Chapter Sixty-One: Public Opinion Preparation

“Directly conscript the militia from each commune. We not only need to replenish the troops, but once the main force of the army leaves, Lingao will be in a vacuum. The people will think we’ve run off with our troops, and their hearts will be unsettled. Besides, we also need to guard against other forces taking advantage of the vacuum, such as Liu Xiang or foreigners,” Dongmen Chuiyu said.

“In addition to the commune’s militia, we also need to arm the workers in each factory to serve as factory guards,” He Ming said. “Once the battle begins, except for a small number of naval units, the entire army and navy will be deployed. The main base in Lingao must have a certain number of troops to defend it. This part can only be mainly composed of militia.”

“All the Elders must also be mobilized. Seeing the Elders in Lingao, personally taking up arms and going into battle, will greatly stabilize the people’s emotions. And they can also be used as a final reserve,” said Pan Da, the head of the sappers who had returned from Sanya to arrange for the transport of explosives. “In addition, we need to fortify the important facilities in Lingao, especially Bopu and Maniao. These two places are our key points, and we must prevent the enemy from landing small units by stealth.”

Wei Aiwen said contemptuously, “You overestimate them—”

“We should despise them strategically, but take them seriously tactically. If the enemy uses tactics like disguised assaults and kills a few Elders, it would be a heavy loss,” Pan Da said.

He Ming said: “If the enemy has enough determination and a few decisive and brave generals in command, it is not impossible for them to use infiltration and raid tactics—there are many precedents for this in history.”

Soon, the operational plan and mobilization plan were sent to the Executive Committee. After supplementing and revising some content, it was officially implemented.

The second-level mobilization order was then issued. An orange alert was sent to all units. The entire mobilization machine of the Transmigration Group began to operate.

Liu Youren returned from his own land—it would soon be the summer planting season, and he personally went to check the condition of the soil and the newly built drainage and irrigation canals. After winning the full trust of the Liu family in the first year, Xun Suji began to propose that he undertake some more expensive agricultural projects in the second year.

These projects were mainly farmland water conservancy. The Liu family’s land was relatively concentrated, so it was possible to carry out large-scale water conservancy construction. The Tiandihui, together with Delong, launched a special water conservancy loan for this purpose. In the winter, Liu Youren mobilized his clan members, tenants, and long-term laborers to build the first drainage and irrigation canal under the guidance of the Tiandihui.

After a winter and a spring of construction, this canal was finally completed. The canal, built according to modern agricultural standards, along with its supporting sluice gates, reservoirs, and branch canals, although not comparable to the Meitaiyang governance project and the school field transformation, was still the first of its kind among the main customers of the Tiandihui.

Liu Youren looked at one place after another and was very satisfied—according to Xun Suji, with this canal, the water content of the soil could be maintained at a certain level. If there was too much water, it would be drained away, and if there was too little, it could be irrigated. As long as there was no major flood or drought, a good harvest could be guaranteed.

This was of course not an exaggeration. Liu Youren had been to other counties, and some county towns also had canals built by the government, which could indeed benefit the people. Now he had one on his own land, which made Liu Youren feel incredible for his boldness in addition to his excitement.

This project was very expensive. Apart from the labor, which he basically solved himself, all the materials were ordered from the Australians, and everything was not cheap. The gray powder that turned into mud when it met water and became as hard as stone when it dried cost 50 circulation coupons per bag. Even the yellow sand, gravel, and bamboo used in the project were treated by the Australians and priced by the kilogram. Although the technical guidance was free—because he was a key customer of the Tiandihui and had already paid the service fee.

He could not have afforded this project on his own—even with the strength of the whole clan, it would have been impossible. Most of the project funds were from a loan from the Delong Bank, and the collateral was the land under his name.

If this year’s harvest was not good, he would be bankrupt if he could not repay the first batch of loans in the autumn.

In the past, he would never have dared to make such a big bet, but now he had a blind trust in everything the Australians did. He felt that everything the Australians did was reasonable and would not fail. In short, he would definitely not lose out by following them.

Now he was even more enthusiastic about promoting the marriage between Liu Meilan and Xun Suji. He had a vague idea. If he didn’t marry them now, it might not be his turn in the future.

He changed his clothes and returned to his office. Liu Guangbiao had already arrived. He was holding a newspaper he had just bought from the Dongmen Market.

Liu Youren had developed the habit of reading the “Lingao Times” every day. He knew that although this Australian thing was not the Ming Dynasty’s “Dibao,” it had a similar function—that is, one could see the recent trends in the Australian court and their administrative policies, and even see the changes in power within the Australians.

For example, recently, the newspaper mentioned the Senate much more often than the Executive Committee. Although Liu Youren did not know what the Senate or the Executive Committee was, he knew that they were the two main ruling bodies of the Australians. The increased mention of the Senate meant that the Senate was beginning to take charge and exercise power.

Unfortunately, he knew nothing about the Australian political system and official system. Otherwise, he might have been able to maneuver within it…

Liu Youren took the newspaper and opened it casually. The newspaper was a four-page folio. The four large characters “Lingao Times” in regular script were written with vigorous strokes. Below them was a line of small characters whose meaning he did not quite understand: “Publicly Distributed Edition.”

The headline on the front page was about the fourteenth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Senate. He glanced through it roughly. When he saw at the end of the report: “…solemnly protest against the various unfair treatments our overseas trade personnel have received…”, his eyelids twitched.

Then he turned to the back, where there was an article about the Ming Dynasty’s harsh policies towards overseas merchants. Such articles were rare in the past, but since the land survey, they had appeared frequently. The content of the articles was all about criticizing the current evils and chronic diseases of the Ming Dynasty. And they were generally timely. For example, before and after the land survey, the newspaper published many articles on the shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty’s tax system. The changes, evolution, and shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty’s tax system were all clearly written, and a large number of “confessions” from grain officials were also published—which were nothing more than confessions of their tricks to enrich themselves in the tax and corvee system.

What was the meaning of this article today? He read it carefully. He put down the newspaper, feeling a little baffled. He knew that the Ming Dynasty had always regarded merchants who went overseas for trade or even settled there as “abandoned people.” But he didn’t know why the Australians were suddenly interested in this. They were not subjects of the Ming Dynasty.

But he was very clear about one thing: such articles in the “Lingao Times” were always a signal, implying what the Australians were preparing to do.

However, these few articles did not reveal anything. Liu Youren decided to ignore them for the time being and deal with the urgent matters at hand first.

“How are the preparations for the marriage between Meilan and Chief Xun going?”

“Third Uncle, Meilan’s eight-character card was sent a few days ago,” Liu Guangbiao had originally proposed marrying Liu Meilan to the Australians out of personal revenge. Seeing that the Australians were becoming more and more powerful, his attitude had also changed, and he had become very enthusiastic, even showing great concern for Liu Meilan’s family.

“Hmm, not bad. Has Chief Xun’s eight-character card been sent back?”

“Not yet,” Liu Guangbiao said. “When they Australians marry, they usually need the approval of the General Office. Chief Xun said that the official of the General Office has not yet approved the application—and, according to Chief Xun himself, Australians do not have birth dates and times.”

“Nonsense, how can they not have birth dates and times?” Liu Youren rebuked. “Don’t they call themselves descendants of the Great Song? How can they not even have birth dates and times!”

“According to Master Zhang, they really don’t have this custom there. They neither need the parents’ order nor the matchmaker’s words…”

Master Zhang was Zhang Youfu, the number one “Australia expert” in the county. Whenever people had trouble communicating with the Australians, they would go to him for advice.

“This is too much of a child’s play! Can it be that they don’t even have birth dates and times?” Although the one getting married was a grandniece, she was still a girl of the Liu family. It couldn’t be so sloppy.

“Go and talk to Chief Xun. We still need an eight-character card. Even if he doesn’t have one, he has to make one up for the sake of it.”

“Yes, your nephew understands.” Liu Guangbiao hesitated for a moment. “This, do we still need to have someone match the eight characters?”

“Of course we do. We can’t skimp on any of the formalities,” Liu Youren set the tone. “This matter must be done as soon as possible. It will be the height of summer in a flash. Are we going to hold the wedding in the middle of summer? Go quickly.”

“Yes,” Liu Guangbiao agreed, but he did not leave. Instead, he took a step forward and said in a low voice, “Your nephew has some news, I don’t know if I should say it—”

“Nonsense! What’s there to say or not to say between an uncle and nephew who have been passed down from generation to generation? Speak quickly!”

“I heard from a former long-term laborer in our village—he now works in an Australian factory—that the Guangdong government is about to send troops!”

“Is this true!” Liu Youren could not help but lower his voice.

“It’s true!” Liu Guangbiao nodded. “The Australians are carrying out some kind of ‘mobilization’ in every factory, training militia and able-bodied men to prepare to defend the city. I heard that their factories have also recently switched to producing firearms.”

“The government troops are finally coming!” Liu Youren nodded!

“Third Uncle, what should we do?” Liu Guangbiao asked in a low voice.

Liu Youren thought to himself, it was really unreasonable for the court to use force against Lingao. The Australians were doing well in Lingao, the county magistrate was also doing a good job, and the people had a good life. Seeing that life was getting better day by day, why did the court not let everyone have a good life? Thinking of this, he could not help but feel a little indignant.

“These officials are preparing to use the heads of the common people as a stepping stone to promotion again,” he said.

Liu Guangbiao looked at his clan uncle with some fear. How could his uncle say such rebellious words?

“Third Uncle, this is not the time to say such things. Once the heavenly troops of the court arrive, won’t the Australians collapse immediately? At most, they can escape by boat. What about us? Are we going to escape with them…”

“In your opinion, can the court’s army defeat the Australians?” he asked in return.

“This—” Even a small rural landlord like Liu Guangbiao, who had only been to Qiongzhou Prefecture city, could of course see the difference.

“In your nephew’s opinion, the Australians’ firearms are swift and fierce, and their military discipline is strict. The court’s troops are no match for them,” Liu Guangbiao said. “But the court’s troops are numerous and powerful. If they come with the force of Mount Tai crushing an egg, the Australians may not be able to resist.”

“Your concerns are also reasonable,” Liu Youren said, but he actually disagreed. He had seen the power of the Australians’ cannons. Even if a few tens of thousands of court troops came, they would only be adding to the casualties in front of the Australians’ cannons.

The outcome would still depend on whether the militia trained by the Australians dared to fight the government troops to the end.

He pondered for a moment: “Gather all the elders of the various branches of the clan. I want to talk to them. In addition, you should first hide all the grain in the warehouse except for one-third!”

Whether it was the Australians or the court army, once a war started, they would inevitably levy grain from the people. This was what Liu Youren was worried about. The Australians, the Tiandihui helped him grow grain and build canals. It was only natural for him to contribute grain, and they knew his situation very well. Fortunately, the Australians were reasonable and would not levy randomly, nor would their subordinates create false pretexts to enrich themselves, so the burden would not be too great. As for the court army, if they attacked Lingao, he would have to make some gesture. Otherwise, if the government troops attacked the village, his own village would not be able to hold out.

“Also, you should quickly have someone repair the village walls and store up lime pots, rolling logs, and bricks. The bows and muskets should also be inspected, and the broken ones should be repaired quickly…”

“Third Uncle, our village walls can’t stop the Australians’ cannons…”

“You are really muddle-headed!” Liu Youren glared at him. Liu Guangbiao immediately understood that these military preparations were not to defend against the Australians, but to deal with the court’s troops.

Once the court’s army arrived, whether they could defeat the Australians was another matter. One thing was certain: there would be many small groups scattered around to “forage for grain.” This kind of foraging had evolved from simply collecting grain to the point where the officers and soldiers took the opportunity to plunder everywhere. Unlucky villages and households were even in danger of being massacred—anyway, with the hat of “collaborating with the enemy,” no upright official would be bored enough to seek justice for them. The heads might even be used to claim rewards as enemy leaders.

If the village was well-fortified, at most they would be extorted for some grain, wine, and meat, but they would not be plundered and killed.

“Yes, your nephew understands!” Liu Guangbiao quickly replied. He asked again:

“What about Meilan’s marriage?”

Liu Youren closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then suddenly opened them as if he had made up his mind:

“Do it!”

The news that the court army was about to suppress Lingao spread like wildfire throughout the county. The atmosphere in Lingao immediately became tense. The Executive Committee had no intention of keeping it a secret—it was impossible to keep such a secret. It was better to let everyone know slowly than to keep covering it up and letting everyone guess wildly. Dingding’s propaganda department was the first to act. He had already prepared a whole series of articles, preparing to blow the wind from small to large and create public opinion. The article Liu Youren saw was just the beginning. He had also prepared a series of articles below:

“Unjust Treatment of Overseas Chinese in Guangdong,” “The Ming Government’s Unjust Confiscation, Expulsion, and Killing of Our Overseas Chinese’s Property,” “Feature: Overseas Chinese Return with Sincere Hearts, No Way to Serve the Country, but Persecuted Instead,” “Feature: Crying to Heaven in Vain—The Tragic Plight of the Expelled Australian Overseas Chinese,” “The Court is Incompetent, Exhausting the People—A Critique of the Defeat in Liaodong,” “Incompetent in Foreign Wars, Expert in Internal Strife—A Critique of the Ming Government’s Unjust Expulsion of Our Ao-Song People,” “How Zheng Zhilong Used the Blood of the Ming People to Exchange for the Ming’s Official Hat—A Critique of Zheng Zhilong’s Pacification”… The latter few commentaries were later compiled into a pamphlet and widely distributed in the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, there were also more lethal things, namely a few “special commentary articles” written by Dingding himself: “A Warning to the Guangdong Authorities to Rein in at the Brink of the Precipice,” “This is Tolerable, What is Not Tolerable,” and “Don’t Say You Weren’t Warned.”

In addition to writing, Dingding stepped up his propaganda activities. Puppet shows such as “The Test” and “The Promised Land” began to tour the county on a large scale. The propaganda department’s puppet troupe expanded to two sub-troupes, one performing and one rehearsing, so that there was always a troupe on tour. The student drama club of the Fangcaodi Education Park also began to rehearse plays of these two scripts. Dingding also organized some living newspaper plays for the students to perform on the streets.

Wei Aiwen ordered the whole army to hold a “Yesterday, Today” themed class meeting, letting the soldiers who had been trained in the political propaganda department to speak from their own experience, openly talking about the differences between the new army and the Ming army, so that the soldiers could fully appreciate the differences between the old and new armies.

The Political Security General Bureau and the Police Headquarters strengthened their internal control of the streets and alleys to prevent spies from infiltrating Lingao to gather intelligence and spread rumors. Of course, if any internal dissatisfied elements tried to speak and act recklessly, the Political Security General Bureau would not object to adding some more free labor.

The Senate urgently passed an additional budget for the military industry. The Planning Institute announced the launch of a grenade workshop to replace the various miscellaneous grenades of the past.

“It would be too ugly for our grenadiers to go into battle with a lit fuse,” Lin Shenhe said. “Now that the chemical industry has improved, it should be solved.”

Although the destructive power of grenades was limited, they played a decisive role in enhancing the firepower of the infantry. The technical personnel of the First and Second Weapons Design Institutes and the mechanical department believed that the current industrial and chemical level was sufficient to manufacture grenades.

After discussion, Lin Shenhe, Li Yunxing, Bai Yu, and others decided to imitate a mature product that was relatively safe to carry and use under simple and crude production processes—the Type 67 wooden handle grenade, to be precise, the simple wooden handle grenade prepared for the militia during the “prepare for war, prepare for famine” era of the Cultural Revolution.

The production process of this grenade was simplified, and the materials were made as locally available as possible. As for the production equipment, it was simplified to the point where it could be transferred and produced by only seven people. As long as there were raw materials, grenades and landmines could be manufactured at any location. It was a typical product of the “all people are soldiers” ideology.