Chapter 102: The Victory Parade

The streets of Bopu were bustling. Since the establishment of the port and the Bopu Commune, the number of fishermen, merchant ships, and small traders coming here had steadily increased, slowly forming a market. The successive construction of modern industrial enterprises—the arsenal, the shipyard, the chemical plant—had also drawn a large number of workers and their families. The Ministry of Commerce, following the model of the East Gate Market, had created a market in Bopu Port as a commercial service area. The scale of Bopu Town was still far from that of the mature East Gate Market. In addition to serving the ever-increasing permanent population of the Bopu Commune, its function was to cater to sailors and fishermen, much like any other port town.

The streets were crowded. Fishing firms, warehouses, inns, wine shops, fishing gear shops… lined the roads. Though most were open and the streets were full of people, business seemed ordinary. Some shops hadn’t even taken down their door panels.

But the shopkeepers and clerks were all busy, setting up ladders, pulling ropes, holding paste. Some were even shouting for people to bring things over.

The propaganda officers of the Bopu Commune, along with the militia and primary school students, were busy pasting slogans and notices all over the streets. Some carried baskets of folded paper lanterns, distributing them to the crowd. Some hung them at their own doorways, while others climbed ladders to hang them on newly erected ropes.

A banner had already been stretched across the center of the street. On the red silk, red paper squares had been sewn, bearing characters written in large, bold calligraphy.

In this bustling crowd, a young girl stood alone by the roadside, watching. She wore a “cadre” uniform: a blue, tight-fitting jacket and trousers with a small, turned-down collar. She carried a green canvas document bag. Her face was as dark as that of the local working women, but her eyes were dark and lively.

Her hair was styled in the common fashion for women who worked for the Australians: not in a bun, but in two neat braids, tied at the ends with red ribbons, a small concession to a young girl’s love of beauty.

This attire, along with the small, white cloth badge with black characters on her chest, all pointed to her identity: she was a female official or clerk serving the Australians, or, in the new parlance, a “female cadre.”

Women dressed like this had become an increasingly common sight in Lingao over the past year. Many people from other places, upon arriving, would come to see this novelty that existed nowhere else in the Ming Dynasty.

The sea breeze blew her two dark braids and her clothes, and whipped across her sun-tanned face. She frowned, her dark, straight eyebrows knitted together, as she looked forward, seemingly lost in thought. She was Tan Xiaoqin, the head of the women’s group in Yanchang Village, and one of the first students from the Ma Niao Agricultural Lecture Institute, personally supervised by Du Wen. Du Wen had originally had high hopes for this village chief’s daughter, but she soon discovered that in a village dominated by the Tan clan, it was easy for Tan Xiaoqin to get things done, because all it took was a word from her father. Of course, this also meant that any policy had to be approved by her father before it could be implemented.

Village chief Tan Guichong supported all of the Australians’ policies, including mobilizing women—Hainan women were already the main labor force—but he was not interested in other things, such as women’s literacy. Du Wen was disappointed. Just then, the Executive Committee decided to establish the Ma Niao Commune. Ma Qianzhu was not satisfied with the situation in Yanchang Village, believing the local clan power was too strong. Du Wen then proposed to take this opportunity to draw out all the young Tan clan cadres from Yanchang Village and disperse them. And so, Tan Xiaoqin fell into her hands.

Tan Xiaoqin had just graduated from the “First Women Cadre Training Class” in Bopu Commune. This was a training class personally organized by Du Wen, which trained more than thirty female activists and group leaders from all over Lingao, preparing to send them out to work in the new areas.

She had already received her orders: she was to go to Chengmai County to serve as the director of the women’s department of the county office. She was on her way back to the commune’s guesthouse. She walked along the street, her mind in a turmoil. She was a young, unmarried girl of less than twenty, and she was not to stay at home, but to go to a neighboring county to be an “official.” She had never been outside of Yanchang Village, let alone Lingao. Her father, Tan Guichong, had originally been very much against his daughter leaving her own village to be a “women’s director” in another. In the village, everything was fine, but a girl alone in another village… wouldn’t that be lawless?

But things were no longer up to her father. Tan Xiaoqin’s cousin, Tan Chengqing, saw it clearly: the Australians’ attitude towards Yanchang Village was not as favorable as before. They were tightening their control over the village administration and restricting the role of the Tan family. This time, they had drawn out almost all the Tan clan cadres in the village at once. Except for Tan Guichong, who continued to serve as the village chief, it was almost a clean sweep.

He had quietly talked to his father and uncle, telling them to never go against the will of the Australian chiefs. They were powerful now; even the government couldn’t control them. The Tan family could only follow them closely to protect themselves and bring honor to their family.

This time, the government army had been utterly defeated in Chengmai. Tan Guichong’s attitude towards Tan Xiaoqin’s appointment immediately took a 180-degree turn. The news of the defeat was known earliest and most vividly in Ma Niao Yanchang Village, which was closest to the battlefield. Many militia and laborers from Yanchang Village had transported the wounded and spoils of war back, and they had exaggerated the situation, making the Fubo Army sound almost like they were possessed by gods, invulnerable. Everyone felt it would not be long before the Australian chiefs could go to the capital to establish a new dynasty. Chairman Wen might even be the new emperor. Yanchang Village had been the first to “follow the dragon,” so it went without saying that everyone would be a founding hero.

Tan Guichong no longer opposed his daughter’s appointment. Instead, he was very proud. This was a county’s women’s cadre; all the women in the county would be under his daughter’s control. Not only was it prestigious, but this was clearly “entering officialdom,” a true “follower of the dragon.” He also had another thought: he hoped that Tan Xiaoqin could be favored by a “chief” in Chengmai and become a legal wife—at worst, a concubine would also be fine. In this way, the Tan family’s fame and fortune in the new dynasty would be guaranteed.

Tan Xiaoqin was at a loss for her father’s fickle attitude. The prospect of going to a strange place to work made her very uneasy. She had never worked with strange men before, let alone a group of them.

With such uneasy feelings, she came to the street. It was busy with preparations for the “victory celebration” that evening. Groups of students from Fangcaodi, in their uniforms, were reading the contents of the notices to the people. The notices, drafted by Dingding, were divided into literary and vernacular parts. Many people listened carefully, letting out laughter and sounds of surprise. Every time a reading was finished, there would be a roar of “good!”, and then someone would ask the students to read it again.

The news that the government army was coming to suppress them had been known for a long time. Since the army crossed the sea to Qiongshan, the ships and merchants coming to Lingao had almost been cut off, and many shops were struggling. They were only able to maintain their business with the help of the Australians’ relief and preferential policies. The Australians had confidently told them to “hold on for a few months, and the situation will change greatly.” Some, fearing that if the Australians were defeated, they would be implicated, had quietly run away with their valuables in the middle of the night. But some had stayed—especially the small merchants who had come to Lingao since the Australians arrived and had accumulated their wealth bit by bit. They sincerely hoped that the Australians could stand firm, and they believed they could. Many had also participated in the mobilization and preparation for war. Now that the government army had been defeated, and not just defeated but routed, their confidence was even greater, and they had higher expectations for the future.

As Tan Xiaoqin was watching the liveliness, she suddenly saw Yang Cao. This woman was her classmate in the women’s cadre training class. She didn’t like Yang Cao very much. She felt the woman was very calculating, though she usually got along well with everyone. Tan Xiaoqin always felt she had another agenda. But at this moment, the other party took the initiative to greet her.

“Have you received your orders?” Yang Cao asked with a smile.

“I have. I’m going to Chengmai to be—” she thought for a moment before remembering her official title, “the director of the women’s department.”

“I’m also going to Chengmai.” She waved the paper in her hand. “I’m the deputy director of the women’s department. It’s just right that we can work together.”

Yang Cao was, of course, not a “deputy director of the women’s department.” This was her public identity. Her actual position was “Political Security Bureau’s political instructor stationed in Chengmai.” Because there were not many veterans in political security, they could not be stationed in every county. So they appointed You Guotuan, the special commissioner of Lingao County, to be a special inspector, who would go to each county in turn to guide and inspect the work, and use native staff to serve as political security instructors. After they were familiar with the work, they would be formally appointed as special commissioners.

Wu Mu originally did not want to send Yang Cao, but he thought that opening up a new area was a good opportunity to test people. It just so happened that Du Wen went to the cadre department to ask for another female cadre to be sent to Chengmai, so he took this opportunity to send Yang Cao out. The veterans in the work team knew Yang Cao’s true identity, but it was kept secret from others.

Hearing that the other party was also going to Chengmai and was her deputy, Tan Xiaoqin was a little happy. No matter what, it was a good thing to have a woman go with her. She had been worrying about what to do with a group of men around her, and whether she should ask an older woman from her village to accompany her.

“That’s great! When do we leave?” Tan Xiaoqin had never been on a long journey and had no idea.

Yang Cao smiled. “Don’t worry, the orders say we have to leave with the work team—the people haven’t even arrived yet.” She pulled Tan Xiaoqin. “There’s a torchlight parade tonight. Let’s have a good time.”

“Going out after dark…”

“What are you afraid of? You are now the director of the women’s department, not a young lady hiding at home.”

The sky was gradually darkening. The parade team of the Bopu Commune was gathering on the street. Everyone was holding homemade flags and lanterns. The commune’s managers were distributing candle stubs and torches—because they had to save candles, not many people had lanterns; most had torches. The people who came to participate were mainly young people and children, especially the workers who worked in Bopu. Most of them came with their families. They were very happy to have such an evening of entertainment, because tomorrow was a holiday—to celebrate the great victory in Chengmai.

The crowd gradually lined up under the guidance of the students, and the torches and lanterns were lit one after another. Everyone was smiling, and some were even playfully waving the flags and signs in their hands.

“Everyone, don’t move around. Be careful of the torches!” The person in charge was the propaganda department’s native cadre, Ji Denggao. Since he proposed to organize a lion dance team in the land measurement propaganda activity, this former Guangdong fortune-teller had risen rapidly in the propaganda department and had become a full-time staff member for organizing mass cultural and entertainment activities. His performance was not small. He had organized lion dance teams in various communes and had achieved great results.

He was wearing a cadre uniform, his face covered in sweat. He held a tin-plate megaphone in one hand and a roll of documents in the other. “Don’t mess up the line, line up, get ready…”

What he held was the celebration plan made by Fang Fei, the director of the mass activities department of the propaganda department. This plan was very simple by Fang Fei’s standards, but it was too complicated for Ji Denggao. The ancients were also very good at organizing complex festive ceremonies, but this kind of large-scale activity was generally only carried out by the central government, and ordinary people rarely came into contact with it. It was even more unfamiliar to a fortune-teller.

Yang Cao and Tan Xiaoqin were also arranged in the mass team. The mass team was relatively loose, with no special props or training. They were only required to follow the route in a group. Yang Cao received a small flag. She looked around. There were a few faces in the crowd that she seemed to have seen before. Their eyes met for a moment and then they tacitly avoided each other’s sight.

At this time, the high-pitched loudspeakers on the street began to play majestic music. This was the signal for the parade to begin. Ji Denggao greeted everyone and began to march.

The parade route was from Bopu Commune Street, along the port area, then onto the Bopu-Bairen highway, and then to Dongmen Market, and finally to the large stadium for a rally. The sky had gradually darkened. In the twilight, the lanterns and torches were lit, and the road was dotted with stars, like a flowing river of light.

The students and militia formed a vanguard team with neat queues and fluttering flags. The flags they held were hastily made during the mobilization for war, taking advantage of the flag craze. The red army flag, the blue and white navy flag, and many personally designed or plagiarized flags. There were also rows of square red banners with various strange patterns that people here had never seen before. The tops of the flagpoles were topped with stamped double-headed eagles standing on gears, wheat ears, swords, and leaves. In the firelight, the steel-skinned double-headed eagle’s eyes were bright, shining with a cold light, watching the procession marching under the firelight.

The parade marched to the accompaniment of the march. The students and militia marched in neat steps, singing “Singing for the Motherland” in unison. This song had been changed and had become the first politically charged march of the transmigrator regime. If it weren’t for the fact that most of the veterans did not want to completely break with the Ming Dynasty for the time being, the title of this song would have been changed to “Singing for the Empire.” The lyrics would also have been changed to be more explicit.

The crowd following behind could not sing this song well, but their hearts were also stirred by the passionate singing. Some people sang along, while others imitated the people next to them, waving the lanterns and flags in their hands and cheering in unison.

Many people had never experienced this kind of intoxicating fanaticism. They didn’t even know why they were so excited. But they still cheered and sang in this atmosphere, and even tried to keep their steps in time with the rhythm of the march that was sung over and over again.

The parade procession passed through the port area, then stepped onto the highway to Bairen City. All traffic on the highway had been temporarily stopped. The occasional passers-by moved to the side of the road, watching the mighty parade pass by with both fear and curiosity. The firelight illuminated the highway, and Bairen City in the distance was brightly lit.

At this time, huge pillars of light lit up one after another in the dark night sky. The pillars of light emitted by the eight most powerful searchlights owned by the transmigrator group were arranged in two rows in the night sky. This spectacular sight dazzled everyone. Tan Xiaoqin let out a surprised cry. It was too incredible. For a moment, her legs went soft, and she almost knelt on the ground. The chiefs are not mortals—this sentence suddenly came to her mind with fear.

The parade processions coming from various communes were like huge pythons radiating light, rolling forward on various roads. This unprecedented spectacular sight not only impressed and amazed people, but also made many people feel a sense of heartfelt fear.

Liu Dalin sat silently in his courtyard, watching the huge pillar of light on the side of Bairen City. He could not see the parade procession on the highway, but he could hear the singing from the highway outside the county town; simple, powerful, and even vulgar in his opinion, but it had a strong and uplifting element. This was neither the grand music of the court, nor the decadent music of Zheng and Wei. Like the pillar of light that shot straight into the night sky, it was something he completely did not understand. Liu Dalin’s mood became very heavy.

“Master, go back to the house,” his servant whispered.

“Not yet,” he said in a low voice. “Is the notice outside really saying that the Australians have defeated the government troops?”

“Yes, there are people watching the notice. I didn’t dare to tear it down, but I copied a copy.”

The notice was written very simply, but the content was clear. Liu Dalin read the literary part of it once. The language was not very elegant, but the writing was logical. The notice said that since they came to Qiongzhou, they had never done anything illegal. They had reclaimed wasteland and engaged in business in Qiongzhou, recruited and settled refugees, provided relief to the victims, and praised culture and education. However, they were subjected to an unprovoked suppression by the government and were forced to defend themselves, and they defeated the government army at the foot of Chengmai City.