Chapter 145: The First Glimmer of Pacification

The war on Hainan Island was still ongoing—though, of course, it could hardly be called a war anymore. Cities were surrendering at the mere sight of the Fubo Army. Some county seats, while not formally opening their gates, had established “Rehabilitation Bureaus.” Next, the Fubo Army besieged Haikou Guard Post, and the navy blockaded the Baisha Naval Base from the sea. The typewriters on the special service boats quickly dashed Tang Yunwen’s last hopes of a decisive naval battle. After losing six warships and a dozen fire ships, all operations from the Baisha Naval Base ceased. The last remnants of Ming forces on Hainan Island were cut off and surrounded, unable and unwilling to fight.

Qiongshan county seat was still under siege, but the Executive Committee, considering the final negotiations, had not launched a full-scale assault. However, secret negotiations with the city were already underway. The Hainan Circuit Intendant, Zhao Ruyi, was not in the city. The magistrate, with the support of the local gentry, was freely engaging in surrender activities without any hindrance.

Throughout Hainan Island, except for the southern prefectures and counties which were always out of touch, the prestige of the Ming dynasty had plummeted. Gentry from all over sent representatives to negotiate, offering money and grain in exchange for the security of their own localities.

Almost overnight, the fame of the Senate was established over all the people of the island. The gentry realized that no matter how many years the Ming had ruled, at least on Hainan Island, a new master was about to take over.

The gentry and prominent families were not worried about a new master—whoever came to rule them would have to govern according to the old ways.

Even the Ming officials had nothing to worry about. If they didn’t plan to die defending the city, they could continue to serve in the county yamen. Some officials even sent special envoys for secret talks, discussing proposals for how they could continue to coexist.

“These officials are so shameless,” Xiong Buyou grumbled after sending off another batch of envoys. “I can understand the gentry and prominent families. After all, they have homes and businesses; they can’t just pack up their houses and walk away.”

“What’s wrong?” Liu Muzhou was buried in a mountain of documents. “Do officials really serve the people and the emperor? In the end, they serve themselves! What’s so strange about that?”

“Today, an unprecedented three groups came,” Xiong Buyou said, holding up his fingers. “First, a group from the county magistrate, of course, wanting us to ensure he could keep his post—whether under the Ming or us. Then, a group from the county registrar, saying that if he were made the magistrate, he would do a better job. Finally, a prominent family from the county, of unknown origin, also wanted to get an official post. They even prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted ‘Long live the Australian Song Emperor’…”

“Did he not shout ‘Long live Chairman Wen’?”

“He shouted ‘Chairman Wen, a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years’.”

“Isn’t that great? It shows the people’s hearts are with us…”

“These people’s hearts are too shameless.”

“In every era, there are dissatisfied people. If everyone was wholeheartedly loyal, sincerely devoted, completely satisfied with their situation, and five times happier, would there be any chance for latecomers like us?”

The situation on Hainan Island was developing at a breakneck pace. The fiery situation on Hainan dealt a fatal blow to the officialdom of Guangdong.

News of the Ming army’s disastrous defeat on Hainan quickly reached Guangdong. Wang Zunde, whose health was already failing, could not withstand this heavy blow and fell ill.

To facilitate the central command of military operations and supplies, Wang Zunde had brought his advisors and subordinate officials to Guangzhou at the start of the cross-sea military campaign. He had set up his governor-general’s headquarters in the garden of a wealthy merchant near the White Swan Pond on the Pearl River.

The first news of defeat came in an urgent dispatch from the Qiongshan magistrate. He was still skeptical about the defeat at the front. After all, this was an army mobilized with the full strength of the province. If even this could not secure a victory, he dared not imagine what would happen next.

Then, news of defeat came from Hainan one after another, each more certain than the last. The government army had been disastrously defeated at Chengmai, completely wiped out, and many court-appointed military officers had been killed. This news was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, dealing a severe blow to Wang Zunde’s spirit. Then, the news that the “kūnzéi bandits” had captured Danzhou and were besieging Haikou Guard Post and Qiongshan Prefecture plunged him into complete despair.

From the scattered accounts of the few routed soldiers who had managed to flee back from Hainan and the evasive dispatches from He Rubin and others, he knew that the “kūnzéi bandits” not only had sharp firearms but also an extremely powerful army.

Soon, there was no more military business to handle in Guangzhou. News from Hainan Island had been completely cut off. The “kūnzéi bandits’” warships had blockaded the Qiongzhou Strait, and government ships could no longer enter.

The winds in the official circles blew faster than anything else. Everyone knew: Wang Zunde was finished. Not only would the emperor not tolerate such a disastrous defeat, but his political enemies and rivals in the court and the provinces would not miss this golden opportunity. Many were already secretly discussing the date of Wang Zunde’s dismissal or even his arrest and transport to the capital.

The hearts of officialdom were the most fickle. In this situation, he became a governor-general ignored by everyone in Guangzhou. Besides his advisors, no one came to discuss anything with him anymore. Even the Guangzhou magistrate and the magistrates of the two counties had become neglectful. Helpless, he moved back to Zhaoqing.

There was nothing to do in Zhaoqing either, and his face became haggard. Not long after arriving, he fell ill from the fatigue of the journey.

Dispatches and documents still poured into the governor-general’s yamen, but his advisors were rarely summoned to discuss the next military strategy. In fact, the advisors all knew that Guangdong’s military strength was depleted. Besides the Yao-suppressing commanders in the east and west mountains, Guangdong had no more organized military forces.

His illness worsened day by day under this anxiety. What worried him most was whether the “kūnzéi bandits” would take the opportunity to attack Guangzhou. If they did, Guangdong had almost no troops to defend against them.

Not many days later, a dispatch reported that strangely shaped ships had been seen scouting the Pearl River estuary. These ships were fast and slender, completely different from both Chinese and foreign ships—clearly, they were the Australians’ fast boats.

The impending crisis forced him to rally his strength. He summoned his advisors several times to discuss countermeasures and strengthen the defenses of the Pearl River estuary.

One day, his spirits were slightly better. As he was opening documents in his study, a dispatch arrived from the Censor-in-Chief, Gao Shunqin. He had already submitted a memorial requesting the blockade of Guangzhou Bay and the complete severance of trade with the Portuguese in Macao, “to cut off the bandits.”

Wang Zunde could only smile bitterly. If the Australians were to attack Guangzhou, the Portuguese in Macao were probably the only naval force he could rely on to defend the Pearl River estuary. What was the point of talking about “cutting off the bandits” now? A much larger group of bandits, the Australians, was about to arrive.

“Master, Advisor Li is here,” a servant said softly.

He said weakly, “Show him in!”

Li Xijue entered. Since Lu Yizhong had gone on the campaign, he had become Wang Zunde’s most trusted advisor. Often, he was the only one who could see the governor-general.

Wang Zunde had tea served and forced a calm smile. Li Xijue’s face was pale. After sitting down, he looked at the governor-general’s expression and asked with a slight bow, “Is Your Excellency feeling any better?”

Wang Zunde smiled and shook his head. “Just a slight cold, nothing serious.” He saw a document in Li Xijue’s hand and asked, “What document is that?”

Li Xijue answered nervously, “It’s a secret letter from Lingao—”

“What?” Wang Zunde’s fingers trembled. “Who wrote it?”

“It’s from Master Lu,” Li Xijue said in a tone of both contempt and nervousness. “The letter arrived yesterday. Because Your Excellency was ill, this humble one read it first.”

Wang Zunde’s hands trembled as he took the document. “Advisor Lu, he…”

“He’s still alive… he’s a prisoner of the Australians,” Li Xijue couldn’t help but sigh. “The letter explains everything in detail.”

Wang Zunde’s hands trembled as he quickly read the document. He could no longer support himself and, forgetting the dignity of a high court official, threw the letter to the ground.

“Despicable! Such a shameless villain!”

Seeing his flushed face and rapid breathing, Li Xijue feared he would fall ill from anger and quickly tried to calm him down. The governor-general’s personal servant also ran in to help him back to his bed in the inner chamber.

“No need, I’m fine!” Wang Zunde shook his head and said with extreme pain, “I never thought this man could be so shameless! He can neither die for his country nor endure captivity. To write such a letter!”

“Your Excellency, please calm down,” Li Xijue quickly advised. “The letter is not in Master Lu’s own hand, but it bears his personal seal. Besides, Master Lu is in prison. Even if he wrote it, he was likely under duress. The most important thing now is to look at the content of the letter!”

Whether Lu Yizhong wrote the letter or not, whether it reflected his true intentions, was not important. What was important was that this secret letter revealed the Australians’ intentions.

Since the Australians were willing to communicate through Lu Yizhong, there was still room for maneuver. It didn’t have to come to war—the government army could not afford another defeat.

The content of the letter was divided into several parts. First, it demanded that the Guangdong authorities ransom the prisoners. The Australians had already set a price for all the captured officers and advisors, based on their rank. For example, a company commander was ten taels of silver. In addition to the ransom, each prisoner had to pay one qian of silver per day for food and lodging for the number of days they had been in the Lingao POW camp. In other words, the sooner they were ransomed, the more money would be saved; otherwise, the “late fees” would become an astronomical figure.

Secondly, it concerned peace negotiations between the two sides. Lu Yizhong relayed in the letter that the Australians had no designs on the Ming dynasty and only sought a place to trade and live. Now, they had been attacked by the government army and had suffered heavy losses. The Australians were very angry and were preparing to send dozens more large iron ships from Australia to attack Guangzhou.

However, war would result in losses for both sides. And since the Australians had come for trade, not to seize land, they hoped to negotiate with the government “to extinguish the flames of war.”