would they do with the stolen rails? He felt this was just an excuse.

Sure enough, at the subsequent Sanya Military Committee meeting, Xi Yazhou proposed a comprehensive “public security rectification” campaign within the jurisdiction of the Sanya Special Zone to clean up the surrounding environment.

The specific measure was to transform all the villages and stockades in this area in the same way as An You Le Market, concentrating the population and forcibly relocating them to settlements under the control of the transmigrator group. In short, it was labor collectivization.

“You’re creating strategic hamlets. I am firmly opposed to this,” Zhuo Tianmin protested strongly. “Forced collectivization of villages is a trick used by the Japanese devils and the American GIs. Are you going to pick it up too?”

“Whatever you call it, as long as it works,” Xi Yazhou said calmly.

But the others felt it was pointless. It wasn’t that they were concerned about harassing the villagers, but that the amount of labor they could gain from such a large-scale operation was limited, and resettling them would cost manpower and resources. The cost-benefit ratio was not high. In the end, they only approved a courtesy visit to these villages to get a feel for their situation and to see if there were any resources or intelligence to be gathered.

“Instead of capturing them all and forcing them to work, it’s better to entice them with material benefits,” He Fanghui said. “Besides, since they can survive here, they must have developed the nearby areas to a certain extent. We can more or less obtain some resources from them. I propose opening a cooperative here and using trade to penetrate the inland areas.”

“The potential consumer population of a few villages is too small.”

“There are also the Li people in the interior,” He Fanghui said. “They have no money, but they have mountain goods. We can trade salt, sugar, and various daily necessities with them, making them dependent on trade with Sanya. Then we can recruit cooperative partners among the Li people. In the future, when we go deep into the Li areas to establish political power, they will be a suitable civilian foundation. Doing business is not just for making money—in fact, we don’t need to make money, do we?”

“This can be left to the immigrant households to handle. We don’t need to do everything ourselves. Let the cooperative set up a consignment point, find a few small vendors to run it, and we’ll just provide the policy and the goods,” Wang Luobin said. “But I went to see the foundation of An You Le. The plot of land is too small. To build a new city, it would have to be almost in a single line. It would be difficult to expand into a large city in the future.”

“Ji Runzhi is currently conducting a planning survey,” Zhuo Tianmin said. “He also believes that the original plan has major omissions. He will submit a report in three days on how to revise it.”

“Next, let’s talk about the progress of the project—” Wang Luobin was most concerned about this issue. “When can we start shipping ore?”

“Right now, I’m organizing manpower to rush the construction of the road to Huangni Ridge. The labor force is working in three shifts,” Zhuo Tianmin said, spreading out the blueprints. “Huangni Ridge is not high, and the terrain is not too complex. The main problem with road construction is the dense vegetation. It’s very time-consuming to clear.” He glanced at his manual. “The road can be completed in another week, but the road grade will be low, only passable for people and wheelbarrows.”

“Just getting people up there is a victory,” Wang Luobin said. “As long as people can get up there, we can build the road and clear the mining site at the same time, a two-pronged approach.”

Wang Luobin had participated in the survey of the Tiandu mine and was very familiar with the local geological conditions. The reserves of the Tiandu mine were not very large, but they were very shallow. The diameter of the mineable pit was only three hundred meters. The ore body was very regular. As long as the topsoil was stripped, a mining face could be established, making it convenient for both manual and mechanized mining.

The best way to quickly strip the topsoil was to blast the entire mountaintop. They had previously conducted a large-scale open-pit blast during the development of Nanbao. However, after a field survey, Pan Da said it would be very difficult.

“To strip it all at once, not to mention the technical difficulty—I’m not an expert on this—but looking at the situation on the mountain, we’d need at least ten tons of yellow explosives,” Pan Da said. “Not black powder.”

Everyone knew this was impossible. Leaving aside where to get ten tons of nitroglycerin explosives—the fats and oils needed to produce glycerin were still scarce resources—even if they had the explosives, shipping them by sea was a risky business. The Navy would curse every time they had to transport it.

“It would be best to build an explosives factory locally, even if it can only produce black powder,” Pan Da said. “The subsequent mining will have a great demand for explosives. It’s neither convenient nor safe to always ship it from Lin’gao. Besides, we’re going to build a copra factory here to extract oil anyway. We’ll have plenty of coconut oil!”

“That’s for the future. What do we do now?” Wang Luobin asked.

“The safest way is to use small blasts to strip the soil and rock layer by layer until the ore seam is exposed. We have enough black powder and ammonium nitrate for a month. After blasting, we can manually clear a working face. Once we have a working face, we can start manual mining, supplemented by small blasts,” Pan Da said. “This is what I believe to be the most reliable method. This is not like blasting in Nanbao, where the gunpowder is right next door. If it doesn’t work, we can just try a few more times.”

“Let’s do it that way,” Wang Luobin decided. “Like ants gnawing on a bone, we’ll chew it away bit by bit. The other construction sites must also hurry up. Especially the fortifications at Lu Huitou and Yulin Fort, and the pier facilities. The basic construction must be completed before summer.”

In the summer, rainfall would increase greatly, and there was a danger of direct typhoon hits. If the infrastructure was not completed in time, the temporary wooden plank houses and simple piers would be in danger of being destroyed by waves and typhoons.

The entire Sanya development command was filled with the spirit of a great leap forward. The elders worked almost day and night, their lights burning all night. Everyone knew that the Senate and the Executive Committee were watching Sanya. The sooner the first shipload of iron ore was sent out, the louder their voice would be in the Senate in the future.

Hundreds of laborers worked day and night under Zhuo Tianmin’s command, repairing roads and leveling foundations. Ji Runzhi ate and slept in the temporary shed at the Tiandu construction site, designing, drafting, and supervising construction simultaneously. Li Haiping simply slept on the construction site of the battery on the newly flattened Lu Huitou mountaintop, and all the marines became laborers. The abacuses of the planners under Sun Xiao clattered like rain. Sun Xiao’s daily work was to compile and fill out countless reports, with precise tables tracking the daily labor casualties, injuries, and illnesses; manpower replenishment; classified material consumption and inventory status; and the completion and planned volume of earthwork…

These data reports did not need to be sent back to Lin’gao immediately. The Planning院 representative only reported the manpower and materials needed to be replenished for the project progress in the daily telegram. But after Wu De took office, he had specifically emphasized the establishment of a complete archival system, requiring all projects to have files for future reference, to summarize experiences and lessons, and to investigate responsibility.

Wang Luobin stood before the progress chart in the command post at Yulin Fort, his eyes fixed on the various markers. Every day, wired telegraphs reported the latest progress from each construction site to the general headquarters. He constantly marked the chart with symbols for projects that were ahead of or behind schedule, adjusting labor, machinery, and materials accordingly, and calculating how long it would take to ship out the iron ore. According to the Planning院’s plan, the first shipload of ore would be sent out 10 months after D-Day, and an annual production scale of 10,000 tons of iron ore would be formed after 18 months. After 24 months, it would be expanded to 60,000 tons per year.

Looking at this schedule, Wang Luobin felt a little uncertain. This work far exceeded his previous work experience. He had been a project manager before, but this was the first time he had handled such a large and critical project, not to mention that he actually had little knowledge of infrastructure construction and mining. He could only bite the bullet and learn as he went.

Overall, the situation was improving. The industrial accident mortality rate had dropped to an acceptable low level, and those who had been recuperating from malaria were beginning to return to work. For the first time, the number of available laborers showed a restorative growth. According to Sun Xiao’s forecast, they would not need to supplement with new labor from Lin’gao in the short term.

The brick-making machine that had caused a catastrophic industrial accident had been repaired. Now, apart from occasional minor faults due to damaged parts, it was running normally. The brick kilns at the Sanya brick and tile factory were continuous kilns using steel wire ropes and iron rail cars, much more efficient than the intermittent kilns in Lin’gao. The bricks and tiles produced could now fully meet the construction demand. Apart from cement, steel rebar, and bamboo rebar, which still relied on supplies from Lin’gao, bricks, tiles, stone, and lime were all being produced locally in Sanya. The wood processing plant was also under intensive construction. Once completed, it could not only provide sufficient building materials for local supply but also supply Lin’gao with finished wood products and by-products. The cargo tonnage previously occupied by these bulk goods would be used to transport coal. The demand for coal in Sanya was gradually increasing.

The Planning院’s requirement was that Sanya, besides its daily coal consumption, must maintain at least a fifteen-day reserve. The importance of steam engines and boilers to the transmigrator group had risen to the level of “dependence.”

The only problem was that the quality of the boilers was still a concern. The large number of steam engines and boilers produced in a rush had a high failure rate, which at one point affected the project’s progress. At his request, Zhan Wuya had specially sent a special maintenance team composed entirely of elders to conduct a major overhaul of all boilers and steam engines used in the project.

Pan Da led his demolition team in continuous blasting at various locations. The entire Yulin area rumbled with the sound of explosions. The laborers and immigrants knew this was for blasting, but for the original inhabitants of An You Le Market, the sudden increase in explosions added to their anxiety. They thought this group of “Australian pirates” was at war with some unknown force.

Hu Xun stayed in the temporary detention center by the sea. He had food and drink every day, could take a shower, and his family was allowed to send him clean clothes. The treatment was quite lenient. The only thing was that no one around him was familiar, which made him feel uneasy. He didn’t know what this group of pirates—he now knew they were the so-called Australian pirates—planned to do with him.

He was worried about his own life and feared that the pirates would harm his family. Hu Xun had several young wives and a fourteen-year-old daughter who was of marriageable age. Weren’t they just ripe for the picking by these villains, especially pirates who wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of any woman in the dark?

The daily sound of explosions intensified his fear. As far as he knew, there were no other forces in the interior besides the Li people. And fighting the Li people obviously didn’t require such an extravagant use of firearms. As for the government troops, even if they were to come, they would come by sea, definitely not through the wilderness by land.

He had been trying to get some information from his guards—including where they came from, what they were doing here, and most importantly, what they planned to do with him. But the guards said nothing to him. When they did speak, it was only the simplest, most necessary words, and they were the same with each other. Hu Xun wondered what kind of people these expressionless men were. They could stand face to face for hours without saying a word to each other.

After nearly a month of this painful waiting, someone finally came to see him.

The visitor was an Australian—Hu Xun knew he was one of them, the same as the so-called Manager Wang from Lin’gao, one of the kūnzéi Australians. He saw a man of medium height, sturdily built, with a shaved head, a double chin, dark circles under his eyes, and thick lips. He wore the gray short jacket common among the kūnzéi Australians, with a backpack slung over his shoulder and a straw hat. His appearance and dress were far beyond all of Hu Xun’s social experience, and he couldn’t figure out what kind of person this was.

He Fanghui politely asked about his living conditions and his health.

“My health is fine. Your people have treated this prisoner quite well,” Hu Xun said with a wry smile.

“Hehe,” He Fanghui laughed and patted his shoulder warmly. “Old Hu, it’s not that I’m lecturing you, but in twenty years, when you look back on today, you’ll be grateful to have been our prisoner.”

Hu Xun was completely speechless. He thought, I’ve never seen such a shameless fellow. My family business has been snatched away by you, and I should be grateful? What kind of nonsense is this!

But he didn’t dare to show it and could only be submissive. Seeing that the visitor was in high spirits, he quickly asked about his family’s situation.

“Your family is all well,” He Fanghui said simply. “They are still in the original residence. I’ve posted a few policemen outside your house to look after them. Everything at home is safe. You can rest assured.”

“Thank you, Master He,” Hu Xun said, feeling a little relieved to hear that his home was safe. His whole family was at their mercy. There was no need for them to deceive him.

“You don’t need to stay here any longer,” He Fanghui said. “You’re going home today.”

He then told him to pack his things and led him out of the public office of An You Le Market. The weather outside was fine and sunny. The bright sunlight made Hu Xun, who hadn’t been out of the house for a month, feel dizzy and almost fall. He was then “escorted” back to his own residence.

Walking on the street, An You Le Market had changed greatly. The original stockade walls had all been demolished, and some of the houses on the street had also been torn down. Only a few brothels and small restaurants were still open for business. The inns and warehouses where the sea merchants stayed were still intact, with men in black short jackets and belts standing guard at the entrances.

His own residence had not been changed, but the main gate was tightly shut. Returning home, there was a mixture of surprise and sighs. Fortunately, everyone, high and low, was safe and sound, and the pirates had not harassed them. They had even sent vegetables, fish, shrimp, and grain every few days, without asking for money.

“Everything at home is peaceful. Not a single coin or a single mosquito is missing. It’s just that the things you stored in the public warehouse outside are all gone…” his wife chattered on.

“Don’t worry about that bit of property,” Hu Xun waved his hand impatiently. “If they wanted to take it, even what’s in the house would be gone. What’s the point of talking about what’s in the warehouse!”

Hu Xun’s mind was in a turmoil. He didn’t know what this group of people was up to. It seemed this group, who sometimes called themselves people from Lin’gao and sometimes Australians, was planning to stay here for the long term. Their large-scale construction made this clear.

While Hu Xun was worrying at home, he didn’t know that he had just escaped the terrible fate of having his entire family wiped out. There were two different opinions in the Sanya Military Committee on how to deal with the former Baozheng of An You Le Market. The most extreme view was that Hu Xun was the head of the old forces and was very likely to collude with the government. He was a potential threat and should be executed for security reasons, along with his family. The other view was that Hu Xun was just a local tyrant who had taken advantage of the government’s weak control. He had not committed many atrocities, was familiar with the local situation, and had surrendered voluntarily. Killing him would give the transmigrators a reputation for cruelty. In the future, when they encountered similar people, wouldn’t the other party resist to the end?

“His whole family is in our hands now. If he makes any move, we can wipe out his entire family immediately. And it would be justified,” He Fanghui argued strongly for his life.

“Hmph, do we need any justification?” Xi Yazhou snorted with contempt. “To be honest, this person is of little use to us. Keeping him is a hidden danger. As for our reputation—cruelty is also a weapon.”

“That’s on the same level as the Huns and the Mongols. Not good,” Wang Luobin said. After careful consideration, he felt it was better not to make too many enemies at this stage. In the end, it was decided to spare him and use him as an example for future surrenders and defections.

So Hu Xun was placed under house arrest and not allowed to go out. Ten of his household servants were allowed to stay. Those who stayed were limited to maids, old women, and old men over fifty. The other servants were all “confiscated.”

Of Hu Xun’s three sons, only the youngest, who was under ten, was allowed to stay. The other two were sent to Lin’gao for “schooling,” effectively as hostages. Hu Xun couldn’t understand how Lin’gao had become the Australians’, but he was powerless to stop it and could only pack their bags and send them on their way.

Hu Xun’s former secretary, after a period of investigation, was kept on as a clerk under He Fanghui. As for the headman of the stockade guards, he was a former pirate with some martial arts skills, so he was taken back to Lin’gao and inducted into the Navy’s recruit training camp.

The former stockade guards of An You Le Market who had families locally were organized into labor teams. The single men were transported back to Lin’gao to supplement the labor force. As for Hu Xun’s clansmen and relatives, not a single one was left behind; they were all sent to Lin’gao for resettlement.